A confluence of cultures

Last week, the Overseas Women's Club of Bangalore hosted their annual India Night event at the Taj West End. This is the second year that I have attended this event. Nearly 200 people from different parts of the world come together to experience and participate in all things Indian. It is absolutely fascinating to see this confluence. Men and women, old and young from Canada to Indonesia arrive dressed in the most elaborate and beautiful Indian outfits and taste a slice of India through various cultural, culinary and entertainment experiences. Of course, I got yet another chance within the last few weeks of going ethnic again!

A wide range of activities were organized for the guests including Mehendi art, palm reading while artists in traditional Indian costumes mingled with the guests and provided photo-ops. Food was a variety of the finest Indian cuisine with some international fare thrown in for good measure. Entertainment included a medley of local tribal dances. And no such evening is complete without a Bollywood influence. An instructor from a dance studio was on-hand and led a group of international guests in a dance session set to popular Bollywood songs.

What was most interesting to observe was the enthusiasm with which everyone participated. There were no cultural barriers and people were open to new experiences. Clearly a key to understanding and appreciating different cultures, celebrating differences and finding ways to collaborate!

Obamania in India

US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle arrived in India for a 3-day visit on the eve of Diwali. While there seemed to have been limited media coverage for his visit in the US, the Indian media just could not get enough of the first couple. Most TV stations virtually carried his visit live round the clock. Talking heads went nuts analyzing every word spoken by Obama and every action taken by the first couple.

At the end of the day, this 3-day visit seemed to be primarily a sales visit. A growing economy and a rising middle class is turning India into a desirable market for companies in the West. Obama was accompanied by CEOs of large US companies including Boeing and announced deals valued nearly $10b. He sent a strong message back home about the positive impact of these deals (50,000 new jobs).

What was interesting was that the first couple spent a lot of time with children and young adults during their visit. Given that nearly 60% of India's population of 1 Billion is below the age of 30, India has an edge in the upcoming decades due to a large and growing workforce. Clearly the youth will be shaping the future of this new global power in terms of innovation and consumption and Obama was attempting to reach out and connect and engage with them.

It was fascinating to observe all of this from this end!

Festival of lights brightens another year

India celebrated Diwali this weekend. This festival of lights has become one of the biggest festivals in the country and is celebrated by all regardless of age, state or religion. The evening skies are lit up by fireworks as friends and families get together to celebrate in unison. Buildings are lit up around the city, sweets and gifts are exchanged and blessings of goddess Lakshmi (symbolizing wealth & prosperity) are invoked.

But as with everything in India, the festival is about building connections and strengthening relationships. Diwali brings families and friends together in a joyous celebration. The association in our building had organized a two-day celebration. The first day was celebrated by the residents by bursting firecrackers together. Nearly one hundred residents, old and young, got into the spirit of the festival by lighting up sparklers, rockets, ground wheels and ear-deafening bombs. Day two was another fun-filled evening that started with a cultural program organized and presented by the residents. Only in India can you find an hour-long program where you get to see a table recital, kathakali dance performance, a bollywood dance number and a rendition of Shakira's FIFA theme performance, Waka Waka! The program was followed by dinner and dancing. This gave Mona and me an opportunity to go ethnic!

India had a special guest this Diwali. US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are in the country and celebrated Diwali with children at the Holy Mary school in Mumbai.

With the country registering a 9% growth, there is plenty of other reasons to celebrate and celebrate we did!

Mr. Mom - part deux - DISASTER Strikes!

48 hours left for Mona to be back in town. We had almost made it through the month without any major mishaps. All of us were starting to lose it a bit but the end was in sight. I was feeling pretty good about myself. Finally on Saturday, disaster strikes.

I took Aanish and Ayaana out for brunch and we left the apartment without taking a key with us! Had a good brunch, stopped by the library, picked up some groceries and came back when we realized that we had no way to get back in the house - 2PM. Well, not such a big deal. Mona had left a set of keys with one of the neighbors (bless her - she anticipates the impossible). But luck was not on our side. The neighbors were not home. They were away at a resort and were not going to be back home until 7PM. OK. Our housekeeper, Pushpa has another set (thank you, Mona) and she has to be in the building somewhere. I head to the security to find out that she has already signed out and left the building. Mona had left her cell phone number with me so I called her - turns out that this was not the correct number (and given the state of the things, probably I was the one who took it down incorrectly!). I know Pushpa also works in apartment 401. They must have her contact number. Guess what, nobody's home. I rush to the Home Care office to see if they can help us get in the apartment from the roof - no such luck.

So now we are stuck outside - with no options left. I have bags of groceries that need refrigeration and a couple of cranky kids. Ayaana came to the rescue and tracked her friend down in the building who volunteered to store the groceries in her refrigerator. We decided to head to the mall for a movie. We had to kill time until 7PM. I realized that I did not have sufficient cash for movie tickets but had my ATM card handy. No problem. Stopped at the bank but could not remember the pin for the life of me. Wait, wait. Before you pass any judgment on me, I don't use this card very often. Well, I had my American Express and figured we can get through this.

We get to the mall fighting traffic along the way, make our way through a long line of cars making tight turns in the parking lot at the Forum (my favorite activities, all of them) and get there. There were no English movies playing at any of the theaters around that time. Our only choice was the Tamil movie, Enthiran and nobody voted for it. So we killed some time at the mall (eating cookies & popcorn, browsing at Landmark, shopping for a laptop cover) before we decided to head back - 5PM. Drove back to a Coffee shop near the apartment and hung out for an hour - 6:30PM. Tried reaching our neighbor but no luck.

Came back to the building and spent an hour in the game room playing table tennis with the kids until our neighbor called announcing that he was in the building. Hallelujah! Finally got into the apartment around 7:30PM, ordered some pizza, started watching Harry Potter 6 with the kids and passed out.

As it turns out, it was actually not a bad day at all!

Transformation?

It's been nearly four years since I have been living in India and finding the right balance between my desi-self and American mindset continues to be elusive. These years have helped me a lot to get back in touch with the Indian in me. Two decades in the US (especially during my 20s and 30s) had made a complete American out of me. As Americans, we value our individualism and personal freedom. I love the ability of Americans to be self-critical and laugh at themselves. We also tend to be direct and to the point. We are focused on execution and getting things done. We like order and structure in our lives.

India on the other hand is defined by relationships. You can't help but not be connected to the larger whole (whether you like it or not!). As Indians, the feelings, needs and emotions of others are very important to us. Indians have a sense of humility and an amazing yearning for knowledge. The journey is more important to us than the destination. We thrive in chaos and make things happen inspire of lack of order and structure (the 2010 Common Wealth Games will stand as an example).

Yesterday, I moved a step closer to my Indian-ness. A couple of colleagues at work helped me in this shift. Somebody remembered a comment that I had made at a recent event about the elegance of a South Indian outfit for men - Pancha Katcham. It is white/cream in color. It is a 5-yard strip of cloth that is draped around the waist and sort of looks like a skirt. It is knotted in five places (for safety?). This is worn with a white shirt. My colleagues not only purchased a complete outfit as a gift for me but helped me put the outfit on (believe me, you need help doing this). It was a fascinating experience for me and I was touched at their thoughtfulness. They were as excited to see me in this new outfit as I was to put it on.

A symbol of transformation? Maybe.

Trojans in Bangalore!

Yes, you heard it right. USC has opened offices in India - Viterbi in Bangalore and Marshall in Mumbai. Few months ago, the dean of Viterbi, Yannis C. Yortsos, was in Bangalore and an event was hosted for the alumni resident in Bangalore along with prospect students. I couldn't believe the number of Viterbi alumni who showed up for the event. I had no idea that so many alumni from USC were living in Bangalore.

Last weekend, associate dean Raghavendra hosted a dinner for the alumni at the Taj West End. Saw a lot of new faces, met a lot of interesting folks and made a couple of new friends. Raghu ran us through a brief presentation on recent changes at the university. The place looks nothing like it did in '86. It has also moved up in the US News and Word Report rankings (even beat UCLA!). His presentation was followed by introductions of the alumni. I was asked to talk about an interesting anecdote from my days at USC, which I did (not fit for print!).

BTW - I was the second oldest alumnus ('87) at the event! Hard to believe that Aanish is now applying at USC for his undergraduate program. My, how time flies!

Being Mr. Mom

Mona's been gone almost 2 weeks and I am playing the role of Mr. Mom (a lot better than Michael Keaton did in the 1983 film if I say so myself). Managing the house and kids has really not been that bad. Aanish and Ayaana are old enough so I don't really need to worry about them getting home from school and making themselves a snack and perhaps even order pizza for themselves.

What is challenging and continues to amaze me is the number of little stuff that one has to keep track of - such as turning off the water heater, leaving the bag & coupons for milk outside the door, watering the plants, remembering the schedule of music classes etc. etc. Multi-tasking at work just does not seem as challenging but my brain seems to morph into jello the moment I arrive home. Luckily there hasn't been a major disaster yet and I hope it stays that way for the next couple of weeks. We seem to have managed fairly well and have not blown up the house yet.

But I do miss Mona - especially dumping my woes on her after a particularly challenging day at work. It's not the same without her :(

Incredible India!

India pulled it off!

India is hosting the 2010 Commonwealth games in Delhi this year. For the past several weeks, the media has been speculating about India's ability to pull it off. There was a constant stream of media reports about shoddy construction, filthy conditions around the stadium, security concerns and criticism about the games anthem composed by A. R. Rahman. All of this coverage created doubt and anxiety in the minds of most Indians while games officials did their best to assure everybody that things were not that bad. The cost of the 2010 Commonwealth games is estimated to be a staggering $2B USD and everybody expected a world-class show for that investment.

Yesterday was the opening ceremony and everybody's fears were laid to rest. India put on a magnificent show and proved to the world that it can. The show was spectacular with amazing pyrotechnics, thousands of performers and an incredible sound and light show. 7000 athletes from over 70 countries are in New Delhi to take part in the games. All the last minute glitches were sorted out in a manner that is uniquely Indian and order has emerged out of the chaos as it can happen only in India.

Urban Backpacking

Last week, as I was returning from work and driving into our building, I noticed a couple of other folks returning from work carrying their backpacks. I suddenly realized that I see a lot of folks carrying backpacks to work. And this is not limited to engineers and programmers. Managers and heads of division seem to prefer the rugged backpack to a sophisticated briefcase or a laptop bag. In fact, judging by the rapidly expanding workforce, India must be the largest market for backpacks in the world.

I began to wonder about the reasons behind the popularity of backpacks in India. Clearly, one of the main reasons is that they are a much more practical alternative when you consider that the primary mode of transportation for most young workers here is a motorbike. It is a lot easier to travel on a 2-wheeler with a backpack than it is with the alternatives. Most of the knowledge workers in India in the BPO, IT and ITeS sectors are young men in their early twenties. At this stage in life, you are not exactly the most organized individual. Once again, a briefcase forced you to be organized and manage clutter. But a backpack ....! Throw a bunch of stuff in there, zip it up and you are on your way. Finally - the typical young worker in India is a workaholic and probably works 12-14 hours a day. Most of these guys are young, single and living with friends and roommates. You need a bag where you can carry not only your laptop and notebook for work but also your gym shorts, old socks, a toothbrush etc.

Analysis complete. Mystery solved. The versatile backpack has made its mark in India.

Paradise on earth

We decided to celebrate Mona's birthday by spending a weekend at the Orange County (not the California one ...) resort in Coorg. Coorg has been a destination on our must-visit list and this seemed like a good opportunity to check this off our list.

Coorg is a five-hour drive from Bangalore and once you get out to the Bangalore/Mysore highway, the drive is beautiful. A mandatory stop on the way is Kamat Lokaruchi - a restaurant that serves authentic Kannada cuisine and the best tiffin (idly, wada, dosa). We stopped ... and we were not disappointed! An hour or so before you arrive in Coorg, the landscape changed to lush greenery sprinkled with paddy fields - very picturesque.

We stayed at the Orange County resort - without question one of the finest resorts that we have lived in. We had booked a villa (see photo) that was constructed in an authentic and traditional architecture of the region. The place is serene, quiet and peaceful. The resort is part of a coffee plantation and has been rated as the top eco-friendly resort in Asia.

Activities during the weekend included a plantation tour (ask me anything you want to know about coffee) and a forest trek (yes, you are really hiking through dense forest). We rented bicycles and explored the resort on our own. A coffee lounge overlooking paddy fields was a perfect late afternoon retreat. There were local cultural shows in the evening followed by games that served as a great ice-breaker among guests.

The best part - food! There are three restaurants in the resort that serve different cuisines. All of them were terrific and the biggest decision we had to make each day was to select one of them for lunch and dinner.

Brahmin's Coffee Bar - who would have thought?

A name like Brahmin's Coffee Bar can leave you wondering about this tiny unassuming little food joint in Bangalore. But don't let the looks deceive you. Brahmin's has been voted as one of the best idly restaurants in Bangalore and is regularly featured on the list of top places to eat in the city.

As you can see in the picture, this is a tiny place at a street corner. Standing room only (on the pavement and sometimes on the street!). The place only serves three items - idly, wada and kesari baath. The idly and wada are served in a deep dish with a generous helping of liquid chutney. An elderly gentleman stands near the entrance with a huge pot full of chutney for those who must have more of this delicious stuff.

We went there on a Saturday morning and the place was not hard to find. You can spot the cars parked on the street and the thick crowd of people jostling to place their order from a mile away. Chaotic as it may seem, Brahmin's has a highly efficient system of order placement, cash collection and order delivery. Wait time is minimal - which is good, because you want to dig into the delicacies as soon as possible.

And the verdict - Yummmm!!!

Independence Day

India celebrates it's 63rd Independence Day on August 15th. The world has been reading the India Shining story for the past few years. Tom Freidman's book, The World is Flat, shines a spotlight on the rapid pace of development and growth in India and has put India on the radar of global business leaders. Bangalore and Hyderabad have become household names as companies like IBM, Microsoft and Cisco have setup large development and research centers in these cities. India's GDP growth has been immune to the global meltdown and continues to register impressive increases.

Being on the ground, the effect of growth and development is very much evident to us. But you can't miss the fact that a large number of Indians continue to live in poverty. Lack of education and malnutrition for millions of children is still a serious problem. The gap between the rich and the poor continues to increase giving rise to discontent. Local governments continue to remain oblivious to serious development issues. Cities are bursting to accommodate growth and the infrastructure can barely meet the current demand. India has more billionaires today than it has ever had but philanthropy is sadly lacking.

As we sit here and watch the two different Indias, we wonder where things will be in another decade. Which path will the country choose as it moves forward? Will the development remain chaotic or will it be managed effectively for long term sustainability and prosperity?

Lost & Found?

Those who remember the hit Hindi movies based on a lost and found theme from director Manmohan Desai will appreciate this. These movies typically had a plot that involved two brothers who are separated in childhood, grow up to become rivals (either in business or one becomes a criminal and the other a police officer etc.), meet under dramatic circumstances and then re-unite.

Last week, I met an old school friend (chaddi-baddi!) of mine after three decades. Sultan Mazharuddin and I were best friends through primary to high school in Hyderabad. We lost touch after leaving school. We attended different colleges in Hyderabad. After college I moved to the US. He stayed back in India for a few years and then moved to Saudi Arabia. We finally connected last year after 30 years and met last week in India. It was a thrill to meet an old friend after such a long time and our meeting was one of the highlights of my recent visit to Hyderabad. Amazingly enough, we picked up from where we left off and caught up to present time in a couple of meetings.

And how did this reunion happen? You guessed it right ... Facebook!

The airport experience!

Am back on the road (air?) this week! Living the airport life again. When you travel as much as I do, you start to see and experience airports very differently. Since I am visiting multiple cities and doing meetings at different times, I end up spending a lot of time at airports waiting for my flights. Over the past three years, I have probably spent hundreds of hours at over twenty different airports in the US.

There is some amount of comfort in the homogeneous look and feel of a large American airport. The tan/beige/brown carpets, the incredibly uncomfortable chairs, the flat screen monitors displaying flight status, the large steel trash cans, the consistent signage - ah! Feels like home! Even the people look the same. You have your high flying road warriors in suits with a bluetooth phone stuck behind their ears barking instructions to no one in particular. There are the power hungry laptop/cell phone junkies that manage to find the rare power outlet that is typically hiding behind a large pillar for the much needed charge for their electronic gear. You also get your share of the noisy families with yelling and screaming children fighting over pizza, burgers and shakes.

Window shopping is another way to kill time at airports. Most airports now double as malls and you can buy virtually anything at an airport. You can see high end stores like Mont Blanc at the bigger airports like Chicago. But the shops that are more fun to browse are those that sell quirky souvenirs.

If you are hungry at an airport, do not panic for there are usually options available for everyone. Of course these options depend on the airport you are at. Wendy's may be the star attraction in Binghamton but don't be surprised if you see Wolfgang Puck or other gourmet eateries when you are passing through JFK.

The Safari Experience

An African safari is an adventure of a lifetime. The starting point of ours was the small town of Arusha. We started daily by 8am and usually returned between 3pm and 4pm. The safari vehicles were customized and specially outfitted stretched Toyota Landcruisers that seated seven adults. The hard tops can be pushed open upwards creating enough space for one to stand upright in the jeep. Our driver cum guide during the entire safari was Paul - an experienced, knowledgeable and highly enthusiastic fellow who added to our overall experience.

Once inside the national park, we would open the hard top and get ready with our camera and binoculars. The jeeps drive on trails, which are rough dirt and mud roads through the plains. It can get dusty when you have other vehicles directly ahead of you. There are a few designated spots in the parks where the vehicles will stop and we could get down to take a closer look and shoot pictures. Lunch on a safari is usually a box lunch and we stopped at various picnic stops along the way for a lunch break during the safari. The weather in June was not bad as it was approaching winter in Africa but it did get fairly hot in the afternoons.

An animal crossing is always an exciting event during a safari. This happens when an animal or a group of animals cross the trail in front of or behind your vehicle. During our safari, we had zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, elephants, antelopes, baboons and cheetahs cross the trail in front of and behind us.

We also went up in a hot air balloon in the Serengeti during our safari. This is usually an early morning affair and you must take off just after sunrise. Viewing wildlife and the landscape from a hot air balloon is an exhilarating experience and offers a completely different perspective.

Blogging from the bush

We just returned from a 12-day trip to Tanzania that included a 6-day safari. What a trip! This was our first visit to Africa and we were eagerly awaiting it for many months. We knew it was going to be an amazing vacation and it was.

Our African safari was an experience like none other. While all of us are urban folks, we love nature and wildlife. We spent almost a week traveling through the major national parks in Tanzania including Tarangire, Lake Manyara and Serengeti and visited the Ngorongoro crater, which is a conservation area. It is impossible to capture the safari experience in words and photos.

We spent days in the midst of thousands of migrating wildebeest, racing mindlessly across the plains. We encountered families of elephants within twenty feet of our jeeps. We came across several muddy lakes filled with hippos and occasionally sighted crocodiles at the banks. Thousands of zebras and different types of antelopes dotted the horizon wherever you look. Majestic giraffes were always an exciting sight. We managed to spot a pride of well-fed lions sunbathing on the plains and a leopard relaxing on the branch of a tree. A couple of cheetahs crossed our path (literally!) in the Ngorongoro crater. And there is an incredible number of species of birds and we had a lot of fun bird watching.

Spending a week on expansive savannahs and grassy plains and encountering magnificent animals in their natural habitat is quite a thrill. You experience a range of emotions together - awe, fascination, curiosity, humility, anxiety and wonder! You are reminded of that you have been given an incredible gift of this unique planet full of life!

Mumbai Meri Jaan

I am back in my "adopted" home - Mumbai. I love and remain nostalgic about Hyderabad where I was born, grew up and did my schooling. Los Angeles will hold a special place in my heart as this is where I became an adult, fell in love and built my career. Mumbai (Bombay in the good ole days) is where Mona (the person I fell in love with and subsequently married) was born and grew up. I never cared much for this city when I was growing up. Over the last twenty years, I have come to love the place and it has become another home for me.

We are in Mumbai for a few days on our way to Africa and I am enjoying every bit of it. The famous monsoons are just about to begin and there are bouts of heavy rains every few hours. And these are not just heavy rains but a serious downpour. But the city keeps moving on with gritty determination. I am amazed to see Mumbaikars taking a walk on Marine Drive in heavy rain. I was on the road early today (around 7:30am) and had the chance to see this beast rising and it is quite an experience to see this city come to life as millions of people begin their day.

Food is always an important part of the Mumbai experience and this time is no different. I made sure that I had the famous vada-pav. The street vendor has now managed to get a small stall on a street corner and is busier than ever. I have yet to learn to be more aggressive and push and shove my way through to get my food. Yesterday, we dined with Vicky, Jehangir and the kids at Mahesh - a sea-food lover's paradise. And we made our customary visit to Delhi Durbar for traditional Mughlai cuisine.

We leave tonight for Africa but I know that I will be back again soon to do it all over again.

Now you see me ... now you don't!

I have been having trouble with my vision for the past couple of months but have been resisting a visit to the optometrist. Guess did not want to face the inevitable! I did end up getting an eye exam last week and my worst fears came true. I must now wear bifocals! I got my new pair yesterday and am still trying to get used to them. I am sure it's quite a sight watching me trying to keep my head straight while my eyes are pointed down trying to read a newspaper.

This has been the year where I have really started to feel the passage of time. My body is showing signs (aching back, sore ankles, pain in the joints etc.) of age, while my mind keeps telling me ... "hey, am not quite ready for this!". Need to increase the level of exercise and get back into shape.

Gotta run ... have a yoga session to attend followed by a game of squash and a swim.

Looking Down and going across ...

If any of your crossword buffs, the meaning of the title of this post may be quite clear. One of the joys of being back in India has been the excitement of solving the daily crossword puzzle in The Hindu. For many of you, this might not rank close to dining in a gourmet restaurant, traveling to an exotic locale or spending the evening catching a musical at Broadway. But the Hindu crossword fanatics (and there are many) will know what I am talking about.

The competition to complete the crossword used to be intense when I was in engineering college nearly twenty-five years ago. I remember competing and collaborating with my fellow Osmanians to get the puzzle complete before mid-day. I can still feel the pleasure of completing the puzzle or the intensity of disappointment when we could not complete it.

This experience has been recreated over the past couple of years. The competition is now between Mona and me as we keep an eye on the score (who got the most words) while solving the puzzle during the day. Even when I am not in town, we collaborate and compete using SMS, e-mail etc. Who knew solving crosswords could be so romantic?

Nourishment for the soul

I am back in the US and the usual highlight of my trip is the pursuit of comfort food. My first stop was New York and I was staying a block away from Times Square. So a hot dog and kebab in a pita at a roadside food cart was a must. And it did not disappoint one bit. I had to get my regular dose of Mexican food and the following day found a Baja Fresh in the area. It is of course the best of best in Mexican fast food.

The following day, I was in Des Moines, Iowa. It was late at night (around 10pm) and most restaurants in town were closed. Luckily, Doozies - a sports bar in the hotel that we were staying in was open. They serve one of the best baby back ribs (or maybe I feel that way because I haven't had one for ages). Regardless, it was enjoyable.

When I arrived at JFK for my flight to London, I hunted down the classic Chinese joint in the food court where your choices are 2 items or 3 items with rice or noodles. You gotta love it!

I got my dose and am good for the next few months! Back to the land of masala dosa, butter chicken and biryani.