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!

Fight On in Bangalore

The world is getting flatter by the day! A high power delegation from our alma mater, University of Southern California, completed a week-long visit in India. The broad goal of the visit was to build sustainable alliances in various fields such as medicine, engineering, arts, business etc. The delegation was led by president, Max Nikias, who was accompanied by the deans of various schools including Viterbi and Marshall along with a couple of trustees.

The level of mutual interest in deep collaboration at this level was evident from the fact that President Max met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during this visit. Ratan Tata, who is a member of the board of trustees of USC, played host for this visit.

We had the opportunity to attend two events in Bangalore. The first was a social event to celebrate the opening of a Viterbi office in Bangalore. This office will serve as a platform from which USC can manage it's collaboration and recruitment activities in India. The following day, USC hosted a panel on Innovation and Globalization. It as a fascinating discussion with an impressive list of panelist focusing on the opportunities and challenges for the world ahead and underscoring the need for greater collaboration in government, industry and academia across the globe.

A summary of the visit and photos have been posted here.

2011 World Cup Fever

The 2011 Cricket World Cup started yesterday. We were here four years ago when the last world cup was held but we had been in India only for a few months at that time. Now we are able to fully experience the feverish pitch and enthusiasm around the tournament. Indians are probably the most passionate about cricket - so your experience based in India is unlike anywhere else.

India is also projected as the front runner this year. The country has not won a World Cup for 20 years. So there is a lot of pressure on team India this year. The media is going crazy with polls, predictions and analysis. Times Now (a leading TV station) is running a GLI (Good Luck India) campaign. Religious heads are performing rites and ceremonies for team India's success. And of course the fans are wishing and praying for the team's victory. It is a frenzy!

Teams from 14 countries are competing for the cup this year. The tournament is being hosted by and played in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India. Yesterday, India played the first official match of the tournament against Bangladesh and won by a huge margin of 87 runs. Let's see if team India is able to maintain the intensity and focus to bring home the world cup this year.

A new bruin in our family!

Today was a memorable day for Aanish. He received his acceptance letter from USC this evening. He has been working extremely hard on his college applications for the past 2-3 months. He applied to a total of 9 universities in California but USC (Mona and my alma mater) has always been his top choice. So there was major excitement in the house today when a courier from DHL delivered a package from USC. A loud cheer from Aanish confirmed what we were anxiously waiting for - the admissions confirmation letter.

A week later (I am editing this post after an interesting turn of events), Aanish received his acceptance letter by e-mail from UCLA. Along with his acceptance letter, he received multiple scholarships. Subsequently, he received scholarships from USC as well. But by then, he had decided to attend UCLA. All of a sudden, USC became the University of Second Choice!

It is a proud moment for Mona and I and we are relishing every minute of it. Just yesterday we were going through some old baby pictures of Aanish and Ayaana and now he is off to university. Don't know where the years flew by! But he is clearly ready for the big league.

We wish him the very best and hope that he will fulfill all his dreams!

Off with the training wheels ....

You feel that you are moving one step closer to sending your child out into the world when he/she starts learning how to drive. The symbolism about preparing your offspring for life in the big world out there is unmistakable as you watch him/her get behind the wheel.

Our moment has come! For a couple of weeks now, Mona and I have been giving Aanish driving lessons on the weekend. Today, he managed to get most of the complicated steps right and was able to nail the basics down - starting, moving and stopping! It is like watching your infant take his or her first steps (except this one involves a big machine and a misstep could land you in a hospital). But we were lucky. No major mishaps.

The lessons are on the service road in front of our building. We try to do them early in the morning when the traffic is light. We were pleasantly surprised to see a couple of other beginners learning to drive a car and felt the unspoken bond among us.

This is probably going to last several weeks and the experience is one of mixed emotions - pride and sadness!

The Big Fat Indian Wedding!

Over 6000 (yes, I meant six thousand) guests, a dozen different rituals spread over a week, hundreds of out of town guests, choreographed dance performances and more! Move aside, Toula Portokalos. This is the real big, fat wedding.

We just returned from the wedding of Mona's niece, Shivangi, in Anand (Gujarat) and what a wedding it was. I had been wanting to attend a family wedding since we arrived in India over four years ago and we got an opportunity to do so last week. It was a unique and memorable experience for all of us.

Weddings are huge family affairs in Gujarat and this one was no exception. I met several of Mona's cousins and their families for the first time ever. But it seemed like we have all known each other for decades. The incredible warmth and the hospitality by all was overwhelming. We had a really good time getting to know each other and became really close during the days we spent together. This is a real boisterous and fun-loving family. The very first evening, we got together for what turned out to be a talent show. Everybody's (including mine) hidden singing talents were discovered that night.

The other fascinating aspect of the wedding were the number of interesting rituals that took place. These rituals are full of detailed tasks assigned to people with specific relationships to the bride and the groom. I couldn't imagine how somebody could remember all the details. But strange as some of the rituals seemed, all of them had a meaning and purpose.

There is lot of singing and dancing at a Gujarati wedding. These range from traditional Gujarati folk music and tribal dances to modern bollywood music and Bhangra! The bride and the groom along with a few dozen of their close family members also performed choreographed dance numbers during one of the events.

The other striking thing about this wedding was the medley of colorful outfits that everyone was wearing. The women looked stunning in their bright and colorful dresses while the men sported a combination of traditional suits to ethnic men's wear. All of us got into the spirit and were well equipped with special outfits that we had bought for the event. Ayaana probably had the best time of all as she really got into it and went all out to get dressed up and made up - all of 14 going on 18!

It was four days of unbridled fun and excitement. I can't wait for the next one!

The day the sky bursts into colors!

If you have not celebrated Sankranti in Gujarat, put it on your "100 things to do before I die" list! This is a must-have experience. For the uninitiated, Sankranti or Uttarayan, is a festival to celebrate the harvest season. The highlight of the festival is the flying of kites by thousands of young and old, women, men and children all over the city. Residents of the state of Gujarat are serious about this festival and we were fortunate to spend it this year in the cities of Anand and Baroda.

We spent the day of the festival (January 14th) in Anand with a number of Mona's cousins, nephews and nieces. The day was mostly spent on the terrace of an old house in Mona's ancestral neighborhood. The sky was dotted by thousands of kites of different colors. It looked like the entire population of the city had found it's way to every inch of a terrace of every building. Many of them had even setup their music system and were providing free entertainment for everyone. Of course, food, snacks and drinks were in endless supply.

None of us had much experience with flying kites but Ayaana seemed to have a natural talent for it. But all of us tried our hand at it and had a blast doing it. As the sun started to set and it began to get dark, paper lanterns with a small flame started to float in the air. We set out a couple from our terrace as well. As night time rolled in, the sky started to come alive with spectacular fireworks. It was an awesome sight and a fitting end to a memorable day.

We were fortunate to replicate this experience in Baroda on the next day. This time we were on the terrace of Ami (Mona's cousin) and Mayur's (Ami's husband) house. This time we had lots of their friends and neighbors for company. We spent a few hours flying kites and releasing paper lanterns in the sky.

Some Khaana and lots of Gaana

A group from Mumbai puts up a musical show each year in Bangalore called Khaana (food) and Gaana (songs). The show features live performers singing songs from the Golden Era of bollywood music (40s, 50s, 60s - hey, I was born in the 60s and 70s!). Mona and I attended the show last night and it was a blast!

First - the food! The food was organized by type (chaat, snacks, south indian, chinese etc.) and was being prepared and served at different stations. You could sample anything that was being served out there and almost everything was delicious. Snacks ranged from Mumbai's famous vada pav to Gujarat's fafda with green chillies. Since this was in Bangalore, there was an extensive selection of south indian offerings. Several options were available in the buffet for a full dinner. The dessert selection was extensive ranging from hot jalebis and kulfi on a wheel (!) to interesting selections like tawa mithai etc. You could top the dinner off with hot badam milk (served with style and flourish) and a paan (served straight into your mouth by a live paan-wala!).

The show itself was awesome! It started a bit slow with songs that were unfamiliar to us but soon picked up as the artists started to sing popular numbers. The singers were all amazing and their rendition of songs by the yester-year greats like Mukesh, Rafi, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt, Lata Mangeshkar and Aasha Bhonsle were on the mark. The 30+ member orchestra was a masterpiece. The show was supposed to conclude by 11pm but it was still going past midnight when we left.

Quite an evening to remember!

Pay per use toilets next?

The airline industry in the US earned over $4B in fees from "extras" last year. I realized where this was coming from when I was traveling with the country a couple of weeks ago. The industry claims that it is simplifying the fare structure by unbundling various amenities that were included in the fares. This gives greater flexibility to customers who can pick and choose the services they want in proportion to the fare they want to pay.

We all know that we had to pay for peanuts and soft drinks. But now, there are fees for check-in baggage, pre-boarding (yes, for an extra $10, you can board early), headsets and premium seats (nope - these are not bigger seats with more space. Some of the regular seats are now designated as premium seats, such as ALL window and aisle seats!). It's a pretty creative pricing structure and the possibilities are endless. Consider the following possibilities:

1. Choice of passenger sitting next to you: $20
2. Experience level of pilot: $75
3. Watch the in-flight movie: $5
4. Watch the final 10 minutes of the in-flight movie: $25
5. Newspaper: $5
6. Water: $5
7. Cold Water: $10
8. Pillow: $5
9. Reading light: $5
10. Usage of toilet: $10

In the winter wonderland

"From the frying pan into the fire" is the thought that went through my head as I walked out of the Dulles international airport in Washington DC. Weather seemed to be as cold or colder than London. Thank god for the pair of gloves that I picked up in London and my ski cap! But I have to admin, it felt great to be back in the US. There is something about the familiarity of a place built over two decades. Plus Washington DC - the seat of power! As Todd and I were driving to the city for a breakfast meeting, we passed by the Pentagon. I have been to DC before but have never seen this legendary building (is it the largest office building in the world?). Quite a kick!

I am in Rochester, New York now, where the temperature is several degrees colder and there is white cold stuff all around us. Can't wait to get to Los Angeles (78 degrees on the weekend).

Feeling exhausted and still struggling a bit with jet lag. But having a blast eating my favorite food. We stopped in at the Five Guys in Washington DC. This is the burger joint that hit the headlines when Obama stopped in to pick up a Cheeseburger (video). I tried one here and I can see why the Prez favors this place. Had great ribs last night in a barbecue joint in Rochester. My favorite Cheese Cake in London and Mexican at a new hot chain - Chipotle! Boy, packed quite a bit (literally!) in a couple of days that I have been here.

What is COLD? London in December.

You have not experienced cold until you have spent time in London in the month of December. I am in London at the moment and am experiencing the coldest weather that I probably have experienced in my entire life. We are talking about bone-numbing cold, you-can't-feel-your-fingers-within-minutes-of-being-outside cold! It is so cold out here at the moment that the code to access wi-fi at the hotel is ... you guessed it right ... COLD!

I can't write anything more on this as my fingers are frozen.

Bangalore - I miss you!