A day in Chandigarh!!

Recently went on an overnight office trip to Chandigarh on February 26, 2010. The purpose of the trip was to conduct interviews at the Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh and recruit fresh graduate students for our company.

I take an early morning flight from Mumbai and land at the Chandigarh airport at about 12:20 pm on that Friday afternoon and as I step out of the plane, down the steps and on to the tarmac (Chandigarh has a small airport and they don't have airport gates) - was the weather something?!! It was crisp, sunny 22 degrees and it felt just so very wonderful!!

We get into an Innova and head out to The Taj, Chandigarh. As we are driving to the hotel, I notice the beautiful city - the wide roads, the trees lining and arching the roads, the lean traffic. Yogesh from my team who is a native of Chandigarh, is explaining about the sectors and the general layout of the city. We were passing through one of the sectors and I notice some of the most beautiful, sprawling bungalows I have ever seen.

We reach The Taj, dump the luggage in the room and head down to the restaurant for the lunch buffet. Hmm... indulge in some delicious, sinful pastries ("What the heck", I somehow convince myself , "I am not going to be eating at Taj everyday"). Done with the lunch, hop into an Innova and head to the Punjab Engineering College (PEC).

We reach the college around 2:30 PM. We are greeted by the student representatives and settle in a cosy air-conditioned room with sofas and wide arm-chairs, that is allocated to us. From there, it's a short company presentation and then the interviews begin.

It felt good to be meeting students who are on the verge of finishing their college life and are on the brink of starting their professional life - the work jungle. One could sense in them that respite of having finished the four gruelling years, and at the same time, the excitement of getting into the "real world".

The students we met were understandably nervous, but still handled the interview with a dose of confidence and composure. Students were given analytical problems and it was interesting to see how differently students handled these questions -- some would take a pen and a paper and go through a maze of calculations, some would do it in a flash (like they have answered these questions many times over).

While most students knew the subject material well, they fumbled when it came to general knowledge. Having said that, most students had participated in some kind of extra-curricular activities in the college, things like dramatics, sports, editorial board of college magazines and newspaper etc. One student had done multiple motor-cycle rides to Manali.

Students liked discussing movies (3 Idiots was a rage at that time and did come up in few interviews -- like "which character did you like?", "Rancho", "why Rancho?")

So all in all, I was happy to see the youth of India ready to take on the challenges of the new world. They are doing the best they can with the facilities that are provided by our educational system. Indian education today as before is still very heavy on theory (even in a discipline like engineering). I have seen the US educational system - the labs, the workshops, the practical experience that students get over there during their college days is phenomenal. We have a lot to catch up in that aspect. Part of the story is that US Colleges are well funded by private companies as well as government (Internet came out of DARPA Department of Defence funding) and that makes a lot of difference in the quality of education that they provide.

Coming back to Chandigarh, we finished with the interviewing by around 8:00 PM. Seemed like a long day, with the early morning flight from Mumbai and all. So on return to the hotel, when someone in the group suggested we head out to the Taj bar, boy were we excited?!! I went up to the room, dumped my suit, got into casuals and before I knew I was at the bar along with Karthik and Gaurav and some live music playing in the background. Later the rest of the group join in and we all settle into cosy sofas in the bar and indulge in some gupshup (that's casual chat in Hindi).

But hold on!! If you think that's the end of the story, it isn't -- the best was yet to come. By the time we were done with the drinks, the Taj restaurant had closed for the day.  Karthik suggested that we head out to a Dhaba (a roadside eatery) for dinner. So at 11:30 PM in the night, we (Gaurav, Ganesh, Vinod, Vishal and myself) get into an Innova. Gosh, I can't even describe how good it felt to have the car windows rolled down and the cool breeze of the February Chandigarh night grazing my face!! (graciously the guys let me take the front seat...)

We reach a very "busy dhaba" about 20 minutes away. At 12:00 in the night, the dhaba was filled with Punjabis, Sardarjis and us Mumbaikars. The food we had was unbelievable!!! We had Amritsari Kulcha and Dal Makhani, some Paneer dish and a few other things and Goodness Gracious!! it was an incredible experience - to have such fabulous food, in an open atmosphere, the aromas, on that cool night -- all I can say is you have to experience it to believe it!!

All in all, it was a day to remember.

Thank You, Karthik. Thank You, Gaurav and all the rest for making this such a wonderful lifetime experience.

Three Cheers for Rujuta Diwekar

Just finished reading "Don't lose your mind, Lose your weight" by Rujuta Diwekar. WOW!! what a book!! This is a must read book for all - not only for people with weight issues. It's a book for anyone who wants to eat right and stay healthy. It's a book that teaches you how to eat smart - that is, eating right and eating at regular intervals. And the beauty is she keeps it very Indian-centric. Rujuta goes on to say - eat all your favorite foods, but eat them in the right quantity and at the right time. So your favorite 'gulab jamun' has it's place too in her plan (but not more than one - once a month).

The simplicity of the book is just amazing. In clear language Rujuta explains the concepts of calories to nutrient ratio - don't just think of reducing calories, you can eat calorie rich food as long as the calorie-to-nutrient ratio is high. So your favorite 'panner paratha' which is high in calories, but rich in nutrients as well, has a place in her diet plan.

Rujuta then goes on to talk about the macro-nutrients (carbs, fats and proteins) and the micro-nutrients (vitamins and minerals) and of course water. She explains the concept of high GI carbs and low GI carbs and which carbs to eat when. The accompanying concept of glycemic load is also well explained. She talks about fats and clears a lot of misconceptions about fats. She also talks about having healthy fats (nuts and of course 'home made ghee'). She talks about proteins and the sources of good proteins. She then talks briefly about the need for supplements and which vitamin/mineral is needed in what situation.

The heart of the book is about a four step dietary plan that everyone should follow. In brief these are - (1) Eat immediately upon rising/waking up in the morning. (2) Eat every two hours - so in essence you would be having about 8 to 9 meals a day (I easily have 9 meals on a good day) (3) Eat according to your activity levels - eat more when more active and less when less active (4) Eat two hours before going to bed.

One of the most important things I found in the book is about one's state of mind. A calm state of mind while eating, and a meditative calm state of mind all throughout the day, to help one in creating 'awareness'. "You can create awareness only when you are in a meditative state of mind" - says Rujuta. When you are aware you observe everything including what you are eating. She talks about how food can nourish oneself, when one's state of mind is calm (that means not viewing all the violent and dramatic TV watching while eating).

She also talks about the need for exercise and for drinking water all throughout the day.

Frankly, when I read the book, page after page, I got a feeling of pride that an Indian had written such fantastic well researched, well explained book on food. I had always depended on foreign literature to find so many of the facts that Rujuta explains so well in her book.

Kudos to her!!! I hope Rujuta continues to enlighten us with many more wonderful works like this in the future.

Here's to - "eat healthy, stay healthy".

Lip Smacking 'Iyengar Cuisine'

On my last day in Bangalore, my good friend Naveen called me over for his daughter Siri's first birthday celebration. Naveen is a Tamilian and the function was in a typical Tamilian fashion - with Karnatic music and then vegetarian Tamilian lunch.

I want to describe the 'Tamilian Thali' - since it was hands down the best food I ate in my entire stay at Bangalore. Later I learnt from Naveen, that it's called 'Iyengar Cuisine'.

We were served a Banana Leaf - which is our "thali", we wipe it clean with water. Then the servings started - first the salads and these were healthy, delicious salads, some raw with some spices added and some lightly cooked. Then, we had a series of rice servings. Unlike in a North Indian or West Indian cuisine, there is no roti/chapati servings. Each rice serving came with a different curry which has a typical Tamilian name (which I am not be able to recall right now) - and each one of those curries were very delicious. The final rice servings came with sambhar and then with rasam. And then three different kinds of desserts - all scrumptious.

Thanks, Naveen. I would have given an arm and a leg for food like this!!!

My Impressions of Bangalore

So am finally back from Bangalore after a month's stay there. Here are my thoughts on "Bengaluru" -


Climate
Relative to Mumbai, the climate is much better. There are many factors that contribute to the good climate there -

• Being over 900 meters above sea-level, there is no humidity - this means you don't sweat and you don't feel the heat much. I have walked around at 2 and 3 in the afternoon without breaking a sweat
• There is less pollution than Mumbai (less number of vehicles, less people, less factories) everything which contributes to lower pollution and less heat
• There is much more greenery there than Mumbai - more trees, more parks which also contribute to lower pollution and a cooler climate
• Here's the "kicker" - every time the temperature rises over 37 degrees, there is a downpour, often heavy downpours, that "cooools" the climate - this was unbelievable till I saw it with my own eyes. During my last two weeks out there (which were the middle of April), I saw six downpours

City Layout
Relative to Mumbai, it's much less of a concrete jungle. In Mumbai, it's common to find high-rise buildings that are over 7 storeys, some of them going up to 20 storeys. In Bangalore. the area where I stayed (Indira Nagar) and others like Ulsoor and Koramangala, most of the buildings are small bungalows (ground + 1) and the higher ones go max to 4 storeys. This gives an openness to the city - where the sky is much more visible and there is more brightness all around.
Bangalore is a much better planned city than Mumbai. It's easy to locate things. You have "Cambridge Layout", you have "HAL 1st stage", "HAL 2nd stage" and so on. It's so much easy to map it out and to get directions etc. One of the reasons could be that Bangalore grew much in the last couple of decades and so it was much easy to plan the city. Whatever be the case, the credit goes to them.

Getting Around
Bangalore is spread over a 10 km radius from the center, so it's so much faster and easier to get around within the city (provided you have your own vehicle or use the ubiquitous auto rickshaw). I could manage to go to most parts of the city within 30 minutes by auto (on a weekend, of course).
Commuting to office - My commute daily was about 9 kms (from Indira Nagar to Koramangala) and before 9 am, I could make it in less than 20 minutes. After 9 am, it would take a little longer.

Things to do
The usual here - malls, multiplexes and some very fine restaurants. Some of the restaurants that I have been to and can recommend are "South Indies (superb south Indian food)", "World Food Network (good Lebanese food)", "Mast Kalandar (superb vegetarian parathas)" and then the usual Papa John, Pizza Hut etc. "Claytopia Bistro" on 6th Main in Indira Nagar serves good fresh sandwiches and burgers.
I visited the ISKCONN temple in Rajaji Nagar which is highly recommended. It's a beautiful temple and has a nice architecture. On the way out after the darshan, be prepared for a lot of temple shops selling ISKCONN memorabilia.

Cleanliness
During my stay there and my various city escapades, I hardly saw slums in the city, hardly. This was a very surprising fact. Maybe a few hutments here and there, but no major slums in the city. I did not see any open garbages either.

On the Flip Side
There are many power outages in the city. The metro work going on in many parts of the city has not taken into consideration the bypassing traffic and it's very difficult to even walk on some of those roads (CMH road metro work, for example), let alone vehicles to pass by.
The trees that are being chopped down for city expansion and metro work etc. needs to be replaced very soon.

Final Thoughts
Overall, I loved Bangalore. I didn't have to think twice stepping out of the house at 2 in the afternoon. Language was never a problem - Hindi and English work fine (though I did find one cranky rickshawwalla who refused to speak in anything but Kannada - luckily the meter displayed English :)). Food was never an issue. My apartment superintendent, John is a gentleman of the 1st order. He made my stay pleasant and made sure everything was in working condition.
So until next time, Adieu Bengaluru!!

In Bangalore

Am in Bangalore for about 3 to 4 weeks on company work... This is my first visit to Bangalore. Came here on the 25th March.

Landed at the Bangalore airport at around 10:30 pm. Wow!! What an airport (and by that I mean an airport in India). Simply World Class!! The Air India bus that took us from the tarmac to the airport building was brand new with great seats and was air-conditioned. The cleanliness, the design of the airport is fabulous. The signs are all well placed. My baggage arrived in less than 5 minutes. The main lobby at the entrance is huge befitting an international airport.

As I step out, the weather is cool and calm, there is no honking anywhere. I wait in line at the taxi stand and hop into a cool Meru cab. The cabbie is a a friendly guy who chats with me about Bangalore city. Arrive at my apartment and it's so damn late and I have to to be at the IBM training center tomorrow at 8:30 am... so off I go to sleep..my first night in the cool Bangalore city.

Kenneth Mugara - make way...

Oops!! Almost forgot - I guess I have earned the "bragging rights" for this though - took part in my first of the many Mumbai Marathons. Will certainly participate in all future MM as long as I am here at that time.

Almost missed this one though. Didn't know that the registration for the Marathon closes in the August of the previous year. Thanks to my friend Vidya at Mphasis who "squeezed me in" (to borrow an American phrase) at the last moment!!

Awesome! the energy, the excitement, the exuberance of the participants, the colors, the banners, the nice cool weather of the early January morning, the run past Marine Drive, the cheering of the onlookers, the photo sessions, the music - everything made it an absolutely fantastic and memorable event.

"I'm pretty tired... I think I'll go home now" - Forrest Gump

Oscars 2009

It's a sad year for the movie industry when "Slumdog Millionaire" wins the best picture and the best director awards...

I have nothing against the movie or the direction except that it shows India in a bad light.