The path not taken

After many long days, I got up early in the morning at 8 am. I tried to wake up my friends. They said, "No I am not coming". Looked like I had to go all alone. A workshop was conducted at my university.

I got ready, had quick breakfast, saw the next available bus. It was due in 10 minutes from then. I said bye to everyone, took my coat and walked out of the door. One of my roommates was standing near the door. I walked past him. 10 minutes remaining! I opened the door and...

"HEY!", a loud voice came, almost a shout.
Confused, I turned around and looked at my roommate to confirm whether he called me.
"I just sneezed nah. You shouldn't go out immediately. Wait for sometime"
For the next one second, my thoughts were like, "What? Did you sneeze?" but ended up saying "Oh!"

I respected his words and reentered. I waited for sometime. Then, taking my coat again, I walked out of the apartment and then out of the building. Sprinkles of rain welcomed me. As I was having a thought whether to go back and take my raincoat, I saw the bus status in my mobile and it said "7 minutes"

Thinking it more likely to miss the bus if I get my raincoat, I started further towards the stop. The workshop and the day did go well except for a very near miss of catching up with an office person later that day.

The question is, "Does sneezing, cat walking across and other such things reflect the things that are about to happen? What power does a cat have in changing the destiny of mankind?" Do you follow or do you not?

Nostalgic!

It has been two months since I came to US. With the high speed internet of upto 15 Mbps available at home, I thought I could blog much more than I normally do but it has been never evident in my blog statistics so far. Unlike the coursework back in India, assignments, here in US, really add to the grades and you have to face a situation that you must do it. With the mid-terms almost over already, I can see that my first semester has already started moving towards the end.

The leaves have started turning yellow and red and the mellowness and the beauty of the fall is visible clearly. The lawns and the pathways remind me much about my undergraduate college SSN College of Engineering. It is only a matter of the days when the greens become whites.

The probability of me being idle is being more than me being involved in coursework and assignments. The remaining time is being spent on net and watching videos and listening to music that I heard in the past like 10 years ago. I even chose to listen to music which I used to listen when I was like 6 or 7 years old.

I have improved with cooking the traditional South Indian recipes like Sambhar and vegetables curry although I don’t get much chances during a week. One of the instant coffee roasted beans sold here smelt so good that it didn’t taste as good as it smelt but you would love it for the smell and the taste is also good. ;)

The climate is getting colder and the lowest it has reached when I was awake is 5 degrees Celsius so far. The chillness wouldn’t have been an issue if you hadn’t been whipped with a chilled wind topped up with rains. Two days of 5 to 10 degrees in the Celsius scale and 18 degrees felt so hot. I believe that I am getting adapted to the climate.

When the monsoons become torrential, when the coolness becomes so hot, when the greens change colors, when the neglected becomes a duty, you would know that you are not here. The essence, the flavor, the aroma, the colors that makes you travel farther than light are the gates to your cognitive real world and you would then know that you are still here.

The Longest Day of my Life – Part II

1:30 pm

I walked along the very long terminal to enter the emigration check. A young lady greeted me at the counter. After checking my passport and my ticket, she gave me back the passport and before I bid goodbye, I asked her where I could make an international phone call. “You can find a booth in the terminal upstairs” I thanked her and headed for the escalator.

Once I reached above, I was asked to go for the security check in any of the counters. I had to stand in any of the queue that all does the same job – security check. As I was standing in the queue, a young girl from behind asked me if I am going to Fairfax. Astounded at her guess, I replied yes. She added that she is heading to Hyderabad. I was still confused at her guess (only later I realized that the destination address was shown flashing in my luggage).

After the security check was done, I looked at the terminal which didn’t look like one. It was a busy pathway. A car was on display. A video game console was on display and was being tested by young people. I took out my phone to check if there is any chance of catching a network. I switched it on and to my surprise, a network showed in the display. I dialed to my parents line. It didn’t work. So I thought I could send a message but for testing, I sent it to myself. Rs.25 gone!

I went to a money exchange counter and asked a young British lady at the counter about where I could make an international phone call. She pointed to a phone beside the escalator to the gates.

” Do I need England currency for that?”, I asked

” Yeah”

” How much would I need if I need to make a phone call to India for… a minute or two?”

”Probably a pound”, she said with an uncertainty.

" Alright. I will have the same”. I took out a ten dollar bill and gave her. She gave back the appropriate dollar change and also the pounds in coins.

I went to the phone booth and tried making a phone call. It didn’t work. I was trying different combinations of ISD code and phone number but it wouldn’t work. An Indian girl just left the adjacent phone booth.

”Hi, how do I make a phone call to India?”

” It is not working for me”

" Me too!”

We both tried again, then asked a shop for the help desk which happened to be one floor below. We both headed down. This girl, from Andhra, had already completed her Masters and has come for Ph.D in the University of Massachusetts. As we reached the lower level, to the left was the glass wall showing a full view of the runway and the planes. To the right was what looked like spencer plaza. The helpdesk wasn’t much helpful and I went to trying out different combinations of phone numbers in a similar telephone again. I put an extra zero to the front of the number and I got connected. I informed that I reached London and the pound didn’t let me speak for more than a minute. I said the same procedure to the girl, bid bye to her and went to the lounge and sat there for the gate to be announced.

I met a tamil guy there who was going to SUNY. We went around the airport for two minutes when I noted that the gate for my flight has been announced. I left to the terminal gate and waited for the omni bus. We were taken to the flight and I took my window seat. A young American guy sat beside me. He helped me find the entertainment screen which was below the seat. I opened the movie guide and I was glad that this flight entertainment is going to be superb, It contained the list of my favorite movies and series. I was waiting for the party.

3:30 pm (British Time)

The flight started and very sooner, the food was brought. “Lunch again?”, I thought. This is probably the first flight for many passengers so the lunch was provided. I just accepted it. I opened the first box, found it to be a pasta based with TOMATO. I opened another box which had chocolate mousse cake. It was based on mandarin sauce, which I have only heard of. But certainly, my instincts said that the combo would not be good. Moreover, the travel was not getting into me and I was getting sick. So I just stirred the pasta eating a piece every two minutes. The guy sitting next to me would have probably thought that I didn’t like the food. But there were several more reasons to it.

I had only coffee and slept for most of the flight journey. I saw one Friends series and little of hindi Ghajini when the flight landed in Washington airport.

7:20 pm (EST)

We exited the flight into the terminal into a room which had two exit doors. Some people got into the exit and closed the door. I wondered what was really happening behind the door when the opposite room started moving. Only then I realized that the exit door was connected to a bus which had extendable doors. One more bus came after ten minutes and we all boarded the bus. The bus had two paths that had seats on either sides to accommodate many people. The bus moved along a big ground to reach the other side of the ground which was the other side of the terminal.

I finished the formalities, took my luggage which had already been sorted and put in one place and placed them in my trolley. I took them out and came to the arrivals gate. The place was crowded with people waiting for the arrivals or eating in the restaurants there.

8:10 pm (EST)

I tried to make a call to the Indian student association as I was asked to do so. Now I didn’t have any coins. I missed a money exchange counter on the way and I can’t go back. There was a vending machine through which I could get a calling card. I could use $10, $20 and $50 bills. I tried $10 and $20 bill but it didn’t work. Another Indian guy came and tried his $10 bill and it worked. After sometime, I lost hope in trying and asked the guy for exchanging $10 but he didn’t have $10 but only $20. I finally got my calling card and I made the first phone call using that to my parents and then to the association.

”Hi. This is Kavin. I have arrived in US. Where can I find you?”

”Hi. Sorry, we were unable to come today because of the rain and I didn’t get any car. You can catch any shuttle directly to this place”

”Ok. That is no problem”

”Or you can wait for a guy named Jagadeesh. He is also coming tonight. You can probably wait for him and come along with him in the shuttle”

”Jagadeesh!” (I couldn’t help but thinking about ‘Billa’ Jagadeesh. lolz)

”He will probably be there in sometime. Must be blue shirt. Just look out for him. Don’t panic. Am sorry again”

”Ya. I am ok. Nothing to panic. No problem”

I hung up the call and saw the time. Still more than 20 minutes to wait and I waited for any sign of Jagadeesh. I thought the guy who exchanged the money would be that guy but he was not when I confirmed with him. At 8:55, another guy was enquiring the ‘money’ guy about something and I didn’t bother to ask. I had a doubt that he would be Jagadeesh. The ‘money’ guy’s relative came and picked him up. Then the other guy came to me and introduced himself as Satish and that he is looking for a guy named Jagadeesh.

”Hi. Even I am waiting for Jagadeesh. Waiting for him to go together to the place”

”I actually came to pick him up”

In not more than two minutes, he said “There he is!” and ran away. Before I could catch hold of him, I missed him. I had to go for the last resort but this guy came back again.

"That is not him. I can wait for him for 5 minutes. Else I can pick you up if you don’t mind”

”No problem. We can wait”

We waited for five minutes. There was no sign of Jagadeesh and so we left to the gate. Satish called someone and sooner, a car came. We kept the luggage in the car and Satish said that he would like to look for Jagadeesh again. We parked the car in one corner and the guy who was driving the car introduced himself as Augustine. He was working there after studying in IIT Madras and we spoke a lot.

After sometime, Satish joined back and we both travelled the path to my place. They were talking something and meanwhile talking about the awful climate and journey and also told me that it would take time to settle in. The highway in which we were travelling was superb and it was dark except for the street lights.

We reached the apartment in 30 minutes where I bid goodbye to the two and bid hello to four Student Association mates who helped me in carrying the luggage along the garage to an inner door. Before we opened the door, someone opened the door and out came Karthick.

We both took the elevator to the 12th floor and reached the apartment. I placed the luggages, introduced myself to my roommates, logged online, updated my status. It was 11:30 pm. I still had half an hour for my longest day so far to end.

The Longest Day of my Life - Part I

August 22, 2009
12:00 am
I was doing random things at home. Going online, filling a slam book, checking the baggage, updating my status in online communities, speaking over phone. I was about to travel to US to pursue my higher studies in George Mason University. Relatives had come to my house to send me off in airport. Some relatives were taking a nap while some were busy chatting. Mom and dad were busy with the preparation. My sister and my cousins had prepared a precious farewell gift for me, a gift of memories put together and specially signed.

My friends Inchara, Nithya and Hari had already left for the airport to send me off. It was kind of them to come as I had told that it is unsafe to do that even if you are sending off your best friend. I was receiving constant messages from them about when I would start. I replied to those messages constantly about the time I would be coming.

3:00 am

We started from house. The flight was supposed to start at 5:25 am. We reached the airport at 3:15, met all my friends there and to my pleasant surprise, Arun had also come to send me off. He told that he would not make it. I read that mail just before I started. They presented me with wonderful gifts.

We entered the airport and I was taken to the luggage check-in. I was told that there is delay in the flight. After the check-in was done, I decided to spend my time with family and friends. Dad had got a box of sweets to distribute to everyone and I took some precious photos with them.

I tried my best to speak with everyone in the family and circle. I knew that I wouldn’t be meeting them for a very long time. I would badly miss them.

4:45 am

It was time for me to leave to flight. I bid goodbye to almost all my family members and friends. My dad, my mom and my sister were allowed to accompany me till the security check-in. I stayed with them till 5:30, bid goodbye to them and left for the security check-in. It was time for me to enter the flight.

I entered the flight and was asked by the air hostess to go to my right. I spotted my seat and sat there. I scanned my place. I was seated in a well cushioned semi-sleeper chair with plenty of legspace, a remote, a pillow, a blanket and a screen in front for entertainment. I received calls and messages from my friends and parents that they are still at the place where they can watch my flight take off. It was 6:30 when my flight took off and as it happened, I looked at the building where they might be standing. I could not see where they were, but I assumed it to be the place where I bid farewell to my cousin when he left. Bye bye Chennai!

6:45 am

A lady who was probably in her 50s was sitting beside me. She introduced herself by asking me where I am going to. I was going to Washington and she was going to Seattle. Her son is working in US for 15 years and she lives her split life in both Chennai and Seattle. She explained about how the changeover is done in London and how it is confusing.

They gave the morning breakfast even before I could decide on the entertainment channel that I wanted to see. All the movies were in halfway and I decided to skip them all after watching few scenes. I had requested for a lacto-vegetarian diet which means it should be full of milk products. I got a cream roll, bun with butter, chappathi with panneer, two cutlets and orange juice. The food tasted pretty good and orange juice was awesome.

I slept as soon as they switched off the lights in the plane to get the passengers to sleep. I woke up again at 11:30 am in my watch. I didn’t know in which country the flight was flying over. I had the box of biscuits they had given me and I took every chance to ask for orange juice when the air hostess came. I couldn’t sleep anymore. I decided to open the gift that my friends gave me. It was a book filled with memories and it is the most precious gift given by TAGS gang. I read it for almost one and half hour and time fled by. Then I decided to scan the channels and saw a scene from the X-men: Wolverine which happened to be the climax. I decided to skip to the other channel where my favorite series “Friends” was running.

After watching the episode, the lunch came at 1 pm. It was too early to eat lunch for me. I gently refused the lacto-vegetarian diet that was offered to me by the air-hostess. Then the air steward came carrying the dishes for the people who had not requested for a special diet. As he saw that my table was empty, he asked me, “Vegetarian or Non-vegetarian sir?”

“I am not hungry at the moment”

He mentioned something which I could not make out what he said.

I said, “I don’t get you” and the lady came to my aid.

He had asked me when I wish to have it.

I replied “May I have it sometime later?”

Now it was his turn, “I don’t get you”

The lady came to the aid again and after I repeated the question, he said, “Sorry sir. Now or never!”

“Ok Vegetarian please”

He repeated the word “Vegetarian” with a smile and I think I missed out when he had mentioned “Non”.

I opened a cover and I found rice with dal and CHICKEN! As I was not hungry, I didn’t bother to change it. I just had part of the rice and the dessert which they gave and again orange juice. I checked the map in the screen and we were nearing London

12:15 pm (British Time)
The flight landed in London Heathrow airport. The airport was really big. The first thing that welcomed me when I came out of the plane was a really cool and gentle breeze. I joined the other passengers into the bus which took me to the terminal. The ride was like as if I was riding in an empty road which consisted of lanes and subways.

There was a halt in the middle of the travel due to a parked towing vehicle and some of the Indian co-passengers were like, “Oh my God! I got to catch a flight to Houston in an hour. Why is this halt?” After five minutes, we started moving again and we reached the terminal.

There was a lady in the terminal waiting with the board “Houston” probably to pick up the passengers as it was getting too late. At 1 pm (British Time), I joined the other passengers up the escalator to the Flight Changeover.

Change

"Be the change you want to see in the world"

- Mahatma Gandhi

Change comes in everyone’s life. You wouldn’t know when it comes. Some people feel the change. Some people don’t. Some expect. Some do not. Some predict. Some do not.

There are certain things in the world that will change. Sometimes you may want the change and sometimes you may not want the change. Change is neither good nor bad. When you got to gain something, you got to lose something.

There are certain things in life which can never be understood; something that you would have never known, something you may not know forever.

There are certain things in life that you can never get them back. They can be relished only through memories. Keep your memories safe.

I expected it, I predicted it, now I see it.

Btw this is my first blog post in US. Welcome!!!

Boom boom Aadi : Tricksters

The aadi season has almost ended and one could see the massive crowd in T.Nagar. It was really massive that there could be even 5000 people in a textile showroom. I guess people would save up all their cash to buy dresses and jewellery and other goods only during the Aadi season but are they really saving money or is it only their mind that gets tricked in to believing that they are saving money?

I would like to tell an incident which I heard from a relative. There were two dresses, both are exactly alike except for the color. Let us assume the first one is yellow in colour. It was bought for Rs.100 before the aadi season. The other color, which is green, was sold at Rs.225 and reduced to Rs.150 in the name of discount. This was done by the same shop which sold the previous yellow dress. If you think this is a joke, it is not. It is a true incident. This is what they call as aadi season. Shops actually sell their goods at profit and people get fooled into believing that they are actually saving their money during the aadi season.

I have been to shops during the aadi season. One of the famous shops, also famous for giving big discounts, is also one of those shops. The reason that made me believe it was a new prize tag that was attached to every dress. Why should they attach a new prize tag to every dress? Why not use the existing tag and just put a board saying 10% discount or 15% discount? The new prize tag has the 'claimed' original prize of the dress which is striked out and below is the new discount prize. If this is a marketing strategy, they can't stoop more.

I am not blaming all the shops but only a few. I have seen shops where they retain their original prize tag and have a banner or board saying the discount rate. Discount should be made only during the billing and not before it. I hope people do realize it and put an end it to the bogus discount sale.

Paradigm Shift

If you go and ask an automan why he wouldn't reduce the charges even after the petrol prices have gone down much, you shouldn't be surprised if he replies, "Recession". This word has spread around the world much that everyone is claiming to be struck badly by the recession. We cannot blame them. Starting from the prices of petrol cans to the cost of vegetable greens in the market (I wonder why!), the prices have soared up. Thanks to recession!

Everyone knows that IT sector has most deeply been affected by recession. If that could affect the jobs of the IT employees, then it has affected the future IT prospects as well. I am not talking about the recent graduates from colleges but am talking about the future college prospects. It seems that in the present counselling for the engineering seats, students are opting themselves out of the Information Technology field.

Five years back, when I, one amongst fellow batchmates, was sitting in my school auditorium for a workshop on job opportunities, the guy in the dias looked at us and asked us how many of us want to be a doctor. Almost the entire bio group students raised their hands. That would be around 110 students.

Two years back, the demand for medical seats got too less and the demand for IT seats were at the peak. Are students inclined to choose the course that is always at the top or do they choose it with complete interest? Students tend to choose the field that will keep them secure. We cannot blame them. Fruits like mangoes, water melons comes only during summer season and not during any other season. One cannot see them in the roadside vendor stalls. Just because they don't come in the other season, you wouldn't begin to hate them, would you?