Oooo.. Makes me wonder!!

It was another day in Beaumont, TX. Or maybe it wasn't. December 10th was when Beaumont was witness to snowfall, an occurence that happened, last in December '89. I'd two options, like old times - I could rue about global warming and crib that this shouldn't happen in this part of the world, where it is so humid, I mean, it just wasn't supposed to happen, or, I could join my friends and play in the snow. Play prolly sounds too kiddish, but it was fun. Trust me, it was. Throwing snowballs, getting hit, drinking hot coffee standing in the snow outside our house was fun. I was in shorts, braving the cold, which let me running inside the house and out, to keep my feet alive. I could've changed myself into something warmer, I didn't want to.

December 10th, in India, back home, albeit 11 and a half hours ahead of this current season time in US, without daylight saving, was the wedding reception of my elder brother, a family function that involved intense travelling, juggling between two metros, exposure to the temperament of two different cultures amalgamating. It'd have been much fun to attend the wedding that happened 4 days before too, but its not that I didn't wanna go. The chair of my department thought that 'weddings' weren't emergencies or 'special' cases during which an early exam could happen. I had nearly managed to push him further on this regard earlier, till the hurricanes played spoilsport with all my plans. I was DESTINED to listen to the commentary of what was happening around only on the phone, something which I had least expected, much earlier. Close friends made it a point to attend the wedding, though. But who can replace me? ;)

Actually, who can replace anyone?

Rhythmica - IISc's band, the band on which you can expect a blog shortly, has given me a lot. Heck, it even brought the best critic (or should i say worst? :P) to one of the shows, and the critic gave a thumbs up to the quality of music that could be produced on stage. Strictly speaking, I'd only one good solo song throughout my tenure at IISc. The amount the band gave me back, without me giving anything at all is probably what was destined to happen too. I was flabbergasted at the way things could be looked at, and trust me, it was the best band I'd ever been in, till now. I'd be wrong if I'd say it doesn't pinch me when I'm not a part of the shows Rhythmica organises. I'd have to satiate my desire and frustration by telling myself that I've come here for a reason, and I know that I'd roll out something off my stable, pretty soon. Or atleast, I hope so.

The day after it snowed, (it actually snowed through the wee hours of monday morning), the snow settled on the rooftops was melting, which further plummeted the temperature. It was like the sun was just there, without any credibility on its part to make us believe that it can actually cause convection and heat up the cold air. Standing in the sun didn't do anything good. Standing, by itself was not a good option that day. I was walking. I probably had 4 layers of clothing on, gloves, and a beanie, which was barely sufficient to keep me warm. I'd to chew gum willingly or unwillingly that day, to keep my face from getting jammed. Jammed because of the extreme numbness my exposed parts were experiencing. I zoomed out from a camera on top of my head in stages, and saw brilliant white matter strewn in the first, large buildings and an unrecognisable me in the second. The further zooms made me look at stuff from a totally different perspective. I saw myself, 15000 miles, 24000 km from home, walking on a strange land, a land in which I wasn't born, the land away from family and friends, where you'd to fear mugging, live amidst racial discrimination, run away from hurricanes, stay as a loner most of the times. One of my friends once said, "Aye, you like only the place where your friends are." I'd never found it difficult to make friends. My ego, that day didn't accept what she said, but I realised it later, she was right on the dot. I don't know how or why, I know she was.

A recently read write up by one of my friends on a trek they went to, was so breathtakingly pictorial in my imagination that I felt teleported to the places at times. I literally felt myself listening to them talking, reacting, feeling those exhilarating experiences with full vigor. 

It makes me wonder. All this for nothing? Or all this for something? The time I'd to spend with people close to me, replaced with exam tensions, projects, presentations and now, vacation which simply bores me to death. 

It makes me wonder how things shape up in life, without a slightest inkling toward what would happen later.

It makes me wonder, how you need to survive to live, how you need to change yourself to adapt yourself.

It makes me wonder how good all this would do to oneself. How the land of opportunities would bestow its luck or fortune or how soft a stone it'd give me to carve a mesmerising future out of it.

What's life without a dollop of Inspiration in it?

Oh yes!

This is a very connecting phrase in almost all our lives.

Inspiration to do something. Motivation. Wish they sold it somewhere. Alas, the practical scenario seems a little away from that ;).

I'm sure most of you, (like me), would have had someone to talk about how life turns banal over a little period of time, boasting of the same routine day in and day out. We'd need something new to just push us up and leave us in an excited state forever. The solution to that is pretty simple. It lies in the realms of the grey matter! :D

No, seriously!

Be it wanting to learn the guitar (the number of people which I stopped counting, eventually), or heading to the gym, (no references to anyone in particular :P), anything not in particular, but with a sole desire to break the monotony - all would either fetch a 'faithfulness rate' of shameful numbers or wouldn't be started, at all. Both - disgraceful :).

The whole thing being that if you wanna look at the open book as open, it is definitely open. The entire success-motivation thingy lies in the realms of the grey matter indeed. It is totally unfortunate that one doesn't realise that there is something good to learn from every bad thing that happens. Heck, even the bad looks BAD if you look at it 'bad'ly. 

Ask a poet, or a 'self claimed amateur lyricist' like me, and we'll tell you, that there is something in everything. Something about which something can be told. When such is the rule of nature, it is just being lazy on one's part to not realise how much one can get inspired.

We made a song on Inspiration. Better put, we made an instrumental. The only one so far, by the band. The first piece to ever be composed by us. Pumped us with lots of energy and made us conjure up things hitherto unknown. My brother, named it Inspiration. He felt it groovy, unexpected and peppy. We didn't say no :). Come to think of it, listening to that raw version with Vinay playing, totally immersed into the tune, Aravinda's careful notes, Kiran's voice here and there to change 'this' and do 'that' actually pumps us up each time we listen to it. No later jammings produced the same effect.

I take inspiration from the number of CDs we'd release, that feeling of wanting to explode in a studio with what all has been (and still is) building up in my mind, that feeling of satisfaction, that feeling of wanting to know almost everything at work, that intellectual gratification, that innate quality of wanting to be the best in everything I do, (rather than just sayin it :P), that feeling of wanting to drive an Audi, those desires, those dreams.

Dream on! [Aerosmith's my favourite song. I wrote a few lines on similar lines ;)] Dreams should feed your perceptions with inspiration, rather than just remaining dreams.

Success can be the biggest turn on in the world. It is a pity people fall for much different things :P :P

Music!

Yeah. I so wanted to write something on music. It'd have aptly been 'The journey through music' but I somehow (thank the stars for that) realised that the word 'journey' has been so oft used in my blogs to being classified as cliche.

And I feel like praising myself today (its not wrong to praise myself once in a while, is it? ;)), so anyone who cannot stand my self-eulogy, or direct referrals to people, may skip reading this blog. Yeah, I intend to credit all the people (most, if my memory doesn't permit all) till now, and talk about their influence on me too.

So, we have a plan! :P

It is something I'd not have dreamt of, around 19 years back. Something that doesn't seem so old, since it is picture printed in my mind. I can still smell the fresh paint! Titanic was called the ship of dreams! :P :P :P

December 89, by the numerous praises on how good my pronunciation was, when I'd been reciting the numerous shlokas in Sanskrit, taught by my first teacher, I should say, my Grandmother, I was made to join Carnatic Music Classes, under the tutelage of Mrs. Manjula, the lady who stayed across our house. Classes and practice went on, complementing each other, at an age where in I didn't even realise that something was going to happen to me, as an effect of all this. Something, indeed.

Time progressed, my next teacher was Mrs. Lalitha Panthulu, under whom I completed my Junior level music exam. Learnt under Mrs. Uma Shambhoj next, when my mind slowly started opening up to how modulations can be made and with what finesse. Of course, by now, I'd started to earn envious looks and expressions from almost all guys at school for being in large groups performing songs, where in the female population was dominant. I didn't disappoint them. You pervert mind, I meant the audience.

There were considerable number of people now, who knew I'd sing. I don't remember, frankly, if they complimented me on singing good or not, but there were quite a few people who thought I was synonymous with the word music. I saw my slam book of the Tenth standard in school, recently, and I see many of them having written that they wanted to see me as a singer! Maybe I did sing really well then. :)

Tenth exams, I discontinued my classes. After the exams, I didn't go to class regularly. I didn't free myself from music though. Not that I'd some blossoming new found interest, but I just didn't. Don't know why, still. 

A couple of group songs, zonal level competitions happened during my 2 years of college after tenth. The only 'mention-worthy' event during this time was my organising of a group, taking us to the state level competition at Belgaum. (The northest, I'd travelled, till then)

With sheer force from parents, and my grandmother in particular, I was compelled to practise music at home. I make a mistake in any note, my mom could realise something going wrong, though she couldn't tell what it was. I really didn't like being forced into practice. Music should flow shouldn't it? ;) Little did I know that it was majorly because of such rigorous classes at such an early stage in life, were the accolades, the certificates and the prizes for singing.

That break from continuous practice sessions, that break from music classes and that break from Bangalore, when I scooted off to Tumkur, for my Bachelor's started a brand new chapter of my life. Not that I found some teacher there, but I rediscovered something long lasting in myself in that phase. Those 4 years. It was during this time that I got an opportunity to sing with SP Balasubramaniam, on a kannada TV show. It was during this time that I more or less found out that I was indeed blessed with some kind of a boon that safeguarded my voice without considering the fact that I, then and now, don't take 'that special' care for my voice.

Attitude changed. Outlook changed. Started listening to stuff. I started analysing songs. I vividly remember plugging in my earphones and walking around the hostel corridor at 3 in the night, deciphering a song from ParthaaLe Paravasam, wondering how it was made, how it was arranged. I just don't know what made me think so, but I knew something.

Everytime I heard something superlative, I could feel my adrenaline pumping. The same thing that pumps your blood when you drive fast or satiate your sensory activities, which involves being on the same track of a moving train, and scampering away so that you aren't crushed, walking on a railway track some metres above the ground fully knowing that in case you slip, nothing can be found. 

I started changing my style of singing. Started going with the flow. SIT played a major role in changing me overall, giving me the STAGE so many times and making each performance of mine, a memorable one.

Prithwijit Ghoshal, my classmate at SIT thought of making me listen to Heavy Metal, for fun. I was in my phase of confusion and frankly, I don't know of any other classical singer who would have appreciated Heavy Metal at the first hear. I didn't feel it was noise. I felt a connection with it. Not something that made me change my liking toward music or my loyalties. But I just didn't feel noisy!

One of my journeys (there we go, again) from Tumkur to Bangalore, incidentally was with Nani, a person who would later become a co-lyricist, a member of the critic panel of BlendzZ, and a person who would change my outlook to a considerable extent, and one of my best friends. For the entire stretch, I remember singing songs. I'd never sung so much continuously. I was witness to a great sense of enjoyment with all his clapping and dismissal to my anxiety that it would cause disturbance to the rest, in the bus. No one complained. Nani knew no one would. The one song that slapped me right in my cheek during this entire travel time was Nani's singing. I'll be very frank. The way he sung wasn't even close to it being categorised a song. But the whole expression in his eye is what i'll remember till I die. Oh re taal mile, by Mukesh, was Nani's favourite number then. I was awestruck by the glint in his eye while singing. I realised that there is much more to a song than just notes and rhythm. There was a cute mini-concert arranged for me in the first year hostel, at his room, on the eve of my first birthday there. It was close to fifty songs. Nani had written down the entire order, and there were about 40 - 50 people clamoured in his room, and I was given a chair at the center! This was of course, by far the most I'd sung. 

Venkatsubramanian. I've not tortured anyone more than him. Yet, I don't know what made him come home to give me Safriduo's latest album. The guy who re-introduced me to Western music, and introduced me to Scorpions, which later grew on to become my one of the 'all time favourites'. I can never forget those endless loopings of Salaam Bombay. We discussed about those violins for I don't know how long!! Nani and I went by bus, Venkat and I spoke non-stop in train. It was all about Sivamani, AR Rahman, how on earth songs come out, how on earth they are conjured at all. I'm quite sure that my classmate who accompanied us, Sarada went crazy. She never travelled with us again. 

[It is gettin' into a long blog, again. So typically me :P]

If I tell i'm a fan of AR Rahman and quality music today, I've to, unassumingly, credit that to Karthikeyan. This guy made sure that I heard all the music that he's, and we've had endless discussions about how songs are, how songs were, how they could've been and stuff. Karthikeyan. He was generous enough to write a couple of songs for the band.

Shantanu, unfortunately, [don't know for whom, though :P] wasn't in Tumkur with me. He nevertheless, observed change in my singing. He and his mother are the supreme critcs, I'd encountered, till then. I frankly don't know how they manage to do it, everytime. I know him for such a long time now, and he knows how my mind works. This guy can actually categorise the music based upon who would like it, how much they would like it, what would the critics say, and how better it could be. Trust me, there is nothing more than this that a critic can do. I called him the supreme critic for no reason. :P

While I'd been singing at school, competition at that stage is so rampant. Trying to prove better than the other person is a common thing that happens in school. I'm happy that amidst all this brouhaha, I made good friends with Harsha, who also took classical lessons with me and gave me inspiration to an extent, and Sinchan Dixit, with whom I gelled so well on stage. We would start songs at the same time on stage, as if someone gave a cue, without a count. So much was the understanding we shared that, a group of 50 people were split into 2, one under me and the other under her. When the groups combined, there were no musical clashes! Magic! ;)

One person, besides Shantanu whom I know since birth, [well, almost] and still share the same camaraderie is Kiran Lingappa. This was rather strange. We didn't even know when we were friends, we didn't even know when we became close. Of all the above mentioned critics, this active critic counts my mistakes as I sing, and unfortunately, the fingers on his hand won't suffice. When he likes a song, he moves all mountains to make sure that it is put across in the right way, and when he doesn't like a song, he tries to make you realise how bad it sounds. He liberally moves around with chords and notes when we sit down and compose and leaves a lasting impact on what one hears, later. Kiran Lingappa. I'd like to call him one of the co-founder members of BlendzZ. He's been there since she started and has seen it all. THE Perfectionist.

I've made a lot of friends till now. Some of them instigated purely because of music, some of them, starting with music, some of them instigated combining both. Chetan is the classic example for this. This guy surprises me, each time about how diverse and variegated his musical ability and talent is. I'd generally get to know any person's preference over a period of time. But Chetan reminds me everytime, as to how wrong I can be. He's there in the audience at almost all the trials conducted, but misses the real show sometimes. I get down the stage and see him. He'll be all smiles, there'll be some satisfaction, but then he'll start off. That line, this line and stuff. Send him an own composition, which you are sure that he'd like. For all you know, he'll dismiss it off as banal! I remember Chetan complimenting only on 2 of the songs we've composed, ever, almost out of 10 - 15 that i'd have made him listen. Makes life difficult with him around, for people who complain.

I was in 2nd year PUC, and I have had a clear memory about a female flautist. It was so unnatural then. Got in touch with her later and started BlendzZ. A very good friend, weird, just like I'm :P. Critiques almost all the parts of all the songs sent. Its hard to convince her. You'll feel she's convinced, but then, she'll start that 'oh i don't know' tone of hers which makes you feel you've gone nowhere. Aravinda K Srinivasan. Simply wants the best everytime! :D

You need to have driving force to do anything and everything. The main driving force to start off BlendzZ, for me, which I'm sure was reciprocated in the same extent from the opposite direction was the one and only Vinay Shantagiri. By far, the best guitarist, I've ever jammed with till date. By far, the best composer who has worked with me. We compliment each other so well which just surprises us, each time. He puts in a new chord when jammin sometime and I slam down on a corresponding note almost as if by cue. BlendzZ, is incomplete without the co-ordination between Vinay's simplicity, reflected by his tunes, and my wavering, hard to reproduce notes. It is this note that coincided between us and propelled us to start a band.

My next teacher for Carnatic Music, Chintalapalli Srinivas, was a major source of inspiration and encouragement for me to perform. His knowledge database enriched my learning and put in loads of creativity, with spontaneity.

Easwaramurthy, my ex roomie, my tamil teacher, made sure I got the words right, all the time

Sharath, my roommate for 3 years, made me realise that I need to improvise to survive.

Harsha CR, the computer genius, reminded me each time that I need to take a risk, and gave me the 'in your face' opinion about any song.

Naveen Prabhu, the guy responsible for our band having a name, keeps reminding that I'm a rockstar and I'm my own competition. Well, his opinion. I just wrote it. [:D]

Prashanth Shukla, who was kind enough to sing with me at SIT, during a coupla shows, made it really memorable and enjoyable for both of us.

Karthik Rao, the guitarist from Nevermind, who just doesn't give up trying, till you actually sit on his head and tell him not to do so.

Shankar Shastry, the spontaneous guitarist, again from Nevermind, who comes up with improptu leads and fast lyrics.

Mandyam Jairaj, the boisterous Indian percussionist of BlendzZ, without whom things are lifeless and boring. He just starts playing a rhythm when we are lost in space thinking about how we could do something. He is a bundle of energy.

Amith Nadig, the celebrity, the exponent. I don't have much talent, nor the knowledge to talk about this guy's talents. Hear him to believe him. I wouldn't be surprised if you'd have already heard him.

Almost 19 years into music. A part of 4 bands till now. Raaga Incorporated, BlendzZ, Nevermind, Rhythmica. Blending of genre. So much fun till now. Quite a bit of writing songs, stage shows and composing songs. I have tried to think of all I'd to tell in this. Didn't wanna leave anyone go. I know its a big one. 19 years has quite a bit of story to tell. What do you think? ;)

Hurricane IKE

I can be a pragmatist and say that this is just another hurricane, what happens will happen, no matter what. I can be a philosopher and say, the world is giving back to us, whatever nature of treatment it got from us. I just chose to run.

All the hype and hooplah surrounding Gustav came to an end, rather disappointingly, and I happened to see the news one day at the gym. Weird as it looked, IKE, a new hurricane [H for Hanna died in the waters] was on its way to the US mainland. Time progressed, the experienced and the learned didn't really follow the news, for what Gustav played with our minds.

Ike turned out to be slightly major in all aspects. It dangerously went close to Haiti and Dominican Republic being a Category 5 hurricane. It was headed toward the US coast, the questions were only how it would sway and how big it'd be before hitting. The Gulf of Mexico, trust me, is very flummoxing. 

Ike entered the gulf, and blew up like a huge balloon, covering up around 80% of the gulf! It had a diameter of some 850 km. Pretty small huh? ;)

We were told a day in advance to vacate the city. Like we did the previous time, we thought we'd abide by the college's decision, as we didn't repent much for the fun we'd the previous time :D. The day of registering, we find out that the college had limited seats on the buses, more so, coz around 1 million people were evacuating this time. Quite understandable. That literally left us stranded there, with nowhere to go. Luckily for us, Moraiah asked us if it'd be fine for us to jump in the back of her truck, and follow the college buses. Accommodation wasn't a problem to wherever we were going you see.

Nacogdoches, TX. {Pronounced 'nacadoshes'} The destination for this evacuation. Stephen F Austin State University, some 200 odd km from Beaumont. Took us exactly the stipulated 2 hours, 40 odd minutes. I sat in the back of the truck. Nice fun. With Moraiah speeding up to as much as 90 mph, my hair could have put Markand Deshpande (of yun hi chala fame) to shame. Apart from that, my hair managed to get quite a few 'impressive' looks from people of all ages. It was more fun now :).

This place was ok, food as usual sucked for me. B-L-A-N-D and unhealthy. Nacogdoches is apparently the oldest town in TX. It looked so. A lot of people here and there, unlike Beaumont. No wifi, no cots, no blankets let us quite a little discomforted in the place. 2 days in SFA, we saw on TV how bad Ike had grown upto. Texas was barely visible! Houston, Galveston, Surfside beach were under super threats. Toward the evening, Galveston was pounded miserably. By night, it finished its purpose. The videos looked scary! The next day in Nacogdoches was interesting. I was almost displaced by the wind and rain - here, a place around 250 km from the coast! It almost blew me off!!

Our college was a little damaged. No power and water in the whole city of Beaumont and parts of Houston, IAH was grounded. The power company put an estimate of 2 weeks or more for total restoration. The unbearable cold at the basketball court in which we slept, that tasty food, limited clothing, no laundry. Sounded quite a lot of trouble to me. Under such situations, at such places especially.

My cousin and I decided that I go to her place, at Phoenix, a 2 hour journey by flight. Hurdles? How do I get to the nearest airport at Dallas? Greyhound - the bus service that takes you between cities. To my dismay, there was one greyhound from Nacogdoches to Dallas, and had a strong possibility of getting cancelled due to obvious reasons. My cousin found out that it was there, and we decided that I get out of SFA at 3 ish PM. The bus was at 4.30 PM. To get to the bus station, I'd to take a ride. Moraiah :).

After what seemed like a 'lost way' and a long drive through the woods, we found ourselves just ahead of the bus station. Turned back, and finally landed at the bus station ten minutes before the bus left. The guys were loading the luggage. Rushed in, bought a ticket for myself to Dallas, hopped on to the bus, and was off.

It took a whole 4 hours, with one bus change somewhere in between, to arrive at Dallas. The roads, as usual to US, were fantastic, and the bus station in Dallas was right in the centre of downtown. It was a sight to see. Tall buildings, breathtaking lights, wow!! But no people anywhere outside, at 9 PM! The shuttle service i was supposed to take from there to the airport was apparently not there at that time, and the best way to get to the airport was by cab. There was no other way! I'd paid $40 for a 4 hour bus ride, and paid $60 for the cab, to take me to DFW airport, a mere 30 minutes away!

Stayed at the airport overnight, saw a few movies on my laptop, boarded the flight the next morning at 6. Reached Phoenix, finally. It was so much like home there. Food!! Home food!!Temperature, was berable, unlike the harsh AC there! Much relieved to go there, I must say. Laundry, I needn't had to worry about not having underwears ;)

My cousin, her daughter and my brother in law made sure I made the most of my evacuation trip. Went to all types and sizes of malls there, it was a nice exposure for my mind and senses. Outdoor malls, where mist was sprayed coz you couldn't put an AC there! It was nice. Had loads of fun! The school at which their daughter studied, visits here and there. Found out a lot about stuff I didn't have a clue of. The following monday, she dropped me off to ASU. I've to tell, it looked more like a town, than a university. I got lost a couple of times too! It was huge. Had a sneak peek at the dept., spoke to some people, had my lunch that I'd got from home, took a city bus and went to Arizona Mills, a factory outlet kinda thing. Phoenix is very picturesque. Seems pleasant, till you feel the heat :D. Saw a 3D documentary there on whales and sharks, roamed around the place and she picked me up on her way to home. The next morning, I was out of Phoenix.

College was staring on thursday, and it was a wise option to return on the tuesday. Arrived at Houston, at around 2. The guy who picked me up wanted to wait for one more guy who would arrive at 10 PM. We hung around in houston, went to a huge mall called 'Galleria'. By now I was exhausted gaping wide open at how large buildings can be. Galleria, till date remains the largest, I've ever seen. Visited an Armani showroom there. One of the bigger mistakes in life, at this stage. I'm clad in shorts, and enter the showroom with such elan, that I'd to know would be shortlived. The female opposite is clad in a suit. I tell her that I'll check things out myself, saw a blazer for $3,125, and a shirt for $500. Vowing that I'd never enter an Armani showroom again, I stormed out. I mean, not now, not in this stage atleast! Went out to eat to an Indian restaurant there. Went to the downtown, and I forgot all my exhaustion and started gasping and gaping again. The parking lots were so well designed! Sheraton - Hyatt - Hilton were side by side in the downtown :D.

My mouth started paining. Everything in this trip was good to my eyes. Dallas, DFW airport, Phoenix airport, Phoenix, Tempe, (where ASU is), Houston airport, Houston downtown, ARMANI. 

Girogio Armani. I'd dreams about the clothes i saw, the first time ever, and I've just added that to my list after I buy a Lamborghini. Shouldn't the clothes match the car? ;)

Back in beaumont, I found out that the trees outside my house, 3 of them, fell in opposite directions. All fine here now, after an eventful trip. If not for anything, atleast, I travelled alone, which was a lot of fun. I got to know so many things. Lets see where time takes me next.

Rock you like a hurricane!!

Little did I know when I sung the evergreen Scorpions' song on stage for Rhythmica's Tonic, in June earlier this year, that it'd really come running and rocking like this for me :D.

Yes, for starters, hurricane Gustav, the major hurricane that was supposed to hit the US Gulf Coast, let all of us hither thither, scampering for a safer place. Of course the fact remains that this, happening in a few days time of my class starting here, at Lamar let me a little bothered.

Gustav was playing with our minds. Let me use present, for obvious reasons - I don't wanna enrage it again :P. It created havoc in Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and strengthened consistently over a very slow period of time before attaining a superior status and making a landfall at Cuba. Needless to say, Cuba should have been devastated. A majority of the oil rigs of the US, in the Gulf of Mexico were shut down and oil prices soared up. There were predictions that as Gustav - (I really wonder who names all these hurricanes. Gustav means, 'staff of the Goths', by the way) would enter the Gulf, it'd intensify to its highest attainable degree, the Category 5 status. Now, the last time such a hurricane hit New Orleans, which is about 270 miles from here, flyovers in Beaumont were under water. When I got to know that, I really knew I could panic. I mean, it was valid to panic.

My normal brain could also realise that it'd mean, getting air tickets to my cousins' place at California or Arizona would be far fetched in terms of availability. And since the oil prices soared, you didn't need a genius brain to guess the prices of the flight tickets. The airport that is close to Beaumont is under a flyover's height, so, technically, the airport would be shut down before the city receives havoc rainfall.

I'd to get to Houston to board a flight. On a bus. From the bus stop, a cab, to the airport. Then see what flights are empty. Then board whichever was. Then reach either CA or AZ. I thought its getting way far fetched than what I'd imagined and cancelled that plan. One of my very good friends - Nani arranged for accommodation at Arlington and let me decide for myself about the way to go till there. He works FAST! I chat with him at eerie hours of early morning from Beaumont, to Bangalore, and he arranges for my stay at Arlington! It wasn't difficult for me. I mean, Arlington is a 5 hour drive from where I stay. I could easily hop on to a bus and ride off. By then, the college declared a shut down on the Tuesday and there were rumours that they would take us to Dallas, which is closer to Arlington! I'm sure there was some connection breach when we were chatting ;).

So, by Friday noon, it was known that Gustav would hit, and it would hit real bad. So, we were told to evacuate and if we required the services of the university, we could board the arranged buses by 5 PM. After long hours of registrations and waiting, [love to say this] at 6:20 PM sharp American Standard Time, [;)] we left. Took some photos in case the roof would get blown over our house.

There was traffic that fateful day! We were being taken to Huntsville, which is some 113 miles from here, and ideally takes some 2 odd hours. We reached Huntsville at 1 AM. This was because of the traffic purely, won't say AST here :P. 

We stayed at Sam Houston State University. Man! What a campus! I was wondering why I didn't know about this university till I heard that it doesn't offer Engineering as a major. Such a pity! SHSU also comes under the Texas State University System apparently, so, it was a sister concern for them to take us in. 

I expected it to be a refugee camp. Frankly. What else would you expect when you drop in, in numbers exceeding 200 to a university at 1 AM? YES? NO! Once we got ourselves registered, they put on a pink (why pink on earth, I still don't know) band on our wrists, that was water proof, which was a permission for us to use the facilities SHSU students could use, albeit with a very few restrictions, which were understandable.

American food! Yeah. I wouldn't say YEAH! Coz, you know what I'm talkin' about ;). But the best part was, you could actually eat till your stomach was full. Since I'm an exotic food lover - [subbu coined that term], I thought of trying all the food from beef to turkey to fish to pork. Somehow I couldn't convince myself to eat pork. The rest were ok. [:)] The eating hours are odd, with lunch at 11 and dinner at 5! AT 5? Yeah. At 5! But added to this, was the unlimited free snacks that were given in any required quantity from 7 AM to 11 PM. Anything from water, cold water, fruit juices, snack bars, chips, honey-buns, et al! We could also ask for a toiletries pack, which would have a toothpaste, a brush, a comb, a mouthwash, and a deodorant. We could also ask for towels, soap, shampoo and hair gel. Not that it was humid like in Beaumont, but for cleanliness freaks like me. As though we require to do all that when we are in the AC 24 x 7 :P. I went to check out the showers on sunday. The men's locker rooms. We've seen that in movies. Open showers and all. It was good! And what do we do after all this? Go to the basketball court where all the guys were put up, recline on the half-couch, half-cot-something and plug in your laptop to the free Wi-Fi of the university. You wanted to sit and surf the net? No problems. The university was generous enough to provide us with around 10 laptops, at one end of the basketball court, with internet access, needless to say. There were basketball courts, for people who would play, and swimming for people who could swim, I'll also mention soccer, rugby and pool. [Yes, I was imagining how much you'd have played, chetan ;)] Oh, and whenever we walked around the dining hall, which was a little far from the place we stayed, we got.. Ok, I'd say I got some female attention because of the pink band (now I know why pink :)) and I'd end up talking and explaining them that we are EVACUEES from Beaumont. Phew! EVACUEES!

Meanwhile, the hurricane had subsided, (unfortunately :P) and a meeting was called to tell us that we'd be leaving Huntsville to Beaumont. And seriously, none of us liked to leave at all! It was an evacuation trip - sounds like a road trip or something! In the wildest dreams wherever I've imagined of living a royal life, I'd never imagined I'd be treated like this, under these circumstances, where in, the people arranged shuttle services from the basketball courts to the dining hall, on monday, when, few showers were expected toward the evening! A shuttle for a 5 minute walk!

Anyways, we're back, back in Beaumont. The place looks barely touched by the hurricane. So much for all the hoopla about it. Gustav is currently a tropical storm, somewhere over Dallas, and Louisiana was saved of the bitter experience.

The journey

Having visited as many places as I can count on my hands in India, I have now set my foot on American soil, albeit this won't be a visit for recreational purposes, ONLY, atleast so do I hope. :)

Well, to anyway comment or report on how things are here, or how I feel them to be, would definitely take more time. Having arrived 4 days back, and with a startling no one to see and talk to, apart from my room mates at the temporary accommodation I'm put up at, (really nice guys, i must say) i may find blogs, a nice medium to express my thoughts more. :)

Anyways, I thought the best thing to talk about would be my journey from Bengaluru. Ah.. feels so good to make a mention of that name! Bengaluru. :)

As I said earlier, one can count the number of places I've visited in India, and that doesn't include any place that I'd gone which required me to fly. Which means, this was my first flight. I don't know why, I wasn't EXCITED about going to US, or flying for the FIRST TIME or anything to a great extent. Nevertheless, I'd butterflies in my stomach, probably ten instead of hundred. :P

My flight from Bangalore was at 0955 hours on 4th morning. I'd booked a taxi, which arrived home half an hour before 0530 hours, the time I'd told him to come home. Mahindra Renault Logan. A very very spacious car, I must say. Fitted all my 3 suitcases with great ease. We left home at 0545, and thankfully, there was a very sparse traffic throughout. Bengaluru isn't that very active, thank my stars for that! The driver made an extremely good usage of his ability and the car's capacity, and put us at the airport at 0615. Some flyover, which I wonder was the trumpet(!!) near the airport, was exceptionally good and provided a fantastic view of the airport.

Went in, after admiring the architectural mastermind of providing some 70% natural light into the airport, at all times. This aspect was indeed, the way it has been talked about. As for the rest, i won't know. This was the first ever airport I saw, went inside and checked in, and had absolutely no problems. Wish they provided it with more coin booths for the people waiting outside though. Since it was early in the morning, there were not much people around, and it left me with enough time to critically examine the airport. It left me a little bored - the way they had not projected anything native about the state or the place. I mean, it was only structure and structure. A little more indianisation is what is required of it, I felt.

Anyways, having been told that an irritating ear pop would occur as the flight would take off, I made it a point to have hard boiled confectionaries in my pocket. I boarded the flight. SQ 501. Singapore Airlines. Sat there for some time that seemed like half an hour and the flight started reversing out of the apron. I, immediately put in a candy into my mouth and waited with bated breath for the flight to take off. It taxied and taxied, my god, it still taxied till the candy totally melted in my mouth. Put one more quickly. After all the taxiing, it took a brief moment to stop and then it sped. I clutched on my seat. It kept on speeding and I was constantly looking at the monitor that showed the flight statistics and the window, (oh, I'd a window seat! :)) and it sped till it touched a 200 km/hr and then it took off. It kept on climbing for a long time. The scene from the window was good. I thought of saying breathtaking, but no. It was good. A good 4 four and a half hours later, we landed at Singapore.

YES, YES, and YES, the airport is more than what everyone has told you about, and whatever you have heard about it is very true. In one word, its HUGE. H-U-G-E. What was breathtaking was this airport built a new terminal, and made train routes from the other terminalS to this, published a book on this new terminal, made everything from a swimming pool, to gardens, to theaters even to a live piano recital. You need to see it to believe it. Its beautiful. Unfortunately, the city tour registrations were closed and fortunately, i'd to spend my whole 9 hours at the airport. :)

Flight SQ62. 0215 hours. Singapore to Houston was one more journey I looked forward to, coz the flight would probably move through the airspaces of around 20 countries. This flight took a different route to Houston. It went over Moscow.

By the time SQ62 took off, it was night and a delight to look at Changi International Airport's night view. The journey however, was boring. My body and mind had by then accustomed itself to something banal, and the food, the TV, everything started to bore me. Moreover, it was the incomprehensible gibberish that was used as a medium of speaking that drove me crazy. Russians had like stormed the plane! I was hoping we would be able to beat the sun to the time zone change, and that never happened. :P

We flew over Bangladesh, north India, maybe Nepal or China, (had dozed off by then), the many 'ISTAN's we have beyond our borders, and finally entered Russia. Moscow took eternity to be visible and then eternity seemed close, but the airport didn't! Clouds. Rain. Heavy Rain. Braving all odds, our captain landed at Domodedovo International Airport at Moscow and though we were bound to Houston by the same flight, we were supposed to get down, and board back, looking at the airport, all in an hour and a half. The airport was full of flights. Flights that were operated by carriers that I'd never, ever heard of. I was fortunate that there were a couple of them that I could atleast read! The flight taxied for a very long time till it finally stopped. My impression was that the airport would be very big. Alas, it was disappointing. The ambience. People all over shouting, talking in a language that put German to shame. It had all the world's tongue twisters in it, and it was mixed with murderous, cynical looks, mostly the types Sir Hopkins gives. Welcome to Moscow. No other airport in the world, i guess, would send "TRANSIT" passengers through a cabin baggage check, atleast not after landing. (Hell, they didn't do that in Houston!! AMERICA!!) The lady made me remove my belt and thankfully, it was limited to only my belt!

We thought of taking some pictures of these dastardly looking creatures, but what if that is also an offence there? We asked for permission (!) (I found another Houston bound Bengaluruean in the flight) and the female looked at us with such disgrace and contempt that clearly said, "What in earth's name do you mean by wanting to take a photo? You have the slightest clue where you are? You even have it in you to ask such a question? Scamper off before I put you under interrogation and have you arrested". In short, the look, was, indeed, TERRIFYING.

Without bothering to give a boarding call to passengers traveling to Houston, the boarding had started. OK! I know where I'm. No complaints! There was an interview! In a language that i could comprehend! English! American English! The guy asked me what my purpose of travel was, and why i was there and whose bag i was carrying!! (?) You could call that a Pre-Immigration Check! :D

Clear to board the flight, we went up hoping if the air-hostesses would have a same menacing look, but no! We were disappointed. The pilot announced that thunderstorms were expected in Houston, by the time we land, and we took off from Domodedovo amidst heavy rain. This route was fun. I can say with pride and great pride that no one would ever have travelled, ever, in such a 'world-tour' route. From Moscow, we went over Finland, Norway, Sweden, touched Greenland, (well, almost), over Canada, and finally the US. Houston is at the south of US, so, we travelled over most of the states and finally landed at Houston, a full 30 minutes ahead of schedule. There was moderate rain, but nothing compared to what we saw in Moscow. What I didn't know was the amount of torque people back home, in three different time zones went through, when I was watching Iron man on TV somewhere over Norway.

Thunderstorm. With my sisters, one at California and the other at Phoenix, by brother at Canberra, and my mom back home, all over their computer screens, spanning over various time zones were scanning the map of the USA, wherein a thunderstorm, a tropical thunderstorm had hit Beaumont - the place I'd go to, later in the day, from Houston, to my University, and within no time hit Houston too. I felt nothing en route, though having a window seat, i sometimes saw the wing go missing in the clouds as we came close to Texas.

Having flown over many countries that a person would probably never, in a first flight that too, I'd say that this journey was fun only during the take off and landing. The rest of the journey was a bore. I couldn't even make out that the plane was moving! Forget the speed!!

With that said, I'd get back, maybe in few days time and say how it feels to see NO people around, NO familiar sounds, and how humid and how scorching the sun here is, and how it makes me wonder as to why the sun sets at 8 in the night.

Are you glad?

P.S.: (Of course i mean Pre Script :P) The first time i'm giving such a weird title to a blog [:D]

There are countless things happening throughout the world, at the same time. Family litigations, land feuds, technological advancements that would enable anyone to sing and make it appear like a seasoned singer, or the ones that allow you to take a sneak peek at the neighbour's house from a satellite view, endless allegations made by systems of bureaucracy across the planet, molestations, murders, accidents.. the list doesn't seem to end!!

Yes, most of our inquisitive brains like to know of all these so that we can be prepared. Prepared against what would, or what could occur to us. Time is unpredictable, you never know what can happen, right?

Knowledge apart, what one tends to forget in due course of time is how blessed one is. Blessed in terms of having a plate to eat, and importantly, having something in that plate, having water to drink, and a place to sleep. Alas, the very hectic schedule and timelessness coerces every individual to stop and take notice. 

There would be someone at home to pamper and take care, that is when it is disregarded. Like it is said, the true value of a thing or a person is realised only when they are away. Only a person who doesn't get to eat everyday can describe how it feels like when he eats a stomach full of food. Only a child craving to have something he likes for a long time can tell how much he would preserve what he yearned for, from such a long time. Only someone who narrowly missed an accident would best explain what could have happened. 

Luck depending, most of us are fortunate enough to have all goods in the life, but still end up complaining. Next time a morsel of food is wasted, think of the young children in remote places, who don't have access to even a quarter of what you have. If helping them is beyond the reach, one moment of prayer, another of thought for these poor little people can be done. At the same time, for the goodness of state of mind, it is necessary to think and rethink that how glad we are.

Bengaluru unplugged.. absurdity at the peak!!

Initially, i thought matters like these were too trivial to even bring up a discussion forum about it. The headlines of today's edition of TOI proved me wrong.

There have been various suggestions, criticisms, little extolment about the various factors taken into consideration about improving the connectivity to the new international airport at Bangalore. For starters, (though the people around the world are aware), Bangalore, now Bengaluru, started the construction of an International Airport, in the north of the city, which is supposedly ready but, hasn't started commercial flight operations yet.

Connectivity has been a major issue since the BIA hit the headlines, because the airport is pretty far from the city. However, the municipality swung into action and decided they would do something better than what already is. Bingo. Magic box underpasses came along, with one operating already, along the road to the airport. It was delayed, the municipality was lashed. 

I strongly felt and still feel, that the series of underpasses that have been planned would do a real magic, but who has the patience these days? We fail to realise that to get something, we need to sacrifice few things.

Anyways, the main HEADLINE that instigated me to write this blog was the reaction to the other airport in Bangalore, which is already operational. People wanted the other airport to be used for domestic flights, and the new one for international flights ONLY. Ok. This looks nice. It is a nice proposition. What followed, doesn't.

The central ministry gave a nod for this after a lot of dilly-dallying because of some contractual obligations. Only today I read in the paper that a certain section of people feel that 70% of domestic flights should operate via the old airport and 30% of it should operate via the new one. Why? Because it is difficult for people of North Bangalore to travel all the way to the old airport, for a domestic flight. Similarly, isn't it difficult for people of South Bangalore to travel all the way to north for a flight, that is say, individual of the 30% selected? This seems intolerably outrageous to me. Why don't they insist the government to provide them with helipads and airstrips on top of their houses? Could serve the purpose.

There is something being done for the betterment of people and all over, there is someone trying to pull it down. This sheer display of absurdity, in due course of time would only complicate the process and confuse the people. Didn't the people from North Bangalore have to travel all the way to the old airport when the new one wasn't done? All cribbing is only because one has a choice.

PATHETIC is all I can say about the proposal, and i'll see what I can say when some decision is made, now that more woes add to the melee.

Nostalgia............

The way things happen these days has considerably changed from how they were happening earlier. I guess, desultory change is beginning to like me [:P]. Thankfully, of the many things that keep treading here and there, few turn out to be so eventful that one forgets if he/she has to thank the stars for that, or any person or the like!

I happened to go to this Telugu movie called 'Happy days' with a friend of mine - Kiran. Why is it mentionworthy? Simply because, i don't follow telugu that well, and the decision to go to the movie was made in a very short time. I somehow take a fancy toward fast decisions. There's no thrill in planning stuff you see. [;)]

The movie is a very good movie. In short, it was about the four year hostel life (that was like four weeks) during our engineering. I won't bother to talk about how good or sound it was, technically or the acting prowess of any of the actors, because, that is not what i intend to do, atleast not here. When Kiran and I got out of the cinema hall, there was a feeling.

A feeling, that i can still sense. In a jiffy, i could see myself, furiously moving up and down the hostel corridor, talking to all my friends, having the time of my life, all changes that hostel life made of us (please, don't minutely bother to relate this to the hostel movie, which i saw just a few days back!!), the variegated attitudes, myriad types of people we got acquainted ourselves with... GOSH!!! 4 years. FOUR years. Gone in a snap!

That day, i wanted to listen to "Those were the best days of my life" over, over and over again. I had heard it earlier, but, you can relate best to a song when you get the same feeling. It just gives you goose bumps when the frequencies match!

The impact the movie had on me was tremendous. Even today, after around 3 months of watching the movie, i can sense an urge in myself to revisit my college days!

Relations made, relations broken, misunderstandings, ego clashes, petty impish fights, bonding, a feeling of 'wanting to make a difference', midnight talks, skipping dinners because of them, waiting for fests to participate in them, taking responsibilities, mimicking professors, lamenting over results, the first mobile phone (for many), the incessant messaging, those novels in class, i can go on and on!!

Bryan Adams was right, 'those WERE the best days of my life!'.

Cut to the present.

People claim to not have time! I wonder how, i wonder why! Relations made fail to sustain, distance wears them out, distance, not only by metres, but also by communication cessation, barring the few people who needn't be in regular contact to maintain the rapport, few people in contact, also makes the misunderstandings, the clashes and fights look thin, in stark contrast; the feeling of 'makin a difference' still is, but, it gets classified as 'looks good, but difficult to do' category, no fests, no tests, no results, no midnight talks, no time!! Conversions of prepaid sims to postpaid, "Hey, when i can call and speak to you, why should i message?" Sounds familiar? Oh yeah, it does. How frequent is it being put to use? [:)]

On a second thought, the days keep rolling by, and it is upon the individual to make the best of everyday, rather than cherishing something already had. Its not wrong to enjoy, but, in the enjoyment of the memories, one has to remember that one needs to create more memories to enjoy later, which incidentally, is NOW.

Life is short indeed. Time keeps flying. Fun and enjoyment should rule over it, rather than cribbing and overthinking.

I made a mention about relations not 'required' to be in contact. They are special. When you feel that it is such a burden to maintain the relation, revisit your GoldEN days and see what you had, and what you have. You'll know what to do. Go ahead, don't wait for tomorrow to tell THE person how much he/she means to you. Don't let time get ahead of your thoughts!

Instant blog?? naaah.. ;)

I've always maintained that every person on planet earth is blessed. Everyone can do some unique thing that no one can do. But the only thing is, how soon in life can a person get to know with what he's blessed???!!

There are inborn talents, there are hard workers, both, a rarity. I take the privilege of calling it a rarity, coz, one needs to be really blessed for having been bestowed upon with immense amount of talent. A person may intently feel to learn dance, and that, would definitely prompt him to do so. After having learnt and successfully having practised, if he doesn't apply his mind in what new he can do, then, its neither talent or hard work. Its just waste. TOTAL WASTE.

The world moves fast. These days I wonder if it has surpassed the speed of the rotation of the earth. Everything is instant. Instant coffee, instant water heaters, instant mix, instant, INSTANT!!! Things have to be fast, shouldn't they? Of course yes, there's no time for anything. Time is so precious!!

Getting a little research done on superior "instant" technology wouldn't do much harm. The main problem lies when the "instant" travels a little deeper into our lives. Over a period of time, the entire temperament of the population has taken a toss. We need instant fame, instant money, instant mass recognition and what is being done for that? Sitting on a couch, watching the TV, with a bottle of beer for company, and maybe a little of this and that to go along. What did you say? Instant fame? Now those are some cool steps you are following. KUDOS!

Cricket fans, soccer fans get terribly worked up when something that their HERO does, upsets them. "Oh shit, he should've done it that way. He should've passed the ball to this guy, and the stupid ass did the other!" SHOULD. Hmm.. "Holy cow! They couldn't chase a target of 235? On that pitch? We've a horrendous team!" Dude, they did atleast that. What did you do? Sit here and comment, from a place that is 1000 miles away from him? Come on, if you know you have it in you, go ahead and become his coach!

Reality shows have witnessed a boom that probably software also didn't see a couple of years back. No doubt that it has produced one hundred singers, or dancers and allowed them to be exposed into the ugly world of spotlight. What I wanna know is, even the winners' names aren't remembered, what good will the runners be remembered for? Numerous judges, waiting to whip each others' asses on TV, get so damned impressed with quite a few that even the ones not having any opportunities themselves, promise the 'star of tomorrow' with a tonne of promises. What happens? Media hypes it up, the participant gets overly confident, ten days down the lane, he's gone.

My whole point is, if you have it in you, and you really think you can do something, do it! No cone else can! You don't need publicity to do what you do. How many of us require people to know that we brush our teeth? It just takes a little time for each one of us to connect with what we really want in life, and what we can do. And trust me, nothing in the world comes to anyone with a price. You need it, and you think you can do it, only doing it would help atleast a little. The price you pay? Patience, time, hard work, sweating, practising, anything! If that something is what one wants to achieve, that someone wouldn't want to take it the easy way. If anything you got is instant, the time for which it'll stay with you will also be for an instant. Someone rightly penned, "Hard work is the only key to success".

Name it as you want to

Circa 2007
INDIA. The word is so synonymous with bollywood movies, rich songs and dances, corrupt bureaucracy, unruly traffic, all over, a total mayhem, pending court cases since god knows when, few cities that have displayed immense courage over serial bomb blasts, few cities that have adopted the stance of INDIA will remain like this, like it or hate it, few cities that have developed a sort of self sustainment, few cities that have risen to fame in their arena of specialisation

Circa 1830
INDIA. Quoting Lord Macaulay, in his address to the British parliament - "I have traveled across the length and breadth of the country and I've not seen one person who is a beggar, who's a thief. Such wealth I've seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such caliber, that i do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, i propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self esteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation"

Hmm.. now, the part till the 'unless' comes is something!

We marvel at the EFFICIENT traffic system of countries having them. We blame our politicians and traffic police for not maintaining and streamlining the traffic. There are various engineers commenting on what or how better things could have been, if it were different. COULD! sigh!

We go as enthusiastic audience to an Enrique Iglesias concert, or an Iron Maiden concert (Maiden, man!). When Shubha Mudgal or Kadri Gopalnath perform, we're like, huh? who?

We need speed in everything we do. Instant food, instant water heaters, the darn computer is too slow, put more GBs of RAM into it, travel fast, so fast that keep going even when the signal becomes red, keep moving, and of course keep honking, [Duh! do I have to say that?] without even caring about the old folks crossing the pedestrian crossing.

Folks at home want their kids to be fast too. 'Be fast, and give me quality too. You won't survive in this competitive world kid! You need to do something great!'

Bangalore - The Silicon City of India, The next Singapore!

BALLS!

What am i coming down to? Attitude. All of us want more for whatever little we give. We hardly care about the traffic, coz its always easier to put the blame on someone else. Gives us a feeling that we are not responsible for what has happened. But where is this going? The downfall of us, the only people responsible.

I agree traffic is not an issue that can be solved by one person. You may like to follow traffic signals, [I'll say like, coz that is how its BECOME here] but someone may not want to. Why? coz no one is looking :) It bemuses me all the time how people manage to put up such a careless demeanor on their part. With the signal still red, people incessantly keep honking. Its like a time-pass to wait in the signal. Finally, it becomes green and what do people do? their hands are still on the horns, not on the accelerator! The guy behind this guy notices that the signal is already green! SHIT! Its green! Why isn't this guy moving? Come on! Come on! honk honk!! Now the guy in the front has already moved. This guy has so fast response to stimulus that he is still honking, instead of moving. Result? A Chain reaction ensues. Tell me, can the police help in this? Why don't people realise that moving at the instant of green helps, rather than honking? A coupla days back, i saw an old couple crossing the road. there was this huge scorpio wanting to take a turn, and this guy kept honking persistently! Why? Has time taken the sensitivity off the people?

These are questions and incidents that only we can answer to, or be held responsible. It becomes inevitably important that we take steps before the already fully grown tree starts developing diseases.

With Lead India going on everywhere, merely watching the small kid trying to do the impossible task of moving the tree alone, or listening to Mr. Amitabh Bachchan's inspiring speech, or just by voting for the contestants on the Lead India programme, we would not actually LEAD INDIA. This isn't a programme's title or a caption or a quote.

LEAD INDIA is a phenomenon.

LEAD INDIA marks the culmination of a hitherto developing nation.

LEAD INDIA is a feeling that should make others look upto us, and pose a stiff competition.

LEAD INDIA! Is all this possible? Am i being PRACTICAL? I wouldn't answer. I would wait for answers, in terms of actions.