Ice Ice Baby

History of the World Part II - "Hitler on Ice"!
What a Year! It takes a couple of ligaments to tear free of their moorings for the focal length of your perspective lens to change! Its been snowy and icy in Boston the past month and Somerville, the city I now call home, is especially riddled with icy and snowy spots! There have been times i have taken a step only to slide forward like a runaway deer on ice (dont even ask - i have a vivid imagination!)...
"Let it Snow, Let it Snow"
And it did! Tons... and then the rains came and swept it all away! The only thing that can trump nature is Nature!
"Jingle Bells"
I attended Christmas Mass at the St Paul's Church in Harvard Square. The highlight of the Christmas Service every year is the Boston Boy Choir that performs, and even the tone deaf like me can see that they are good!.
The other highlight was when I attended my first "White Elephant Party" on my yearly post-christmas before-new-year trip to Vermont!! My professor who invites me over to his "house in the hills" every year, is one of the most amazing people in the world! At this party I met a bunch of really interesting people, Vermonters who are so full of life.
"Its Another Day in Paradise"
The New Year was rung in with quiet reflection... we now have a lovely new roommate, G, whose intelligence and vivacity is a complement to the brains, niceness and pure brightness of my other two roomates... One wonders how I fit into the scheme of things... the only explanation I can offer is that some people "slip through the cracks" and this one crack that let me in was a big wide one!!... back to the subject, G's boyfriend D (Wai am full of da alphabet in my posts wonly, in interest of annoynimity) was hosting a party and i ended up there, my first new year where everyone I met was someone who I hadnt known for more than 2 weeks... small world, this!
New Year Day was spent singing karaoke Christmas Carols (dont ask, will not tell!) with family in North Reading... my whole khandaan in Boston was assembled and we had great fun with the angels, the glory, the silent night, among others...
On a totally unrelated topic, a good friend sent this across ...
Back to work, now....

Finals

Been really busy with papers and assignments, figuring out how to change the lightbulb while standing on one leg on a one legged stool, wondering if "42" is the answer... will get back to blogging after finals

the video feed is live

WARNING!
The link below takes you to a motion clip of pain and suffering. It is NOT for the faint hearted! No blood, though! If you are ready to see my knee unravel, do so at your own risk!
This is "how it happened"
PS: I did save one goal!

Immovable force and an Irresistable Object

What happens when an ageing soccer warhorse attempts to block goalscoring efforts by the Varsity soccer team? According to my orthopedic physician, the least of my worries is a blowout of my anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments. Knee immobilizer, crutches, elevation, cold compress... they are parts of my life now!

I now appreciate how brave people with physical handicaps must be to venture into this bad world. Even in Boston, one of the most handicap-friendly transport systems, I was caught at wits ends many times. Frequent escalator service stoppages ensure that my long jump training didnt go waste- though long jump doesnt really prepare you for hopping up four flights of stairs!! Another big peeve - why is it that the T stop (the T is the Boston subway) servicing the largest hospital in New England, the Massachusetts General Hospital, does not have any provisions for handicapped people to reach the street level from the elevated platform. I went from hopping up four flights of stairs in the morning to hopping down four flights of stairs in the evening! Do they imagine that patients reach the hospital only in an ambulance? Its a shame!
On a related note, are there any good knees being sold on the market? I could use one, especially if it belonged to a Genius!
As to the answer to the first question, my good friend P filmed the whole episode! It will SOON be available on Google Video . A note of Warning - the video is graphic and NOT to be watched by the queasy and the faint-hearted. As one person told me after he watched it "After watching the clip, I feel twinges of pain everytime i bend my knee" Watch for the links!

A new meaning to the word "Ironman"

One of my professors at school, Park Wilde, has a wonderful blog on food and nutrition policy issues in the United States. Its called US Food Policy and one of the stories on the blog is this anecdote from Gary King at Harvard, talking about the need for control groups in research.

Its funny that the proportion of graduate and kindergarden (KG) students who got this right was similar. Given that KG students go on to learn more stuff - history, geography, biology and calculus, among them - is there a point where it all starts to go downhill?!!! As a doctoral student, I find myself at the bottom of that downhill slope. Does this mean that I have to go back to kindergarden after this? Or does it metaphorically mean that I will soon start the kindergarden of life?
Bring on the bib!

I was a Ring Keeper

Taking a cue from Varun V Nair, I found out that I closely resemble *trumpets, please* Galadriel.
The results are there for you to see:

We think its the long locks, precious, but according to Legend, I am possessing a rare combination of wisdom and humility, while serenely dominating my environment!
"What an elfish fairy tale!"

Last night

I laughed a lot last night! I met a bunch of people at my friend M's birthday party, some old friends, some who I knew by name and face, and some who I met for the first time! Laughter is a good cathartic, both emotionally and psychologically!
"’cause I’m as free as a bird now"
My next step? Save the World.. I am flying high on mighty wings (Anyone remember an obscure band in the Eighties named Cheap Trick?)
Before that, its Futsal (indoor soccer) time at Tufts University! Watch the Friedman School compete with the best of Boston to lift the Kings Cup. More details can be had here .
When:November 19th, Saturday
More When: 10:00am-4:00pm
Where: Gantcher Gym

I think, therefore I am

somber, empty
mood, dark
big,ego
tears, hurt
deficiency, good
think, logic
catastrophe, peace
right, wrong
purpose, life
lost, wandering
partner, grow

Calvin & Hobbes

My favorite comic is Calvin & Hobbes, featuring the boy "genius" with a disregard for authority and a disdain for structure, and his tiger "friend". I was introduced to them a long time ago, and they stayed with me because Calvin often eloquently put into words how I feel
Some are pure gems:
"I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can be together all the time."
"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
"Talking with you is sort of the conversational equivalent of an out of body experience."
"History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction."
"That's the difference between me and the rest of the world! Happiness isn't good enough for me! I demand euphoria!"
"In my opinion, we don't devote nearly enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks."
And my favorite
"I'm learning real skills that I can apply throughout the rest of my life ... Procrastinating and rationalizing."
Source: http://homepage.eircom.net/~odyssey/Quotes/Popular/Comics/Calvin_Hobbes.html

What is funny is that, since reading this, I see flashes of Calvin in every kid I meet, making it seem that Calvin speaks for kids all over, tellig us, "the older people" to "watch it"

To sign off, in Calvin's own words...
"It's a magical world, Hobbes ol' buddy.... Lets go exploring"

My attempt at a Poem

The night is cold
The snow sits easy on the tree,
the colour of the sky mirrors the mood of events to come

The phone rings,
There is a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach
What follows is meant to be

When I saw you standing there
My heart leapt for joy
And I knew that we were going to be just fine

I feel comfortable
And I feel safe
Telling you that I love you
Feels just right

The Public Face

Tomorrow, I place myself right in front of the Board of Overseers at Tufts, talking about why I came to Tufts.... and how my fellowship is going to help me reach whereever I am going... did that make sense? Oddly enough, it did to me... preparing for the talk, it gave me a chance to reevaluate my aims and goals and how I intend to reach them... it does good for one to be shaken up once in a while.. there is a risk of being caught in the wave of blissful ignorance, and in the end, finding yourself washed up on shores unwanted... not happening with me, not here at Tufts... its a lovely place, (inspite of being located in downtown Boston) the faculty is incredible diverse and experienced, and I have funding! Best platform for "life launch", if I have seen any!
This is one instance where my public face and my private face are the same! I do hope I dont cry!!

Game Night

"Do you like Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble. Monopoly, Dumb Charades?
In other words, are you one of the following: Geek, Nerd, Dork, or plain fun lovin'?
Drop by our house on Friday Evening and find out!"

I am a loser! In all of the games mentioned above!

Deja-vu

It happened again.... the return episode of the hair-today-gone-tomorrow saga; Only this time, the protagonists were me and the nice Chinese lady manning the "hair station"!! When you lose money, they tell you that "you got shaved"; in my case, I literally got near-shaved!!
The first person who saw this new look was M, who remarked "hon, you look great"! That did buoy my spirits up a bit, further bolstered by my good buddy and TT challenge ("I will win, someday, P, when I master my new racquet!!"), P, who said _ "It makes you look younger"... younger or not, i am certainly lighter... a few grams lighter!!

On a related note, the P and D Table Tennis (TT) Championships have begun! All ye who are interested in seeing two giants in the Friedman School TT scene (also the only two people on the Friedman TT scene) clash are welcome to make their way to the third floor of 130 Harrison Avenue, Boston! Armed with Butterfly racquets (the locals here call them paddles!) PD or DP will play out sets of 5-7 matches everyday and the loser in those matches wins the Championship. I amight as well take the Cup home right now!

Mood Music

Sitting here listening to 'These Eyes' by the Guess Who, I am struck by how my perception of music is influenced by the mood I am in... to digress, the Guess Who named themselves as such because they gained popularity in the extremely competitive American music scene on the basis of a rumor that they were the Beatles![Source: John Einarson's "American Woman: The Story of the Guess Who"] ... going back to my mood, I was feeling real goooood three days back and 'Otherside' [Red Hot Chilli Peppers] was really moving me... I like this song brcause its rythmn "moves me" but that effect was magnified that day! It felt greaaat! .. When I am moping, Goodbye Blue Sky, Soldier of fortune and Killing Me Softly resonate with my mood and their effect on me lasts longer... talk about mood music
Or I could be just a strange little guy with a fractional emotional quotient!
Take a look at this bitchin' site. Its chillin' magellan!

Hmmm...

I wonder

Singing Beach, Cooking

This weekend I paid a visit to the "Singing Beach" at Manchester-by-the-Sea! The Commuter Rail from North Station takes you to Manchester in all of 51 minutes... a 10 minute walk from the station brought us to the singing beach...
Too bad, the "sun don't shine like in Tel Aviv"... the sun was shining but the day was cold! A, A's friend C, and I ....
(sounds like I am reciting the alphabet isnt it? "ABC, A's friend is C, AC and I, we went out to Sea" ... Strike one, Dr Seuss).. well getting back to the story, A, C and I went out to spend the afternoon and evening on the beach, and hoped to get some water time too... well, Poseidon (Neptune, as he is known in the Roman circles) had other plans... within 25 seconds of entering the water, i exited with a yelp, and with all of my teeth (wisdom too, not that they helped !!) chattering! it was cold, collddd... brrrrr....... that put an end to Jacques Cousteau like adventures... C had brought her wet suit but it was too cold to think of entering the water.... wet suit remained dry! ... we played volleyball, ate pistachio nuts, chocolate chip cookies, fruits, found out that if you kick up the sand, the particles rub against each other, and actually "sing".. i heard a refrain that sounded like "pour some sugar on me" but hey, it could be "shifting whispering sands by rusty draper"
We got back late, tired but content!
Next day, I cooked. Over the last few months, I discovered that I can cook, I like cooking, and other people are not dying like flies from eating the food that I have cooked ... all good news for my future health and life! I am adept at making both north and south indian dishes, which is also a plus! Last week, we had a Dosa cookout (or I should say, cookin, as it was all indoors!), thanks to a generous donation of dosa batter and coconut chutney by my dear cousin sister, L. (L, if you ever navigate to this page, all who have savoured the dosa that was created from the batter you gave, thank thee from the bottom of our bottomless stomach pits!!)
Au revoir!

Random Thoughts

As I have told more than one person, "the anchors for my logical processes are always up in the air", so a post about 'random' thoughts is always inevitable! Though random in order and content, you might also find a thread of "lateral thought" interwoven in the broad tapestry of my creation! I claim sole ownership rights for these thoughts (not likely that anyone else would want to touch this one with a bargepole!)
1) I have the best roommates one can have!
2) Dosa and coconut chutney make a potent combination, second only to mosaranna, the curd rice ... *sigh*
3) Karl Popper is a cool daddy
4) The Boston Symphony Orchestra is playing Weber, Schumann and Mendelssohn on October 18. Dont miss it!
5) If my roommates stay in the same house, but not the same room, shouldnt they be called housemates?
6) I cant wait to see Nisha.
7) If radio waves can cause physical damage to our brain, does it not stand to reason that we might one day be able to recieve radio waves without the use of a cellular phone. What happens to the phone companies? Do they start installing radio frequency chips in our heads. Does the prepaid plan still remain more expensive?
8) Are waffles better with maple syrup or with Blueberry syrup?
9) If the inhibition centre of your brain is the first to be overwhelmed by alcohol, then why is there a psychological need to drink more when alcohol has not been shown to induce a physical craving?
10) What are the 'statue" couple in Davis Square talking about?
11) Why does the "Uruk-Hai" theme from the Lord of the Rings strike such a "chord" in me?
12) I can cook
13) Over the last year, I have learnt that out of the box is better than within the box... Ten years hence, I would not be surprised to find myself stuck in the middle of the Sahara, without water, and regretting the fact that I did not learn how to skin a cactus fruit when I was in the Negev
14) As I grow older, I grow more obstinate
15) Sometimes I am so full of s**t that I disgust myself... luckily, these days, those times are rare
16) I now find time to appreciate life for what it is... not something that I need to subdue and control... Less anal, more oral!!
17) I know a lot more about a lot of things that others didnt think possible of me... I see that as a result of the new emerging me!
18) Things look a lot different after the past weekend... I find that I realize my boundaries, limits.... or is that my limitless boundaries?
19) Does age matter? Not in the general scheme of things, but in the personal scheme of things?
20) When should I speak up? Is there a right time? What if the window of opportunity is slowly being shut in my face?

On this note, I bid thee goodbye!

Parties, Gita, et al

My friend, M and I had left a Tufts party at 11.00 PM. We reached Central Square at 11.40. We were on our way to another party! (Did I mention that I was going to spend this semester enjoying curricular and extra-curricular activities?)
We reached the house where the second party was to be held and found, to our consternation, a silent party-animals-less house! (Two days later I was to find out that we had been standing in front of the wrong building, staring bleary eyed at a complete stranger's house!)
M and I decided to walk the few miles to our respective houses, catching up on what we had done this summer.
Notable among our discussions was the origin of religion and the concept of god; our perceptions on our religions and how we view other religions.
I started out on the Vedas, the Bhagwad Gita, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata... not as much trying to explain where these stories are from as trying to understand how they have influenced my perceptions (This at 12.30 AM on a saturday morning!). I thought back to the week before where a good friend of mine, D, read out the "Opulence of the Absolute", a chapter in the Bhagwad Gita.
This chapter came into my mind when trying to explain my vision of God to M.
M, if you are reading this, these links might make what I said a wee bit clearer, though you have to make allowances for the hour of the night when i said what i said!! More when we meet again.
D, Thanks. I am sure you will take a dekko at this page, someday, when you are not enjoying a refreshing cold beer on a hot day; then again, even when you are!

UK trip update

Some snippets from my UK visit... I spent two days in London, headed out to Cambridge for a day trip, hoofed it to Leicester and ended the trip with a day trek in the Peak District at Edale!

Lord Love a Duck, its Lords!
Did you know that Lords is walking distance from Sherlock Holmes' house on Baker Street? I found out the hard way or rather the "walk way"!


The all seeing Eye!
If you think the red eye of Mordor was bad, you should check out the British Airways "Bad Boy" London Eye!!



Doesn't he look tired?
and this was before...



He became one of the "Indian Men Who Went Up This Mountain...



"And Came Down This Hill"... All these adventures in the Peak District!

More... later.. from Bahston!

aah! Boston!

London, Leicester, Peak District passed by in a blur... its good to be back in Boston again!

The Not-So-Little Merman a.k.a Random Stories from the Field

Its Beach time!
Another story from the sands of time. All the Jellyfish died and went to Jellyfish heaven. But the beach was not lacking in strange creatures. Spotted on the rocks was a curiously pigmented, de-finned Merman ("They call him Super Merman"), dressed in the fashion of the beach Bum, luring unsuspecting Mermaids on to the rocks.


Foam Debris has nothing on this Rock

The Mermaids (truly wonderous creatures of the Ocean, but camera shy) were smart enough to see through his disguise and soon the lonely Merman was seen swimming out to Sea, watched by his canine companion, who later howled a haunting melody in his passing.


Canine Ahoy!


Ah! "The Tel Aviv Minute"
My lovely roommates (M & R) treated me to a concert by Israeli rocker Corinne Allal. Even though she is toying with a half century's worth of life experiences, she can still rock and roll with the best of them.


Corinne Allal

Held at the Tel Aviv club Tmoona, this musical treat started at 11.00 PM! We were right up there next to the stage. Maintaining a surprisingly dignified demeanour, I didnt headbang, stand on the table and jump into the audience, or some of the other things that I am wont to do when in a crazy mode. The show went on till the wee hours of the night and Tel Aviv was still awake when we left!

To paraphrase Ol' Blue Eyes:


"Start spreading the news, I’m leaving today
I want to be a part of it - Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv
These vagabond shoes, are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it - Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv
I actually walked and strayed through the heart of Tel Aviv but that is another story


Corinne "encored" three times and still the crowd kept asking for more! Awesome...


Corinne and Friends



More on Shefayim
This is a quick shot of the lunch snack that is served to the pre-schoolers at Kibbutz Shefayim. There is also bread and meat, but isnt this a fine example of healthy eating?



Kindergarten Snack Food

R has a new Dog friend and his name is Pepper, Beatles inspired. Playful and friendly, he is also possessed of the world's cutest Will-you-pet-me-and-play-with-me look, which is not the look he is giving me... that falls into the category of what-is-the-gizmo-the-big-man-is-pointing-at-me?-Curiouser-and-curiouser look



Say Hello to Pepper


Laqiya, An Oasis in the Desert
My cultural treat never ends in this lovely place. I spent a day in the Bedouin town of Laqiya with my friends K&I and their lovely children, B&Y; Laqiya is one of the towns where the Bedouins , traditionally semi-nomadic tribes of the Negev desert, are settling down. Bedouins are lovely hospitable people and my time there was a papmered one!! Among other experiences, this baby camel tried to eat my camera, thinking I was bringing him milk. I have this cute guy on a movie clip but I dont know how to insert that into my Blog, so I guess I'll podcast it sometime. The sad part of this tale is that the baby is an orphan and dosent mix well with the other camels.


Baby Camel


A Quick Query: Where do the Necks end and the bodies begin?



The Camel Family

I also ate the "lovely" looking Cactus Fruit. To draw analogy to life in the Negev, to all appearances, the fruit is dangerous, loaded with thorns, and it takes a lot of hard work to peel it. But once the tough shell is gone, the pulp is sweet and juicy, and as welcome to the weary plodder as bread to the hungry


Cactus Fruit


One more week and I head back to Boston

*sigh*

Makhtesh and Mitzpe Ramon!

Warning! LOOOOONG POST AHEAD

Beauty, they say, lies in the eyes of the beholder.. If those eyes are mine, then Makhtesh Ramon is Paradise! You want the beach, you want the waterfalls, the trees, but dude, there is beauty in starkness too! Making a spectacular entry into my Top 5 places to be, this natural crater rocks (no, no, a meteorite did not hit this place and cause the dinosaurs here to die!; just nature shaking up the bowels of the earth)... it is a natural crater ... it's a wildlife sanctuary, a natural reserve, a national park... and a hikers paradise!
Being an enthusiast of none of the above, (maybe some hiking) but having heard a lot of nice things about this place, I decided to take a peek at the "fire causing all this smoke".
Being a huge 40 km crater (9 kms across), there has to be a vantage point to this place and Mitzpe Ramon was It!

Our story begins on one nice sunny morning. Our protagonist, who is not an enthusiast of wildlife sanctuaries, natural reserves, or national parks, wakes up late. (Wrong. Error 1)
Instead of taking a guided tour, He, being the adventurer that he is, decides to take the local Egged bus to Mitzpe Ramon (Wrong. Error 2). He is in time to take the 8.15 bus. (Wrong. Error 1 is making him make more errors!). 8.15 is "going to work" time. He finds himself in a bus filled with passengers who are all carrying shooting devices. He is the only one who is carrying a camera, all the others being army cadets going to their posted bases. The bus, thus, makes a detour to every known (and some unknown!!) army bases on the way to Mitzpe. End result, our fine friend reaches Mitzpe some time around 10 AM.
Mitzpe is gorgeous. Located on the crater rim, we can see vista spread out before our eyes, 500 meteres below! ...too cool!
Contacting the local agents, at the Visitors Center, he is advised that he might do the 5 hour hike now, rather than later in the day, as it can get pretty hot. "Take plenty of water, at least 5 litres, the heat is dangerous" they tell him. Our hero takes the advice, but takes only 3 litres ("I am from India, this little heat is not going to bother me", he thinks) (Wrong. Error 3).


Setting out

All rigged up and looking set, our friend launches himself off the face of the five hundred feet cliff... (More of the gingerly-feeling-his-way-down-the-steep-slope kind of launching it was..)
"Its a long and lonely road that Frodo was traveling." Before he entered the dreary fields of Gorgoroth, Frodo looked down into "a formless gloom" where "smokes trailed on the ground and lurked in hollows, and fumes leaked from fissures in the earth." Makhtesh on the other hand, is beautiful. See for yourself...


Makhtesh Ramon



The first task after launching oneself off the cliff was to reach the bottom without losing hair ("When its rare, it becomes more preciousss") or hide ("Thick skinned I may be, but impervious I am not!).


My Safe-Hair-and-Hide journey down the cliff face

A bit pre-emptive and impromptu little celebration for being halfway down the previously many-mentioned cliff face was not a good idea. (Wrong - Error X.. too much energy spent at the beginning itself!)


Halfway Down.. this is the beginning


So after a long slide down to the bottom, where was he to go? The destination was the sandstone "Prism" - a mountain of black, red purple, brown and white sandstone. The place was desolate. Most hikers preferred the Spring, fall or Winter season to hike in this pretty place; not so with my Indian friend. He remembered the words of the nice lady at the Visitors Centre - "Follow the trail signs, you wont get lost". Like an expert tracker, he sought out the white and green and the red, blue and white trail signs painted on the rocks. Lizards, snakes, scorpions, beetles, and rodents, all got out of his was as he plodded unceremoniously towards the basaltic hills that ringed his sandstone destination.




He walked and walked.....


Some parts of his journey resembled the winding paths of the plains of Mordor, but the resemblance ended there.



The White Tree of Gondor gave him hope that the end was near. The sun was high in the sky, and then he saw it!

The windings stairs of Mount Prism ...

The Winding Stairs dont look so "winding", but, take my word, they do wind around the mountain

At last, the Mountain had been climbed, the obligatory photographs taken via Timer ...

On the Top of the Prism...

On analysis, it might be useful to mention some statistics:
No of homo sapiens seen on this journey: 0
No of Lizards, snakes, scorpions, beetles, and rodents seen: 0
No of Lizards, snakes, scorpions, beetles, and rodents watching me: 56,547



It took longer to walk back... could have been the sun, the acute lack of stamina in the tired body, fear of stepping on Lizards, snakes, scorpions, beetles, and rodents with aforementioned tired foot, presence of sharp stabbing pains in hitherto unknown muscles in leg, back, arms, foot and head, anything could have caused the slowdown... but, steadily, the miles were eaten away, and the base of the cliff was reached.

But disaster, our smart friend decided to drink all his water and thought he could hoof it up the slope before his cells ran out of water (Wrong. Error-too-many-to-count). ( If you are holding your breath, rest assured that Death is absent from the cast of characters!)

One step at a time, he went up the slope. Halfway there, he suddenly remembered that he had brought more than one bottle before he left and put it in the smaller pocket in his bag. Lo behold! It was there, the nectar, the elixir, the water of life. Whats more, his trusty stock of Ibuprofen was also in the same pocket! God Bless Ibuprofen! One tablet and half a bottle of water lighter, the rest of the journey up the face was a cinch!




With a tired body, Everest has nothing on Makhtesh!

Back on the top, he ran to the restaurant, bought water, added salt, added sugar and ORS was ready!! Praise ORS! (ORS is Oral Rehydrating Solution)


Moral: All Wrongs combined to make this trip just Right! Look, I even found me a Iron Age house to settle down in!



My Iron Age Rock House

Ramon, Mitzpe, Makhtesh
I will be back!

"O Jerusalem"

Nat Geo, this is for you!

Sin, thy name is Chocolate!...

Why dont you all join me for this piece of Heaven? Take a flight to the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and a train to Beer Sheva... Wish you were here!

Revenge of the jellyfish

Shefayim, to thee I travel...

Kibbutz Shefayim is half an hour north of Tel Aviv... it is a kibbutz , home to a water park, a shopping mall (aah, liberalization and commerce!!), and a beach (referred to by my roommate R as "the most beautiful place in the world" - she would know, she is from Shefayim)!
Last week, the "most beautiful place in the world" also hosted the 2005 Annual Jellyfish Convention. As a result, anyone venturing into the water not only made sure that the "rip tide" didnt tear their swinsuits from their selves, they also kept an eye out for floating heads of membranous water a.k.a Jellyfish Supreme. The look of pure bliss on my face stems from the fact that I not only had a good time, but I also avoided the sweet faced monsters!!"
Talking about sweet faced, R is spending her summer taking care of the kids in the pre-school day care center at the Kibbutz, and everyday, the lovely mutt pictured below my hand makes her way to play with the pre-schoolers! The true test of whether a dog is suitable to be among children is to let loose 3-4 pre-schoolers on it... Rosa (lovely name, isnt it?) didnt move, bark, snarl, or jump on any of the kids... she sat their and took their punishment like an angel.... sweet!
I intend to revenge myself on the jellyfish... will figure out how sometime soon.... i have time...

"I live in the shadow of the valley of doubt..."

Three cool places I was "seen at" over the last three weeks.... topping the list is Jerusalem. I really loved the place, but the traffic situation sucks ... the photograph was taken while sitting at an outdoor cafe on the hillside, which also happened to be one of the places where the movies of the Jerusalem Film Festival were being screened... Yep! I was there!! :-)
Coming in from the desert, it was a nice change to see a beautiful city nestled in the hills. I walked around the Old City, took photographs with the 10,000 other tourists so I could fulfill my touristy obligations... the good time I had was at the Film Festival... could catch two wonderful movies... One was Yasmin and the other was called "the Double Life of Eva" ... lovely movies, both...
After spending a day, I reached the conclusion that I am not the sightseeing kind... even in the "holiest of the holy" cities of the world, I preferred to push up my legs and chill!! aah...
In all this, I missed the last bus from J'salem to Be'er Sheva and my good friend S was kind enough to drive me to Tel Aviv so I could catch the last bus from there ... this is one aspect of Israeli life that I find fascinating.... the country is so small that one can traverse from one end to the other in the time it takes me to go from Boston to New York!! It never ceases to amaze me ... the next time I come here, I am going to drive all around, endangering pedestrian life, in the tradition of Israeli drivers!!

The King and I

The King Lives!

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All puns in this, and other, post(s) are intentional. If you find that they trigger involuntary laughter, you are advised to visit this post aften
Yet-another-good-friend-who-will-not-be-named-in-the-interests-of-privacy suggested that I put this fotooo online.
I call this story - "A Fall from Graceland". At the risk of Rodin turning cartwheels in his grave, I will sub-title it "The Alternative Thinking Man" (Thank you, my-friend-who-I-have-not-named)
There was once a famous King, holding center stage in a busy shopping area in one corner of a southern city in one corner of the middle eastern part of the world. The King impressed all who passed by, with his wisdom and impeccable potty manners! He crooning voice resulted in an epidemic where people experienced wobbly knees and had to sit down. The people who could stand His Benevolence were lauded for their resolve, in the face of art murder. Other less resolute just avoided travelling on that route.
One day, there came a tumultous uprising. The people of the Republic voted to consign the King and his Greatness to a discrete invisible corner of the same busy shopping area in one corner of a southern city in one corner of the middle eastern part of the world. His supporters protested, but to no avail. The King had lost his Seat! Driven to a life of negelct and inconsiderate birds, the King was glad that atleast some of his supoprters were flush with loyalty to keep him clean.
While wandering through the urban jungle of this busy shopping area in one corner of a southern city in one corner of the middle eastern part of the world, I parted some the overhanging branches and voil`a, the King was revealed for what he was - The Pot at the end of the rainbow! I wasted not a moment, and here lies recorded, 'my page of History'. Dr Dents, I presume!

Disclaimer: The body in front of the King belongs to me and solely me. I claim no copyrights to the "King", who is the property of a Ceramics company in this southern city in one corner of the middle eastern part of the world
If the foliage obstructs your view, you are informed that the "sculpture" is of a man, crown on the head, jeans bundled aroung his ankles, seated on an unseen object, reading.... "Infer what Ye will"

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Take it from me - when in Rome, speak as the Romans do; when in Israel, speak Hebrew! Sociologist say that if you do not know the local lingo, you lose out on a whole cultural experience; I would like to add that you are lessened not only in the aforementioned experience but also in the length of your bangs!!
With rudimentary knowledge of hebrew, I ventured out into the big bad world of Beersheva Tonsorial Parlors... aka Barber Shops... After picking one I liked, I entered cautiously.
Here, I must mention that though my hair has been growing on my brainiac head for the last five months, seeing neither hair nor hide of a shears (pun totally wintended, i say wonly), it is not of a length to inspire poems or rapunzel tales. It looks cool though, maybe a little unruly!
Back to Barber Shop... Rating R: R:"Restricted, Under 17 Net Surfer Requires Accompanying Parent Or Adult Guardian." What follows contain graphic descriptions of of cutting and shearing; wild gesticulating and one syllable language;
B here stands for barber a.k.a. Barber of BeerSheva, Me stands for poor ole ME
B: Shalom!
Me: Shalom! Ma Nishma? *There ended my use of my fluent more-than-one-syllable Hebrew.* Do you speak Anglait?
B: A leetil
Me:I am here for a haircut. The board outside says 30 shekels. Is that right?
B: Yas! 30 shekels. Sit!
Me: (*Thinking to myself - Pidgin anglait will be easier for him to comprehend*) B'seder! I need hair trim. Little hair, I have (Sparks of Yoda-ish, you see?). Not short, trim. B'seder?
B: B'seder. Ken
Me: (*On his taking out his scissors and comb, I begin to picking at random strands of hair and showing how long I wanted the hair length to be- insurance; just making sure*) Trim? See? Trim. Not Cut. Trim
B: ( Perplexed ) No cut? Shave?
Me: (Plucking random hairs out in frustration - I dont need to get my hair cut; a few more minutes will result in a sufficient decrease in hair quantity) Lo! Lo! Cut, yes (Hands describing the Vitruvian Man in the air)
B: Aaaah ! Treem! B'seder.
Me (settling in, thinking - he knows what he needs to do, sit and enjoy the experience): Tov, Todah!
B: India?
Me: Yes
B: India - 3 rupees; here 30 shekels!
Me: (Ah! He's talking about the price of haircuts) Lo! 30 rupees now. get more costlee
B: No, reeckshaw.. 3 rupees
Me: (*Confused* - Where did the reeckshaw come from?) Ken!
*Sound of scissors clackety clacking, electric razors humming, people shouting at each other outside*
15 minutes later, I wake up from a reverie to find 80% of my hair gone!!! How did THAT happen? I turned to yell in Pidgin English at B but was stopped by the smile he had on his face- akin to DaVinci admiring his most precious work. "Treem", he said
Aah well, cant argue with that. I directed my shorn head homeward and the first thing my roomates told me was, "You look like you are planning to join the Army"
*sigh*
"I guess, after all, tomorrow is another hair day"
Hum ab nischithta se keh sakte hain ki Hum Baal Baal Nahin Bachey!
Peace out
Reporting from Camp Beraber
BeerSheva

Hebrew Glossary:
Shalom: Peace/Hello/Greetings
Ma Nishma: How are you?
B'seder: Okay
Tov: Good
Todah: Thanks
Lo: No
Ken: Yes

Episode 1: Saturday Night Fever

Nope! this is not about the Sith or John Travolta. My ambitions are a lot less loftier.. its about me
"God sent 10 devastating plagues"
Wow! I got lucky.. .he only sent down ague onto me, myself and dents!
The big downside to international travel has always been the availability of at-your-disposal medical care. I am lucky in that my many years in medical school were not entirely wasted, and I can self diagnose and self treat with impunity. I do draw the line with inflicting my medical intelligence on others unless specifically asked for. Rather than talk about the trials of my ague plagued body, I decided to focus on the tribulations of my ague-wracked mind. Why is it that I am at my most negative when I am ill? Why do I dream of fiery hell ending of my various ideas and plans only when my immunity is challenged by viruses whose names no odinary human would want to pronounce, leave alone fraternize with them. For example, take a simple problem like a virus (a virtual one) on my hard drive. I have till-now proven combination of anti-virus with built in firewall and spam blocker(a licensed copy at that too, with updates and all), an external firewall (just in case... its free) and yet another anti-spyware (you never know... its free till July 31st anyway) that ought to keep almost anything short of nuclear bomb away (maybe that too, but I dont want to test that theory anytime soon). But a virus sneaked in, leading me to..... *Tear my few remaining hairs out in frustration* ... i ran five different combinations of *free* scan tools and didnt find anything.... *How can so many free tools be so wrong*
but my gut tells me that it is lurking around somewhere waiting to pounce (or is that my paranoia talking?)... but wait, worse to come; in the midst of my fever riddles mind runs a nightmare vision of hard drive format and a reinstallation process ... fever does that to me... adds fatalism (in real sense) to my reality!!
I hope to get over this;
find that xxz.tmp file, kill the !@#$%& virus and enjoy a tension-free ague-free existance... till the next episode hits me in the face...

Mumbai Redux

Tazme, more National Geographic, so you can skip this post!
Just came back from a day trip to Tel Aviv! It brought back memories of Mumbai ...
January 1998.... the end of my internship... My friend (He-Who-I-Will-Not-Name-for-Reasons-of-Privacy) and I spent a glorious week in the beautiful-in-a-weird-sort-of-way city of Mumbai... aah, the vada pavs we ate, the kms we walked (and cab-bed)... Yes, "Kya aap Prabha Devi chaloge?" did not work; what worked was "Bhidu, Prabha Devi chalo!"... He-Who-I-Will-Not-Name and I were loathe to leave but we needed to head back to our mundane existance!

Tel Aviv yesterday brought back those memories... I walked and walked and walked ... all over the place and belive you me, there is no better way to see Tel Aviv.. ... the Yitzhak Rabin Square... the Shouk... one of the traders in the market, on learning that I was from "Kashmir", made me his "neighbour and brother"... too bad he didnt offer any free goodies to his 'brother"... Dizengoff Street and the numerous brides and grooms heading out 'into the sunset' from the wedding gown shops there... and the Beach!!
Aah, the Beach..... If you are headed Tel Aviv way, do not miss the Beach... the sun, the sand, the people... wah!... the day ended at the Deck...
Me thinks Me is going back there at every opportunity! Am now back in Be'er Sheva now, but yesterday lingers on...

Yofi Tofi

If there is one phrase used by tourists that is definitely going to bring out the smiles, its "Yofi Tofi". It means "Beautiful Toffee", and is usually used by small kids to express their pleasure. Since this was one of the first few phrases I learnt in Hebrew, it sort of stuck with me. The very fact that my roommates told me that it is not something that people would expect me to say has led me to use it extensively and see smiles light up on everyone's face. Some tell me that they havent heard it being used for many many years. More reasons that I am all for it; it is a great ice-breaker!

Photo-travails of the tired traveller
This is the Friday Market in the central square of the Old City in Beersheva



Bustling, but touristy - didnt really enjoy it much!

I am a Rock too!

I like this a-one!! Appeals to the stubborn inner child (& outer child!)!

I am a Rock

I came across an interesting garden of sculptures while walking through the old city of Beersheva... commissioned in 1997

Bullet the Blue Sky

I think I am a "closet nomad". This particular species of irrationalis hoiminis seeks to plant roots but is incapable of doing so, comfortable flitting from place to place, never settling in one. From the time I left home to "make my mark on this world"(no mention will be made of the craters I left behind by merely using my jogging track!), I have flitted from place to place, moving like a butterfly and stinging no one. From Bangalore, to Mysore, to Delhi to Boston, to BeerSheva, the jouney seems to never have started and dosent look like it will end. I currently reside in Beer Sheva, the largest city in the Negev Desert. I was here for a whirlwind three-day tour in February (Re: I was there too! link on the right) and I then decided this is where I was going to do my summer internship. BeerSheva has a desolate beauty. This city was built by the Ottoman Turks (it existed as an oasis before that, me thinks) as a resting place in their trade route. This is a beautiful city, currently being defaced (as are all cities of the world) by a horde of multi-storey apartment buildings, lies an hour and twenty minutes south of Tel Aviv. But the Old City, preserved in its Turkish-British-Israeli splendor, lives on.
The day I landed, crossing many Seas and one Ocean, my lovely roommates took me to the Student night at the Ben Gurion University. A famous rock band, Mashina, was performing and I gamely agreed to transport my jet lagged body concert-ward. It was amazing-I felt like I was back in the Palace Grounds, rocking to Rock Machine (Indus Creed to the younger generation!)...the excitement, the energy, the enthu - i was jealous that I was too tired to take it all in! If any of you reading this were there, and I stepped on your toes, or poked your face, while swaying various parts of my anatomy to the beat, all I can say is "It wasn't me, it was the one-armed man".
I have met a lot of Israeli Jews and a few Israeli Bedouin since getting here. The "conflict" is in the news all the time, and sometimes in the background but to most of these people, there are more important things to do in life- write a research paper, submit homework, research supermarkets to see who has the lowest rate for tomatoes, select a dress for the graduation party... all the things that stress out families all over the world. To the visitor, The conflict seems to be everywhere, brought home by seeing security guards everywhere, the ubiquitous army personnel, the kids with guns, et al. Hey, this is peacetime. But life here goes on...
I will be here till August, when I shift base to London and then on to jolly Beantown a.k.a Bahs-ton!

Here I Go Again

My first baby steps into a new world! Inspired by Tazme and Vidyas-space, Thank you!
Everytime I write three words, I take two words back!
I will survive.
Expect a decent amount of blogs, but if you ask me "'What's the Frequency, Kenneth'?", I can only reply "I am 'learning to fly', and I need you to 'Ride Across the River' with me"
Corny.. but baby steps... baby steps.... oops!

I say!

I say! no more