That Funny Feeling

Its pitch black outside and stunningly silent. The only sound I can hear right now is of the insects. (its something like a high frequency kkkkkkkkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr).

Inside, the TV is loud and family glued to it, getting ready for dinner to be served. Some of them talking about good old times. I however; prefer sitting out in the dark and hitting my laptop keyboard hard and fast (to type this down). The place is my hometown Mangalore, the time is 10pm, its few hours before my train leaves for Mumbai, and its That Funny Feeling again.

I have always enjoyed traveling to Mangalore. This was one short [totally unplanned] vacation trip and like all trips, it’s almost over……….well not yet though, but almost over. This Funny Feeling will be over too, I guess once I reach Mumbai, so thought might as well capture it here, before it vanishes after seeing the crowds and busy streets of Mumbai.

It’s “That Funny Feeling” which always comes up as any vacation nears its end. However short and unplanned this vacation maybe, I am going to miss this place, the people I met, the food I relished and all those small moments that were enjoyable and relaxing enough to unwind me from my daily work routine. Cheers to all!

The kkkkkkkkkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr volume is increasing, guess they are attracted to my laptop screen in the dark. Its time to go indoors and continue, since I haven’t captured “That Funny Feeling” yet.

Drifting slightly from the main topic (the insects diverted my mind I guess)…

The only complain I had from this trip is meeting so many relatives in such less time. Well, simply meeting them was not actually a complain; in fact was good to catch up with so many of them. The real annoying aspects of meeting relatives were the two questions that were constantly bombarded at me at each house. 1) What’s your age, and 2) when are you getting married? Puffff !!! I am immune to it now. During my 4 days here, I think it was asked exactly 137 times each. One more question came close third and was asked about a moderate 43 times. 3) So you came to Mangalore to see proposals is it?

Well I am not going to answer any of the above here. Although I do remember I gave a different answer for each instance any of those questions were asked.

Apart from these annoying instances, everything else is a well cherished memory.

And I wish to be back more frequently and quite often.

Before I log off….Treat yourself to this spontaneous poetry.

Change is the only permanent thing they say,

And that feelings in this ever changing world no longer stay!

But it’s That Funny Feeling which keeps coming up every now and then.

Especially when the train leaves tomorrow; and now its 10!

What attract me most to my hometown are the colors of nature – lush Green acres of fields, Red soil, Blue skies, White beach sand.

In my city however, the colors still exist, but not of nature; only artificial by man.

Here, every sound, smell, touch, sight is soothing!

There, most of it is polluting.

Words fall short to express what I have to say

Feel free to interpret this in your own preferred way.

For the rest of this night me going to shut off my thinking,

And prefer being a little while longer with That Funny Feeling.

Chickened ......... Out !!!

Monsoon 2013 behaved like a good student isn’t it? Started exactly in June and was not one day late for schoolJ. Rains in Mumbai invoke the tourist in us to get out of the city and explore nature. Few weeks back went out of for a short road trip. Awesome scenery, serene landscapes, pleasant winds were all part of it as usual, but this post has nothing to do with the trip; more about it maybe some other time.

Well after that candid introduction; let me jump in straight to the topic. We left Mumbai at early morning to avoid the weekend rush, but got stuck for awhile at the Mumbai – Pune express way. Not a packed traffic jam, but good enough for an expressway. Ten minutes later, realized that a chicken truck (the one that carries chickens J ), had stopped in the middle of the road and few Express way cops were investigating it.  The cops and few local villagers pushed the vehicle to the side and started clearing the traffic. 

Meanwhile, the driver walked towards back of that truck and opened the cage; and whhhooooossssssshhhhhh. Like a pack of cards, all the chickens fell out. Yes, you read it right, its ‘fell out’ and not ‘flew out’; since they were all dead…….khalaaasss. The truck driver, owner or whoever; too was surprised to see all of them dead. There were maybe 200 – 300 approx. How did they die? Maybe because of the heavy rains, being cramped in cages, some flue, infection or who knows what. He started panicking and explaining the cops that they were alive when he last checked. He then handed over few dead chickens to the cops and villagers [chicken bribe ;)] and asked them to help load back the truck.

The villagers were happy to get free chickens. You could tell from their excitement. They were holding them by their legs and waving in the air like a prized achievement. But I wonder what would happen of the remaining dead bodies…………I mean the dead chickens. Probably they would still end up at their destination – some slaughter house or a hotel. And still be served to the end consumer; that is we humans.

The sight of the dead chickens lying on the road and then being loaded in the truck was pretty awful. I am a veggie and it does not bother me much. But I had others with me who love eating chicken and were disgusted by the sight of it. It was a short moment of realization for all of us that we enjoy eating chicken when cooked and fried; but for it to get on to our plate, we don’t even bother or care to know how much suffering That life has to undergo to entice our taste buds.

Like the famous magicians Penn and Teller (total respect for their magic) would say……..it’s only a god dam chicken!!! (no respect for this statement of theirs). Some may also counter argue saying:

1.       Even plants have life, so what about their suffering when the vegetarians eat them?

2.       Its survival of the fittest buddy.

3.       There are so many chicken in this world, why not make use of them by eating them.

Case 1: Let’s take a situation where no one is going to serve us food for one day. We have to get and cook our food all by ourselves. There is a living chicken in front of us and potato plant (or any other veggie plant). Would you kill the chicken, cut its throat, pluck its feather, chop it into pieces and cook it OR pluck the vegetable, cut it into pieces and cook it?

My choice would be to pluck the veggie and cook it. If I cannot harm or kill a life myself, I prefer not eating it as well. Your choice may differ and you have the right to stick by it.

Case 2: Question of Survival arises only when there is a threat. What threat do chickens have for humans? In fact it’s we humans who are a threat to these species …maybe they should fight back J.

Case 3: True, so many chickens. Most of them we have forcefully grown. But if that’s the argument, then why stop at chicken? There are so many crows around. Why not consume the crows as well and make use of them? J

I haven’t posted any pictures in this post; did not want you all to feel disgusted by it. But next time you eat food, would be wise to spend a moment to ponder on what has it taken to prepare that meal for you.

This post is not to debate about veg or non-veg food. What we put into our mouth is entirely our choiceJ…………food is anyways a personal choice. 

Saathi Salaam...

So I was travelling back from work with Pranav driving my car; and me sitting in the navigator seat, enjoying the varied range of music being played from his mobile. While scrolling through his playlist, I randomly clicked a song titled "Saathi Salaam", not knowing if it would be a good one with all this traffic around.
I heard it........and it happened to be much more than a song; it was an experience........and the experience was elevating. It just takes you to a higher state of consciousness.

Often people ask "hey who is your fav artist?.........or.........what kind of music do you listen to?". Its tough to give a reply. I love music but don't have a favorite artist. And as far as kind of music is concerned, i like any music that makes one feel good. Saathi Salaam  is surely such kind of powerful music that will make you feel different after you listen to it.

On returning back home, I youtube'd Saathi Salaam and saw the recorded video performance, and kept on seeing and hearing it. Found out and saw all possible videos I could about this piece of music creation. Researched a little to see how the artists collaborated such wonderful music. The lyrics are a little tough to catch, but it doesn't matter. Once you get hold of the lyrics, you'll love it even more :). Love it when the lyrics  of a song give out a spiritual insight.

To reveal a little bit more, the song is a fusion of old folk poetry and modern music. And in this poetry, the poet asks a man where is he going. The man replies I am going to God's house. To which the poet replies.......Oh, He is my friend, give this letter to Him. That's why, the poetry / song is .........Saathi Salaam.

An interesting comment on youtube about this song says....... "not one word, not one word did i understand...but i danced, i cried, i laughed, i died...i lived" And that's exactly how you too will feel.

Hope you all too love it :)

PS: the real star of this song is Sawan Khan.

PPSS: notice i haven't given any links or embedded the video here :). its for you to search the internet and find out on your own. God bless. Have fun listening.

Oye......Gaadi Rok!!!

We have so many traffic rules…….. we hardly follow few…….. and never bother to know them all J.

I was driving on the highway once on the leftmost lane. Saw a signal turn red and halted like a responsible citizenJ. There was a left turn at the signal, but I didn’t want to take it as I had to go straight. The signal light turned green, and I accelerated, only to find a traffic cop blocking my way and ordering me to park at the side.

As I turned the wheel left to park I started to think if I had jumped the signal, and maybe that’s why he asked me to stop. But soon realized that I did see the signal turn green. Nearing my side of the window he asked in the usual Mumbai Police istyle “chala license kaada”. I handed him my license and asked what fault I did.

Just then I got a phone call (I didn’t notice it as my phone is always on silent when I drive). The cop saw it and smiled quirkily “You broke 2 rules – One is you were on the left lane when you wanted to go straight and Two is that you are using your phone and getting calls while driving” .  

Well rule one did make sense and I agreed he can book me for lane cutting. But the second rule was simply hilarious J J J ……. Another cop came near and started to write a receipt for a fine. And below is the transcript of the exact conversation:

Cop 1: Book him for lane cutting and talking on phone

Me : (with a naughty smile) Sirji, you know that I was not talking on the phone. Yes I was on the wrong lane, so I’ll pay the fine.

Cop2: You seem like a bright kid. But you see, if I give you a receipt, then I take your license and you have to come the next day to collect it. So much trouble to you.

Me: So what should we do? (I knew where this was heading J )

Cop1: He was talking on the phone!

Cop2: You tell me what should we do?

Me: No you tell me!

Cop2: Ok. Your normal fine is Rs200. Pay me less here and leave.

Me: (Thinking…….shall I give him less and leave …….. or……… damm….tough choice)

Me: Sirji, I don’t feel its right so you can take my license and write me a receipt.

He then started to write a receipt. But a similar incident happened when I was in South Africa with my uncle. So taking some tips from there I bluntly requested the cop, “Can you let me go please? I haven’t committed a grave offence. I usually follow all rules and I am sorry I was on the wrong lane. Can you let me go please? “

There was no reply. He simply handed over the license to me nodded me to leave. Wow! That was a relief………and an instant learning as well. - If you don’t ask………..you don’t get !!! J

And when I was all set to leave, the cop who caught me said “You seem like a good man. Pray for us”. We don’t like to take bribe either. But it’s a tough job that we do”

I wished him luck and left. It was so true what he shared. Traffic policemen are never respected by citizens. All we think is that they take bribes. But that’s not true. Imagine what would happen if Traffic cops went on strike for a day…………would be total Chaos in the city right! They do work, and it is indeed a tough, tiring and thankless job. Hope the government provides good facilities to those who make sure our travel is easy. But till then, would be nice to just wish a traffic cop next time you meet one. A “Namaste”, “Good Morning”, or festive wishes, or just one statement of praise like “you’re doing a really good job”. He too will feel good for that one moment you greet him J

Jumping from a Plane!!!

Had written this article a long time back. Thought of sharing it on this blog....

Summer of 2008, Oulu, Finland

Heights have never been my strengths. Friends who really know me well can vouch for it. It’s not that I am afraid of heights, but kind of a phobia where in I get a tingling sensation in my legs when I look down from few feet above ground. And if I am standing on a rooftop and looking downwards, then I need something to hold on to, else, I’ll never go near the edge J

So here I was in Oulu during the winters and while exploring this new place, found out a skydiving school nearby. Upon enquiry, they told me there are two types of jumps:

1) Self jump, that needs a training of 7 hours and one can jump on his own from a height of 1 km’s above the ground. (3281 feet)

2) Tandem jump, needs just 30 min’s of training and one can jump along with the instructor, but from a height of 3.7km’s above the ground. (12139 feet)

That’s it. I just enquired and thought, let it be. Not something I should get involved in J

One fine summer day, few others who were working with me started planning for skydive and asked me if I would like to join in. They were just pulling my leg…….they knew my height disorders ;)

However, I agreed to their request. It later on so happened that the others where a little chickened out and I had to really convince them to go for it J. So out of so many of my friends, only 4 agreed to go for it.

Now the next question, Self jump or Tandem? I opted for a Tandem, simply because it was from a greater height. Well, it’s not that I was all brave to challenge myself. But the Tandem jump had a greater free fall time. Free fall as the term implies, is that part of a skydiving jump, where you just fall before opening the parachute. For Tandem jump it was 50 sec’s and for a Self jump it was 3 sec’s.

So I opted for 50 sec’s ;). I still don’t know why, but it was the best choice I made.

I made the bookings and visited the facility. The instructor was Petteri Korhonen, a Finnish local, who by profession is a Software Engineer, and does this as a hobby. He had done about 5000 jumps then. Wow! Could you believe that……..so many jumps and he has still survived. Guess that made me feel more safe and put aside all the nonsense thoughts I had in my mind.

Then there was a brief training session that had me lying down on my tummy on a skateboard with arms and legs in air so I could balance my body against the aerodynamics during the jump. A little bit of theory about the parachute and how it needs to be handled.

Cool, so training was over and we headed for the jump site. I had a personal camera man too who would jump with me and record it. We got into the small Cessna plane, ready to take off. My final instruction given by the instructor was simple…..”Roland….don’t do anything silly. Just Jump!” J

As the plane gained altitude, I started to have a strange sensation in my tummy. The pilot and my instructor kept asking me how I felt. I just smiled like an idiot and said I am fine, enjoying the view. In reality……..I was not fine. I was nervous and scared. I just pretended like I was calm. Thought of asking them, “Well, can we take a U-turn and go back please, I don’t think I can do this”. But I didn’t. And thank God I didn’t

I closed my eyes for few moments and talked to myself “Come what may, I will jump. With total trust, let’s jump”. Then I started to enjoy the awesome view around. There was land and sea all around. Everything seemed so tiny. The skies were clear with few clouds around. From the window, I could see the vast horizon. All I could hear was the engine of the Cessna, like the starting of an induction motor from 3 idiots.”DDhhurrrrrrrrrrrrr…..”

It took us nearly 20 min’s to reach the height of 3.7 km’s. They opened the plane door. My instructor did a final round of checking that the parachute was correctly attached to him. He checked the four hooks with which I was attached to his body. Yes, that’s all that would hold me until we landed……..those four hooks.

The altitude gauge showed a reading of 3.7 km’s and a temp of -4 C.

I slowly moved to the open door, one baby step at a time. The wind was gushing at my face. It felt refreshing but the fear I had earlier, returned. The more I moved closer to the door, the more my mind started looking for reasons to not jump. My cameraman was already out holding on to one of the plane wing ready to shoot my jump. I managed to get to edge of the door with my one leg outside by now, hanging in air. I had to gently getup and standup with my instructor behind me and move outwards near the plane wing. That’s when I looked down upon the earth. Well it did look all gorgeous and beautiful, but it didn’t interest me then. My feet were shaking, my tummy was tingling. Slowly, taking support of the plane wall, I managed to reach the wing.

I was facing my Ultimate Fear! Then I heard a count “1……2……3……jump”

And………… can’t explain

We somersaulted and I could see the plane fly past away from us. And I was falling at speed of 220 km’s/hr.

And that was it. Fear had been kicked out. Then there was total ecstasy during the fall. It felt like ultimate freedom. Everything seized to exist in those moments of free fall. I couldn’t feel my body though I was breathing, my mind was clear, and the intellect wasn’t doing anything, felt like there was no memory of anything before the fall. All I could feel was that Moment.

Everything felt like it just vanished. No thoughts, just being with the fall. It was bliss!

While having a fall from that altitude, one has nothing to lose, nothing to hold on to. All I remember I had was happiness. Yes I was scared before I jumped, but a small push was indeed needed for this experience J

Then I heard one more count “1………2…….3……parachute”

And Whooosssshhhh……the parachute opened and pulled us upwards due to the air pocket it creates. That’s when I realized the beauty of the skydive………”You fall first, and later enjoy the view J”

Everything around was serene and pure beauty. We guided our parachute to the nearby clouds, then moved swiftly over the nearby sea. I was still attached to my instructor with those four hooks J. We then made way to the landing area, and bump, we were on the ground. I looked up and thanked for this experience.

Summer 2010, New Jersey, USA

Again I got a chance to jump in New Jersey on 4^th of July. This time from a height of 5.4 km’s (17717 feet) and free fall extended to 70 sec’s J.

It’s not that my height phobia has gone away and that I am not scared during skydiving. I still am. And every time fear is only the moment I stand at the open plane door. Once I jump, it all goes away and it is freedom. The experience is worthwhile. :)

Check out the video:

Skydive in Oulu

Skydive in New Jersey

Attaching few pics.

Horn............Ok.........Please?

For last few days, i have been travelling a lot by road. Mostly using the Western Express highway from Borivali to Andheri and back. Its actually after a long long time that I started riding my bike daily...........on the road ofcourse :P

To speak about the traffic, well, Mumbai traffic is the best among the worst traffic we get in our country..............isin't it? The roads are rarely empty.

While riding, one thing that used to irritate or bother me was the excessive honking by other riders / drivers. (we Ride a bike....and we Drive a car -- for those who don't know the difference!!!) . I am sure even you must have observed this. We are at a red signal, and people behind pressing that horn franticly. We are stuck in a jam packed traffic, still people behind us, to the right, left and in front of us keep honking. Yeah as if the more number of times they honk, that many vehicles will be reduced on the road........like the traffic would just vanish :). And to be honest, there were moments when this honking did bother me.

So i started playing a game :). And that was to simply ignore the excessive honking. And boy that did wonders. Like if there a car behind me honking desperately, i just ignore it. Infact i also reduce my speed for few seconds. Now its not that by doing so the car driver stopped honking. In some cases they honked even more. But simply by ignoring it, made me more peaceful. It made me enjoy my ride much better, even in the traffic, even in the pollution :).

People may not change............but i can surely change myself...........to some extent :)

I recommend that someday you too play this game when u ride........or drive :P

Space !!!

For past few days......i have been curious about sky , space, universe.......or whatever we call it. Its amazing that when one sees at a clear sky at night, with so many stars, planets and other objects, it expands one's consciousness.

So to take a look at the night sky, I bought myself a "Konus - Skyview 60" telescope last week. :-)

Assembling it was easy but i took my own time understanding it. Then excitedly went up my building rooftop hoping to see some space stuff :P.

And then, the big question.........where do i start looking? Which direction do i point my telescope to see Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and all the other planets. Thats when my Galaxy-S android phone came to help. The Google Sky Map application was a beauty in helping me locate what i wanted to see in this infinite neverending sky above me (or rather i would say all around me).

It was 10pm and all that i could see then was Saturn as all the other planets, our Moon were on the other side...meaning, they were near the sun. So they wouldn't be visible at night for some more days now.

So i pointed my telescope up in the sky where my phone said i would find Saturn. And guess what..... i found it exactly where it said it would be. My excitement just grew :-). Technology makes things so easy :P

Now the next part was to adjust the scope and its focal length to see Saturn clearly. I was able to do that and adjust few scope parameters to see Saturn. And WOW !..........it was awesome. Saturn and its rings were clearly visible. Not like a huge image........but could clearly make out its round shape with the rings along its diameter. Looked gorgeous. I had only seen the images on T.V or the internet. But this day.........i was seeing it with my own eyes....Live ! :P

And after a while......a thought dawned in my mind. That was that Saturn there when i saw it? I mean yes it was Saturn.............but was it exactly at that same location when i saw it? We all know the fact that for light to each the earth it takes 8 minutes from Sun. So in this case, the rays of light from Sun, hit Saturn, and then get reflected from its surface towards earth. And that is how we see it. That is how we see all planets.

Saturn is 1 light hour away from Sun. It means it takes an hour for light to reach from Sun to Saturn. And then about 52 mins for few rays of light to reach from Saturn to Earth.

Interesting right ;-)

What that means is...........that Saturn what i was seeing with my telescope was not exactly there at that time. What i was seeing was Saturn that was there an hour back. Do you get my point :-)

So initially for me, the Truth was that what I was seeing was Saturn. But later I realized......that it was just a distortion of Truth, and not the actual truth :-) . (samajh ne waale samajh gaye !!!)

Space is indeed interesting. Reveals a lot just by being in the moment.

Here is the picture i managed to take from my DSLR cam...... to take a clear pic of Saturn, i would need a SLR and an adapter to attach it to the telescope!

Good Citizens

I live in India, and more so i live in Mumbai - that has the busiest yet narrow streets. The highways are pretty decent though :-). There's a junction nearby my home, where there's no traffic signal, the cops play hide and seek occasionally, and throughout the year, there's always some construction work going on. ...... (we Indians are so creative........ if there is no work, then we Create work ;-) )

Due to all this, it gets pretty chaotic during the evenings, with all the heavy traffic. Now since this is a junction, there's a four way traffic. And since there is no traffic control, the entire traffic movement is a Luck By Chance. Today also, there was a congestion of traffic and people sitting inside their jazzy vehicles were simply honking, thinking that the more they honk, the faster traffic gets cleared.

Then, few on lookers (guess 5 of them) quickly came together, and started controlling the traffic. Within minutes there was a free flow of vehicles. No traffic jam, but a smooth flow of traffic. Well, i guess thats what we call Responsibility. Simply having the ability to respond to a given situation. I am sure out of the thousands of people present on that road at that time, many must be having thoughts like:

• Yeah traffic toh roz ka hi natak hain. (this traffic is a everyday problem)
• Apni government kuch nahin karti hain re. (Our government never does anything )
• Yeah police waale bhi time pe kalti maarte hain. (Cops are never present when required)
• Kisko padi hain?. ( Who Cares ???)

But those people who came to help must have not thought about it...........they just did one thing, and that was to Act! Taking simple responsibility, how difficult can that be? Now these five people came to help, and there were still people saying "who will listen to these guys?". But within moments everyone did. And thats how they managed to control the traffic. Everyone was then listening to them, following what they commanded. Guess its really true then, Responsibility is equal to Power.

So here came thought to me, what if every Indian or rather, if every person on this planet would take some simple responsibilities around them? We often complain about things NOT being correct or right. But if we act responsibly , i think we all can have a better place to live in :-)

But seeing those 5 people controlling the traffic made one thing clear to me.............that there are still Good Citizens around :-)

Graceful white surprise ...

Its time for me to leave Finland for the moment and go back to India ;). So for the past few days i was involved in clearing stuff over here and also packing my bags. It has been a wonderful experience of learning and sharing. Lots of stories and memories :). 

Also, the winters are fast approaching, with temperatures touching zero degrees. (and even goes below zero at night). Till yesterday it was all green outside. The skies were cloudy, and the weather was windy. Nice and pleasent for a long walk with special people ;). But today, it started to snow in the afternoon. And it snowed heavily for about 2 hours, thus everything outside was all white. Everything was covered in snow..........the cars, trees, bikes and even people. The roads that were clear and visible till yesterday were covered under thick lush yet soft snow. 

The entire place looked different after the transition/addition of snow. I was all excited to see the first snow this year, so took out my bike and went for a nice chilled bike ride ;). And just looking around, observing everything, i could feel the soft snow falling upon me from the endless skies above. The wind flowing would ocassionally make innovative designs of the snow flakes floating in the air. And with everything so pure and white around me, i could only feel grateful to the Divine for giving me this oppurtunity to experience His abundance presence all around us. Truely Magnificent !!! :)

Here's a pic of the first snow fall that i clicked.

Cycling in Oulu

I still remember those days when I used to cycle around in Mumbai. I got my first cycle at the age of 14, it was named Generation X Ranger ( yeah I got it for its funky name ;-) ), and used to cycle a lot during holidays and vacations. But soon I gave it up as the roads were very bad and I used to get a flat tire almost every 2 weeks.

And ten years later, now when I am in Oulu (in Finland), I bought a second hand cycle and started cycling again. And the only reason was the well maintained separate roads for cycling. In fact, the cycle roads in Oulu are considered as one of the best in the world. The total length of roads is approx. 512kms. That’s right, no heavy motor vehicles are allowed on these roads and they are meant only for cycling, skating, walking and running. And unlike that in Mumbai, its great to see so many people cycling around the city.

Well, I see it as a nice solution to reduce pollution. And it’s a nice way to stay in shape as well ;). The scenery alongside the roads is filled with greenery and forests.........simply breath taking. Its as if I am traveling through one of the landscapes shown in Lord of The Rings movie.

Its been 3 months now that I have been cycling within the city and its been one of my best experiences here in Oulu. I even go to work on my cycle. As a matter of fact about 20% of employees in my company get their cycles to work. And about 10 % come on their roller skates and the rest get their car. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined to come to work on a cycle (that too dressed in formals………hehe).

Here are few pictures for you to enjoy. The cycle in the last photo is mine :)