Present brings the past closer..

"Present brings the past closer" can apply to a lot of things in sundry different ways. For me , it applies to UW Wisconsin Madison where i spent two beautiful years. Those two years i grew as a person phenomenally, transforming from a young adult who hadn't explored the world much and had never stayed away from home into a person who saw the world from a completely novel angle. Among the myriad blissful experiences at the University and the memories connected to different places in the campus, one is particularly peculiar. Wendt Library where i spent many evenings, afternoons & late nights. Sometimes doing management assignments with B & S, sometimes studying VLSI with a lot of scare in the mind (source of fear: The VLSI Professor :-) ) or doing CAD computer assignments till late nights to get the program to work at any cost. Me and B almost used to rush to the library during the spring break to go & reserve the window seat on the 2nd floor as a study table for us. That window study table used to overlook the Camp Randall park and the view used to be gorgeous. In addition to that there used to be rocking chairs with that table. Perfect place to study. We then used to take turns to go to Union South to grab some lunch & keep the table reserved for us. Probably the most amount of time that i spent in Wendt was with my best friend B.
Now living in this new apt, the surrounding area profoundly reminds me of the Wendt. The library right across the Street has a very nice park & a beautiful view from its 2nd floor windows. In addition to that, the study tables in the quiet study area are quite similar to the ones in Wendt. I can not ask for anything better...

A Pleasant Evening

Its been about 5 days since I moved to Mountain View downtown. I didn't get much time to explore the neighborhood, as its already dark by the time i get back from work. In the daytime the area rocks, with a line of fine dining restaurants, coffee shops, beautiful parks & neighborhood. Other than a short walk in the night at 10:30 on Tuesday, i didnt do anything else in the area in the past 5 days. Today i got back from work and there was still light outside. I walked to the public Library, right across the street. Its a 2 story building with a wide variety of movies, books & magazines. I was pleasantly surprised to see issues of India Today and a couple of other Indian magazines. I actually picked a few of them & got them home. There is a nice park behind the Library. The area had a campus like ambiance, with students, elders glued to the computers, or studying in the library, relaxing in the park. It was very refreshing to walk around, its quite a luxury to live right across the library, it can hugely impact your hobbies :-)

In a trance

In a trance since i left India on the night of 27th Feb. Some of it is contributed by the jet lag , some from missing my family & some from getting back to the old routine which i am not in a mood to enjoy right now.

The 4 weeks i spent in India were entirely action packed, with so much to do each and every day of my stay. Till 13th I was in Delhi, shopping & doing other preparations for a very important event. 14th Feb onwards i was in Chennai for a week. This was practically my first trip to the South, i traveled to Trichy, Tirnalvelli which is just 80 Kms from Kannyakumari, the southern most tip of India. The landscape while doing the roadtrip was very pretty at many points with the Western Ghats making a shy appearance once in a while. The coconut trees dotted the landscape every where. The most exciting incident for me was the Elephant blessing people by touching their heads with his trumpet inside the MalaiKotai temple in Trichy. I was quite scared to go near the elephant inside the temple, as it was a first time experience for me. Somehow i was coaxed into doing so, and i dont regret it.
From 21st onwards i was in Delhi for sightly less than a week. We did lots of shopping from Janpath, the malls in Rajouri Garden & ate at a lot of nice places. We did not visit any important places other than Bangla Sahib. We drove past India Gate & the Rashtrapati Bhavan a couple of times & the sights were beautiful. I spent some quality time with my mom, although did not get enough time with my dad & brother.
Since i got back yesterday afternoon, my mind continues to be in India :-).Things & people seem strange here, with lesser traffic, lesser people on the road, no tea in the morning being given by mom, the smell of Delhi in the cold mornings & the buzz during the day. I truly miss the time spent in India...

Paneer Capital of the world

I have never seen so much of creativity or byproducts of any other food item before. Paneer the yummy 'Indian Cheese' seems to have dominated all food joints. This popular Indian cheese is unavoidable in any Punjabi household. But now, it seems to be ubiquitous in all cuisines as some variation or fusion dish. Just some of the mouthwatering dishes off the top of my head that i have been scanning at eating joints in the past few days:
1. Paneer Kulcha
2. Shahi Paneer
3. Paneer Kathi rolls
4. Paneer stuffed dal chilla
5. Paneer Parantha
6. Paneer Tikkas
7. Paneer Tikki
8. Kadhai Paneer
9. Paneer Bhurji
10. Palak Paneer
11. Paneer Masala Dosa
12. Tandoori Paneer Naan

My head is already feeling dizzy with the repetition of the word 'Paneer' dominating the food charts in Delhi, which i name as the Paneer capital of the world.

Quick one from India

This time, even though i am visiting India after almost 14 months, the settling time has been very short. Things are pretty much the same as they were when i visited last, and probably i am better prepared. The settling time is not due to the difference between the East & West, but just the change of dwelling, reunion with family & friends & the stir that causes to the mind & heart.
The traffic in Delhi is pretty much the same, with parking being one of the draconian troubles at busy joints. However, the condition of the roads has enhanced, there are very few bumps, the roads have been pretty smooth so far. I still need to take a ride on my favorite & i guess every body's favorite Delhi Metro. This year there are more lines that have been opened, thus more places you can visit by the metro.
The weather has been kind since i landed, with no fog & bearable cold. All in all, a busy visit so far, but unfortunately less awakening spiritually & mentally than last time. Waiting for the stir...

Unusual

In a subtle mood today, without anything specific to write in mind. I haven't written for almost a month now. Forget about trying to understand a complex problem, sometimes its extremely hard to fathom whats going on right inside you. Damn, its not like i encounter such situations frequently, but even a handful can rip out the hair from your head. Well, what are you supposed to do when you cant comprehend your "own" self.

Its a strange tingling feeling in the stomach with the mind absolutely blank. Maybe thats the issue, being so used to the mind being overwhelmed with 100 odd things all the time, when suddenly its blank, its a sign of unusual which is inconceivable to our brain. Unusual is like a virus , the immunity of our conscious just like the one in our blood tries to fight it and get rid of it initially. Looking around, most of us are so used to our routines, our usual stuff, our habits, that even a single change kind of terrorizes us. Although we do adapt & accept, but still initially we try to fight the virus.

So the blank mind is good, thats what i am trying to reassure myself, there is nothing abnormal about it.....

All Izz Well

Want to be a part of an outbreak of laughter this holiday time? "3 idiots" is the movie to watch. I got to see it yesterday. The movie is hilarious. Aamir Khan has proved it yet again, every year mostly near the end of the year, he gives the best movie of the year (atleast according to my standards). The whole team has done a fantastic job. A movie with a message to the Indian Education system and the psychology of students and parents. With descent music, and brilliant performances by all the characters, the movie is a must watch..So Enjoy!