Practical Thoughts

Life Should be Easy

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Last Few Days of Freedom :-)

The day is 31 Ausgust 2006 after which I would have to relinquish a lot of liberty and freedom. Top 10 things I cannot do

10)Keep the cauliflower in the fridge for 4 months and then throw away
9) Throw letters and mails unopened on the floor and not read them for months
8) Leave the jeans in the sofa
7) Leave the shirts in the bed unwashed for months
6) Leave vessels unwashed for days
5) Not Vaccum the carpet ever
4) Not take out the garbage for days till the house kind of smells
3) Not take bath on weekends unless absolutely necessary
2) Sleep at 3 AM on a weekend night and then get up at 12 next day.

Biggest Fear !!!
1) Can I hangout with the single guys whenever I want

Shaadi ka laddoo...khao to pachtao , na khao toh bhi pachtao...

Monday, August 14, 2006

Happy Independence Day - 59 Years of Freedom

I never get sentimental about such ocassions usually. But this time its different. I somehow feel bullish about India's prospects. We have a long way to go. Population, poverty, terrorism and so many issues still continue to hamper our growth. But if we look at what we have achieved as a country I feel very proud. In 1947 when British left, we were totally left to survive on our own. With the partition leaving an indelible blot in our history, and having to integrate a huge country, we started on a shaky ground. 59 years later, slowly, little by little, we have come a long way where we can atleast dream of a great future for our future generations.

I am optimistic about our country's future and this lies on the next generation of leaders.
May be I am feeling this way because I have been out of the country for 2 years now. May be because, for the first time most of us feel that something good is going to happen for many many years.

What the heck !! Felt like writing what I felt.So wrote !!
Happy August 15th to all fellow Indians !!

Friday, August 11, 2006

Top 21 things an Indian does after returning to India from "US".

This is an old classic but still I laugh out loud when I read this. Let me see if I will do any of these when I go to India this month. I did some of these things when I was there early this year.

21. Tries to use credit card in road side hotel.

20. Drinks and carries mineral water and always speaks of health consciousness.

19. Sprays deo such so that he doesn't need to take bath.

18. Sneezes and says 'Excuse me'.

17. Says "Hey" instead of "Hi".
says "Yogurt" instead says "Curds".
Says "Cab" instead of "Taxi".
Says "Candy" instead of "Chocolate".
Says "Cookie" instead of "Biscuit".
Says "Free Way" instead of "Highway".
Says "got to go" instead of "Have to go".
Says "Oh" instead of "Zero", (for 704, says Seven Oh Four Instead of Seven Zero Four)

16. Doesn't forget to crib about air pollution. Keeps cribbing every time he steps out.

15. Says all the distances in Miles (Not in Kilo Meters), and counts in Millions. (Not in Lakhs)

14. Tries to figure all the prices in Dollars as far as possible(but deep down the heart multiplies by 43 times).

13. Tries to see the % of fat on the cover of a milk pocket.

12. When need to say Z (zed), never says Z (Zed), repeats "Zee" several times, if the other person unable to get, then says X, Y Zee(but never says Zed)

11. Writes date as MM/DD/YYYY, on watching traditional DD/MM/YYYY, says "Oh! British Style!!!!"

10. Makes fun of Indian Standard Time and Indian Road Conditions.

9. Even after 2 months, complaints about "Jet Lag".

8. Avoids eating more chili (hot) stuff.

7. Tries to drink "Diet Coke", instead of Normal Coke.

6. Tries to complain about any thing in India as if he is experiencing it for the first time.

5. Pronounces "schedule" as "skejule", and "module" as "mojule".

4. Looks suspeciously towards Hotel/Dhaba food.

Few more important
3. From the luggage bag, does not remove the stickers of Airways by which he traveled back to India, even after 4 months of arrival.

2. Takes the cabin luggage bag to short visits in India, tries to roll the bag on Indian Roads.

Ultimate one
1. Tries to begin conversation with "In US ...." or "When I was in US..."

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Ethics & Integrity of Politicians
This is really funny if you follow Indian politics on a daily basis.

Natwar Singh is found guilty of misusing his power by Justice Pathak. Look what follows

1) Congress party shows him the door.
2) Natwar does a Privillege motion against PM and calls him a dummy effectively saying we've got a PM who never won an election. Remember he was a foreign minister under the same PM a few months ago.
3) BJP and other opposition parties who were calling for Natwar's head when the Volcker report came out now actually come out in support of him. Now he is a victim and not a thug.

Wonder if these guys have any kind of shame !!

This is Indian Politics and their ways !!

Sunday, August 06, 2006

A Oribitz - Travelocity - Expedia type Indian Site

At last we have a Indian travel booking site on the lines of Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia. Its Yatra.in!
The website is decent and has an interface which is quite familiar for people who have travelled a bit in the US.



I guess with the increasing purchasing power of the Indian Middle class and rise in disposable incomes, Yatra and its likes should be able to make it.

Yatra is funded by Anil Ambani's Reliance group along with CNN-IBN, CNBC and Northwest Venture Partners. And its got alliances with all major airlines in India.
What I like I Yatra is that they are planning to offer Train & bus tickets along with hotels. Also they have an option of car rentals in major cities. I believe the car would come with a driver :)

While this is a good start there is a long way to go. I was trying to book a package from Madras to Goa on a thursday. Sahara was the only flight they offered. I had to fly all the way to Delhi from Madras and then fly back to Goa in a connection. What if I missed my flight, I might be left stranded :)

Nevertheless I am excited by this..