I called one of my friends in US and asked him to mail (of course, e-mail. Is the snail mail still in vogue?) his address of communication. I wanted to send him a birthday gift.
"You don't need to wait for my email… here it is
2116 lakeview dr,
Parlin, NJ - 08859
That is it!!!"
(I am not sure who stays there now…!!!)
"What? That is it… only two lines? Are you sure that you will receive your gift with just these two lines?"
"Yes. This is where I stay and I receive everything on time"
"Most of the addresses here are only two lines dude… go to Google maps and just give this address, you can see the place where I stay"
"Ok. I will be sending your birthday gift to this address… don't forget to collect it", I hung up.
I immediately opened Google maps and gave the address… Woww… I saw the place where he lives. Such a big country… and such a small address… and you receive every thing (at least most of the things) intact and in time?
Let me tell you my friend's address in India. His permanent address is
Door no: 22-696/A/5,
2nd Floor, Opp Tesla Bulb factory,
Rajaji Nagar,
C.K. Palle post,
Chittoor - 517127
It is some detail, but he seldom receives mails. At times he receives them late, very late. What if I type this address in Google Maps? I tried and I saw an error message "Your search for blah.. blah.. blah around this map area did not match any locations."
I heard people in US use GPS while going out to new locations. They just feed the address and the navigator takes you precisely to the location without any hassle. It is that easy. I tried going to my friend's home in India. I reached Chittoor and called him
"Hey.. I am at Chittoor bus-stand. How can I come to your home?"
"Get into auto and ask him to drop you at Rajaji Nagar. I will wait for you at the stop" said my friend.
"Don't wait for me dude… I will come to your home. Just tell me the address" I asked.
"It is tough to find my home here. Just do as I said. Come to the stop and I will be there waiting for you" said my friend.
Well I got down at Rajaji Nagar and met my friend. He took me across the streets. I was looking at the door numbers 22-696, 22-696/A, 22-696/A/5, 22-696/D,… so.. on (few didn't even have one). I couldn't find any sequence in numbering. Then I understood why my friend told me it is tough to find his house.
What if GPS is to be introduced in India? God… it will be a damn complicated project. Don't know who can design the database to store the addresses of this kind. No idea when can Google come up with India maps too. Thinking about the complexity of the algorithm in finding the shortest path from one place to another place in India… keep thinking…
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Let us fly our flag high....
When you are in US, many things remind that you are alien to this place - food, transportation, people etc. There is one specific thing that keeps reminding me that I am in America, it is the US flag. You see it all around. Many people fly the US flag on their houses. Few cars have the flags flying in the front, while few have it painted all over their body. It might be fashionable for some, but most of them are passionate. A look at it reminds that you are in America.
Why don't we have our flags flying like this? Forget flying our flag in our country, people wear caps, t-shirts, kerchiefs etc with American flag on them. Recently I visited my friends place in US. I was surprised to see Indian flag pasted on the wall. But unfortunately it was placed in the opposite direction. How many of us know that the flag should be placed in such a way that it should be Saffron, White and Green from top to bottom and from left to right, as we just read any book(from top to bottom, left to right)? Many of us don't even know how to handle our national flag. It is just because we are not aware of it. If we have our flags displayed all around having it flying vertically, horizontally, left, right and center, every one would have got a clear picture what is correct and wrong.
I was discussing this with one of my Indian friends here in US; he said if we have our flags like this, we will be punished as our law says having them on dresses, houses etc is dishonoring the national flag. What? Is that true? I did a quick research on this and found many of his statements were false. We can have our flag printed on our dress which can be worn above the waist. Many of us don't know this (including me till I spent some time on it).
Last week I went to my client’s head office in New York City, where, on most of the streets I saw the American flag. On a bank building, I saw a big American flag covering the whole building. It was really nice to see such a huge flag, on a very big tower. You could see flags at gas stations (petrol bunks in India), railway stations, banks, shopping centers in fact at most of the places. It shows how passionate and proud these people are about their country. We could see our flags flying like this only on Aug 15 (Independence Day) and Jan 26 (Republic Day). Why can't we have it every day? Just imagine how it would be, having our national flag all around…
When I was a kid, if some one asks me to draw or paint some thing, my first choice would be a house and the next immediate option was our national flag. At times it was a mixed version of the both, a flag pole in front of the house. Even now I see many kids painting our flag with full joy, happiness and pride. They come running and yelling "see our national flag is flying high"…. Mmm… I wish to see our flag flying high as I see the US flag here.
Why don't we have our flags flying like this? Forget flying our flag in our country, people wear caps, t-shirts, kerchiefs etc with American flag on them. Recently I visited my friends place in US. I was surprised to see Indian flag pasted on the wall. But unfortunately it was placed in the opposite direction. How many of us know that the flag should be placed in such a way that it should be Saffron, White and Green from top to bottom and from left to right, as we just read any book(from top to bottom, left to right)? Many of us don't even know how to handle our national flag. It is just because we are not aware of it. If we have our flags displayed all around having it flying vertically, horizontally, left, right and center, every one would have got a clear picture what is correct and wrong.
I was discussing this with one of my Indian friends here in US; he said if we have our flags like this, we will be punished as our law says having them on dresses, houses etc is dishonoring the national flag. What? Is that true? I did a quick research on this and found many of his statements were false. We can have our flag printed on our dress which can be worn above the waist. Many of us don't know this (including me till I spent some time on it).Last week I went to my client’s head office in New York City, where, on most of the streets I saw the American flag. On a bank building, I saw a big American flag covering the whole building. It was really nice to see such a huge flag, on a very big tower. You could see flags at gas stations (petrol bunks in India), railway stations, banks, shopping centers in fact at most of the places. It shows how passionate and proud these people are about their country. We could see our flags flying like this only on Aug 15 (Independence Day) and Jan 26 (Republic Day). Why can't we have it every day? Just imagine how it would be, having our national flag all around…
When I was a kid, if some one asks me to draw or paint some thing, my first choice would be a house and the next immediate option was our national flag. At times it was a mixed version of the both, a flag pole in front of the house. Even now I see many kids painting our flag with full joy, happiness and pride. They come running and yelling "see our national flag is flying high"…. Mmm… I wish to see our flag flying high as I see the US flag here.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
email to my friends...
I couldn't extract time to blog... and as you want my blog to be updated... I thought this email, which I sent to my friends is worth blogging... Read this and you will know about my first trip to US...
_______________________________
Hi,
I reached New York airport safely.
As expected, my first USA journey was really exiting. To find immigration counters, custom check-ins, baggage collection, food in the flight, every thing was really memorable.
This is how the it went:
I packed my baggage (with help of Keerthi) and reached Hyderabad airport by 3.45pm.
Checked my baggage, and spent time with my parents and friends.Got into the Kingfisher airlines (my parents waved hands and wished me a happy journey) and reached Bombay in time(6.45pm).
Waited for tranpickup and reached international airport at Bombay.
I Checked my baggage and had my immigration done.
I called my dad and waited till 12.30am for the Delta airlines announcement.
One thing I liked here is, the ladies with children are allowed to get into the flight first.
Then it was zone wise. My zone, infact our zone (including Malli who accompanied till NY) was 8.
We tried swaping our seats, so that me and Malli can sit together. But none accepted.I was in the middle row and middle seat.
It would have been a worst journey, if TV was not there.I watched two good movies "Night in the museum" and a film by Nagesh Kukunoor. Rest (Rocky, some kids movies) were not interesting and I watched them having naps in between.
Reached NY JFK airport by 6.45am. Rushed with the crowd and had my immigration and customs done.
Collected my baggage and came out of the terminal.
I didn't have change to call Bhanu. I went to a lady and asked her change for one dollar. She had no change either.
A girl came to me with smile on her face and asked me "You want to make a call?". I said "yes". She asked me the number to dial and I gave her Bhanu's number. She ran here and there for signal and at last I spoke to Bhanu. I said thanks to her. She spoke to me about her mom, who was in the same flight. Her mom came and she left the place.
Bhanu came after a while and I went to Sidhu's home.
It was a nice drive where I enjoyed watching the city (specially tall and colourful buildings)Eat nice indian food, Jeedipappu Upma as breakfast and royyalu koora for lunch (made by Sidhu)
Reached my hotel room, and cooked dinner (Maggi noodles and a big cup of coffee)Slept very early at 8.00pm and just woke to send you an update... :-)
It is a great story with a lot of learnings:
1. Learnt that to push the trolly one should press it down...
2. Learnt how immigration and customs checks happen... (I wasn't asked many questions. They didnt even verrify my originals)
3. Learning how independent people live here... really a different world.
4. Learnt how ppl use google maps to reach destinations.
My learning still continues...
B in touch with my yahoo and google account.
Back to bed,
Mohan
_______________________________
Hi,
I reached New York airport safely.
As expected, my first USA journey was really exiting. To find immigration counters, custom check-ins, baggage collection, food in the flight, every thing was really memorable.
This is how the it went:
I packed my baggage (with help of Keerthi) and reached Hyderabad airport by 3.45pm.
Checked my baggage, and spent time with my parents and friends.Got into the Kingfisher airlines (my parents waved hands and wished me a happy journey) and reached Bombay in time(6.45pm).
Waited for tranpickup and reached international airport at Bombay.
I Checked my baggage and had my immigration done.
I called my dad and waited till 12.30am for the Delta airlines announcement.
One thing I liked here is, the ladies with children are allowed to get into the flight first.
Then it was zone wise. My zone, infact our zone (including Malli who accompanied till NY) was 8.
We tried swaping our seats, so that me and Malli can sit together. But none accepted.I was in the middle row and middle seat.
It would have been a worst journey, if TV was not there.I watched two good movies "Night in the museum" and a film by Nagesh Kukunoor. Rest (Rocky, some kids movies) were not interesting and I watched them having naps in between.
Reached NY JFK airport by 6.45am. Rushed with the crowd and had my immigration and customs done.
Collected my baggage and came out of the terminal.
I didn't have change to call Bhanu. I went to a lady and asked her change for one dollar. She had no change either.
A girl came to me with smile on her face and asked me "You want to make a call?". I said "yes". She asked me the number to dial and I gave her Bhanu's number. She ran here and there for signal and at last I spoke to Bhanu. I said thanks to her. She spoke to me about her mom, who was in the same flight. Her mom came and she left the place.
Bhanu came after a while and I went to Sidhu's home.
It was a nice drive where I enjoyed watching the city (specially tall and colourful buildings)Eat nice indian food, Jeedipappu Upma as breakfast and royyalu koora for lunch (made by Sidhu)
Reached my hotel room, and cooked dinner (Maggi noodles and a big cup of coffee)Slept very early at 8.00pm and just woke to send you an update... :-)
It is a great story with a lot of learnings:
1. Learnt that to push the trolly one should press it down...
2. Learnt how immigration and customs checks happen... (I wasn't asked many questions. They didnt even verrify my originals)
3. Learning how independent people live here... really a different world.
4. Learnt how ppl use google maps to reach destinations.
My learning still continues...
B in touch with my yahoo and google account.
Back to bed,
Mohan
Saturday, April 07, 2007
First time traveling to US…?
Can you guess where a first time US traveler (especially an Indian) can learn more?
On road, he needs to drive on right side whereas he learnt driving car designed for left-hand drive. He starts using terms like gas instead of petrol, bumps instead of speed breakers, miles instead of kilometers, exits, merge, etc.
At Office he observes how disciplined people are here (if you are not disciplined and don't follow rules, you will face problems). He starts greeting people with whom he is not well acquainted with (people just great you "Hello", "Hi", "Hi, how are you doing?", "Thank you" etc). He learns that there's no ground floor here (0 in lift); instead it's called floor 1. He starts using the term basement, instead of cellar. He starts drinking mugs of coffee instead of having it in small cups (as in India). Learns to hold door for the person behind when he arrives first at the door. Learns to say thank you and allows the first person to go, if he is second at the door. Of course learns many technical things and how the production environment is actually set.
When he is at home, he learns how to adjust the room temperature in Fahrenheit (Celsius / centigrade in India). He starts using comforter (a thick bed cover) not a blanket, in his bedroom. His dressing now has many layers - inners, thermal wears and then the actual dress. He learns a lot in Kitchen. How to use an electric stove; microwave oven, coffee maker, bread toaster, etc. Food... mmm... a new adventurous world. They all appear great to look, only few taste spicy and good (as Indian). He starts using Yogurts instead of curd. He experiments and learns how to use different electronic equipments in kitchen. Let me narrate an interesting incident. I have a machine in my hotel room which I mistook to be a washing machine. I was under this impression for two days after which I was explained that this machine is, in fact, a dish washer. Thank God that I didn't have time enough to experiment this machine. If not I would have 'washed' my clothes in the dish washer and your imagination is as good as mine in how the situation would have been.
There is one more place where a first time US traveler (especially an Indian coming from village / town) learns more. It is in wash room (oh we call it a bathroom). You can't find any outlet on the floor. You don't see buckets / mugs etc. The bathroom is as dry as hall, except the tub where we need to have our bath. We need to pull curtains of the tub, so that water will not spill out of it. You could see driers, exhaust vents, paper rolls, etc. You shouldn’t wash clothes in bathroom. You need to wash them in a washing machine. You need to bath nude and wash all your inners along with the clothes, while you go to laundry. No hanging of inners / towels / clothes any where in the apartment. Get every thing washed; dried and pressed (we say ironed).
So where do we learn more? :-) I hope you got the answer…
On road, he needs to drive on right side whereas he learnt driving car designed for left-hand drive. He starts using terms like gas instead of petrol, bumps instead of speed breakers, miles instead of kilometers, exits, merge, etc.
At Office he observes how disciplined people are here (if you are not disciplined and don't follow rules, you will face problems). He starts greeting people with whom he is not well acquainted with (people just great you "Hello", "Hi", "Hi, how are you doing?", "Thank you" etc). He learns that there's no ground floor here (0 in lift); instead it's called floor 1. He starts using the term basement, instead of cellar. He starts drinking mugs of coffee instead of having it in small cups (as in India). Learns to hold door for the person behind when he arrives first at the door. Learns to say thank you and allows the first person to go, if he is second at the door. Of course learns many technical things and how the production environment is actually set.
When he is at home, he learns how to adjust the room temperature in Fahrenheit (Celsius / centigrade in India). He starts using comforter (a thick bed cover) not a blanket, in his bedroom. His dressing now has many layers - inners, thermal wears and then the actual dress. He learns a lot in Kitchen. How to use an electric stove; microwave oven, coffee maker, bread toaster, etc. Food... mmm... a new adventurous world. They all appear great to look, only few taste spicy and good (as Indian). He starts using Yogurts instead of curd. He experiments and learns how to use different electronic equipments in kitchen. Let me narrate an interesting incident. I have a machine in my hotel room which I mistook to be a washing machine. I was under this impression for two days after which I was explained that this machine is, in fact, a dish washer. Thank God that I didn't have time enough to experiment this machine. If not I would have 'washed' my clothes in the dish washer and your imagination is as good as mine in how the situation would have been.
There is one more place where a first time US traveler (especially an Indian coming from village / town) learns more. It is in wash room (oh we call it a bathroom). You can't find any outlet on the floor. You don't see buckets / mugs etc. The bathroom is as dry as hall, except the tub where we need to have our bath. We need to pull curtains of the tub, so that water will not spill out of it. You could see driers, exhaust vents, paper rolls, etc. You shouldn’t wash clothes in bathroom. You need to wash them in a washing machine. You need to bath nude and wash all your inners along with the clothes, while you go to laundry. No hanging of inners / towels / clothes any where in the apartment. Get every thing washed; dried and pressed (we say ironed).
So where do we learn more? :-) I hope you got the answer…
Sunday, December 31, 2006
You are my friend who would remain...
In a time where I forgot what I was
In a time when I searched for what I was
In a time when I longed to be as what I was
I saw a gentle man who was the way I was
I saw an acquaintance who talked the way I was
I saw a friend who laughed the way I was
I saw in his eyes my beautiful world
I saw in his laughter my happy world
I saw in his words my airy world
I realized what I had become
I could understand what I had become
I then grew in stature seeing in front myself
I grew in confidence seeing in front myself
I became what I was
I changed to what I was
You were my light in darkness
You were my laughter in pain
You were my hope in suffering
You are my friend who would remain...
--> Swar
(As he wants to be known)
This was written by my friend and it is about me. I was speechless after reading this. I am sharing this with you, with his permission and I hope you too love it.
In a time when I searched for what I was
In a time when I longed to be as what I was
I saw a gentle man who was the way I was
I saw an acquaintance who talked the way I was
I saw a friend who laughed the way I was
I saw in his eyes my beautiful world
I saw in his laughter my happy world
I saw in his words my airy world
I realized what I had become
I could understand what I had become
I then grew in stature seeing in front myself
I grew in confidence seeing in front myself
I became what I was
I changed to what I was
You were my light in darkness
You were my laughter in pain
You were my hope in suffering
You are my friend who would remain...
--> Swar
(As he wants to be known)
This was written by my friend and it is about me. I was speechless after reading this. I am sharing this with you, with his permission and I hope you too love it.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Do you call him a Girl?
Rounik went to a movie with his friends. Every one was watching the movie. Suddenly Koushik called his friend and said “Hey! See Rounik is crying dude... Hahaha”
“He is crying like a girl yaar. Hey! Stop crying like a girl and be a guy. Ok” said Aashik.
This happens with few guys. Can’t a guy feel the pain of others? In fact, Rounik was so involved in the movie that he was vicariously suffering the pain of the hero. He didn’t realize that he was crying, sub consciously. He enjoyed the movie. Every other person might have enjoyed commenting him but not the movie.
Vishal faced a similar situation. There was a blood donation camp organized by his firm. Most of them volunteered. Kunal donated blood and came to Vishal and said “Dude aren’t you donating your blood?”
“No”
“Why Vishal, do you have any allergy or problems?”
“No Kunal. Actually I am scared of injections and allergic to see my blood. So I don’t want to donate blood.”
“What! Are you scared of injections… come on… don’t be a girl. See here Shanthi, Sowmya and many other girls are donating blood. You say you are scared…mmm “said Kunal.
Guy who is scared of giant wheels and roller coaster rides, fond of flowers and nature, love babies too much, likes to cook, washes his clothes, cleans the house, gardening etc generally face this problem. Is it right likening him to a girl? We need to think…
“He is crying like a girl yaar. Hey! Stop crying like a girl and be a guy. Ok” said Aashik.
This happens with few guys. Can’t a guy feel the pain of others? In fact, Rounik was so involved in the movie that he was vicariously suffering the pain of the hero. He didn’t realize that he was crying, sub consciously. He enjoyed the movie. Every other person might have enjoyed commenting him but not the movie.
Vishal faced a similar situation. There was a blood donation camp organized by his firm. Most of them volunteered. Kunal donated blood and came to Vishal and said “Dude aren’t you donating your blood?”
“No”
“Why Vishal, do you have any allergy or problems?”
“No Kunal. Actually I am scared of injections and allergic to see my blood. So I don’t want to donate blood.”
“What! Are you scared of injections… come on… don’t be a girl. See here Shanthi, Sowmya and many other girls are donating blood. You say you are scared…mmm “said Kunal.
Guy who is scared of giant wheels and roller coaster rides, fond of flowers and nature, love babies too much, likes to cook, washes his clothes, cleans the house, gardening etc generally face this problem. Is it right likening him to a girl? We need to think…
Monday, September 25, 2006
The best 2 wheeler for your beloved ones…
We have many 2 wheelers in the market and many more are coming day by day. One of my friends sent me an email with the images of latest bikes that have come / yet to come into the market. I had a glance of those bikes. They all look gorgeous with their back including silencer raised high. “But how do people go doubles on such bikes? Isn’t it a factor that will hinder the sale…” I asked my friend who was eager to buy one. “Dude! Many people, myself included, prefer these bikes because of their style, especially the back portion…it has lots of advantages you know…” he replied and continued “If you buy a normal bike, you need to wait for a speed breaker or a pit to have a physical touch of your girl friend sitting at the back. But with these bikes, your love will always lie on you as long as you drive.” It was a jovial discussion; still it has some points to ponder upon. I was just thinking which would be the best 2 wheeler to go with our dear ones.
Posh people say bikes of these kinds are best to freak around with beloved ones. Married women feel comfortable and happy sitting on a scooter, while their husbands drive. Few families who concentrate more on the budget prefer bikes with great mileage and say they are the best.
“Bicycle is the best 2 wheeler for any couple” said a woman coolie. I was as surprised as you are. But it sounded reasonable after hearing to what she said. “I sit on the bar (front part) of the cycle holding the handle along with my husband. I give support in balancing the cycle and the load at the back. Can I do this when I am on a bike? All I can do is just sit back and take care of my own safety. If it's a bicycle, I hold our lunch boxes so that nothing spills out. Whereas, when you go on a bike, I do not get a chance to hold them as the bike handle takes care of them. Needless to say, I can't guarantee their safety. If some one or some thing comes into our way, I sound ring the bell and ask them to clear the way. I could only react for the brakes if I am on a bike. I can clear his sweat with my sari, especially when he is cycling on the steep roads. Above all I feel safe and happy sitting in his arms and feeling his breathe. You know I will be sitting close to his heart if I am on his cycle. What else do I need? ” said that lady.
I left the place with a smile on my face and thoughts in my mind… I remember my friends pedaling with me when we were on a cycle. It is certainly a sweet memory. Happy cycling… its even good for health :-)
Posh people say bikes of these kinds are best to freak around with beloved ones. Married women feel comfortable and happy sitting on a scooter, while their husbands drive. Few families who concentrate more on the budget prefer bikes with great mileage and say they are the best.
“Bicycle is the best 2 wheeler for any couple” said a woman coolie. I was as surprised as you are. But it sounded reasonable after hearing to what she said. “I sit on the bar (front part) of the cycle holding the handle along with my husband. I give support in balancing the cycle and the load at the back. Can I do this when I am on a bike? All I can do is just sit back and take care of my own safety. If it's a bicycle, I hold our lunch boxes so that nothing spills out. Whereas, when you go on a bike, I do not get a chance to hold them as the bike handle takes care of them. Needless to say, I can't guarantee their safety. If some one or some thing comes into our way, I sound ring the bell and ask them to clear the way. I could only react for the brakes if I am on a bike. I can clear his sweat with my sari, especially when he is cycling on the steep roads. Above all I feel safe and happy sitting in his arms and feeling his breathe. You know I will be sitting close to his heart if I am on his cycle. What else do I need? ” said that lady.
I left the place with a smile on my face and thoughts in my mind… I remember my friends pedaling with me when we were on a cycle. It is certainly a sweet memory. Happy cycling… its even good for health :-)
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