An Ink called Adrenaline

My Scariest Dance
Cast upon a role, I had not foreseen,
by a missing Oracle Diwali queen,
I became main lead organizer...
         ...of this year's annual routine!

I did what I could to my very best -
Passed the big choreographer quest,
Dances, Acoustics, all issues addressed.
Shot short films in a team with real zest...
even got out my violin from its tiny rest..
then decided to fill in as a dancer...
                          .....for the big fest!

Dry run, Dress rehearsal they all went well..
Enthusiasm was building folks could tell
Then,
Oct 21st 2011, 2pm - many folks gathered ...
                   .... as the crowd began to swell!

Violin, Dance, Films all went good,
as per plan, as they should,
but just before my biggest dance began...
                         ...in shock I stood...

At first, my costume's pant felt a little loose,
But I pinned it to the undie and tried to spruce,
But only then I realized, it may be no use!

The pant is still going to drop, You Deuce!!

Munni Badnaam Hui was the bollywood number
Palpable Gymnophobia I could not encumber,
Shit I am gonna go nude, 1500 people ...
                           ...are gonna see the lumber!

Adrenaline is such a good ink,

memories etched with it never ever sink!

even bigger things are forgotten in a wink,

but such memories can stay pink in every blink!

Good good karma, is but useful to befriend!
I would highly highly recommend -
it came to my rescue, it did defend!

Even as my mouth went, very very dry,
my own choreography, I managed to apply
pulled up my pant, in the dance, on the fly
and kept it from sliding down, the bare, naked thigh...
....Aaand at long last, the music did die
I thanked the heavens up at the sky!

I lived to tell the tale as a very..
                        ....thankful, decent guy ;)

A Matter of Life and Death!

Some people say,

"Unless it is really a matter of life and death, always refrain from giving out un-asked-for gyan".

This blog has been written with full understanding of the above statement.

Ever since I got a drivers' license, I have had friends who like to make me their "designated driver"! And it was surely fun. The gyaan from the inebriated would make the drive back very enlightening! I have many fun stories I can share only in person. Stories right from my engineering days in Mumbai to recent times at California bay area...

"The Drinking Damsels"

Nearly every bar or lounge in SF where desis visit, one may spot, surrounded by a bunch of burly dudes, this cute Indian girl, (trying to be) all hep and cool sipping from a cold colored glass! If you stick around long enough and are unfortunate enough, you may even see the poor thing regurgitate stomach fluids silently on the floor when no one is looking. But still she would continue to hold on to that glass like it is her very chalice of life... her holy grail of existence.

Sitting next to her might be this bulky guy wearing a shirt such that the intentional absence of a baniyan is very evident! From his super-clean-shaven face, one can even guess the brand of razor that he had painstakingly swiped or his brand of cologne that is enough to short-circuit the entire olfactory system for days. Now, an otherwise care-free dude, suddenly before this girl, he can't but help become the kindest of Samaritans, holding on to the drinking damsel like Mother Theresa nursing an injured leper!

"Simple Facts - Good or Bad - You Decide" - UCB Prof

I once got to audit a lecture at University of California Berkeley on a basic introductory course called Nutritional Sciences (NS-10). One beautiful thing, in general, about courses taught in world-renowned places like this, is that they will never pass value judgements. They seldom tell if something is good or bad. They just give you the unbiased facts. It is up to you to figure the rest out. Here is a small excerpt from what I remember the Professor talking about...

"The human liver takes part in most of the processes that happen in the body and can handle over 500 chemical reactions. But when alcohol enters the digestive system, it is treated as a priority food. The liver will want to break it down first before other things. Alcohol will be broken down into Acetaldehyde in the mouth and then broken into acetic acid radicals by the liver with an enzyme called ALDL and then perhaps into fatty acids to be used for energy. Now acetaldehyde which is the first metabolite of alcohol made in the mouth can interact with cell membranes to make them stiff and resistant to DNA damage repair. Such cells with damaged DNA cannot be repaired and may multiply and become cancerous. Acetaldehyde is toxic to human organs in several other ways. Folate is one of the Vitamin B that is needed by human body to create new DNA to repair damaged ones. Alcohol reduces available folate making this harder for cells. Any amount of alcohol consumed will be metabolized the same way. Cancerous cells, once formed, may take even decades to cause noticeable harm."

"Alcohol - A Racist and Male Chauvinistic Food!"

If an Asian lady goes drinking with an American guy in a bar, chances are the lady would be seeing stars right after her second drink while the white guy would be capable of solving calculus even after his third! The reason is Alcohol Dehydrogenase or ALDL which is needed by the human body to break down the toxic acetaldehyde is not produced equally in all humans. A man will have nearly twice as much as a woman. A white Caucasian have an usable form that many Asians do not. The reasons are historic and genetic. Which simply means women and non-white folks would get 'high' sooner. Which also means women and non-white folks have a much higher risk of cancer from alcohol consumption.

"Even Road Accidents Kill - So? Stop Driving?"

A proposition's Risk is evaluated by a simple formula - 

Riskiness = Probability of Occurrence x Severity of Consequences

Now both road accidents and cancer from alcohol may have somewhat similar chances of happening but is the severity the same? Both may result in death right? So what's the difference?

To answer here is a small conversation from Harry Potter series between two main wizards as they duel...

Voldemort: You do not seek to kill me Dumbledore? Above such brutality are we?

Dumbledore: There are things far worse than death.

Voldemort: Death is the worst, Dumbledore!

Dumbledore: Indeed, Your failure to acknowledge that there are things far worse than death has been your greatest weakness!

Cancer or AIDS are one of those terminal illness that are far far worse than death from a plane crash or even being hit by a meteorite. Most of these patients reach a point where death becomes the most desired luxury. Any risk factor must be kept as low as possible because the severity of the consequence is far worse than anything else today. Alcohol and its link to cancer is not new. It has been proved repeatedly in numerous studies across the world.

I am definitely not against anyone who drinks. The last thing I want to do from this blog is to alienate my friends who do. I publish this in the hope that the few who do read, understand the risks clearly before they take up that glass of alcoholic beverage and ironically say "Cheers".

Gender Inequality

It was a charity show, for a noble cause,
To gift someone vision, while earning applause,
I was part of the skit, written with wit,
For which we slogged, must truly admit,
We practiced and practiced, day after day,
Our brand of humor, was easy to convey,
And came Apr 16th, our big show day!

Scene after scene we acted it out,
Gave it our best, without a doubt,
A few small issues we, but, had to face,
Spotlight cast shadows, limited our space,
We still gave our best & lost no zest,
Nor lost track, of our noble quest,
Yet the audience's applause, was but modest,
A little bit repressed, not very impressed.

Well that's that, we consoled ourselves,
Why to lose faith, in yourselves?
Sat to watch the show, after our segments,
Then it happened, the big turn of events....

The show was running, really really late,
Stage owners came, looking almost irate!
But just when we thought, we'd get kicked out,
Fashion show started, white smoke throughout,
The angels came in, healthy femininity to tout!



"TURN ON THE LIGHTS", yelled out a bloke,
"Oh, NOW you realize?" - (Grr I wanted him to choke)
Murmur vanished at once, a new vigor awoke!

A little bit of jhatka, a little bit of matka,
Hips went like this, pallus went like that,
And the lovely audience, just, fell, flat!
Not a single complaint, not even a spat!
Bright Hall lights, quickly turned on,
Folks seemed ready, to gape till dawn!

Drool, Drool Drool, formed a big pool,
wide open mouths, like a stunned mule,
people drooled at those hips, "Whattay cool"
Our poor witty director, looked like a fool!

Is the future of equality really so grim?
Where's Anna Hazare when you need him?

What can one do - it's just plain fate,
Gender Inequality - get used to it, mate! :-P

Thousand Reasons to Thank

A little before I was born, God must have asked me, “would you like to be born as the best of the best but live a lonely life, or, would you like to be born as an about-average person who is in the constant company of some of the best of the best?”

I made my choice and today, overwhelming evidence lets me say with confidence that I had chosen the latter. As a kid, it was clear that I was endowed with none of the “super-powers” that many of my peers possessed. I was never a math wizard, or a painting Picasso, or a dancing Hrithik, or a singing Sonu. But from childhood until now, I am proud to say that I had been surrounded by folks who would effortlessly fit the bill. They surrounded me not just as relatives or best friends but also as selfless exceptional mentors and teachers. No matter what ups or downs that fate throws on me, these wonderful people will always be my thousand reasons to smile. This blog is nothing but an expression of my deepest gratitude for the things that my friends and mentors have helped me achieve in 2010.

As a child growing up amongst the cool, I would always dream of being able to just stand before lot of people one day and somehow make them smile or applaud. In 2010 alone, thanks to my mentors, teachers and friends, that dream had been fulfilled several times over - Not once or twice, but in over NINE packed shows!

The first and probably a very apt example was Sangamam’s May 1^st Kondattam show in Sunnyvale temple... With over thirteen actors, eleven singers, eleven dancers, seven songs and four dances, this multi talented group comprising mostly of my CMU batch-mates Rocked! What I am thankful most for and will remember fondly, even more than the actual show-day are the wonderful times we spent preparing for it.

In 2010, my first big musical event was playing violin in Kalai Vizha, the annual flagship program of the Tamils of Northern California. Accompanying Carnatic singers on the violin is just as difficult (if not more) as performing solo. One has to quickly adapt to the whims and fancies of the main artist in case he or she starts improvising.

To say I was intimidated at first would be like calling bungee jumping a casual stroll by the bridge. Fortunately I was not alone - I got a radio artist in Sri Lanka, a dedicated mother of two and a simply amazing human being as my mentor. She patiently corrected me as I made mistakes and had me repeat stanzas many times till I played it right. It did not come easy - I spent several months preparing with hours and hours on weekends, and even after coming back from heavy days of work. But finally the result on Oct 2nd 2010 was the fulfillment of my one of my earliest childhood dreams. I was able to play for nearly 12 songs spanning both proper Carnatic and light music to over 8 singers! ....

Now how about I make a senti-senti, peelings-peelings but "from-the-heart-true", statement here -

Much more than the audience applause, what gave me utmost joy was that nod of acceptance from my mentors and peers who considered me worthy of their time!

Around the same time, another wonderful thing happened. Thanks to one of my sweetest friends, I got introduced to Dr. Devendra Sharma to become part of his Nautanki troupe. When I first heard about it I assumed it would be just another acting role. But the first day I went for the rehearsal, I found a number of folks gathered around a dude with harmonium! Devji gave me the script handwritten in beautiful Hindi and asked me to repeat. I did not understand, I can speak Hindi fine right? The next moment answered that question. Starting off at the high pitch set by the harmonium, he began full throat-ed singing - asking me to follow! My jaw dropped as I stared around. Not one soul was laughing. That’s when it dawned on me that this was by no means a laughing matter! Nautanki is easily one of the toughest performing arts because the artists may have to sing, dance and act with perfection ALL AT ONCE! Compare it to figure skating while doing a Soprano. The living legends Dr. Devendra Sharma and his even legendary father Dr. Ramdayal Sharma tutored me, trained my voice, fixed my acting with such diligence and dedication, that for those three months, I did not want anything more than to do the best for them….

and we rocked! Our team of some of the most multi-talented artists performed to a packed enthralled audience in SIX shows - Four in downtown San Francisco and Two in San Ramon.

Then came the biggest company sponsored event in the bay Area – Oracle Diwali 2010. Eight songs with a talented kind group of singers and two amazing dances! First time a quiet, violin playing, tam-brahm danced to a fast paced Bhangra! But every time I hear someone praise any of those performances, I waste absolutely no time in explaining that it was all due to the amazing choreographers and fellow mentors. Nov 12^th 2010 would become one of the most memorable days in my life. About 80 participants and a whooping 1400+ gripped members in the Oracle Diwali audience are certainly amongst the thousand reasons for me to say Thanks!

Towards the end of 2010 at thanksgivings is my next reason to thank. Five bachelors made a trip to San Diego Sea world, San Diego Wild Animal Park, LA Universal Studios, a Madame Tussauds wax museum and even a temple visit on our way back! Well these places might look like the "hep" kewl places for uncles and aunties. But our Five-O did something very common yet unique. We covered every single show, ride or exhibit that these places had to offer within a day each and without any compromise to the many multi-angle photography shots to boast about! A simple travel record even the most disciplined uncle or aunty would have a tough time beating. Now that's something to be thankful about!

Well that's my humble attempt at trying to explain my nearly year long sabbatical from blog-sphere.. Who knows what the future has in store... If I will get to do theatrics and shows in the future at all... For now, to all those who shared those wonderful moments with me in 2010, I can only conclude with a big, heart-felt,

T H A N K - Y O U !

Kayaking Channel Islands

When we decided to go camping at Channel Islands for the Memorial Day weekend I was a little intimidated. Not really because of the 12+ miles of ocean kayaking or dark scary sea caves or sleeping in tents next to foxes - these are ok! It was rather the fear of whether or not I would be able to empty bowels in mud pits. The islands were rumored to be devoid of electricity and other civilized facilities such as ceramic commodes. This fear did, however, help reduce a lot of load before heading out.

Ours was a 2 day visit with one night of camping. A fast stomach-swirling speed boat brought us to the island within an hour. Then on, it was just manual labour - right from the human conveyor belt that unloads luggage at the docks to hauling bags to campsite, to propping up the tents. But soon enough the 5 of us and our guide were all paddling away into the open ocean in our bright yellow sun-lit kayaks.

We got a really awesome guide - a chilled out kayaker who was thoroughly familiar not only with the sea caves and their safe entry-exit points but also with the flora and fauna around. Every location we would group up he would tell us a story. Hallmarks of a great guide is knowing how to transform a pelican poop covered rock into heroic remnants of an ecological bio-cycle drama. We did not explore just sea caves - but rather historic caverns that mother earth carved with molten hot lava, where the mighty sea goddess boomed though the crevices, where the surf sank many hapless vessels, where careless kayakers were meted severe punishments and where seals huddle for warmth. Entering and exiting some caves required abundance of courage coupled with kayaking expertise for safe navigation. Adrenaline seems to be such a good ink when it comes to etching long term memories.

Camping is a different experience all together. It did not take long for me to learn that voice travels far and loud across the campsite. So singing Aagaya vennilaave at night en-route to the restroom (the campground did have them, phew) can wake and irritate sleeping campers in their tents. Few other lessons learned were, island foxes are timid creatures and there is no need to run top speed from them, shaking tents are not to be investigated and fluid intake before bed time can result in long nocturnal hikes.

Reminiscing CMU I - An inappropriate act

If it feels like life's moving too quick too fast,
It's time to slow down, reminisce the past,
Blog old memories, make them really last
So here I go, penning times passed...

First days on campus I was a simple student,
trying to be humble, yet very prudent.
Life in this land was still very new,
of the culture, people, I had no clue.

So many places, there'd be free food,
pizzas, colas, chocolates, oh so good!
Stopping by tables & stopping by stall,
picking up goodies, both big and small.
Cause? who cares! it's free? that's all!

One such desk of some campaign,
there were many sweets - free again.
As I passed by their busy stall lane,
someone gave me something colored very plain,
I kept walking - did not hear them explain...

Wrapped in plastic, it was an odd looking sweet,
Still in the walk, I tore it open to eat,
People looked at me like I was some cheat!
Some gave me looks of pure shock, defeat!!
One even glanced & beat a hasty retreat!!!
Whats so wrong? in eating a free treat?

But the rolled up ring, did not look right,
Somehow I did not feel like giving it a bite,
so tossed it in the thrash, out of eye sight.

It was only later when I went back to look,
did I realize what the campaign really was...
At those plastic wraps I blinked in cold pause...
"Global AIDS awareness" read the banner's cause!

:-P

Holi at Stanford II - Mein Kampf

22nd Mar 1989, Borivali, Bombay: A little boy was filling his plastic water-pump from a bucket. Hardly a preschooler, his tiny arms were working hard to fill the pump up quickly. After all this was his new pump and he wanted to impress his friends. There were many coloured up boys and girls of various ages that day celebrating Holi in the terrace of his apartment building. His parents were looking elsewhere when it happened...

A really naughty older bully kid, coloured all over in dark violet and green, barged in to fill up his own pump from the same bucket. The little boy gracefully gave way, a little intimidated looking at the older one's face. Without warning, the bully lifted his violet coloured hand and brought it down in a hard painful slap onto the tiny one's back. The Whack was so hard, the bully's hand not only imprinted the little one's white shirt in violet but also his skin below in pink!

Wincing in pain, the little one screamed out, "Aww, Kyun Kiya aise?" (why did u do that?).
Grinning in pure evil, the bully replied, "Isse CHAPA kehte hain" (This is called an imprint!)
Knowing he'll get into a lot of trouble if he were to hit back, the little one just gave the bully a cold fuming stare.
Bully knew this and smiled again before walking away, "Darpok log CHAPA nahin de sakte" (cowards can't slap imprints)
The tiny boy vowed then that one day he'll prove the bully wrong........
(If this were a bollywood film, it would have starting raining in torrents immediately with background music)

20 years later....

27th Mar, 2010, Sandhill fields, Stanford: A young man in his mid-twenties stepped into the Holi grounds. Asha Holi at Stanford whose proceeds are to fund education in India, relentlessly attracts the young and old alike. Flanked at the entrance were two angels, randomly smearing faces of unsuspecting new entrants with pink and yellow powder. Expecting (or rather hoping :P) to get smeared, the young man slowed down in front of one of the angels and closed his eyes. An embarrassing odd pause followed, to be broken not with gentle coloured palms but by a rather harsh slap on his back. Eyes opened, instead of the delightful angel, he met two of his grisly old time acquaintances, "HAPPY HOLI man!"... Greetings followed but when his acquaintances left, the young man couldn't help realize that his first colour was a pink imprint of a hand on his shirt!! Memories raced back 20 years! The CHAPA! The bully... The vow! It was time to pacify some very old demons, he thought :-P ...

Change is the only constant of time. A lot of time had passed by... a lot of things had changed... there was no bully around ... there was no little boy either! Just a sea full of colourful people gleefully smearing and dousing each other with sweet smelling organic powders. No one to take revenge on! Arms that can pump over a hundred and fifty pounds - quite useless in this context. The young man could only see one way to pacify those old demons. Just prove that he was no DarPok! (coward). Loading up his palms with green powder, he began...

No force necessary and no slapping either. Courage is all that is really needed. Some would appear a little annoyed, but "Happy Holi" would cheer them up. Some would colour him back. Most others wouldn't even notice! This continued for a while until our guy met up with his friends. The latter did not quite understand why this otherwise gentle person was going around imprinting the shirts of totally random people with his colour laden palms!! But by then, the task was more than done! Any direction he would look he'd see a dozen shirts imprinted with the green hand! No more a Darpok, his CHAPA demons were finally laid to rest! It was time to go home and blog ;-)

"Happy Holi"