Goodbye 2012... Bring it on 2013....

2012 had been a different year... a difficult one to rate....
Too many ups and down.... lots of laughs and tears...
Made new friends, lost many too...
An year i took many risks in life, went against everybody's wishes.... chose a different career, which angered as well as saddened some people...
The year had been not so easy.... had many challenges, personal and professional.... new place, new work atmosphere, had a tough time adjusting to the ways to people...
I can foresee, 2013 will be even more challenging.... have to make even more tougher decisions... even more heartbreaks and tears will be there... but there will be some space to smile as well... hope!!!
I am ready for the challenges... i am ready to face and fight.... bring it on 2013!!!!

The Baking days!!!

When the season of cakes and cookies were here, all i wanted was to try my hands on baking.... always wanted to jump into this long... But back at home, my mom never let me experiment in her kitchen... when i was in Hyderabad or Chennai, i never got a chance, there was no time... and most of my X-mas time, i spent with my friends...

This time around in Delhi i decided to get the oven, and make my own christmas cake.... I went against the option of microwave oven.... the best cakes are made from the old electric oven.... after a hunt around, i finally found one in an old electric shop in East Delhi...

It looked exactly like my mom's oven and i was 100% confident of getting the cakes right.... 

Now all i wanted was getting a right recipe.... I had modified my mom's fruit and nut cake recipe inspired my some bakers' blogs.... 

To begin with, more to test my oven, started with chocolate cake... it went fine.. though the sugar level was bit low... I had some cake testers in the form of my colleagues... They gave a thumbs up...

The next step was try out the nut cake... Somewhere the sugar level went up and the whole thing came a bit sticky... but as consolation was the flavour was amazing... so thumbs up on flavour from the cake testers... Some lessons learned... pointed noted in my recipe book....

With full spirit and lots of confidence, on Christmas cake i tried on the nuts cake once again... I had a special star-shaped baking tray for that... The flavour in air was all good, and i wont be knowing the taste of it until christmas.... 

I packed my bags for Christmas @ Josephine's... Sigh of relief when the cake was cut... the consistency came right, tasted good, though there was still room for improvement.... Some thumbs up on baker me... 

Thrilled at an amazing christmas time in Delhi... Enjoyed a special christmas cake from Josephine... Have to try out that recipe some day... for now, back to work, finish some pending work before the year ends... 

May be i will start a food blog, on my experiments in kitchen... More to come soon... more recipes will be posted soon....

Trip to wagamon and the end of a great camera....

I was looking forward to this vacation... not that i was excited to meet all my family... i just wanted to get away from the polluted delhi and get some fresh air from the mountains... so when Melissa was joining me to my home vacation, i was excited to put Wagamon as our first stop...

Surprisingly few of my family took leaves to come down to thodupuzha and join to make it a family picnic... it all started great... we packed bottles and bottles of water, appam, banana... and other homemade stuff... we set out in two cars; me and sherry joining mable and johny and Melissa who came together from aluva... Jacob and jerryn with their family in jacob’s car...

We stopped by many points on our way up... clicking pictures, posing... the other day mable was commented so much about how my camera stayed on for so long; 6 and half years without any problem... just so happened that after i clicked her picture, next point my camera just stopped functioning... i tried all; switching it off, cleaning the lens... nothing worked... the trip was going great, the first one in our vacation, i feeling so terrible...

i loved that camera, and i was proud of the way i kept that, how many pictures in took in that... the camera i bought with the first honorarium i ever got in my life; from FIAS for the talk i gave there... it’s no more... all i could do that moment was to console myself, forget about it and join others in the fun...

The rest of the trip was no less than fun... we drove straight to a resort near the pine valley for lunch... reaching there i realised i was bitten by some blood sucking leeches... my feet was all bloody and i didn’t even realise that... it turned out i was not the only one affected....

After lunch we moved to pine valley... valley looked spooky... had a feel of the setup of a scary movie... clicked lots of pics there as well.. everyone was eager to be at the meadows... we drove over there, because the clouds were gathering and there was a change of rain... as soon as we reached there, instead of relaxing, we opened our boxes and started attacking mom’s appam and beef... well, it looked like the whole trip was for the fooding... but it was a nice picnic over there...

We spent some time there till it started raining... we, meli and mable did some gangnam style over there for the photographer... J it was fun...

Thick clouds started gathering and we had to leave.... me and meli were filling our lungs with all those fresh air.... we knew the moment we r back in delhi, its all those polluted air we will be getting...

By the time we decided to visit St. Alphonsa’s church and turned to that road, hell broke loose and it started raining heavily... we somehow managed to reach the church... There were lots of people visiting the church even in heavy rain... we stayed there for sometime, prayed at St. Alphonsa’s tomb...

The journey back to thodupuzha was hard as well... it was dark and it was raining... we reached home safely and all we wanted was to crash and sleep... because next day was awaiting us with a long trip to Trivandrum... 

RIP Vini... you will be missed...

How bad a friend you be if you would come to know that your friend is no more from the web telecast of her funeral...

Sunday morning facebook gave me the shock of a lifetime when i saw my friend vinitha being tagged in a funeral album ‘vinitha aleyas – her last rites’... i hoped and wished that’s another vinitha... but the face of the person the coffin was just her... and i didn’t know how to react... it’s been few weeks since i have heard from facebook or twitter... and i was busy for weeks and weeks... I still have no clue how and why....

Vinitha was one of those people who will be around online when you need... got to know her from yahoo 360... a non-stop blogger... some of her blogs those days sounded silly then, but it was all her... frank person, who will be there for everyone else... Met her once in person, 2 years back, when she came to thodupuzha for some shopping... she was the same person i used to know via her blogs... bubbly and talkative...

It’s hard to believe what has happened... i cannot speculate on how and why it happened... all i know is one of my good friends will no longer be around... i am going to miss you Vini... RIP....

Professionals need to be professionals

Ever since i joined my office, i have seen people talking so much about the company’s professionalism and all... the managers, they never stop talking about what the company expects from you... initially i felt i wont be able to keep up with them... but slowly i realised, its all just the talk or their level of high standard is infact on the lower side...

All confirmed in the annual conference for sales organised by the company... my manager said, ‘formal dressing’... well, ok... i thought... first corporate conference, lets go all professional... i got myself dressed up in a formal suit.... but it turned out, i was the only formally dressed editor there... it was quite embarrassing considering the way my group showed up... even for the party... editors there are considered just a bunch of nerds, i surprised everyone breaking that rule...

I had a long chat with others who worked there before and my cousin... everyone agreed people this part of the world are so miserly... wont spend much for parties or dressing up.... i consoled myself, atleast i acted like a professional.... 

well, next time, my manager says anything about the company’s legacy, i know how to weigh that and take that....

A break from work, pollution... a break from delhi....

Finally a break from Delhi....
Things were getting bit crazy in office... work piling up, me getting frustrated with everything around it.... I need to get out of it before i decide to give up on anything... Moreover the weather in delhi is changing a lot, and usually the change of weather makes me fall it...
So it is the right time to take a break from this dusty city... yes, the pollution was almost getting on to my nerves...
Now its time for some time in beach, hills... boating... enjoying some nice fish... cant wait.....
Kerala here i come.... plz don' rain.... and no hartal....

Foggy Delhi...

I love winter... the reason, its far better than summer.... When i was told, the winter in Delhi will be a short but strong one, i was disappointed... i am not looking forward to a short winter... i need a pleasant long one... I thought i have to wait to till end of November for some coolness...

But all on a sudden, asif an answer to my prayers, the temperature in Delhi is beginning to fall... I am loving these cool mornings, though i am missing my morning walks... and the fog around, though i caught a cold... and the chill in the air, though i haven’t bought a water heater yet... The life far away from the heat is cool...

The cold i am having now is not that bad, though it ruined my week-end plans for a fridge shopping ... But the sight of the fog coved Delhi early morning from the metro on my way to church was beautiful... I don’t know whether the Delhi winter is hard and horrible as people say, but i am loving this pleasant weather as long as it last...

Autorickshaw diaries: tales from the driver...

Not always you will come across an autorickshaw driver with a good heart.... Most of them i came across all my life were just greedy for money.... But sunday was different.... I was shifting from patel nagar to my new apartment in shakarpur... most of the shifting were done on the day before... All left on sunday was handful of things which i thought i can move on sunday in an auto...
The thing about patel nagar, hardly you get an auto from the south side... if you catch one from the west side, they charge like anything.... I walked up the that side and asked the first auto i saw, he told a rate in which could travel for a 100kms!!!!!... left him just there... then saw a bunch of autos in which one of the drivers came forward and offered a reasonable rate... He drove an extra 2 km to reach my building and i was surprised he didnt charge for that...
The journey from Patel nagar to Shakarpur was not a long one thanks to the driver... he was chatty, not irritating chatty.... from Politics, to his touchy personal stories he was engaging.... He talked about the Delhi attitudes, the corrupt policemen... and about his family.... He talked how people are becoming selfish these days... people forget how to help others selfless.... even own blood.... he then talked how his family didnt help when in in need; when his son was dying... there was a lump in his throat when he said this.... He then talked about his only daughter, how good she is in studies... his dreams on her future....
By the time i reached my new apartment i wish the journey a bit more longer, so that i can listen to this man...   I thanked him for the safe ride, paid him and said good bye.... Respect, for the first selfless man i found in Delhi!!!!

Painting days.... dusty ways....

One of the most irritating things i can never tolerate is the dusty environment.... hate it in any form.... and when our management has decided to paint the office, i expected them to wait till week-end to work on the editorial floor... But the work kept going along whole week... painting work brings lot of dust... and i feel like sitting in a polluted place whole week...

the room definitely needs a makeover... but cant the whole beautification wait till the holidays... how can u expect someone to focus on the work when its all dusty  around... 

The dust-phobia has made me change my apartment as well.... the present one brings in all pollution of patel nagar to my room... shifting out this week-end to somewhere clean, far away from the dust and pollution... 

'Dr.Juby'.... 3 years and counting....

Last wednesday sep 26, it took me back to my hyd days... It was the 3rd anniversary of my phd viva... the day I was called Dr.Juby for the very first time...
It was and will always be the day I will b reminded of the pain I had to endure to get that title behind the name...
The sleepless nights.... insomniac days... frustrated, disappointed week-ends!!!
The many sacrifices, the many x'mas i missed at home.... the personal life i sacrificed... yeah, that was a lot of sacrifices... But in the end, it was all worth it.... not all but some atleast...
The day made me look back to my Phd days.... We joked on our Phd life... we fought, argued with our bossed... we managed the internal fights with among ourself.... Looking back, that was the best experience of my life... learned a lot of life lessons.... made a number of friends... connections... i have now people in every field, at my phone address book ready to help me in case of any professional requirement....
I am thankful for my phd life.... how it happened doesnt matter at all... because the result was amazing... 3 years since i finished my phd life... 2.5 years since i left hcu.... i have added new experiences in this time period as well... as years go on, the experiences will increase... meet new people, experience different work culture... May be i will become a different person altogether.... But i will always remember the beginning... The day i which set the base for who i am right now... The day i became 'dr.'.....

"Dont ever mistake my silence for ignorance or my kindness for weakness"

"Dont ever mistake my silence for ignorance or my kindness for weakness"

This quote is summing up my attitude these days.

I consider myself as a calm person most of the time. I don't like to jump around or be a show-off. Most of the time I like to live in my own world.

But what irritates me is when people mistake my calmness or silence for dumbness... Some people here, just had a first hand experience on what will happen if they irritate me...

I wont stand anyone irritating me in any way... Be nice, i will play nice... Don't ever try to sit on my head, because i can shake anyone off from my life...

May be i sound selfish... But i was selfless for too long, and it ended up with me at the receiving end... I don't want history like that repeat over and over... 

Time to be selfish.... and move on boldly with my life...

ALEPH - did i miss something!

Just finished reading this book... And how long I was reading that? Almost one and half years... Finally done with it...
I say 'done with it'... 'cos it was not an interesting book that grabbed all my attention and time... may be  its the translation. The flow was not there at all... and Paulo Coelho's plots are becoming boring and predictable... Nothing new in that book that is memorable to me...
But one thing interested me was the whole train journey... that might have been an experience for anyone taken it. It inspired me... to travel to mysterious places in the world... take a trip, take a pilgrimage, find yourself, get inspired....
I want to get into that train... meet some new, weird characters.... write stories on them....

To add, this is the fourth book in 3 months, i was not at all wowed at all... the real literary writings are disappearing.... new new writers on block, throwing in so much of their experience; that's good... but, the good english is missing... Everybody wants to make a name as writer... So they just focus on the content, never care abt the language at all... The fiction these days feels like blogs... I still believe, the good writers were the old days ones... Missing that style... 

Take a Breath... whenever you can....

Busy days!!! tight schedules....
Monday to friday, life just goes so fast, so mechanical.... Not even getting time to pause a bit, take a short break...
Mondays morning are becoming more and more like 'manic monday mornings'.... Friday evenings are welcomed with a cheer in air... Not at a good sign!!!
Life is changing so fast, finding hard to adjust to the ways....
Have to take care of my eyes first.... the eye muscles have weakened a lot due to time infront of the computer screen over the years... but not able to take breaks in between.... Works, deadlines rule the office...
Taking a break, catching a breath.... wait for that fraction of time inbetween for those... else, you will miss that for the day..... like what happened to me today.... by the time i reached home, i didnt have even abit of energy to stand up....
Its 9.30 and all i am thinking now is to wind up so that i can start early again tomorrow....
i need a break.... for that i have to wait for 3 more days!!!!!

Beautiful mornings... rainy evenings... humid nights...

Yes, that's what's right now here in Delhi.... Late monsoon is giving some rains once a while, leaving the rest of the time humidity in abundance... feel like summer never left....
Enjoying the beautiful mornings as usual... the pic i took this morning... the white dot in the middle is actually the moon... the advantages of getting up early in the morning and going for jogging...

Time just flew and its already September... May 27th, when i joined Wiley feels like yesterday.... completed 3 months as a consultant here.... Promoted to Project editor... Life is not bad....
One thing still left for me to do in delhi... have to roam around and take more snaps of Delhi.... when will i get time.... waiting... and waiting for the right time!!!!

Keeping some people away from you life can be good...

Many people usually criticise me that I am short tempered... that i react too much... that i dont have patience...
i agree half of it is true... the thing is; i dont have patience with people who irritate me too much... i cannot stand them... for me the right thing is to keep people like that away from my life...
I dont want to be stressed out because of some people.... who does everything to take away the peace from me... may be the number of friends will come down, but i cannot count someone who stresses me out as a friend....
Let me have some peace in my life... so anyone who cant give me that, just stay out of my life....

Onam in Delhi...

That time of year, when every malayalees miss atleast the home food.... Onam.... it was a different experience this time.... The first onam in Delhi... i thought it will be a disaster... but thanks to my cousin Josephine here, i didn’t feel like missed out...

Was at her house in Gurgaon last Sunday.... had a long onam sadhya preparing session... it was fun... we invented some recipe too... finally came up with a 14 item sadhya... it was a success... and we have beaten so many people even in kerala by miles... Planning to top that next year as well...

After an eventful pre-celebration... the real onam day was just an ordinary day... last minute i decided to wear settu saree, but was not going to be a success considering the late monsoon rain and floods in delhi.... had to hire a cab to and fro office...

 It was a quiet day for me in office... I continued to be too comical in a saree as usual... year after year i wear saree on onam day, and every time makes it look awkward.... This time i preferred mote to move around much... well, the question is when will i ever be comfortable in a saree!!??

Well, done with the day with some chips and chats with my neighbours... it was not a great day as such... but it was not bad either... Will wait for another 364 days or so and hope for it to be better... 

Overwhelmed with sadness...

I consider myself as an over emotional person... many a times its not an attitude to be shown in public... sometimes my over reactions had irritated many...
but today was one of those days; when i try to crush down all those emotions, it ends up affecting badly on my mood... i never felt so sad for a long time... i cannot explain what the real reason behind this... all those unappreciated workaholic life in office, or those uncaring family members or what else!!?? i have no clue... may be its the sum total of all anger, pain, frustration... due to each and everyone around me!!!
i had to rush to the wash room a number of times so that people wont see my red red eyes...shed a few drops of tears there.... how many times i wished for the day to end fast so that i can run away from everyone... i wish i had a true friend around that moments so that i could let it all out.... but too bad, life had left me all along this whole world... it took a while for me to calm down... but that overwhelming sadness reminded me, i need all the fighting spirit in the world to survive here...
I know i am strong.... and i have to fight it all alone.... the thought of it sometimes make me weaker.... life!!!! 

Auto rickshaw Diaries: the faulty meters....

My relationship with the auto-wallahs in any city in India except for Hyderabad was never great... not even close to good... Things are not any better in delhi compared to the horrible experience with the Chennai auto-wallahs....

In Delhi, auto-wallahs never keep the meter on; well, except for few (they might be saints among the sinners)... The most common excuse, ‘the meter is not working, i’m just about to go to the mechanics’... They might be planning to go the mechanic whole year, but ever do... When will they ever fix...

The hilarious part of an auto journey will be when the meter shows less amount than we negotiated for... negotiated will be a polite term, actually ‘fought and agreed on’ will be the right term to use... The excuse in that situation is ‘this meter is all wrong, i’m just going to the mechanic’.... Bless all auto mechanics in Delhi...

Increased rates on summer and rainy seasons... rates vary by season... waiting to see the winter rates... that will be touching the heavens too...

I am missing my bike here... tired of giving money to the greedy auto-wallahs.... Let the rainy season be over, will get a Delhi registration bike....

Dear educated, plz dont behave like an illiterate....

Of the many kinds of people i have come across in Delhi, the most common ones are the posers... the show-offs... They are everywhere; everyday in metros in huge numbers... in my building here... and surprisingly in my office... i initially thought the people in my office are all well educated and well behaved... the second part of that opinion changed in no time, as i learned about the gossips around... i cannot tolerate gossipers.... never...
Surprisingly, the first opinion is also beginning change now... some people in my office were just showing off how good they are with the world affairs, current affairs, politics, religion, sports.. and what else... In actual case, they are just like that illiterate HDFC bank employee who asked me once 'which state Kerala belongs to?'... yeah, educated madams in my office cant differentiate between the 4 different south indian states... how they passed geography in high school!!! god knows!!!
I can expect an ignorant comment like that from an uneducated person, not from anyone working in this company.... I can only conclude, Delhi is full of posers... this is the place where even the 'educated' behave like illiterates.... shame on them.... 

No more Very Very Special....

No more VVS in Indian cricket.... In the shadow of Ganguly, Dravid, Sachin all his career, but had the magic of a game changer, finally he decided to walk out.... with dignity...

Who will now walk out at situations of 40-4... and save the day... Who will ever manage the tail-enders and make then take valuable runs and win with no wickets in hand.... 

How can anyone forget the 281 in Eden Gardens against Aussies and created a fear in every Aussie cricketers veins... that was VVS.... 

Everyone will definitely miss him... but the sun has to set some day.... and today is that day... and i am typing this with a lump in my throat... He was out of form for a while... but any case he is VVS and there will never be anyone very very special like him.... 

Thanks for the memories VVS.... 

Confusing times.... decision-making times....

I left academics for a reason.... as much as i love being a physicist, the future being in a teaching career scares me... I am not good at teaching, even thought I have received enough respect from my students during my short-stint as a teacher...
I quit academics and came to publications 'cos of that.... But in Wiley, i am missing being a physicist... The job is nothing of a physicist job and it irks me... Now that an opportunity is calling me back to academics, I am having second thoughts on my decision to quit academics in the first place...
This is going to the real crucial one... My future will depend on it... If i say NO to academics this time also, there wont be any going back for me... The fact that the present job profile is no more appealing, and i am sure about the future job position in the company, i am seriously considering going back... But, then again... what will be my future in academics? will i be enjoying? or will i regret losing a job?
Going crazy over this matter for days... With my academician friends all abroad, don't have anybody who can give me a honest advice... I have to make this decision on my own and it sucks... 

Dealing with Drama Queens....

"Cant you see, I am sick... you have to talk to me politely".... An outburst from my drama queen neighbour was shocking first... Taking her fever excuse to get all attention she needed... First I was angry, then I thought why to waste my energy in talking to ppl like her...
In Delhi that was not the first time i was dealing a situation like that.... attention seekers are everywhere... using every bit of armour to get sympathy, take advantage of the goodness of others....Wonder how girls here are so needy and weak...
I consider myself a tough person, i hate to be needy, i hate to depend on other for anything... I was brought up like that.... So, seeing all these whining grown ups, its irritating.... This has become one of my pet peeves now...
So drama queens, u can never win my sympathy ever.... so drop your acts infront of me...

Blackouts, crowded metros, traffic jams... manic days in Delhi...

It all started with a power cut on monday morning.... It was a relaxing week-end and all i wanted was to start the week with some freshness.... The power was down in the morning.... and soon we realised there is no metro running... the stations are locked informed our maid... My battery in mobile was down and i checked net to see what is going on only to learn one of the major power grids is down and most of north states are power-less...
I first decided to take an off that day, why to take the pain of arguing with the autowalahs.... But soon we found the metros started moving... i started off to the station only to find a crowded platform.... I had to spend there almost an hour leaving one crowded metro after another.... finally around 10 i could squeeze myself into one and reach the office after 10.30... With the power down in entire delhi, the worst affected was the traffic lights.... It was mayhem on roads...
But monday was just a beginning... The worst of blackout was on tuesday when the entire north india went on a 100% blackout... hospitals, rails, traffic... nothing worked for hours... Thank god, the power went mid-day after all of us reached office... Our office was running on backup for hours, once it died down we were in darkness too.... That followed a long wait and chit-chat (which many enjoyed).... Finally the power was back after few hours... Pictures of crowded stations, roads filled the news websites.... The power ministry gave a warning that the grids can fail again.... so, more blackouts awaits us in delhi...
later it was learned that that was one of the largest blackouts in the world.... 18 states were affected, millions got stranded here and there... It was hell times... I am considering getting my two-wheeler here, in case of another blackout, i dont have to be worried about how to get back home....

Inactivity, yeah it kills!!!!

The time i was spending at home before coming to delhi for the new job, one thing, among the many, i was worried about was the do-nothing mode... Staying at home, without any physical activity was suffocating... i knew that was suicidal... so it thrilled me when i got a change to move out of home, even though it’s far far away from home.... Lazy feeling at home, without any activity, is for sure a recipe for ill health...

The same feeling was reflected on the Hindustan Times article... how Indians can get easily affected by lack of physical activity, like getting heart attack, diabetics, cholesterol problems etc.... Staying active not just only keep you fit, but it ensures a longer life too...

Unhealthy, out-of-shape people are often a sight here in Delhi... many a times, i felt like asking, just as Dr. Cox once told one of his patients; ‘is it too hard for you to get up early in the morning and go for a walk or cut some vegetables?’... yeah, seriously... seeing people here, who waits for the lift instead of climbing ten steps!!! No wonder they stay out of shape all the time...

Being a sports-person all my life, staying inactive is unthinkable, whenever i was not jogging or anything like that, i always feel uncomfortable... but i always made sure to take stairs instead of lifts as much as possible... Active body will always have an active mind... Therefore; stay active, stay healthy and stay young.... 

Humid days.... sick days....

Last week was one of those weeks; i was irritated to hell... The unpredictable weather and the dust took a toll on my health again... down with a cold... And the delhi weather continued to be horrible as well; with humidity at its heights....

Looking at weather forecast never gave any solace... summer seems never ending in delhi...  I had a tough time recovering from the cold and throat infection in such weather... No morning walks, that was a horrible feeling... didn’t turn a page in the book i was reading, that killed me... on top of that couldn’t go to say good bye to Chots, she was leaving Delhi... when i came, it was all her who got me familiarised with this place... now i will miss her....

Today i was spending whole day watching movie... i longed for a cool weather or rain outside... that cozy feeling with a rain outside, and you take your favourite book, with a cup of tea in hand... relax in your chair... and just have that awesome most feeling... sigh!!!! Till waiting for rain... still waiting...

Down with a cold.... Again....

I am getting irritated with this delhi weather.... Summer was horrible and the 'monsoon' (of 2-3 rains) is making me sick....
Was down with a serious cold a month back after the first rain.... it was the dust affected infection... Now with the monsoon playing hide and seek, and making the weather unpredictable, i am down with another cold again...
The climate change is surprising.... It announced the arrival of monsoon with couple of rains and floods... suddenly all rains disappeared one fine day, only to be back after few days.... Its becoming difficult to get adjusted to this kind of a weather.... 
Cannot forget the hellish time of cold and throat infection of last time... cant go through the same again.... aaagggrrrr......

Rain.... and all dirty water around....

Finally monsoon in full swing on Delhi....


Whenever i think of Monsoon, all i can visualize the clean roads and greenary that follows the Kerala monsoon...And a walk through the roads after the rains, Heaven!!!!!


But commeth rain, its only the dirty roads you see... The worst sight to me is children playing in such water... What all diseases they are getting from that... god knows...

Well, the good news is its raining and if you sre inside your house in its warmth, its the best feeling... take a book, watch a movie... sleep well... without any kind of a disturbance from the noisy cooler....

Somehow, i am coming to terms with the fact that there is no other place like Kerala... After all its God's own country where everything will be clean and green... 
Yeah, i am missing home... the food, the weather... and most important the green and clean atmosphere... 


But Delhi is Delhi.... something will be positive here as well... Let's see....

Trying to grab all those non-dusty air....

Finally summer is over and i am back getting up at 5.30 in the morning, putting on my jogging shoes and hitting the road... Unlike Chennai roads here in patel nagar are not that bad and not that dusty even at 6.00am.... And on top of that nice crowd of joggers as company....

I have problem with the Delhi pollution.... just like in Chennai.... summer torture has an added flavour of dust in Delhi... Somehow, mornings are dust free and peaceful.... just the right time to grab all those unpolluted air.... Peace!!!

Coming back to jogging.... nothing can make me happier than getting to work out.... just only few days on road now... trying to increase my stamina and get to that runners-high.... Will be there soon... 

Clueless Monday!!!

When you have a relaxed and eventless week-end, you expect to start the week refreshed and in high spirits...

But after two days of relaxing, reading, watching some classic movies.... watching Wimbledon..... the monday was just so sleepy... and i was clueless most of the time on what i am doing or what i am supposed to do.... 

Even after a refreshing morning walk.... a delightful breakfast..... I was sleepy most of the time in office.... signed out exactly at 6.30.... had some more work to do, but didnt have any energy to stay back....

May be too much excitement of Federer winning a record slam, on which i was jumping up and down all night.... sending messages to all Federer fans, don't know.... 

Monday was just Monday... 

Flooded roads... Heavy Traffic... Thatz Delhi rain...

To add to that list are... confusion, panic, broken vehicles in the middle of road....

It was mayhem in Delhi today.... Monsoon finally arrived in the capital city.... Shouts of joy in office in the evening... every1 opened the window to catch a glimpse... smell the first drops of rain.... it was heaven.... But very soon, it turned out to be a  hell...

As soon as i got out of the office, the sight of flooded roads shocked me... it was just a flood, but dirty water flood.... there was no time to wait for the water to come down... Had to walk in that water.... Once i reached the junction, getting an auto was a hellish task.... Finally decided to pay one auto fellow extra.... Flooded roads, dirty water everywhere.... kids playing in that water was a shocking sight.... Topping all those was the heavy traffic... confusion prevailed on road...

Saw many pushing their broken down vehicles.... On the way back, i was thinking only about whether i have enough detol at home.... 

If the traffic was not hard enough, the metro was worse... i was stuck almost every stations for some reasons.... so relieved when i finally reached home....

While taking about all the woes, one thing is making me happy.... the end of summer is here.... a relief from heat.... thank god for that....

Planning to spend the week-end now reading some books, tea and cookies..... 

Where are you rain?

Its been 2 weeks since i have read weather forecasts on rains in delhi.... It drizzled for few minutes one day..... It rained somewhere and brought some cool breeze another day.... yet, the monsoon rain is yet to reach Delhi...

The humidity level is touching new heights these days... Sitting in a room without ac is becoming near impossible... Cant read, cant write, cant work.... going crazy at times....

All the rain updates from Hyderabad and Kerala are just making things worse.... 

So, dear rain................. 

Where ever you are, please visit us poor souls in Delhi... give us some relief from this heat....

Because i have many plans for this awesome July, finish reading two books and some other reading, some writing.... and spending some quality time in kitchen and continue my food photography and food blogging..... 

So............. we are waiting eagerly for you!!!!!!!!! come soon...............................

Disappointing end to the Euro

The whole 2011-2012 sports season has been a disappointing one for me.... neither federer won a slam nor Manchester united won a cup.... in cricket, team india was pathetic and my IPL teams flopped badly.... and Schumacher never won a podium as well (except once i didnt watch the race)...

So this Euro i was decided not to watch or follow any match... just to make sure my teams Italy or Dutch or even the Germans win this time.... or any team other than Spain....

But one a weak moment, out of eagerness and for the love of the game, decided to watch the finals between Spain and Italy.... All set at Chot's place.... tuned in the online streaming.... only to find out the flow of the game in 20 minutes.... Italy was defenceless.... helpless...... against the mighty Spaniards.... sigh.... 4-0.... glad we didnt have to watch the second half, it saved us from some heart breaks....

Well, the spaniards are ruling football now, and its a hard thing to watch.... hopefully by WC 2014 they will be down and out and some new team just smash them to pieces.... 

And i keep continuing jinxing my teams.... when will i get to watch a match properly....

Books, downloads.... a week-end with lots of smiles...

After a celebrating one month in Delhi/Wiley (as it happened on 27/06), i was looking forward to this week-end just for myself, relaxing....

Past few week-ends were hell busy or shopping.... 2 Saturdays i went to office and they were expecting me to come again this Saturday too... but i stayed away, had a bit of banking work.... Welcome times away from office.... after spending 5 days, 9hrs/per day, now for atleast 2 days i didn’t want to think about work at all...

Started a Jeffry Archer book today... my only fear is whether i will leave this also half way like a number of other books i did in the past.... the problem is i can’t a book which is written badly... somehow ‘only time will tell’ is engaging....

Also found out that SYTYCD is airing.... so here started my download spree.... first episode was insane... damn good.... looking forward to the rest of the season....

Hmm.... 2 free days, spent some time in the kitchen as well.... waiting for the summer to get over, so that i can really enjoy cooking.... need to get back to the old ways....

And tonight is big Euro final.... i have given the whole tournament a miss.... but its final.... must watch.... excited.... Go Italia.... till then back to my book..... only few hrs left in this week-end... J

When the systems went down...

It was a normal sleepy day in office... Tired of the work, which involves using your computer most of the time... With eyes hurting, shoulders paining, I was longing for a break.... May be someone above (or below; our office is in top floor) heard me; the systems just got shut down....

It was due to some kind of power failure/UPS issues... whatever it was a welcome break... All of us got up, had a small chit chat.... i got to stretch my legs, hands.... a welcome break... Time for some facebooking, tweeting from my phone.... a shot blog entry.... Anything can happen on a 'power-down break'... ;-)
Looking forward to more of that in our 'workaholic' office.....

'Kerala belongs to which state in India?'

That was not a question from any non-Kerala kindergarten kid.... that was from a HDFC bank employee to me last Saturday when i was submitting my documents to take a new account....
Last one week shuttling up and down to the HDFC bank was an experience, especially experience of north India... In kerala, if u find a person working in a bank, u assume him or her to be well educated.... they always treat u well in bank.... After being treated by banks in that manner back home, the sub-standard behaviour of bank employees in a reputed bank like HDFCin Delhi surprised and shocked me...
A bank employee who doesn't know about the states of India... who doesn't know whether Kerala is a state or a city or a town, how on earth he got a job in such a prestigious bank!!!!!!! Whether he was trying to ridicule a south indian, i don't know... but a behaviour like that is worth firing that person.... The question angered me first, and i asked him whether he attended any school in like or studied geography.... his shameless reply was 'i am not familiarised with south'.... asif south India is some remote area where there is no electricity etc.... He was mentioning about a place where the literacy rate is the highest in India.... 
What made the whole incident funny was when i looked at the logo of the HDFC bank, which says 'We understand your world'.... i can add, '... but we dont understand you  at all in North, 'cos we have only illiterate employees here'!!!!!!! 
But one thing these fellows dont know is the power of social media... I updated the incident in twitter/facebook...  immediately it got attention even from the bank's twitter handler.... Glad my message reached somewhere....
What i want to tell HDFC again is; all your bank has is just a name... u have employed only illiterate people who dont have any general knowledge outside the1km area around them.... shame on you HDFC..... 

Dusty.... dusty.... dusty Delhi....

One thing i cannot / will never stand in a place is the dusty atmosphere.... i had a tough time in Chennai.... Not its the Delhi summer that is driving me crazy....

You cant go out for a walk in the morning, you can never enjoy an evening breeze.... 'cos it had added dust with it.... You can keep cleaning your room whole day... still within hrs u can feel the dust.... And i am so sensitive to these things, its irritating me....

Everyone says once you are out of a place like Kerala, all you can do is just keep complaining....

Sigh.... Life!!!!!!

Settling down.... busy days.....

Life these days in Delhi!!! busy like never before... even had to work last week-end... some deadlines to meet.... For some reason i am not complaining... May be I wanted a break from my research life and home so bad past few months, liking this new schedule.... And being busy made me happy always.... can forget all the personal crap at work.... My moto these days; 'keep working... keep working.... and keep partying in week-ends'....


Getting to know my colleagues better.... three weeks, most of the ice is broken now.... Getting to know the delhi ways more.... and getting to know my neighbours more...


And Delhi is not Chennai, where i was all alone.... friends around in Delhi, the main thing keeping me in good spirits here... One thing i am waiting for is the summer to get over.... I hate summer.... i can never find my energy level going up any fraction above the average... Once the temp comes down, i am getting out with my camera and start my Delhi Album... Surprisingly, i haven't used my camera much here... Poor fellow might b eager to get out of the bag and a look around....


Anyways, its so-far-so-good in Delhi.... looking forward to some real adventures here.... 


More posts coming up on delhities.... and delhi ways....  soon....

Sick Days... Tough Days....

I hate being sick again.... New place, new job, needed to settle down first... Even before that, down with a terrible cold and cough....

The dusty Delhi made me sick... was coughing for a week, and finally lost voice... yesterday in office i had to virtually communicate via notepad and sign language....it was terrible... All the self prescribed medicines were of no use... 

Yesterday I had to run out of the conference room, because of the cough... It was awkward... but couldn't help....

I should have consulted a doctor in the first place, waited till everything went bad... The worst part was even my house mates were sick one way or other... and i haven't found a place for my own.... everything was crazy.... tough times....

Finally felt a bit better today... voice is slightly better.... the new meds are working...

Also found a place to stay, though the bathrooms were horrible... need to adjust, till i find a better place and some company.... shifting tomorrow.....

so good luck to me to adjust in the new place....

Working with the bees....

My first week at work... Thank god it went well... The impression i have at the end of the week - 'i am working with some bees'!!!
The work culture of the people in Wiley is highly commendable... No chit chats, no unnecessary breaks... Seems everyone is thinking only about work from morning to evening... No personal emails, chats, facebook!! ppl can spend a whole day without these actually... Wiley is teaching me that... With the amount of work we have there at this time of year, nobody can think of anything else...
I am trying to adjust to this work culture as well... Its hard.... Being an in academics, sitting in lab, having breaks and decidng to work whenever we feel like like sundays or at night.... Coming from there to work in specific time and days will be.difficult... But i did manage, except for the sleepy friday evening...
This is something new for me, the whole feeling of 'work in office'... But i think i am prefering it better than teaching in a classroom... But time will tell whether i will be liking it on a long run....
As of now, enjoy the sun , heat and dust of delhi... And enjoy the company of my 'bee' colleagues...

Packing/Moving.... sucks....

All i am doing these days... packing/rearranging my room/throwing stuff.... Its hell....
The loads of stuff i took along with my from Chennai, are now scattered here and there... and more than half i have to leave it here....
My room is a mess and these days i am spending most of the time outside...
One good thing abt moving to Delhi is, i dont have to take any of my books/notes... saved lots of weight and space in my luggage..... But now i have to do something to preserve all of those... like scan and store... precious books... i wont throw those away....

Just a couple of days more here... couple of days more of packing... so more mess.... ah, it sucks...
Looking forward to some order somewhere.... till then i live in chaos....

Rainy days...

Its the time of summer showers... When the whole country is sweating and fuming in the sun, down south we enjoy the rain... Sometimes curse it too...
If its just the rain, its enjoyable to an extend... The thunder, lighting and power cuts coming as acessaries are the irritating ones...
This season is a chance for all kinds of adventures, like a ride in the rain, with flashes of lightning in the background... scary, but loved every minute of it...
Well, summer is almost over, and monsoon coming up... i wont be at home for it... So enjoying every bit of rain, heaven is pouring down....

Some talents just click!!!!

I am a big fan of reality talent shows.... never miss the 'idols' or 'got talents' or 'got to dance' etc.... I consider myself not fir for any of these shows... I had some interest in theatre in school days, but not so great in the acts...
While watching these shows one thing that always comes to my mind is that i know so many people/ friends with incredible singing, dancing, acting talents.. why they never became successful... They didnt pursue or they never got discovered!!??
Why they never clicked... the answer is they never tried harder... being a successful artist is not just in having the talent, but in trying to cross all the lines in front of you... I have seen ridiculous acts on these shows, we feel anyone can do that... but they end famous, gets youtube hits in millions...
Its all about desire to succeed.... Once you have that desire, all you need is the perfect timing, and you can be a superstar....
So all you talented people, come out of your closets and get your talents on to stage...
...hmm.... and what is my talent!!?? i have something to think on....

Cartoon cam...

Found this app last day in google play... Falling in love with it... Good to click your own caroon face instantly... Trying out different settings...
that reminding me again on my addiction to downloading apps... hmm....

Hope for a Closure

Human beings are alive on this planet not not just on air water or other essentials... but also on HOPE' that tomorrow is going to be better than today... 

When troubles come and decide to stay longer than expected, many may crack under pressure, but the thing called HOPE make people hang in there and fight until they succeed... Life will be depressing without HOPE for a change / new beginning....

But keeping way too much HOPE is dangerous... We may end up in waiting for the right time and sometimes the wait end-less and sometimes pointless... We are so hopeful, we forget to do something by ourselves to turn the tides... 

To me the right choice should be Closure... We can never go on with our lives unless there no closure on the yesterdays... we cannot let the past to haunt us... 

So get a closure, move forward...

What all make a day so boring....

A day like today... When you decide for an outing and realize its 'hartal' day... Add to that been raining non stop from morning...
You then realize none of your friends are online to chat or play games... And absoluley nothing to watch in your hdd...
Then you switch on tv and find nothing interesting coming in any channels...
How long u can just refresh your fb and twitter pages or play with mobile...
Boredom....

Trying moblogging....

Just installed blogger in my phone... I never liked the mobile blogging... The lack of spell check options here gives me lesser confidence to publish a post....
Anyways giving it a try.... Lets see how many i can post from here...

Winding up and moving on....

April saw the winding up of my final work @ IITM... relief.... Was worried it may get delayed.. somehow, things went on track....
And that ends my collaboration there with the AMP group....
It was a risk i took after my PhD to change the field... but its worth taking.... Working in the group for 2 years, i have learned lots of things... Though life as such in Chennai/IIT was not enjoyable, lab was a different.... but i am not missing the place either, as always say IIT is not HCU...;-)

Well... its time to move on... new challenges... new place.... I'm ready world!!!!!

Bloggers Block?

Seems like that.... 

Have  lots of things to post... everytime i open this window, i am lost...

This 'work from home' stuff is killing me... The confined space is frustrating me and the creative me just lazy now-a-days...

Waiting for a vacation from this vacation... may be its time for another hyderabadi trip...

Some social interaction, some fun... i will be back soon....