Two Cities, two engagements, a holiday, Goa, and beyond.......

Am back blogging after almost a month. Think i've gotten into this bad habit of waiting for an event to write about, and when an event does happen-then i get into evaluating if its significant enough to subject readers to the torture. Net result-no entry for more than a month! Therefore, have ditched this idea and have decided to be more frequent with my posts from now on, even if i dont have much to write about. Just to fill in the gaps-here's what i've been up to for the past one month.....

Post marathon i was out of action for 2 days with a strained ankle. Given the pain, i was fearing a stress fracture but thankfully it didn't turn out to be anything that serious. Had to limp to work for more than a week though. In hindsight, the marathon was actually an exhilarating experience and i feel i am hooked onto it for good. Unfortunately its an attriting sport and in the long run your knees tend to get shot by running on tar. Till i find a good grass track i have been taking a small break from it. Below is a pic of me having to work with a tortured ankle....


Meanwhile, was travelling quite a bit over the past month and had an opportunity to visit Bangalore and Hyderabad again. Managed to plug in two weekends at Bangalore so did have plenty of opportunities to go pubbing around with friends. Was quite looking forward to the biryani at Hyderabad but the gastronomic delights at the clients place proved too hard to barter.
Was quite impressed with the city though. Good people-comfortable with HindiEnglish so communication is not a problem, its a small city with good roads so transportation is also not an issue, and perhaps the best part....its quite inexpensive to live in as well.

My batchmates Amit and Anushree got engaged in Delhi over the past weekend. First couples from my batch to go the distance-so congrats to them! Unlikely people- one a Garhwali bustling with energy and opinions about everything under the sun-and the other a Bihari who's totally laissez-faire and cant understand life otherwise. Good going u guys, real heartwarming to see this materialize! Amit, buddy, i hope u realize fully what u're getting into. There's still time, its just an engagement! [:d] Managed a dinner with Anushree on Wednesday at a place called Kabura Resturent in Hyderabad where i got a good download on happenings around the event. All the talk about convincing parents, introducing relatives, settling down, starting afresh etc. hit home with the realization that the same thing is going to get repeated at some point with moi. Quite sobering!

Also, my cousin brother Uddippan threw in the bachelorhood towel. Only, as with almost all things with him, it turned out to be a bomb cause Prachee is a Marathi. But the dust settled soon and we decided to visit his in-laws place in Badlapur this weekend. Its a sleepy township, 3 hrs drive from Mumbai along the old Pune highway. Being at the foot of the western ghats gives the place a hill station feel with winding roads and houses with sloping roofs built atop stilts. The family turned out to be genuine marathi manoos with an open heart. It was good fun trying to interact with Prachee's two grannies who could speak and understand nothing except Marathi. Since my aunt and my mom did not understand even a word of that language, they together only contributed to the general noise. Imagine a room with 4 women speaking at the same time but none understanding the other and u get the picture! But the good part was, all were able to see the funny side of things and soon left the communication to my other cousin Rikul who could manage with patchy bits of that language. Things went off pretty smoothly since and as a next step the girls parents come down to my aunt's place in Assam.

Was in Goa over this weekend and let me tell u that place is fabulous as ever. Had hired a self driven car this time around with which we roamed the length and breadth of the state, literally. Did less of the beach thing this time around, so I got to see a more non-touristy sort of a flavour of the place. I still could not escape awesome food, good roads, and cheerful trusting people. What more could u ask for in a holiday?

Guts and Glory...

Phew....finally am one half-marathon old!

All old doubts, trepidations, and self-debates about possibilities are laid to rest....I did it- ran the entire stretch of 21 kms from VT to Worli and back in under 3 hrs (2hrs 45 mins to be exact). This culmination of efforts is extremely satisfying mainly because of the immense stretch involved in its fulfillment. But far greater than what i did was perhaps a few things that i saw happen on that day. Some i try to describe below.

• I donot know how marathons are like in other cities and countries, but from whatever i'd seen on TV i expected a serious and somber start. Given that we were starting off at 6 in the morning, I'd assumed a few cheerleaders, a few hundred participants, and a guy with a gun to signal the start. In their place, after coming out of the VT subway i was hit by psychedelic dance floor lights, techno and dhol music, and waves of thousands of runners-each runner cheering as loud(if not louder) than the 100'ds of cheerleaders themselves. I jumped into the crowd and immediately panicked as there was no space to run!Here you are trying to regulate your breathing to conserve energy and you suddenly get bumped into by another runner trying to do somersaults to the music!

I immediately knew i was in for a treat that day!

• The course started and ended at VT having passed through Pizzaria, taken a U at Oberoi, all along marine drive in the early morn, a right turn at Babulnath mandir, past Mahalaxmi temple and cheering residents from roof-tops, straight through haji-ali and upto Atria mall and back along the same route. The most scenic part was the combination of dawn breaking over Marine drive and the enthusiastic crowd cheering participants on. This was the stretch during which the chaff started thinning and one had enough space to run comfortably. Also I happened to reach Haji Ali at about the same time as the lead Marathon runners who's efforts were being filmed by two coast guard choppers flying in really low on the water. The picturesque white mosque glistening off the bay, the sight and sound of the two choppers hovering low overhead, and the fresh morning breeze made me forget that i was well near my max stamina stretch.

• When into a long run, it typically helps to get distracted from the pain. During preparations in the park this was accomplished by either music or by measured sprint bursts which lifted thresholds and boosted stamina in the long run. On marathon day this was taken care of by just glancing at the other runners. To say that there were all sorts would perhaps be a big understatement. A 60 yrs+ old couple zipped passed me at a steady pace near the Oberoi turn-dont recollect having seen them later in the circuit so they must have finished before i did; a 40 yr old lady running alongside me struggling to finish-running, walking, bending over with exhaustion and then running some more-but never giving up, later she managed to finish in about the same time i did. Enthusiastic school kids bursting with speed at the start of the course-almost all sitting along the kerbside half an hour into the run; one sweat drenched stinking dude promoting his website on his T-Shirt which said "know me better at harmitsethi.com".

Inspiring people there were plenty. There was this one dude who I crossed near the Intercontinental on my way back. A short guy on walking sticks and clearly in great pain having covered that distance, he still was doing a steady pace. Inspite of the fact that I was half-dead with exhaustion-I realized I was clapping as I crossed him.

This other runner- a villager from Yavatmal I’d met the day before at WTC while collecting my running bib, I saw him at the hospital tent at VT after completing my run. He was on IV drip and to me his knee bone appeared bent. But he was clearly happy and smiling. Went up-to him and he cheerfully boasted that he was second in the veteran category and had completed the race in 2 Hrs 10 mins. I asked if there was someway I could help him? He pointed to the running chip at his ankle and asked me to remove it. When I bent down to lightly touch his ankle he grimaced horribly. While walking out I wondered how would he reach back home in that condition?

• Spectators were obviously not to be left behind. You had a large party standing and doing bhangra at 6 in the morning near the Amex curb with 3-4 dhols and traditional attire, amused grey headed morning walkers at chowpatty smiling at the runners while their labradors furiously barked. One lustily cheering uncle near Wilson college clearly was not used to waking up early cause his T-Shirt message read in bold "TODAY IS NOT YOUR DAY". Enthusiastic? They were clearly much more than that. One Mahalaxmi resident was so keen on making a lady runner drink from his glass jar of electrol that he actually started running alongside her-and he did that for a good 5 mins in his slippers and pyjamas till the irritated runner had to stop, turn around, and vehemently say no!

Run-Mumbai -Run

The excitement has now moved on to the next level with the route map being released. 10 days to go and self doubt seems to grow exponentially every passing day. Perhaps I would be able to squeeze in only 1 or at max 2 practice sessions before the run and really havent moved forward from my limit of 15 Kms.






It sure would be fun to get up early in the morning and reach VT by 5 AM. I am in a dilemma if i should do a test run along the below route or should i leave it to be a virgin territory to be conquered?

The Gentle Game

New year's first post and i was planning to write on some other topic but then Sydney happened!

There are so many ironies to the incident that i find myself doubling over in laughter just thinking about the unlikeliness of the entire bit:

Irony 1 : (perhaps the most obvious and the biggest) Australians pointing fingers at Indian's for being racist.

I mean, WHAT THE! Of the many ills which plague Indian society(and there are many) racism simply does not figure in. Religious extremism, casteism, plagiarism, vandalism, xenophobic, misogynistic etc etc can perhaps be accepted but Australians need to understand that Racism does not exist in India. And no, we are not going to accept your guilt and heightened sensitivities just because your media blows things out of proportion.

Irony 2: In the face of extreme provocation, a sardar bad-mouthing someone by calling him a bander! This morning, Australian media seems to condone this by saying its a cultural issue. Poor Bhajji didnt know what he was talking about.

I'm like.....what the! Of course he knew what he was talking about. Thats precisely why we're giving Bhajji more credit for being a gentleman than due. In all likelihood, like any self-respecting sardar, Bhajji's first word out would have been a BE#$^C*OD! which a smarting Symonds couldnot fathom and chose to hear otherwise.

Irony 3: (actually 2 hidden ironies in 1)Umpire Mr. Benson asking the opposition captain Ricky Ponting if Matthew Clarke had caught Ganguly's catch cleanly.

hidden irony 1 : An experienced Englishman pleading an Australian to be fair.

hidden irony 2: ICC elite panel umpires not being introduced to the concept of 'conflict of interest'. This for me is another WHAT THE! moment of the test match. I mean if the umpire is to get the final say on contentious calls from the captain on the field , what on earth is he supposed to be doing standing there in middle of the ground? He might as well go sit in the shade of stands.

Irony 4 : The Australian media getting into an introspective mood and questioning tactics of their own team. That's not ironic, the fact that it took a single comment from the gentlest of all Indian captains on only one team playing the game in its true spirit to spark this mood, is.

Sobering Thoughts for MAN-kind in Mumbai

Last day of the year and I've been going around in circles thinking about an amazing piece of statistic published yesterday by Mumbai police. Out of a total of 12,536 people booked for drunken driving in city streets since June 20, only 3 have been women!

In that, there are two things which primarily amaze me. One the obvious difference between sexes. You read that right, its not 3% (which might have been reasonable, given the % of women drivers in the first place) but THREE! And that given the fact that Mumbai police categorically denied any chances of them being lenient towards the fairer sex. Knowing the typical Mumbai mamu, there was no reason for putting in that explanation in the first place. I cannot imagine any of them letting go female motorists they find at nakas at night- slightly tipsy, or otherwise. But, getting back to my earlier chain of thoughts, it really does settle the debate about the most responsible sex doesn't it?

The second sobering thought was not so obvious. A quick look at Mumbai police's website(http://www.trafficpolicemumbai.org/facts.html) shows something more alarming. The total number of people booked under drunken driving in the whole year of 2006 was a measly 1022! In percentage terms, that is a jump of 1126 % in order bookings for the police within a span of a year. This for me is cause for serious concern because either liqour manufacturers had a very-very successful year in the city, or our police force was asleep to this evil earlier.

While i'm all for police activism in curbing such a social menace that drunken driving is, a look at the list of penalties opens up new possibilities(http://www.trafficpolicemumbai.org/driving.html). Drunken driving is the offense carrying the highest possible pure monetary penalty of Rs. 3000!


Cheers!

Urban Miracle!

Miracles do happen in cities. Here I am not talking about stories in Readers Digest or newspaper clippings about ancestral parsi wealth left behind to unsuspecting domestic helps but much smaller day-to-day incidents which are such a deviation from the usual norm that they can be classified in no other terms than a miracle. Since it happens in a city context, let me classify them as being urban miracles.

As an example, one happened to me today, the 29’th of Dec, 2007. I achieved a feat which very little Mumbaikars have managed to. Traveling between Bandra-Wadala, I was in a completely empty compartment of a local train. What’s more, I’ve photographic evidence of the same which I attach below.

Now for readers outside of Mumbai- let me try and put this in context. Its akin to meeting a polite and courteous DTC conductor in Delhi, an empty Victoria maidan in Calcutta on a Sunday, and an honest auto-rickshaw wallah in Bangalore.

Cheers and best wishes for the new year!

Run!

Have been jogging for almost 3 months now. When I started in Oct it followed a long held whim that one day i'd be able to complete a marathon. Very uncharacteristically, three months down the line i feel i have done some justice to that initiative. Twice a week i manage to put in 10 kms and my first target of the half marathon by 20'th Jan seem's to be striking distance away. Or well, it at least is not a complete lost cause!

But the reason why I'm writing about running is the the complete feeling of freedom and power a long distance run gives you. The in between emotions also manage to cover quite a spectrum; one starts off with old joint creaks screaming, not again!, and self doubt about the distance one has mentally chalked out raises a cold sweat till euphoria and energy quickly flow in. The initial adrenalin stir makes you feel you're on top of the world and you want to start challenging chronological milestones set. Managing and utilizing this rush, I feel, is make or break for a long distance runner. While pace variations by putting in fartlings (small sprints) are essential to build capability, knowing limits becomes very essential. Nothing can sap your energy faster than a chemical burst induced pace run.

This is followed by a stage where the euphoria slowly starts diminishing and the first steady pulses of pain hit. Where does it hurt? Not at the obvious places surprisingly. For me, weirdly, it begins in my biceps. One reasoning can be because by now i am already half an hour into the jog and the constant arm movement without support is bound to hurt. Next the pain gathers strength and spreads to my back and torso muscles. This is when it starts getting unbearable and the masochism of a runners ego takes hold. You grit your teeth and go on. What works for me particularly well in this stage is the Chariots of Fire theme on my earphones. I can keep listening to it on and on. In fact my play list these days contains nothing but inspirational numbers. Next is the most interesting phase, the phase where the freedom of being a runner comes to the forefront. Ask any long distance runner, and they will tell u this phase is why they run in the first place.

Its difficult to describe the joy, but the basic emotion is that of conquering our physical limitations. Its the complete victory of mind over body. You realize at that moment that your body has no other purpose of existence other than to fulfill your wishes of your will. The nose, mouth, and lungs turn into air pumping machines, your heart is nothing more than an oxygen supplier which makes too much noise for comfort. And your legs, you ask? Well, they melted 15 mins ago and you realize they are still there only if you look down!

Can barely wait for 20'th Jan!

Expectations and Fullfillment

Two things happened in the last couple of days which really made me wonder about the word PERFORMANCE. Simple enough is it? An act of doing, do you say? I dont quite agree, in fact nothing could be more misleading. I believe the word Performance always has that angle of being evaluated attached to it. We'd never say someone has performed unless we've evaluated her actions against some standards. Just to corroborate this with examples, would any of us describe Roger Federer's efforts at Wimbledon as his Performance if he say loses to Mahesh Boppanna one day?Or do we say Shoiab Akhtar delivered a performance if say he returns back to the pavilion with figures of 10-0-0-80? We wont, right?

Having made my buildup, let me come straight to the issue at hand. The two things i was talking about was the Lead India campaign and Aaamir's new movie, Taare Zameen Pe. Both for me started off by promising amazing things. While Taare..was Aaamir's once in a year movie and made doubly special this time because he was also directing it, Lead India promised to evaluate and select a leader to whom not only would we look upto but who would also perhaps inspire a new generation of educated politicians in India.

Unfortunately while Taare Zameen Pe performed, Lead India symbolised all that you could do wrong with such an inherently brilliant a campaign. Let's start with the failure first.

The idea was big. I can almost imagine some editorial meeting in TOI's office where some editor-subeditor would have said, " Let's try and capitalize on this mood of the new Indian who wants to give something back to the country now that he is economically comfortable. What better way can there be but to first identify grassroot leaders across the country and then one stalwart amongst them. This stalwart will inspire other educated new Indian's around to to do what they have been doing for the community, maybe even get into national politics." Nice thoughts, but watching the last two episodes of the national finals, it seems to have got reduced to just one more farcical reality show with an evaluation process as flawed as a midday mass on christmus. Why for sanity's sake would you evaluate a primary school educational activist from the hilly streets Uttaranchal based on his knowledge about Filmfare awards? Or a water conservationist from the jungles of Sunderbans based on his understanding of either Shah Rukh Khan or Amitabh Bacchan being the more popular star. Given the kind of work that he has devoted his life to and the type of people he's chosen to be surrounded with, its commendable that he even knows who Amitabh Bacchan is.

Anyways, the idea should have been to get these people to come together and articulate their opinions about immediate national issues rather than reduce it to a KBC format with janta ke vote et. al. But then what else could you expect from TOI. I just hope some of the participants decide to walk away from this humiliation and blatant SMS money spinner based on false hopes.


Now Taare... was such a standard of performance and excellence that really lives upto expectations of cinema being a powerful medium of mass change. Apart from the moist eyes that one would definitely be left with at the end of those 3 hrs, is the larger impact would be about a small change that all of us would have towards children, both normal and dyslexic. The loss of a child's potential under the crush of parents worldly expectations was put across very blatantly in the movie, but this blatancy is needed and does create an amazing impact with the audience. The music by Shankar, Ehsan, Loy is superlative and some songs such as Tujhe Sab Hai Pata Hai Na Maa are guaranteed to tug guy's heart strings for long. Cinematography, particularly the setting around the sequence where the little kid sees his portrait drawn by his teacher for the first time, is built up really well.

Do watch this performance!

And we get started!