Final Transit

Very hard to describe what I saw in the subway today. She looked like any other 35 year old mom with her 3 year old son. Yet, something was very different about them. The two were lost in deep conversations with each other, totally oblivious to the world around them. She was very mom-like, yet spoke to her son like a 3 year old kid. The child was very happy, very cheerful, asked lots of questions and seemed to be enjoying his mom’s company thoroughly. Not just me, but everyone else in the compartment were looking at the two!

That reminded me of a story.

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When you are 13 or 14 years old, you think that ‘nagging you’ is the sole purpose of your parents, isn’t it?

On one such day, years ago, I was getting ready for school and it was already late. I was wearing my socks carelessly (as usual):

Dad (exclaimed): अरे जरा लक्ष दे!     Hey, pay some attention!
Me (irritated): काय झालं?     What’s wrong? - (To myself: ‘He is so annoying.’)
Dad: मोजे उल्टे घालतोएस     You are wearing your socks inside out. - (I looked. Indeed the stitches were on the outside.)
Me (dismissively): जाऊ दे ना, कोण बघतय!     Oh forget it, no one’s gonna notice anyway!
…
Dad: कुणी कशाला बघितलं पाहिजे, तु स्वतः नाही बघणार का?     Why bother about anyone else noticing, won’t YOU notice it yourself?

Translation obviously not strong enough.

At that time I must have dismissed it as yet another ‘dad-talk.’ But in no time I learnt the immense value of this statement. I learnt the importance of setting high self standards regardless of other people’s low expectations. Doing things not to impress others, but to impress myself. I can write a long essay on this, but hey that’s not the intent of this post. So, picking up the cue ‘focus on other people, not on yourself’ from Randy Pausch’s ‘Last Lecture’, I simply wanted to say:

“Happy Birthday Dad!”
wait, that’s not all,
“Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad :)”

Just in case you wondered who the awesomemost parents in the world were.

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I was strolling in the park yesterday with my friend. Out of nowhere, a red maple leaf came flying by and landed on his hair.

“Oh …, I guess Fall is really here…!,” both of us exclaimed as I took the leaf off him and blew it away. It flew again for some distance and fell on the ground after what seemed like a brief but thoroughly enjoyable flight.

Red Maple Leaf

We looked at the landscape around and indeed it was covered with random yellow, red, golden leaves. Dominated by maple leaves but filled with such a diverse variety of leaves, so many shapes and sizes and colors, yet living together and yielding to the weather as a cohort. It seems so natural for nature to co-exist.

The green trees look colorfully dressed, like a forest on fire - yellow, golden, red, but it doesn’t matter. In a few weeks all of them will disappear leaving nothing but naked branches at the mercy of cold winds and snow.

So many things changed around me in last few weeks but I was too busy to notice.

::::

I had a strange dream last night. It was in the middle of nowhere. I was digging a trench. It was very deep. I spent hours and days digging this gigantic hole in the ground. To give you an idea of how deep the ditch was, imagine four elephants stacked on top of each other. The fourth one could barely reach the surface. Yes it was that deep and yes I was measuring the depth using elephants even in my dream (how geeky!)

I don’t know why I was digging.

As soon as the digging was over, I started filling it up. With bricks. Layer after layer arranged in a neat manner. I was building prototype of a city. So I started making little roads, houses, palaces, temples, gardens etc. In no time I created a model of a well planned city inside the big ditch. Being inside the earth, it was secret and sortof protected. The city looked very systematic and very beautiful, just the way I liked it - I loved my work.

No sooner had I finished admiring the work than I started throwing big stones on top of my beloved city from the surface above. One by one the buildings crashed, arches collapsed and gardens were filled with rubble. In no time, I had completely destroyed my entire city. For some reason, I thought that that was the natural thing to do.

Then I sat there, crying over the loss of my creation. (To clarify: I was crying over the destroyed city and not because I was the one who destroyed it.)

And then I woke up.

::::

A hundred more leaves must have fallen and mixed with the earth as I finish typing this post I have several useful interpretations of this dream, but if you do too, I would gladly welcome any insights.

cheers,
Priyank.

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“Your website looks great, do you use Dream weaver?”

I get that question sometimes and it always used to bother me. But I don’t get annoyed anymore. Instead, I quote the following story:

::::

A photographer was invited to a dinner and he took along some photographs to show the hostess. She looked at the photos and commented, “These are very good! You must have a good camera!“

He didn’t make any comment at that time, but as he was leaving to go home he said, “That was a really delicious meal. You must have some very good pots!“

::::

Lance Armstrong, in his book It’s Not About the Bike, wrote a whole page describing some neat features of his cutting-edge bike. That description alone would make a bike enthusiast like me quiver. But he concluded it saying (paraphrased) - “But at the end, it’s not about the bike!“


::::

I worked for 3 years as a project planner. People’s standard question was: “Do you need to know Primavera and Microsoft Projects to become a planner?” (those are the two leading project management software.) I wish I could say “Yes”. A planner, like Isaac Asimov’s Hari Seldon, accumulates current data, examines macro/micro factors and uses historical behavior to predict the future. I wish it was as simple as clicking some “Tools > Plan Now!” button.

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I thought of the following people while I was composing this post. They (I think) get lots of comments about their ‘art’. Care to tell me:

° Nita, Prax, Bob - If online research is one mouse click away, why don’t we find blogs that are comprehensively researched as yours? Do you think that research is an art and online resources are mere tools? Taking it one step further, how much do you think have certain tools helped you become a journalist, stock market specialist and an astrophysicist respectively?
° Rambodoc - How much of today’s medical marvel is attributed to the surgeon’s instruments? (I desisted from using the word ‘tool’ - some readily available fodder for your twists that would occur anyway )
° Shantanu - About software tools and Dilbert’s talent! You are also welcome to add a story about chefs and foods!

::::

For a long time, I thought that I needed a brand new Sitar from Kolkata and only then I could play some awesome music. Fortunately, few months back I met some guru who plays the Sarod. He picked up my Sitar and played something beautiful casually.
“Wow! I didn’t know you played the Sitar too!” I said.
“No, ofcourse I don’t…. But I know the basics of music! “

I regret not meeting him before. But hey, its never too late


::::

To end this non-travel post, I leave you with a quote from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

If you are a wizard you will be able to channel your magic through almost any instrument. The best results, however, must always come where there is a strongest affinity between wizard and wand… An initial attraction, and then a mutual quest for experience, the wand learning from the wizard, the wizard from the wand.

::::
Question to the reader: I think that it doesn’t really matter what tool you choose to express your talent. If you are not the right person (by birth or by training), the tool won’t make you one. What do you think? Any stories?

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Priyank on the rail track

Okay, first, stop ogling at my sexy legs.

I don’t fancy myself lying on the rail tracks on my birthday, but these were abandoned ones, in the Niagara Peninsula, somewhere near Crystal Beach, about 150 km from hometown Toronto and as you can probably see, I was cycling. Phew! After 27 years I can finally manage writing a long and almost meaningful sentence in a foreign language.

I promise to tell you what I was upto if you don’t ask ‘that’ question.

How OLD are you Puku?
aargh…. 27. It’s written on my ‘About me’ page.

What did you do on your birthday?
Biked. Biked a lot. On the bike trails, on the prohibited freeway, on the train, on the bus, from Lake Erie to Niagara Falls to Lake Ontario. In Canada and USA. Restaurants and bars, a drink here a hug there. The usual stuff that old people do, y’know.

What are your birthday resolution(s)?
Still making one.

ugh, when was your birthday?
August fifth according to the Gregorian Calendar, August seventh (i.e. Sixth day of new moon in the holy month of Shravan) according to Hindu Calendar
(I know, I am comprehensive and smart ass)

I’m back to the blogging world after a healthy hiatus. Don’t miss this million dollar opportunity to wish me Happy Birthday, sing along and bring me presents. Thank you very much.

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Geek Alert: There couldn’t have been a geekier title than that. Yes yes, I am a geek and proud of it.

Presenting…
[drums][more drums]
!Tada!
A brand new look of my website. [yay!]
Ok I know, unless you are a first time visitor, that you have probably guessed it already. This is what I call “Version 4.8″ and I hope you like it.

Oh by the way, I also got a MacBook, you know, an Apple Laptop. I got up on Wednesday morning and while biking to work I was mulling over how nothing exciting has happened in the last 2 days. So I decided to make it exciting and what else could be more exciting than spending money on a cute little thing? Clearly, I sound quite excited, but I definitely am excited, and will be until I get the credit card bill. Apple gave away an iPod Touch free with this purchase, so I have more toys to play with. This coincides with the abrupt demise of my older laptop and confirms my final departure from the world of Windows OS. Exciting!

Anyway, back to the website. Thanks everyone who gave me elaborate feedback on how bad the previous version sucked. I’ll dedicate my next glass of Cranberry juice to you (since I gave up on beer). Cheers!

So, does something look different here? Is it better to navigate? Faster? What do you think? Notice a bug? Comments and criticism welcome (but please don’t say something obvious like - “wow the new look is nice!”, I know that already..;) (talk about smartassedness).) I will be tweaking for the next few days.

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