Tea in NOIDA

Was in NOIDA last week for some training in a Bankers Training College. The first session went on fine and I was really thirsty and the tea break came in as a welcome break - or so I would think.

I wanted sugarless tea, milk for which was in a separate tea pot. Well I poured it in a cup and got confused. After pouring half a cup of milk, I was still able to see the bottom of the cup. Well then, as I was desperate, I just grabbed two tea bags and had a lukewarm tea "with milk".

I just wondered how they made this "milk". Either they must have added a lot of water to some milk or poured a cup of milk to the water boiler. I think both were wrong, they just cleaned up a vessel where they store milk and poured water in it. Vessel is cleaned and milk is ready - talk of recycling. The ultimate idea.

My kid is 10-15 days old

Had been to N Delhi last week. While returning, started up a conversation with this taxi driver, Nazir. He was nice - very sharp features. I thought if he had the appropriate beard he may look like a mental Aurangzeb, that I have come to picture Aurangzeb with. He said he was from Jahanabad - perhaps, a descendant of Aurangzeb - who knows.

He looked more like 25, but then said he was driving in Delhi for the past 15 years. He had two kids and the second one "10 to 15 days old" as he put it.

He gave me his number and I am sure I will be calling him whenever I visit Delhi.

Thanks, Nazir and yes, name of the new kid is Samir.

Ganesha 2009

Gitanjali's 10th Birthday Celebrations

Crreeppy, The Genial Spider

Creepy the spider (named by my second daughter) has been with us, having built a home for itself among the pots of plants. After two months she has a full grown dragon fly for food. And after a month in August 2008, she is gone but leaves behind a healthy progeny to carry life in its journey

Manga Girl by Swati - 14122008

Fever

My brother was ill.  I went to his school - St. Paul's School - and gave his teacher the leave letter.  He was an old, old looking man.  He had all his bones fused at the joints.  He could move his eyes - just about.  He had no fused bones there. And he made good use of them.  He opened them wide and looked at me.  I looked back at his dark eyes hidden by the bushy eye brows that formed a permanent deep frown.

"What is this letter?", he asked.

"This is a leave letter for my brother", I replied.

"Why can't he come?" he asked.

"He cannot come and that is why I got the letter".

And then he lifted the eye brows.  I understood.

"He has fever", I said.

"How come he plays carrom board at home" He questioned.

That stumped me.  I still wonder how he found out I was playing  with my brother.

"Well. He is inside the house", I said.

His eyes dilated, the gauntlet of his eye brows lifted and he bared his large front teeth, and said if he can play carrom, he can attend school.  No wonder God fused his bones.  I think He made a mistake by not fusing his teeth, and perhaps his mouth too.

"He has taken leave so that other students don't catch his fever", I retorted. I thought it was a smart reply.  And added, "he doesn't run around. He just sits and moves his fingers."

The eye brows came down casting develish shadows on the school compound.

He said. "ok".  I took it as the end of the conversation and ran back home and continued the game with my brother.

My brother was 6 and I was 13 then.  He is now dead for 23 years.

Grhapravesham

Celebrated grhapravesham (house warming ceremony yesterday of our new house). Some photos.

Ganesha 2008

This is a picture of Ganesha that I made out of clay for Ganesha Chaturthi on the 4th of September 2008.  I do this every year and this year I was joined in by a ganas of Ganapathis by the entire family.  Here are the details.

This one is by my first daughter, Shruti.  I think she has done it better than what I've done.

The preparations underway for celebrations.  That is nothing big - we just say (pray) a few slokas, offer him some food and then we eat them!

What I like about Ganesha is that He is the simplest of all the Gods, benevolent and more importantly No Fuss.  He is fond of grass,  the supposedly lowliest but life giving for the entire earth.  The flowers he likes are wild. And his vehicle is the mouse.

Inflation

It's the usual routine for me, just like any other guy on the street, rather on the road. I calculate distance in terms of money, not kilometres.

You go by car - you need to fill her up. Ok - with Rs.500/-, I can manage to travel to office for a week. If I leave early and come late - else if I get caught in heavy peak hour traffic, I lose a day.

Yesterday was the day of my car's breakfast day. I filled up her, and accelerated down the lane. It was a very bad time. I saw the needle on the fuel gauge where it was before I filled her up.

I got worried - it means I need to spend more money in setting this right. The fuel gauge is important - it had better work properly.

I went straight to the garage for her check up. He asked me what the trouble was - I told that the gauge stopped working since I filled her up. He asked me how much did I fill up. I said the usual Rs.500/-.

Then the attendant revved up the engine and saw the needle. He again asked me how much I had filled. I said - Rs.500/-. He said please let me know in litres. I had look up the bill - it was 8 and odd litres. I showed him the bill.

He looked straight at me and said, "well, it is where it needs to be. It is accurately showing eight litres. - and that is how much you will get for Rs.500/-".

I so far thought I was a normal intelligent person. I never expected inflation to make that dumb - even intelligence suffers during inflation.