Relocating & adjusting to life in India again ... PART 5

All along through my returning to India and restarting life afresh, I was trying hard to only look at the positives and not pay too much attention to the negatives. However, there comes a point when patience, & good faith lead to anger & outrage … and I had my tipping point about 2 weeks back. I was furious and royally pissed off – and sadly, a couple who had R2I’d (Returned 2 India) around the same time as I had, had to bear the brunt of my ranting.

[NOTE : If you are eating or planning to do something pleasant, reading this post now is a bad idea K … please excuse the repulsive verbiage]

Contributing factors to my rage were aplenty – however inefficiency & reckless disdain from my fellow Indians were substantial factors. Here is a sample - On the last trip to Chennai, I was travelling by an AC Volvo bus (something I totally loved till this trip) that was stinking because the a’holes that ran the travels thought that it wasn't necessary to "clean" the bus during the rainy season - gee how thoughtful. I reached Chennai, landed at the bus terminus only to find that there was stagnant rainwater everywhere. Adding to this spectacular sight, I saw people urinating in the stagnant pools at the corners of the road … which found its way to the mainstream stagnation. Adding to the delight, a couple of extremely hygiene conscious retards spit in the same (mainstream) stagnant pool that they were wading through. I was very tempted to get into the shoes of “Vallarasu Vijaykanth”(the Indian cousin of Chuck Norris / Steven Seagal) and beat the fucking crap out of the three filthy douchebags. The only place free of stagnation was the median separating the traffic on either side. So I was actually walking on a one feet wide median with huge ass Volvo buses and trucks on both sides honking with maniacal fervor. Oh and did I mention – we separated by a safe distance of less than one feet – so realistically, if I lost balance or just extended my hand – I would actually lose it. (This is a very common sight in India and I don't know what really ticked me this particular day ... the initial thrill of R2I experience had vanished perhaps??? )

One Awesome pool I managed to click

After witnessing the spectacle mentioned above, I did not get out of home the whole of next day and was bored out of brains.  Boredom got the better of me and I decided to venture out into the filthy paradise. Surprisingly, the roads were fairly dry. I was actually a bit pleased not being aware of the next surprise in store. Most of the roads were reduced to their raw materials – the thing that keeps the stones and mud and other stuff together was all gone. With the passage of every vehicle there was a huge cloud of trailing dust and a ride in a car/ bus / auto felt like a rough boat ride.

A pic from Hindu News Paper - online edition

I can think of two things – as soon as I had returned to India there was a meet of other folks who had returned to India as well. There was one experienced wise guy in the group who mentioned just this – “India during the summer and India during the rains are two different places – so wait for the rains.” I totally understand what he meant. The other thing – I grew up here and this is not new to me. I was fully mentally prepared to see the filth and dirt and nastiness that I elaborated about. But honestly experiencing it is a different league as opposed to being prepared and anticipating it. With this, I stop my rantings for the day.

Police Story - Part 2

This should actually be part 3. The second incident with the cops was fairly boring – so nothing mention worthy there. However by this time, my (evil) impression of cops had considerably mellowed down.

This time I was riding a friend’s super stylish fancy (it is a lower power version of race bike - the same one in the pic) bike near the Eliots beach in Besant Nagar. At the end of the road, there were 3 cops and they stopped me, asked me to park the vehicle and meet the Sargent. I did as instructed. The dialogue that ensued –

“License and registration documents”

I showed him my license and said, “I don’t have the documents right now.

It is a friend’s bike and I am just using it for the evening.”

“Sorry sire! This happens to be the bike that gets stolen the most. I cannot let you go without seeing the documents. Can you please call the owner and get it from them.”

“Sure – but I might need some time”

“Where does he live?”

“Besant Nagar.” (Same locality where I was pulled over)

He took my license and then went to attend other people who were pulled over. As I was a talking to the friend over cell phone, he was going over the licenses and then called out my name loud. I was not sure what it was for and I went to him.

“Sir – is this the original license?”

“Yes – it is.”

Like in the Basha film, his demeanor changed. Not sure if why – probably people in this part of the world never carry originals? I have no clue.

“Sire – you can take the bike and go and get it yourself.”

“Keys?”

“Sure Sire – you can take it … sire police are like your friends – you don’t have to be scared of us. We are just here to serve you.”

I was not sure what the original license did to him - but I was even more surprised on hearing the last couple of lines.

The friend was not there, so his brother accompanied me. It might be worthwhile to mention that his brother was in class 10. So we went back to the cop and showed him all the originals. He was convinced and just fined me 50 bucks for which a receipt was printed and issued on the spot – what technology!!! Impressive I say!!! While handing me the receipt, he mentioned that it was valid till mid-night that day and it was very possible that I might get pulled over again - and it might come in handy. I was about to throw it away - but thought will hold on to it at least till I dropped off the bike @ my friend's place. 

Then after paying the fine this is how the conversation turned out –

He asked me – “Sir, where do you work?”

“Samsung” – I replied.

“Sir, how are the Samsung dual SIM phones doing in the market?”

“I am not too sure. I just got one myself yesterday.” Saying that, I handed my phone to him. He inspected the phone – looking through the features and asking me details about how dual SIM worked and the hottest dual SIM phone in market. I spent a good 5 minutes giving him details of my research over the last few weeks on dual SIM phones.

After that, for whatever reason, he justified the reason for pulling me over mentioning that it was order from the Chief Minister and that the number of fatal injuries were growing amongst bikers etc etc …

Finally – when I was about to leave, he said to the friend’s brother – “Sir, be safe with your bike and ride safe. Next time you loan your bike to someone, also make sure you loan your documents.”

Little did the cop realize he was actually addressing a class 10 guy as Sir. And he waved both of us goodbye. On our way back both of us burst out laughing at what had just happened. And tell you what ... the cop was right. I got pulled over again 2 streets further down ... however, the receipt came to the rescue this time ... and no explanations were required. After getting pulled over twice in a span of one hour on the same day ... I am never going to borrow this "cop magnet" bike of this friend.

Relocating & adjusting to life in India again ... PART 4

Its been one month @ Samsung and in Bangalore.

I have read quite a lot about returning Indians finding it difficult to adjust to the Indian work culture in different blogs / forums. So far things are not crazy as I thought it would be.

At work - I’ve had one on one meetings with the department manager and with a HR person in charge of new recruit adjustment. Both made sure that I was getting along / adjusting well in India and the job. Both of them were very impressed when I told them that I was not going to make any comparisons with life & work culture in America vs India till I hit the six-month mark and that I was going to take things as they come.

Some differences that I see in the work culture here –

In India, you end up spending more hours at work. That does not mean you are working all the time you are in. It includes breakfast, lunch and one snack/coffee break.

It is more of quantity work than quality work.

There are more hierarchies and small requests have to go through many layers for approval.

Being a programmer (in my case), I spend more time following procedures and doing lots of non-developer work.

There are more people on a team than really required. In the US 3 people would do the work of what 8 people do here. The reason I was given - high attrition rates in India.

If you shed the “I am the America Returnee & I am the most important guy” image, colleagues / teammates are pretty friendly and helpful.

I will stop with work related comparisons here and talk about my adaptation of Zen Habits.

I had started simplifying and de-cluttering my lifestyle over the last 2 years in the US and I have managed to continue the effort here. Relocation to India has helped immensely to get rid of a lot of stuff I don’t need. In Bangalore, all I own are some clothes, a laptop (mac) with mobile Internet connection, a bi-cycle & a motorcycle, a non-smart cellphone that acts as a camera, radio / mp3 player & torch (LED flash light). Believe me when I say this – the torch has been the handiest feature in my cell phone. When I was in the US, a colleague who had relocated to the US from India had a cell phone with a torch and I remember laughing at him and he had mentioned the same thing. Now I know what he meant. It took me a long time to convince myself to get a mac. But considering the power cuts here – it is one of the best things I bought. I rented a fully furnished apartment – it saved me the trouble of buying furniture and basic home appliances. I carry my own cloth bag around and have reduced my plastic bag usage to minimum.

Most of you reading my blog now might already know that I go to work by cycle 3-4 days a week. I was scary has hell when I stepped out of the cycle shop with a bike in hand. But in the very first couple of days, I realized that it was an awesomely awesome thing that I had started. Surprisingly, there are few people in my office who commute to work by cycle. The traffic here is scary and I still don’t have the guts to drive a car.

A couple of interesting incidents with the cycle –

I went to a restaurant to get some take out food. There were a few guys sitting on their fancy motorcycles – a Bullet & an Apache. I parked my cycle right between them and turned off the rear flash-light (a blinking red light below the seat of my cycle that lets people know that there is a cyclist here) and walked in. One of the guys came to up me and asked me if it was a GPS / GPRS / some other cycling paraphernalia that I have not even heard of. He said he had seen some fancy stuff in Germany. I laughed and told him that I was less gadget savvy and it was a just a blinking light and both of us burst out laughing.

My cycle is plain simple – no gears & old school design. I had a very similar cycle when I was in my school days (wow that was in 1994-95). When I stopped at signals – on multiple occasions, people have asked me how comfy it felt to cycle. There was one guy who said the old days are coming back as more people were going back to cycling. One other guy was envious – he was telling that cycle was the fastest way to get around and I could not agree more with him.

more to follow ...

Relocating & adjusting to life in India again ... PART 3

It has been 4+ months since I returned. By now, the things that awe’d and yuck’d me don’t affect me “THAT” much. I guess I have gotten accustomed to the chaos. In the initial month, driving my motorcycle took up every ounce of my concentration and I had to rest for a while after a bike ride – not anymore. I am still learning some very interesting things here.

The meaning of cleanliness goes to the next level. Here, removing trash “out of your house” is cleanliness. I was walking on the road and I saw a small plastic bag drop out of the sky close to me. For a second I was shocked and I looked up and saw a lady at the verandah of her apartment - she stared at me like I had killed someone. Then just like the fancy English movies – after a scene – there is a rewind part where the whole plot unfolds (with the part that we missed) – I saw what had just happened. She just threw a bag of garbage from the second floor of a flat onto the road and it missed me by a few yards. It is very common to see mounds of garbage piled outside every apartment complex. When it rains … well you can imagine what happens – no explicit details needed here.

The age-old meaningless procedure crap still exists. I had an old account at C bank and I had to re-activate it. I had used it around 2001 and one other time around 2006. I met the manager and requested reactivation and online access explaining why my account was inactive for so long. I had to write a “letter” to the manager explaining everything. Few minutes later, I had to deposit a cheque, and the lady clerk at the counter rejected it stating that my “signature” did not match with what they had on record. I showed her my Indian and American driving licenses as a proof of my identity and explained to her that my account was inactive for a while and the signature had changed in the last 10 years (just a few mins back I had done the complete explanation to the manager just few feet away from her where she could hear and see everything). She insisted that I had to write “another letter” to the manager (who was sitting just two partition-less cubicles away hearing/seeing everything happening) reasoning why my signature had changed. After getting the signature thingy resolved the next complaint was that the account was inactive for a very long time and to reactivate it, she wanted me to write another letter. The manager who was watching all this was silent for a while. Then when I started to write the letter again, he said my first letter would suffice. I guess there is a letter for everything ... might not be a bad idea to carry a letter template booklet ... ;-).

There was also another incident in another bank where 2 lady clerks sitting in next-to-next desks made go to one-another - 4 times stating RULES crap. The first one would say, “I cannot do this without lady 2 approval”. On approaching lady 2, she would say “This needs to be approved by lady 1”. And they did not talk to each other – I was a victim of ………..

Getting my PAN card was an enjoyable experience (sarcastically). It normally takes 10-15 days to get it. I had proper proof of address (my dad had included my name on the ration card). I went to an office that submits the application at no extra cost (Rs. 100). The guy at the counter took my application and said he’d submit it the following day. I waited for 10 days and there was no response / confirmation/ acknowledgement. On calling him again, I came to know that my application was lost somewhere in transition. He gave me 3-4 phone numbers that I kept calling and I was circularly led to one-another. After 3-4 days of repeated calling, I got a confirmation by mobile that my application was received. After that there were no hiccups. I believe this blessed guy totally forgot to submit my application and somehow kept me entertained for a few days with some BS.

More to follow …

Police Story - Part 1

At the mention of Police, we normally relate to rude, potbellied, balding men sworn to evil, kings of extortion etc etc. My impression was not any different until …

On one of my trips to Chennai, I was driving my dad’s bike. I had to do 10 yards in a no-entry path and then join another road where I would join traffic in the correct direction. And there he was at the 10^th yard. He got a hold of me and turned off my bike and took the keys. I had just watched 2 other guys who successfully passed the same restricted 10 yards and got away. The first thing I tried to do was make up some BS. Pointing to a shop right next to me, I said, “I was just stopping here to visit this shop right here”. Not sure how many times he must have heard the same crap in a day … he was immediate to respond in proper English – “A policeman cannot run behind and catch every erring person passing this wrong way. Did you not see the HUGE board that says no-entry? So what did you think if one guy goes through, everyone can? What are rules for?”

The cops in this state are characteristically known for like their potbellies and mamool-vasool-raja qualities (forcible bribe suckers). I was very surprised that this guy was in peak physical shape and he spoke very proper English and that too with decency. I was quick to apologize and said “Sorry sire. I knew this was the wrong way and despite knowing that it was not the right thing to do I did it.” I was not sure if he was expecting a mamool (bribe) out of me. Unsure of whether the apology helped / worsened the situation I was thinking what was next – whether to reach my pocket or what. To my utter surprise this is what my ears heard – “You are a Gentleman sir! I am proud of you … ” and he let me go – just like that. Whoa!!! … I stood there for a few moments trying to comprehend what just happened.

There is no exaggeration in this post. It really happened to me.

Travel Series - Part 2

The very next week after visiting Tirupathi, I wanted to go and see another set of temples in the State of Karnataka (the state where Bangalore is located). I was told that some temples there are in pristine surroundings and add up to the wow-factor. So the plan was to go to Bangalore, spend a day in the city and then start the trip by SUV. Oh and to all the readers in America, Chevy Tavera is really “the pick” of SUVs amongst tourist operators. It came as a super-big surprise to me as GM does not have such a good track record in America in the recent years.

The plan was to take the train to Bangalore, stop at a friends place for the night and hit the road the following day, visit 6 temples - Subrahmanya, Dharmasthala, Kattil, Udupi, Shringeri and Horanadu, return to Bangalore, rest a day and return to Chennai.

See this image. Would any of my Indian friends believe it if I told you that this was a seat in a Train? My surprise hit epic proportions after entering the seater-class compartment of this train. This was a Shatabdhi express from Chennai to Bangalore. I had been on a tourism train in Alaska in the US. But to see something of comparable standards in India was a total shocker. There were adjustable lights and air-vents (like in planes). There were power plug-points and many IT guys were working on their laptops. Breakfast was also provided and the pantry service was pretty decent.




The road trip started early in the morning and for the next 3 days, most part of the day was to be spent on the SUV. I must also admit that it was scary as hell sitting next to the driver. By now I was used to crazy “city” traffic (slower speeds) but highway driving is in a different league. Roads in some remote parts were narrower than a single lane that I was used to in America and our driver was going at 80 – 100 kmph in these conditions - honking like an express train and breaking every possible road rule known to man. And believe it or not … 2 buses / trucks going in either direction managed to fit into the ultra-narrow road strip.

Another surprise during the trip was stay at my mom’s friend’s relative’s house, which was in the middle of a field. We reached there during the night and the path that led to the house was a “One foot path” (Otthai Adi Padhai) where only you could walk or perhaps bicycle if you were exceptionally confident about your balance. I am shit scared of snakes and the very idea of walking through that path and the fact that snakes love fields gave me the creeps. Images of all the giant King cobras that I had seen on Discovery Channel started flashing. With the help of the flashlight in my cellphone, I somehow managed to reach home safe (strangely, the I could not stop thinking of captain Vijaykanth who performed an operation with the light from cell phones). It was truly an old fashioned house with some modern amenities. I managed to wake up before dawn and captured some of the best photos that I have ever captured.

I must admit that the scenery in interior Karnataka was mind blowing. Alaska was barren and desolate but yet serene and beautiful. Karnataka countryside was lush green and lively and gorgeous in a totally contrasting sense.

Another interesting fact to note is that in Karnataka Temples – food is served free to all pilgrims and there are NO beggars outside the temples. The temples and temple towns were surprisingly well maintained. Another interesting incident that I witnessed – my mom decided to donate some money on the “aarathi” plate in one of the temples and the priest actually asked – “If this is for the temple, drop it in the hundi (large piggybank placed in the temple where devotees put their offerings) or leave it here if it is for me”. It was touching to see such sincerity.

India is truly a country of rich cultural heritage and I am beginning to realize it. I guess I have lots more to see and much more to learn. Overall, this was a fabulous trip that left behind some fond memories to cherish.

Travel Series - Part 1

I did some travelling over the last few weeks. Will talk about it -

The first trip was to Tirupathi to see Lord Venkateshwara - a.k.a. Balaji. It was a one-day trip organized by TamilNadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC). It was impressive overall. Since this was government based, I was not too happy when my dad suggested that we go through them. I was in for a surprise. The customer service was spot on. When I called, the travel agent gave me dates when tickets were available – “accurately”. There were no online booking so had to go to the booking office in person. The booking office was pretty decent and I was all the more surprised to learn that it was open 24 hours. I take pains to mention all this because Indian customer support in general is disappointing. When government gets involved (TTDC was a government thingy) then you have to reset your expectations to negative percentage – as in be prepared for the truly worst. However, things here were the other way round and hence all my amazement.

Photo source : Indian Trip advisor web site

For the non-Indian readers - Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is a famous Hindu Temple located in the hill town Tirumala, amidst 7 hills, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, is one of the most popular places of worship. The temple is reportedly the richest and the most visited place of worship in the world. About 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily visit the temple.

There were two buses starting at 6AM from Chennai and surprise led to a state of shock when they started on time. Each bus had a guide – I could easily say that the guide who accompanied us was very able and experienced. At the main Venkateshwara temple, people are not allowed to carry handbags / backpacks / cameras / cell-phones. So TTDC also had a guesthouse booked at Tirumala where people could leave all their belongings and backpacks and freshen up - very sensible and intuitive. Surprisingly again, restrooms were very clean (for Indian standards) at places where there was a stop.

There was a substantial wait at the temple queue (approximately 3 ½ hours). There was one sore incident that I wish could forget. The temple was nice enough to serve all the waiting pilgrims with free fresh hot food. There was definitely no shortage of food and there was more than enough for everyone. However the way people behaved there reminded me of the National Geographic episode of African desert series - Survival of fittest / quickest. People rushed and pushed like they had never-ever seen food before in their lives. The unfortunate ones waiting in queue were looked down upon like they had lost their mind (I was one of the few douchebags standing in the queue). It was sad to see elders and little ones suffer in the process. In the past, on TV, I have seen guards with sticks / batons regulating pilgrims. Was force really necessary there? Yes – it might probably save lives some day. We Indians complicate the simplest of things in a way it can never be complicated and then blame everything else other than ourselves for a sheer lack of discipline. (Exceptions apply and this is my opinion – there are few ultra disciplined souls that make up a 1.73447% of general public and this is directed at the remaining 98.xx%).

Conclusion here – following rules and being disciplined could get you into trouble and if warning signs are not heeded – tragedy lurks in the proximity.

(Travel Series -  Part 2 to follow soon ...)

Relocating & adjusting to life in India again ... PART 2

My learning curve so far has been steep and steady.

Once a friend at work had just joined from India and I had the pleasure of being one of the three people enjoying a ride to lunch in his new car. He skipped a 4 way stop and a yield sign and when asked why, he said he though traffic rules are just guidelines – not mandatory to follow. It freaked the rest of us out. Now I understand why. Rules are meant to be broken here and when I stop at a red light, a couple of times people have actually yelled at me to either break the signal and keep going or get out of the way.

Most of you in North America are aware of wind chill and I don’t have to mention that wind chill is more un-bearable than the actual cold. Humidity factor in India is analogous to wind chill. Soaring temperatures are bearable but rising humidity sucks.

Food here is very different. I have been eating very less spice over the last 6 – 7 years. It was very difficult to eat normal Indian food initially. I would sweat and turn red. It initially scared my mom, as food at my home is NOT spicy and the drama at the sight of me eating gave my mom doubts about the Chilli factor in her cooking. It is not possible to eat the kind of heavy and rich food that I ate in the US - eggs / meat / quantity of cheese etc.

That being said, the notion of being healthy is measured by a slightly different set of metrics - a decent tummy and chubby cheeks are qualifications of a healthy person. Pumping iron / running few km / walking / cycling / sports / dance ... well - sorry you're disqualified.

People drink a lot more Tea and Coffee here – in terms of frequency and not quantity. The smallest serving of Starbucks coffee / chai is the total quantity of coffee / tea that we drink in the whole day (4-5 times).

Next interesting thing is rollover minutes. This is not to be confused with the cellphone plan monthly rollover minutes. When a person says something will be done in 5 minutes, you’ll be lucky if it gets done in an hour. I got a dose of this when I went to get my motorcycle. I was told that I would have to wait 5 minutes to test-drive the bike. After 15 minutes, I was told that it would take 5 more minutes. And after 45 minutes, I was told to wait 5 more minutes. I was fed up by then and I asked the sales dude – why did you not tell me that it would take an hour before hand. The sales douche just grinned silly and scratched his head.

SUPER BOOT

I'll break my once a year posting jinx with a lame one - as a warning to readers, I should say this post is a by-product of slacker-dom and the crazy hot chennai weather (100°F and 70% humidity) forcing me to stay indoors all the time.

I was visiting Alaska (from Kentucky) at the end of winter. It sounded crazy when I told everyone that I was going at this time of the year to see the Northern Lights – Aurora Borealis. Actually I was. I decided to travel light to Alaska. And in the quest to travel light, I decided fit all my gear into cabin baggage. I did not have room for sandals so had to make do with just the SUPER BOOT – which meant, without choice, I had to wear it at all times. These BOOTS are meant to be worn ONLY in fiercely cold regions – they have thermal insulation + water proof + heat retention + all the Science and Technology known to man to keep his feet warm. And it takes about 2 - 3 minutes to get it on / off - which just adds to the pleasure factor of getting it on / off every time.

The day I started to Alaska, it was a moderately cold spring morning in Kentucky and at 5AM and when I wore my boot, I did not realize what I was getting into. My first flight was from Kentucky to Texas (2^nd – Texas - Seattle & 3^rd from Seattle - Alaska) and I could not sleep in the plane (despite staying awake all night) or breathe (after sometime). I also started to sweat a little (which is very very rare and odd). I was not having a heart attack. It was my SUPER BOOT in showing its muscle. Normally, when people get off a plane in a hurry, they run to use the restroom / catch a connecting flight / a meet their better half … etc etc. I ran faster than all of them to find a seat and take off my SUPER BOOT. A few minutes without it – things returned to normal.

After seeing the above warning, I think the super boot could also use one - Wearing it at inappropriate places (Chennai - India) could be fatal.

Relocating & adjusting to life in India again ...

After spending a decade in the US of A ... I packed up and came back to Chennai (permanently). Three years back, this would have been an impossible scenario to even think ... but as of today I am back and so far it has been good. I am going to narrate about by returning / re-adjusting to India experience in a series of posts. Without too much drama, I'll just get started.

Why did I come back to India ?

I am definitely not going to bring up heavy sentiments of patriotism, motherland calling, taking care of parents ... etc etc(like most people do). I just got tired of my VISA status affecting all major decisions of my life. I want to have the freedom to do what I want to do. This being said - I have NO ill feelings about the US of A. I also needed a BIG change to SHAKE things up in my life.

India ... after 10 years ...

I returned around mid-April. This is the time of the year when Chennai is "sweltering" HOT. The first thing I noticed right after getting off the plane was the humidity. The fact that I had just visited Alaska 10 days before made it all the more dramatic. It felt like I had transitioned from a fridge to an oven (20°F to 35°C).

Chennai Airport (or any Airport / Railway station) is a swindlers paradise. As a rule of thumb here - NO ONE IS NICE ... DO NOT TRUST ANYONE WHO IS NICE (they are after your money / trying to cheat you in a skillful way). Right from the point when I was waiting for my checked-in bags to arrive, I encountered one such blessed soul (sarcasm intended) who tried to help me with my suitcases. I specifically asked this dude if he was with the airline and he said he was 'private porter' at the airport. I told him a couple of times that I was fine and needed NO help and he could help someone who really needed it. He still decided to stick on and loaded my bags on to a trolley and he asked me to spare him some $$$ (not Rupees). I politely refused and walked away. On my way out, I was flooded by taxi and auto drivers who tried to offer me best fare to my Chennai destination (a.k.a Home). They're pretty smart and annoyingly persistent ... at the slightest hint that you're totally new / did not do your research, they might charge you $500 for a ride that is worth Rs.500 (Rs.500 is approximately $10). After evading them, I finally come out to see another big swarm of people waiting for their near & dear ones. I was relieved to spot my brother-in-law waving to me amidst the chaos. In India, CHAOS RULES !!!

In the past 20 days, I have been enjoying good good home food. I don't have to cook or clean the dishes ;-). I only have to EAT :-) :-) :-). The fact that I have been away from home for long helps in this aspect ... I like the attention / pampering (no harm in enjoying it when it lasts).

Other than that, I have been going around the city in ALL forms of public transport. I was pleasantly surprised (on a couple of occasions) to travel by AC deluxe VOLVO bus. It was supremely comfortable (I was able to fit in comfortably in the seats). I have also used overhead trains and regular trains (like NYC subways). Although people here in Chennai, don't prefer public transport, I seem to be having a love affair with it. Especially after living in a place like Kentucky where public transport is scarce, it is wonderful to not be dependent on car.

to be continued ... (hopefully on a regular basis)