The heartburns have begun!

Lekha and me had gone to the airport to drop my cousin in our Chevrolet Cruze. After a lot of minute and careful calculations, I'd parked the vehicle nicely(for a change!) at the kerb, earmarked for dropping the passengers. Little did I realise that my relief, at having done so, was going to be so shortlived and that I'd be staring at disaster of gargantuan proportions!

A Toyota Qualis came in and screeched to a halt uncomfortably close to my Cruze which instantly prompted me to give its driver the dirtiest look from my repertoire. I saw a lady trying to get out of its rear seat after having pushed her door outward, with all her might. I managed to retrieve the situation by quickly holding the 'menacing' door with both my hands, a few millimetres from my car's body and helped the lady to disembark within the cramped space. She was definitely flummoxed by this sudden show of chivalry by an 'alien' and sensing that something was amiss, her husband approached me with a menacing look.

All went well as the episode had, by then, been appreciated by the parties concerned and each one of us then went about doing our unfinished tasks.

I realised that my heartburns, on this score, were just about to begin as Delhiites drive around with a gay abandon and no one is bothered about my car being new!

A quiet Sunday!

After a hectic ten days, with guests in the house, today has indeed been laidback and quiet. The guests left yesterday, in two batches - the first, by a morning flight and the second, by an evening train. I'm a bit bothered about the second lot, in that, they will be passing close through the coasts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu, where a massive cyclone is gonna hit sometime this evening, which will definitely affect their movement. I only hope that their agony is for a short period, if at all there has to be one!

The house has suddenly become quiet after the sounds of laughter and conversations have died down. Lekha and me have got back to our normal routine.

The general outlook in the neighbourhood has also become subdued, since the depletion of the last clutch of Diwali crackers and there's an unusual quiet that has been brought about by the traffic regulations in force, thanks to the Obama visit and because he's been put up in the ITC Hotel Maurya, a stone's throw away from where I sit!

And it's acceptably cool, climatewise!!

The American obsession.

The Obama visit has elicited the same old Indian Reactions. Are we the friends that the Americans really want? Do they prefer us over Pakistan? Will we get unstinted support from them in all our endeavours? Shouldn't they be cultivating us since we're more genuine and above all, a democracy?

The questions are endless but many of the originators of these riddles are 'greenhorns' insofar as international relations between countries are concerned. In matters of international relations and diplomacy, it is permanent interests that determine a country's actions rather than friendships. For instance, the yanks are engaged with the Pakistanis in their fight against terror and more importantly, bring Osama Bin Laden - the 9/11 perpetrator - to book. Towards this end, it's important for the yanks to keep the Pakis in good humour and by uttering something against them, from Indian soil, would definitely have a retarding effect and more importantly, endanger their troops fighting in Afghanistan. It's another matter that Pakistan is in real trouble, in that, the Yanks have long since realised that they're and have been playing the dangerous game of 'running with the hare and hunting with the hounds'!

And Obama's visit to this country has been badly timed, coming as it is, soon after the drubbing that his party has undergone in the elections to the Senate and the House of Representatives. He'd campaigned vigorously against outsourcing of jobs as an important step to kickstart the American economy and offer more jobs for his countrymen. So how can he sing a different tune for the sake of making India feel good?

But what needs to be understood and appreciated is that the Yanks now fully understand the importance of teaming up with India and has been taking significant steps in this regard. It is, therefore, upto our government to take this forward to establish a meaningful patnership between the two countries on an equal footing!

It's hightime that India realises that it does not require American endorsement in everything that she does!!

A riotous Diwali.

Lekha and I've started celebrating festivals the way the people in the north of India do. We've always had quite a few people with us on such occasions and we also make it a point to have Meena, Lekha's assistant and her family to join us then. It gives us tremendous satisfaction to see the kids in action with the Diwali crackers.

And this time, we'd my cousin and her folks along with a newly married couple celebrating their first Diwali. With so many people thrown in, the get together had to be boisterous. And so it was. There were the others in the neighbourhood celebrating it with equal vigour, resulting in a boisterous atmosphere.

The festival of lights underscores the rich tradition and culture of this great country. It's my fond hope that every Indian finds true happiness and a taste of brotherhood on such occasions. Poverty should be eradicated in toto so that each and every household is lit up by the glow of its own 'diyas'.

On the eve of Diwali!

It was a light day at the office as the staff attendance had dwindled to a bare minimum. Many people had come to meet yours truly, personally, to offer Diwali greetings and exchange pleasantries. And I tried to connect up with as as many friends as possible on the occasion.

There was a power interruption in my block at sunset and thinking that I'd beat it, I'd set off for my walk earlier than usual. But it was not to be. The hassled guy, Ajith Kumar, who was on duty told me on enquiry, that power would be restored only after midnight as a length of cable that had got burnt needed replacement and that the whole repair work would take up a longer time as the new cable had to be fetched from the store. So, it ended up with me watching the other well lit buildings from the dark confines of my home, the brightly lit 'diyas' on my balcony notwithstanding!

The one thing that strikes me the most is the fervour with which the people in the north of India celebrate festivals. The intensity is much greater than what we in the south display or is it my mistaken perceptions?

Lekha returns from Kochi and my cousin's gang from Simla, tomorrow.

A wonderful journey.

Yesterday afternoon I'd boarded the Amritsar Express alongwith my friend, Swaroop Nandi, for Ludhiana. The journey was meant to be time bound. But the Indian Railways had other plans - the train started about an hour and a half late. I'd resigned to the fact that I could take the delivery of my new car a day late as the showroom would have put down its shutters for the day, by the time we reached there.

The gloom was lifted by a considerable extent thanks to the following:-
(a) Swaroop's inquisitiveness over an assorted set of issues.
(b) Two teenage girls(sisters) solving the puzzle of the Rubik's cube under six minutes.
(c) An energetic group of school children at their active best with their singing, anthakshari and excited chatter.
(d) A friendly young businessman, Rajat, from Phagwara who was my immediate neighbour.

I'd, in the meanwhile, been updating my whereabouts to the dealer, who made arrangements to have us picked up from the railway station and transport us to the showroom which was opened for our sake at that late hour(around 2130 h), so that I could complete all paperwork to set off for Delhi early in the morning. And a patient Gurmukh Singhji, a retired serviceman who was the Manager and the young salesman, Sulabh made that possible by their dedication to the work in hand.

After spending the night at a nearby hotel, we're up and about by 0530h and an hour later, we'd set off for Delhi, clipping in the new car. The showroom's sentry, Balighar Singh(another retired fauji) was more than helpful and very, very respectful.

The journey was indeed a pleasure with me driving the 'mean machine' to my heart's content and achieving speeds of my choice and comfort. And I do not know whether the metaphor's appropriate here, but "I really felt like a bird in the sky".

PS.
1. Lekha and me are the proud owners of a Chevrolet Cruze.
2. Today's the day of the 'dhanterras' and it's auspicious to buy metal, in any form and we seem to have purchased a metallic giant on the occasion. Well!

PPS.
Lekha is currently at Kochi attending the wedding and reception of li'l Sharanya.

Rainy days and Mondays.

"Rainy days and Mondays always get me down".

This is a number from the 'Carpenters' that's been close to my heart, ever since I'd heard it, for the first time, aeons ago.

And from experience, it's the truth. The dull and grey visage of a rainy day always has this effect on my outlook and the prevailing wetness dampens my spirit.

Not to talk of Mondays especially, after having had a fantastic and hectic weekend. The want of extending the weekend mirth comes strong at times.

Today's yet another Monday, there's plenty of work to do before I take off for Ludhiana tomorrow and therefore, this one has been welcome for a change.