Have you ever sat in a cab and half way through the journey wondered if you were in a street drag race ? Expected that the car will stop behind the car in front, but it kept going on…. squeezing into spaces you never expected a car to fit into. 

Have you ever driven through a city and not found a single car without any scratch or dents. seriously, not a single car.

Have you been scared of crossing a road (after having lived in asia all your life..) not because its a highway or the cars are really fast… but you are scared if these cars have any brake pads at all in case you were in their way…

Have you ever been on the road, driving at speeds of 50 – 60 kmph and above with other vehicles pass by you with 2 inches to spare… and it is not infrequent ….

I was the only one jumping in my seat in the car, while the world around me was completely at ease with their 2 inches of life….

Welcome to Cairo…. the driver said !!

Color is life. . . from white to black… everything in our life has colors… there are colors you see and those that you feel… some you are able to touch, sense…. some colors make you happy and some make you sad…. some colors have anxiety while some bring calm…

So what color are you feeling today ?

I feel like touching lilac…

Collage of some snaps from around the country….

I am sitting in the executive lounge at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo…. waiting to board my flight to Hyderabad.

Sitting down and thinking about stuff….. and I usually struggle with this, but never the less.

Mumbai has been in a firestorm, and the second largest compatriate population watched it on TV… live. They were 20 or 30 or 40 of them… who held a city hostage and we watched it on TV…. live. There were people dying, crying, asking for help…. and we watched it on TV… live. When the hostages came out… a storm of media people would surround them asking questions, so that we could watch it on TV…. live.

While the rhetoric on patriotic feelings will continue through a peak in the aftermath….. I feel a little ashamed of myself.

Terrorism is here and is here to stay !! We like it or not, it is not going away. There are people in this world who make a living out of killing others….. so they will come again. They will come again and we will go through this again….. watching it live on TV.

The family of Taj’s GM were burnt and he could not get a fire truck to rescue them for 3 hours ?? The terrorists could freely move around the city, get inside buildings at will – maintain communication between themselves…… and we watched it on TV… live.

I am sure many lives were saved, and many more could have been saved….. if we all did not get used to watching it on TV…. live !!!!

The politicians are similar to these terrorists….. damage our national fabric through their politics. Terrorists use guns, and politicians use their words……

When Mumbai was burning with riots against non – marathis….. we still watched it on TV… live !! That was terrorism as much as what we have seen in the last few days.

I am not trying to blame anyone, nor am I trying to go after the politicians or the media. Everyone is in their business……. and they are all getting better at it !!!

Just that we are losing touch with each other as compatriates.

This post is probably the least thought through of all my posts…. sorry about coming across so emotionally (if you are still reading it)…. but that is what I feel…. and really strongly !!

Stay safe….

After many weeks and no. of kicks at my backside, I am finally sat here trying to collect my thoughts for this latest blog entry…..

Amazing, I never thought that some people actually read my blog…. till such time that I stopped posting anything on it….. under the impression that no body actually wants to read this stuff…. There are all kinds of different people out there and nothing wrong in someone liking my blog….. even though I find it difficult to understand !!??

Another good learning point is that I must not make so many observations on the road…. not a good driving habit !!

Last few weeks have been interesting….. the global financial market has had a meltdown…. something truly beyond belief and once in a life experience…. imagine turning up to office on a monday morning to realise that the company has filed for bankruptcy and will not be able to pay you !! This actually happened and that too at Lehman… one of the top notch investment houses….. Someone actually said, this could be worse than the impact of 9/11, for economic health of the world…. When we are old (if I ever get to that alive) I can imagine myself telling young people stories about the great collapse of financial markets in early 2000s and how we coped up with it…… like people narrate their stories of WWII or the great depression etc….

Now cut to our local markets. I have seen a no. of statements / stories in the media that we are not affected by the global crisis. We are fine and doing better than expected. Inflation has actually shown a downward trend and this will be the way in future.

I am no finance geek, but surely we can’t be untouched by what is happening around the globe. Maybe we do not have a Lehman brothers branch here….. but we have companies laying off in the past months. Approx. 1000 people have been retrenched in the past few months in local market. We are dependent on the western markets for our exports, we are dependent on remittances from overseas, we are dependent on investment from overseas….. so how can we be not affected at all.

The cost of money has gone up steadily, liquidity has got tighter, fresh investments seem to be stagnating, a no. of industries are finding it increasingly difficult to meet targets. .  . . . . . which in my view is all signs of financial stress.

But then I am no finance geek…. so maybe I am not looking at it correctly…. and we are doing fine….

Now cut to another scene….. we are preparing for a drama competition this weekend… and everyone is very excited about it. I am going to go and watch some of the acts… and am a big fan of our theatre artists, cause they are bloody good. Mood is upbeat (excluding mine) at work and I have had more treats in these last few weeks than ever before in such a short period. I generally see more smiles around and people definitely more positive than I feel mostly……

So, me ask myself, where is Lehman brother in this picture….. to hell with it if wall street had blood all over it and a few trillion dollars got wiped off the face of the green earth……

Our spirit cannot be dampened. That is the bottomline. We are fine and happy…. enjoying ourselves and preparing for our weekend act.

Come to think of it, this is where we make a difference…… in our lives, during our weekends, on our theatre stages….. not at the wall street !!

So why the rhetoric……..  virtual ??? Shut up and help out with the drama competition on Saturday.

All the best teams…..!!

I am not sure why I make most of my observations on the road… but sadly I do. This time it was on last Sunday, when I got up late… almost near noon. I have been trying to follow a diet routine, out of sheer boredom and a fleeting hope of losing some weight. It was also a good chance to clean my insides as well as test my ability to abstain from food…… which I have not really tested in years.

So, back to my Sunday morning. I was famished by the time I woke… more so because of previous night’s horrible salad that I had for dinner. I was supposed to have a few bananas and some milk for the day, as per my diet schedule. So me goes to kitchen, and guess what….. no bananas and no milk. There is this bar of chocolate, some good looking veggies and of course that golden yellow slab of butter. And I am looking for bananas !!! Why does this happen to me ?? Something I must try to figure out in more detail…..

Anyways, I am in a foul mood by now. Get dressed in exceptable attire and go downstairs to the grocery shop. We have a small shop within the apartment complex, who usually keeps a variety of stuff including my beloved bananas. I drag myself in front of the fruit display and of course…. he did not have bananas that day. Fine, I will not spoil my mood any further. Take out the car and drive down to fresheez… a fruit and vegetable shop round the corner. Get there to realise they also colluded with the rest of the world and decided to not have bananas today. No fuss man…. I will show them that I can handle this disappointment… drive a little further to Arpico… the biggest store in the neighbourhood. They must definitely have bananas. And they did… but some real old ones… the likes you will not even take for free. However, I paid for these stupid bananas and came back to my car.

I was already making plans to reach home in the next five minutes and make myself a nice banana shake… I was just a kilometer and half away from home. So take out the car and floor the pedal….. take me home, country roads……screeeech !!!!

I see around 15 cars in front of me, all neatly parked in a line….. on the road. What’s issue man. It is a sunday afternoon…. and you do not get a traffic jam this time, not even as a joke !! Well, I was mistaken as usual. The road in front had been closed by the police, but it will be opened soon… assured a smiling uniformed policeman. Nobody asked him by when or why the hell is the road closed on Sunday afternoon !!!

Then somebody mentioned that this was planned closure due to the forthcoming SAARC summit in the city….. but that was supposed to be between 9 am and 12 noon and we are here at 1 pm ??? Does it make sense…. It must, ’cause no one seemed hassled or was engaged in a passionate discussion with any police person. So I decided that today was my day for anger management training…… I will not lose my temper, but make the most of my situation. I quietly sat down and waited… watching people around and listening to radio.

I saw an ambulance racing towards the barricades with flashing lights and sirens etc. There was definitely a sick person in it and they were trying to take them to the hospital. I said a small prayer for the sick person in that ambulance, only to realise that it was now racing back….. in the same direction that it came from. Clearly, they sent it back. A closed road means a closed road……. absolutely no exception !! I guess they went to some other hospital.

There were a couple of buses stuck in the jam as well. The drivers must have had enough…. as they manouvered those buses onto the other side of the road, jumping over the median….. now the bus was going back. If the passengers did not want to do so, they had to get down. Old people, women with infants and a no. of young fellows came down and were trying to find their way ahead… on foot.

I saw a few cars, coming out of an upmarket golf club and going straight through the closed roads. These were not marked cars and you could see the owners driving it were coming back from a gruelling session at the gym.

After a couple of hours, the road was opened and traffic started to move. There was no rush, no one showing any frustration. One kind gentleman, stopped his car in the middle of the road and offered a ride to some of the bystanders (probably from the bus, that went back) who he knew. While the car was stopped and those people came, greeted each other before getting into the vehicle…. every car behind them were waiting patiently…. after already waiting for 2 hours on the road.

I just love the love here. There is no where in the world I have come across such compassion for compatriates. I wish the rest of the world could learn even a fragment of this emotion.

I also wish that the SAARC summit brings out some good for the region, beyond just declarations….

I have been on a month long holiday, out of the island. last week, I landed back…. but without my flock. Family is still on an extended holiday and here I am all alone…..

On this Sunday morn, I wake up at noon…. watch some TV, cook an omlette for myself (quite funny exercise, if one has not done any cooking in years)….. and then…. nothing. That is the essence of living alone….. you’ve got Nothing !! No one to play with, talk to, fight with or just share a cup of tea with….

Let me not get too senti about this whole living alone….. I will now head out and do something worthwhile with my time. Chao…

After a gap, I am typing a few more words into this series of posts. There were just too many things happening at the workplace. I am already in the justification mode……. why ? Should I feel sorry about not adding to this blog regularly. Anyways, no one really reads it…..

Some more living experiences, which make an impression in my generally unobservant mind….. I get news alerts on my mobile. These alerts come as text messages from the same no. so that one can go through the history with ease. Late saturday evening, a news item beeps in my phone. I unlock my blackberry, worrying if this is a bad news (most of the blast news first come through this mode…), to read that the fuel prices are going to be increased by approx. 25%. Relieved in a way, yet worried about the impact of such a move… I casually go down to the previous message in this thread. This peice of news was received approx. 24 hours ago and was about Petroleum minister assuring the nation that there is no plan to increase prices in near future.

How is it possible that the minister in-charge did not know of this hike just 24 hours in advance….. or is it ?

I continue to mull over the trends of current economic indicators and walk through the corridor, when I pass scores of people who probably feel the impact more than I do…… I notice they are all smiling, laughing, joking……It strikes me that they are probably evolved beyond my materialistic thinking….and they are happier !!

They are happier…….. or are they ?

and I love it !!

Some time has passed since my first post on the blog. Then I rediscovered it, and a few friends came around….. read those lines, and gave me encouragement. Thanks ppl. What would a blog be without friends ?

I work in an environment where interactions with people from different parts of the world is a frequent event. Most of these interactions are business related, but invariably touchs upon living in lanka. How is the place ? Is it safe ? Do they have regular curfews ? Do you get to go out ? What about your kids…. do they have proper schools ?

It sometimes goes beyond funny…. once someone asked, Do they have cars there ? No, I said….. we use elephants !!

One of the words that keeps coming back to mind, when I think about the life here, is “resilience”. Yes, there are bombs that go off every now and then. Yes, there is a threat perception. Yes, I do think at times…. what if …… ???

Each individual living here must have similar thoughts run through. Everybody must carry that little feeling of…… what if ?? Then, I look around me…… smiling faces. I have never seen a more smiling nation…… and I have been to a few !! People look at you and smile. They smile when they are happy, they smile when they are stressed, they smile when they are complaining….. they smile when they give up, “what to do.. no “

Tsunami struck Lanka’s shores on a saturday morning, in 2004. I still remember that day vividly. I was glued to BBC throughout the day, sad and worried. Couldn’t get myself to go to the boxing day dinner, just kept on the phone trying to reach people I knew to check on them. Following monday morning, everyone who was expected in the office……. turned up, ready to work. This was a national calamity, and everyone I spoke with had gone to lengths to support those affected…. sometimes physically involving themselves in relief activities. I had my team turn up sharp on time, after having spent previous 48 hours at a UN supply depot packing and dispatching relief supplies. They not just turned up, but came ready to work…. I was shocked, in a very positive way.

Two words got etched in my mind, when it comes to life in lanka…. smile, resilience.

I just love it !!

It does rhyme. . . .. doesn’t it ? Living in Lanka.

Well, this post and probably more subsequent ones are dedicated to my experiences of living in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The island nation, for those who are geographically challenged, is located south of Indian sub continent amidst indian ocean’s blue waters. A nation of 20 million is suffering for almost 20 years with an internal ethnic conflict and you can watch BBC for the gory details of this war. Buddhism is a way of life in this part of the world, probably more than what you’ll find in the east asian region.

I have experienced life here for the last 3 years. It is an experience, living in a society so rich in it’s historical culture as well as in it’s modern world challenges. Let me elaborate a little. Imagine a wednesday morning scene, typical to any modern day city. Clogged roads with people trying to get somewhere on time. A middle aged person sitting alone in his car, behind the steering wheel, looking anxiously to find a few inches of road in front. . . listening to a distant jockey’s continuous blabber on the radio. A young man on his motorbike navigating through the lanes and cars and vans and an odd cow. . . . .trying to get ahead while others sit and watch him go. A tuk tuk (three wheeled vehicle, commonly available as a cheaper alternative to a cab) driver taking abundant inspiration from the motorbike’s success trying the same and getting stuck between a car and a cow. A van full of children dressed in white, chatting and laughing. . . . looking outside the window in between their conversations, as though the world outside was a boring sitcom. A hassled traffic cop, trying to wave and stop vehicles from every direction but failing consistently. There is anxiety, there is rush, there is pressure to get out of the jam and reach somewhere while the clock continues to tick.

Now imagine you in one of these cars, having covered a distance of not more than 500 yards in last 30 minutes and the watch telling you that you will probably miss that morning meeting with your client. You are sure that there are a few other people around you in different vehicles having the same scenario. Infact, you are sure that your business partner who takes the same road to office everyday, must be stuck as well in the same jam. The heat is building up, mercury is climbing and then it happens. A young executive with a flash tie, could not stop his car before hitting another one in front. One can hear metal crashing, and smell rubber burning on the road. Both the impacted drivers come out of the car. You can tell, they are both being missed at office and they know it.

Five minutes later, after both of them have examined their cars back and front each. . . . not sure why would you do that, when one’s front hit the other’s back. Maybe for good measure, while they are out checking their cars. . .might as well check all sides, just in case something else might have fallen off. You realise that the cars are at a standstill now, the guys have called their respective insurance companies. . . .and will wait for their respective agents to turn up on site. Till then. . . . these cars will stay put in the middle of the road, while everyone behind them will now try to find a way forward. This will be maneuvered by getting into the next lane which is already overcrowded, thereby reducing the road by one or two lanes depending on the position of impacted cars in front. If you moved 500 yards in the last 30 minutes, it will now take double that time. You know it, they know and everyone else knows it too.

Few minutes forward in the scene, cars are now making their way through the open lanes, at a much reduced speed now. There is no visible distress signs, by way of an odd honk or a rude comment. . .or even a suggestion as such. The two cars are still in the middle of the road while their owners are exchanging visiting cards and fixing up an evening session of beer at a local pub. There is complete calm, as much as I can see

I have gone through this experience a number of times, and have been late for my appointments regularly. I tried starting earlier in the morning, and had to wait for my meeting partner while they came later due to the traffic. I figured out soon, that this is the way of life. Just like Buddhism is a way of life. Maybe the two are connected, since the traffic situation displays commendable patience and tolerance in everyone. This is what I meant by rich cultural heritage.

Ironically, there is a case of extreme intolerance when you consider a 20 year old war that has claimed over a million lives of compatriots, many killed through acts of terrorism based on communal affiliation. It still continues, even at the cost of declining living conditions for common population. There is no concrete initiative from either party towards a peaceful resolution.

While I live in Lanka, I feel very secure that no one will be rude to me even if I end up causing them inconvenience, through my stupidity. . . . . .but I am unsure if I will not get killed/abducted/tortured only because of my communal affiliation. And it is a living truth.

Sri Lanka has the highest no. of recorded deaths of journalists in the region. The country is now ranked 3rd most dangerous country for journalists after Iraq and Somalia, according to a Geneva based media watchdog.

Modern day challenges to a rich cultural heritage.