Seeing the sea in Seattle

I am currently in Seattle for the past one week and will be here for the next 3-4 weeks. Came here last saturday and immediately went on a sightseeing trip on Sunday. The city is beautiful, the view from my office, awesome!

See more of what I am doing, on my new Seattle blog - Sights in Seattle.

Lot of puzzles to puzzle you

We recently had an innovation week celebration in our company and as a part of it, there was a daily puzzle contest. I had prepared around 4-5 puzzles every day and sent them across by mail. Given below are all the puzzles. Mail the answers to me through my contact email (top leftof the page). Answers will be given when replies stop coming in.

PUZZLE 1: Head of the Pack
Let me tell you a thing or two about solving puzzles. It is much easier than you think it is. Maybe, all the big puzzle competitions happen only in the capitals of the various countries, but this doesn’t mean you can’t capitalize on the other opportunities. Actually, the capitalism existing in our country is preventing us from spending more time on solving puzzles. Sometimes, this lack of time to solve puzzles results in lesser innovation in organizations. So, it is time to throw out the bureaucracy and come together to solve all the puzzles. One always wonders whether such techniques do yield results, but believe me, they do. Last, but never the least, we hope that you were able to find the name of the city.

PUZZLE 2: Piled up in Egypt
The boxes are arranged such that the number inside a box is equal to the sum of the numbers of the two boxes supporting it (i.e. the two boxes below it). No number is repeated and all numbers are greater than zero. What is the number in the topmost box?

PUZZLE 3: A puzzle on my table!
After seeing this puzzle kept on the table, even Dr.Watson would have been tempted to say, “It’s elementary, my dear!”
99, 15, 53, 8, 11, 32

PUZZLE 4: STR-ANG-E OR-GANI-SMS
Given below is an empty crossword. You have to fit the following words into the grid. Then the letters in the colored cells will give you the answer.
Words: 282, 2253***, 28669, 78779, 5262

PUZZLE 5: Counting the Extras
Corfu
Either
Viefi
Nerves
Open
Sexi
Wort

Look at the words above. All of them have something extra. Once you identify the “extra” bit, do the most logical thing and you will get the seven letter answer.

PUZZLE 6: TOUR OF LIMASSOL
Amdocs Social Club has organized a tour of Limassol. You are here, sharp at 8 AM on a nice Saturday morning. As you try to board the bus, the driver asks you for a password. You say to the driver that you were not given any password when you registered in the survey. The driver says that the survey system had crashed on Friday night and the only way they could allow people to get on the bus was through this password system. You try to argue, but to no avail. As you turn back, the driver says “Sorry, my friend. Maybe, you can have a look at some of the photographs taken by your friends during the previous tour”. You grab the paper thinking that the driver was just making fun of you. But, soon you realize otherwise. The paper seems to be a collage of 9 photographs with people gesturing through some strange signs. You immediately start decoding the message and realize that it indeed has the password. Can you find the password from the collage below? You can download a higher resolution picture here. Thanks to Harish and Anith for modeling for this puzzle. Btw, both are right-handed and hence, their right hands take priority over their left.

PUZZLE 7: MILITARY TALK
Do you know the NATO phonetic alphabet? If not, search it up on the net. In the passage below, the NATO phonetic code words of all letters of the alphabet (A to Z) but one have been encoded. Find the one alphabet which has been omitted. To get you started, I shall give an example: Alpha (for letter A) has been encoded as one of the “Two Greeks”.

(Repeat Twice): Tyson and his father (in a radiation outfit) went to a country, a Canadian province and a capital city. There they met Frankenstein, two Greeks, an African, an American and his angels. They danced twice (to critical acclaim), had a drink in the local Mariott, played a sport, watched a play by William and before December they founded a software company, for which they won an award.

PUZZLE 8: PRIME-TIME PUZZLE
All the numbers in the table below can be expressed as a product of some primes. Do the prime factorization for each of them and then look for some pattern to find the 8-letter word!

9699690	510510	4849845
248710	39	2926
248710	285285	14630
49742	39	2090
746130	6630	53295

PUZZLE 9: Just another day in Cyprus
I have Cypriot neighbors. They are a small family with the husband, wife and their three kids – Andreas, Nicos and Nicolas. Mr. Christos, 42 years old, works in the LAPD (Limmasol Area Police Department) and Mrs. Christos is a housewife. Mr. Christos is former national backgammon champion. Mrs. Christos is highly educated and it seems that she chose to give up her good job to take care of her family. Mr. Christos works 6 days a week and starts at 7 AM in the morning. So, it was yet another boring Saturday when I was lazing around on my balcony. I noticed a guy walk over to the front door of our neighbor’s and this is the conversation I heard (translated to English for your convenience).
Guy (G): Good morning, I am from the PENTAGON (People EstimatioN Team And Government Organization Nicosia) and I wish to know the details of your family.
Mrs. Christos (MC): Yes, what details do you want?
G: Do you have kids?
MC: Yes
G: How many?
MC: Three
G: What are their ages?
I saw a smile on MC’s face. Then she said, “So, are you in a mood to do some math?”
G (with a smile on his face): Of course Ma’am, tell me.
MC: If you multiply the ages of my three kids, you will get three dozens.
MC: If you add the ages of my three kids, the number is the same as my door number.
G (Thinks for a while): Nope, I need more clues!
MC: You know, my eldest is a spoilt kid who spends the entire day playing backgammon in that coffee shop.
G: Thanks you Ma’am, I know their ages now.
Now, all you have to do is to find the ages of the three kids.

PUZZLE 10: BILINGUALLY SPEAKING!
Nowadays, more security personnel are required at football matches compared to international borders, as the probability of trouble seems to be higher in the former. So, it was no surprise that BBC were taking extreme precautions before reporting on an upcoming Russia-England football match. Any partisan report by the BBC could spell trouble for its loyal supporters and would enable its competitors like CNN get the international edge. So, they went looking for a person knowledgeable in football, but also impartial to both Russia and England. They found one Mr. Edvard Garringue Gotwald, a former footballer of the Czech Republic, who knew a lot about the Russian and the English sides and was also well conversant in both Russian and English.
So, the match happened on 18th July 2001. It was a closely fought encounter and the cops managed to keep off the hooligans and ensured that the match went on well. The editor of BBC received the match report from Mr. Edvard. He was shocked! It looked like Mr. Edvard, in the excitement of the match, mixed both Russian and English while writing the report. So, what does the report say? Btw, the final score in the match was Russia-1, England-0.

PUZZLE 11: STUCK IN JAIL
Samuel is stuck inside a jail in Libya. He is full of remorse and has sent you the secret note below. What does it say?

PUZZLE 12: WATCH THE CHANGE!
See the gif file below. You should see different images in the gif are played one after another. Imagine a 5*5 grid of LEDs. Only few LEDs are switched on at a time. The switched-on LEDs appear as white circles in the image. There is a 7-letter word encoded in these blinking LEDs. Better switch your brain to mode X OR you will never find the answer!

PUZZLE 13: A Visit to Kykkos Monastery
A team in DVCC wanted to go for a project event. They decided to go for a walk on a forest trail leading to a monastery. Only few members of the team knew about the trail and it was up to them to guide the rest of the group.
They started off going northwards. Then they turned east. Then a superstitious person suggested that they rather go south. After walking for some time, they realize that they had reached a dead-end. So, they cursed the superstitious guy and then retrace their way north. Once they reached the point from where they turned south, they continued in the original direction. A little later, they reached a dead-end. Then the superstitious person laughs and suggests again walking southwards. After some time, they take a well deserved break.
After a 15 minute break, they continue walking south. Once they reach the fountain marked on the map, they turned eastward as suggested. After what seemed like a long time, they came across a signpost on the road pointing towards the north. So, they turn north and walk for another half an hour and then rest for lunch.
After lunch, people were not in a mood to continue. But, they had to reach their destination before nightfall. So, the group leader urged the group to start walking westwards. After some time, the path turned to the south. Just after a short distance, there was a sign pointing towards east. So, they turned east. Now that the sun was behind them, they didn’t feel the heat of the sun. So, they didn’t realize that they had walked quite a distance when the map suggested that they turn south again. So, they dutifully followed. Then, almost immediately, the path turned west again. Then, after walking west for around 30 mins, they stopped for a tea-break.
After the rejuvenating tea, they started walking eastwards. After what seemed like a long walk, they came to a dead-end. Then one person casually said; ”Ah, maybe we should have taken the path to the south which came some time earlier!”. They all cursed him and retraced their path due-west. When they came to the turning mentioned by this person, they turned south and marched on. After 1 hour, they saw their destination before them, the grand monastery of Kykkos. At the gate of the monastery, the guard asked them for the password. The group leader who had been taking notes all the time during the trek realized the password and told it to the guard. It was the correct password and they all happily retired to the guest rooms at the monastery. So, do you know the password?

PUZZLE 14: The search for Cypriot villages
Find the following village names in the grid below. The remaining letters would tell you how to get the answer. The words can be oriented horizontally, vertically or diagonally. The letters in the grid below can be reused for more than one word, but not in more than 2 words.

PUZZLE 15: GRAFFITTI OR GRAPH?
The Cyprus government has long suspected the British of monitoring all email communications passing through Cyprus. But, they have never been able to prove it. They ask for your help in uncovering the secrets of the big white dome on top of the Troodos Mountains. But, this task is easier said than done. It is a well known fact that the dome is patrolled by less than a dozen soldiers, but the hi-tech security around the dome is almost impenetrable. In the guise of a regular tourist looking for a good spot to ski, you reach the side-doors of the dome. You see lot of graffiti on the wall and think aloud; “These football fans haven’t left alone even this place!” You see a monitor on the door asking for a password. Then you realize that the graffiti might actually be the key to this. You start plotting points assuming that each pair of letters connects the vertices labeled by the alphabets. Slowly, letters start to appear and finally, you get the password. What is the password?

PUZZLE 16: A TIGHT FIT
The eight tiles below must be fitted into the pattern so as to form 4 words reading across and 5 words reading down. The tiles cannot be rotated or modified in any form. Find the 9 words.

PUZZLE 17: FORM YOUR OWN QUESTION
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ?
Fit in the letters below to form the question above and then find the answer. No need to change the orders of the letters in each group of three. Just find the right position to place the group as such.

APO	BEA	BUM?	NWA	SAL
SAL	SOA	TLE	TWE	WHA

PUZZLE 18: READING BETWEEN THE WORDS
Each sentence below contains a country’s name within it. Find each of the countries.
a. My landlords went to a spa in Latvia for this year’s holidays.
b. To find the Great Wall, search in an Asian country.

c. It is normal in this country to walk to work.
d. This country has a fine palace where horses live.
e. You have to visit this city to enjoy such adventures.
f. While attending the innovation session i germinate ideas for the next big thing.
g. The crowd consists of thousands of people so those leaving cannot be monitored individually.
h. The rough analysis proved that this machine does not work.

PUZZLE 19: GOING TO THE MOVIES
For all you movie buffs out there, these puzzles should be a piece of cake! Each of these rebuses solve to a movie name. (14 movies)




Enjoy!!!!!!!!

Why do we dream what we dream?

I am a normal person who dreams regularly (thankfully, no nightmares!). Sometimes, i do remember the dreams the next day and most of the times, they are even more outlandish than a typical Bollywood movie. But, one thing which has always been the case is that some aspect of the dream would always be something which i had done or been involved with in the near past.
For example, if i were preparing for a dumb-c event, then i would not only stop at dreaming about codes, but also wake up (actually asleep) , then awaken Vidhya and ask her to decode something which i mime! Similarly, for puzzle events, i have actually got some good ideas for puzzles from the dreams.
But, a few days earlier, i had a dream which went something like this. I was traveling in a bus and got a ticket from the conductor. There was a guy next to me who suddenly dropped some coins into my hand and then asked me to hold on to them for few minutes. I, of course, wasn't interested and tried to put back the coins in his hand. But, he was avoiding this and saying "one minute, please" and so on. Then, i noticed some movement behind me and felt a hand on my pant's back pocket. I realized that someone was trying to take the wallet out of my pocket. I quickly turned around and punched the guy in his face. At this time, i came out of the dream.
No, i didn't wake up, but i went into "Analysis of the dream" mode while i was asleep. i started wondering as to why i had this dream. I had never been part of such an experience. No one had ever picked my pocket nor had i seen someone do it. i was surprised, as this ploy seemed perfect for a pickpocket gang with one member working to distract the person while another takes the wallet. Is it a sign of things to come? I dunno!

Naming a wireless network

Had been to the doctor today. There were many people already queued up. So, i decided to catch up on some pending work and took my laptop inside the doc's office. I was going to work on some local documents and wasn't interested in the popup which said that there were some wirless networks in range. Out of curiosity, i decided to check out the available networks and guess what the name of the network was....

Tips on Filling Fuel in Your Vehicles

I don't usually post email forwards, but this one seemed useful and interesting to know too.

------

• ONLY BUY OR FILL UP YOUR VEHICLES IN THE EARLY MORNING WHEN THE GROUND TEMPERATURE IS STILL COLD. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground, the denser the fuel, when it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening…. Your litre is not exactly a litre. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products play an important role. A 1 degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.
• WHEN YOU’RE FILLING UP, DO NOT SQUEEZE THE TRIGGER OF THE NOZZLE TO A FAST MODE. If you look, you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode, you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapours that are created, while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour. Those vapours are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you’re getting less worth for your money.
• ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TIPS IS TO FILL UP WHEN YOUR TANK IS HALF FULL. The reason for this is, the more fuel you have in your tank, the less air occupying its empty space. Petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. Petroleum storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation.
• IF THERE IS A FUEL TRUCK PUMPING INTO THE STORAGE TANKS, WHEN YOU STOP TO BUY, DO NOT FILL UP - most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

------------

Technorati Tags: oil price increase petrol pump petrol diesel

The ordeal of eating at Hotel Saravana Bhavan

Hotel Saravana Bhavan started in Chennai in the year 1981 (almost as old as me!) with the K.K.Nagar branch. We moved to K.K.Nagar in the year 1990 and from the first time i tasted the famous Saravana Bhavan sambhar, there was no looking back. I was addicted to it.
Back then, when there was no concept of pocket money/allowance, it was hard work trying to "collect" enough money for a visit to the hotel. There was a tacit understanding with my mom that any "unattended" coin with a value of <= 1 rupee could be claimed by me as mine. There were other sources of income too. I would always immediately respond to anyone's call for help in recovering coins which would have fallen behind tables/shelves. I would attempt (or rather attempt to attempt) to recover those coins, but ensure that i make back-breaking groans and moans when i do so. This would immediately prompt my mom to say "It's ok. Leave it if you cannot reach it" and the coin would be forgotten. But the location would be promptly stored in my mind and when the time/need arrived, i would go over and, with the slightest of ease, recover the valuable 50 paise. So, once i had collected 7 rupees (the price of a sada dosa back then), I would run over to Saravana Bhavan and enjoy a sada dosa with the three types of Chutney, the sambhar and the Molaga Podi. Pure Bliss!
But, when my brother started growing older, there was competition for the stray coins. My mom, realising the rising inflation along with the competition from my brother, increased the threshold of coins defined as "stray" to 2 rupees! So, from then on, the only hotel i swore by, the only hotel which i considered worth visiting has always been Saravana Bhavan.
So, it is no surprise that i look forward to this whenever i visit Chennai. I was in Chennai last week and had been to Saravana Bhavan. Then began the ordeal!
It was around 7 in the evening and the place was full of people. So, it was tough to find a place. I had to wait a few minutes to find one empty seat on a table of four. But, considering the humidity in Chennai in summer, this place was a wrong choice as it was far away from the reach of the ceiling fans. So, i didn't place my order and was on the lookout for a better table. To my luck, a place on the other side of the room (just below a fan) was vacated. So, i jumped up and walked across the room. But, it looked like i was not the only one with this idea. Another guy, who was unfortunately nearer, occupied this seat before i could go over. Disappointed, i turned back to go to my place. But, even this was gone now as it was forcible occupied by the family on the next table who decided to give a separate chair to a child not even tall enough to reach the table. No wonder there is so much competition in India for everything! So, i was back on the waiting list. Luckily, all this action was seen by a waiter who was kind enough to come over and volunteer to find a good place for me. True to his words, he found a good seat - right under the fan. After thanking him a lot, i sat down to enjoy a good meal.
Now, i had to order stuff. In the past, when i had been on month long home leaves, i usually start ordering based on the serial number on the menu and go one by one. But this time, I was in India for just a week and it was already the 4th day into this week. So, this concept would not work. I had to go for plan B which was to either choose according to my likes or according to availability. If i were to go based on my liking, it had to be one of the dosas accompanied by the sambar. What i meant by "availability" is the probability of getting that particular item back in Cyprus. Yes, we do get Dosas in the Keralam restaurant in Cyprus, but i have to drive a 100 kms and pay a humongous 14 dollars for a single masala dosa, but theoretically, dosas are available and so they are out of consideration. Then, it had to be the famous Parotta kurma. So, i ordered it. You can never have only one dish in saravana bhavan. So, for the next item, i chose the 14 idli sambhar dish. Nowadays, you might have to request for a magnifying dish as an accessory to see the "mini" idlis. The main course was done. A dinner at Saravana Bhavan is always finished with the famous "Masala Milk", yellow in colour with the "paal edu" (that which many hate to have in their glass of milk, but which i love!) floating on top.
So, after having ordered for the Masala Milk, i went over to the wash basin. When i returned, the inevitable happened. My seat was gone, taken over by the next saravana bhavan enthusiast. Now, do i just leave and hope that my bill will be paid by this guy? But, i havent had my glass of masala milk!! There is no way I am going to leave without it. So, not knowing what to do, i slowly wander near by hitherto seat. The friendly waiter comes into the picture again, smiles and offers another seat and even brings over my water glass to my new seat.
One hour and three seat changes later, i finish my dinner. Yes, it was an ordeal, but it was worth every bit.

India's very own dumb blondes

Okay, they are not blonde, but they do represent what "dumb blondes" are supposed to be famous for - their dumbness. Yesterday's episode of "Kya Aap Panchvi pass sey tez hai" was a special episode with stars from TV soaps making their appearance on the show and wining money for charity.
Sarah Khan(Sadhna) and Parul Chauhan (Ragini) of “Sapna Babul Ka….Bidaai” were on first and right from the start, they seemed to be perfect candidates to fail a 5th class exam. Usually on the show, insets are shown about the educational achievements of the participants to embarrass them further if they don't answer a question. But, this was not the case for these two. Maybe, the producers knew that even after "preparing" them for the show, they would make a fool of themselves, that he decided not to embarrass them further. Or, they became models at such an early age that they didn't have time to complete class 5. How else would you explain the following responses:
Question 1 - Find the number of common nouns beginning with the letter "B" in the following sentence: In Bombay, I met Billoo with a basket in a blue bus.
So, the stars (the two girls) start thinking aloud. Parul says, "Basket and bus must be the two common nouns". But, the smarter Sara says, "What about Bombay, it is a common place, so it must be a common noun"!!!!
The producers then realised that their questions would prove too tough for this pair, but it was too late. Maybe they should have put Timbuktoo instead of Bombay, then Sara would have said, "Timbuktoo is not such a common place, so it cannot be a common noun"

Question 2 - Neil Armstrong was the first person on the moon. Which country does he belong to?
Parul is quite confident and she says "America". Shah Rukh, who is aware of their dumbness, wants to take them for a ride and says, "That is the name of the continent. I am looking for the name of the country". Immediately, the smart Sara says, "New York?". Shah Rukh then realises that any further discussion would embarrass the entire TV fraternity, so he accepts America and closes the question.

Question 3 - Which is the only mammal which can fly like a bird?
Parul, who has until now been overshadowed in being dumb by Sara, decides to take matter into her own hands and confidently says, "Kangaroo". Shah Rukh, desperately containing his laughter, goes to the center of the stage and imitates the movement of a Kangaroo and asks, "Are you sure that a Kangaroo flies like a bird?".

The producers by then had decided that they had had enough of this smart duo and decided to end their round and call on the next group. Now, i realise why TV soaps are so slow and prolong each and every scene. It is not the intention of the director, but it is the adaptability of the TV stars that is the problem. They seem to be so dumb that it takes them forever to understand and show an expression and the director has no other choice, but to capture the entire thing on camera!

Technorati Tags: kya aap paanchvi pass sey tez hai shah rukh khan are you smarter than a 5th grader quiz star plus

Are these games still played?

The post "Games we forgot" on hawkeye was one of those posts that you back to your childhood days and bring back fond memories. There are a lot of games mentioned in his post and i remembered having played many of those. If you can't recollect any of the games mentioned below, check out his post.
Kings: I remember having played this game event until the end of high school. It is a fast paced game and i was good at it, as it required the person inside the circle (or whatever field) to be pretty athletic in avoiding the ball. Of course, I have had embarrassing moments in school when, out of over-enthusiasm, i do too many acrobatic stunts and end up with my pants torn in all the wrong places!
Chains: This game was very popular in my apartment, but only when the girls were also present. Contrary to other games in the same category, there was a great demand to become the catcher, because the catcher would first "choose" the girl who he wants to hold hands with, make her out and enjoy the rest of the game holding her hands!
French Cricket: This was played when we didn't have the required strength to play a proper game of cricket. A good cricket player would have lot of fun in this kind of game, as it was almost impossible to get a good cricket player in this form of the game. The others, pity them, as they would be spending the entire time running to all parts of the "open" field, as there was rarely a n"end" to the field.
Hide n' seek (Kannam M/Poochi): This was a standard game, but we used to play it on our terrace. Thinking of the places i used to hide in gives me the jitters now, as our terrace was the fourth floor and i used to climb on top of the tanks and even down the water pipes by the side of the building to the sunshades on the windows of the third floor flats.
Hand Tennis: The usual rules of tennis, except that the racquet is replaced by the palm. Our moms used to be the water-moms. The water was not for drinking, but for cooling the reddened palms.
Chalk Cricket: We used to play this at school, where a ruler replaced a bat and a chalk replaced a ball. The chalk (usually 1/2 a chalk) was placed vertically on the table (serving as a pitch) and it had to be flicked towards the batsman (which constitutes a delivery). We even had different scores based on which girl you managed to hit, ranging from +6 (the highest) to -2(the lowest). Few of the girls also knew this scoring system and we have had many an argument for the validity of the rating.
Unfortunately, the games which people (from the South) usually recollect are Goli (marbles) and Gilli-Danda, both of my which i have never played! I am sure that there are many more that i have played and forgotten and i hope that some blog post comes along the way which refreshes my memory.

Tata Nano and Hamara Bajaj Lite - The 1 Lakh small car

Okay, the bajaj one is more than 1 lakh, but it is targeting the same segment as the Tato Nano/Jeh. So, i guess that it is okay to bring them together.

Tata and Bajaj are making it easier for the common man to purchase a car now. When a bike costs 50,000 Rupees, who wouldn't like to go for a cosier option by paying another 50,000 rupees. This move by Tata and Bajaj has lot of implications:

• The Indian cities would now definitely feature of every edition of "The Amazing Race", "The crazy Race" or whatever new series the american channels can think of. Even now, it is fashionable for people to show a segment where a foreigner is shown driving on the Indian roads. Now with the Tata Nanos and Bajaj Lites replacing all the motorcycles, more mayhem is assured on our roads which translates into more dollars from all the foreign tv shows coming to India.
• It is said that 1 in every 5 mile of the highways in USA was built straight so that it could be used as a landing strip in times of war. The Indian government was very impressed by this concept that they "customised" it a bit and implemented here. On the Indian roads, 1 in every 5 km is pot-hole free so that people can use that part to stand on when the other sections gets filled up with water during excessive rains. The other 4 kms were designed so to stop any advancing armies which don't have the capabilities to negotiate such obstructions.
• With respect to the last sentence of the previous point, Pakistan and China have already placed orders for thousands of Tata Nanos and Bajaj Lites, which are cheap options for their armies to use when invading our country as these vehicles are built for Indian roads.
• Demand for land of a particular type has sky-rocketed after these announcements. No one even wants a petrol bunk to be allotted to them now. All of them are now crazy after allocation of parking lots, as soon, every tom, dick and harry in India will be driving around in small cars.

So, the small cars are not only stirring the Indian media, but the media of other countries are also getting interested. Tata and Bajaj, a good move!

Technorati Tags: tata nano Hamara bajaj lite small car 1 lakh car india india

Chakde India - The India Quiz Finals

If you haven't yet checked out the prelims questions of Chakde India Quiz, then you can do so at this link.

Posted below are the questions from the final. You can send in your answers to rajaram.sethuraman@gmail.com or if you have come here from a post on a quizzing forum, you can reply to my email on that forum.

1. The name of which Indian deity has made its way into the English language and has come to mean “a massive inexorable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path”? Ans: Juggernaut from Lord Jagannath
2. At which popular religious destination in India can you find Ram Jhula and Lakshman Jhula? Ans: Rishikesh
3. Which character in Hindu mythology got his name from his pot shaped head? Ans: Ghatotkacha
4. Which Indian musical instrument's name when translated into English means Royal Flute? Ans: Shehnai
5. What was the new lifeline introduced in Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) 2 apart from the three which were already present? Ans: Flip the question
6. Who along with Batukeshwar Dutt was arrested in 1929 for throwing bombs in the Central Assembly at New Delhi? Ans: Bhagat Singh
7. Of what’s English translation is this the first line. “Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people, dispenser of India’s destiny” Ans: Jana Gana Mana
8. On March 16,2005, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, were found not guilty on all counts by a Canadian court. What crime were they accused of? Ans: Air India Kanishka Bombing
9. On 14th January every year, during the Makar Sankranti, what international festival is held at Ahmedabad? Ans: International Kite Festival
10. Oh, Creator of the universe! We meditate upon thy supreme splendor. May thy radiant power illuminate our intellects, destroy our sins, and guide us in the right direction." What is the significance of the above prayer? Ans: Gayatri Mantra
11. Identify the character. Ans: Shikari Shambu



12. Her mother's name is Bonnie Pandya, a Slovenian American. She is the second person of Slovenian descent to be sent to space. She apparently likes Samosas! Who? Ans: Sunita Williams
13. Originally introduced from India, it is the word for an open portico or light roofed gallery extending along the front of a dwelling or other building, and erected chiefly as a protection or shelter from the sun or rain. What word? Ans: Verandah
14. What started initially in 1984 between Esplanade and Bhavanipur, now covers a distance of 16.84 kilometers for Dumdum in the north to TollyGanj in the south? Ans: Kolkata Metro
15. Which famous jewel's name means "mountain of light"? Ans: Kohinoor
16. Kiron Kher had an unique credit in the titles of "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge". For what? Ans: Credit for title-writing, as she suggested the title. “Title Suggested By”
17. What is full form of T.T.E as in the guy who checks the tickets on our trains. Ans: Travelling Ticket Examiner
18. In August 1990, in a test match between India and England at Manchester, Sachin won the man of the match award. He was presented the award by X. The next day, the Manchester Police issued a warning notice to X and also said that they would not consider this as a serious offense just because of the situation this time. What was the warning issued? Ans: A bottle was champagne was given as the man of the match award and sachin was a minor then. It is legally forbidden to give alcohol to a minor.
19. Jermaine Jackson, Dirk Benedict, Ian Watkins, Danielle Lloyd, Jack Tweed, Cleo Rocos, Jo O'Meara, Jade Goody, Carole Malone, Leo Sayer Day, Jackiey Budden, Ken Russell Day, Donny Tourette and? Ans: Shilpa Shetty (Big Brother Celebrity Series)
20. What does the W/L sign seen on Indian Railway tracks indicate? Ans: Whistle For level Crossing
    
21. Connect Pavo cristatus, Panthera Tigris, Mangifera indica and Nelumba nucifera. Ans: All are National Symbols. Peacock, Tiger, Mango and Lotus
22. Complete the list: Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, Brihadeshwara Temple in Thanjavur, Arunachaleshwara Temple in Tiruvannamalai, Golden Temple in Amritsar, Bahubali Gommateshwara Statue in Shravanabelagola, Mahabalipuram near Chennai, Lotus Temple in New Delhi, Ranakpur Jain Temple and _________. Ans: Taj Mahal. The list of all Indian monuments which appeared in the original list of the new seven wonders
23. What is the planet Rahu responsible for, according to Hindy Mythology? Ans: Responsible for causing Solar eclipses
24. Identify the product for which this print ad was prepared. Ans: Fevicol



25. This message from the Mumbai Police was put on something and placed randomly on the roads of Mumbai. What was it placed on? Ans: 1 Rupee coin





26. There are 5 of these labs at different locations. The largest lab consists of fourteen major geometric devices for measuring various parameters. Each is a fixed and 'focused' tool. The largest instrument here is 90 feet high and has its shadow carefully plotted. Its face is angled at 27 degrees, the latitude of Jaipur. The Accuracy of the largest instrument measuring time is about two seconds. Ans: Jantar Mantar
27. The proposed name for this institution was ‘Imperial university’ which was not selected. The Maharaja of Mysore laid the foundation stone in 1911. How do we know it today? Ans: Indian Institute of Science
28. When asked 'Why are you so sure that the first man, Adam, was an Indian?', he replied 'Who else will stand beside a naked woman and eat an apple?'. Who? Ans : Osho
29. In the Ramayana, Vishwamitra takes Rama and lakshmana with him to slay the demoness Tataka. During the course of the Journey, they often slept on the banks of Sarayu river. Vishvamitra did something to wake Rama up every morning before dawn so that he can do his rites. What did he do? Ans: He composed and sang the Suprabadam
30. According to the legends the Gods & Goddesses pleaded with Lord Brahma to create another 'Veda' which would be simpler for the common man to understand. Lord Brahma created the 'Panchamaveda', an essence of the four other vedas. It is believed he has taken 'Pathya'(words) from the 'Rigveda', 'Abhinaya' (gesture) from 'Samaveda' & 'Rasa'(sentiment & emotional element) from the 'Atharvaveda'. After creating this he gave it to Sage Bharatha & asked him to popularise this on Earth. What did this lead to? Ans: Bharatnatyam
31. What was carried in a third class compartment numbered 2949 to Triveni, Allahabad on February 12, 1948? Ans: Ashes of Gandhi
32. The members of the Muduvar tribe, which inhabits the mountain ranges around Valparai (Tamil Nadu) and Munnar (Kerala) in the Western Ghats, have a unique method for calculating their ages. What is it? Ans: They calculate their age with the blossoming of the Kurinji flower, which blooms only once every 12 years
33. Bulgar, Gansu, Taklamakan Desert, Kashgar, Kokand, Karakum Desert, Merv. Which music band? Ans: Silk Route
34. Who is missing? Ans: Zakir Hussain



35. In an economic times article which was talking about business and marketing opportunities in India, there was a statement “There are three main religions in India. Hinduism, Islam and ____”. Which was the third that they mentioned ? Ans: Cricket
36. What is the name given to the class of tourist trains modeled on the “Palace On Wheels” but meant to serve tourists with a budget? Ans: Village on Wheels
37. Manoj Singh Naruka became a celebrity (for the wrong reasons) last week because of his Orkut community. What was his community's name? Ans: I hate Mayawati
38. Which famous politician played the role of Santa Claus at Beur Jail in Patna during the Christmas celebrations in 1998? Ans: Laloo Yadav
39. In Hindi it is called Saunf what is it called in English? Ans: Fennel Seeds
40. It is the national game of Bangladesh, and the state game of Punjab and Andhra Pradesh in India. Ans: Kabaddi
41. Which company is the manufacturer of the 155mm FH-77 B howitzer artillery system?Ans: Bofors
42. Which tree takes its name from the caste of merchants who often conducted meetings under these trees in the marketplace?Ans: Banyan from Baniya

Special Topics: Cricket

1) Who was the vice-captain of the Indian cricket team for the twenty20 world cup? Ans: Yuvraj
2) What is the contribution of Paul Hawkins to the world of cricket? Ans: Hawk Eye
3) Amay Khurasia had an unique claim fame in the 1999 world cup held in England. What? Ans: Didn't play a single match

Special Topics: Indian Mythology

1) Ten warriors survived the Kurukshetra war. Satyaki, Yuyutsu, Ashwathama, Kritavarma,Kripacharya were five of them. Who were the other five? Ans: Pandavas
2) Who is on the Flag of Arjuna? Ans: Hanuman
3) The 100 Kaurava brothers had one sister. Name her!Ans: Dushala

Special Topics: History

1) Which company manufactured the rifles whose “greased” cartridges was one of the factors leading to the 1857 revolution? Ans: Enfield
2) Which Indian King was the first to use rockets in warfare? Ans: Tipu Sultan
3) Which famous Indian king was called Sandracottus by the Greeks? Ans: Chandragupta Maurya

Hope you enjoyed this quiz. You can find hundreds of other quizzes on my quiz page. If you want your quiz blog/site listed on that, just drop in a mail.

Technorati Tags: india quiz chakde india quiz blog quizzing website

Automatic Bingo/Tambola Playing Card generator

I have had this request umpteen number of times. Whenever someone wants to organise Bingo/Tambola/Housie at their parties, they end up writing the cards themselves, as most of the Bingo kits come with very few non-reusable playing cards. Most of the sites which turn up on searching for Bingo cards produce cards which are not the regular 6 cards in a sheet 1-99 kind of cards. I have never gone so far into google searches to find this site.

So, here it is, the site for automatic bingo card generation. This site generates one sheet at a time (12 cards, 2 columns). Just keep pressing next and then fire a printout. Cut out the columns/cards and then distribute. Enjoy!

War of the Words: The Queen's Challenge!

Until a few decades ago, the English ruled the world. But now, English rules the world !
Are you better at English than the English ?
This is your best chance to find out.

Presenting an English Quiz that will redefine the meaning of knowing English!
It’s all about words: Anagrams, word chains, word links, crosswords, pictograms, word puzzles, word origins and much more…

COMING SOON!

Flight of fancy or was i on it ?

Well, it turned out that i really flew and it was not a dream. But, the flight on the low-cost carrier Spice JetBut turned out to have all the ingredients of a "spicy" dream.

I had to go to Pune from Chennai and the first option that turned up on makemytrip.com was the SpiceJet flight which had, incidentally, been started only a week back. The price was too tempting to let go and after a few exchanges of mails with friends about low-cost carriers, i went ahead and booked tickets for me, vidhya and my mom from Chennai to Pune and back.

It has been more than 7 years since i went on a domestic flight and i don't remember anything from that experience. So, practically for the first time, i was walking into the domestic terminal at Chennai Airport. We went through a big lobby and within 1 minute, we were at the boarding gate. Or was it a boarding gate? It just looked like normal door out of the building. But, there was a Jet airways person next to it and there were people queueing up. So it must be a gate.

But, where was the SpiceJet gate? There was just one door and Jet Airways was next to it and our flight's boarding time was just 5 mins away. It was just then that i saw a remarkable manoeuvre from the staff of the Jet and Spice Jet airlines. There were lot of those wooden stands (from where people make speeches, i forgot the word for it) with the nameplates of the different airlines. As soon as the last Jet Airways passenger went through the gate/door, in one swift move, the Jet airways person moved her "stand" away from the door and the SpiceJet person rolled over his "stand" next to the door.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, SpiceJet is happy to announce the departure of its flight to Pune. Passengers are requested to proceed to the boarding gate."

So, this is how the same door becomes the boarding gate for the different airlines. Didn't know that! So, we are in the flight and comfortably settled in. Even after i explain the intricacies of low-cost carriers, my mom is not able to comprehend a flight without food. But, it was good that water was free and my mom was happy!

After some time into the flight, the flight attendants brought some food for sale. With it was also Litchi Juice costing around 30 bucks. Litchi juice of all juices! if they had brought Mango Juice, Orange Juice or even Lemon Juice, it would have been ok, but how may people actually drink Litchi Juice? I decide to skip the juice and dozed off for the rest of the flight to Pune.

Once we landed at Pune and people started disembarking, i looked out of the window and expected to see a bus/van to take us from the plane to the terminal. I had been expecting too much. It seems that you have to get down from the plane, walk across few parking lots (meant for other planes) and you enter the terminal, just like you would do in any railway station.

As we were standing inside the terminal getting used to the small building and contemplating on our next move, there was an announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last and final call for spice jet flight xxx to coimbatore. Passengers are requested to ...". Interesting, we thought. There are people who fly to Coimbatore even from Pune. A few minutes later, another announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last and final call for spice jet flight xxx to coimbatore. Passengers are requested to ..." !!! I never knew that there could be many instances of "last and final"!

The stay in Pune was very eventful and it requires a separate post. So, we finished whatever we had to do in Pune and the next day, we were on the return flight home. We were one of the first to board the flight at Pune. Looking out of the window, we saw a big group running very fast towards the plane and crowding at the base of the stairs up to the plane. Vidhya and I were discussing that this flight probably had a unreserved section and these people were the poor ones who were without seat numbers and it was a matter of "first come, first seated".

But, as one soul entered the plane in the front, we realised that this was not the case. In came a scantily clad middle-aged man accompanied by a twenty something. Ah, this has to be a sadhu. He fitted the profile perfectly. I was right. He sat in the first seat and everyone entering after him (this was the big group) managed to somehow find enough place in the cramped aisle to prostrate completely before him and get his blessings. There were many foreigners also in tyhis group. I thought Indians went abroad and took the jobs/money of foreigners, but now i realised that we invite them to our country and do the same, saving the cost of travelling abroad. I watched the faces of the people go by. They were on cloud nine, on seventh heaven whatever you want to call it. Even an autograph or a kiss from aishwarya rai would have paled in comparison.

There was a couple seated behind us and they were on the edge of their seats to get a glance of the sadhu. I asked them who this was and they said in unision "guruji, sarath babu guruji". Had Sarath Babu changed professions because of low returns from films ? No, it wasn't the actor as i remembered him from his films and guruji looked a lot different.

So, after a few dozen people had finished getting their blessings, the plane was ready to depart. Until then, the air hostesses had a tough time getting people to move towards the back to their seats. It was Deja Vu! When i was in school, our school bus conductor always kept shouting at the boys to move to the back, away from the girls' seats in the front. Anyway, after all was finally ok, the captain announced the departure.

Then, out of the blue, a guy starting running towards the front of the plane. Vidhya panicked "Was this a hijack attempt?". I didn't think so. The plane had not even moved and it was too early for a hijack. But, you never know, this guy could have been one of the low performers in the "School of Hijacking" and in his eagerness to pull off his first hijack, could have acted a bit too early. But, it was not so, thankfully. It seemed that he had suddenly developed some mysterious sickness and was feeling very uncomfortable and had to get off the plane. The air hostess tried to explain that it was too late now as they had already got the clearing for take-off. He started getting agitated and demanded that he disembark from the plane. The captain relented and asked him to get his baggage.

So, he got off the plane and the captain announced that there was some paperwork to be done before they left and it would take another ten minutes. Then there was an announcement "Ladies and gentleman, please check whether all your cabin baggages are still inside the plane". Everyone panicked! Though he had gone out in clear view of everyone carrying a dark blue bag, my mom insisted that we check all our baggage even though none of our bags would seem dark blue, even to the colour blind! Imagine a hundred people jumping out of their seats in unison, opening all the overhead lockers and jumping up and down to check whether all their bags were there. After a few minutes, all were satisfied that he had not taken any other's baggage with him.

Suddenly, an Eureka moment came for Vidhya: "Whats the point in checking whether he had taken anyone else's luggage? What if he had left a piece of baggage behind? a bomb?". A perfectly logical question from Vidhya (was the moon blue? I peeked out to search for it, i couldn't find it). So, for the rest of the journey, any ticking sound from a watch would get nervous glances from my mom.

We were in the air, finally. After the seat belt sign was switched off, people started to throng the front row preventing the air hostess from bringing the Litchi Juice. Then, one smart gentleman, seeing the opportunity, decided to stand next to the guruji and act as the coordinator and started issuing coupons for the visit to the first row (well, almost!). The air hostess begged, pleaded and tried every trick in the air-hostess' guidebook to get the passengers back to their seats, but nothing worked. Then, a knock on the cockpit and few words were exchanged and an announcement: "Ladies and Gentlemen, due to the prevailing turbulence, we request all of you to get back to your seats and fasten your seat-belts". I settled back in my seat and looking at the crystal-clear sky through the window, dozed off for the rest of the flight.

Up, close and personal - Animal Photography

There are many who argue that collecting money to allow people to hold/pose with animals in zoos and other establishments is an unethical act. I have a divided opinion on this. Major zoos which advertise such things do collect the money for conservation purposes.

I also feel that allowing such interactions would help people understand the animals further thus increasing their love for them. I have tried using this line with Vidhya whenever there is an opportunity to hold snakes, but she has been relentless in her campaign of not allowing me to pose with snakes.

I am posting below all our "encounters" in different parts of the world. I love animals, i love photographing them. But the best thing is to be close to them and feel their wildness.

The next few photos are from our Singapore trip (which i am yet to write about). The first one is a with a California Seal taken after the "Splash Show" at the Singapore Zoo. For some reason, i was scared and my expression in the photo turned out to be a little silly!

That's me and my mom feeding the lories at the "Lory Loft" at the Jurong Bird Park. This was an excellent enclosure where the birds (hundreds of them) were flying around freely and you could feed them (some liquid). The ones Vidhya was feeding were more interested in her watch rather than the drink. One even landed on my dad's shoulder and he was more than happy to accommodate it.

The next photo is from Dubai. When you go for a Desert Safari which includes dune-bashing, your starting point would be a place where people can watch many "native" animals and interact with them. Unfortunately Vidhya's cousin, who was taking the photographs, took some time to understand the nuancies of a Digital SLR and many photos didn't turn out ok. But, he has improved a lot now and he is as good as any other amateur i know.

Thailand was one of the best vacation spots i have been to. We spent a month there and we had lot of fun. The photos are from a place called "Safari World" which is around an hours drive from Bangkok and a place in Pattaya called "Crocodile Park".

Like the bird in Jurong Bird park, this one too was very interested in the watch Vidhya was wearing.

The one below is called our "Family Snap" by my dad! The Orangutans were extremely friendly, sometime too friendly to feel comfortable.

The biggest tiger i have ever seen, it was trained to let out a huge roar whenever someone sits next to it for a photograph. The bear looks like it is showing the namaste sign, but it is actually holding a banana in its hands.

Vidhya at her bravest! Don't know what came over her, she readily volunteered to go over and take photographs with the elephant. Only the first photograph was part of the "posing plan". The second and the third were not informed to us at all and Vidhya, though appearing to be smiling" was shaking for quite some time after. The elephant, without any warning, lifted her with its trunk and Vidhya had to request the mahout to ask the elephant to put her down.

Saved the best for the last. The photos below seem to unnerve anyone who sees it, even us! Don't know whether , given an option, we would pose once again with a croccodile.

Technorati Tags: animal photo thailand singapore dubai

Rangoli in the Kholu for Navratri

We reached India just in time for Navratri celebrations. My mom, as always, had elaborate plans for the kholu. Navratri was a total relaxation time for me as i had nothing else to do but to eat all the snacks which Vidhya and mom brought back from their trips to the neighbourhood.

My mom had set up a big Kholu occupying our entire living room and she had also done a massive Radha-Krishna rangoli. It was awesome and as i had written before, it deserves a separate post of its own. Below are some of the pictures i had taken of this awesome rangoli. My mom had a picture as a reference for this rangoli. She first drew the outline by chalk and then filled in the gaps with different coloured powders.

There was also a mini-kholu on the side which contained, according to my mom, dolls which couldn't be accomodated in the main kholu. There were reporters from some local daily who had come to take photographs for a competition for the best Kholu. Well, we didn't hear back from them, but i would definitely like to see the better kholus.

She had also prepared decorated plates for display in front of the kholu. These were made with lot of chumkis, grains soaked in coloured water and fevi-kwik!

Technorati Tags: navratri kholu chennai

How not to feed fishes

If you had seen the photos and videos of the undersea walk we had done last week, you would have noticed that we were give pieces of bread to feed the fishes. In fact, this was the most fun part, as you get very close to the fishes as they eat out of your hand. But, there are always people who start to get unheard-of phobias just when they shouldn't happen. So, one of my friends (who went for the dive in another grp) in the video had mini-Ichthyophobia or for the layman, fishbitophobia! So, look at the video to learn how not to feed fishes.

Karunanidhi adds fuel to the Ram Setu controversy

Everyone is talking about it, every news channel has a debate on it, whole of India is talking about few kilometres of sand somewhere in the middle of Palk Strait between Sri Lanka and India called Ram Setu (or Ram Sethu in some cases). This sand bar is mythologically supposed to be the bridge that Lord Rama built to cross over to Sri Lanka in search of Sita.

What i don't understand is none of the TV channels ever called me to take my opinion. How can they not take the opinion of RajaRam Sethuraman!! My name is in the midst of this entire controversy (or the other way around, whatever!) and no one asks me for my opinion! The next time, you hear Karunanidhi asking which engineering college Ram studied in, just say to him that it was in BITS Pilani and I am sure that he won't say anything more.

Not many know that I am a direct descendant of Lord Rama and that it why I am named so. Unfortunately, there is not enough freedom of speech in India for someone like Dan Brown to write about Ram's bloodline like he wrote about Jesus' bloodline in the Da Vinci Code. But why, you may ask, am i a dravidian now when Lord Rama was an Aryan? Elementary, my friend! It gets damn cold in Ayodhya in the winter months and my ancestors decided to move down south to the much warmer areas. So, in all aspects, I am a dravidian now.

Looking back, i regret ever being an Aryan. They do whatever they can to put down the dravidians. Yes, Rama the king existed (how else would i be here now!) and an evil Sri Lankan had indeed kidnapped his wife. So, Rama had travelled down south to rescue his wife. But, centuries later when Valmiki decided to put this story on paper (or whatever was the equivalent at that time), he wanted to add glamour to the story and in doing so, the true nature of aryans came to the fore. Why else would he write thus "Rama marched south and took the help of the monkeys to cross over to Lanka"! Did only monkeys live in the south? or were rama's forces primitive enough to know only to communicate with monkeys?

This attitude still prevails today. Recently, the Indian Railways decided to remove Idlis and Dosas from the menu on the trains. Yeah, the South Indians have to survive by having Hot Jalebis with milk (yuck!) for breakfast like i had to during my stint at BITS.

But, don't worry, my dear Dravidian friends, the time is ripe for a revolt and who else but Rahul Dravid to captain us on this holy war. Rahul Dravid had timed his resignation to perfection. In a way, he knew about this impending struggle and had to resign because, according to BCCI clauses, you cannot be a part of more than one organisation. Forget about Karunanidhi and his DMK, let us march with RDMK (Rahul Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) led by our beloved Rahul Dravid.

And, anyone who dares to make any further comment on NDTV about Ram Setu, talk to me before you even utter a word ...

Technorati Tags: ram setu ram sethu sethusamudram karunanidhi DMK Rahul dravid Rama Ayodhya

Effective Communication Skills

Sometimes, when language is a problem, a highlight here and there solves the issue! The poster that was put up announcing a 20% discount at a newly opened Bowling Center.

Technorati Tags: effective communication skills

A Good Indian Wedding

My only cousin got married a few days ago. Probably, I am one amongst a handful of Indians of the current generation, who has only one direct cousin, including the father's and the mother's side. So, this was an important occasion for me to attend. Luckily, the wedding coincided with my annual pilgrimage/vacation to India.

This was a good Indian wedding, which I was expecting it to be, considering the importance of this wedding to me! So, what makes a good Indian wedding? It may be similar to big, fat Greek weddings, as in, Indian weddings are big, in scale, in money spent and also in the number of people attending. Indian weddings definitely make one feel fat, with the dozens of varieties of food items on offer during the course of the two or three days of the wedding.

Ironically, Greek weddings are neither big nor fat. I had the opportunity of attending the wedding of one of my Cypriot (Greeks known by a different name) colleagues. Her wedding was held at a “family” church with around a 100 people attending, with more than half of this number being the neighborhood kids! She was so tense before the “walk to the altar”, that she was puffing away at cigarettes just outside the church, to calm her nerves! The strangest part of the wedding, at least for me, was that the entire wedding process, that of the priest solemnizing the marriage and the “I do” sessions were held with their backs to the audience. So, we spent the entire time sitting in the church watching the butts of the bride and the groom!

Back to the good Indian wedding, my cousin’s wedding was very good and it followed a very good schedule. It started off with very good Tiffin early in the morning and 3 or 4 cups of good filter coffee in the few hours after. All this while, something was happening on stage (mandap), something related to the marriage, I suppose. By then, it was time for a good heavy traditional lunch (Sambhar, Rasam, Butter Milk etc). Lunch was followed by a brief afternoon siesta for 2-3 hours. By this time, the bride and the groom had spent many hours in front of the “smoking altar”, cleansing their sinus cavities in this process. I came to know, that the couple had been officially married in the time I had been away for lunch. Next, it was evening snacks time, Pakodas, Badushas and some mixture, of course with the usual servings of filter coffee. Then came the reception. “Reception” in an Indian marriage is done to show off to the public, that the couple is still happy and smiling in spite of having gone into wedlock. When it is time for “reception” for the couple, it is time for dinner for the people attending the reception. The “reception dinner” is usually the best of the lot, as this is the time, when the work-bosses of the parents or the couple, good looking friends of the bride, the not-so-good looking friends of the groom who came to look at the good looking friends of the bride and other socially and economically relevant people attend. Needless to say, it was good.

My cousin has no brothers (If you hadn’t concluded this after the first line of this entry, go and practice old Infy question papers). She has 3 cousin brothers and I am the eldest of the lot. So, I had additional responsibilities, the foremost being that of ensuring that the quality and quantity of food being served at the wedding was adequate. So, there I was, at least 15 minutes before each session, first in line for the pandhi (serving). Not only had I to check the quality of each and every food item, I also had to ensure that everyone got whatever quantity they asked for. So, I had to keep asking for more servings of almost all items to ensure that there was sufficient for all. I had to different kind of tests too. For example, when I was eating the payasam at the end of the dinner and the seats to my either side had been vacated as far as the eye could see, I wanted to test their responsiveness to unplanned requests (thanks to my company’s customer satisfaction survey for giving me the idea of this test). So, with a cup of payasam in my hand, I shouted “One appalam (papad) please”. The guy with the appalams almost fell down in surprise. Good that he actually didn’t, for if he had, all the appalams would have been crushed. Surprised, yet cheerful, he handed me an appalam and asked “Sir, do you need some rice to go with the appalam”. Good guy!

Finally, after three days of the same tough routine of getting my responsibilities right, the good Indian wedding came to an end and may the couple live happily ever after.