¿Cómo estás Amigos!!

The Lone Star State - Texas. Rest everything on the flag is occupied by flyovers(at least in Dallas).
Aided by two airports; DFW(Dallas-Fort Worth) and Dallas - Love Field (loved/used only by South West carriers), Dallas is one of the major cities in Texas. It was fall in New Jersey, while I was still feeling the heat in Texas! Car-clogged roads in NJ to open and clean roads in Texas, you feel that you've traveled a long way somewhere. The city is covered with a range of flyovers, flying on the top of other. I was travelling to my friend's place in his car from the airport, there was one road where I saw 4 flyover on the top of me, and 3 others below ours. There were 8 flyovers at a single juncture. No wonder I was amazed by this, as Texas is the 2nd largest state behind Alaska (include the area covered by water).
Try stopping at a Mexican restaurant if you want to try some good Mexican food. Learn a bit of Spanish before you come here. A good ambiance, with delicious food, Amigos makes it my list of places to visit again in Texas. A free bowl of Tostitos with traditional salsa will always be served in any Mexican restaurant.
A free appetizer with an entree was worth a deal. Looking at it, we thought of ordering an entree between two of us. We didn't know what were we ordering, except the fact it was vegetarian. But before that we ordered a tortilla soup. Our fist experiment was successful. The soup added with some veggies, and a slice of avocado was tasty and heavy. We, then were ready to order our entree. Tamales, as it was called, was our choice. It is a Mexican dish with veggies wrapped in a soft corn wrap, served with rice and beans on the side. We were looking for a light snack before the dinner. Much to our surprise, the dish was too heavy for both of us to finish after finishing a bowl and half of tostitos and soup. Just before the entree was served, we received our appetizer, the Tostadita(do not get confused with Tostitos). Tostadita is the Mexican version of Sev-Puri (the street food served in Ahmedabad). After finishing the dinner we left for my friend's place.

Cosmic Cafe, situated on the Oak Lawn avenue, Dallas, is one of the best Indian restaurants in the city.
You must be wondering why in this world would I go to an Indian restaurant while I stay in NJ. But, here is the thing, Cosmic Cafe is owned by an Indian, while the staff is American. Being an Indian restaurant, the interior of the restaurant has preserved the Indian culture. Ceiling fans in the form of peacock feathers, walls mounted with idols or murtis, floor paintings, wooden windows, and wooden doors. Every thing in the restaurant was Indianised. They serve water in stainless steel glasses (people generally drink buttermilk).
The sections in the menu were given utmost importance to the purpose they served. Souper nova was the name given for the soup section, while Primordial energy was the term used for appetizers, and Big Bang was termed for entrees. Giving fancy names wasn't enough here, as the cafe had a 2nd floor for meditation with prayers such as Om Jai Jagdish Hare sung in the background. Spread across 7-8 rooms, the atmosphere for meditation was as perfect as a straight drive from Sachin Tendulkar. The menu was filled with varied dishes stretching from Quesedillas and Samosas to Hummus and Pappadam. Although we didn't have much but the place was worth going for its unique identity.

I was glad that my experiments in Dallas didn't explode (like the one's in a chemistry lab). Aforementioned places will be on the list to go when I come to Dallas in future.

Gracias Dallas, Adios!

Shall you not forget..

Shall you not forget, what you're,
Shall you not forget, why you're here,
Shall you not forget, what you're supposed to.
Shall you not forget, what your GOALS are..

let there be struggles,
let there be niggles,
let there be people never letting you go high,
shall there be perseverance in you, to fight against all,
cause it's you who is making a difference,
cause its you who is going to achieve the GOALS..

Shall there be times, people lose faith in you,
shall there be times, you lose your way,
shall there be times, you fail, fail and fail..
But, take an oath, that..
Shall you never forget, what your GOALS are...

Nishan chuk maaf, nahi maaf nichu nishaan _ Gita

(I will pardon you for missing the target, but not for having a low target.)

a second chance...

Three dots in the post title has a meaning of continuity which started after a stunned pause exactly one year ago.
They say, you seldom get a second chance to rectify your mistakes or do what you were supposed to do during the times. Right now, moving in the flashback of what happened last spring, gives me goosebumps and gives me a feeling that of a bad nightmarish experience. An event that united 7 lives for the years to come, would not be forgotten.
Year: 2011
Date: 17th April
Day: Sunday (morning)
Time: 9:00 am
Place: Inter-State highway 79, Morgantown, West Virginia.
On road drivers were stunned when they came to know that what they expected to an action sequence from a Hollywood movie, was one of the tragic incidents that one would have seen and experienced in their lives. A group of 7 youngsters were returning back after a friend's marriage from South Carolina to upstate Pennsylvania. Never in their minds would they have thought that they would kiss death and leave it stranded. A sleepless night, after a dance party at the wedding, was supposedly the main culprit behind the accident that took place at the aforementioned place. A poor mis-interpretation of the lane and the curb, just before a planned rest area was the trigger. They never had a chance then to go to the rest area and change the drivers for the remaining drive back home. I could see the car toppling over for at least 2 times (people who saw, say it toppled more than 5 times). In fact, this landed 4 of them to a 2-day rest in a small community hospital for minor injuries and 2 to a 7-10 rest in a bigger multi-specialty hospital for near fatal injuries. Sitting helpless on the road, looking other mates laying on the ground semi-conscious, and waiting for the emergency team to come, I had my entire 25 years of life flash in front of me within 2.5 minutes of the stay on road. Wailing sirens, air ambulance getting down, and cops pulling over, made me feel I was there. A sense of curiosity always revolved during the hospital stay, of how the other two friends were doing. A call from one of them after 4 hours of the incident, made me feel a little comfortable that he's there somewhere, and is been taken care of by a group of life-saving professionals (health care staff).
One would have never expected this in his nightmare to even see this kind of an event, forget about experiencing it.
Life gave us a second chance that moment. We now try to make most of it.

the journey continues... (no period)

10,000 club

Seems like I am advertising for the Haywards' 5,000 or the Haywards' 10,000 club soda!
But, unfortunate for the drinkers, I'm not. One day in the morning I woke up and read the sports news in the Indian daily: The Times Of India, that a Sri Lankan cricket player named, Kumar Sangakkara became the 10th batsman in the history of the game to score 10,000 runs in the one-day matches. Well, my full credit to his game and to all the players who are in the 'elite' club of 10,000 ODI runs. It is their sheer prowess of the game that they have achieved a milestone, which could be only seen in the dreams of others. Sachin Tendulkar, the first and  one of the three Indians in the list, is way ahead of the last entry in the 10k club, started to play at a very younger age (he was in his teens when he padded up for the first time) and now, in his 22nd year in the cricket arena, he has been at the pinnacle of many other milestones.
But, with the number of one-day matches played increasing year-by-year, these milestones will lose their importance. Statistically speaking, a player in international cricket may atleast 30 matches in 1 year. Assuming the fact, that he plays 10-12 years of international cricket at a respectable average of 35-40 runs per match, he is going to score more than 10k runs when he gets retired.
I am not trying to negate the fact that they will be playing exceptionally well for their respective teams, but, what I am trying to say is that the 10k club will not be considered respectable. With the likes of T-20s, the players will be scoring heavily in one-days (being a batsman's paradise), the players will opt out of test matches which extract the true skills of a batsman against fast pitched, short- pitched deliveries. I wonder there will be a similar club of runs formed for T-20s in near future!
Gosh!

A traveller in time - India

It's been a year and 5 days, since I came back from India to US after a wonderful trip. Time goes very fast, I didn't notice until I actually realized the fact that it's already an year after the trip. When I came to the States for the very 1st time, me and my friends had already planned about our visit back home, before even our classes started!
 15th August (Indians will not forget this date) of the year 2009 was my last day in India, as I was waiting  to board the British Airways flight en-route Newark via London. I was standing in the queue to get in the main lobby of the airport, just when a band started playing the national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana". That made me feel I am going to start a new journey of life just as India started 62 years ago. I was ready to get in the main lobby, with my family wishing me good luck and waving me bye with tears. I went in with just a tear in my eye trying to come out, but it stopped. After getting done with the security check, and the baggage check, I thought I should call my parents and let them know that I am doe and now I'll be waiting for the flight announcement. So, I found a phone-booth and dialed my cell number (it was with my sister).
Me: Hello
Sister: Hello, kon? (Who?)
Me: Vikram.
Sis: e to nathi, e to America gayo!! (He's not here, He has gone to America)
Me: abe, haji to plane aayu pan nathi ne mane America mokli didho!! (Hey! I am still waiting for my flight to come and you already sent me the US)
Sis: oye, tu!! Mane em taro koi friend chhe tara mate puchhe chhe!! (Oh, You!! I thought one of your friends called and was asking about you!)
This conversation was too hilarious. I boarded the flight soon after and embarked a new journey alone. I reached my final destination after a couple of hiccups. It started off well and we didn't even know when our time was running. After an year and a half, me and my friends were all set to go back, meet our other mates and of course our family.
After going some place for a trip (in the US) or a hang-out and come back to our apartment, I'd feel I am back home (the place where we lived in the US). But, when I went back to India, I had a very different kind of feeling. I felt, I am back to my home after 1&1/2 years. I felt relaxed when I got there. My parents, a close friend (we studied in the same school, lived in the same place), my cousins and a couple of other family members were waiting to receive the NRI (although I am still a student, once you leave the country you get the tag). My sister had planned a wonderful surprise for me at home. I was overfilled with emotions and happiness. Sitting on the sofa, and sipping the masala chai was always missed. Hanging out with friends late nights, going out in shorts (although it was winter in India, the temperature felt to me was of the fall in the States).

And just after that dreadful year 2011, almost an year after I am sitting on my desk with a garam chai (tea) in my hand, penning down the memories and thinking, "kab vapas aayenge vo din, jab hum karte the ek doosre ki leg pulling", because in my next trip most of my buddies will be seen with their wives, or some with their kids (one of'em was already married when I left!! Poor Guy).

Time's running fast, It's been more than 2 hours now and my cup of tea is already empty.

Good Night.

Thank you!

adios 2011! welcome 2012!

On the penultimate day of 2011 we sit back and look at how did the year 2011 treated us, good or bad, positive or negative, successful or unsuccessful, exciting or non-exciting, expected or unexpected.
Every adjective mentioned above for the year 2011 is totally dependent on the person being referred or the person reading this post. It just goes with the main heading the blog, Life is interesting-it depends on how you take it! I've tried to pick 10 events that shaped the year 2011:

1. Japan 'moved and shook': A horrifying and a devastating earthquake shook Japan, and adding to this tsunami rocked Japan taking countless lives and rendered thousands homeless. A total unexpected catastrophe pushed one of the world's better economies behind. Furthermore, the news of the nuclear reactors' damage raised questions about the radiation hazards.
2. African 'Turmoil': African nations of Egypt, Sudan and Libya saw great changes in the governance. With a new country liberated from Sudan, the rulers of Egypt and Libya had to step down, the latter being killed.
3. 'Royal' Wedding: Prince Charles and Kate Middleton got married in the year 2011, said to be the wedding of the century.
4. World Cup 2011 'Cricket': The saying, "Cricket is our religion and Sachin is our god", went all over the country as a slogan for this year's most coveted trophy in cricket. A last feather in his cap was to be fit in, and who knew that it would come in his home ground, Mumbai. India defeated the island neighbor, Sri Lanka in a thrilling one-day final in Mumbai to win the World Cup 2011 after 28 years. A stellar performance by the team in the knockout stages defeating the trophy holders Australia in the quarter finals, arch-rivals and neighbor Pakistan in the semi-finals, and the island country Sri Lanka in the finals, made it clear that India's not only the best team on paper but, on field also. (The author is a cricket fanatic!!)
5. Launch of 'Iphone 4s' and death of its father: This year saw another big story in launching of the next generation Iphone 4s, but, along with this, it also saw the demise of the father who nurtured and grew an empire called Apple. Steve Jobs, the driving force behind Apple's success, lost the war against cancer.
6. The Dead Terrorist: In a very secured and a secret operation, the US killed the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks in 2011. This became one of the most important and the most unexpected stories of 2011.
7. Google +: 2011 saw the launch of 'another' social networking website, Google +. This saw Google entering in the league of making man a sociable animal, which he was already since orkut was launched!
8. hype over 11/11/11: This story did make in my list as was one of the most discussed story on FaceBook on a specific day. It, being just an ordinary day was hyped so much that people got their marriages, divorces, pregnant ladies got deliveries on this day!! What!! Height of craziness!
9. and 10. shall be added depending on the most number of events posted in the comments. Your views and comments are welcomed. And, do not forget to write about the events that you expect and do not expect on the year 2012 (do not mention about the end of the world!!!). Thank you

Interestingly, a lot of the events (personal and world) that happened in the last year can't be termed as 'cheerful', but, still we've to make sure that these do not affect us. That's what it says, try to get cheerful and get the best out of what we got and what we have!

Happy New Year and will see you here, same place in the year 2012.

The Common Man!!

R.K. Laxman, an illustrator, a cartoonist and a humorist is widely remembered in India by his creation of "The Common Man". As soon as we hear the name, a picture of an old man who is half-bald, a checked coat, a dhoti, round glasses, a simple smile and a stick on his shoulder comes in our mind. The reason of depicting the common man was to show the action that takes place in offices or around us. The common man witnesses these silently. The best part in the English daily published in India, The Times Of India, The Common Man became a mirror of the happenings around us. A comic strip which gave importance to the sufferings of a middle class man was executed with perfection.
Continuing the tradition, a situational comedy series has been on air on an Indian channel (SAB TV). Though the cast remains very simple, but, who cares, until the show delivers what it is supposed to. The show has the common man as the father along with his middle-class son who runs a family of 7-8 with a salary of a middle class. He wakes up in the morning to see that the milkman gives him 500ml milk more than everyday, charges him 2rs. less from the next day, the auto-rickshaw driver's meter slowing, a pay hike from his boss, and many more surprising events. But, as we all know these happenings remains a dream for a middle class man, it was a dream for Bhavesh Vasavada (son of the common man). To his surprise, the milkman adds more water in milk as his buffalo has given less milk, a price hike in milk/ltr., a price hike in auto fares because of petrol hike in the country, etc. makes his day start miserably. But, what can he do other than cursing them?!! Nothing! absolutely nothing!!

The point here is not about advertising about the series or the comic strip by R.K. Laxman, it's about when will this misery stop? We always complain about the inflation, the petrol hike, hike in groceries, hike in day to day used articles, etc. Why doesn't the rich complain? These are open-ended questions asked by a majority of people around us. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. The ratio is becoming more and more uneven!! No wonder our usage in increasing but, is it the right answer? I do not know. We all have to figure it out!
Right now I am watching the GOP presidential candidate debate on a couple of news channels. These candidates are of the Republican Party, out of which only one will contest elections for the President of USA.
7 members of the party are made to stand in front of anchors and news-readers in a hall of more than 500 members (all of them are distinguished personality in their own field). The candidates are thrown questions regarding the running issues, future developments, their analysis of the reforms, their policies to stop the economic turmoil, and various other aspects. They should be very firm in their decisions and must have supportive evidence or reasons of their support. Even a small umm makes them pee in their pants! Words spoken must be specially carved out. A small mistake can ruin the campaign, just like the ended campaign of Herbert Cain, who was accused of sexual harassment, and having an affair with a lady despite being still married.
During this, I realized the importance of this type of interview for our politicians also, who are contesting elections. This proves to be a model stage for them to contest for elections. But, it would become very difficult for them to withstand the questions and the pressure before the start of the debate, that they would start blaming the ruling party (if its the opposition) or the opposition (if its the ruling party) for staging such "irrelevant" debates (ye opposition or ruling party ki koshish hai humein neecha dikhane ki). We ask you, If you are right, you have a platform to accuse the party of mis-behavior. This may not start a revolution, but, it will just make us realize the fact of choosing the correct ones to lead our country rather than going after the names!