Disorientation

After 7 years at Bloomberg, I resigned on Monday. The day was surreal, anticlimactic and a long-time coming. Everything felt right until I was on the train home around 5pm and I couldn't think of what to do next. I have been living a comfortable routine being distracted all day long with work-related trivia. Now, I had a whole afternoon with nothing work-related to worry about. I have some interviews to prepare for, and of course the Foreign Service Exam to study towards, but these require a formidable self-motivated drive to get accomplished. This is not one of my fortes. I'm more of a laid-back procrastinator than a time-charting, self-organizing machine. And I am panicking now, 2 days into my new-found, scary freedom.

So, I did what any guy going through an early-mid-life-crisis would do - I bought a car. Only it's a Passat station wagon and the colors Connie wanted are non-standard and it will take months to get it. But, we are closer to having a car, which we've been planning to get for over a year now. Our new place has a parking garage under the building. I was unwilling to play the mad parking game in our previous neighborhood. So getting the cable hooked up properly, and getting a car, and pulling out my last two wisdom teeth have been keeping me busy (read: distracted). But what's next? The options are laid bare on the table. Spend two months studying hard for this pie-in-the-sky job with the U.S. State Department, or get another softwrae job (still have a shot with Google and Goldman Sachs next week). I need to hunker down and get into a routine. I need to have three meals a day and looks like I have to arrange for them to be preapred as well. I need to continue unpacking the boxes and making the guest room/office and kitchen more habitable. I need to prepare for interviews. I need to create a study plan. And I need to rent a car until my rare-color Passat arrives. I hope writing this down will make it easier to follow through. There's a part of me tempted to get used to watching TV and playing viedo games all day - I'm still waiting for my first Gamefly Wii game to arrive...

Anniversary I & Boston Breather

Monday, October 8th was our first anniversary. Connie reserved a table at Jean Georges (complements of Dimitris & Susan - gift certificate was a wedding present), but I made sure they knew we were celebrating, and I bought a little something at her favorite Jewelry store. However, the real clincher that night was my greeting card. I made her cry, which is always a good sign of successful mush-prose. Hey, what can I say? I love her! There were two things that went wrong that evening: 1) foie gras with passion fruit seeds. I mean, why ruin a perfectly good, silky-smooth piece of goose with sour, black, crunchy bird food? 2) Yankees lose to Indians ending their season and our already-unlikely chance of getting World Series tickets through the post-season ticket lottery scheme. Regardless, we had a fantastic evening. We needed it.

The next day we rented a company car and drove off to Boston. Due to a reservation issue - Seinfeld was onto something - they couldn't give us a normal sedan so we drove off in a Ford Edge SUV beast. It was brand new and smelled awful, but at the same time it was luxurious and I enjoyed driving it. The only thing that wrinkled the smooth ride was Connie insisting on playing the book on CD version of Harry Potter 7 the whole way. We just finished reading the book a couple of months ago (after standing in line with some kids at midnight)... Sometimes she drives me crazy with these obsessions of hers. Other times I find it cute.

In Boston, we had a nice room overlooking the Charles and Cambridge from Copley. I drove her around during the day from one campus to the next, and helped setup a few info sessions when my help was needed. But we ate lunches with Scott or Cris, and had dinners with Scott & Marissa every night. They were really good sports as they were staying up late with us every night and going to work at 6am the next day. Connie's work days didn't start till noon. We had an unfair advantage. They are gracious hosts, though, and we had great times at their immaculate (and almost done) apartment, gay dbar in Dorchester, and exquisite Oishi in the South End.

We spent a night at Cris and Margo's new place as well. It was the first time I stayed with Cris at his place rather than mine or Scott's his parents' cottage in Thousand Island Park. Margo has really done a great job of settling him down and I was surprised to feel cozy and comfy in his apartment. We spent Saturday night watching an amazing Indians/Red Sox game. As Yankee fans, we have to cheer whoever is playing the Red Sox. Cris was not amused by that, but teh game itself was fantastic and lasted past my bedtime. Connie kept waking me up to announce updates until the Indians finally clinched it with a 7-run 11th inning :)

I spent much of our conversations with friends, colleagues, and strangers that week convincing myself that quitting was the right thing for me at this time. This was supposed to be a week of relaxation for me so that I could calmly take the big plunge and resign on Monday. It worked!

Moving In

We somehow managed to get through the last two weeks with only a few permanent bruises. We got everything packed on time, as I was home alone for half the week and had nothing better to do. The moving day was predictably chaotic and Connie was at her worst/best. She was overly stressed out and unpleasant to be around, but getting things done right and not giving up on the small stuff. By midnight, we had our bed made, and the toilets were usable. It didn't take longer than the first night to realize that we had made a terrible mistake on picking this apartment. We knew it was on Queens Blvd (the Boulevard of Death - a ten lane road serving as the main east-west artery of the borough), but somehow thought the air in-between ground and 12th floor would filter out the noise from the sundry vehicles making their way along it. The two times we visited the apartment it seemed quiet enough. It was a hoax. There are moments of near-quietness but they are far and few between. And the between is a mess of bus screeches, sirens, un-mufflered vibrations on loudspeakers, motorbikes on crack...

On the upside, we can't hear each other from one room to the next because the place is gigantic compared to our last apartment. I can't wait to get a car and a space in the garage. Laundry is also working out well, because there's a valet service in the building. You just call them up, leave your dirty bags in the lobby, and pick 'em up the same or following day clean as a whistle. Also, the neighborhood is nicer with more non-Hispanic shopping and dining options. Our first night in the apartment, we got hungry at 10pm. After a worrying episode of being turned away from several eateries - places close early in this family-oriented neighborhood - we stumbled upon a Greek taverna. The host was charming, and the grilled octopus made our month.

So there are good and bad things here in our new home, but we are doing our best to try and get it up and running and enjoy it to the fullest. We know we will only be here for two years max. Now I have to make sure I survive my project without making too much of a mess, and then I have a week off cruising Boston with Connie (another recruiting trip) and making peace with my scheduled resignation.

Chaos At Home

I arrived back on Sunday morning after a 16 hour flight. I managed to catch up on some of the Japanese and Korean flicks I’ve missed over the past few months. “200 Pound Star” featured a hottie (made up to look like a whale) who goes through plastic surgery to get ahead in Seoul’s music industry. “Tofu” was about a Meiji-era guy who wants to start a Kyoto-style Tofu shop in some village where the tofu trade is practically controlled by the mafia. The last one – “Bubble Fiction 2: Boom or Bust” – was really weird. A woman is sent back in time to make sure the Japanese Finance Ministry does not pass liberalizing laws that end up crippling the economy a decade or so later. After that series of movies, I watched the Matrix. I just couldn’t resist. I also saw a cartoon about a surfing penguin, and possibly a forgettable action flick from this year. I only slept a couple of hours so the movies helped kill the time.

I got home fairly early in the morning and spent the day doing chores – getting ready to move to a new apartment in Queens the following week. The switchover seemed natural but in retrospect it made the whole homecoming seem like a non-event. I’ve been away from my wife for nearly three weeks and when I got back home it was like I never left. This is one of those things that unsettles me but probably should not.

So our new apartment has lots of issues and is not really ready for move-in and it is impossible to get any of the building staff on the phone or to return a call. Connie has been freaking out about this on her own while I was away so now she is ready to just throw it all in my lap. I unwittingly accept because I can see there is no other option. She doesn’t like stress and this has been building up for a while. Thus, I am spending the week half catching up with work (project due next Friday looks like it will be messy…) and trying to convince the Parker Towers people to fix some of the most pressing problems in the apartment. On top of that, I am packing the old apartment, interviewing for a new job with Google, and planning my resignation for Monday, October 15. This has been a long time coming, and I can almost taste the end. Just have to get through some of this in-betweener stuff. Connie is leaving for a two-day recruiting trip upstate. If I didn’t know better, I’d say our marriage was in trouble, but I know better. This (week), too, shall pass.

Near Collapse

I am sitting at the Delta Airlines Business lounge in Mumbai’s International airport. I did not notice until now (on this trip), but the change from the dust-ridden, impoverished, loud, and menacing environment of the city to the luxuries of the hotel, or this lounge is quite disconcerting. And I have been doing this context switching twice on a daily basis. The mind has a way of protecting itself from this psychological attack on the senses. I have simply been blocking out anything that seems out of place. And what’s out of place? Is it the luxurious business floor with its lounge, daily in-room breakfast, and laundry service? Or is it the street-sweeping ladies, the ever-present free-roaming cows, and the motorcycles wheezing by with mom, dad, son, and daughter all somehow able to ride on the same seat? Neither. I am the one who is out of place. And finally, I can leave this place and let it be. It has a way of working that is bewildering to me. That the people of this country have not seen fit to form a communist society in order to create some kind of balance must be a tribute to the spiritual teachings of Hinduism - that one should lead a life of quiet, peace, and do no harm.

Today I did some last-minute shopping with my friend’s family in Hyderabad. I wanted to get something for my wife. I see some of the younger women here wearing kurtiyas (long shirts) over their pants. It looks great - a nice mix of east and west. I’m sure this fashion exists back n NY, but I decided to get some similar tops for my wife. Last time we were here she only bought clothes that she cannot really wear daily (only on Halloween) like sarees and kameez salwazs. We also purchased a suitcase for me to carry these and other presents, some sweets, and a separate load for my friend’s cousin who has recently moved to New Jersey with her husband. I am so happy to be able to do something for this family, who has treated me like their own for the past three weeks, but I’m a little weary of being a mule - I had to lie at check-in about packing my own bag, etc.

I’ve arrived in Mumbai at 7pm and my colleague Rishi (now my new best friend, since I’ve spent the last 3 weeks hanging out with him every night) met me at the airport to take me out to a nice bar & restaurant at a 5-star hotel located between the domestic and international airports. So instead of waiting an hour or more to take the free shuttle to the international airport, and waiting for 4-5 hours for my flight to begin boarding, I sipped Indian white wine and noshed on some grilled meats talking life, career, and marriage, congenially with my host.

It’s cricket again! India vs. Australia in the semis, and Pakistan already went through to the finals, which means an India-Pakistan final if India can get through as well. This new format makes the game as short as a baseball match, so palatable. Most of my co-travelers in the business lounge are watching the big screens. The less fortunate are crowding at the glass doors into the lounge craning to get a glimpse of the unfolding match. Chaak de India!

Taj Climax

Last night we had our end-of-training dinner party at the Taj Krishna hotel's Ahala lounge. We had drinks, finger foods, music, and cricket (India vs. England, round two of the Twenty20 World Cup). We had bottles of Vodka, Rum, and Whiskey for mixing drinks. We had veg and non-veg choices for food, and some funky dance music (house version of Pink Floyd's The Wall - all the students from the training class started chanting "We don't need more training class lectures!"). We had ordered Joojeh chicken kebabas like we did at Fusion 9. Iranian Joojeh kebab is my new favourite multi-cuisine Indian dish (took over the Manchurian - previous favourite).

I got good and drunk and had a blast dancing with 23 Indian computer geeks (see picture). Things started getting really crazy (and for me, hazy) after India won their cricket match against England. I remember jumping around in a circle of Indian sweat and screaming with joy in a high pitch like a little girl. Some desserts were served at some point and I may have eaten mine off of someone else's plate. They also brought out some cake which read "Congratulations Losers" - not my idea although I heartily approved. I was asked to do the honor of cutting the first slice. Out of nowhere I had cake in my face. I felt like it was deja vu from my wedding party. Apparently this is a popular modern Indian custom in such happenings. Twisted West meets naive East.

I'm not sure exactly what happened next. I woke up at 3am naked in my hotel room's bathtub - it was half full with lukewarm water. I had thrown up dark matter on half the bed and the surrounding floor. I curled up into a ball on the clean(er) side and slept till my alarm woke me up to the foggiest day, figuratively and literally. I swore off drinking and slunked to work. I was a bit uplifted to find the training class empty. Thankfully, the rest of the class seemed even worse off than me. We agreed to take it easy for the rest of the day and that what what happens in Hyderabad stays in Hyderabad... Two days left and counting!!!

Mosquitoes On a Plane

It's a bit muggier this week. The rain is creating huge potholes in main roads in the city. For some reason, the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) has not learned to pave proper concrete - the kind that doesn't turn into Swiss cheese with a bit of moisture. Who is surprised, with the recent collapse of the Punjugutta flyover still fresh in everyone's minds. But then again, it could have been the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation's (GHMC) fault. The two will probably be blaming each other but will need to file formal grievances with the High Court of Andhra Pradesh (APHC). You would not be surprised to find out that most people here blame beauraucracy and corruption in government and businesses for the ailing infrastrcuture that is putting a sort of drag on the country's already-phenomenal growth.

I used two domestic carriers for my roundtrip air travel to Bangalore over the weekend - Indigo and Kingfisher. Indigo is a no-frills, discount outfit. Kingfisher is more upscale. Same mosquitoes on both... The mosquitoes get trapped inside the main cabin during boarding. This could be minimized if planes docked at terminal buildings using closed jetways, but all Indian airports I've travelled through unload passengers on the tarmac using open staircases. You then either board a bus that takes you to the terminal, or you're close enough to walk there on your own. Luckily I've been taking my Malarone regularly, and I have also perfected my swatting, crushing, and clap-smacking techniques for killing the little bastards.

Tirthankars & Ganeshas

I arrived in Bangalore (or Bangalooru) Friday late evening. My friend Manish, his wife Minu, and their son Rishi were there to pick me up. It is a treat to be among old friends. Again, I am astonished that I have now visited Manish more times in his new Bangalore home than in his previous abode in Stamford, Connecticut. I know Hyderabad better than Jerusalem. I have spent more time in India than any other country apart from Israel, England, and the USA. We had a late night meal of freshly home-cooked uttapam and dal. Minu's mom prepared some spicy chutney for me - she knows my weak spot :)

We woke up early (~5am) this morning to get ready for a long day of sight-seeing in Western Karnataka. Our first stop was Shravanabelagola, a small Jain town about ~200km West from Bangalore where a huge 1000-year-old monolithic statue of a famous Jain figure, Bahubali (100th son of the first Tirthankara, Lord Rishabha) rests atop a hill overlooking the surrounding region. On the way, I learned about Bahubali, Tirthankaras, and Lord Ganesha (Hindu god) whose birthday was being celebrated all day today by drowning clay statues of his likeness in lakes, rivers, pools, and buckets. The car dropped us off at the bottom of Bahubali's hill. We walked up ~625 steps of varying heights to reach the summit. The temple housing the feet of the statue seats in silence fit for deep meditation, and the ~100-ft tall monolith did not disappoint in its stature or magnificence.

Getting back down was harder. When we reached the base my knees were shaking. The village has a little canteen serving Jain food (rice, dals, and curd for most part since Jains have a strict vegatarian diet bordering on fruitarianism) for free, although it is customary to leave some money as charity to the village which chips in to keep the canteen working and the monks of the temple well-fed. We ate there and then continued with the car on to Belur and its Chennakesava (handsome Vishnu) Temple.

Now, in general you've seen one Hindu temple, you've seen them all - just like visiting churches and cathedrals in every major city in Europe. The main temple structures are usually built in the center of a compound built on top of a mountain, or hill, or in the middle of a town square. Roughly speaking, the main structures are diamond shaped, with doors in 3 of the four corners, and the final corner reserved for a room housing a statue of the deity for which the temple was built (Vishnu, Shiva, Krishna, etc). Most temples I've seen are adorned by equisite carvings on almost every visible surface (both in the interior and especially on the exterior). The carvings on the front portion of the temple, where the entrance usually is, depict some secular scenes while the back carvings are more spiritual in nature. For instance, on the front you could find scenes from the two main Indian mythologies - the Ramayana, and the Mahābhārata - and from the Indian guide to lovemaking - the Kama Sutra. Usually, there are no two figures carved to look alike, even though the base might have 100's of elephants carved in series one following another. The back is reserved for carvings that tell the stories of the deity for which the temple was built as well as other gods. This temple in Belur had one remarkable scene of Narashima ripping the guts out of a man who stepped over the line, exquisite carvings of ladies performing some unnatural dance of great difficulty (balancing on one foot, turning your waist 120 degrees, etc), and a statue of a woman representing the perfect body form (like the golden ratio). Most memorable is the fact that it got really hot in the afternoon and of course you must tread barefoot inside a Hindu temple compound, so we kept running from one shaded corner to another as if the rest of the courtyard was covered in hot coals.

We rode on to Halebidu, a nearby temple built by the minister of the King who built the one in Belur to honor Lord Shiva. This temple's compund had a beautifully kept green lawn on the shore a lake, with various flower beds in bloom, and a few large trees providing much-needed shade. The carvings on this temple were not as detailed, but they were bigger in some portions so you could make out more details. I was a bit tired by now, and the guide we hired was repeating some of the same information as in the previous temple. Rishi was also bored and we decided to horse around while Manish listened intently, and Minu tried to keep focus.

We then drove about 4 hours back through rain, high beams, and bumpy roads. Tired but happy, we freshened up and ordered Domino's Pizza for dinner - paneer on one, onions and green peppers on the other, both covered in green and red chillies. People all over the country (especially in Mumbai) are wrapping up their celebrations of Lord Ganesha's birthday, the clay statues melting into the water in which they were immersed, his spirit returning back to the heavens...

Wickets, Overs, and Mammoth Moths

A hugely successful New Year's party at Fusion 9 left us all feeling in quite good spirits the next day. After class Rishi, Vikrant and I joined some of the trainees who are staying at the India School of Business campus near the office for a game of cricket. For those of you who have never spent the requisite 1-2 hours to learn the rules of the game, cricket may seem like a big load of tosh. That was me yesterday morning. As of last night, I'm a new fan! I had the honor and pleasure of playing among cricketers such as Anurag (IIT Chennai's captain last year) and Vikran who played professionaly for a year in a county-level league team. Needless to say I sucked in comparison, but I was generously cheered by my compatrots when I was batting, and I did my share of fielding as well.

Apparently, when you lack a proper cricket arena it is customary to turn any other reasonable open space into your playing field. In our case, the tennis grounds had to do. The grounds had two courts side-by-side with the nets taken down. The middle between the two courts was used for the pitch. A chair was used for a wicket. We batted only from one end of the pitch because of field size limitations. The boundaries were the tennis grounds fences. The ball we used was a tennis ball, 'natch. In order to discourage ball-losing hits, the batsman would be called out if the ball flew out of the grounds (usually a good thing).

We played three games of either 6 or 8 overs, with roughly 5 batsmen a side. I did pretty well in the last game. I was picked to bat first and I managed to survive about 10-12 runs in about as many balls (roughly two overs), some of them scored by me. Arul scored the other runs during those overs - he was the second batsman on the pitch with me. Coincidentally I was on the losing side in every game...

It was another great night, except for the incredible variety and number of insects of all sizes that were buzzing, crawling, sucking, and biting every which way you turned. There were a few moths (attracted by the bright lights of the grounds, no doubt) that were literally the size of my fist!

Jewish New Year Hits Fusion 9

Last night I went out with the usual training gang - Rishi, Padmapriya, and Vikrant. We went to a fairly chic Banjara Hills lounge/restaurant called Fusion 9. The place is upmarket and so a bit expensive but the atmosphere and selection of drinks and snacks was by far more interesting and higher quality than other places we had gone to over the last week. Between us we add domestic Whiskeys, gin & tonics, margaritas, tequila shots, martinis, and even shots of B-52 on fire that we were instructed to drink with straws... We were all having a great time getting a buzz, and snacking on tender chicken strips, an antipasti platter, a Mediterranean platter, and some mini-samosas.

All of a sudden in trooped roughly half the training class. They had all heard me say I was celebrating the Jewish New Year and knew we were going out to Fusion 9. It was nice to have their company there as well although we kept our seating a bit separate from theirs to maintain proper distance (accent on the 'a'). Padma got especially giggly at some point and seemed to enjoy the evening the most. All in all a fairly happy way to bring in the new year for me and I thank everyone for making it so!

BTW, that's Rishi doing a Fusion Bomb (Tequila shot inside pint), and one of the trainees drinking a lit B-52 Fusion-style (with a straw!?!#@!) as another one is being set aflame nearby.

Setlling In (Sort Of)

It's been over a week since I came to Hyderabad. I'm still jet-lagged and I will never get used to the food - I love spicy food, but somehow 2 Indian meals a day is killing my internal systems. The work is flowing just fine. I get little or no respect from the trainees (except when they need my help to complete an assignment) but I'm already used to that. When my older colleague George was here the first two days of my stay, the security guards at the office would salute him whenever they saw him passing by. I'm lucky if I get a good morning when I arrive. Maybe I should regrow my beard...

On Sunday I had teh car all day and I used it to meet up with one of the Cousin-Friends and his father at Gachiboli (pretty close to my hotel). From there we drove into the city - here I stopped paying attention to the road so I don't know where we drove, but I assume into the center of the city. Probably South of the Hussain lake. We stopped to buy fruits, sweets, and some medical butter. I brought the fruits and the sweets as small offerings to the hosts (parents of other set of Cousin-Friends) wheer we were all visiting and staying for lunch. There was a brief debate on whetehr we would have tiffin or lunch. Apparently tiffin originally referred to a multi-compartment box holding different elements of a full meal. You see grown men carrying these tall cylinders to work - compartments hold separately bread, curry, curd, etc. They might all end up getting mixed together before entering the oral orifice but that's at the discretion of the diner. In Hyderabad, tiffin can also mean a light snack like a sandwich or a dosa. Since I would not make up my mind, I got served both - a tiffin (dosa) followed by a full lunch!!!

After tiffin/lunch, we looked at old photo albums and set around the living room reminiscing and chatting. At some point, we got tired of this and decided to head out to the museum housing the once-private collection of Hyderabad's ruling family - the Salar Jungs (there were 3 in all). The museum was pretty cool. Each room had a theme like "Hindu statues" or "Gold & Silver Jewelry" and "Western Furniture." The place is fairly large and everyone was super-tired by the end of our tour. My companions explained the differences between the multitudes of Hindu gods, and the many many Indian languages and scripts, while I explained who was Hercules and how Venice came to be a city of canals.

I got back to the hotel at ~5pm and immediately knew that I ate something very very bad. I had the shakes and all sorts of inflammatory-response pains. I got under the blankets, woke up at midnight, took a cipro (antibiotic commonly used to cure "traveler's diarrhea"), and drank loads of water. I also traveled to the toilet several times in the night. By morning, most of the symptoms subsided and the next day I was just miserably tired. Just when I thought I beat the cursed jet-lag.

Monday and Tuesday passed the following way: wake up between 4am and 6am, go to the gym, shower, get breakfast, take car to work, teach 4-5 hours, get lunch, teach 4-5 hours, go get dinner with colleagues, take car back to hotel, sleep. Rinse, lather, repeat. Today will be the same - except it is Jewish New Year's. Since I can't have chicken soup, gefilte fish, or brisket I guess it'll have to be curry again... Maybe I'll mix it up a bit with a glass of wine!

IMAX 3D - Mission Accomplished

Yesterday was a great day. Started with a large breakfast after an hour at the hotel gym. Then, took a cab to Basheer Bagh to meet with The Cousins at Ohris Restaurant. The Cousins were gracious hosts. We had a lively conversation about everything - a true meeting of the minds. It helps that everyone in Hyderabad (that I meet) is an IT nerd. What I like about India is that the IT nerd is king here. I was trying to convey this point, but the only way I could define the word nerd to my companions was "not cool." Ohris was an interesting place - a flight of stairs to a long and narrow restaurant below ground leads you into a pretty good life-size model of a single subway car. Instead of benches, 4-person tables are laid out on each side of a narrow aisle (waht's left of the space in the center). Almost like a dining car in a proper train. On one side of the "car", mirrors help create an illusion of grand space - sort of sitting at a train in a large European train station with multiple platform looking out of the window into another train waiting alongside ours. On the other side, windows overlook the wait station... The food was OK. I think I probably enjoyed it more than the rest of my party due to my amateur palate, but the place was jam-packed with Hyderabadis...

After lunch we took a short auto-riksaw ride to Prasads a multiplex entertainment complex housing several movie theaters along with an IMAX screen that supports the world's larges IMAX 3D projection system. Because it was playing at the right time, we got tickets to see the latest Harry Potter film. It had 20 minutes of 3D at the end and I insisted on seeing a 3D IMAX film for future bragging rights. Prasads also had a climbing wall, an arcade, a maze of mirrors, and a "Scary House" - a haunted house where you walk along a path while people in costumes try to sneak up on you and scare you in the dark. This was probably the first time I felt like I was in a normal country. Besides hotels, all other places I've visited have been ancient or other-worldly, and everyone (except other tourists) was either working or begging. Here were other normal people having normal fun. If it weren't for the sarees and Punjab dresses, one would not be able to tell they were in India. While I am not a huge fan of cultural Westernization, it is a bit comforting to enjoy a normal afternoon in this generally exotic environment where nerds are kings!

Indian Bidet

Every Western-style bathroom I have visited so far on this trip, comes equipped with a seperate shower head sitting idly next to the toilet (see picture). Is this for cleaning bathroom mishaps (a tinkle gone awry)? Taking a quick foot shower? Washing your privates while still on the throne (bidet-style)? I am afraid to ask, but I am sure I will summon the courage before long, as I am just dying to know. At least I haven't had to squat yet.

Last two days I have been busy at work during the day and have been spending the evenings eating large, delicious meals. The hotel restaurant is in the midst of a Singaporean food festival so we tried that - a buffet of laksa, chili crabs, popiah , and many more dishes. Then last night, on the way to drop Rishi off at the airport, we had dinner at the all-veg Chutneys - chole batura, dosa stuffed with paneer tikka (like chicken tikka, but with pieces of that Indian farmer cheese instead of chicken), and a mango-pickle covered uttapam. Heavy is an understatement. I have to slow down some. I might be eating a lot of vegetables, but they are mostly drenched in heavy curry sauces, and served alongside oily breads.

Not sure what I'm gonna do today. I gave the driver the day off since he has been working for over a month without a break (7 days a week, 7am to 10pm). I am trying to meet up with a friend's family who I met in my last visit to Hyderabad for her wedding. She is a friend from NYU whose greater family lives in Hyderabad. Several of her cousins here are working in IT and they were extremely friendly from what I remember. One of them was my personal guide on our visit to the Birla Mandir before the wedding (mehndi party). I had called their house to try to setup a meeting with the family. We didn't make any specific plans, but I just got off the phone and we are planning the day. My only true aspiration is to watch a movie in Prasads - world's largest IMAX 3D theater. I don't care where we go just as long as I don't have to squat and wash my butt with typhoid water.

Infrastructure & Aesthetics

I spent my first evening with two colleagues (Priya and Rishi) enjoying one of India’s new favorite foods - pizza. The sign on the storefront said Pizza Hut, the servers dressed in familiar Pizza Hut uniforms, and on the surface it seemed people were enjoying cheese-covered pies of thick dough just like back home. To my delight, though, I discovered that the MNC (multi-national corporation - local newspapers use this acronym casually; just like our current prevalent use of IED) integrated Indian flavors and produce into their fare. For instance, instead of cheese & pepperoni, we ate the classic Paneer Teekha Makhani and - off their new World Fest menu - Paneer Ranchero! Paneer is an unaged, acid-set, non-melting farmer cheese common in vegetarian dishes in India. On pizza, it is added on top of the melted mozzarella cheese base.
(Read about the new Pizza craze for yourself in this morning’s issue of “The Hindu”.)

After a delightful meal (I forgot to mention the Supreme Spicy Garlic Bread), we called our drivers to pick us up and take us back to the hotel. Unfortunately, in the time it took us to stuff ourselves with Paneer and capsicum, our drivers got stuck in the middle of a gridlock caused by traffic to a nearby wedding hall. The gridlock was so bad, it would take them another hour and a half to get back to the road. In the meantime, we took auto-rickshaws back to the hotel. I swore never to get on one of these again last time we were in Hyderabad and I almost fell off of one in mid-ride (the vehicles fit 3 people uncomfortably. We were four and I got the equivalent of a handle bar as my seat). So much for my swearing…

Over dinner, I had commented to my colleagues what I hated most about India: 1) Total, utter chaos: on the road, traffic signals are missing or ignored. Basic services are haphazard at best (I stood in line for 15 minutes trying to buy a bar of soap at a mini-market yesterday. The line kept getting bigger as children were cutting in front of me. One of four available registers was open, and at least three staff members were manning - or loitering around - an unused Customer Service desk with an empty feedback box).
2) All service providers and merchants are out to get you: No matter what I try to buy, it always seems like I am being taken advantage of. People just assume that you’re trying to screw them, so they preemptively screw you. You get ripped off in a cab, buying a souvenir, or eating dinner. You could leave the most generous tip, come in the next day, and instead of being thankful, the provider will abuse the relationship even more. Haggling is required due to the complete mistrust by everyone of everyone.
3) The place stinks: Really bad.

I had tried to explain how all these issues fall under two categories of societal failure: lack of infrastructure, and bad taste (no concept of aesthetics). Bad roads, a crippling bureaucracy, and an enormous population out of control make for all sorts of scale issue and unsolvable economic and structural problems. This is exacerbated further by an inability to hide the issues behind a veil of illusion that would make it all seem palatable - like a Paneer pizza.

First Impressions

I am sitting at the back row of the training room I will be working out of for the rest of my time here in Hyderabad. The facility is a bit underwhelming. Hyderabad’s Hi-Tech city has brand new, modern buildings hosting office spaces for the world’s largest companies - Google, Intel, etc. We are in a fairly new building built to look like a desert fort. I guess someone thought it would be cool to have a low-lying, ancient-seeming structure housing relatively lo-tech office spaces. The surprise is that my company, which usually spares no expense to impress, has picked this particular facility. Oh well. At least the room is kept cool and mosquito-free, there are bottles of mineral water on every desk, and there is a small coffee machine outside. Not quite like our normal office space, but it will have to do.

I managed to get 4 hours of sleep or so, and everyone is telling me I look and sound tired. Luckily, I don’t have to do much this week in terms of training at the podium as the students are working on projects until late Friday. One cute thing happened this morning as they all filed in to the class. One of the students made a short speech thanking George (the current trainer I am taking over from) and myself for our work, and all the students started clapping. Answering my bemused, yet perplexed look, a nearby student explained that today is national Teacher Appreciation Day in India. How lucky!

I am trying hard to avoid soaking in the fact that I am back in India. That’s why I am not mentioning anything about the all-too-familiar smells everywhere I go, the chaotic and honk-happy driving style, and the women using medieval implements of brooming to sweep the roads (George made a comment about Kansas and the futility of it all this morning; I just found out about the Dust Bowl). I guess we dust off roads in NYC, but we use sweeping vehicles. It’s more striking seeing a group of old, decrepit women in beautiful saris bending over asphalt with these sweepers. Thankfully, inside the classroom I am in, I can sort of pretend I am not here (even though there is a woman just outside the door hunched over a so-called broom sweeping the open-air hallway. Again...).

Back In the Bad-Lands

I'm at the Novotel in Hi-Tech City which is part of Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh. After two 8 hour flights and a 3 hour layover, I am not as elated about this trip as I was yesterday. Flying Business definitely made things easier, but no matter how horizontal I get, I still find it uncomfortable to sleep. Also, when you sleep you don't get to fully enjoy the comforts of Business Class - a paradox if ever I've experienced one.

On the flight to Frankfurt I sat next to Dave. Dave is a pilot for North American Airlines which does most of its business as the US Military's shuttle service, carrying our men from their bases in the US to Germany, and onwards to Kuwait where they get their orientation training before being deployed to neighboring Iraq. Dave is a classic conservative Bushy, but I found myself enjoying some of our conversation despite of (or thanks to) my not being honest about my libertarian and liberal beliefs. Dave showed me pictures of him and his wife trophy-hunting in New Zealand's South Island, and in southern Victoria, Australia. We chatted about the experience, the terrible rules and laws regulating the sport in different regions (for instance, Victoria's laws prevented his bringing back two Kangaroo trophies), the costs involved. I also shared information about the Middle East and my heritage with him - for instance, confirming that Jewish men are not allowed to have seven wives as he had thought... He may have confused Israel with Judaism. He was confused about a lot of things. The only thing I didn't like about Dave, really, was that he insisted on reading the newspaper while everyone else (including me) was trying to sleep, making that distinct paper ruffling sound that uniquely accompanies reading a broadsheet newspaper.

At Frankfurt, I headed straight to Lufthansa's Business Class Lounge, which was bigger and more crowded than JFK's. I found a workstation and banged on my laptop for ~3 hours, made a call to my grandparents in Israel to see how their holiday preparations were going, and made use of the facilities (self-sanitizing toilets). Here again was a well-stocked bar, except this time with cereals and fruits for breakfast. By my internal watch it was ~2am and I was not ready for breakfast yet, so I drank more water - German, mineral water with that European mineral taste bordering on club soda.

The second leg of the trip went a bit smoother - less delays, and no Dave (or anyone else for that matter) sitting next to me. I slept more on this flight, which is why I'm wide awake in my room at 2:20am (local time), writing this and chatting with Connie online. We remarked to each other that it felt like any other day (we chat online during work on a normal day). Ironic how at the JFK lounge I felt far, far away, and here in my room in Hyderabad I feel closer because of the online chatting...

Workture - A Company-Sponsored Adventure

I'm sitting in the Lufthansa Business Lounge at JFK Airport - grey leather chairs arranged in rows facing one another. At one end is a well-stocked bar of juices, sodas, alcohol, and bar snacks - coincidentally airplane snacks and bar snacks share a lot in common (pretzels, chips, and nuts). At the other end is a TV viewing area with 3-4 screens with all sound directed towards some dedicated seats with attached headphones. You could sit next to someone and watch something while the other person watches something else (note to self: set that up at home!).

Two hours ago I was watching the Blake-Haas US Open match (during commercials interfering FX's showing of As Good As It Gets) with my wife, Connie, in our apartment in Brooklyn. Now, 15 miles away, sipping mineral water in an airport lounge, I feel like I'm a world away. At the line to check in I was feeling all sorts of emotions - frustration for not having my dream of instant check-in fulfilled ( I waited ~5 minutes), anxiety towards a long flight ahead (NY, NY - Hyderabad, India with a stopover in Frankfurt), elation that I am on a little business trip like I always imagined I'd enjoy, sadness that I cannot physically share the feelings with Connie.


This could be one of the highlights of my thirty-somethings, or just another way to pass three weeks not living my otherwise routine life... Either way, I have the time and freedom to do as I please - at least until I get to Hyderabad. And what pleases me most is a vanity shot - a quick fix involving me fantasizing about my friends and family reading some witty paragraph I wrote to detail a triumphant/pathetic moment in my life. I see them each laughing, snorting, being jealous, feeling guilty, smiling an inside smile, quivering with heightened emotion, or getting annoyed and bored. If only for a moment, I will be in their thoughts. What's more, we would be able to share this moment again in person when we meet next - the vanity booster.

My flight is boarding. Blake didn't make it through... It doesn't bother me a bit. So, friend/relative, wish me bon voyage and save a cyber-thought for me.