kya scene hai!

I was walking behind the office when I stopped to click this pic.

My colleague asked me what I was clicking – the Indian flag? Nopes. That’s just one of it. This photo has much more meaning than that. It is a long essay. You see the Indian Flag. It is on top of a defunct government company called the National Bicycle Corporation. The government post-independence set up the pillars or the temples of modern India in the form of state owned PSUs. These PSUs were all well-meaning but failed miserably to improve the quality of the Indian populace. They produced far less than  the demand. Everything was controlled. The state believed that they needed to control everything and all the resources so that they could efficiently allocate it all. As if it followed a neat mathematical model. That’s why waiting lists of a car were more than 5-6 years. Even scooters had hude waiting lists. The government produced stuff was of low quality and that of the limited private sector was too high on quality as well. Bajaj scooters was the largest in the country and he had a simple problem – he just couldn’t produce enough to fulfill demand. The shoddy scooters would often have a problem in starting. In fact people joked that they were made with tilt technology – you had to tilt them to get them to start. That way the petrol would get into the starter mechanism or something. But basically the Nehruvian dream of a well-planned state failed miserably. These dead buildings stand as a testimony to this.

On top of this dead building is the Indian flag. I guess there is enough budget or there must be an allocation of sorts for a flag that flies every day. There is no money to even repair the derelict building or the broken windows. In fact the broken windows story made famous by Malcolm Gladwell should  make for an interesting  reference point. The flag and the building make for this interesting contrast and tell a tale of corruption, lack of incentive, failure of planning and failure of ideals imposed.

In contrast what you see behind is the failure and success of a liberal economy. The success is simpler to see. These big massive buildings were only possible thanks to an increase in demand that liberalization through to India. Private builders can come in and get in modern technology to build these massive marvels of engineering. These are not your simple structure. They are designed differently so that they are abel to take in the load, wind etc while giving maximum space to the realtor for sale. Even dreaming of these massive buildings are now possible – in the old era, there was a cement ministry. CEMENT…why would you ever need a minister in the Union Cabinet to regulate something as base as Cement. But that shows – how much cement was important in building Indian and how less of it we were producing. I remember growing up and people talking about cement scams and bridges falling down. In fact the iconic movie – Jaane bho do yarron was all about a bridge that was a source of scams and the dam thing falling. And these massive buildings are also possible thanks to another development. The Slum Rehabilitation Act. Here the builders are allowed to rehabilitate the slums in buildings he builds and then in the leftover land he can build massive towers with some crazy FSI (the amount of floor space he can make and sell). So this is transforming the landscape. At first the socialist side of India allowed these slums and squatters to come up and occupy land and now we have this gargantuan problem that we have solved using the ultimate capitalist idea. But on the other hand this has given rise to the ultimate scrooge of Capitalism – Crony Capitalism. “Crony capitalism is a term describing an economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, or other forms of state interventionism.”  Possibly the most hated business in Mumbai would be the builder community. Besides being seen as a goon that over promises and under delivers, the buyers worry whenever someone is buying a flat is that how legit is the dam thing, even as it’s being built.  There are many cases of the building being built and then the government coming in to say that the dam thing must be demolished. Sometimes this can even take 20 years. The other one is the game on FSI. Earlier before the rules straightened out there were weird rules of FSI allowed. Things like parking or open refuge areas did not take up FSI. There were weird cases of builders giving car parks to all residents outside their house one their floors. Yes you read it right – you had a parking outside your house irrespective of the floor you stayed on. Even if you were on the tenth floor. Basically you get the plan passed and then you let the residents do what they want. Like convert that massive space into a living room. Or show awnings outside the house but build them using concrete so that the residents then use it as a gallery. Real stupid stuff, using stupid rules against the system itself.

But at least a few things are happening. The construction is happening on an advanced level with professionals as opposed to ill trained contractors. Better safety of workers with a lot of workers wearing proper clothing and protection and modern equipment like cranes and lifts. The construction site does seem far more organized, clean and process oriented. At least more than what it used to be.

So I like the shot of the old derelict PSU with the New Indian Flag in a case of misplaced jingoism, with two massive buildings coming up in the background which are done under the Slum Rehab Scheme with a professional private contractor doing what looks like a good job! What a story in one picture.

shant gadhadhari bheem, shant

Everyone gets used to everything. Once I met a Chinese lady who was on a study trip here. We got talking at a mutual friends place and I asked her, “how is it possible for the Chinese to live without real freedom”. How can the government control everything and the Chinese become used to it without revolt?” She said “its just the way of life and you get used to it. Without meaning disrespect, but in India there is a tribe which pushes one of its own daughters into prostitution. It’s just it. Over a period of time you don’t know what else”. I guess it’s true to some extent. People are great at adapting to surroundings and get used to it. I always wonder. Like in some regimes like North Korea, how could a mad cap dictator survive with the kind of atrocities committed by him? Don’t the people revolt, know that it’s stupid and this cant work like this? I guess not.

Many years ago I had a long and memorable chat with my dad. It was when I was in school. I argued that non violence was the best means. We were so many of us. All we needed was one Indian to kill one British and we were done. We outnumbered them by a large margin. It doesn’t work that way. I think George Bernad Shaw said ‘Progress depends on the unreasonable man’. He is right as well. People prefer status quo but status quo must be challenged. I want change but I am also part of people. So what am I? an unreasonable man or a status quo man?

I think a lot depends on age. When I was much younger I was impatient. Time was running out. I would hop jobs and go for the best offer, the best job and flirt with many. As age progressed, I found myself ready to play the waiting game. Waiting waiting waiting.  So did cobwebs grow under my back side. Have I lost the fire I once had? Well yes and no.

Oh yes the bland rage that I had is gone. I am no longer the angry young man I once was. Ready to change the world and refusing to see logic and patience. But I guess you can’t ever continue with that rage. It burns you and those around you. You learn to shimmer and crouch and learn to direct it. Not hitting every ball and waiting for the right ball is also aggression. Dour defense is as aggressive as flashy stroke play. It’s how you define aggression.

I was and still will always be extremely aggressive. But the manifestation has changed. It comes out differently. I miss the idiot I once was but I am also thankful that I am no longer the idiot I once was. One realizes that the world can’t be changed in one day. It takes time and patience. Also one acknowledges that the world’s priorities are different from yours and it’s definitely not true that yours are the most important priorities alive. So this kind of patience is critical to the living and adapting to the environment around you. Especially, if you are the aggressive sorts. Aggression is a means to an end.

I have also learnt that naturally aggressive people and toppers and people in high places can’t just tone down that easily. If some has reached somewhere they have reached there by aiming and working towards it. And if you think they are not aggressive. I think you must think again. Its only that their priorities or world wisdom tells them something that you don’t know. When I was much younger I would be eager to criticize and complain. Now I hold my horses.  It’s important to understand the context and put yourself in their shoes. Now figure, are you really that sure of the situation. Are you jumping to conclusions without assigning probabilities? Like today at the gymkhana I overheard some conversation where the person said ‘that is the solution. That’s the only way to solve it.’ It struck me hard. I have learnt to say more often than not “that SEEMS to me as the solution to the problem”. Because you never know.

Recently Rahul Gandhi got screwed in the media for the interview he had on a news channel. He answered randomly to questions asked. No matter what he was asked, his answers were something else. Woah. Easily one of the worst possible interviews. He lost a lot of his urban English speaking fans. But hell, I am not ready to haul him over coals yet. He is definitely not stupid. I always like to look at the other side. Why did he say thus? What was on his mind? What would have been the strategic reasoning behind it? Was he that naïve? I don’t believe that the truth is that simple as it is made out to be. Yes it sounded bad, but was there another game that was being played?

Restraining aggression is easily one of the most difficult things to do. Rather let me reword that one  - Redirecting aggression is easily one of the most difficult things to do. Curbing your natural instinct while honing it so that you don’t lose your mojo is just a bloody difficult thing to do.

I am reminded of my boss who used to say “shant gadhadhari bheem, shant”. If you are born after 1980 you won’t really get the reference. This was from the epic serialised version of the Mahabharat, wherein the eldest of the Pandavs continuously held back the biggest of the Pandavs, namely Bheem. Shant – Peace. Peace.

And talking of being used to something. I love my desk in the mornings and I am so used to it. I will really miss this when I leave. As and when I leave.

dream with a view

Well, it’s official. Day dreaming is good for creative thinking. Read here. I didn’t need a scientific paper to prove that to me. My best ideas are always when I am day dreaming. Day dreaming is the best thing to happen to me. When this new office was being set up I was most happy that my cabin had a window. So far in the last eight years, I have been very fortunate to always have a window next to where I sit. This is my fourth seat, but all with a window (not counting a temporary seating place with no bloody window).

I can sit and look out and see stuff.  When I am on the phone my mind can wander away. When I look down I see people scurrying around. Cars zipping or parking. In the last office my window overlooked a busy junction. Some action is always happening. Right now, it overlooks a small back lane and a residential building. The fun bit is the trees there. So bird life is normally not an issue. There are only five birds I spot roaming around. The pigeon (blue rock pigeon) is common and so is the crow. Sometimes I spot the sparrow. But I consider myself lucky if I catch the coppersmith barbet or the red vented bulbul. Typically I always catch them while I am on a phone call. Sitting and listening and staring out of the window. Mind is relaxed and wandering. Oops yes, I do catch a sixth bird sometimes – the pariah kite. Most of the time it’s gliding through the air. Day dreaming.

Now to convince Jasmine that Jispa’s day dreaming is actually good for her.

Here’s my first of the good window seats. Ignore those guys workings there. That was for a brief period. It was the best office I worked in. No cabin but the extra-long cubicle was nice. I had the best neighbors and an awesome team, not separated by any stupid glass wall.

 

Here is the second one. Forgive the grainy snap. Again a cubicle but a nice corner, left alone to myself. The best memories were of the recession and me spending hours on my RSS feeds and learning new stuff.

 

The third one in the same building and position but different floor. A cabin for two. Some sales guy or the other would be there. I always appreciated the interaction. It was a cabin but since they dint want to show it as a cabin, the HR had the door removed and left the glass. Stupid. But Road view!

This is the current view. The best thing is that this is east facing and I get morning sun. I don’t switch on the lights till quite late in the day and I am growing plants!

 

making money - out of nothing at all

Seigniorage – Simply explained, this is the profit that the government makes from printing money. Your ten rupee note doesn’t cost the government ten bucks. It costs much less. Hence for a fraction of the cost the government can pump money in the economy. Of course things are not so simple. Here is one nice podcast by planet money on the topic. http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/04/19/150976150/should-we-kill-the-dollar-bill . Transcript at the bottom of this post. You should be able to broadly understand seigniorage while listening to the benefits of the coins versus notes in circulation. One of the most interesting stuff is the argument that the government makes a lot of money by having coins as opposed to notes is because people don’t put coins back into circulation because they don’t like them in their wallet. And to add the fact that coins tend to get lost between the cushion on the sofa! That’s all profit for the government. But obviously there is a cost to such seigniorage, which they correctly identified. Moneys made through inefficiencies are what you count as profits. It is stupid. It is not your primary job. The primary job for money is to pass around, not sit in the vault like McScrooge. Do you guys remember this cartoon of Donald Duck’s uncle jumping and swimming in his vault with tons of cash stashed around?

Cash in your wallet and in your jars and under your sofas are profit from the government but are absolutely useless for the economy. The money has to be in circulation and put to productive use. If you save it, put it in the bank, so that a portion of it can be lent out. Accounting for accruing money from lost coins is the same as black money you can store in your vaults. It’s the same problem. It’s not simply the tax that is saved. Legitimizing the flow of money has a much larger positive effect of the economy than simply the tax being collected.

Similarly, even corporations try and earn money through inefficiencies. The finance industry’s famous one is called ‘float’. Simply – if I owe you money and I write a cheque to you and give it to you one day late, I will earn interest income for one day. Not that you mind it too much. You don’t care about the one day interest on your small amount, but added up in a large amount of payments and you have a very large float for the organization. So if you ever wondered why they love you to pay online, instantly but they always like to pay you by cheque, you have an answer.

Even in mutual funds and other such organizations, you will have tons of money that is lying with the organization which is pretty much forgotten. Some body once told me that UTI would have hundreds of crores of money that would always be invested with them because of people who simply forgot or have dies and their heirs are unaware of the investment. I am not sure, but it’s likely that even insurance firms would accrue such seigniorage. The fun of policies sold and lapsed due to non-payment created a happy boom for them till the new rules set by IRDA disallowing the firms to benefit thus.

I think we get too clever for our own good. We forget our core job, which may be to provide a service in the best possible way for the customer. It should be a firm’s fiduciary responsibility to ensure efficiency in the system. One normally blames the regulators but the Indian regulators brought in some semblance of order to the insurance industry causing abnormal inefficient profits to be wiped off, also the regulators forced the banks to pay daily interest. Otherwise they were paying only on the lowest balance of the month with some other complex calculation. Ditto for getting rid of prepayment of home loan charges.

Even in the other firms I have worked for, not just financial firms, I see this problem. The finance guys get over smart and start controlling the system. They make an excel sheet to prove how paying payment a little late and getting payments a little earlier can cause great amount of ‘savings’ and profits to the firm. Money is an interesting topic. The structuring of money and the economic, monetary, banking systems are lopsided towards making tons of money through inefficiencies. The ones in the know can hugely benefit from those not in the know. In India this is popularly known as the Gujju mindset and this particular breed seems to understand this better than others. Gujjus and Marwaris are typecast thus. Or if you prefer the Brahaminical order, you would call it the ‘banya’ mindset. Use your trader mindset to make money. You definitely need a trader mindset while doing business and understanding cash flow is critical but using it to overrule simple customer centric thinking is pure stupidity.

But forget all that. When we went to Matheran a few weeks ago I did something that made the government a teeny bit richer. I remember as a kid once we had a trek organized to Matheran. We went up the hill station from the back road and came down the main road which at a few points crosses the Famous Matheran Light railway. At the time, my friend had pulled out a few coins and put it on the rails to see how they become when the trains run over it. This time around I had the chance to do it and show Jispa. We saw a train coming and I quickly put in a one rupee coin and a five rupee coin on the tracks. Jispa was wondering what I was doing. Sure enough the engine passed over it and flattened the coins. Jispa was pretty excited and we could send it with her the next week to school for a show and tell. That was a pretty unique show and tell and it benefited the government by around five bucks (I am assuming it cost one buck to make the two coins). Here are the two profitable pieces of metal for the government.

The Transcript of the podcast as follows.

April 19, 2012 -:

Subway riders here in Washington were recently the target audience for an unusual ad campaign. The ads show giant one dollar bills and asked, do you heart the dollar? They're part of a small lobbying war over the fate of the dollar bill. There's legislation in the House and Senate that would eliminate all $1 bills and replace them with dollar coins.

NPR's investigative unit and our Planet Money team checked into the debate over coins versus bills. And David Kestenbaum and Robert Benincasa think they have a winner.

DAVID KESTENBAUM, BYLINE: Here's the question. Given that we need to have some form of money out there worth a dollar, which is more cost effective, a bill or a coin?

ROBERT BENINCASA, BYLINE: Before we tell you who the winner is, let's hear each side's case.

KESTENBAUM: In one corner, arguing on behalf of the dollar coin, Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat from Iowa. He told us coins are a clear win. They last much longer than bills.

SENATOR TOM HARKIN: The most important thing is it's just more efficient. It's way more efficient than a paper dollar.

BENINCASA: Dollar coins last something like 30 years and he says switching to coins would save hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

KESTENBAUM: Coins are also, he says, easier to stick into vending machines. Harkin's office put out a video of him struggling to buy a snack with a worn out $1 bill.

(SOUNDBITE OF AD)

HARKIN: Has this ever happened to you? You try o put a dollar bill in the tray, but it won't take it. Well, that's why I've introduced bipartisan legislation to replace the dollar bill with a dollar coin.

KESTENBAUM: Harkin can rattle off a long list of countries that have replaced bills with coins.

HARKIN: Canada has a coin that's worth $2. England has a coin worth about $3 U.S. Switzerland has one worth about $5 U.S. And yet, what have we got? We got a 25-cent piece.

KESTENBAUM: Republican Senator John McCain has also signed onto the bill. And it's worth noting that businesses in both senators' states would benefit if this bill passes.

BENINCASA: Harkins' state, Iowa, is home to a company called PMX, which makes the metal sheets that get turned into coins.

KESTENBAUM: Senator John McCain's state of Arizona is home to some big companies that mine copper, the main ingredient in dollar coins.

BENINCASA: So, that's the coin side of the fight. In the other corner, fighting for paper, you'll find an organization called Americans for George.

KESTENBAUM: Because George Washington is on the $1 bill. Americans for George put those ads in the D.C. subway and again, here you find a lot of money behind the arguments over money. Americans for George was started by the company that makes the paper the $1 bill is printed on. Crane & Company.

BENINCASA: Doug Crane is a vice president there. As you might imagine, he says paper dollars are better than coins.

DOUGLAS CRANE: A dollar bill is made from a blend of cotton and linen fiber.

KESTENBAUM: Paper bills are cheaper to manufacture than coins, he says, and they last surprisingly long. According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, a $1 bill lasts about four and a half years.

CRANE: U.S. currency, you know, it's some of the most durable banknotes on the planet. And, you know, the $1 bill is probably the hardest-working note there is.

KESTENBAUM: So, what to make of this. The coin people say coins are better. The paper people say paper is better. Both cannot be true.

BENINCASA: And to make things more confusing, both sides point to the same official report to make their case.

KESTENBAUM: The report was written by the Government Accountability Office, a non-partisan arm of Congress that's often called on to settle questions like this.

BENINCASA: We talked with the GAO's Lorelei St. James who oversaw the report. The GAO has recommended switching to coins.

LORELEI ST. JAMES: That still stands.

KESTENBAUM: She says switching to coins would make the government money. Over 30 years, a lot of money.

JAMES: We show that there would be a $4.4 billion net benefit to the federal government.

KESTENBAUM: But it turns out that $4.4 billion does not come from the fact that coins are more cost effective to make. Coins do last longer, but they also cost more to manufacture. No, according to the GAO, the extra money for the government comes from this other weird thing. It's going to take us a minute to explain.

BENINCASA: It turns out if you switch from dollar bills to dollar coins, you can't just do a one for one replacement. You actually need more coins than you would bills. Why? Because people don't like carrying coins around.

JAMES: A lot of people when they take their coins out of their pockets at the end of the day or their purses, they'll put in what we call a coin jar.

KESTENBAUM: The coin jar effect. In Canada and the U.K., the governments had to put out all these extra coins, over 50 percent more, just to keep enough money circulating. The GAO says these extra coins mean extra money for the government.

BENINCASA: Because the government makes a profit from every bill or coin out there, so more coins, more profit. It's called seigniorage.

KESTENBAUM: So case closed, right? Not so fast. We're here to tell you there is something big missing from that GAO report, which is where all that money the government is getting comes from. It turns out it comes from us.

BENINCASA: To help explain how this works, and to render the final judgment, let's meet one more person, Robert Whaples. He's an economist at Wake Forest University.

KESTENBAUM: Whaples weirdly came to us via the dollar coin lobby, a group called the Dollar Coin Alliance. The Dollar Coin Alliance said make sure you talk to him; he's a pro-coin guy.

BENINCASA: So, we called Whaples up. He read the GAO report, thought about it, and he said the choice is very clear: The paper dollar wins, the coin loses.

ROBERT WHAPLES: It's clearly an inferior substitute. People are going to be putting them on top of their bureaus instead of spending them for transactions. And that seems like a big waste of resources to me.

BENINCASA: Whaples says all that money the government makes on the dollar coin, all that extra money, it doesn't come from nowhere. It comes from us.

KESTENBAUM: Think about it this way, if I have a paper dollar, I'll probably use it or put in the bank. But if stick a coin in a jar, I'm not getting anything from it. I'm not earning any interest on it. It's like we're paying a tax.

WHAPLES: That is exactly how I would see it.

KESTENBAUM: Well, but the Dollar Coin Alliance said I should talk to you because you favor the...

WHAPLES: Yeah, I guess they made a mistake.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

KESTENBAUM: There you have it.

I'm David Kestenbaum.

BENINCASA: And I'm Robert Benincasa, NPR News.

Copyright © 2012 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

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Shopping requires growing up

It can get frustrating shopping with Jispa. Not that I really blame her. It’s just that as parents we need to grow up. Jispa is nine years old and like a good nine year old she has an opinion. Whatever the reason, whatever the thought process in her mind… how can I fault her for having an opinion? She just can refuse to wear something out of the blue. So we always get her to choose her clothes. These days I have been trying to get her to buy a dress. Too much jeans makes a tom boy. She has very clear stuff that she would like to wear. Rule one – no sleeveless. I don’t know why… she never gives a reason except – just! And most of the pretty dresses are just that – sleeveless. So this time I really picked her brain and told her to explain to me why she doesn’t want a dress. I finally cornered her. She was not clearing her preference because if she explained to us what she wanted and Jasmine got something basis that then she would have to wear it, whether she liked it or not. So she and I got into a pact. I would only buy what she liked and she would not be pressured into buying anything. In return she will shop with me for a dress. I finally understood what she wanted.
She wanted a simple solid color dress. No frills, no stupid embroidery, no extra flowers or motifs, not too much flair. Basically a women’s dress and not some baby Barbie pink floral dress. I like that. That’s my girl. It’s a different thing that we never did get anything to that specification.
But I think I figured a little bit more about her. She does not immediately explain her mind. She thinks a lot. Many times I tell Jasmine that don’t take her answers or behavior at face value. There is a lot she doesn’t tell and her mind ticks faster than anything else Jasmine has ever experienced. Be aware of her insecurities; be aware that she thinks a lot. She thinks about what you might think basis the answer she gives. She is two steps ahead of you. Not in a shrewd selfish way, but in an acute perceptive way. How do I know all this? Simple – I remember my childhood.
Now I think I might have got her shopping pulse - How am I to get shopping with her without my brains being fried? This time we went shopping for an Indian dress at fabindia. A Salwar kurta. I led her to the place. Showed her the designs and we quickly agreed to a piece to which I quickly agreed. She is an action lady not a dainty girl with a Barbie purse. Jasmine keeps blaming me for making a tom boy of her. What I realized one day, is that possibly Jasmine is the one influencing her dress sense. Jasmine never wears a dress. On a daily basis she is a sloppy dresser, being in a track and t shirt through the day. What role model does she have at home. No lipstick, no make up, pants and t-shirts. Further proof – Jispa loves chapsticks and guess what – jasmine applies chapstick. Jasmine will definitely point at me for a lot of things, but I guess here – she underestimates her role as a role model as well. It’s impossible that I am the root cause of all evil :).
So Jispa found her single color salwar kurta and tried it out for me. Man, has she grown up, she looked nice and cute and grown up. I am finally coming to terms with her growing up. It’s difficult but I have no choice. It’s a funny uneasy balance. I push her to grow up and behave on so many things, and then she keeps reminding and fighting for us to recognize that she is grown up. Whoops. This is one tug-o-war.
Here is she… trying one for size. She finally picked this one. I really like this photo. I really love her. Gosh.

new things

Hey, Christmas passed us by without Santa visiting. He broke a tradition lasting more than five years I think. Oops. Are nine years old off Santa’s visiting list? This time Jispa was spending the Christmas at her Nani’s house. Jasmine and I all forgot about it till in the evening. We then called Jispa to ask her about it. Oh its ok she said. I don’t want anything this time around.
Normally Jispa’s always a content kid. She doesn’t ask for too much. She is ok with what she has. So Christmas is no great occasion. From when I can remember, she was always happy to ask for some small gift, that too on being repeatedly asked. So I don’t really understand the stress stories about parents rushing to buy the Christmas toy. It’s so Hollywood! Possibly we still have some time before crass commercialization pervades our lives. I guess I am happy that Jispa was born at a slightly better time. I see it getting more and more commercial as the toy shops keep opening in the city. Five years back we hardly had shops dedicated to toys. I remember once going to a shop called big tom or something in Colaba. It was the only half decent Toy shop at the time along with another one called ‘souvenirs’. There is one tucked away in breach candy behind Premsons as well. But none of them were anywhere near the experience that Hamleys, which opened in Phoenix, provides.
So I asked Jispa – “do you really believe in Santa?”. “I don’t know” she replied. “serious, tell me”. “I think I believe around 70%”. What the hell. Ya sure. The kid is kidding with me. She is playing me. I am sure she knows there is no such thing and she knows that its dad and mom writing and gifting, but she seems to be enjoying the ride. I guess here I am at fault. Because I think that it was me who told her – it doesn’t matter whether you believe in it or not. You got your gift and that’s something real. Right? Hehehe. Parenting is a circle. You get back exactly what you give.
So this Year, jispa was not surprised and excited on Christmas eve. I remember her five years ago getting all excited about Christmas and super excited that Santa had come in the night while she was asleep. That video is my favorite video. You know we take a lot of photographs and videos. We see the photos immediately after the trip or occasion, but the videos are the real hero. The value of the video dramatically increases after a period of time. You want to sit and watch old videos. Somehow the photos just get lost. Possibly because there are too many of them. There are atleast two for every moment.
When we were kids dad had photography as a hobby. He bought an SLR – was it Nikon or Cannon?. He bought a set that included a camera, standard lens, a wide angle lens and a tele lens for shooting long distance. Then he went and got a slide projector. So he shot most of his photos with a slide reel which was different from the normal reel you put inside the camera. If anyone reads this post after 15 years – yes – upto ten years back we put reels in cameras. They could typically take upto 36 photos and then we would send it to the photo lab for processing and printing. So dad would have these slides that we would project on the wall using a projector. The projector was a really wild thing. No one I knew had one in India. (remember – we were a deprived country). So photo sessions were family time when the whole family huddled around the hall, pulled the curtains and watched the slides of vacations and events. It was a fun thing. We would even subject guests to this torture. We assumed they loved it. In India, I think they were just too dazed with all this technology to say anything. Set up the projector on the stool and start. The fight amongst siblings was to control the remote for the projector that sent the slides forward or backward. Just for the record the remote was not cordless. That was fun.
I enjoyed it so much that a lot of my photos till around the time Jispa was born were on slides. Our trip to Leh as well. I think I bought my first digital camera in 2004. Mom never actually let me use Dad’s camera too much. It was expensive equipment and we must use it with care. It soon rusted away with no real use. The wheel of progress is brutal. It is important to discard to get something new. Throw out the old to make space for something new.
The pace of this change seems too fast, it seems to have quickened. I think it’s just that we were not used to it. A protected environment holds on to the old. I guess it realizes that new will not come in a hurry. But if you break these shackles and constantly update yourself with something new, you will find yourself forced to throw out the old. Sure there is warm comfort in the known, but progress lies with the unknown. Not that it is good or bad. It’s not a value judgment, but merely an observation. Whne in doubt – go for the new.

zoozoo

It’s already around 6.30 and I haven’t had the time to write down something. I have been in really boring meetings all day. I slept through one as well. So its been a bit off day. Add to it some office complications and some motivation issues from personnel, today has been a day worth forgetting.
So while I head home I thought I might as well upload this pic that I took waiting for a colleague at Bandra, linking road, opposite shoppers stop. This is me with the Zoozoos. Zoozoo is the Vodafone mascot that has fired the imagination of Indians. I think when they did the first set of ads in the last IPL it was a hit and a craze. This time I thought they were a bit tired though and not so funny. The novelty too had worn off. Plus I really don’t know if that helped the brand sell anything. They had targeted an ad a day the last time around. That’s about 45 ads or was that number 25. whatever…. I think that’s a lot of things to say without anyone really remembering them. I guess even if they had a high rotation, a number much less would have sufficed. But then many decisions are taken without too much rational thought. That’s advertising and marketing for you.
But one thing is for sure, the mascot is a phenomenon. They even sell official merchandise. One guy in office bought himself a mug with these creatures plastered all over it. We took his case for an hour afterwards, disowning him etc … the usual office shit that we throw at the guy.
His only defense is that he wanted a mug, he went to shopper stop and this one was the cheapest at 200 bucks. The rest were priced at 250 bucks and above. But then why would you pay to display the Vodafone brand? Why? Oh we laughed no end at his expense. His retort should have been – the same reason you pay a lot more to get a brand emblazoned on your chest – be it a shirt or a t shirt. But the guy was sweet and let us off the hook. Or he knew with five ganging up on him, he might as well take the shit.
So here is the pic. That’s me with all the zoozoos around me. I like the pic. The zoozoos look like they all have been hanged en masse or something. The zoozoos look like zombies.



For those who were probably on the moon and missed the ads – here they are from the first edition. The second edition ones were the really tired ones.

nothing can stop an idea whose time has come - or something to that effect

Yesterday was a pretty intense day with meetings throughout. The best part about the meetings was that they all actually used my brains. Normally I done out in meetings with nothing really to contribute or add value to. It started from a simple coffee date that I had with my student. I had taught her many years ago. I think about 8 years ago. And now she might be the age that I was when I taught her. Kids grow. The relationship becomes quite sweet. There is still some reverence as you finally were their teacher but now they too have seen enough life and had enough experience to stand shoulder to shoulder with you. The age gap doesn’t look that much when you grow older.
Now with so many of them I can have conversations as if we are friends, just a little older friend who probably can see things a bit better, but friends for sure. Respectful friends? Sounds funny… whatever…
While I was talking she was remarking about the facebook generation where people cry and laugh and feel all emotions online and in front of all your friends. It made me release another of my ‘jaimitisms’. I so love doing these. I create postulates or should you call them axioms, no I think that’s all wrong, just jaimitisms sounds good enough. So my jaimitism was that with the advent of social media ‘emotion is now a collective responsibility’. I found it so funny. It kept tickling me till quite some time. The more I thought the more it rang true.
I guess when we grow up the sheer amount of emotion that we have online would surely have some psychographic repercussion. No I don’t mean it that this is all bad and that this must be thought of etc etc. I am playing no moral police but I surely feel that something will change in the way we react or connect with people and then this law will hold true. Which one? Arey the emotion being a collective responsibility.
Even if you want to hide it, somebody around you will capture it and post it for eternal posterity. Instead of reference check firms you will have algorithms that generate your online reference score.
It will cull out your total emotional score basis your profile, your posts then see the people you have connected to, left connections, comments etc. infer your strong or weak linkages while considering your browsing patterns interests etc etc…
This is not too far fetched. The technology to do this exits today. Nothing rocket science about it.
The best part of this will be that you really can’t escape this. Because if everyone will be using this reference checker then if you don’t have one online… by blocking off all tagging, removing yourself from the online social world etc then a null report on you will be seen as shay and suspicious. You will be seen as someone with something to hide. You are the next drug dealer or more likely the next depression case likely to commit suicide or blow up the commercial district. Now we wouldn’t want to be typecast like that do we?
Online reputations will have be carefully managed, doctored and thought through. After all that’s what the university will see along with your SAT/MAT/RAT and some FAT score. HAHAHAHHA… I can see you are scared or plain dismissive.
Ok. Fine by me. Don’t tell anyone that I did not warn you.
But do tell other people that you first heard it here. Any angel investor or tech man listening…contact me. Lets do some thing interesting with this proposition.

Actually a few days ago I blogged something like this for companies. Did I? I don’t know. I am too bored (read lazy) to really check. But the gist is that if it can be done for people it can done for companies.

Forget that – the breakfast at barista got a bit interesting. Here is the snapshot.

Oops, sorry that was of the snack I had at office the day before. Here is the actual snapshot.

I like the poetry in the way the coffee looks. Especially the black ones which have cream on top. The way the cream slowly melts and mixes with the coffee is always fun to watch.

bend over

This yoga thing we do twice a week is really awesome. It has helped improve my back. I can’t believe that simple stretches improves back to such a great extent. The best and most noticeable improvement, I can sit in vajrasan for a long period of time without getting all numb. Vajrasan is this pose wherein you fold your legs under your thighs and sit on your soles. Ok.. that’s a bad description. Let me see if I can google a pic for you that best illustrates the pose. ………………………… yup. Here it is.
What’s so tough about it? Do it and sit in that pose for 5 minutes. You can huh? Good for you. You cant? I told you so.

But these small victories is something I look forward to notch up while I do yoga. Like bending forward and touching the head to my toes in bhadrasan position which start off like below. Just about managing that one.

But all this is good fun till one day I was doing yoga with my daughter in front of me. It is completely demoralising. She can just about do anything. She sits cross legged and completely folds forward touching the floor with her stomach. She is so comfortable with it that she many times goes to sleep in the car like thus.
yes... I tell you, she is asleep, fast asleep.
For those who care, please observe the foot coming out from the side. Just try sitting without bending with your feet coming out from the opposite side. Go ahead try it. Now bend over… ya go ahead. Just ensure you read the disclaimer that follows before doing it. Disclaimer: DON’T DO IT OR YOU MIGHT NEVER GET BACK UP AGAIN.

The yoga teacher tells us that you don’t chart progress in yoga by measuring your flexibility quotient. You measure it by understanding your mind. Are you more relaxed, more in control etc etc. this is one big let down for me as far as yoga is concerned. I don’t know if it has made an iota of difference to my mind yet. I think it’s because I got the thing screwed on wrong. I primarily concentrate on getting my postures correct, my breathing in order and ensure that I feel the twist. I am probably too muddled up with my physical being to really observe the mind.

But sometimes I also suspect that it is like so as I am constantly trying to train my mind. I am constantly trying to react impartially, see both sides of the equation, conquering fear, anger and reaction. I am doing mental yoga all the time. And it has helped me tremendously. So this actual yoga is not amounting to much. But then I could be completely wrong. I don’t know.
In absence of complete information I am taking things as they hit me step by step. My first priority now is my physical well being and that is what I am taking seriously through yoga. That’s what I want to achieve. The rest I will achieve, hopefully, slowly. It is tough to get up and practice yoga. It’s a good thing that it fits well into routine but even more difficult to manage is the stiff body. My hands go as far behind, my ankles hurt in vajrasan, my back bends less. It makes for a painful experience. But I guess I have to conquer that feeling, the stiffness. The tough part is not to lose motivation by comparing evening results to morning results. The thing is to constantly do it, diligently concentrating on your breathing. I remember doing yoga as a ninth standard student (around 14 years). I thought concentration was easier then. Now its tougher. I did not realise how I am unable to control my variety of thoughts. It requires really concentration to get anywhere near where the goal is and it is so difficult to hold it there, all concentrated on the breath. Yoga is really telling me how old I have become. Physically, mentally.

But I am glad. Very glad. I am happy that is possible. I hope I can carry it on for good and I continue to get something from it for a long time to come. It might easy tthat my expectations are low... a mere vajrasan pose without it hurting. The next goal is prathnasan without toes hurting… google it. it is so deceptively simple looking that I am embarrassed to tell you that holding that pose sitting in. hey that’s funny…I couldn’t get the image online. It’s the pose where you kneel down a la vajrasan but only your knees and your toes bent inwards touch the ground. Much like the nymph in all the calendar art depicting gods. The one who then is throwing petals in that position. Most temples you will see people kneeling in that position. Most corridors in schools also you will see the kids kneeling in that position. When the teacher is looking you are supposed to keep you butt up but when she glances away you rest your butt on your heels. There now I think you remember it, you naughty boy.

pose

Jispa has learnt from me not to stay still while giving a pose for the camera. I guess it is a bad thing as anywhere and everywhere she refuses to hold still. A funny face is a must. Her mommy hates me for it and keeps telling Jispa not to do that. hehehe. I guess I am guilty there and I also realise that this is akin to giving a razor to a monkey. She will end up looking funny in most of her photos and digital memories will come back to haunt her in adulthood.
With the internet and the facebook stuff coming in, you never know who on earth is going to upload one of your weird snaps and you end up being the toast of all the sniggers. I often wonder this blog might end up being one such source of such embarrassment. Someday I will take it private for sure. But till then I can safely put up the non embarrassing pics, and I can talk about the relatively philosophical aspects of our growing up.
Kids especially get bored of constantly being asked to give nice cute pics and smiles just for the camera. There is nothing to it and it gets soo dam coring for them. With the digital camera photographs are a commodity and you keep clicking them all the time. Jispa used to so hate posing for the pictures. Firstly everywhere we would want to click them. Every time we would click at least a half a dozen. Every time I would try to get a good pose, an interesting angle and the exact light effect. A complete stage managed pain. Jispa would always complain and then refuse to pose. She just got so tired of us. Me in particular. That was one of the reasons to chuck the camera from my life.

Side bar - I am her chief face maker. She asked me the other day, how on earth can i make all these faces. How do I think them up? Well, it takes years of practice is all I can say. She tries her best to come close but I am still the champion in my house :)
On the other hand I have seen some kids going all ‘model model’ the moment the camera is turned on. They take on the avatar of some soap model and keep giving sweet smiles all day. They can get so artificial. Jispa and me like to spoil the oh so perfect photos. The one with the bright sunlight, straight faces, lovely smiles and combed hair. You know those don’t you? Now I am old enough not be berated for spoiling the pic but poor Jispa who has been learning this gets the short end of the stick. Sorry Jispa. It will take time. Right now you are in the phase where you will be caught and straightened. You will want to break norm. then you will grow up and end up being a typical teenager who might get acne, who might not like her hair cut, her outfit. You might want to comb your hair before a pic, you will learn to show your best side etc etc. and then once you outgrow that and some more then you will learn that it does not really matter. No one is really looking and then finally you will pose to whatever suits you. It’ll take time. Then people will accept you and even laugh at all those pics. But then that was my journey. I am pretty excited to know what your journey will end up being.
Here are a couple of photos that could be a study in contrast. The first is her desired fun pose and the other the more studied on. Though these days she is ok posing as I have junked the camera and pics like these are few and far in beween.

FTR these pictures were taken after she beat me by a large margin in an extremely high skilled well faought board game. she is growing up fast and learning the moves, well enought to defeat me by a margin. Like a proud father i saw as she came from behind to beat the shit out of me. As a father there would be none so proud as me, to see the day that your ward beats you at the game you taught her. The game in question? snakes and ladders.

jumping jack

When you run out of ideas to blog about… you open the photos folders and think of something to upload. Here is something interesting. This was in 2007 when we were visiting Ranthambore and Bharatpur. While we were at Rathambore fort I just this wild idea and made Jispa jump before taking this snap.

Then we got all excited with the results and made Jispa jump in front of the Taj Mahal which we visited a few days later. I think we completely missed the point of the great mausoleum. Poor shah jahan must turned in his grave. Clicking the Taj with you kid jumping in front of it. haha.


We went to Bharatpur again the following year with some friends and visited the Taj again. This time around I was pretty shocked to see the official photographers there talking photos of kids while encouraging them to jump on his count, before capturing the moment. They copied my style. Hell now we will have a large bunch of photos of people jumping in front the tomb. Now millions more will miss the point. What have I started? But on second thoughts, let me look at the market it replaced. These idiots were normally the guys who would have posed with their hand outstretched and their fingers joined as if they were picking up the Taj.

Have you seen those? Let me see if I can google a few images. “taj in your fingertips’ did not get me the desired results, but ‘holding the taj mahal’, now that’s another matter altogether. Here is one such photo… now when you look at the thing I replaced; it’s probably not so bad after all.

a charmed life

I had seen some of the awesome stuff that they do at her school in their art class. Their teachers are so much better than what we had, its quite like living a dream. At the Kala Ghoda festival, there are a lot of art workshops organised and there the teachers at Jispa’s school are at the forefront leading and conducting workshops open for all the kids there. While we were discussing the lovely work that the kids did at the art class with her teacher at Kala Ghodha, her teacher mentioned that some that work was installed at the Prince of Wales museum gardens for all to see. Wow. That included some of the work that Jispa had assisted in doing. They had made life size stick figures with balloon heads. Jispa pointed out to the one she had done. She was excited to see her stuff open for all to see. She had done the head. She had fashioned the eyes, eyebrows, nose and colored the head of one of the stick figures… and it was on display at a Museum, albeit the gardens, but it was there. I would have never even imagined that anything that Jispa would have done, would have been displayed any where near a museum. It was far outside, even beyond my normally fecund imagination. That was one quite proud moment. I was telling Jispa that nothing like this ever happened to us while we were kids. Nothing we did in art class was ever displayed ever, not even in the school notice board, let alone a public display.
Also yesterday was Jispa’s swim meet at the gymkhana. She has been learning to swim properly under coaching for some time now. I could teach and encourage her only to a point; post which she required correct guidance and professional help. She just about learnt the freestyle and the back stoke. She took part in the under 8 category. The gymkhana is known in Mumbai for taking its swimming pretty seriously and produces some of the best swimmers in Mumbai. Jispa was not sure if she wanted to take part in the meet. Another mother around told that she swam well and she must take part, and so she did. We don’t want to push her too much and let her take her own decisions on meets and competitions. Not that she listens to us too much as well :) . So she did take part. There are3not so many competitors in her age category. Around 5- 6 kids who decided to compete. The others just didn’t bother. But to our surprise, she won the silver in freestyle and backstroke. Wow. She puts her slim body and strength to good use. She left a the more experienced swimmers well behind. They gave out trophies and Jispa was pretty proud to win the first “trophies” of her life. She took them to School for show and tell. I missed the freestyle thanks to my treatment was well in time for her back stroke event. I wanted to refrain from shouting out encouragement while she swam. You swim, you compete. If you win great. It takes some amount of self restraint not to be over joyed at her victory and effort. Till yesterday I haven’t really got the chance to see her really swim. When we are together in the pool, she doesn’t like swimming properly. She is more focussed on the fun we are having. I was really taken aback by her speed in backstroke. She is pretty good. After the race my stance has been ‘did you enjoy it’. ya? ‘cool good race’. I told her that she knows how to swim better than me and from now on I can’t really teach her much. In fact, I would be happy to learn some stuff from her. That’s the best encouragement I could muster. I really don’t want her to swim and compete for me. I don’t want her to have stress of any expectations from me. Unlike other kids, I want her to play on her own and not look at papa or mom after playing in a competition. I don’t want her to look at us for approval or disapproval. She has to compete within, find strength within. We will be there to take care, push her training, everything… but I refuse to put pressure on victory. I cant stand parents pushing or screaming at their kids egging them on or constantly trying to coach them. A small chat after the event focussing on the mistakes, learning’s etc, should be enough. Whatever you have to do you must do before the event. Then just shut up and watch it unfold. Afterwards observe, learn, chat and move on.
I was telling her that I had never won anything in swimming ever and she has already overachieved, if I am the benchmark. Jasmine added another point. She never competed in her school sports day as you had to wear shorts and her family did not allow that. Jispa was wondering why. I told her plain and simple – that I think your nana and nani were plain silly.

on another note: - a pic taken at the kala ghoda...

love your face

A ha… I was right. People love to see themselves and of course respond to other people’s faces more than anything else. Thanks to this I was able to get away with moderately amateurish photography. As I earlier said, I clicked the pictures of the guys on my floor, up close and personal. I then printed them together and stuck them up on a conference wall. Result - instant buzz.
We had the floor coming over and watching the exhibition with people thanking me for the photos. Hehe. They kept coming back in groups and discussing the photos. Who is the best, who looks like what etc. Men women are equally vain or receptive to it. But it was a good distraction on a dull day. Does well for morale. The fun bit was people whipping out their camera phones and clicking pictures of the prints.
Here are some pictures of the exhibit. it was titled, whatelse? - "wonderful world beautiful people"

among all the commenst i heard so far the best one - why did you do this? whats the point of this? - some of us just couldnt understand why I did this of my own and without any motive. it was just unbelievable for them. Come to think of it - why would I do it?

weekend fun

This Saturday our B team played a match. Now I just love the B team. Here I magically become one of the most experienced players. So this time around we had a match with some really good players. Some 20 plus somethings who play and practise regularly. I was given eth responsibility to open the innings. It was one of the most hostile pace attacks that I might have played. The ball coming on fast and pitching and moving off the seam. Wow. The ball hit me a quite a few times. The ones that are still sore are - Once it moved off middle stump and went on to hit my bums, the other bounced and hit my thigh pad, and the third moved and hit my shin. The fact that it still hurts through all that padding goes on to show how fast they were bowling. I survived the opening six overs without getting out or beaten even once. This just goes on to prove that if your standards are adequately low you can always figure out a victory.

One Sunday we decided to have lunch at a restaurant near the gateway. Since there was a small waiting, I decided to take the kids to the Gateway. Jispa was game as usual, one other friend joined in and the third thought it was too hot. The other parents also thought it was too hot. How could that be my excuse? I just played in the same sun on Saturday. So Jispa, a friend and me went sightseeing. There you could see the standard tourists and the camera guys who now roam around with highly portable photo printers in their back packs. They give you the photos instantly. Their stated charge is 30 bucks a pop but I sure they can be bargained down cheaper. I paid 50 bucks for two prints of the same picture. I love getting these cheap touristy thrills.
While we were posing I did my usual nonsense posing and Jispa happily followed. She too is used to this. Her poor friend took some time to figure out that being silly in public is normal by our standards. You can see her a bit restrained (at least by our standards).

The original photo is a bit bleached out. I think they do that to ensure that maximum white is used and hence the colour cartridge is used much less – or they just don’t know more. Our photographer was using a Nikon D60 with his knob on manual. The other photo is what I like, a little more saturated (hat tip – the other kids mommy).

the mund avtaar

At our recent vacation to Kochi, one of the places we visited is the guruvaayur temple nearby. As we stared at the line we wondered whether to go in or not. Adding to the confusion was a rule that did not allow us to venture inside in shorts or pants. In fact there was a board outside that prohibited pants, lungis, shirts, baniyans inside the temple. Huh? I wondered if I had strayed by mistake into one of the infamous Goan beaches. We then figured that the rule applied to me. Nopes, I was not supposed to be nude as well. The malu populace defines lungis as the colorful ones. The white ones are called mund. So we bought two at 60 bucks each and tied it around our waist on top of our pants to go in. not that we are too religiously but Jispa was keen to go in. she is always keen and curious and game for anything.
At 60 bucks the mund is quite thin and almost transparent, as you can see in this photo. It’s a good thing that I had shorts inside else … also the shorts help in tucking the dam thing and helping it stay in place. Though a small challenge is to get your cell phone or your wallet which is in your shorts which are under the mund. You have to do without undressing your mund or look like you are going to flash.

This is the one with the t shirt on. The other photo without the tshirt is not uploaded as then this site can be reported for inappropriate content.
It is quite a nice temple inside with people pushing each other to get inside and get a glimpse of the hallowed one. its literally a glimpse with the view through a corridor of door and the closest you get is, my guess, 20 meters. The entrance to the main temple itself is a 3 feet by 5 feet door, with the line pushing to get in. I was letting people go in before me as I just couldn’t bear touching my bare torso with more similarly bare sweaty mallus, till I pushed by the ushers inside. Once we were done with the darshan I could go about my business of admiring the complex. Thanks to my readings of Devdutt Patnaik books I could decipher what was carved and hence explain the same to Jispa. The most famous being the image of Vishnu waking up on his serpent bed with Brahma in the lotus that is coming from his navel.
There are many depictions of this pose with many different variations. Laxmi at side, at his feet, shiva position, the dus avatars at the bottom etc.
I was explaining to Jispa the ten avatars of Vishnu as shown many times in the temples of south. One was specially fascinating for her. The Narshimha half man half lion avatar. She was after me to explain the story to her. I finally got around to narrate it to her today morning.
After a narration like this as is my wont, I told that this is only a belief that people have in their minds. As opposed to reality. Then I asked “Jispa, you know the difference between history and mythology?” “what?” she asked. I repeated “do you know the difference between history and mythology?” She was quite a moment and then she said “Mythology is what you believe and history is what you find out”. I was stunned into silence for a few seconds. I thought a bit and then some more. My 7 year old was right. “you are right, who taught you that?” “My brain” came the reply. “I thought what is same between the two and how they are different and that’s how I came to know.”

OK… OK…

magical weekened

Watch the movie “UP” for the cutest love story in less than 15 minutes. It’s at the start and it was so beautiful and cute and would make you go… awwwwwwwwwww…
The movie was quite cool with my kid enjoying it. We happened to be in VT area where we had gone to gorge on McDonalds breakfast menu.
The stuff was quite good with the muffin being steamed one! Wonder of wonders. Something at McDonalds is not fried?! I also opted for the hot chocolate and liked that one as well. I guess the coffee and the chocolate are the underrated items on the menu with the burgers and the shakes getting all the attention.
We happened to be at Mc when we were wondering where to take the kids after a morning at the park. We took them to the breach candy park (someone Mahindra garden) early morning yesterday and they enjoyed to their hearts content. Jispa is a natural at all these parks that require what I understand as gross motor skills. She can climb anywhere, everywhere and is one with the boys at all these games. I think she beats them as well. Seeing a boy jump from one of the ropes on the Cororcords Jispa wanted to attempt the same. Jasmine at the start wasn’t too enthused but I saw the jump and gave my go ahead. Woppie… she goes.. bham on the sand she falls. Gets up and tries again.. whoopieee…. I think the height was around ten feet. Awesomeposume. We had gone with a few of her friends and they seemed to be no match for her when it comes to the spirit of adventure. Jasmine fears a broken bone, I guess it’s the cost of growing u, or should I say the rite of growing up. As my dad said looking at Krish Srikkant’s batting – fortune favors the brave.
We went there early morning as the evening before we landed there to see a huge crowd. It still could take loads of kids and still function. I have no complaints on that. It was good fun but I thought it might be nice for Jispa to play with the stuff with a little less crowd. We had gone in with a friend who had come in from Dubai. As soon as he entered the place with his kid he remarked “which country are we in?” he loved the place and more importantly – his 4 year old loved it. On the ropes while he was having eth time of his life, he slipped a bit and caught a very very mild bruise on his forehead. His dad carried him one side and as he came in the poor kid was crying. I took him aside and looked at it – it was nothing… so I told him “hold on… don’t cry .. wait… do you want me to use some magic for your head. It will make it all go away. but you have to stop crying for that.” He looked at him half wondering, half belief and half disbelief. Yup I know that totals upto more than one… you have never seen kid expressions have you? Coming back… he stopped crying a bit. His father and also my wife were wondering what I was upto. Me too. So I just pulled out my wallet and thought I would pull out something.. that’s the only thing I had to pull out. A magician has to pull out something?!? Everyone was looking at me… what would come next. I opened my wallet and I remembered that I had some soap strips hidden away. I showed it to the boy, tore a small part of the soap strip and told him “see this magic paper, I ill put it on your head and the pain will all go away… see…” I stuck the dam thing on his forehead. “has it gone away?”. He nodded… good.. Keep it one for sometime. His father remarked that it was lucky I had some magic strip on me. Yup… I was lucky as well. As long the magic works it’s wonderful… this thing … magic….

Here are a few images from the fun

Pretty self explanatory

I taught her that move. Cool nah! it was my signature move. I also taught her the flip.
X marks the spot from she jumps. If you think thats not high.. try it.

The magic paper in action ... keep it handy. It works.

This one is cute…. It made entirely of tires.. look closely.