Hindi Hindered

"....I will cross verify. I have some thoughts, you have some thoughts if they are not matching? So, I will cross verify... OK" said the person I went to meet with. A thick voice and an equally thick moustache and a thick South Indian accent whenever he broke to speak in Hindi. He could last only 3 words in Hindi and switch back to English. Reminds me of my own struggle to speak in Hindi earlier on in my career. I had tried to use some words from the movies and got mocked for speaking "Bombay Hindi".


Being from South India, it was not easy to converse in Hindi. The language of the South of India is English. The conversation flows and so does the transactional language when you went to five star hotels or shops. Never in Kannada, the language of Bangalore, Karnataka.

When I had to sound cool, I learnt the dialogues from TV Serials. As you can guess, we never went to see the Hindi films in at the cinema. It was always Kannada, Telugu or Tamil or English. I was left out of the conversations in high school about the popular Hindi movies at that time. I often lied to watching some Hindi movie or the other, just to be included but was soon caught as the conversation went deeper into the twists and turns of the story. The maximum exposure to Hindi was when my cousins form Bihar (no less!) visited home and they spoke to each other (mostly argued / fought) in Hindi.

Wow. How did I reach here shared all these? The person I came to meet finding it tough to keep the conversation in Hindi. Right. Took me a couple of decades back in my life.

Delayed Flights, Strayed Sights

Father wants to be safe, Son wants to be helped.

4 yo Son: Police Jeep or Ambulance?
Me: Police Jeep. You?
4: Ambulance. 
M: Why Ambulance?
4: Because they help people going to Hospital. Why Police Jeep?
M: Because they make me feel safe.

It is

Is it true,

that my past posts,

are but a reflection

of the brilliance 

of the life I once led?

Is it true,

that my past posts,

are but a showcase

of what I'm missing

in the life I'm leading?

Is it true,

that my past posts

chronicle my life

of the times - good & bad

to get by life that I lead?

We First Met on Uber

I tried the Uber pool option and was amused at the enforced socialization one has to go through.  Please note, enforced.

If having a stranger on the same seat as you in a closed space like a car - a vehicle meant to be private - is not scary enough, not knowing who it is you're sharing the enclosed space would be even more scarier.

So, in my first such ride, I was forced to speak to the stranger, more to allay such fears and less in order to socialize. In about 10 rides I have pooled, I have seen my co-passengers immediately look at their phones or take a book out to immerse themselves in possibly to avoid conversations. It is quite easy to get on the phone and finish your calls, but, you'll not be able to talk so freely either.

It changes the way you introduce yourself: Remember, the co-passenger knows your name as it shows on the uber app. Your introduction would be akin to an elevator speech as you'll have less time talk about yourself. One would require to find common ground (or shared interests) quickly as these are the ones that will help reduce the fear of the unknown stranger next to you. Also, the in about 15 - 40 minutes that one would spend in the car, I found the time too short to comfortably ask the other person if I could add him/her on social media.

This would only mean that one should learn to make small talk that would enable one to connect to people faster. A case of the rapid change in technology requiring etiquette to evolve?

No, the co-passenger in a bus / train / aircraft is not the same as the co-passenger in a car. When you're in the former, you're entitled to be silent and not speak a word as it is intended to be a public transport and it would perhaps be scary if you're the only one in it whereas the car was intended to be personal transportation and that fundamental premise is challenged through the pooling option.

It could entirely be possible that I am old-school and need more time to socialize and it could perhaps be less awkward for, say, a younger millennial.

Which brings me to the topic of the post. It could well just be days when you hear a couple say 'we first met on uber'

Coffee Shops: Providing Uninterrupted Personal Space & Time

As I sit in this Starbucks coffee shop here in Connaught Place, New Delhi, I can't help but observe how many people have made this place their office or adda. A couple of days ago, I was in Indiranagar outlet in Bangalore and believe me, that place was overflowing. I overlooked an outlet in the Mumbai airport and there was no place to sit. It is not a different story here in New Delhi either as there is not a free table that you can select. I have had no option but to share a table with a couple of other individuals, who, to my surprise, were welcoming.

As I sit here, I see some people who look like students, studying & making notes. Some people staring on their phones, a few animatedly catching up with their friends. A couple of backpackers replenishing themselves and people like me, typing away into their laptops.

It is amazing what coffee shops have done to providing uninterrupted personal time. One other place I can think of that does this is the library. Apart from the ones attached to the educational institutions, I don't recall any other library that one can go to as of today. Perhaps, a costlier alternative would be to get into a hotel room who charge by the day and the personal time required is in hours.

If there are really so many of us wanting uninterrupted personal space & time, why are more businesses not cashing in on this? 

It is possible that only a section of the population would like this and it is easy to wrongly assume that everyone needs this. It is also possible that more people are here in this part of the year to get away from the searing heat of the sun. 

As far as I am concerned, if I want to get something done and be productive, I head to the nearest coffee shop! If there is none, you can create a virtual coffee shop here: https://coffitivity.com/ which will provide the sounds that you hear in a coffee shop. There are a couple of youtube videos as well that provide this background noise for us to focus.

There is no One Reason for things to happen

We have been tricked into believing that "Everything happens for a reason". It's not "a" reason but multiple reasons, coming together and making the event possible. To start with, the reason I'm typing this post is not just because I'm sitting at the airport awaiting the boarding call, but also because (a) it has been long since I have blogged (b) I got a decent sleep last night (c) I have the energy to express and type it out from the phone (d) I'm wearing a Beatles tee (e) I just got "upgraded" to emergency exit row from the second last row in an Indigo airline. 

Yes. I know what you're thinking. You think I am writing to show off the point (e) above? Please read the post again, this time including the title. 

Are you feeling too Cold?

The cabin lights were dimmed in the aircraft and suddenly it became too cold. I reached out to close the duct on top and caught the eye of the air hostess in the aircraft. I was at least four rows away from where she was and yet she asked me if it were too cold. I nodded in affirmation. She immediately changed the settings and asked me if it were okay now. What was amazing was that all this happened through reading the lips and about 20 people around me.

I am served the cold coffee that I ordered in a coffee shop and the take-away cup is too cold. I reach out for the napkin to wrap the cup. The Barista on instinct, offers a cup holder which also acts as an insulator to make my life a little easier.

Neither the air hostess nor the barista need to have done what they did. They could have completely ignored how I felt and there was nothing that I could've done about it. This is the subjective part of their role that no job description can write. Yet when both of them asked if I felt too cold, I actually felt quite warm.

Unfriendly Indian Airports. Pune Airport Included.

I am convinced that we, as humans, have not made the air travel easy to digest and understandable by someone who doesn't fly too often. 

I think that the problem this can lead to is that, people could easily construe this problem as that between those who know and those who don't. Or between those who have flown often and those who haven't. 

The problem really is about the system can't handle different types of inputs in the same way or it is just too complicated and one needs skill and ability to understand complex interrelated process.

So with the flight delayed and not really feeling like reading the book with me, here I am watching people pay through the nose and eat junk food, not because hey want to eat, but because there is no other option in this Pune airport. I come here almost every week and the stall that sells junk food here is making a killing. 

A girl who otherwise would shriek at the mention of calories is buying Mars bar perhaps to counter hunger. A gentleman is gorging on samosa and is ordering on a sandwich. A lady is awaiting with currency in her hand asking for a roll that looks unhealthy.

There are only a handful of plug points and it is always occupied by people who are charging their phones. Today is no different. All this before my own phone rings and I focus my remaining attention on my phone.

The Next Line is Empty

It's just shocking how people behave in airports. Either they are slave to a particular pattern or they are just so comfortable in their current thought process that they refuse to look around. 

An example I just saw in the Bangalore airport today. There is a long line and there is a short line. People refuse to go to the shorter one. Person B is telling person A that he has to put his mobile phone in the scanner. Person A refuses to go until the security personnel - the one who frisks - asks you to go back. As I type this, the aisle seat in my row is empty and I sit in the window seat ( an aircraft with 3 + 3 seating arrangement). There is a punk sitting next to me who does not move his bottom and occupy the empty aisle seat. I used to wonder who are those people who would be traveling alone and ask for middle seats. The question is answered today. 

What I'm sharing is just very, very few instances. (When you sit with me for a drink, I'll narrate a hundred more!). On one hand I'm happy that these people are going away from Bangalore. On the other, I'm just sad for humanity.

My Experiments with Vegetarian Food in Thailand

“The problem is that you guys don’t experiment”, said my colleague who felt sad at my plight of trying to eat boiled vegetables and the occasional fried vegetable (after confirming that it is not fried in fish oil).

The comment was the last straw needed for me to do something about it. That evening, I set out to find a restaurant that will allow me to “experiment”.

As I strolled along the road, I saw a restaurant named “Bibimbab”. The name sounded familiar as my friend had recently mentioned about this being a dish from Korea and also that it has a vegetarian variant. The familiar East Asian scent of the sea food greeted me as I entered the place. As the waitress handed the menu, I asked her if there was any vegetarian dish. She pointed to not one, or two, but, four of them! This place was heaven. You may think I’m going overboard with the praise, but that is because of my earlier experiences.

In my earlier experiences a few restaurants shockingly declined to serve as they did not have anything in the menu that could be offered to me. I was surprised that a restaurant could rather have a customer walk out hungry. There was an instance in a mall where there was a counter that served only Indian food – Dal & Roti etc., Unfortunately for me, it was a take-away only place and I had to exit the mall to eat. I gave this option up and many declines later, I settled to a burger at Burger King. The fact that I hate burgers did not matter at that point. In another instance I had ordered the vegetarian version of the Phad Thai only to find Chicken in it because the nice people at the restaurant thought Chicken was vegetarian.

I requested my colleagues at the dinner table at a team meeting not to tell me if by chance I eat something that wasn’t vegetarian. It had reached a point where I looked up Quora and a helpful soul had suggested to try the vegetarian friend rice in any of the thousands of Seven-Eleven stores across the country. I had kept this as my last option.

Given this background, four vegetarian options in the menu was indeed heaven. I relished Bibimbab and instagrammed it, affirming my sudden love for Korean food.

Inspired, I spoke with the chef in the hotel I was staying to find out if he would do something in vegetarian, after explaining my preferences and constraints. He made an amazing noodle soup.

I didn’t have to resort to the vegetarian fried rice in the seven eleven store. The formula that seemed to work for me is that if the chef looks like he is ready to talk and has time, then game-on. Else, look out for Korean or Japanese restaurants.

Bangkok Diaries - Day 1

I dreaded the Visa on arrival the minute I heard that I would have to go for that given that I had to travel at a short notice. I remember the last time my wife and I were quite lucky to get an almost empty line. 

This time, it wasn't the same. Half my country was here. The Indian tradition of asking for a pen - usually found in banks and government offices could be seen here. The fights when someone cut the line was rampant. A gentleman, when the authorities asked why he couldn't write a particular field legibly in the application form, said "I didn't get my specs" was simply dumbfounding. It would have been hilarious if one was an observer and not a part of the process. It is not that only Indians underwent this. The drama was a symptom of a bad process. 

I asked whoever I thought would know the answer "what is the difference between this line and the other?" a distraught european said "No idea mate, I have no idea!".

I saw an uncle and his daughter (I think) - who was a Anushka Sharma doppleganger - who were also trying to understand what was happening. So I joined them and went through the process and commenting with the new found friends about the process of giving visas, the people, etc., basically 'being there for each other' and the two hours appeared small. I thought I'd do a selfie with the doppleganger but out of respect for who I thought was her dad, I let it go.

Once I headed out of the airport, the familiar buildings appeared. It was exactly the same two years ago. The coloured taxis, familiar smell, hawkers on the street, the police, street signs et., all of it came back within 20 minutes and all I wanted to do was to go back to my country having seen enough.

(If you are traveling, try to avoid visa on arrival and get it from India itself. You'll save tons of your time, energy and will earn good karma)

Pune Diaries

With the factory that I visit at least once a month closing by 5 PM, I'm often left with the evenings completely to myself albeit quite a distance away from the city. Being in a different city as lively as Pune enhances the feeling of being lonely.

In my early visits, I used to read and and watch TV or movies on the computer but soon realized that I couldn't possibly do this every day. So one such evening in Pune when the energy got better of my mind, I ventured out alone - hailed an Uber and got to the heart of the city. It was a pleasure being amidst people compared to the almost empty guest house that I am lodged in.

So, I have essentially pushed the boundary of what I can do from the walls of the factory to the walls of the city, with the comfort that I can always hail an Uber to get to my destination and back. The other wall that has to be pushed is probably meeting up with groups of people at random and try to socialize.

Why Would You Come Back?

I remember reading de Bono say that if you have to get from point a to point b, it might not be a bad idea to wander away to another point d and from there reach point b. It has had a huge influence on my choices in the twenties.

I would intentionally take an unfamiliar route while riding my bike and try to reach the destination, which I would, but without an idea how I reached there. The getting lost in the unfamiliar route was great fun. Finding the route back was equally fun. Those were the days when there was no google maps.

And then this evolved into exploring cities that work takes me to and the countries I backpacked in. Wandering around with a map or a book or based on local knowledge was thoroughly enjoyable.

In hindsight, I think I came back because I had to. Why would all the people who take flight in the morning come back? Is it because they have to? Or is it because they like to?

Mac Returns to Sleepyface

After a gap of 3 years Mac has finally decided to return to yours truly. In the 3 years I used Windows, the Dell Vostro machine was faithful and also earned a fan in me. I have recommended it to a few who were looking for a rugged windows machine. (Yes, I hear you and I haven't used a Lenovo, so, I can't comment). 

A few things have changed and I am still in my first 60 minutes of using the new macbook air. And these minutes have been like coming home.

Tangents turns 10

This year, if the earth continues to revolve at the same speed as it has been in the past thousands of years, this blog will complete ten years of going online.

While it is true that Tangents likes to believe that it leaps and celebrates its birthday only once in 4 years, it is quite an accomplishment for me to have a space such as this and have communicated in a way that is unparalleled. 

If I have to look at the performance of this blog, it has achieved its purposes of providing a space for me to think and reflect, inspiring others to blog ("If this guy can blog, I mean it should be pretty easy stuff") and most importantly brought connected me to some of the wonderful people in this world.

I initially thought I'd pick a few blogposts but I would suggest you dig in to the archives and read whatever appeals to you. I am surprised by some of my own blogposts and the thought behind it and some are wanna-be posts while others are plain stupid. I have overcome the urge to delete those that embarrass me so, yes, you may poke fun. 

#ThankyouSachin

You will surely remember watching Sachin taking the day-lights out of the Australians in Sharjah and single-handedly won the game for India and subsequently the series in 1998? You may also remember India was in a psychologically losing position that day. I watched it too. I was in my 12^th Standard had my Biology exam the next day. A subject I hated. Like the Indian team, I knew I was in a losing position vis-à-vis my own exam.

Sachin showed me that an individual can single-handedly turn a losing a game into winning. He showed me a miracle can happen. I believed him. I believed that a miracle can indeed happen and I can clear the exam the next day. I believed in myself. So #ThankyouSachin 

Betting in the Bus Stop

So, on the second day of incessant rains in Mumbai, I get to the bus stop, after checking for the 130th time that it has not been declared a holiday as yet. All the 7 people in the bus stop have an umbrella each. A bus comes along and 5 of them get in as if it is the last bus of the day. I'm optimistic and wait for the bus. It is then that this random stranger decides to chat with me.

Random Stranger (RS): I've been here for 20 mins and my bus 513 hasn't come as yet.

Sleepyface(SF): Did 373 go already?

RS: It did, but that was 20 minutes ago. There is one coming in the next five.
SF: Yes, that one is fairly frequent.
RS: 513 will come any moment now.
SF: I bet my bus will come first
RS: Not a chance in hell
SF: Lets see
RS: See! See! Mine came first! I won!
SF: Darn. Bad beginning to the day. 

Although 373 came right behind 513, I still couldn't beat the Random Stranger.

How I was made to stand in line

Stranger: You jumped the line
Me: No I didn't. There was no line.
Stranger: Yes there was. You asked me if you could see the menu and you jumped the line
Me: No, you don't know, there wasn't a line.
Stranger: Is there anything else that I don't know?
Me: Yes, you don't know my name.
Stranger: Ok, what is your name?
Me: Sleepyface
Stranger: Ok, sleepyface, will you please come and stand in the line?
Me: That's smart. I will. 

Conversations are Costly

Dear Conversation,

I have been searching for you for a long time now. I don't find you. 

I see people and I talk to them. All my attempts at conversations have been disrupted. Either by the context or by my need for a distraction.

I see that you are not attracted to me as much as I am attracted to you. Like the resigned lover, I have opted to resign.

I think I cannot afford you. You are costly.

Lots of Love,

Sleepyface