Stormy Affair

Dec 08 2009
So here I am, perched between cosy environs of home AND of the office, sitting in my 2000 Corolla (how I bought it could be one of my other blog entries).

Hmm, when times are good and weather is balmy, the 6.5 mile stretch is a real stress-buster: cruising at 55 mph and quickly unwinding. (I am talking about Office to home, not the other way around! (Let me be clear and thereby, safe). Listening to local news on AM or good ol’ Bollywood songs, the stretch always seems to end before it started…

Not today.

Today, there is a snow storm raging since morning, all-eager to cover the city with snow. And to make my driving a life-saving exercise!
Did I mention this is Minnesota where weather can be as brutal as any extremist outfit… unrelenting, ever-morphing and demanding!

For starters, the Corolla, is a Front wheel Drive, which is anyways not much helpful driving on snowy roads. But when I saw even the “All wheel drive” SUVs “skiing” over a sloped road, I knew this won’t even be a factor today.

To add to that, I am not even close to being a seasoned driver. Having learned how to drive just two months ago does not actually inspire confidence.

So, I started.

4:27 pm- The Corolla begins to roll. The wheels decide to skid, just a bit, to coax me out of any laziness.

4:37- I drop off my colleague at his residence which is just the next block from office. Needless to say, he wished me luck! Go Slow, he says, nobody’s gonna honk at you today. Good.

4:40- First of the many things I learned: It is difficult to stop a car if you don’t keep at least two-car distance from the car ahead. I am trying to do just that when a public transit bus popped in front of me. Seems, the heavier the vehicle, the longer it takes to move one. It is a long wait trying to get on the Highway. The car tries many times to spinout of the lane but relented just about to stay put.

4:45- I am on 55 now. That my office is on 55 does not help the fact that it took 18 minutes to get on it.

4:46- Another advice pops up in my mind. Another colleague of mine, my driving guru, once said “Follow the car in front of you, keep three-car distance, keep both hands on steering and you will reach destination in one piece” . What I did not know was that a gust of blizzard could still topple my car over anytime. Ignorance is bliss, they say.

4:58 – I am praying for more Red signals on the way. At least that will make people move slow to stop ahead.

4:59 – 'You know, there are a lot of things which go past us, lots of opportunities, good people etc when we are moving too fast in life or just not paying attention'. While I am driving, I can see many good places and shops which I have missed on other days. Philosophical. And I know it was time to switch to Hindi songs on my stereo. Very carefully.

5:04 – Traffic is so slow; I can even study the concrete design underneath a flyover while passing below it. Phew!

5:16 – It is good to know that the car following me (also at 3- car distance) seems not in a hurry.

5:20 – Ah..some empty space, at last. Should I drive fast? I choose not to. A minivan on the other side has just expressed its desire to leave the road. The driver doesn’t show any emotions. No surprises.

5:23 – I have to turn out from 55 now. And the inner lanes are the trickier part. I tread slower than ever, letting accelerator go. Ambulances and police cars pass by. Busy day.

5:24 – I am home and it is good to be here. 57 minutes for a 10 minute stretch. So what! I survive to Drive another day.

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=829945&catid=391
“The Minnesota State Patrol says the state's first blast of winter is a factor in 750 accidents over the past 24 hours.”

Shantaram was here!

"Poverty and Pride are devoted blood brothers until one, always and inevitably, kills the others."

Do you know who I am?

There is a big hoopla going on for the “incident” involving frisking of APJ Abdul Kalam. That incited me to tap vigorously on my keyboard to blog my thoughts away..

I feel amazed at our (Indians) audacity to talk of such issues when there are far more critical problems lying unattended to (What about the places where people have taken arms against the government? Does that not weigh heavily in politicians’ minds? The politicians waste time in parliament over the issue which is nothing but a mundane but pretty strict security check for the US airlines. I think, we Indians should take a definite lesson from this episode. If the security forces have to provide top-quality security standards to people anywhere, the rules will have to be followed. After having suffered in the past due to terror strikes, Indians should just treat such procedures as sacrosanct.

Dr. Kalam, on the other hand, should not dwell more time on this than it deserves. This is one more aspect of our daily lives, he would like to change about India, where societal status or political stature do not hinder the security process for general public. Question is: Must every rule be bent in India? Or is there a remote possibility of going by the book especially when national security is considered. If Dr. Kalam’s vision of India in 2020 is to be achieved, we will have to do away this feudalist mentality of assigning greater-than-law status to anyone.

Why is US a superpower today? There might be lots of reasons to it. But one apparent reason seems to be that the rules are not bent as regularly or with such impunity as in India. I distinctly remember watching over television, how, for a misdemeanor with a waiter, Russel Crowe, an Academy Award winner actor was handcuffed from behind and taken in just like a regular con by cops there. There were no rules bent and it was for the world to see on television.

My take: Security should be paramount. If you don’t want to be frisked, better stay at home.

Dancing the life away...

My take on dance.
Dancing is when someone is relaxed, mind and body are together; eyes, if not closed are looking into nothingness filled with bliss...The spirit induces the body to flow and float.That's the reason why people can't resist from dancing on joyous occasions like marriages or victories etc........Dancing to me, cease to exist if it happens for the outer world. Dance, I feel can only be pure when someone is dancing for oneself...there is no need for rehearsed steps, no performance anxiety and no worries about how one is looking to rest of the world.The way Sufis dance is one of the supreme forms of dance. Dance is at its purest as it becomes the way to connect to God. Compare that to today's so called "dance", where competition kills the dance as dance exists no more for inner self but entirely concentrates on outer world The whole body becomes conscious of its movements. Mind is tense and the smile does not reach the eyes.To enjoy dancing, one does not have to "know" dancing, however it is a plus if one does. To quote a anecdote on this phenomenon: Tansen, who was regarded as the greatest singer of his time was once asked by Akbar about his Guru. Akbar was interested to know about the teacher of such an exceptional singer. Tansen took Akbar to his Guru but asked him not to reveal himself. He pleaded Akbar to hide and listen to his Guru when he was singing in early morning after bath.Akbar did so and was amazed to find out that the Guru sounded much better than Tansen. When he wondered more about this, Tansen explained: I sing for you in anticipation of rewards but my Guru sings for himself as and when he pleases and there lies the difference.

Religulous - To be or not to be