tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-342974242024-03-07T01:34:58.339-06:00World through my windowI initially started this blog as a travelogue to preserve the memories of the awesome trips we do over each weekend. With the coming of winter, I was unable to travel and so could not write either. Now that spring is back, I am hoping to travel and discover many more new and interesting places and hope to share them all with you.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-17348502357853564582007-09-05T23:33:00.000-05:002007-09-05T23:38:48.147-05:00Prashanth's concert collection<object width='780' height='445'><param name='movie' value='http://www.youtube.com/cp/vjVQa1PpcFOnqTS4SjGPrVwKKDzF8EyNtSTfoik71SI='></param><param name='wmode' value='transparent'></params><embed src='http://www.youtube.com/cp/vjVQa1PpcFOnqTS4SjGPrVwKKDzF8EyNtSTfoik71SI=' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='transparent' width='780' height='445'></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-83069431459450535772007-06-15T12:46:00.000-05:002007-06-15T13:18:11.330-05:00New York transit<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">I</span> told you about the surprising incident at Tom's restaurant. Here's another one about New York - but this is a good one.<br />Soon as we landed in New York, we took a subway from the airport to Jamaica. We purchased one metro card for $ 20 -which was the lowest denomination we could purchase at the vending machine as we did not have bills handy.<br />We did not realize then that you could swipe a card only once in half an hour. We kept swiping it again and again but the gate would just not let me out. Finally, a couple of security guards came to our help and managed to fool the machine and let us out. That was nice of them :)<br />But - our card with $15 balance wouldn't work any more. We thought we had lost the money and continued our trip but just before coming back, we found out that they might refund us with another card if we sent ours to New York transit. We did that for the heck of it - a couple of weeks back and 2 days back we got a cheque and a letter from them :)<br />I guess they sent us a cheque because we live in Minnesota and a metro card would be of no use to us. Isn't that cool!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8OnSNtWOfjpL8zVEnBavZjfg-z64p6zCxZjWICPSrbFbycdRp09TC04_gl9p7a35kuIX0C4HLf0WST3xVfdpu_ltNM6yo5bIcnIspbo2t_foz2IaMPklVL0ypGauQ4vTQQec9jA/s1600-h/newyork+transit.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8OnSNtWOfjpL8zVEnBavZjfg-z64p6zCxZjWICPSrbFbycdRp09TC04_gl9p7a35kuIX0C4HLf0WST3xVfdpu_ltNM6yo5bIcnIspbo2t_foz2IaMPklVL0ypGauQ4vTQQec9jA/s400/newyork+transit.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5076356010395777698" /></a><br /><br />Even though this is how things are supposed to be, I am still surprised because I still remember the times when me and my sister used to travel by PTC buses from school and the conductor would never give us back 5 paise change.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-3813787044022346262007-06-13T13:10:00.000-05:002007-06-14T21:42:55.802-05:00beauties<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">W</span>e had been to the Farmer's market on Lyndale this week to do our weekly veggie purchase and I just couldn't resist but pick up these beauties...they are so gorgeous- my camera wouldn't do justice clicking them. They all are saying something to each other...some of them have such an attitude- they wouldnt even pose for my pictures...<br />but I love them all :) Look at them!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptv6Vp7caSZj5Tf_adwqbIKAbTBPDntb1cdkOfSBCjC1Z8G2_VT2IH_vPfdDX8C1S27-Td4IBHsTTPohPk3pZgcEW6NxOQRBJNTVDpgXGua2GYN9iOyTZlAHIwimIwGPAUsLOpg/s1600-h/DSC03648.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptv6Vp7caSZj5Tf_adwqbIKAbTBPDntb1cdkOfSBCjC1Z8G2_VT2IH_vPfdDX8C1S27-Td4IBHsTTPohPk3pZgcEW6NxOQRBJNTVDpgXGua2GYN9iOyTZlAHIwimIwGPAUsLOpg/s400/DSC03648.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5075614767759964786" /></a><br /><a href="" here></a><br /><em>Oh my! they are blushing now</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLjqqorfc_fmhQNnD0DH5PPp8gLY4jyKb2XuPL1ZtJW-NHPCcN_qORIVfcAu6IMmfdZinTOCNXZUPqt72dVGrqsieIUFV3w8f6RRX4PJfROjp5hs351g0zbYQVLCVpCdqR9Iqt6Q/s1600-h/DSC03647.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLjqqorfc_fmhQNnD0DH5PPp8gLY4jyKb2XuPL1ZtJW-NHPCcN_qORIVfcAu6IMmfdZinTOCNXZUPqt72dVGrqsieIUFV3w8f6RRX4PJfROjp5hs351g0zbYQVLCVpCdqR9Iqt6Q/s400/DSC03647.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5075614441342450274" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKijXc8cbpZDRchz5NWZDkR1sr3cdQyfo1a-_W3cOdoDhqD7p04o9ptQIfZqNcKlkns8w9sutq_yryOv8bfxqMwPPUEkXv1bqk2mY5GxeK5wmSMBKZUsTd3jMVXvNGCB-icCYdIg/s1600-h/DSC03650.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKijXc8cbpZDRchz5NWZDkR1sr3cdQyfo1a-_W3cOdoDhqD7p04o9ptQIfZqNcKlkns8w9sutq_yryOv8bfxqMwPPUEkXv1bqk2mY5GxeK5wmSMBKZUsTd3jMVXvNGCB-icCYdIg/s400/DSC03650.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5075615394825190018" /></a><br /><em>My cotton candies</em><br /><br />I think that's enough promoting their vanity!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-61882353844258707712007-06-13T11:42:00.000-05:002007-06-14T21:37:30.280-05:00getting back in shape<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">I</span> used to have winter as my biggest excuse for such a low fitness level, but now the sun is shining in all its glory and I cannot escape anymore. So for the past ten days I have been clocking one hour of "brisk" walk everyday. I did some googling about how many calories I would burn and what is the best way to go about this exercise business when I remembered about the 10,000 steps a day program that one of my friends had spoken about as a doctor-suggested cure for his back-aches. I found a lot of good material about this program on the net.<br />to give you some statistics:<br />The physical activity of adults can be classified into<br /><br />Under 5000 steps/day ---- "sedentary lifestyle index"<br />5,000-7,499 steps/day (daily activity excluding sports/exercise)--- "low active."<br />7,500-9,999 (likely includes some exercise or walking and/or a job that requires more walking) ----"somewhat active."<br />10,000 steps/day indicates the point that should be used to classify individuals as "active"<br />More than 12,500 steps/day ---highly active<br /><br />And so I ordered myself a pedometer and today was the first day I used it.<br />I so love all the statistics!! <br />so far: 9683 steps ( I am hoping to touch 10500 by EOD)<br />8901 aerobic steps for a 76 minute walk :)<br />479 calories (boy!! )<br />and 5.5 miles <br />So that is today's achievement. Hopefully I don't fall out of love with my pedometer and I keep this up and get back in shape in a month's time. Let's see.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-68027464323887228322007-05-31T10:48:00.000-05:002007-06-14T21:38:41.879-05:00happy being vegetarian<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">A</span>m so happy to be a vegetarian and I am happy that I was born one and just had to hang on there with conscious choice of being one always. I did not have to give up much.<br />I would have been happier if I was born a vegan but then I wouldn't be able to eat even my favorite breakfast cereal. It is something I am going to start working on- so from today, I plan to atleast reduce the consumption of milk.<br /><br />The simple act of denying animal products for <a href="http://www.thevegetariansite.com/ethics_ag.htm"> ethical/ compassionate reasons </a> puts us (me and hubby) in a corner whenever we step out of my house. We cannot go to any and every restaurant and grab a bite- we end up asking a hundred questions to the poor guy who serves us about the content of the food. We cannot go camping and set a grill or go fishing or have a bbq at home. We see each and every food label to check if it contains animal products and yet we do consume bleached sugar and cannot let go of pastries. I don't know how many times my screening has slipped and we have ended up eating gelatin filled curd or used a body lotion with animal fat.<br /><br />We watched <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460792/">Fast Food Nation</a> yesterday - many of the scenes nearly made me throw up and I kept wondering how people still eat the food they do and especially <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_food"> Fast food </a>. You know that they are adding all sorts of chemicals to get the smell and flavor , then there is a good portion of animal faeces that conveniently gets mixed up in your food and it all comess with such low nutritional value. Why do you want to consume it?<br />If I make a side dish, keep it frozen for a week and take it out - it tastes like mud -but if you buy frozen entrees and microwave them, they taste just as good as newly made. Why is that and How's that? Why do Mc D's fries taste so good? The answer is so simple and is in fromnt of you-the "Flavor industry" and the <a href "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavorist"> Flavorists </a>. We are not ignorant, we all have some information about it or are atleast know that something is wrong here and yet we keep doing the same things over and over again. We know about obesity and under-paid, exploited employees and all about the innocent animals getting chopped in the most inhuman way. Then Why?<br />well,that's my two pennies worth.<br /><a href="" here></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-71643059409858886592007-05-30T10:43:00.000-05:002007-06-14T21:40:38.388-05:00Off the record...on tuesday<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">W</span>atched L.A Confidential ('97) yesterday. We thought we would watch it for about half an hour and then hit the sack but we ended up watching till the end without pausing the video for a moment. "Awesome" is not good enough a word to describe this movie. Wonder how Titanic was given Oscar instead of this. It is definitely on my top ten list. <br />Don't miss it, that's all I've gotta say!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-43911652300501521752007-05-29T10:56:00.000-05:002007-06-14T21:41:20.518-05:00memorial day weekend<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">A</span>nd we spent two more glorious days in New York but it has been too long since then to write about that trip and so am going to tell you about our okie-dokie Memorial day weekend.<br /><br />The initial plan was to drive to Niagara falls along with another couple- it is around 16 hours drive from here and I didn't find the idea too practical -so- convinced hubby to drop the plan. He did so half-heartedly and we instead took a route well known to us- we drove to Chica-gooooo! This change of plan happened at around 6 pm on Friday evening (crazy us!) and then we did our hotel reservations, packed our stuff hurriedly and started the journey. <br />The thing about staying in EP is that...it is all so beautiful, serene, blah and more blah but when it comes to travel, we have to add a good 30 minutes to the trip. This is not so bad when we travel out but...boy, does it get monotonous when we are returning back home. So we have nicknamed downtown Minneapolis as "the point zero". The number line for any journey starts and ends there for us.<br /><br />For Friday night stay, we had made reservations at Janesville ( about 30 miles south of Madison). We planned to do some sightseeing around that area, but when morning came, it was raining badly and we could only head down south to Chicago. <br />We arrived at the <a href="http://www.themagnificentmile.com/"> Magnificient mile </a> - walked by each and every fascinating shop and sipped a latte every hour. We were then off to Devon Ave - the South Asian shopping haven, for a "quiet" dinner. We only then realized that "quiet" canNOT be a word associated with Devon.<br />It competes straight-up with T Nagar Ranganathan street without losing any of the zing - whether it be the crowd or the noise or the merchandise. You can see hordes of women shopping gold like they do in Thanga maligai as if there is no tomorrow and the queue standing outside Saravana Bhavan is only more than what it is in T nagar. On this particular Saturday when we went, Patel was running special discounts like 4 maggies for 1 dollar and such- need I say anything about the rush now :)<br />We were totally beaten. We entered into one of the less crowded restaurants knowing that food was going to be bad (and yes, it was bad) but the items were priced less than half of what they are in Minneapolis and we didn't feel too bad about wasting.<br /><br />The whole of second day we spent at Ohio street beach and Navy pier enjoying the sun. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcgYF1qkjPWdSFpc8FYecEhhQCkJ8bgAFJRJaVgjNemws2lINYE5mt2JluPFOVtCN_N4jJZXPQMGcYmCVvfLWcH62oXMrxsCz4fr-4VpQp2vnjnln0QSnVedRRkwG8846c3eLUfg/s1600-h/DSC03630.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcgYF1qkjPWdSFpc8FYecEhhQCkJ8bgAFJRJaVgjNemws2lINYE5mt2JluPFOVtCN_N4jJZXPQMGcYmCVvfLWcH62oXMrxsCz4fr-4VpQp2vnjnln0QSnVedRRkwG8846c3eLUfg/s400/DSC03630.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070024854876980690" /></a><br /><br />We went around Chicago downtown and Millenium park a few times to check out the views and we were off to Palatine (where we stayed). The best part of our Chicago stay was having Caramel creme espresso at <a href="http://www.oberweisdairy.com/web/default.asp"> Oberweis </a>. I did not know that having coffee made with organic milk was this heavenly.<br /><br />Monday noon after having breakfast at Panera ( and coffee at Oberweis again :)) we left Chicago and reached Madison at around 3 pm. <br />It is a very small town famous for being the capital of the Dairyland state and of course for University of Wisconsin. We walked down the State street lined with restaurants,espresso bars and shops that reminded me of Dilli Haat and enjoyed the evening sun sitting by the shores of Lake Monona. We then headed back home and were in EP at 9:30 pm. This trip was tiring enough, I dont think we could have ever managed a 16 hr- 3day trip to Niagara. Now-back in sweet home!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-9858557662685644842007-05-01T12:16:00.000-05:002007-06-14T21:42:39.991-05:00New York nagaram: day 2<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">T</span>he second day started with us stepping out early to check out the Statue of Liberty. We went there, saw the HUGE queue of people waiting to get on to the ferry and realized that it we could never do it that day. We then said -"of course it a Sunday, what else do you expect. Let's do it tomorrow" and moved on to see the United Nations. <br /><br />We took the guided tour to see the chambers of the Security Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Economic and Social Council.The guide explained to us the functions, composition and current actions undertaken by each council, as well as the activities of the United Nations and my husband was right behind me continuously contradicting everything she had to say. All the same, he was very excited to be there as he had followed every bit of news regarding UN actions since the time he was born. I hung around hoping there would be something more exciting to see later on in the day than just gifts China and Thailand to the UN. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0YZ7ATsOyfTEx87EYY2FGPxfVKn5wRz8cXcHiZkG3oYRPa952mBC_m5Zw-og0mqJ5fIXx1IMa6N7dbOV1mhxh16J-m0qkJZ97PuvHFS1GuEVZYAiqyz5AjxdeEX_8UFUTxM346Q/s1600-h/DSC03272.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0YZ7ATsOyfTEx87EYY2FGPxfVKn5wRz8cXcHiZkG3oYRPa952mBC_m5Zw-og0mqJ5fIXx1IMa6N7dbOV1mhxh16J-m0qkJZ97PuvHFS1GuEVZYAiqyz5AjxdeEX_8UFUTxM346Q/s400/DSC03272.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059652148014993170" /></a><br /><br /><em>The Security Council</em><br /><br />We then decided to visit the Central park and have our lunch at Tom's Restaurant made famous on <em>Seinfeld</em> . But thanks to a Flea market distraction on the way and an argument about fultile waste of money on cheap knick knacks, we ended up on the other side of the street in Riverside park. This was much more beautiful than the famous Central park but we found out about that only later. We got into a bus to cool off a bit and at about 3 o clock we came finally came to Tom's Restaurant. We ordered sitting inside one of the booths were Jerry and his friends sit all the time, a couple of bagels and the waiter very "politely" told us that each person should have a minimum order for $10. Now, after having argued half a day with each other, one doesn't need a "courteous" waiter telling you how much your bill or tip should be. We walked out of this place and entered into a crowded Haagen Dazs ice cream parlor. I got a sticky toffee pudding ice cream and my hubby, a strawberry cheese cake ice cream and we sat on the chairs in the middle of Broadway to patiently savour our mouthwatering treats. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhP1FQIYc_1elzxFux5_QAjq8EwdNgtWcukz-LImF65prZwgao2XPohqqUw7UI7ExD2e3yZsy40nhqP3V5deqW_qROeOX8y_awIZXiEK56IpQUp7r7GtmK5vsYV0gv6cGad1khw/s1600-h/DSC03304.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhP1FQIYc_1elzxFux5_QAjq8EwdNgtWcukz-LImF65prZwgao2XPohqqUw7UI7ExD2e3yZsy40nhqP3V5deqW_qROeOX8y_awIZXiEK56IpQUp7r7GtmK5vsYV0gv6cGad1khw/s400/DSC03304.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059682534908612386" /></a><br /><br />We travelled back to Times square, this time in a bus so that we could enjoy watching the hustle and bustle of New york city. <br />Here we visited Madame Tussauds, took snaps with a whole bunch of celebrities and we were off to enjoy Times Square in all its neon glory. We went around gawking at each tall building and lighted hoarding -Good Morning America, Toys "R" Us, Virgin Records, NASDAQ, Ernst and Young, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Reuters, Viacom, m&m's and Hersheys -they were all there calling us out to have a look at them. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEM0wUBXF3-frOqPwAsafddHlILrHHvAWm7VNK2E_j1iHhDlHt9SYVccoh0rkIoaRS3oow13UOveCTPFSD3j6h0oJEk9NhaJ-mLvbp6caFsj6XR4arxWlr_Dp7v_rJZw2nC3ne6Q/s1600-h/DSC03390.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEM0wUBXF3-frOqPwAsafddHlILrHHvAWm7VNK2E_j1iHhDlHt9SYVccoh0rkIoaRS3oow13UOveCTPFSD3j6h0oJEk9NhaJ-mLvbp6caFsj6XR4arxWlr_Dp7v_rJZw2nC3ne6Q/s400/DSC03390.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059690807015624546" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLp5rKTnNhlIKXMOMaObBPwnRvyVHdQUBdVWwJHPHCmom7Dy1asW6ef7kE_PovXLXBRvA70lbKgGjqu65VkpjKpMAMkrDZH4Rew9FPE2-6TPYWxbFvuu-7yGdZhAsL_7MYMJN0_g/s1600-h/DSC03376.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLp5rKTnNhlIKXMOMaObBPwnRvyVHdQUBdVWwJHPHCmom7Dy1asW6ef7kE_PovXLXBRvA70lbKgGjqu65VkpjKpMAMkrDZH4Rew9FPE2-6TPYWxbFvuu-7yGdZhAsL_7MYMJN0_g/s400/DSC03376.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059688084006358850" /></a><br /><br /><em>a roadside artist working on Newyork skyline</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ExSsRWbnRgVe40qX8JHucL6uEqPZr-Coxuujj8YTKi06SX6xh6tUzq20txYN4oBQZdKqEFOPGnhYEAODdWHdp570qr5cg4PHWBd-oIF-oifrjaGEuxH8Ep14FfRsc3L5_T3-sg/s1600-h/DSC03391.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ExSsRWbnRgVe40qX8JHucL6uEqPZr-Coxuujj8YTKi06SX6xh6tUzq20txYN4oBQZdKqEFOPGnhYEAODdWHdp570qr5cg4PHWBd-oIF-oifrjaGEuxH8Ep14FfRsc3L5_T3-sg/s400/DSC03391.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059688827035701074" /></a><br /><br />at the m&m's<br /><br />There was so much of crowd, so many cops around and so much happening on the streets-it was a surreal experience just being there.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wHx8y88GqN28GH8fa8TChKo6UNBvNF3ChW4y3WjKjKU4GSYiKbQ_iZ6ebkFNV2DGnLH8-79FnwzNIrIhUpL_KVnS6e4Mb9q1KHuRor9YJQY-ZIgQfRu2fbuLd_QzS8Ro9Mxj9Q/s1600-h/DSC03387.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wHx8y88GqN28GH8fa8TChKo6UNBvNF3ChW4y3WjKjKU4GSYiKbQ_iZ6ebkFNV2DGnLH8-79FnwzNIrIhUpL_KVnS6e4Mb9q1KHuRor9YJQY-ZIgQfRu2fbuLd_QzS8Ro9Mxj9Q/s400/DSC03387.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059691923707121538" /></a><br /><br />I think we were there well past midnight and somehow convinced each other about getting back to the hotel. I think we just blanked out when we came back.<br /><br /><br /> <a href="" here></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-19776134722783903892007-05-01T11:56:00.000-05:002007-06-14T21:43:54.766-05:00it is just drizzling outside..<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">I</span>t is drizzling outside and you can feel the chill in your bones- it is not yet raining hard.<br />This moment, I feel like I am in a hill resort...this early spring, when the grass is lush green, the trees are just beginning to bloom and the sky is the color it always ought to be-time has stopped for me-everything seems alright and I feel so at peace.<br />I hold a book in my hand , sit in the patio and sip a hot cup of tea...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsk6BCm3BMPP-2QEFT4LHnN9aEHUVRiEpx41FOfRUT9eFFX8XeLBbC_SYZOJP2eJdSXgbw4touyfg34O5CXd6Z8W6MFswu4i9XuvGoLpSxvtPbTAZ6Z64MTQSge1UObfm9wpraA/s1600-h/DSC03537.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsk6BCm3BMPP-2QEFT4LHnN9aEHUVRiEpx41FOfRUT9eFFX8XeLBbC_SYZOJP2eJdSXgbw4touyfg34O5CXd6Z8W6MFswu4i9XuvGoLpSxvtPbTAZ6Z64MTQSge1UObfm9wpraA/s400/DSC03537.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059639142854020866" /></a><br /><a href="" here></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-3255210619718828652007-04-26T11:02:00.000-05:002007-06-14T21:45:26.951-05:00A blue sky holiday to New York- Day 1<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">A</span>nd finally we saw New York - <em>the</em> most happening city in the United States. It has been two days now since we came back and I can still see the images of the tall buildings sharply cutting into the steel blue sky. I feel like I am constantly on the move either walking or am in a subway on my way to some place.<br />Whew! What a breathtaking city! It is worth a much longer visit...maybe a month would be sufficient ? Maybe... <br /><br />We started on Friday evening from Minneapolis and reached at around 12 midnight in New York. We then took the lite-train to Jamaica and with the help of one nice Mr. Mazumdar, we found our way to the hotel. It was so scary and dirty and with so many odd people and noisy bars that we thought we made a mistake reserving a hotel in such a place. But of course, it later turned out that every place in New York is equally scary and dirty and you are not in New York if you don't hear a cop car siren or a NYPD helicopter buzzing above your head. <br /><br />It was almost 2 by the time we hit the bed-after a small argument and changing the room allocated to us as it was way too noisy even to catch a wink of sleep. <br />We had too many places to see and did not dare to catch upon the lost sleep lest we lose time to see some place. We stepped out at 9:30 in the morning after a quick b.f. of cereal and juice and rushed to the closest subway to reach Manhattan.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlM_qZy-xrUuV2oyfywKmUcuPByVpkTE8R6mW00y-nVHgluTUCO6U-0_lqx71iYQDs7k7YHCj5vgtzBcTucOE0mCnBRNzYvtLzk3tg9W18tccRkE6yTbCZ79hCn7nW4jIsTTAEqQ/s1600-h/DSC03162.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlM_qZy-xrUuV2oyfywKmUcuPByVpkTE8R6mW00y-nVHgluTUCO6U-0_lqx71iYQDs7k7YHCj5vgtzBcTucOE0mCnBRNzYvtLzk3tg9W18tccRkE6yTbCZ79hCn7nW4jIsTTAEqQ/s400/DSC03162.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5057834577984868002" /></a><br /><i> At the Jamaica subway-line E </i><br /><br />Our first stop was Times Square. Ther are no words to describe this place- it simpley leaves you STUNNED! <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5G9qafW3Sjl9tAKMOwNFBmDoDYHLfqcN5GhQ0-hLP8Ei0jTdU8kTSuaR3qUIe7ilq52xT8yaBjw8krwp0ygWhmcp2IBuPK3DyycVwyaGi34K5ItlCd7jLUS2-0_0LomIY1HFd_g/s1600-h/DSC03191.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5G9qafW3Sjl9tAKMOwNFBmDoDYHLfqcN5GhQ0-hLP8Ei0jTdU8kTSuaR3qUIe7ilq52xT8yaBjw8krwp0ygWhmcp2IBuPK3DyycVwyaGi34K5ItlCd7jLUS2-0_0LomIY1HFd_g/s400/DSC03191.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5057836497835249346" /></a><br /><br />It is so intensely urban -there's people and cars wherever you look and multitude of buildings above you are gleaming at you all the time. It is so crowded that you just need to step on to the pavement and the city will take you around. Everyone of them is so well dressed (and yet there is filth everywhere) and each of the buildings has atleast ten neon lighted advertisements - fighting to grab your attention. There are flea markets and designer botiques, street performers around broadway theatres...<br />Whatever this place is - it is a landmark no one should miss.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKQI_-EDod4yCx6u9TUW7rrNyajpZFTCs2ZZhzUEwg7dGL5C-1dez6g8VQcUv7BViz2dGBpapo2hm5Eq7-hV6vkLQAKp6YG81sJAbUOVZTCtg_pgV0H2sAUB0ReljS85dXx2HHA/s1600-h/DSC03177.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKQI_-EDod4yCx6u9TUW7rrNyajpZFTCs2ZZhzUEwg7dGL5C-1dez6g8VQcUv7BViz2dGBpapo2hm5Eq7-hV6vkLQAKp6YG81sJAbUOVZTCtg_pgV0H2sAUB0ReljS85dXx2HHA/s400/DSC03177.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5057835621661920946" /></a><br /><i> Times Square</i><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ygjEsbhJg_vEndYHC-cI98QuqT-UrnetVKIXbs-8qklrFdSZmwHoNDg9LLlneb76VidTqmbUQ4VxBS4fa2NhzJnaUHu9DOe6I6-LpnjST52AAnJaUWwVs2eE4qOU5GMGSxsHpg/s1600-h/DSC03194.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ygjEsbhJg_vEndYHC-cI98QuqT-UrnetVKIXbs-8qklrFdSZmwHoNDg9LLlneb76VidTqmbUQ4VxBS4fa2NhzJnaUHu9DOe6I6-LpnjST52AAnJaUWwVs2eE4qOU5GMGSxsHpg/s400/DSC03194.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5057838009663737554" /></a><br /><i> Street Performer in Time Square </i><br /><br />So, after walking through this human maze we reached the garment district- the center of fashion filled with coture houses and showrooms. And it was time to see another place-The World Trade Center site- it was a humbling experience to see all the pictures of the collosal amount of debris, and removal workers fighting their way into the pile- you can be having it all good all of a sudden your life is snatched away from you. well...<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBXloSG77eH7eX-17AIcyFeURy2SGsQx4Cr6cZKEF-3qhNHSt9Em_8xP8kfjdMBKvNQRBQe-5-KWT_I1h4BXY_pmESvNvwe-w_zux5_fFsy0FIHpGmjNmffD5ZS2YMhDnaKJoiw/s1600-h/DSC03207.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBXloSG77eH7eX-17AIcyFeURy2SGsQx4Cr6cZKEF-3qhNHSt9Em_8xP8kfjdMBKvNQRBQe-5-KWT_I1h4BXY_pmESvNvwe-w_zux5_fFsy0FIHpGmjNmffD5ZS2YMhDnaKJoiw/s400/DSC03207.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5057839156420005602" /></a><br /><i> World Trade Center </i><br /><br />By now we were exhausted, but we still wanted more of the city- so we came to the financial district- saw New York Stock exchange, walked on Wall Street and Broad Street,stood with Washington (statue) in Federal Hall National Memorial for a photograph and of course the tamed the charging bull.<br />We walked down from Wall street to the South Street Seaport laced with lovely shops and food courts. There are, again many street performers here and you get a nice view of the brooklyn bridge.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7LAecegP7cS2R0RPKfQUTqjCC8w5un_BWxuF1FhoG9pxe6lsMEu9QuPyRBN9JG7ob3rzZ7g3sYcGQWy5Q7x3XcNH6jPgar9YFezvgtLPVCAZGtaeAiMRzdo1BS_PJku7W7yT41w/s1600-h/DSC03250.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7LAecegP7cS2R0RPKfQUTqjCC8w5un_BWxuF1FhoG9pxe6lsMEu9QuPyRBN9JG7ob3rzZ7g3sYcGQWy5Q7x3XcNH6jPgar9YFezvgtLPVCAZGtaeAiMRzdo1BS_PJku7W7yT41w/s400/DSC03250.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5057840513629671154" /></a><br /><br />We took a bus ride through Chinatown and Little Italy to reach Lexington and 28th for a delicious dinner at Saravana Bhavan. We somehow managed to get back to our hotel room to take some rest after which we would begin another day of hectic sight seeing.<br /><a href="" here></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-74561027260320414742007-01-18T16:41:00.000-06:002007-06-14T21:36:52.807-05:00Blue skies fade to gray<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">A</span>nd I need a blue sky holiday! oh phluzzee...<br />I don't think I get that for another 4 months<br />So...<br />What have I been doing all this while when I didn't blog one sentence!<br />I could have blogged when I watched Pursuit of Happyness, or about our new year celebrations or about the lack of snow in minnesota due to global warming...there are a thousand things to write about and yet I didn't and the reason is that i am LAZY. I wonder how many people can boldly say that. haha!<br />I am totally de-addicted to orkut now and I am very happy about it. But I am also totally addicted to youtube - so help me! Take a quiz in this website to see how <a href="http://www.netaddiction.com/resources/internet_addiction_test.htm"> net addicted</a> you are. I wonder if they have some sort of cure for such partial addictions though.<br />So why am I talking about addiction? Well,I made a couple of videos of my sis singing in Jaya TV for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvf_ywyzf0k" > Ragamalika </a> and now I am totally into windows movie maker to make a movie of my own. So do check out my sis's video and also watch out that space for more creative spurts from me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-17898518870444836922006-12-15T10:10:00.000-06:002006-12-18T10:13:34.872-06:00Gender Inclusivity<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">I</span> was just going through one of the articles in The Hindu Businessline that talks about gender empowerment in the IT industry- specifically about my earlier company. This company plans to open a satellite center to enable employees, specifically new and to-be mothers to cut down on travel time to work. Also, it has initiated a pilot project for employees giving them an opportunity to opt for a one-year sabbatical at any point in their careers ie. for childcare, eldercare, higher studies or for health reasons. The first initiative is praise worthy though it is about time all companies start implementing such policies and the second initiative is nothing new and was offered earlier too but to utilize it,one should have worked with the company for a minimum of two years and I do not think they are going to change that clause in any way. Don’t ask me how it became a pilot project all of a sudden.<br /><br />Coming to the main story, if you happen to check out the <a href="http://www.weforum.org/pdf/gendergap/india.pdf"> World Economic Forum index</a>,India ranks an overall 100th rank amongst 117 countries, way below Sri Lanka, China and Kenya in gender gap rankings that is gauged in terms of four parameters-Economic participation and oppurtunity,educational attainment,political empowerment and health and survival. Check <a href="http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:2mJXH14sm9QJ:www.weforum.org/pdf/gendergap/rankings.xls+global+gender+gap&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2">this link </a> for WEF ratings. We rank a 20 in political empowerment but a dissapointing 110 in economic participation.Why is this? <br /><br />Traditionally, in Indian households, with family lineage, living arrangements and inheritance all centered around men, household decision-making too is gladly shouldered by them and women are happy to go with their husband’s decisions on the most important issues such as credit, the disposal of household assets, children's education, and family health. That makes a happy family!<br />One would think better decisions can be made if there are two minds at work than one. <br /><br />I have heard many a friend say to me that they prefer a woman who is not career-oriented. Why? Cos’ “The opportunity cost of working” reduces the value of marriage in a woman!!hmmph!<br /><br />Not to mention the innumerable changes a woman goes through in her life which makes it harder for her to work full-time. Marriage, child birth or relocation needs a woman to forgo a lot more than a man. Corporate houses in India are yet to recognize such issues and utilize women’s capabilities in the best possible manner which can be working out of home or part time working or flexible working hours.<br /><br />And when is gender stereotyping ever going to stop? At work place, it is always a greater struggle for a woman to prove her strengths because even as she begins a project she has to work twice as hard as a man to prove that she has the same capabilities and without the benefit of networking and most often suffering from lack of support of a good work-life balance.<br /><br />I have personally felt this when I was previously working. All project meetings used to be regularly sheduled after 6 pm. Any office party where one could socialize with colleagues-ditto or better still it was over the weekends. It works fine for the bachelors...but...<br /><br />Are spouses allowed?- Oh no! sorry! we have a shoe string budget for this. And both the managers I had during the time I worked with this company used to insist that I stay back after 7 or 8 pm and work ( one guy used to rush after me if I stepped out at 7 and have a look of surprise on his face and say" oh Deepa! are you already done for the day- Jerk!) and all this even though I started my work at 8:30 am in the morning. <br />Sir, my work timings are from 8:30 to 5:30. It was for my own satisfation that I even stayed back this late and I HAVE A FAMILY TO TAKE CARE TOO. Oh! is that so, we will take care of you in your appraisal and see that you get nowhere. We have all come to believe that if you are going to be career oriented then please forget any personal life.<br /><br />Coming back to the core issue...creating family friendly systems like flexible working hours, women friendly policies, options to work out of home and a different scale for measuring productivity of women- all this would be a good beginning. Infact,men too need to be given options such as flexi-timing and working out of home. If your spouse gets an onsite opportunity then the partner should be able to work from long distance without giving up his/her job. The truth is that the new generation of men do shoulder family burdens and household chores. They participate in a lot of household activities that were earlier considered an woman's domain. They too sacrifice their careers and are willing to make tough choices for the sake of the family. But deep down it requires a complete mental makeover, a higher degree of acceptance and a good deal of policy changes in the corporate world to bring more women to the workplace and empower them.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-33484785692333814072006-12-11T17:32:00.000-06:002007-06-14T21:46:27.842-05:00Sevikku Unavu<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">O</span>ne of my mom's favorite <a href="http://www.tamilnation.org/literature/kural/kuralE1.htm">Thirukkural </a> is " sevikku uNavu illaadha pOzhthu siRithu vayitRukkum eeyappadum" literally meaning "when there is no food available for the ears, it will be served for the stomach".This weekend was one such when we had such a treat for our ears that we didn't feel the need for food. <br /><br />My husband (who also happens to be a pro in carnatic music) regularly did <i>sadagams </i> (riaz/practice) and gave a performance atleast once in two months back in India. That way, even though he didn't want a full time profession in music, he would atleast be in touch with what he likes to do best. And so, we were totally lost after coming here what with new place-syndrome,pressures of work, no guru who would expect excellence from you and push you in the right direction and ofcourse the big question of "where do you actually start of for this?".<br /><br />Even though we haven't yet found an answer, I am happy that we are going to do so, someday soon. Atleast, the ball has been set rolling...it started soon after my husband and his friend gave a small performance in the Minnesota Thyagaraja Aradhana. After listening to him, the ghatam artist and the mridangist volunteered that they can come over to our place for music practice and be "kutcheri-ready" even though we have no concert lined up. So,this sunday, Balaji and Sriram came over to our place for an extended practice session with their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghatam">Ghatam </a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mridangam">Mridangam </a> respectively and boy was it a treat to listen to all of them together!<br /> After 3 long hours, the music session sadly came to an end and the artists were treated with my wonderful tanjavoor samayal ( I can always claim till you call my bluff :)<br />I am waitng for the next weekend to come soon when they will get together and practice again.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-38011186806518999382006-12-08T09:55:00.000-06:002007-06-14T21:47:30.675-05:00Caravan of silk and jade<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">N</span>ot being in India, we miss our loved ones...we also miss the honking cars, the morning rush, yummy cusines and the crowded streets.But in December, we miss the chennai-music season the most.<br />So when we heard about the World beat concert organised by <a href="http://www.thespco.org/page.cfm?id=1">The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra</a>, we jumped with joy.<br />Inspired by the legendary Silk route, it is(was) a presentation of Ouds from Iraq and Iran blended with ragas and thillanas from our very own South India. We were not let down ( oh no, not totally :)...<br />The program started with a soulful " oud and string quartet" presentation by <a href="http://www.rahimalhaj.com/about.htm">Rahim Al Haj</a> followed by a not so musical "Blue as the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur". The lowest point in the whole concert was after the intermission when Palukavademira in <i>devamanohari</i> and Mokshamu in <i>saramati</i> were mercilessly murdered. It was totally played out of tune and in an effort to westernise Indian music, they had completely diluted the compositions which only left an insipid taste in the listener's ears and charmed no one.It took us gargantuan effort to stay there even after such a poor display of skills but it paid to be patient.<a href="http://www.nirmalarajasekar.com/"> Nirmala Rajasekar</a>, well known veena player here with her accompanying artists Shriniasan Venkatakrishnan on mridangam and Pavan Allalaghatta on tabla lifted our spirits and gave Carnatic music the honor it rightly desreves on a world stage. Her rendition of <i> Rasikapriya</i> and <i>Mandu</i> were the undoubtedly the best pieces of the day. <br />I can only add one thing here...Carnatic music-You either love it or leave it. Please do not adultrate it. <br />Oh yes, I do love the way carnatic music is adapted into many tamil film songs, esp. by Illayaraja and there are hundreds of his song that I could give as examples but one of my favorites would be <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=0Y2U4XmYwLg">"idazhil kadhai"</a> from Unnal mudiyum thambi" in raaga lalitha...but I guess that takes talent :)<br />The end was pretty dramatic with a piece from "Mother India" performed by all artists. On the whole it was a good experience. Will I go once again? Maybe not.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-80683368345501523122006-11-14T17:34:00.000-06:002006-11-14T18:40:37.827-06:00"The Vegetarian"<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">I</span> can't step into the kitchen on Sundays. Period.<br />This sunday was no different and we set out to go to our favorite haunt <a href "http://www.udupicafemn.com/">"Udupi Cafe" </a> aka Nala Pak in Columbia Heights.<br />While we were in Bangalore, we used to regularly hunt out new dining experiences -especially vegetarian ones. But here, due to the lack of Indian vegetarian restaurants we restrict ourselves to the 2 veggie places-Udupi and India Cafe for dining and Bombay deli for chats.<br />So when we saw this sign board "The Vegetarian" about on Central avenue-we had to check it out. But we had no clue if it was a restaurant or just a shop by looking at it.<br />Anyway,we were determined to venture in. So what if it was located in a spooky place. So what if there have been recent shootings around that area...so what?<br /><br />We ordered malai kofta and rotis...cos our romance started with malai kofta three years back at Fortune and that is something no one can go wrong with. <br />Food...though it did'nt taste awesome, it felt homely BUT they could do better - infact way ,way better in terms of cutlery and probably someone needs to tell them about dishwashers.If you're charging $9 for a malai kofta, we come to expect clean knives and plates along with it.The glasses had lip marks on them and the plates seemed so ancient with so many scratches from umpteen uses ( did I say that this restaurant was opened only last month ?)<br />!!! <br />They could do some help with interior decoration too-and not pick up some odd chairs and tables bought out of garage sale. <br />I dont think we would be going there ever again unless there is a need to remind ourselves how good Udupi is.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-91236229276582714082006-11-14T17:05:00.000-06:002006-11-16T09:16:48.844-06:00Tinger Tanger<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">A</span>s a natural instinct, on saturday- we got into the car and were aimlessly driving around when we decided to go to some mall different from the usual.We vaguely remembered passing by an outlet mall when we went to Duluth and decided to venture in that direction. The condition I put down was that we will travel a maximum of 50 miles and if no shop was spotted, turn around and get into a movie theatre. I have been waiting to watch <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401445/"> A Good Year</a> ever so long since I saw the trailers didn't want to postpone it to another weekend.<br />So....around the 43rd mile of our drive on 35N, we did see a board that read "bargain hunting at its best"- <a href="http://www.tangeroutlet.com/"> Tanger</a> serves you with over 35 shops...I was thrilled with my husband's sense of "distance" and direction. <br />We naturally assumed that we should reach there in the next exit but that was not to be. After about 10 miles later, we did find this mall and then of course, shopped till we dropped dead. We got additional discount too as it happened to be <a href "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day"> Veterans day </a> There was no energy left after that to watch any movie and we headed back home with our big hunts.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-25873329743005726092006-11-10T17:06:00.000-06:002007-06-14T21:48:50.764-05:00Of commercials and jingles<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">R</span>ecently, I have been downloading music that gets played as background score in ads - and no, they are not jingles, but they happen to be good tracks from well-known albums. <br />It goes like this... I watch the commercial...music sounds gr8... I check out the ad in youtube, do some search to find out the name of the album and download :). <br />My Today's pick is the latest of Geico's caveman series. The background score for this is "Remind Me" by Royksopp (album - melody a.m). <br />Watch the ad here in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZrjr4A-ASQ">Youtube </a> and let me know how you like it.<br />Another one I liked was Sheraton's $20 million ad campaign. Arabella Harrison sings "We belong"- orignally by Pat Benatar. You could check out the ad, again in youtube<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03WjUebwc2s"> here</a> :)<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03WjUebwc2s"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-37691765976258403722006-11-07T09:47:00.000-06:002006-11-10T17:47:42.008-06:00A Sunday pass<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">T</span>his Sunday, we hadn’t planned anything and were wondering how to spend the day when our friends called up to say we could join them for a visit to the science museum. They had got passes for it and we gladly jumped at the opportunity. <br />Sunday being a Gurupurab, our friends first wanted to visit the Gurdwara and we joined them there as I had never been to a gurdwara before and wanted to see how it is.<br />As we entered in,we were asked to cover our heads with scarves and were directed to the darbar hall where Guru Granth Sahib was housed. We stood there for a few minutes before the Holy Scriptures to say a silent prayer and bowed. After the prayers and chantings were over, it was time for lunch. We were offered Langar (food made in the communal kitchen) considered as blessing from the Guru. All the preparation, the cooking and the washing-up is done by voluntary helpers called Sewadars. <br />After this sacred and yummy meal, we set out to the science museum at St. Paul.<br />We had heard much about the <a href="http://www.smm.org/bodyworlds/about/" >"Body Worlds Museum” </a> and wanted to see all those authentic human specimens preserved by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastination">plastination</a>. But our hearts sank when we heard the prices (26 bucks per person) and we decided we weren’t science geeks after all :) We had a lot of fun in the experiment gallery. I was reminded of my younger days when my mom used to take me and my sister to the Birla planetorium/ Periyar science and tech centre in Kotturpuram,Chennai and we used to spend the whole day doing every experiment there.<br />I didn't care too much about the dinosaurs and collectors items. Apart from all this,there was an enjoyable show/ drama about Judge Oka of Japan and a scary egyptian mummy. That was one sunday! <br /><br /><a href="" here></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-9916055078833283942006-11-03T16:12:00.000-06:002006-11-03T17:06:25.385-06:00Election drama<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">T</span>hough I am not inclined towards politics at all, I couldn’t help but watch the debates that go on for each race. With the senate elections round the corner, news papers and TV ads are doing as much as they can to fill our heads with ideas and opinions about each candidate.And Oh! the mudslinging-ads-it is a treat to watch them abuse each other. The ad agencies must be working over time to come up with such quick and witty retorts.<br />Coming back to debates...<br />though I have seen something similar in NDTV, debating has never been an essential feature in any Indian election campaign. Here, it is forms the core of a campaign. It atleast gives the people a chance to compare each candidate’s stance on major issues and choose a person sensibly. Did I say "sensibly" -I do not know really…<br />The candidate is first allowed to make his/her opening speech after which questions are answered on five to six hot issues of the time. I dont need to tell you what the major issues are this time- War...war...war...then of course,federal taxes, embryonic stem cell research , gay marriage blah blah blah...Then there is a rapid question round where each candidate can ask the other a quick question that needs to be answered in a maximum time of 45 sec…<br />Inbetween all this fun, I saw a full page ad on Star tribune called "Voter's guide Serious Catholics" where they have listed 5 non negotiable issues- Abortion, Euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research , human cloning and homosexual marriage...<br />Apparently, war is negotiable and so go on and support a candidate who supports war but never in your life vote for a supporter of human cloning.... :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-1445447706651492342006-11-02T16:40:00.000-06:002006-11-03T09:04:49.737-06:00Subzero fun<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">H</span>ere we are in November and maybe I should start reading a book that goes like "how to enjoy outdoors in subzero chills "... <br />Last week a close friend of ours had come all the way from Oregon and all we did was spend the two days at outlet malls and the gr8 "Mall of America". Poor us...what can we do when everything (read weather) conspires against us to sit at home or go window shopping. <br /><br />Though I hate to admit, I love window shopping- if you have exhausted all kinds of topics of conversation with me, then just take me to shop- even your closest mom and pop store would do. :) I get so fascinated by the kind of products retailers come up with and want to have one of everything - I am a "retailer's dream" -so my husband tells me. So whenever we go out shopping he asks me to make out a list of items "needed" lest I get duped into buying unnesessary stuff. And then of course, my window shopping can no more be called window shopping too :)<br /><br />Well...so you needn't bother to ask me if I enjoyed at the Mall-of course I did. Moreover we were'nt even window shopping- my two friends actually started going crazy over the brands. I think they bought enough to get them thro till next diwali. :) One smart thing they taught me was to first hit the information center at the Mall and ask for the discount brochure. I believe you get it free if you are a AAA member or a student, else pay 5 bucks to get one and believe me,you wouldn't regret it.<br /><br />Summing it up, weekend was fun fun and more fun- first there was a lot of shopping and we talked so much and watched so many good movies...<br />It brought alive those campus day memories at K when we would take a walk around the campus late in the night, have a cup of tea ( essentially a sugar-water concentrate) in the night canteen and head back to work. What would I not do to get those idyllic days back again?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-22174092494181869022006-10-24T11:01:00.000-05:002006-10-24T11:59:10.837-05:00High Bridge overlook<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">I</span> sat down to update my blog today lest I forget my login/ pswrd ..hahaha.<br />With our lease coming to an end ,we decided to move to scenic suburbs leaving the downtown and checked out quite a few apartments before settling down to one cozy apt in Eden Prairie. We are now looking forward to next month end when we can shift and start living in a new place- that sounds exciting!. hmmm.<br /><br />Now that the winter set in here,we have pulled up our hoods and find it difficult even to walk from the parking lot to the shop entrance and I think in a few days,I would start writing about "traveling to heated shopping malls":)<br /><br />There is one place though, I can write about for today - St. Paul skyline from the high bridge overlook. We usually go here when dont have any place in mind and just wanna take a drive. The overlook provides a panoramic view of downtown St.Paul and the upper landing across the river. One can simultaneously see planes landing every five minutes in the St Paul airport , boats across the river and amtrack train chugging along on the riverside. wow!<br /><br />With I-94 humming in the background, I take a step back and see where I(we) belong- and I see this fast paced, monotonous, repetitive but enchanting life that I can never get enough of and I am ready to jump back into it. Crazy crazy world with crazy crazy people :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-60361958321243275842006-10-12T09:50:00.000-05:002007-06-14T21:44:19.826-05:00And "The Departed"... :)<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">O</span>nce we start off on the topic of movies or books, I think we can go on discussing the merits and shortcomings endlessly and opinions vary as much as the surnames in a phonebook :).<br />Now, that said, I can comfortably call <a href="http://thedeparted.warnerbros.com/" >“The Departed” </a> as one of the most illogical movies made and vehemently so because it is being praised as this year’s likely Oscar winning movie. We usually check <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407887/">IMDB</a> for any movie review before watching and this time too we did the same but it turned out that this movie did not deserve all the praise it has got.<br />Well, the movie goes something like this… the state police force is trying to destroy one of the top crime gangs in Boston led by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson).<br />Willy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), straight out of the Police Acadamy is assigned as an undercover cop to infiltrate the mob while Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), a criminal is planted into the police department as an informer to Costello. Both these spies rise to a positions of power gaining trust and respect from their new bosses. But soon, the mob and the police get to know that there's a mole in their midst and both Willy and Sullivan need to expose the other to save their skins. <br />Until this point,I should say the movie was gripping… <br />But the movie comes crashing down and all hopes of a logical conclusion are shattered when they show Damon discovering that Nicholson is after all an FBI agent (!!??!!) planted to find out leaches in the police force. <br />Wait a minute, was all that brutal, in-your-face violence and raw dialogues just a cover( ???!!) And why in the world is the whole Massachusetts State police force chasing a man who is an FBI agent??!! They have done enough Cops serials, i guess :)<br />To top this all, Damon who is practically raised by Nicholson gets tipped off for being a mole (???!!)<br />Thank God,they atleast killed everyone in the end, so that way there would be no loose ends. <br />Yessir!, Jack Nicholson’s whirling devilish portrayal of an untouchable, perverted mob boss is reason alone to see "The Departed" and Dicaprio and Matt Damon are as good as always. So if you can ignore the glaring obnoxious faults in the story-line, you can still enjoy watching it.<br />Boy, I would laugh my head off if this movie picks an Oscar for Best Picture.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-71460521404387631782006-10-10T13:22:00.000-05:002007-06-14T21:35:46.969-05:00A good movie after a long while<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">I</span>t has almost been two years since I read the book “To kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee and today I finally watched the screen adaptation of this Pulitzer winning novel.The movie excels the book with delightful naration and perfect cast.<br /><br />The story is set in Alabama during the times of depression where racial discrimination was the norm of the day. It tells us about a lawyer who dares to defend an innocent black man charged with rape of a white woman as seen through the eyes of his little girl Scout. <br /><br />The sleepy town of Maycomb finds itself ensnared in a moral trial of Tom Robinson, a young black man falsely accused of raping an abused and ignorant white woman. Scout and Jem's widowed father,Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) is a deeply principled man and is appointed to defend Tom. It is a forgone conclusion that he would be charged for the crime and stands no chance of justice from an all-white jury. Though Atticus proves beyond doubt that Tom could never have done the crime yet he is sent to the gallows and even before Atticus can plead a second time, Tom gets shot in an escape attempt. The children come to respect their father for his values even while the villagers turn hostile. <br />Intertwined with this is the story of the children's encounters with their insane neighbor Boo Radley and how in the end he saves their lives from the blind hatred of the white woman’s father. <br />It is said that Harper Lee went through similar situations in her life and many characters in this story are drawn from her life.<br />Racism may be irrelevant in a world of today but sadly prejudice and injustice still are not.<br />Another novel on the same lines but more vehement and much more longer is "Roots" by Alex Haley...but the problem is this was made into episodes for television and I wonder if I can sit and watch all of it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-75829667383495404642006-10-09T14:20:00.000-05:002006-10-09T14:30:18.543-05:00A day at the zoo<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">W</span>inter is closing in on us, threatening to come down cold and heavy any time, any day and each day of the week is a surprise blessing or ...<br />This Sunday too was one such day and we were blessed when we saw a ray of hope and the feeling of warmth to step out in our t-shirts. Armed with a free ticket to the zoo –parking inclusive (courtesy Neera and Mpls Library) we ventured out to Apple Valley to meet our neighbors of yesteryears :).Check out <a href="http://mplib.org/museumpasses.asp"> Minneapolis Public Library</a> for further details on the free ticket offer by Macy's. They are offering quite a variety of entry tickets to the museums, art galleries and Arboretum and it might be worthwhile grabbing a few.<br /><br />Coming back to our story, we hadn’t planned anything else and we decided to pamper the kids in us:).The last zoo I had seen was in Singapore in 2004 complete with Night Safari and Jurong bird park. I had so thoroughly enjoyed it that time ,I was sure that Minnesota wouldn’t let us down.<br />Well, the zoo here is sure a nice place to visit and the animals are well cared for but I think even Indian Zoos have much more to offer- at least many more animals to see. Probably because of the severe weather conditions, they are unable to flaunt as many species. One of the main highlights of the zoo was the Wells Fargo Family Farm where you get to see goats, pigs, hens and cows- but don't we watch them everyday on our roads in India? Of course, it is very exciting for kids as they get to feed them and pet them.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/1600/DSC02999.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/320/DSC02999.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <em> kid feeding goatiee </em><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/1600/DSC03005.0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/320/DSC03005.0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><em> The Empress of Blandings </em><br /><br />The bird show is right now closed for a month for training so I cannot comment on that but the dolphin show...I cannot even compare it to the one I saw in S'pore. I would just call it informative about dolphins and its nice to watch the them perform cute little tricks.<br /><br />Some of the must see in this zoo are: the Prairie Dogs-they are just so adorable! the way they dig holes, collect grass and are constantly on watch- ready to jump in the mud and hide themselves; Moose and Caribou- I never knew they were this huge and this lazy :) , tigers- if they are not sleeping they look awesomely majestic prowling about.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/1600/DSC03014.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/320/DSC03014.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <em> the cute little Prairie dog </em><br /><br />Worth a visit once if you have kids...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34297424.post-72064459928091426792006-10-03T09:39:00.000-05:002007-06-14T21:33:14.943-05:00St Croix State Park<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="float:left;color:darkred;font-size:100px;line-height:80px;padding-top:1px;padding-right:5px;font-family:french script mt, script mt bold,times;font-style: italic">W</span>e have been consistently traveling long distances over the past few weekends and decided it was time to take it easy and travel closer home. So we picked out the 34,000 acre St Croix state park located in Hinckley. This also happens to be the largest state park in Minnesota.<br />If you want to rest your tired feet and yet see some place, this would be it.<br />We took the 12 mile drive along the rustic road inside the heavily wooded area to see the fall colors. It was past peak and many of the leaves had already fallen or had turned brown. The entrance to the park (which was a good 4 mile) displayed the best colors. <br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/1600/DSC02937.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/320/DSC02937.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <em> Thro' the forest green </em><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/1600/DSC02933.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/320/DSC02933.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <em> autumn comes to a close</em><br /><br />I wouldn’t say, it was even half as good as Lutsen, but we can’t crib, can we. <br />We got up the 136-stair steep Fire tower for a scenic overview of the forest around us. There is a small landing on top of the tower to observe the whole forest and can accomodate a maximum of six people. I was very scared to climb up initially but somehow managed and it was truly worth the effort. <br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/1600/DSC02945.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/320/DSC02945.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <em> View from Firetower </em><br /><br />It was almost 5:30 pm by the time we completed the trail and we wanted to go canoeing down the St.Croix River but it was closed for the day. <br />You can take a canoe trip ranging from one to four hours through the National Scenic St croix riverway and it costs anywhere between $30-$40. Check <a href=" http://www.nps.gov/sacn/planyourvisit/outfitters.htm"> this </a> website for further details. We plan to do this sometime soon.:)<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/1600/DSC02971.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/5712/4186/320/DSC02971.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <em> towards the evening</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3