Mysore Half Marathon 2013

This was Mysore Celebration Run 2013 ; well there was BIG celebration at Pacemakers running group. Coach was brand ambassador of the run, we had a promo run in Bangalore for the same. Few runners from group also got featured in Life is Calling's web site.

Initially I was against this run as I rescheduled my Mother's return flight from Bangalore to Siliguri on the same Sunday :(. But big thanks to Maa and Pamela as they supported to run me this event. Initial plan was Pamela to drop Maa at airport, but at the end Maa said she would go via Taxi of her own. I traveled in car with fellow runners post lunch on Saturday and with small coffee break reached Mysore around 18:30. We had a simple South-Indian rice meal - a well carb-loading with rice. The hotel we stayed was 100 meters from the start/finish line.

On the race day we did not had to wake up that early compared to weekends run as run was starting at 06:30. Prepared myself for a hot day with a very light sleeve-less , ca and sun-glass. Was double minded about the tee as it felt little chilled as we walked out of the hotel. But as soon as did warm-up felt great about the choice of attire.

Initial plan I had in my mind was to stick with one lady runner from our group and try to finish as best I could. We started together but around 2KM mark there was little down hill and I continued my pace which I was comfortable once I go ahead from her. I continued my own pace and most time did not checked my garmin at all. I knew I was running faster than normal weekend runs but there was no discomfort. Around the lake where we took "U" turn could see all the the elites were coming back and a majority of them were from our group. Around 17 and 18 KM I wish the finish line was nearer as mind always plays devil game at the end.

The last 500 Meters there were Pacemakers waiting to cheers and pace the last part. I tired my best to push myself and get get a 1:50 finish. Well a minute shorter I would have beat my own record from 2003. But the length of the race is not 21.1 so if I really need to finish 1:50 next time I need to save 2/3 minutes overall and a target of around 1:45 would be dream come true.

Special thank to Flashbulbzz for the capturing these wonder pictures.

Blessed

Blessing is a simple word, but yesterday night (Monday) just before sleeping I was thinking about the same again and again. Wished for a gadget to record my thought as I was too tired to use any keyboard or voice recorder. At times we  wonder and sometime make fun of those award ceremonies where people on the stage  keep on thanking people around him or her and sometimes even their dogs. I always love to read the preface of a book where authors thank about their loved ones and early critics and business partners. Webby Award (considered as Oscar of Internet) being techie kept it simple --- as they have "5 word Acceptance Speeches” rule. Well I was not thinking about those awards and long speeches but more about the people around me who are allowing me to cherish my daily life on my own way.

After a horrible finish in Bangalore TCS 10K(1hr plus) and Chennai Half Marathon(2:27 my watch/2:09 race web site). I was determined to be regular with Coach Kothandapani K C and Pacemakers group. Earlier, was just running once a week with the group on weekend for long run and that too bit irregular. Now for one month started to leave home at 4:30 AM to reach Kanteerava Stadium for Tuesday and Thursday training. Tuesday, is interval training something I never ever tired before when I  started to run,  in early 2000. I struggled for weeks but eventually saw some improvement in me but there is still a lot to go. Thursdays we do tempo or core strengthening exercise which really helps running as core is the power house of our body. And couple of Nandi hill runs on the weekend ensured we were not scared of those flyovers in upcoming Airtel Hyderabad Half Marathon .

In recent time, asked my younger brother to ship a  pair of running  shoes (4E-wide feet) & Garmin(GPS Watch). These items were personally carried to Bangalore by friends and colleague from US. These items are not easily available in India and if they are, they cost an arm and leg.

Can not thank enough Pamela for being there like a rock. Now a days, Pamela rushes faster than Bolt on those 2 days as she prepares breakfast, lunch box  and ensures Aarush and herself is ready with shower, breakfast and out of home by 07:30 to be at school on time.  Also,  in recent time lucky to have family members around who baby-seated Aarush on Saturdays as we are now running on Saturdays for long run instead of Sundays.

The result just speak for itself, finished Hyderabad Half Marathon strong with 2:01:33 on my Garmin. It is my best in recent time and  I am happy with the split timing for each Kilometers. I was consistent throughout and had only few kilometers where I ran slower than pace 6. The last KM I was able to push myself and was around 5:10 pace again ; where crossed a fellow runner from the running group and felt like winning the Gold medal. Yes, there was hard work, determination, strategy which helped me to achieve this. A minute shorter would have been a icing on the cake. But again, all these could not have been possible without these people and their belief in me; so feeling really blessed.

The race was an amazing one, met few finest Indian runners from other cities. The arrangement of transport, train tickets, hotel arrangement was too good; again special thanks to Coach and pacemakers team for that. The post-run lunch was something which I am going to drool and talk about for months to come. It was a unmarked restaurant named "Dine Hill", we were bit hesitant initially but once went inside for food; seeing the people and their plates we got a big cultural shock. There were those huge dishes which are as big as the size of the table and 4-5 people eat together from the same plate. We asked the restaurant guy if he is going to give us separate plate; He said YES but added why do not you try this way of sharing and eating food with friends - love grows between friends.

Pipeline Road Run

There was a discussion in the running group to practice hill-run before upcoming Hyderabad run which I am trying to be a regular member. Normally the "numero uno" destination for hill training around Bangalore is Nandi Hill ; which is 60KM north of the city. Have already run Nandi hills few times and yes Nandi is grueling specially the last 3 KM. Nandi run is 15KM in total where you go 7.5 KM up and come down the same. But the run does not duplicate Hyderabad where we need to cross 3 flyovers. Pipe-line road at south of Bangalore parallel to Kanakpura Road is very similar to Hyderabad . The initial plan was to run 21 KM one way and had a sumptuous breakfast at one farm house.

On the D-day morning the plan was little changed as decided to do 12.5KM up and down to complete 25KM and then take our cars to the farm house for breakfast. So we started running from KSIT Engineering College and followed pipe-line road and crossed NICE-road, Ravishankar Guruji Ashram, Angana, and reached APS Engineering collage where Pipe-line road cross Kanakpura Road again. I turned back and completed my 25KM while few went ahead and reached the farm house directly. Here is the elevation graph from my new GARMIN :) I am very proud to say I did not stopped the whole trail and was able to run all along and completed it :) :)

• Distance: 25.40 km


• Time: 2:40:44


• Avg Pace: 6:20 min/km

Chennai DRHM

Chennai DRHM ( Dream Runners Half Marathon) was on 1st Sunday of July i.e. 7^th July 2013. It was the first run out of Bangalore for me. Last time I registered for Mumbai Standard Chartered was in 2008 and was gifted with Aarush just few days before the race :D  Well Aarush is the reason why I can not run on weekdays morning but he is the catalyst who introduced me to The Pacemakers running group of Bangalore.

 It was a great escape for me from Bangalore and daily routine. a big thanks to Pamela for supporting me on this. Knew it was not going to be my best run given the fact I was not practicing at all. The last time ran was beginning of June after that it was all about running around household and office work. Working late and on weekends and busy with Aarush's school and what not. In fact I was so messed up  posted The Pacemakers  Facebook page that “I am not going” but thanks to Pamela after an hour  posted  “I will” be going.

Thanks to fellow runners a cab was booked and woke up Saturday Morning at 4:30 and meet them at the gate at 5. We were at Containment Station by 5:40 where already few fellow runners were waiting, at 6:10 boarded the Shatabdi. The train journey was fun brought back the memory of college days where traveled  in a large group for the last time.  It was fun to be noisy and so many small group chit chat ... it was real entertaining.

As soon reached Chennai the humid heat welcomed us and oh! that smell of Chennai Central. Thanks to our Tamil friends we moved to the electrical (local)  train platform and took a local train towards hotel, the last part from station to hotel was long walk . We crossed many ministerial bungalows as walked from Station to our hotel Raj Palace.

Reaching hotel there was enough opinions for lunch venue/cuisine between 30+ hungry stomachs personally stayed back had the same in the hotel and had a long nap till dark. It was ladies Final at Wimbledon and soon our room was packed with 20+ people as it is more fun to watch in group. Everyone thought it would be a big fight between German and French. But Bartoli finished the tournament quickly in a straight set with ace. Well she did not beat any big names in this tournament but she beat those who did ... a dream came true.

Dinner was like lunch again many opinion and this time personally went out to explore little beyond hotel to ‘Saravana Bhavan’ the place was packed as usual and had Paneer Dosa a foolish choice before a long run tried to mitigate with Dahi Vada (yogurt to neutralize the richness of Cottage Cheese and oil) . The bus ride back to hotel was long we had we had a walk mile personally liked it after a big meal.

Race Day ….

Woke up at 3:30 had a quick shower and realized it is going to be a tough one as was not feeling good in stomach. We were supposed to be out of hotel by 4 but there was big time drama by the arranged cab drivers, was part of the last drop. The sky was dark with cloud and it rained a lot in the night but still the weather felt hot and very very humid bay around 75~85%  precipitation. Tried to follow Coach’s warm-up session but the school ground was full of sand and dropped out from the running one. The race started at 5 and started my stop watch for the first time running with a watch and that too a GPS enabled,  started with few pacemakers for the first few kilometers and then started running of my own pace which  felt very good about. And every Kilometers Garmin showed my speed and all was looking very nice. Soon say the lead runner coming back and it was none other than our Nanjundappa. The second runner was at least a KM behind him. Soon saw many of the Pacemakers taking the turn. But my run took a downhill  as I struggled from 13KM onwards. I felt there are too much water in my bladder and I am tired from the humid condition.  So I walked run and continued till the end and many people crossed me in that process. The 2 KM I tried again to push myself but by that time I was out. As soon as I finished the race said bye to pacemakers group and walked back to hotel. Well it was a long walk but did not want to haggle with Autos.

The race was very organized with lots of police and volunteers and roads are so good that it does not seem like India. The coarse was also perfect as we ran along Bay of Bengal and the famous Marina Bay only humidity was a concern but there is no way we can avoid that in this time of the year. The sun was completely out as sky was covered with dark cloud I think it can not be better than this in July in Chennai.

Reaching Hotel, freshened up had a big breakfast and by that time all others also came back. There was a celebration in hotel where someone walked and got beers  personally skipped beer just after exercise but the fun was too good to be missed.  The train  journey back was as much fun but this time everyone was little bit tired. Enjoyed every moment of this trip and next is one going to be Hyderabad Half Marathon  in late August. Well the result below is wrong to my it will be in the range of 2:27. In TCS 10k official time made me mad now it is making me smile :D

BookShelf

This was complete DYI project. Theses books are not going to be touched soon.

Opinion - does it really matter ?

Opinion – a simple word everyone has one. Thanks to new social media which makes it so easy to spread it. They express it say it is personal (me included). Does it really personal once expressed ? I am not a social science expert but there are some opinions heard, read in recent time wondered what to do with them.  Tried argue with few at the beginning but at the end ignored them all. Hope you will do the same, if not leave your comments.

Scene-1 Mr. President visiting CA and ends up apologizing for a comment which sound natural but did not go well in media. Sorry Mr. President wrong choice of words everyone has such high expectation from you. If it was your predecessor may be we have not read about it Newspaper’s opinion page.
Scene-2 One Chief Minister of India decides which countries are allowed to play in one Indian state for IPL. Well she is not the first one to do there was a stage set for the same in Mumbai long time back. Looks like it is not impacting cricket much and everyone is happy with IPL Season –Six.
Scene-3 One Indian minister comments on drought. I am leaving it out and saving myself from typing.
Scene-4 In Facebook, there are opinion on Aloe-Vera to politics, economy, technology, history and what not. Well like top 3 example I could just ignore them or comment or hit the humble ‘like-button’. Not sure why there is dislike button ? May be it is more “Gamification process” than “engaging”.
Scene-5 in a recent party heard people refusing airline based on their country of origin. Does it really make sense ? 

The same person avail other products/services of that same country directly or indirectly for sure in today’s connect world. Just for the record I was drunk and wise and remained mute :)
As said in the first really thinking on the digital/social context as here I am expressing my opinion without any heart-full argument on the same.

A small nano but long wait

Beginning of this year sold our Indica and bought Swift-Dzire(ZDI) which we found very practical and perfect for our Indian need. And we did not thought of booking any new car in recent time. Suddenly things got changed when Pamela started a new job in May. We were quite happy with single car and personally opted for BIAS (Bangalore International Airport - Volvo) as I commute from Hebbal to Old Airport read every day around 20KM one way.

But with rains things started to change and at times had to spend hours for bus and rain is something which I enjoy with a cup of tea on a balcony not on road with umbrella. So we said why not a second car ...

Looked around in the classifieds but nothing clicked. There were just three cars in our list

•  Nano - Pros Price Cons - no power steering and many more as listed by others.
•  Alto - Pros A complete car compared to Nano Cons Price difference almost 1.5 L to 1.8L different between different trims.
•  Reva - Pros Alternative fuel Cons - Long running cost with Battery replacement, niche car in itself, Price is quite high 4.25L with AC model.

After doing test drive on Nano & Alto Pamela said she is OK for Alto but for not for Nano (power steering).

We dropped Reva along the path and did not did a test drive.

But after 10 days of deliberation I had a test drove Nano. Definitely it is different compared all the cars I drove till date. Found I can manage it in city traffic for few days in a week. Plan to drive this when I know for sure I will be late; other sunny days can always take BIAS and have a worry free commute.

Now why CX ??? -having AC in car was a must so the basic model was dropped. Found LX for another 30K is too much. As we would not be driving this car in extreme condition do not need fog lights and other features. With current 20K discount on road price for CX is just 2 lakhs which sounds right for me. Dealer promised to put sun film, mud guard and floor mats as complimentary. Might need to change the seats from vinyl to fabric after some time.

The paper work was quite easy. Never bought a car like this before. The first car I bought in USA almost took 4 hours of marathon negotiation.But the delivery was a sad episode after 4weeks of wait finally got the Nano yesterday. The delivery dates from the dealer kept on slipping which was a shame and last Sunday we even given them cancellation request if they fail to deliver it early this week.  On Monday they said they will deliver it.

P.S. I drove the car for last two days, the ODO reads only 82KM for now. It is OK to drive but definitely does not feel like a complete car. The picture is from Nano website the car comes without alloy wheels.

A quick post

Reading old newspaper clipping fascinate me; an article which earns a good amount space on that day and most likely people read and forgot. and here I am reading it after days with a fresh eye. And most times it turns out to be a great story to read with eagerness.

This one was bit special which caught my eyes today was "Chaturanan Mishra passed away"; now there are few things which made me to write this quick post. First the surname which is very similar of mine, but the name is really catcher. I am quite sure no parent of 21st century is going to keep this name for their boys due to many reasons.

The real meaning of this name is a person with four face and that is Brahma the creator of universe.

It should not be confused with "Chatur" a quick English translation will be a "Smart person" but somehow over years the base word "chatur" is used with dark side of smartness like mischievous act which may result in trap for not so "chatur" person. The last reason is off course if you seen the blockbuster movie from Amir khan - "3 Idiots" the memory it bring back is enough to skip this name as there zillions of name to choose from.

A humble tribute to Chaturanan Misra -- he was a freedom fighter from Bihar's Madhuvan ; was imprisoned by British. Post independence he served in both state and national legislatives and worked for agriculture reform and farmers. Madhuvan northern part of Bihar is famous for it natural color painting with unique style. Some considers Mathali ( the local dialect) as a very soft and poetic .

Father Day - Thank you Aarush

During month of May there were some sudden turn of events happened that changed the course of my life as father. Well I am quite positive on this sudden turn of event that this happened for good. Pamela suddenly jackpot a teaching Job with one of the premier institute of Bangalore. And they asked her to join immediately. The first week was in training in Kormangala was OK OK  as Aarush had his summer camp in his old school. They also have a day care so he got the adjusted to the same quite easily for the first week.Well end of the above paragraph does not qualify for a thought or blog post  and does not  happen in real life ? The ground reality was very different one but fun filled. The first week Pamela had to reach to her training by 8:30 and she is not yet comfortable in driving in Bangalore traffic. So opted for one temporary driver from an agency while we searched for a permanent one. That resulted in losing the luxury of car for me. Honestly that was boon and I am with BMTC Bus. The fun and difficult part was becoming a morning DAD for Aarush. Now I have to prepare him for school with shower and breakfast and etc. But to my delight Aarush has been very positive as he realised this new person is bit different from his beloved mother.We booked a 2 week vacation in end of May to visit my parental home. My younger brother will be coming from California and we will celebrate ‘rice ceremony’ for their son (Sheryaan). Now as Pamela can not go we cancelled our ticket at first thinking to cancel the trip. Now this is really a big event which we did not want to miss but it means Aarush have to come with me as he can not be left alone in Bangalore. With that I need to make fresh booking of Air ticket with some serious dent on my credit card ? I had to buy the same ticket 3-4 times costlier for myself and Aarush.I had to make Aarush aware of this upcoming BIG trip every day morning while preparing his for school. But the D-Day he was thinking it was more of me going on a trip then himself as the bag was not that big. But when we got down at Airport he was OK and we quickly moved through checking and security and boarded the flight. The flight was a late one starting at 21:00 from Bangalore and reaching Calcutta close to midnight. In the flight Aarush said he wanted to have some food which was a very positive thing as after having it he fall asleep. On reaching Calcutta we took a TAXI and reached a our hotel. A lot of strange eyes in Calcutta even one asked where is his mother ?? Well as it was very late Aarush slept easily.

Next morning we had our flight to Siliguri at noon the postponement was informed to me in advance. So we left hotel late and had a leisurely brunch for Aarush and myself. At the airport Aarush opted for Idli (on of his favorite ) while I slipped a cup of coffee. He was very trilled with the ATR and it wings compared to yesterday’s jet. And more over it was a day flight where he could see lots of things. Reaching Siliguri and at home he was OK. He was a hero to many eyes.  On the day of return he was very excited to go back to Bangalore and joining Pamela whom he missed for 4 days.

The return flight was smooth – Aarush slept on the flight between Calcutta Bangalore and some paste on reaching Bangalore Airport.

On 8th June he started his school with DPS. The first three days I need to go with him and on 13th on-wards he started going by the School Bus. The new routine is very demanding as Aarush have to get ready in 50 min to reach Bus-Stop within Godrej Campus by 07:30 AM. Every morning he suggests it is a holiday at school but once in Bus he is OK. It is already 2 weeks he is going by Bus and coming back to Day-care where he will have his lunch and nap and then Pamela picks him up while returning from School. So far so good with the new role but it is really demanding one for sure.

We watched 'taare zameen par' one weekend though he loves the song 'Bum Bum Bole' the whole school system, punishment, separation from family made him sad he did not like the whole thing about Ishan.  Looks like  it was not a good idea to watch it with him.

Another Move

A few more week we will move from our current address; this time within Bangalore.  So compared to last moves it is going to be a very small one.  In 2003, we crossed Atlantic (California to Paris), in 2006 we crossed Indian ocean (Paris to Mumbai) and in 2008 we moved within India (Mumbai to Bangalore). Now this is just 20 Km move within Bangalore city.

The painters from Asian Paint Home Solutions are doing the paint job and they are supposed to finish by 25th November.  The color scheme is going to be primarily white with little variant on one major wall. Hope all things works out as planned.

We just had a wonderful week long break in Rajasthan during diwali; Pamela is working on the  travelogue. We are posting the pictures as we finish writing the details.

Coffee – makes me happy

My addiction to coffee is not new and there are few posts on the same subject in past. The culture of having a good time with a cup of coffee is catching up in India. Café Coffee Day aka CCD is expanding its footprints in rapid speed from past few years; people close to the business speculate they are just spending money and expanding in hope for a bought over by some FDI like Starbucks if the later enter Indian market.

Personally prefer Barista (inside Leela hotel more presice) more for the ambiance then the coffee. This chain has changed ownership a few times and their service is not consistent across franchises. The croissant I had in Mumbai airport last Wednesday felt like chewing gum.Now there are few entries to the market like Cuppa, Costa. Went to Cuppa(in Benarghata road) few months back after dinner with friends and were quite disappointed as they did not had any wine that we asked. Felt like they wanted to push some open bottled wine and my experience with coffee was not great either. Last Tuesday while in Mumbai went to Costa coffee for the first time and I must admit their coffee was really great. The price is bit higher from CCD but very much like Barista now need to see if they can hold on to the quality as they expand within India.

IKEA - made in India

 It is no secret that I am a big fan of IKEA's clean cut design. And now every time I  go outside of India  try  to pick something from there. Wished  we got the whole modular kitchen, beds, chest of drawers, leather sofa while moving back from Paris. This time I visited IKEA store was next to Newark Airport(EWR, NJ) and picked some small stuff for Aarush. When a neighbour looked at the "Made in India" level asked from which store we picked up?  We were shocked twice first that person did not knew about IKEA , and secondly   wondered  what a journey this plastic item had across the world before coming to our apartment.

Another year passed by

Another year passed and more grey hairs to take care now. Well this time I cut the cake at office with my team. Cake came off course from Cake Walk. Well I never had any no birthday resolution there was no difference this year as well. Big thanks to those who wished me on time or belated. For others this post is few weeks old in itself.

Madras Filter Coffee

My addiction to coffee is old an old one. My morning does not start without coffee on weekdays. I am not quite human still have my morning coffee will probably describe it best.  In India coffee is very different from West.  I came to know recently that Indian Coffee Board is head quartered in Bangalore.  The main coffee producing region of India(hills of Coorg, Niligiris and Wayanad>) are not very far off Bangalore.

This coffee I got today morning while on way to office. A good link to follow. Some quote from Wikipedia about how it is prepared if you are interested.

South Indian coffee is brewed with a metal device that resembles two cylindrical cups, one of which has a pierced bottom that nests into the top of the "tumbler" cup, leaving ample room underneath to receive the brewed coffee. The upper cup has two removable parts: a pierced pressing disc with a central stem handle, and a covering lid.The upper cup is loaded with fresh ground coffee mixed with chicory (~2 tablespooons of mixture per serving). The grounds are gently compressed with the stemmed disc into a uniform layer across the cup's pierced bottom. With the press disc left in place, the upper cup is nested into the top of the tumbler and boiling water is poured inside. The lid is placed on top, and the device is left to slowly drip the brewed coffee into the bottom. The chicory sort of holds on to the hot water a little longer, letting the water extract more flavor from the coffee powder. This makes the decoction a lot stronger as compared the typical western drip coffee, the decoction is so strong that you'd need only 2-3 tea spoonfuls of it to flavor a 150ml milk. Where as the western drip coffee is quite watery to taste.

COFFEE.SYS Not Found: User startup disabled. ~Author Unknown

Happy Durga Puja

Hello everyone, happy festivity it is time of celebration in India specially  north and east where it is NavaRatri in North and Durga Puja in East. Pamela and Arush left on Sunday for Durg. It will be almost after 8 years Pamela will be at her mother house to celebrate Durga Puja. For Bengali's it is the most special occasion in the whole calender.  According to mythological believe Goddess Durga is a daughter of every Bengali  and she visit her parents with her four children.

For me life had been very hectic at work in last months after coming back from Singapore. At times I felt new heights of  anxiety and pressure which i have not experienced yet.  In way it was a good learning but I questioned myself do I  have the material enough to get me to the of the leader. Well may be I am reading too many Harvard Business Reviews. I am really looking forward a great ending of this course now. Wish I could plan for our next vacation; since  March when we did not went out Bangalore together. I am already dreaming for Andaman

I am counting my days for the upcoming camping trip that I am supposed to take on 1st week of October.  I got all my camping grear out of various boxes which have not seen any action in last 5 years after I left Sunny California.

Pamela has kept Aarush's picture website update. She is really great as she always updates that twice a weeks as soon she gets her chance to sit down with computer. But really at times I  feel this blog space is not getting enough updates it should get.  Wish we both could do the same with the blog; I should  write soon after coming back from the camping trip.

Depuis Longtemps

In recent time, there is no post in our blog.  Few days back, newspaper mentioned popular blogs are drying as "twitter or facebook" becomes popular ways to communicate with readers. Many bloggers started to update about themselves in social-site or micro-blogging using SMS and original blog surffers. For us nothing as such happened; we just got super busy from busy.

We were very happy that my younger brother and his wife took the pain to come over to Bangalore (10-13^th July). Though it was just for 3 days out of their hectic one month annual India trip. Day they returned to Calcutta they had flight in the night to California. It was fun for very short span and I had classes whole week and even on Saturday. Pamela took them around to Commercial street and Garuda Mall. Was able to spend Sunday with them; we went to Richies at Frazer town. Well this place is not a great if you are looking for ambience and cleanliness. But the kebab are mouth watering and price is very reasonable. We have been there twice already; each time we go there its just for food and keep our eyes on plate only.

The day I dropped them at Airport ; reached office and realized my turn is coming to travel. I will be going to Singapore for a week on business trip(26-31^st).

Now need to clear out all those tiny bits of to-do’s which had been procastinated for a while. To top up this I am having classes every Saturday @ IIM. This mean more subjects, exams and more preparations.

At work things are really crazy at times now I can relate "Organizational Structure" and "Organizational Behaviour".  If you are like me do not get puzzled by these terminology. Before attending the B-school I didn't knew them either but had practised through experience.  The first one deals with organization at large and how it behaves through change at difficult or good times.  The second one is focused on each individual and groups (formal and informal) within the organization. No one can escape these at professional front but knowing these theories is definite plus.

Playing football

Aarush having nice time in green patch of IIM Bangalore Campus. Color of ball and his T-shirt coincidently matched and isn't that look nice on green background? I took Pamela and Aarush to show them the southern part of Bangalore which I am visiting quite often this year on academic purpose. A great place to escape from routine life and bring back memories of ... "Purani Jeans Aur Guitar..." days.

For those who are not familiar with this song it is sung by Ali Haider.

IPL 2.0

IPL – Indian Premier League goes out of India. You do not need to be a cricket fan to follow this news as it is every where. I am literally out raged with this news can you think suddenly British (Barclay) premiership moves to Spain as cold winter stormed as swapped across Britain. Mr.Lalit Modi is a big favorite be it media or those franchisee owners but certainly things will be different after this summer. I really can not believe IPL can survive solely on TV. There is a bigger eco-system which goes around IPL be it parking or those support members (in hundreds) for each team. And surely there will not be any cheerleaders any more as there will not be any spectators. How they are going to manage in cold un-predictable month of April where you get sudden blizzards in UK. If TV works so well I am sure American sports might had exported to other parts of the world by now be it NBA,NFL or NHL. It is also mostly watched by TV but there is a eco-system around the whole and you find TV serials to movies about the same. Can you believe Only wish be this IPL 2.o becomes so flop and the franchisee-owners makes huge loses so that they can come down to ground from their chartered flights. Last summer they poured huge sum thinking they will recover someday soon but with this development I am not sure who soon.

My baby shower

My baby shower was done in the Bengali traditional way which is called as Saadh in Bengali. It is meant mostly to pamper the first-time mother to be and cheer her up as she accumulates courage to face the most testing time in her life which will soon change her life in and out. Normally, held in the seventh or ninth month of pregnancy on a specified day when mother-in-law will organize this ceremony. She will invite all the women she knows. Thus this ceremony is mainly for women only.


In our custom, M-I-L presents all the garments which mother-to-be wears at the ceremony. This occasion happens twice once from in-laws side is over then only my mom can have but because of my critical condition, from both sides were done on a single day in the seventh month.


Expected mother have to sit on the floor facing east and sometimes puja is also performed; but as I was medically unfit to sit for a longer duration so certain rituals were curtailed. Alpana (with powdered rice) designs are usually drawn on the floor. In the middle of the design, an earthen or copper pot is kept decorated with a red swastika and filled with pure water, mango leaves and green coconut is kept. This is considered as an auspicious sign.

Mom and mother-in-law of the prospective mother fill her lap, represented by the aanchal of her sari with items. Generally, mother-in-law will first bless with ululating the expectant mother as well her unborn child and then put items like 7 different types of dry fruits, fresh fruits, sweets etc in the lap which will be followed by other invited married women. Had a wonderful time with all elders wishing me luck in their own way.


Last but not least expected mother is fed well with seven different types of savory traditional dishes. A feast is prepared for the guests as well. In Bengali, no ceremony be it a wedding or baby shower is complete without elaborate serving rituals, but nowadays professional catering or buffet-style dining is common. The courses progress from lighter to richer and heavier. Rice remains common throughout the meal.

Starting course is bitter a soupy mixture of vegetables in a ginger-mustard sauce, called shukto. Followed by Dal lentil curry - the most substantial course accompanied with fritters (bhaja). In fritters tailfin and head of fish is must to be served to expected mother. The next course is two kinds of vegetable curry which is followed by fish course of two varieties. Finally comes the chutney course, which is typically tangy and sweet; usually made of mangoes or tomatoes or pineapple etc. And of course at last sweet dish be it rice pudding (kheer) or rasogulla is served which is not to be missed.

Journey to Motherhood

Remembering my journey to motherhood as Aarush turns one year old. After 4 years of marriage and lot of traveling around Europe Santanu decided to move back to India to find a better professional career. Life as couple was not full of hip and happening but we were happy and carefree about the same. I use to scorn at people whenever brought up kids in topic; balked at elders. After getting back to India this pressure was getting on me. It seems no one bothered Santanu ever on this matter.

With time finally made a decision to walk on a family way after 3 and half years – although we knew it was not an easy journey but still.. At first we were completely ignorant on this matter. I did every such thing which one should not do; with the thought that when other pregnant women can do job why can’t I? So got into locals, bus, trams, climbed flight of stairs, did moping ,brooming, cleaning, had papaya almost every day and what not. Result : on stepping in fourth month had unavoidable abortion.

I took five months of rest before thinking on it again as per doctors advice. Somewhere I felt my biological clock was ticking fast. If not wrong, Santanu didn’t had any interest left on this matter; may be he was scared to walk on this path again. With lots of discussion and doctors second opinion finally for second time a life formed inside me. Although it was not “aha” moment as family faced untimely loss of Santanu’s father almost at same time.

Before conceiving only I was told by doctor that I have to be in bed rest completely (which I didn't took much seriously at that time). Even was asked to quit from job and stop doing any household work. It took me a while to find a helping hand who would take care of domestic chores. Under medical ground I was not considered normal like 95% other women which was difficult for me to accept.

The journey started; everyday was full of anxiety and fear. Each time I prayed frantically for my kid’s safe arrival. At times, life was difficult as well different and you never know how this journey will end up.

Certain times I felt like entrapped with well wishers whom I wanted to avoid. Your very own people sometimes don’t allow you to be in peaceful mood. For some it was time to challenge me rather then giving me courage. And there was no easy way out for me to escape from all this situations. Everyone have their own say. For many it was time to make a big speculation whether it will be a girl or boy….I really don’t understand why people want to know when they have chosen to be a parent…after all how sex of kid matters.

Keeping excitement alive amidst the stress of baby-making with weathering storms of weekly injections to preparing for the birth of my dreams was not at all easy. I was administered almost 40 injections in this whole 9 months journey. Along with whole cocktail of nutritious food, medicines like folic acid, Susten, sujat, iron and calcium tablets – was to be taken regularly till end. Papaya and pineapple was big NO this time.

To make things complicated Santanu had to travel for a month form work to Singapore. It was pretty scary at time, but looking back may be it happened for good. The only time I was allowed to venture out of the four walls was routine monthly check up with my gynecologist. Each time I used to find the streets had changed from the last time as some new shops, new pot holes and new buildings had come up.

With maturity of months I was asked to cut on salt, sugar, spice from my diet which was very difficult for foodie person like me. Not only that beside house arrest bed rest was imposed on to me from 6th month after cs got stitched. It happened all of a sudden after second ultrasonography I was admitted on the very moment and had to spent 4 days in hospital. After getting discharged my life was even worse like a bird in a cage at times.

I was only permitted to get out of bed for toilet and shower. My bed was inclined from leg side. Sleeping like a log on one side was really tough. People who have met me personally knew my condition. Before Santanu left for his office he use to keep laptop, books , phone on my side so that I can shuffle among them. It was a daily routine which went on till d-day. One doctor used to come each week to give injections.

My parents visited me for baby shower on the seventh month. On one hand, each time I felt movement in my belly, my heart use to fill with joy with the very thought that soon I'll hold my little girl or boy while on other hand I was not allowed to stand even in the balcony to get a glimpse of the out side world.

In the first week of January doctor removed the stitches and asked me to move around in the house. It felt so awkward carrying extra weight and was scared of doing something stupid at end of the journey. I was counting every moment when finally we will meet. Taking advantage of doctor's permission, for first time I visited a baby shop to pick the basic needful. At the end my doctor opted for a planned c-section as she did not wanted to take any risk. And I was admitted a night in advance. I could not sleep much in anxiety and neither did any one who were around me. My parents came a month before my delivery to help us.

On long awaited d-day when baby was taken out of my belly; someone slapped I suppose which was followed by high-pitched squeak and wailing around 12.07 PM looking as though the little one has just been in a fist-fight ( bluish, covered with blood and cream-cheesy glop) yeak.....

After a while, one nurse came to me saying “Pamela its male child” carrying too delicate baby wrapped in green cloth with short neck, chubby cheeks, tiny curled fists, pink toes, quivering eyes, puckered lips and button nose.