Famous words from an inspiring speech. India celebrates another year of independence, and there's a lot on my mind.

Every year on this day, I introspect a little. What does this day really mean to me? The answer is weird. It means a lot - and yet, it somehow means so little. I feel patriotic, I feel inspired, I love the tri-colors fluttering everywhere, I've attended the flag hoisted ceremonies organized as far out as Philadelphia. Yet I come up with an empty feeling when I think about what I have done. For my country. At all.

The thoughts take me broader, farther. I think of the world. Of the crises and of the mess. And I re-call my favorite TV show of all time, one that - as it drew to a close - highlighted what it means to be human, not Indian or American or Middle-eastern, or anything else for that matter. What we can achieve as a species, and what we are destroying. Of political power, and corruption, racism and hatred and cold war.

Is this what we are really about? If so, I genuinely don't feel like being human on those occasions.

I could go on, but I think I want to focus on what needs to change, rather than what cannot be touched or controlled.

Over the last year, maybe a couple years, I started to find my call, and interestingly, it lies in technology (and food, but that'll kill my point right now). Over the last few years, I've witnessed, thought about and complained about changes in technology, the impact it's having on our day-to-day lives. I have some clear thoughts on what I think technology should be doing, which inturn defines what it shouldn't.

Read the rest of this post »

It continually amazes me to see the kind of creativity that comes out of American movies and TV. As I finally watched Sucker Punch this week, this was more evident than ever.

There is so much creativity in the telling of this story. When I compare that against the real run of the mill rubbish we see in bollywood or on Indian tv...I quite literally, have no words.

I think that, in the Bollywood paradigm:

• a movie like Sucker Punch wouldn't have been conceptualized
• if we assume for a second that it could have been, no one would have been ready to fund it
• if it had been funded, not one 'mainstream'ish actor would have found the script worthy enough (and)
• if one had, they probably couldn't actually have pulled it off
• very few people would have gone to watch it
• some politician would have opposed the way young girls were portrayed, and possibly, banned it
• All in all, it would have been a big enough mess to deter anyone from even voicing the idea

On 100% of current Indian television, we still haven't gotten past the 'oh-my-god my mother-in-law is insane' storyline.

It's sad really. 

You'd think we've won the world cup:

A glimpse of the sounds that started when we won and still continue as I write this, almost 2 hours later...

Consider the premise for a new TV show on one of the many, many channels:

A family has 3 adult sons. The father of the household (traditionally the head of the family) has decided that he wants a specific girl to be his daughter-in-law. So now, he will spend the rest of the TV show's life (and what's left of Indian households' brains) deciding which of his sons she will marry.

Are. You. Kidding.

I'd happily accept the real name of this flower from anyone, but seriously...how cool is that. It looks like it's exploding from within!

Edit: Courtesy @WajihaSaid, we learn this is the bottlebrush, and it's not in full bloom yet. 

Trying to get work done in India is...well, a mess. People here though really should work on 'planning' - thinking things through so that you're preparing for the next step while you're finishing up this one. So that, you know, you don't drill a hole in one side of the wall only to realize there's a column set on the other side and you can't drill though, and now need to drill two meters away instead. Sigh.

Believe it or not, but I've actually never spent a Diwali in India. Until this time, that is.

One side of me sees a massive festive season. Another sees just another excuse for people here to take massive break, relax and NOT work! (Most places have 8-10 days off in a row) That said, the last couple of days (and nights) have been marked by festivities all around, lights everywhere and the loudest firecrackers at night when you try to wind down for the day.

Pictures were sadly taken with a camera phone since I don't have a proper camera around at the moment.

And for those of you who don't know what Diwali is, I'll leave with the (funny) explanation from Season 3 of The Office.