I want to be a farmer.

On most, if not all, days I wake up and quickly remember that life has been amazing to me. It starts with opening my eyes every morning and finding a fantastic partner in crime next to me. And it keeps getting better. The good morning stretch and wag from Neo, the conversation with mom and dad on the way to work, working at a company that makes aircraft engines (planes have been a lifelong fascination and a part of me is amazed I get paid for doing this), conversations with colleagues and the odd chats or calls with close friends & family and then finally an evening spoilt with choices that I infrequently exercise but choices I have nevertheless - running, programming lego robots,   learning to play the guitar, reading a middle earth fantasy book, playing warhammer games with my high elf army at the local games workshop, thinking of ways to contribute to wildlife conservation, dreaming up start ups and finally falling asleep, content. Heck, most things I have wanted to do in my life, I am doing now, even if the degree of doing varies.

Which brings me to one other thing I have always wanted to be. To be a farmer. I am not quite sure when I picked that up as an aspiration but as a kid there were plenty of sources of inspiration - books by Enid Blyton, particularly Six Cousins Again and summer vacations with grand mom soaking in the art of cultivating paddy and raising goats, cows and chickens. I still clearly remember the first time I helped sow paddy seeds when we were short of people on a particular day, I remember taking the goats everyday to their pasture and I remember getting lessons from the boys next door on how to get the attention of a wandering cow while grazing them.

Then the rest of life happened. College, an engineering degree and finally work. As I traveled the world on work life got a lot more complicated in comparison to those summer vacations, life almost got surreal. The most exagerated it ever got was when I would take a flight from the US to India on a Friday and fly back to the US on Monday, and then repeat the exercise again next month. The kid who wanted to just be a farmer had come a long way, almost too long,  and ran the risk of getting lost. But even during all madness a visit to grandmom's place always grounded me, reminded me of who I really was. I would always be the Keeper of the Goats. In the midst of everything else in life I made sure of one thing - that in my lifetime I would always have access to that one place that was the most magical of all places to me.

And then in 2013 we moved to Cincinnati. If there was a list of places where I expected to make progress on the farming dream, Cincinnati would have been at the bottom. But I underestimated the universe. The first twist came when D & me met Drausin & Susan (a D&S coincidence) from Grassroots Farm & Foods at a nearby farmers market. Drausin is a banker turned farmer and Susan is a lawyer, magical cook and weekend farmer. They sell grass-fed lamb & beef and it's been a privilege to get to know such a fantastic and fascinating couple. Their views on life, food, farming and everything else are remarkable and we have learnt so much. They love and respect what they raise (a part of me is still troubled by the fact that the animal is killed in the end...but I do love meat, so thats a contradiction for later resolution) and have created a wonderful farm. They are also followers of Wendell Berry, a farmer whose essays touch my very soul. We have visited their farm a couple of times. D helps them with marketing and cooking samplers and I get to spend time every other Sunday at their stall in the farmers market. Its hard to connect selling aircraft engines and selling grass-fed meat but strangely I relish both and feel at peace. I have a whole new respect for food, something that touches us every day and is so critical to our very existence.

D & me have taken yet another step towards farming. A couple of weeks ago we leased a small garden plot (25ft x 25ft) to grow our own vegetable garden. We were late to start for this season but we have planted every possible seed we could lay our hands on. The evenings have one more choice now - weeding, watering and just relishing.

Who says you can't have it all in this lifetime?

Keep fighting, we must...

The world often times is a depressing place. Just go about your day to day life and many many negative stories will hit you before an inspiring tale makes its way up to you, if at all. On some days you just want to give up the fight and chug through the motions. But maybe we must remember this...

मन करे सो प्राण दे, जो मन करे सो प्राण ले, वही तो एक सर्वशक्तिमान है
कृष्ण की पुकार है, ये भागवत का सार है कि युद्ध ही तो वीर का प्रमाण है
कौरवों की भीड़ हो या पांडवों का नीड़ हो जो लड़ सका है वो ही तो महान है

"Only He can call you. And if there is honor it is in being in the battle ground. Not victory. Not glory. The fight." - Piyush Mishra

So here is my compilation of some fighters and their fights. Some of these people and organizations I have met and experienced, some others I only observe from a distance. I have added a brief summary on each of them and maybe you will take the time to explore them in detail. There are many more, but I just picked the six that have inspired me the most. They all may have an animal theme to them but in the end I think the fight is for whatever makes us human. 

Animal Care Society
This is a no kill shelter that is based in Louisville, USA. This was the first place I volunteered at, way back in 2006. They pick dogs and cats from the city pound where abandoned animals are eventually euthanized, rehabilitate them and put them up for adoptions. The place was run on donations and by a lot of dedicated people, most of whom where unpaid volunteers. The dedication, expertise and professionalism exceeded anything I have seen in the corporate world. You had to pay a fee for every animal you adopted and what always amazed me was how hard it was for anyone to adopt from them. The stringent interview process ensured that a rehabilitated animal went to a forever loving home. Every animal there had a story to tell, a story that made you lose faith in people. But the folks at ACS fight on and in their own way redeem humanity. 

Save The Animals Foundation 
This is yet another no kill shelter based in Cincinnati, USA. D & me have been volunteering at STAF for the last few months. This place is 100% run by volunteers and houses abandoned dogs & cats that are looking for a second chance. This is yet another place that is run really well with the animals being the one and only focus. The fact that everyone is a volunteer is no excuse for any compromise that hurts the animals. There are folks at STAF that have been volunteering there almost for a decade and they are passionate & fierce advocates for the animals...and I think, for humans too. 

Voice of Stray Dogs
This is an organization based in Bangalore,India and is run by Rakesh Shukla.  I first heard of them when we were trying to adopt our Great Dane, Bruno. I have never met Rakesh or worked for VoSD, but the times I have interacted with them through social media or on the phone, I have been super impressed by Rakesh's crusade. VoSD, runs a trauma service for Bangalore's strays among other things. I stole the quote at the top of this post from Rakesh's FB page and from everything I have seen so far, it is apt for him. He reminds me of the impact one person can make, by just fighting the fight that needs to be fought. 

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
I had never heard of this group until I watched the series "Whale Wars". This is a global, non-profit activist group that strives to preserve marine life. Headed by the dynamic "Admiral" Paul Watson this organization has evolved its own unique strategy to take on unscrupulous fishing fleets & governments. Their biggest focus is taking on the Japanese "research" fleet that kills 1000+ whales in the Antarctic every year in the name of science and this they do with their own flotilla of ships that come in between the whales and the harpoons. They also play a key role in highlighting the dolphin slaughter at Taiji and other threats to marine life globally. I fully recommend watching the Nat Geo series "Whale Wars". In a different world Paul Watson would be a hero, in our world he is on the Interpol list. And yet this man doesn't back down and will fight for the whales to the end. He is really fighting for us.

Tiger Watch
This is an NGO based in Ranthambore, India. The organization was founded by Fateh Singh Rathore and is now headed by Dharmendra Khandal. TW has played a big role in ensuring that tigers still remain in Ranthambore National Park. They are heavily involved in anti poaching efforts, educating the locals and the forest department and in being the voice of the forest above all else. D & me we lucky in being able to spend a week with TW on a conservation course and our lives have been different since then. If nothing else we have a deeper understanding of the problems around conservation and I personally found a real life hero who will always inspire me. He is a spider biologist and an academician at heart, and yet he will take on the poaching mafia because they need to be taken on. He will make a stand. We should all be standing with him.  

Sanctuary Asia
This is not an organization but a wildlife magazine based in India founded by Bittu Sahgal. I first picked up a copy in college and have been mesmerized since then. There are tales of beauty, greed, courage, cruelty and hope and for the longest time this was the only wildlife focused magazine in India that educated people on India's beautiful forests and the challenges of preserving them for posterity. We had the privilege of listening to one of Bittu's talks in Bangalore.  Despite all the despair and mindless destruction that he witnesses as he crafts his stories this is a man that will fight the fight till he is finished. 

Fight on, folks! 

Being Human...

Yesterday D & me were driving back to Ottapalam after a trip to visit family in Guruvayur. It was about three in the afternoon and the weather was unusually hot for a late December afternoon. That or I was simply spoilt by the weather in Bangalore. D was driving and I was just staring vacantly at the road. A few kilometers before Ottapalam we spotted a man walking along the side of the highway. The only reason we paid him any attention was the manner of his walk. His head was somewhat hunched and he was just limping along. Even at a distance, and despite the fact that we were cruising along, it was evident that it was a troubled and painful walk. D, being D, pulled the car over to the side and asked me to check on the man and to determine if we could give him a lift. I have to admit, at that very moment, my head scrambled to find a reason for not stopping to talk to that man - he could be drunk, he could be a thief, a scamster etc. Any number of reasons to convince myself that I ought not to react to that scene. Nevertheless I walked up to him.

He was wearing a pant and a shirt, had a bag on his shoulder and was probably seventy years or so. He was sweating profusely in the afternoon heat and as I got closer it was evident that he had suffered from a stroke. One half of his body was almost paralysed and he couldn't even look up at me properly. I asked him where he was headed and he said it was to a nearby market and it was to repair a torch he had purchased recently. I asked him if we could drop him off at the market. He quietly agreed and with some difficulty managed to get into the car. A few minutes later we were at the market. I got off the car to help him out. He struggled again to get out of the car. He then shook my hand and told me (in Malayalam) that he hoped that he hadn't put us through too much trouble. I told him that it was no trouble and asked him why he was attempting to walk in his condition instead of taking an auto. His response was jumbled but I gathered that he didn't have enough money. I think it was then than the dam gates opened. Struggling to hold it together I mumbled something incoherently, stuffed some money in his hand, asked him to get an auto back and jumped back into the car. And wept. D couldn't hold herself back either.

Later, as I pondered over the meltdown I realised that I had not witnessed a unique one off tragedy. Every day I come across instances like this, people or even animals in need. And yet, almost every time I convince myself that there is a reason I shouldn't react. I am numb to such things. At best I would feel bad but I would do nothing about it. Although I never stated it explicitly, implicitly I accepted that such things happen and that it wasn't my place to try and make a difference. D reacts to these situations differently.She never over thinks anything, but just reacts from the gut. In the two years I have known her, she has bought home a puppy that followed her on the road, scooped a half dead pigeon from the road and allowed it to die a dignified death on our balcony, saved a hawk fledgling from the crows, adopted a four year old Great Dane, run around a street, bun in hand, trying to keep an injured dog distracted until help arrived, distributed excess balloons from a party to every kid she met on the road, bought McD burgers for two kids that were on the other side of the restaurant window and yes, it was her idea to stop the car yesterday as well. In almost all these instances I have, at a minimum, feebly protested at whatever she was trying to do. D is a tough cookie on the road and is quick to cut down the offending driver that crosses her path. But unlike me she isn't numb to the suffering she sees. Even better, she actively reacts vs. passively sympathising.

I've read that situations are presented in our lives so that we have an opportunity to react. So that we can come up with our best and brightest response to that situation and in doing so define who we are and what we stand for. Sadly, over time, and especially as adults we become conditioned to accept situations we would have never accepted as kids. Slowly the kindness and generosity is bled out from us and replaced with doubt and selfishness. We walk away from that sick and struggling stranger on the road, we walk away from the injured dog with the broken leg on the roadside, slowly and surely we walk away from being human.

As I ponder over a year that has gone by and reset my goals for the year that is to come, I raise a silent toast to the D's that still exist in our midst. She isn't the only one I know, and while they seem to be few and far in between, they do exist...the ones that remind me of what it really means to be human. And I promise myself not to be numb, not to conveniently walk away...but instead to offer my highest response to every moment and every situation.

To being human. Cheers!

Stripes & Patches

Finally D & me are gearing up for our first step into unchartered terrain...

The idea of Stripes & Patches began in May 2011 at Ranthambore, the tiger heartland of Rajasthan. We are avid animal lovers who were trying to figure out ways to make a difference to conservation efforts and chanced upon a course conducted by Tiger Watch, a Ranthambore based NGO. The week long course exposed us to how complex the problem of conservation was, and provoked more questions than providing answers which probably was what Dr. Dharmendra Kandhal, who heads Tiger Watch, intended for to achieve. Tiger Watch followed a two pronged approach to saving the tiger - on one hand it actively and aggressively cracked down on poachers while on the other hand it sought to understand and address the socio-economic causes that drove many of the local Mogiya tribals to become poachers. Dhonk, headed by Divya Shrivastava works with Tiger Watch and attempts to provide locals with alternative livelihood which would then wean them off the need to exploit the forest and its denizens. The efforts of Tiger Watch and Dhonk are yielding real results at Ranthambore. Our experiences with both these organizations coupled with our entrepreneurship zeal sparked the creation of Stripes & Patches.

Stripes & Patches is inspired by the striped lord of the jungles and is our small patch that attempts to weave into the larger fabric of conservation. Through Stripes & Patches we want to create a self-sustaining platform that showcases products that are made by people who otherwise are dependent on the forest as a primary source of their livelihood thereby reducing the pressure on the already threatened forest cover and wildlife. Through these products we also hope to spread the message of conservation because in our heart we believe that if the tiger goes, we will go too.

“The air we breathe and the water we drink stem from the biodiversity of the universal environment and its economics. The tiger is at the center of this truth. If it goes, we go!”
—Billy Arjan Singh

Stripes & Patches on FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stripes-Patches/340417622668418

God's Forsaken

As a kid, family trips invariably meant trips to temples in Kerala with the Krishna temple at Guruvayur being the most popular destination. My fascination for elephants probably started there. Stories of Guruvayur Kesavan and the sights of the fully caparisoned elephants during the temple rituals captivated me. I would stand spell bound and watch these giants for hours together, prayers to the gods were almost an afterthought. The sight of an elephant was always the highlight of any trip to Kerala. Until recently a trip to Guruvayur temple to watch the night “shiveli” was my idea of a spiritual reset. The combination of the traditional drumbeats, the wicker lamps and the caparisoned elephants always mesmerized me. The local temple “pooram” was also the high point of my summer vacations at my granny’s place. Twenty plus elephants lined up, with the tallest one carrying the god/goddess, the spectacle was magnificent enough for me to believe that even the gods were having a grand time. The Thrissur pooram has for long been considered the “pooram of all poorams” and it has always been on my mind to witness this event as well. So when I realized that the day of the pooram coincided with my trip home with some friends, I decided to make that trip to Thrissur. Much has been published about this event and a simple web search would provide as much information and photographs as you ever care to see. This post really isn’t about the Thrissur pooram.

I am a self-professed animal lover. I also eat all kinds of meat, I have murdered fishes by the hundreds as part of my tropical fish-keeping hobby, and I have owned and continue to have a fascination for purebred dogs. My life’s ambitions include owning a pet store. I have always sensed the obvious contradiction, but haven’t had the will power to resolve them or question my primary premises. Until now.

I enjoyed the Thrissur pooram just as much as anyone else standing in that multitude of people did. In fact I walked away feeling quite privileged to witness to such a wonderful spectacle. What first set off the fuses in my head was news of one of the elephants collapsing due to sheer fatigue in the middle of the pooram. The next was probably the sight of an elephant on a lorry during the drive back home. I spent the next day looking up the general conditions of domestic elephants on the web. What I found has left me appalled. In truth though, what’s shocked me even more is that I always knew these things existed but did nothing about it. I mean, was I naïve enough to just assume that the temple elephants were just born this way? Had I never seen an elephant being punished by his mahout? Had I never read newspaper reports of elephant deaths at the hands of drunken mahouts? Like all other contradictions in my life, I just chose to ignore inconvenient facts. Mea culpa. Mea máxima culpa.

The following videos are extremely disturbing.

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I am now forced to ask myself what was so spectacular about the sight of elephants lined up pressed to each other for hours together in the sweltering heat, chained with heavy irons and prodded by their mahouts, listening to sounds and noises that distress them and carrying a bunch of people who keep waving some umbrellas and other colorful items. Spectacular perhaps, if the intent was a demonstration of man’s might. Shameful surely, if the intent was to celebrate divinity. Man does much in the name of the Gods, but if a God’s sense of festivities did in fact require activities of this nature, one would have to do a rethink on all matters divine. I am tempted to condemn mankind and its cruel ways. But of what use is condemning myself. I may have not been the prime perpetuator of many of these atrocities, but was I not an essential part of the charade?

I am confused right now. It will be a while before I can make sense of what I feel and decide on what I can do about it. For now I do know that the night shiveli at Guruvayur will no longer be a spiritual reset. They maybe denizens of God’s own country, but for these four legged giants on duty divine, God’s forsaken might be a more apt title.

An animal lover I can call myself no more. At least, not yet.

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright...

It is the Chinese year of the tiger. And yet the year started with Billy Arjan Singh, passionate tiger conservationist, creator of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve and my personal hero, passing on to the happy hunting grounds. It is also the year when I had the privilege of encountering the Royal Bengal in his home range at Bandipur – a moment that will forever be etched in my mind. I can’t quite figure out when my love for animals started. As a kid, I was guilty of committing innumerable acts of cruelty on all things small and living with many ants, beetles, lizards and other such denizens of my garden being at the receiving end of my war games. I was also terrified of dogs with “Japan” my landlord’s dog and “Jimmy” the neighbour’s crazed dog being the prime antagonists. Somewhere, somehow, all that changed quite dramatically. It could have been the temple elephants I was fascinated by and felt sorry for during my trips to Kerala. It could have been “Shiva” and “Parvathi” the pair of lions and their cubs at the Coimbatore zoo. It almost definitely involved “Puppy”, the Labrador retriever owned by the Coimbatore prison jailor. There were books by Jim Corbett, Kenneth Anderson and James Herriot and the Walt Disney movies “A Tiger Walks, “The Bears & I”, Free Willy”. And then a memory that stands out…the book section in Reader’s Digest titled “Eelie and the big cats” from the book by Billy. The book describes his tales with Tara – the tigress, Prince, Harriet and Juliet – the leopards and Eelie – the adopted stray that ruled the roost. I was captivated. I wanted to be Billy.

One of the items on my bucket list has been to meet Billy and as I reflected on my New Year resolutions in December 09’, I resolved to make an attempt to go to Dudhwa this year. I’ve been living life on the mindless fast lane for the last few years and in many ways had let my heart trail my mind. It therefore hit me quite hard to wake up on Jan1st 2010 to the news of Billy’s death. I have never believed in coincidences, and I felt the universe’s nudge once again. The heart began to assert itself over the mind and I resolved in all earnestness to keep it that way.

I’ve been visiting tiger reserves for a decade now, and had never spotted a tiger before. But when I set out on the safari on an early, misty February morning in Bandipur, I somehow felt that the moment was right. On cue, “Agasthiya”, the 12-year resident male majestically and almost magically appeared. To many, sighting a tiger in the wild might be just another exciting experience, but at the risk of sounding dramatic, in a very inexplicable way that moment meant much more to me. There are truly no coincidences. Thanks Billy! I will always hear you roar. And I will always remember what you said, “If the tiger goes, we go too…”

I may have found a calling in life…

Vision 2010

And yet another year ends and yet another one begins…here are a list of things I intend to do before 2010 ends.

Mistletoe: Bring to life what I have had in mind since my 3rd grade summer vacations at gran’s place and every time I read an Enid Blyton…my own farm! The plan is to buy or lease some farmland at Ottapalam, Kerala. From simple paddy cultivation to high end organic farming to a dairy farm, there is a wide range of options! I get to try my hand at solving the food problem and I get to provide employment to three people who were a BIG part of my childhood! Operational Status: Feb 2010

Amazon: Dedicated to all the “Oscars” I reared! For the uninitiated an Oscar is a popular and intelligent aquarium fish with its origins in the Amazon River. The plan is to set up my own pet store in Coimbatore and change that landscape forever. Create a whole new “experience” around rearing a pet! Finalize business model: June 2010, Operational Status: Oct 2010

Ironman: Two years ago I got myself a Lego Mindstorm NXT robo kit to build on what A and me started off at the Robotics lab in Pilani. This year’s acquisition list includes the Mindstorm V2. The plan is to build myself a couple of “intelligent bots” with operational capabilities that include fetching beer from the fridge. V2 Acquisition: Jan 2010, Robolab Set Up: June 2010, Beer Test: Sep 2010

Roar: Get involved with an organization that is fighting to save what is left of India’s wildlife and forests. Do everything I can to keep the 1400 wild tigers in India from going extinct…because if the tiger goes, we go too.

X: Work on coming up with two viable business plans…Dec 2010

Fighting Fit: Continue to build on the health focus from 09’, run at least 20km a week, gym thrice a week, eat healthy and sleep 7 hours a day. 70kgs of a tough lean fighting machine by December 2010.

Family “pack” to be made up of two german shepherds and me…June 2010

Travel to at least one of these three places – Ranthambore, Dudhwa, Kazhiranga

Travel to one new country on personal time and money

Version Merlin

The Buddha Operating System was first established in 2005 as a Gen 1.0 framework to life. Its precursor, Project Brahma, was a Gen 0.0 prototype, which first toyed with the concept of a life operating system. The Buddha OS established eight logic rules aimed at navigating the intricacies of life. Its foundation was built on a few Ayn Rand concepts laced with other experience-based truths. It also formalized the 9th Knight and the 9th Dragon orders – the list of forever friends & foes.

Version Nomadic: Over the years, keeping pace with an evolving truth, the Buddha OS underwent two critical upgrades. In 2007, the Nomadic framework was established with an addition of three logic points and an elaboration of the original eight logic points. Logic #11, “Making the highest exception for your highest love” was introduced to resolve any fuzziness while implementing the prior logic points. Contrary to its original intent, logic#11 introduced a near fatal flaw in the OS which was primarily driven by an incorrect interpretation of the logic. When interpreted incorrectly, Logic #11 inadvertently created the illusion of a contradiction, directly violating logic#1. This led to multiple OS crashes in late 2007 and the very core was threatened.

Version Invincible: In early 2008, the Invincible framework was established. This framework was meant to fix the apparent flaw in logic #11. However, at this point the real flaw in logic #11 was still unclear. While there was a sense that it was causing the overall OS to crash, the root cause of the failure was not established. Invincible then introduced logic#12, “the principle of this far and thus no further”, to be used as an override to logic #11. Instead of determining the real meaning of logic#11, it established that logic#11 excluded self-destruction from the definition of “exceptions”. The Invincible framework succeeded in stopping the destruction of the core. But at best it was a stopgap measure.

Version Merlin Genesis: The Merlin framework owes its genesis to an evolving “self awareness” within the Buddha OS as it continued to operate on the Invincible mode. The first key breakthrough came when, based on new inputs, duality was challenged and the OS grappled with the concept of trinity for the first time. To Know, To Experience and To Be - this concept represented a quantum leap in the way the OS operated. The second breakthrough was made in early 2009 when the contradiction in Logic #11 resolved itself into its false premise. The OS determined that one’s highest love had to be oneself and no other. When the student is ready, the master always appears. The self aware OS had discovered the wizard within - Merlin had made his appearance.

The Nomadic and the Invincible frameworks were incremental in nature. However, the Merlin framework represents an exponential change to the Buddha Operating System. The Merlin framework is a “life-dominance” OS and reflects a self-aware OS which is now able to go beyond operating within a structured logical framework to an OS which, under certain operating paradigms, constantly adapts and evolves. Version Merlin will introduce only one additional logic point to the OS - The Thirteenth Logic. Logic#13 will broadly define the operating paradigms of the Merlin framework and will override any of the prior logic points, should such conflicts arise.

Version Merlin:
Logic#13:

#13.1 Eliminates the illusion of a contradiction in logic#11 by recognizing that one’s highest love is oneself.

#13.2 Eliminates Logic#12 by clarifying logic#11 and by recognizing that self-destruction is impossible.

#13.3 Eliminates the concept of linear time by refusing to recognize the past and the future. Fully directs all attention and available resources to the present moment.

#13.4 Eliminates duality as an absolute truth. Good & bad are not absolutes, only relative references.

#13.5 Establishes observing instead of judging and separates the observer from the observed.

#13.6 As a consequence of eliminating duality, eliminates the 9th Knight & the 9th Dragon orders.

#13.7 Eliminates all predefined mental constructs and automatically evokes the “highest” response to any given situation or circumstances.

#13.8 Fully recognizes that life is perfect and there is nothing to accomplish except To Be.

Once again, recompiling and restarting. And Being.

Captain's Log #270109

The last time I tried a three-day transcontinental trip I ended up with facial palsy. Was an interesting experience, to say the least, and I remember promising myself to not be that stupid again. With the subsequent return of my face to its normal elastic condition, the lessons and the promises were soon forgotten. This past weekend, I attempted stupidity again. Thankfully, there were no disastrous consequences this time around and I remained in full control of my face throughout the weekend. As always, had some interesting travel experiences.

On the flight from Frankfurt to Chennai, had my seat changed at the last minute. A few hours into the flight, ended up striking a conversation with Ms D, seated next to me. I’ve always had a little bit of the philosopher in me, or so I’d like to think. What started off as the “do good and go to heaven” philosophy as a kid evolved into an objectivist “I” oriented one with “The Fountainhead” and “Atlas Shrugged”. Didn’t find all the answers to the questions there and the quest hit another tipping point with “Conversations with God”. More tangents from there eventually led me to my current pursuit of the Zenist philosophy of mindful living. On my current reading shelf are the following books, “The Power of Now” and “A 10 week course on Mindfulness”. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear, so goes the saying. Ms D ended up being a ”Mindful Living” teacher. What followed was a very interesting conversation on spirituality and coincidences. I could feel the universe winking at me. I winked back.

The flight from Chennai to Coimbatore saw me sitting next to a random person. And no, it’s never that interesting twenty something year old girl that I know is long due. The random person had the book “Debt of Honor” by Clancy. Being quite the Jack Ryan fan, I remarked to him that it was a good book. I was sleepy and we spoke no more. The universe would have none of it. No surprises then, when I found myself seated next to the same guy on the flight back from Coimbatore. I told Mr. A that the occasion called for an introduction. Mr. A happened to be the CEO of the Indian arm of a well known MNC and what followed was an interesting conversation on the world and it’s various economies. I didn’t even battle an eyelid when he told me that he was going to be in Chicago next month – his office is right across the one I will be based out of the next four months. More winks.

On a non-travel related note, met KK during the break and we ran a couple of laps at the uber prestigious “Race Course” in Coimbatore. Long ways from the time I used to gape at people running there on my way to school. There are few things that would motivate me to miss the Republic day parade on TV, and a chance to catch up with KK rates as one of them. The guy is phenomenal – a bundle of energy with a superb attitude to life. Walked off feeling super energized and extremely bullish on life. So much so, decided to shamelessly copy KK’s resolution for the year – “Fighting Fit” albeit with my own tweaks to it. For anyone in Chennai, look him up for getting involved in a wide spectrum of activities – running, cricket, frisbee, volunteering and entrepreneurship.

And finally, I have traveled a ton the last couple of years across multiple airlines. I’ve had a wide range of experiences – from the fabulous to the notorious. However, nothing prepared me for the question from the “premiere” class Jet Airways cabin crewmember “Sir – can I make the bed for you?“. And she then proceeded to actually convert my seat into a full stretch bed. I’ll admit, it did feel a little weird, but I’ve never slept that comfortably at 37000ft before. All those lessons on “Wowing the Customer”, and I finally saw a superb demonstration of the concept.

It feels good to be back, in more ways than one. Safe travels, everyone! Over & Out.

The Keeper of the Goats

Ten unforgettable childhood vacations. The one place I still return to when I want to get away from it all. When I feel the need to find myself, stay grounded. When I need to remind myself where a lot of it began. The days when without any hesitation, for two months every year I proudly proclaimed myself to be "The Keeper of the Goats". Someday soon, I'll finish everything I promised I'll do.

Closure.

He had had more than a year to get over it all. Now he had a few miles. To think about it all. To attempt to make his peace with it. Or to let the wound fester forever.

Deep down he had known it would come to this. That this was the only ending possible. And yet he had made excuses for the both of them. He had refused to accept. He had forever thought that strength lay in holding on, now he was forced to consider how much more strength it would take to let go.

As he ran the miles, he started back from the very beginning. A cold and violent November night more than a decade ago. Lightning. And he was certain, fully soaked with the invincibility of his age. Nothing seemed impossible and the universe seemed to conspire to grant him his wishes. He wished. Some of them on shooting stars. Two years later, the universe granted him his deal. He was high on life and on her. Simple. Strong. Mutual.

More miles. More years. He laughed at a corny quote “Absence does to love what wind does to fire, inflames the strongest, extinguishes the weakest”. All he knew was when two flames came together, the fire only grew taller. He was put to the test. He passed, barely. He believed in graphs and that after the lowest lows only the highest highs remained. She was strong. She was perfect.

More miles. The muscles began to scream. He wondered if there was some truth to using the pain in the body to forget the pain in the mind. More years. A blur. Cracks. Expectations. Fundamentals. Great times. He tried running faster, hoping that it would bring clarity. But it was not to be. It was hard to see what went wrong. It was futile to find someone to blame. He was used to seeking false premises to uncover contradictions. He found many and he found none. And then that fateful call.

The last few miles. The last year. He saw himself at his worst. He had never imagined he could be destroyed. He was, many times over. He had never imagined that some problems were beyond solving. He had found the unconquerable. The tears, the madness, the pain. To the point where he was disgusted with himself. He hated himself. And he loved her. They told him it wasn’t the end and years later it would all seem trivial. He only recognized the moment. He tried every trick in the book. He hung on, barely. He imagined it was worse for her. He would never know.

The last mile. The last straw. He had asked for one last favor. It was not to be. There was to be no setting the record straight. He reached the end of the road. He dug deeper. It was now or never. The sun was fast setting and the cold biting. Cleansing. The answer stared at him, from eleven years ago. He had felt an absolute. One that required no other. Somewhere along the way, he had forgotten. He had given the keys away.

He stopped. He had always maintained that he would make the highest exception to the one he loved the most. He saw the fatal flaw in the logic and the fix. He had always thought of her as his highest love. He was wrong. He was himself his highest love. No other was possible, not her, not anyone. He smiled. Then and there, he made his highest exception. He finally forgave himself. There was no one else to forgive. There was no bitterness, no hatred, no regrets. He withdrew what he had granted to her, that which he realized wasn’t ever grantable. He felt exactly what he felt about her years ago. Absolutes. The last few steps were the summation and his recognition of his past with her and his peace with his present. And her future.

Closure. He made it, with seconds to spare. He was invincible, again.

Things to do...

Keyed this one during a transatlantic trip, and reading it one more time makes me wonder....But anyways, here are some of the things I want to do,before I use up my 650,000 hours. These are in no specific order.

# Make a trip to Africa,to the Serengeti…watch the lions, the elephants, the cheetah, the hyenas, the wild dogs, the buffalo. Dance with the Masai.[Made a trip to the Masai Marra plains in Kenya and watched the Masai dance...heck, you could watch the whole cosmic dance on those plains!!...done & done!]

# See a tiger in the wild…before its too late. Meet Billy Arjan Singh…and tell him “Thank You”. Listen to stories about Tara, Prince and Eelie. [Billy moved to the happy hunting grounds a few days after I made up my mind to visit Dudhwa...this one will never be done and will always remind me to seize the moment! ]

# Fly a plane…all by myself. Actually say, “Tower, Eagle One is now ready for takeoff”. Take that trip to space and be stunned at the view.

# Trek the Appalachians…to determine if life makes more sense at the end of it

# Run a marathon…to exorcise all those “running race” fears from my school days.

# Live for 3 months at Manhattan….run at Central Park everyday. Make my peace with mankind.

# Make a long road trip in a jeep…with two german shepherds. Meet a girl on the way…also with two german shepherds…jeep optional. [Got the order and the details a little mixed up, but this one is done...got two labradors, met a girl with two labradors and we have driven 30,000 km in a car to date...close enough!!]

# Trek from Noradhar to Churdhar one more time. Run a fever at the end of it. Feel cleansed.

# Start a company…do the unthinkable. Redefine “going to work”. Create. Be a primary mover.

# Live for a month in a small fishing town by the sea. Watch a few storms. Listen to stories over beer. Go fishing.

# Spend a month at Topslip. Learn to track animals. Work towards better management of wildlife sanctuaries on the Western Ghats

# Own a farm….like the one in “Six Cousins Again”. Cows, horses, dogs, and high tea.

# Have a “private” runway in the farm, to fly RF planes. Fix cameras on the plane and have “real-time” intelligence capability…a capability I wish I had in 11th grade

# Rehabilitate all “domestic” elephants into the wild

# Learn to play the guitar.

# Feel the way I felt on a cold, violent November night….one more time.[Blitzkrieg yet again!]

Version Invincible

January 1st 2008. A New Beginning. I’ve spent half the day on the phone and a few hours watching a really nice Tamil flick. Now, an extra hot caramel macchiato in hand, at my usual corner in Starbucks and watching just the hint of snowflakes sailing down, I think its time to launch Version Invincible of the Buddha OS.

Logic #11: Fuzzy logic – Make your highest exception(s) for the one(s) you love the most. So when all other logic points lead to a fuzzy conclusion, make the exception. At this point, contradictions disappear, faith is rewarded, winning and losing don’t matter, deceptions vanish and happiness is experienced. By definition an exception is a condition unacceptable to you, but acceptable to the one(s) you love most.

Logic #12: Invincible Function- The principle of “This far, and thus no further”. This is based on an ex Air Force Chief’s advice to his pilots that they shouldn’t kill themselves by attempting to save a plane that is beyond saving, and to bail out at a certain self preservation point. Timing is critical. Self-preservation is key and the highest exception from logic #11 excludes self-destruction.

Time to compile, reboot and start all over again.

Nomadic Notes #1

7:30AM. Local Time. Frankfurt International Airport:
I have 2 hours before my flight from Frankfurt to Chicago starts boarding. For someone who has spent the last 8 hours in a metal cage at 38,000 ft and the 12 hours before that sitting in the same spot at Chennai (Anna) International Airport, I feel pretty good, not outstanding, but definitely good. The German coffee is helping. It only seems appropriate to take a few minutes to key in my thoughts at this random place/hour. This is my fifth transcontinental trip this year, and I can almost hear my body screaming in protest. Work engulfs everything, or at least I’d like to think it does, and the balance with life seems to be swinging the wrong way. The wins and the losses from ’07 seem to be adding up the wrong way as well. Yet, as I think about it, “Travel”, my newfound friend, has helped me gain a better insight into life and its mysteries. Here are some of those insights…

·Faith: When the massive Boeing 747 shudders in the turbulence at 38,000ft, like a powerless toy, and you still make that smooth touchdown. Faith, in the outcome of events you cannot control or influence, faith in people doing their jobs to the best of their abilities, faith that the Universe will take care of you, as you try your best to take care of the Universe.

·Joy: When the German Lufthansa employee said “Merry Christmas” and gave me a free upgrade to First Class. Joy, at all those little surprises in life.

·Patience: Sitting inside a plane on the runway for 3 hours, waiting for a software glitch to disappear, watching a few people at their worst, unreasonable selves. Patience, where aggression was of no help.

·Goodness: When R, an airline employee my mom met on a bus she takes to work everyday, went out of her way to help me get an alternative flight when the original one was cancelled. When V, R’s colleague, went out of his way to get all my flights rescheduled, when he had no obligation to help. People are good and helpful, and that’s more the norm than the exception. I wonder if I always thought otherwise.

·Appreciation: When on a crazy Christmas night, after 2 hours of trying to get the engines to work, after half the passengers walked out, and a quarter screaming in protest, I told the tired co-pilot that I really appreciated what he and the others were doing to get the plane to fly…and he smiled a grateful smile. That flight was eventually cancelled; I still meant what I told him. Appreciation, where it’s truly deserved.

·Friendship: When 4 best buddies get me through a long, horribly depressing 12 hours at an airport by chatting incessantly on gtalk, despite having their own stuff to take care of. One of my lowest “mental” moments, and yet these 4 had me in decent shape by the time I took off. Friendship, unconditionally. V, M, D & N, Thanks!

·A Higher Force: When I ran into friends and acquaintances at random airports, when the statistical probability of such occurrences was negligible and yet they occurred. “The Alchemist” taught me that if I desired something a lot, the Universe would conspire to get it for me. My travels and my life in general has convinced me that the Universe is a friend, an omnipresent force, that looks out for me even as it conspires with me. Everything happens for the good.

Safe Travels! May the Force be with you!

Version Nomadic

Sunday afternoons have always been tough, at least for me, for as long as I can remember. And sitting in a mostly empty but elegantly built corporate office somewhere in the wrong part of the world, I am amazed and somewhat amused that I still feel the same way about Sunday afternoons. It’s a strange feeling, a mixture of loneliness and despair and I find myself questioning my normally bullish attitude to life. My still school based life-attitude and philosophy comes under intense scrutiny and I seem to notice clouds I don’t normally see on the horizon. But this moment too shall pass, just as surely as it will come back to haunt me again. And as I channeled the power of the web in an attempt to get through the afternoon, I found myself looking at my long forgotten blog with its one single post, written about two years ago. That was back when I was bitten by the blogging bug, but right after the first post, a total lack of confidence in my writing skills killed any future posts. Till today. And I think, today, I am just posting to myself. The writing skills be damned.

So I decided to do a self-appraisal, a validation of sorts, to what I had deemed as logic points for my life operating system – The Buddha OS. And as with any operating system, release an upgrade. Launching, two years after inception, The Buddha OS – Version Nomadic

Logic #1: You can have no contradictions in life. When you encounter a contradiction check your premises, one of them will be false. Eliminate all such false premises. Keep life contradiction free.

Logic #2: You must always have faith in the process in everything. Life takes care of the betrayals.

Logic #3: You must prioritize your battles. It is futile to try and fight all the battles at once. And make sure you only fight the right ones. Sometimes you win by walking away

Logic #4: The best form of deception is the truth or a version of the truth. Just stick with the truth. And stop deceiving yourself.

Logic #5: Every force has an opposing force. To win you must always fight a certain force with its opposing force. Use logic #3 first to determine battle priority, win conditions and use of force. Then apply logic #5.

Logic #6: That which does not matter, you must let it pass. And when it doesn’t pass fast enough, look at the night sky for a cosmic perspective.

Logic #7: In matters of offence, you must strike swiftly ,forcing your enemy into indecision and thereby giving you a chance to make swift gains, which you then use to negotiate from a position of strength and decisively and eliminate the opposition forever.Keep a high bar for what can be deemed a matter of offense. Fully integrate with Order of the 9th Dragon.

Logic #8: There is no pot of gold happiness waiting for you at the end of the rainbow. The gold happiness is scattered all across the rainbow. Gold is not equal to happiness. And happiness isn’t limited to any one color in the rainbow. Take your time, enjoy the ride and make sure you experience all the colors.

Logic #9: System Scalability Balance - Never grow up at the cost of core values and dreams. If it seemed important in school, it’s still important. Disregard arguments and advice built on words like “sensible”, “practical” and “economic sense”.

Logic #10:: Reusable system blocks - Respectful. Simplicity. Passionate. Honesty.

Logic #11: Fuzzy logic – Make your highest exception(s) for the one(s) you love the most. So when all other logic points lead to a fuzzy conclusion, make the exception. At this point, contradictions disappear, faith is rewarded, winning and losing don’t matter, deceptions vanish and happiness is experienced.

The Beginning...

Enlightenment! And then the Buddha Smiled.

The Buddha OS is my attempt at simplifying life, my attempt at making life a little more understandable and user friendly. It is built on a backbone of copyrighted Single Kid Intelligence and Imagination Concepts(SKIIC). Having been On the Buddha OS for a while now, it only seems right that my first post explain the core of this OS.

The Source Code:
Logic #1: You can have no contradictions in life. When you encounter a contradiction check your premises, one of them will be wrong (Ayn Rand)
Implication: So when you think the dog likes you and you end up getting bitten, there is no contradiction, either the dog didn’t like you or his bite was an expression of love
Logic #2: You must always have faith in the process
Logic #3: You must prioritize your battles. It is futile to try and fight all the battles at once.
Logic #4: The best form of deception is the truth or a version of the truth (Army Doctrine)
Logic #5: Every force has an opposing force. To win you must always fight a certain force with its opposing force. (Newton and Kung Fu Principles)
Implication: So when you get shouted at, whisper back. You will win.
Logic #6: That which does not matter, you must let it pass (RN)
Logic #7: In matters of offence, you must strike swiftly, forcing your enemy into indecision and thereby giving you a chance to make swift gains, which you then use to negotiate from a position of strength. (The Cold Start Doctrine)
Logic #8: There is no pot of gold waiting for you at the end of the rainbow. The gold is scattered all across the rainbow
Implication: So take your time, there is no hurry to reach the end.
Note: Future Service Packs will incorporate added/deleted logic

The Plug In’s
The Order of the Ninth Knight: You hold anyone who makes it to this list as a friend for life
The Order of the Ninth Dragon: You hold anyone who makes it to this list as a foe for life
Note: The above lists only have a add feature and are devoid of the delete/edit option. The lists are also unconditional.

Beta Concepts
The 110th Cockroach Battalion
The 9th Ghost Battalion
Note: These are probable third generation concepts. Imagine having two battalions at your command.

Copyright/Registration
The Buddha OS is Open Source and one is free to Install/Uninstall/Modify/Ignore