The Atheist

It all started with the FB post by my friend quoting Ernest Hemingway “All thinking men are atheist”. I was decently surprised with such generalization on his part. I have great respect for Hemingway as writer. I have thoroughly enjoyed his short stories like ‘Indian camp’, ‘The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber’ etc.

I am not against atheism and have little experience in life to speak about God or spirituality. However I believe being theist or atheist is not a question of choice like someone choosing the sexual preferences. It’s about your belief and faith. There are some great atheist personalities like Albert Einstein who became believer in god towards later part of his life. If we were to consider ‘thinking men’ then Isaac Newton and Swami Vivekananda were among the best known people believing in god. There are many million such examples where strong atheist converted to staunch god believer.

Atheist is a great stage and it’s like true acceptance of non-existence of god. It’s a stage where you question everything which a religion and rituals offers. You reason with others to prove the corollary of god’s existence. So we cannot convincingly say that “All thinking men are atheist”. Yes thinking men try to create reasoning and probably create foundation of thoughts about their beliefs.  

Born Into Brothels

Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids

This Academy award winning documentary by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman's touches the heart. You will be moved and would want to save these children from the poverty and abuse. I appreciate Zana’s effort to show that world of Calcutta's red light district. I would ignore the critics about calling it an ‘outsider’s attempt’ since it does not matter to someone like me. 

Old is Gold

Old is Gold

I like listening to discourses and attending satsang programs. That’s my way of keeping in touch with reality, finding peace and of course de-stress myself. The session began with Sanskrit versa which is part of one of the chapters in Gita. When the discourse of half way through the discussion became more interesting around ‘why old people were of great importance in earlier days?’

I had returned from vacations during the same time and had spent more than a week with my parents. I was conscious of the discussion and I could clearly feel the heat. During my vacations at my home town, I visited one of friend’s parents (my friend is settled in US and visit home once a year), they were almost in tears and desperately wanted their son to come back. I could feel the absence of life, the memories of their son captured in photographs all across.

So as I understand from the discourse, during earlier Yuga’s the knowledge was passed on from one generation to other by memorizing and reciting verbally. The writing were not the popular or rather advised way of transferring knowledge. The best way to communication the leanings or teachings to children’s and adults was through stories by old people. They commanded the respect and each section of society was responsible for making the strong ‘social fiber’. Hence the stories are always associated with grandfather and grandmother.

Needless to speak the current state of the treatment older people receive. The nuclear families and migration for job to metros and towns. The erosion of confidence in older generation about their own kids. The speed of life moves which leaves less time at disposal for people to think about their old parents and support them.

Celebrating Chinese Diwali

Well, this sarcasm stems from my angst. Why am I angry and how is Diwali associated with Chinese? I like celebrating even small occasions, events and incidents. I picked up this learning from my dad who would not let go any opportunity of distributing sweets in the neighborhood. When I was a kid I used to find this annoying however I realized the importance of ‘celebrating for small reasons’ as I grew up. I still don’t possess the enthusiasm, energy and zeal with which my dad used to create during such celebrations. I try in my own small ways. J

Now, Diwali is THE festivals for Indians and imagine the grandeur of this festival when more than billion people celebrate over a period of almost a week. I wanted to buy ferry lights and lanterns for decoration this year and of course some fire crackers. I visit the market nearby quite popular in the locality for such shopping. The market was quite like massive fair. The parking, honking, traffic, pollution and the October heat was intolerable. Great day for shoppers who were successfully wending their way for selling the goods.  

I was browsing rather strolling the market for the list I had for shopping. The first thing I realize is the dominance of ‘red dragon’. I mean most of the shops were only displaying Chinese goods. Though there were some choice but it was not good enough to make a decision. The ferry lights were cheaper and I am sure it won’t last till next year. I am not so much for ‘made in India’ or Indian flag bearer. I do buy American products and I like them as well. However would like to see our own culture to be reflected in our festivals. It’s a part of our many thousand year old tradition and was disheartening to see been encroached upon.  

What did I do then? I compromised and bought the stuff which will do for this year. And I am going to be judicious next year, will prepare bit early so that I find what I want for Diwali festival. 

ICDS : Rs. 6/day to address severe malnutrition?

Children in the age group 0–6 years constitute more than 13% of the population of India. Ministry of Women Child Development is implementing various schemes for survival, development and protection of children. The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme is one of the flagship programs of the Government of India and represents one of the world's largest programs for Early Childhood Development.

Revised Supplementary Nutrition Norms

Provision of supplementary nutrition under ICDS is primarily designed to bridge the gap between the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) and the Average Daily Intake (ADI). On an average, the effort is to provide daily nutritional supplements to the extent indicated here in this chart.

I am still thinking how can a child between age group 6 month to 72 months suppose to address severe malnourished state with Rs. 6 per day? 

His nutrition needs can only be met by a variety of quality foods which includes Cereal and grains, rice, milk, seasonal fruits, vegetable soups etc. With due respect to government efforts and ICSD scheme, common sense tells me that its not possible.  

Grandma technique to control blood sugar

Finally it happened to me as well. I must say Diabetes is an interesting phenomenon in your life. The day you know you are diabetic or prone to high blood sugar, your life changes. The doctors start discussing side effects of high blood sugar levels and that’s when you realize, you are in trouble.

There are several factors which could be root cause for high blood sugar levels which includes stress levels, unhealthy diet, alcohol and smoking and also family history.  I am not the expert in blood sugar control however I did ponder on various articles, books and journals to understand what goes in increasing the blood sugar levels and how can I control it.  The fact is each person is different, have different tendencies and provide different response to any activity. So you need to experiment with yourself to understand how your body responds to food intake, exercise and medicines.

Scientifically, sugar travels in your blood as glucose, an important energy supply for your cells. Insulin is a hormone that helps move glucose from your blood into your cells. When body either fails to produce insulin or reacts abnormally to insulin that is present, the cells are unable to use glucose and levels of glucose in your blood become too high. If this condition becomes severe, diabetes may result.

I have a strong family history with regards to diabetes. So I knew since beginning its goanna hit me someday and it did. I began taking precautions the day i realized some consistent reading of above normal level blood sugar. Thankfully I am at the initial stages and can use preventive techniques. There is no substitute to exercise, minimum 45 minutes of exercise every day is necessary. Stay active and you will see the difference. Apart from exercise I am seeing good benefits including Fenugreek seeds in my diet on regular basis.

Fenugreek is a food and a spice commonly eaten in many parts of the world including India. Fenugreek is used for centuries by practitioners of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine. It contains several biologically active components that may help lower blood sugar. It’s proved by several research practitioners that it does help in both the types of diabetes Type I and Type II.  

There are other herbs like Cinnamon and bitter melon can help you to control the blood sugar apart from your regular medicine prescribed by doctor.

In case someone in interested in going through research indicators, I found this document quite informative http://www.diabetes.org.in/journal/1992_april-june/article4.pdf 

Cost of Malnutrition to the Nation

I am moved by the report on malnutrition in India. I bumped onto very informative article and presentations from Dr. Veena Rao, Former Secretary to Govt of India with Domain expertise on Malnutrition. I thought will bring some insights into this subject. 

Interesting finding is that relatively small number of states, districts, and villages account for a large share of the burden – 5 states and 50 percent of villages account for about 80% of the malnutrition cases.

According to World Bank - The prevalence of child undernutrition in India is among the highest in the world; nearly double that of Sub-Saharan Africa, with dire consequences for morbidity, mortality, productivity and economic growth.

Yes, this is eye opening that Malnutrition negatively impacts the GDP as it reduces physical/ cognitive growth of an individual by impacting the productivity (earnings of individuals) thus results in economic loss to the nation.

Malnutrition lowers the resistance of the body to infections and capacity to recover from illness and adds to the health costs of the nation. Protein Calorie Intake, Micronutrient Intake, Infections and illness, Nature of Occupation determine working capacity and income generation capacity

According to her research 4% of GDP is lost on account of malnutrition and its various types of manifestations. How? 

• Total no. of households in India= 193,579,954 (Census of India 2001)

• 30% of households =58,073986 consume less than 70% of energy requirements (NNMB Repeat Surveys in 1988-90 and 1996-97)

• Norm level of calorie intake: 2700Kcal

o Actual Calorie Intake: 1890 Kcal (70% of 2700Kcal)

• Energy required for Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): 1515 Kcal

• Calorie left for productive work: 375 Kcal (1890 Kcal- 1515 Kcal)

• Heavy work requires 219 Kcal per hour.

• Moderate work requires 122 Kcal per hour.

• Work hour lost per day per person due to inadequate calorie consumption: 4 hours of moderate work and 7.5 hours of heavy work

• Calculated on the formula:

Ea X Total No. of days in year (365)

Er X Total No. of working days in year (250)

Ea: is the Energy available for work: 375 Kcal

Er: is the energy required for a particular work: 219 Kcal for heavy work and 122 Kcal for moderate.

• Assuming average household has 5 Consumer Units,(NSS in Nutritional Intake in India, 50th Round,  July 1993: June 1994) then total no. of population consuming less than norm level for calorie intake= 290,369,930

• 55% of Adults= 159,703,461.

• Based on actual average wage of Rs. 60/- per man per day of 8 hours, per hour earning =  Rs. 7.50/- 

• Loss of total money due to low productivity due to inadequate calorie consumption = Rs. 30/- approx. per day per person.

• Total money lost by entire adult population per day= Rs. 4,791,103,830.

• Assuming total of 250 working days, total money lost in a year = Rs. 1,197,775,957,500 = US$ 29,944,398,937 approx. (1 US$= Rs. 40/-) = Approx. US $ 29 Billion

• Total GDP for year 2006-07 = Rs. 28481.57 billion, or US$ 712 billion  

GDP loss = 4% GDP

Child Undernutrition in India

I am moved by the report on malnutrition in India. I thought will bring some insights into this subject. Interesting finding is that relatively small number of states, districts, and villages account for a large share of the burden – 5 states and 50 percent of villages account for about 80% of the malnutrition cases. 

According to World Bank - The prevalence of child undernutrition in India is among the highest in the world; nearly double that of Sub-Saharan Africa, with dire consequences for morbidity, mortality, productivity and economic growth.

The existing response to malnutrition in India has been skewed towards food-based interventions and has placed little emphasis on schemes addressing the other determinants of malnutrition.

India’s main early child development intervention, the Integrated Child Development Services program (ICDS), scheme was launched in 1975 with the following objectives of improving the nutritional and health status of children in the age-group 0-6 years. However, it has not yet succeeded in making a significant dent in child malnutrition. 

This is mostly due to the priority that the program has placed on food supplementation rather than on nutrition and health education interventions, and because of the fact that the program targets children mostly after the age of three when malnutrition has already set in.
 ICDS program appears to be well-designed and well-placed to address the multidimensional causes of malnutrition in India. However, there are several mismatches between the program’s design and its actual implementation that prevent it from reaching its potential. 

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/223546-1147272668285/undernourished_executive_summary.pdf


   

Global Hunger Index (GHI) and India

Global Hunger Index (GHI) and India

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger globally and by country and region. GHI Index is used to understand the countries hunger situation. The index is is created by IFPRI (The International Food Policy Research). IFPRI is founded in 1970, an agricultural research center, to improve the understanding of national agricultural and food policies to promote the adoption of innovations in agricultural technology.

GHI index raises awareness of regional and country difference hunger, show progress over time and help learn the success and failure in hunger reduction. The index is updated each year which highlights successes and failures in hunger reduction and provides insights into the drivers of hunger.  GHI takes into consideration equally weighted indicators in one index number on Undernourishment, Child Underweight and Child Mortality

India is ranked 2nd in the world number of children suffering from malnutrition.  The prevalence of underweight children in India is among the highest in the world. Every day, 1,000 Indian children die because of diarrhea alone. According to the 1991 census of India, it has around 150 million children, constituting 17.5% of India's population, who are below the age of 6 years. (Source: Wiki).

India Indicators from GHI 2012

·         Prevalence of undernourishment in population (%): Ranked 19th as per year 2006-08 data

·         Prevalence of underweight in children under-five years (%): 43% as per year 2005-10 data

·         Under-five  Mortality rate (%):  43.5% as per year 2005-10 data (an increase in 1% over previous indicators of year 1999-2003)

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/ifpri/2012-global-hunger-index

Looking at indicators, needless to say, India falls under the top 23 alarming nations category.  

India’s latest GHI score is based partly on outdated data except child mortality data from 2010. India’s latest available nationally representative data on child underweight were collected in 2005–06.

Government of India has failed to monitor national trends in child under-nutrition for more than six years now so we would not know any progress or failure happened in last six years.

Over all Rank 65th across world (GHI takes into consideration equally weighted indicators in one index number on Undernourishment, Child Underweight and Child Mortality)

India has lagged behind in improving its GHI score despite strong economic growth. After a small increase between 1996 and 2001, India’s GHI score fell only slightly, and the latest GHI returned to about the 1996 level, as the above graph shows. This stagnation in GHI scores occurred during a period when India’s gross national income (GNI) per capita almost doubled, rising from about 1,460 to 2,850 constant 2005 international dollars between 1995–97 and 2008–10 (World Bank 2012).

Japan Diary – The food conundrum

Japan Diary – The food conundrum

Indians are foodie by default. It’s rare to find an Indian who doesn’t love the food. The availability of information, travel, cookery shows on various channels have exposed us to delicious and mouthwatering dishes prepared in variety of cuisines. Most of us have problem with food when we go abroad. If the destination is USA or Asia pacific you do have a chance of finding Indian restaurant or locating some edible food. If its china or Japan…..just have fun.

Since Japanese speaks English, it’s easy to communicate at restaurant and get what you want. Hey, wait I am just kiddingJ.  That’s not the case. Japanese shy away from people who speak English. That’s the worse part. Imagine standing at the restaurant counter and trying to communicate what you want when the other person doesn’t understand at all. Only the American retail chains like MacDonald’s and KFC where you can find young people exposed to some English education at schools.

Indian Vegetarians (the real the hardcore the total vegetarians) have tough time to find edible food among the meat and sea foods serving restaurants. The menu will be in Japanese so there is no way to decipher the ingredients. Take a look at this picture and check what you can possibly order? 

Japan Diary – What’s missing in Tokyo Tower?

Japan Diary – What’s missing in Tokyo Tower?

These views are completely from tourist point of view and has no intention of devaluing Japanese technology or architecture.

During my Japan tour, my friend had organized a quick visit to Tokyo Tower on one of the evening. I appreciate his efforts and time considering he would have visited the place earlier.   

I enjoyed the day roaming around Eifel Tower at Paris the earlier spring. The whole day I strolled through the surrounding area, ate some good food, sipped great coffee. For the same reason, I was excited to see this replica or inspirational version of Eifel Tower.  

The Tokyo Tower does resemble to Eifel in some way. The beautiful structure is erected on probably 1/5^th of the place that of Eifel Tower. It’s definitely a great example of structural engineering. From the top through ‘look down window’, Tokyo city surrounding looks amazingly beautiful.   

Tokyo tower is primarily built for observation and communication. One of the revenue sources for tower is tourist. What’s missing in Tokyo Tower is the grace and elegance, peaceful and loving natural beauty, the coffee shops and great restaurants, gardens where you can spend almost entire day and most important ‘love in the air’ which is very much prevalent in Paris.  

View from Tower

The view from 'look down window'. 

Japan Diary – The Marriage

Japan Diary – The Marriage

According to Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, approximately 1 million kids were born in year 2011 which is lowest in last five decades.

In 2011, the total number of marriages that took place was 661,895 and the numbers of divorces were 235,719. The divorce rate in Japan would be approx. 30%.

Knowing the situation in advance, since year 2001, Government has been putting effort to encourage Japanese women to get married and deliver babies to address the birthrate issue of country. 

The problem revolves around marriage and giving birth. Most importantly marriages seem to be the critical issue in Japan. Does that mean Japanese women aren't interested in getting married? Or they have become career oriented, may be insecure and not indulging in giving births?

The answer lies in the history of Japan and several paradigm changes in the economy and culture. Traditionally Japanese women need to act as subordinates to men; she needs to fully devote herself to the needs of her husband (that makes it second to men).  With the change in overall economy, education and global reach women have evolved and the situation has changed. Japanese women are now educated, strong, self-sustained and no longer need to play a supporting role. However I believe average Japanese men are traditional, and find difficult in accepting such massive change and still believe in old school thoughts about role of wife. This makes the situation complicated and difficult for marriages to sustain.

One more important dimension is Japan being worlds thirst largest economy having easy access to USA, UK and other European countries.  Large numbers of Japanese women are looking abroad for love/marriage will bring them the qualities in a partner that seems rare at home. The evolved thought process of Western men appeal to them as they are more appreciative, and seek reasonable between personal and professional life.  Tokyo and some other cities are full of dating agencies to help women find a suitable western partner.  That reminds me of such agencies in Gujarat which helps abroad settled Gujju men to locate suitable, cultural traditional Gujju wife. 

The Seinfeld

The Seinfeld

Sitcoms are good stress busters. All you need to do is to choose from the large number of sitcoms created by different production houses. We must thank NBC (American National Broadcasting Company) for creating ‘The Seinfeld’.  Seinfeld was the pioneer of the sitcoms and the nine seasons lasting July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998 was kind of humorous revolution.

The success of this successful sitcom goes everyone who is part of the Seinfeld.  Strong consistent characters, simple situations and effortless delivery of jokes (involved in day to day life) make it humorously engaging. I am addicted to Seinfeld, its must watch for me. It’s a great stress buster and you just can’t watch once.

The cast couldn't be more perfect.  The cast includes Jerry Seinfeld who has played himself (as small scale celebrity stand-up comedian), George Costanza who is a cheapo, annoying, rarely honest and jealous best friend of Jerry.  Elaine Benes as Jerry's ex-girlfriend and Cosmo Kramer who is Jerry's "Crack neighbor".

I like the way characters unfold themselves from first episode. It takes 4/5 episodes to build the momentum but after that it’s a roller coaster ride. The punches are unforgettable and become part of your life. For example

·         George to Jerry “just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it”

·         George to his boss on getting fired “Well, you didn't have to say it like that”

·         Jerry to his girlfriend” I'm a man who respects a good coma”

·        Cosmo Kramer: I'm at the corner of 1st and 1st... How can the same street intersect with itself? It must be at the nexus of the universe.

There are countless punches which can make you burst into laughter. So in case you haven’t heard/watch ‘The Seinfeld’ just go for it, the laughter is guaranteed.  

Mumbai Marathon

 Marathon

These days, especially in metros and towns, everyone knows about the long distance running event called Marathon.  You will know from newspapers and TV channels covering the celebrities encouraging people to participate and run for a cause. You will get to hear from office colleagues and friends who are probably planning for ‘dream run’. I first noticed this event 2004 on hoardings and banners placed across on western express highway in Mumbai. The event was sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank and well covered in the print media.

I initially thought it’s for someone who got plenty of time, someone who already has made fortune and now working towards the health. My belief was largely from my own experience as I was working more than 12 hours a day, travelling by local trains, buses and hardly had any time to think beyond work. I thought it’s an event for companies to sponsor and get noticed (part of the advertisement), celebrities to show their concern for the cause, people to showcase the elite class status (and of course talk about this run in parties).

Over a period of time my views changed when I met some passionate marathon runners. I was totally wrong and in retrospect I think I just didn’t understand the importance of the event. This event could be used by people for various reasons however that doesn’t still takeaway the spirit of the sport.  I realized long distance running is not so easy. To be a runner, you need passion, dedication, and disciple and require reasonable balance between work and personal life. Even though it appears to be group event however when it comes to running, you are on your own.  It’s a competition and you are only competing with yourself. Marathon is like a plan for long distance runners. The plan includes how to pace out, distance vs. speed, when to drink energizers, what to eat etc.  

These days I am running 7 to 8 miles and clocking 25 miles per week. I hope I can make myself capable to run at least 21 kilometers (half marathon) in 2013. 

Ginza and the search of Doraemon

Ginza and the search of Doraemon

Those who have kids know who Doraemon is and how much kids love him. Those who are not aware of this Japanese anime, basically Doraemon is an intelligent robotic cat, which travels back in time from the 22nd century to help a pre-teen boy named Nobita. Cartoons based on computer animation are very popular in Japan. Japanese kids grow up watching cartoons and reading the graphical, full of action story books.

I was on tour to Tokyo along with one of my colleague. His niece who adores Doraemon, who probably haven’t missed any of his episodes, and must have DVD’s at home to enjoy whenever she wants, insisted that he should get her Doraemon toy as a gift.

We initially thought since Doraemon is so popular we would get wide choice to buy from any store. For first few days, whenever we got the chance we entered into shopping areas. Since Japan is an expensive place so you need to weigh your options before you splurge. We explored everything a man could possibly buy however we could not locate Doraemon anywhere. Since we were not familiar Japanese language we didn’t enter into conversation with shopkeepers.

While we were on our last lap of the tour we realized to speed up the search of Doraemon. We check with hotel manager who didn’t know much about Doraemon, was surprised to know Japanese cartoon is popular in India, and advised us to visit Ginza, of course as last option.

According to wiki, Ginza (銀座?) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. In short, Ginza is a place towards south and you can reach in 20 minutes from anywhere in Tokyo. The moment we entered Ginza area we realized it’s a mistake. Ginza is upmarket shopping destination and you get all expensive branded stuff in the retail outlets and malls spread out in that area. We checked in branded retail toys shops including Disney however could not trace Doraemon.

The last chance I thought could be airport shopping arcade. Guess what we were disappointed at the airport. I spoke to quite a few people and surprised to know that they aren’t even aware of such cartoon character. The only conclusion I could draw is probably the Doraemon era is over and country, people, kids have moved to more animated and action oriented cartoon characters. It’s like chandrakantha or Vikram-vetal kind of comic book series which not many kids of this generation would know that it existed some years ago in India.

The Barista – Warsaw, Poland

The Barista – Warsaw, Poland

Sometimes some experiences become part of your lifetime experiences and the permanent part of memory. You remember these instances and cherish them because you know that you might not experience similar situation ever. I was scheduled to travel to Warsaw, Poland for a meeting. I was taking an early morning flight from Brussels to Warsaw and had plans to catch a return flight to Zurich by evening flight.

The temperature at Brussels during the late evening was about -8 degrees. I knew the early morning it would reach to -10 degrees. I had an idea about whether in Warsaw which should be about -12 degrees the next day. I booked the cab for early morning though there was just a 50 yards distance between nearest station and the hotel. In the normal circumstances, I would have reached Brussels airport in 5 euros and 10 minutes. Interestingly, with cab I paid 30 euros and took 20 minutes.

Packing and covering me from all sides, with sufficient winter clothing I ambitiously left the hotel for airport. The car was crushing the newly formed ice on and across the roads.  The ‘long flight’ was about three and half hour duration and landed at Warsaw well in time.

Unexpectedly and much as a shock, the outside temperature happened to be -17 degrees. I was supposed to call someone to receive me however I could not dared to remove the gloves. I waited inside the airport for some time, sipped coffee and reached out to cabbie. He was standing right outside the airport though it was not easy for me to venture out in -17 degrees. Realizing my situation he came with one long leather coat, enveloped me and guided me towards car. Just like someone would do in case of rainy season. I could see the heap of ice everywhere and almost empty streets. The wind was making it even more difficult carrying the chill along with it.

I ventured outside in the heated car with my counterpart for lunch. We thanked each other in keeping the commitment of meeting even in adverse situation. We went to a place called ‘The Barista’ to grab a sandwich. I had flight to catch and was given a drop to airport. I hardly got a chance to see what else is out there in Warsaw. I would have loved to eat polish food, try some local beverages, and shop a little.  I am not sure whether I would travel to Warsaw again and in case yes, would it be -17 degrees? Who knows……

The Jogging Track: Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia

The Jogging Track: Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia

‘Health is Wealth’ and most of us realize this when hit by some medical issues. The doctor prescribes ‘exercise’ as medicine and you are at quandary – what are you supposed to do? You choose the best possible option of walking or jogging. You buy branded shoes and all set to begin with exercise. The moment you hit the roads in the city or metros you realize the sound and air pollution and most importantly the potholes. The road full of crests and trough, that leaves no motivation for jogging. I am seized to complain about roads and situation we have here in cities in India. Lack of gardens, jogging tracks or places we could shake our legs. Place which will motivate and build that eagerness to go out there every day.

During my stay at Melbourne, I head out for a morning walk and ended up at the place called ‘Albert Park’.  It’s like some good things happen in your life without planning.  I didn’t know the background of Albert Park however realized it must be the best place to visit every day, of course if possible.

Albert Park is nearby Melbourne city adjacent to St. Kilda road. It has a long beach façade which makes it stunningly beautiful. Interestingly, Albert Park is also the venue for Formula One Australian Grand Prix. You see the park embedded with superclass road Grand Prix circuits, sandy jogging track and golf court. In case you get hungry you can go to Victoria Hotel located within the park at one end. While you eat at Victoria Hotel, you can see dozens of small yachts sail around the lake. 

All trees within the park are numbered, placards with instructions for ‘no fishing areas’, needless to say neat and clean. 

Federation Square – Melbourne, Australia

Federation Square – Melbourne, Australia

Australia is blessed with natural beauty. The credit goes to Australian government in preserving and maintaining it and at the same time people who are conscious of their surrounding cleanliness. You go to any state, may it be New South Wales (NSW), Queensland (QLD), South Australia (SA), Tasmania (TAS), Victoria (VIC), and Western Australia (WA) they all are beautiful in their own way. They all have some great mesmerizing t destinations which should take you by surprise by the enchanting beauty.

I was fortunate to spend some quality time both at Sydney (NSW) and Melbourne (VIC). Both the city offers some splendid destinations like Sydney has Opera House, Riverside Quay, Luna Park, Harbor Bridge and Darling Harbor. Melbourne is on the southeastern side of Australia and attracts more tourist than Sydney. Melbourne has more for tourist than Sydney and if one has to make a choice it should be Melbourne. In my opinion, Melbourne is far more simple and easy to explore. You don’t need to carry the train/tram guide books or any domestic help to figure out the city. You take a quick city circle free tram ride and you would know how to maneuver in Melbourne.   Melbourne has Federation Square, Eureka Tower, Yarra River side, State buildings, Parks, shrines, cultural centers and some amazing eateries.  

I visited Melbourne during early spring time. The weather was nice and the cold was just about over couple weeks back. So in some way I was lucky to have decently sunny weather during the day time. I spent good amount of my time at Federation Square. Fortunately I had to reach Flinders Street station every day to catch another train or tram and Fed Square (is commonly called) is at the intersection between Flinders Street and Swanston Street & St Kilda Road adjacent to Flinders Street Station.

Fed Square is a cultural precinct and happening place for tourist. The place offers a good seating arrangement facing flinders street station and you will see many artist, actors, comedians and musicians presenting their art in front of people. WIFI is free so you can connect to internet, click live videos and pictures and share with your friends.

Fed Square buzzes with activities especially over the weekends. On that particular Sunday ‘south Vietnam’ team was presenting their culture, food and live orchestra. The place was adorned with colors of Vietnam flag - the bright yellor background and horizontal red strips. Though I did not understand the songs however loved the people shaking their legs on the Vietnamese music. I found the beats similar to koli songs what we get to hear in Goa/Konkan and Maharashtra.  There was special drawing event for kids with Vietnamese artist. The food stalls presenting Vietnamese cuisines was the bonus. I haven’t seen such multi-cultural events in India. In half a day festival you end up gathering so much about the Vietnam.  

If you are visiting Melbourne don’t forget to visit Fed Square over the weekends.

Tourists savoring Vietnam cuisine at different stalls. The food ranged from their family dishes which included the steamed white rice, Fish/seafood, meat, tofu. stir-fry dish, Pickled, steamed, or fresh vegetables, Canh and Fresh fruits or desserts

The singer performing on the stage.

Food stalls

 Live performance of an artist - Federation square overlooking Flinders Street Station. 

   

Home Towns

I grew up in small town in India population close to 0.7 million people. Now people outside India please don’t compare with your small towns and population as you enjoy low population density. I migrated to city after education largely for sustenance. Usually people fall in love with the fast and furious lifestyle loaded with money however I am still being an outlier. 

Recently i returned from one week vacation which I enjoyed at Amravati, my small town.  You don’t take time to notice the issues like small and fractured roads, erratic traffic with no good traffic rules, noise and air pollution because of use of low grade fuel and large number of vehicles and the overall unclean habits of the populous. 

So why is that i miss this place so much? Why do I want to come down here? Why do I find this place so peaceful? Is it just because I spent more than two decades of life at this place?

Frankly not many efforts are required to find the answers. It starts with people! They give you a warm welcome and you can feel - ‘You are welcome here’. Wherever you go you feel you belong here and this is your place. They are frank and straightforward, warm, loving and big hearted.

Small towns remains unchanged in some way, things don’t change dramatically except sporadic instances of new building or new road or some reconstruction somewhere. Like the Old theatres are now reshaped into fancy mall like look with increased ticket prices. Largely the view remains the same. My school looks the same as it was before few years except the color ‘cream and grey avatar’. The famous tea and snacks joints ‘Raghuveer’ offers the same tasty ‘Sambarwadi; and ‘Kachori’ which people savor with enthusiasm.

Not everyone is privileged to have small town upbringing. It might be sometime difficult to remember the places and people however it’s not easy to forget. It gives you sense of attachment, the feeling of owning something and finding the peace somewhere.

This reminds me of the song written by John Mellencamp ‘Small town’

“Got nothing against a big town
Still hayseed enough to say
Look who's in the big town
But my bed is in a small town
Oh, that's good enough for me”

Traditions (परंपरा / रामधारी सिंह "दिनकर")

परंपरा / रामधारी सिंह "दिनकर"

Most often we see traditions are considered as something which was passed down within the society. Traditions evolve over thousands of years. They can change over a period of time. They might appear as irrational if we don’t try to understand the overall construct or backdrop. Tradition is not about customs, conventions, laws, norms, routines, rules and similar concepts. In the context of progress or development, we often hear people saying ‘it’s just a tradition’, ‘they are traditional people’. Tradition is usually contrasted with the ‘change’ or ‘modernity’.

The true meaning is hidden hidden somewhere on this poem ‘Paramapara; from poet Ramdhari Singh “Dinkar” which aptly explains the concept of Tradition. 

परंपरा को अंधी लाठी से मत पीटो |

उसमे बहुत कुछ है,जो जीवित है,जीवन दायक है,जैसे भी हो,ध्वसं से बचा रखने लयक है |

पंरपरा और क्रंनति मेंसंघषऋ चलने दो |आग लगि है, तोसूखि डालो को जलने दो|

Asakusa Kannon Temple - Tokyo Japan

I got the opportunity of visiting religious place in Japan. It’s the oldest (built more than 1000 years ago) Buddhist temple in Tokyo which is located in Asakusa, Tokyo. As such religious places are rare in Japan. Japanese enjoy the religious freedom and large section of people practice no religion. The religion comes more from birth than by acceptance or practicing it. If you are travelling to Tokyo definitely take some time out to visit this temple. The weather was nice and drizzling comfortably. The light showers were pelting  transparent umbrella. Walking around people whose language you don't understand was real fun. 

The temple is called Sensoji ( ("Senso" is an alternative reading for Asakusa and "ji" means temple), also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple. Asakusa is Tokyo's oldest geisha district. 

List of Donors

One of the entrance gate 

Market surrounding Temple

Surprising Its not the deigns or anything to do with god, its the list donors who contributed in building this temple.

Entrance Gate

The Shrine

Temple

All the Donors

Kaminari Gate

Kaminari Gate is one of the two gates approaching the temple. The Nakamise shopping area leads from Kaminarimon to the temple grounds.

A shopping street surrounding the temple called Nakamise. You can get traditional Japanese souvenirs such as yukata, folding fans, kitchenware,cloths and toys. I am sure women would find this market more interesting. Don't forget to buy an colorful umbrella and folding fans :-)

Kaminari Gate: Kaminari Gate is one of the two gates approaching the temple. The Nakamise shopping area leads from Kaminarimon to the temple grounds. 

The Shrine of Three Gods : Indescribable, Magnanimous and opulent. Looks amazingly beautiful with sparkling gold in candle lights and incense fragrance. Asakusa Shrine started as a shrine dedicated to three men - fisherman brothers Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Takenari, who caught the statue of Kannon (the Goddess of Salvation) in their fishing net, and Hajino Nakachi, an acquaintance of them who suggested that the statue be enshrined in a proper way. (from website source)




















Though i count read these Japanese text however liked the similarity between Indian and Japanese culture of listing down the names of donors on the wall in fancy way. This definitely instigated me to donate some Yen in the donation box. 

Japan Diary

I am returning to my blog account after a long period of time. Guess what? My purpose was to delete the account!. What’s the point in having the blog account and not posting anything? Not that you are short of time or thoughts to write, but it doesn’t happen!! So I have decided to write at least once a week and hope to continue with it.

I have read a lot about Japan in books. Haruki Murakami is one of my favorite and I enjoyed reading ‘Norwegian Woods’. I recently visited Tokyo for business and spent more than weeks’ time. Sad to say, the Tokyo described in the novel of 1960s by Murakami, through the eyes of Toru and Midori, does not exist today. You feel as if the city has changed the complete backdrop. No time to love for busy people, you don’t see a family and family with kids. Japanese probably have the weakest bond between father and son or daughter. I was told by my friend that he hasn’t spoken to his dad for last 10 years. And he had no answers to some of my questions except ‘that’s the way it is in japan’

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