A typical Sunday morning start - quite atypical in US...

The darkness of the night has not yet passed by and the halogen lamps on the street are shining brightly. The silence of the pre-dawn hours is periodically broken by the call of the flying bats. The sky is trying hard to keep itself wrapped in the star-studded blanket as the sparrows and crows gradually announce the arrival of dawn. The 'dong-dong' sound of the temple bell hitches a ride with the gentle breeze. I hear more bells as the priest conducts the morning prayers. A distinct voice blows over the morning dew - 'Allah-o-akbar', announcing the first hour of prayers. The radio begins to crackle from one of the houses and an energetic female voice sputters the morning news. The sky has turned crimson red now. The sparrows start their day early and hop on the cemented road looking for worms, wary of the cat walking by. The crows are not amused by the feline presence either and make a rucus from their vantage position atop the cable TV wire crisscrossing overhead. Bang! Something heavy seems to have landed on the front verandah. I decide to jump on this morning bandwagon and pull myself out of the bed. The Sunday morning newspaper is lying on the verandah... it's quite a fat package! Looks like it decided to pick up a couple of Morning Glory leaves for me while it was on its arial route to the verandah. The newspaper bhaiya surely knows how to wish good-morning! I spread out the newspaper on the table and tune in to the happenings over the world. So much seems to have happened while the sky was trying to hold on to its star-studded blanket! The crows are still making a rucus about the cat so they obviously don't care about anything else that goes on in the world. As I flip through the first page of the newspaper, I wonder if the crows are really the wise ones. Knowing the misdeeds of a politician is not that much fun. The feline furry four legged animal is actually worth paying more attention to. I see it slip by the sunflower plants, eagerly looking for something to eat. I return to the cartoon section, chai and hot aloo parantha. There's nothing more wonderful than this trio.

Sitting on the 10th floor of a high rise apartment building in downtown chicago on a foggy cold morning makes me miss these things back home all the more. No sparrows, no crows, no cats, no temple bells, no 'Allah-o-akbar' calls, no fat newspaper with Morning Glory leaves, no morning dew, no cable TV lines... maybe its time to have some fresh aloo parantha and chai to make up for this loss!

Notebook v/s Computer

I have been thinking for the last couple of days on how computers have changed us and how we do things. I'll leave the benefits and disadvantages debate for someone else but what I am really talking about is what have computers taken away from us that using notebooks afforded? I remember myself (seems like a long time ago) taking notes and drawing while listening to the teacher or reading a book. It definitely took more time but now that I think about it, there was an organic feel to the whole experience. I was actually embodying the concept that I was engaged in. When you think of it, writing and drawing are forms of gesturing. It's just that the level of abstraction is different. You are translating what the teacher is saying or what you are reading into textual and graphical form with certain kinds of hand movement. Now take the same activity and think about doing it using computers (laptops included). You translate those sayings and readings into textual or graphical representation with a series of button clicks and key presses. This will also count as gesture but something has changed here. It's a different mode of translation and you are making different body movements.

I remember my mom telling me when I was in school to "write it down to remember". And when I wrote things down, I did remember them better. What was happening? Did writing help make a new pathway in my brain?

Consider this as well, handwriting analysis claims that a person's personality can be gauged by looking at his handwriting. Hence handwriting serves as a window into a person's emotions, thoughts, basic nature and overall personality. That means handwriting is a way of expressing these dimensions about oneself. When you take that medium of expression away, does something change about the person? I have seen people say that their handwriting is not good as it used to be because they have been using laptops for a long time. So that means their handwriting has evolved (or rather devolved) as a result of using computers. If we continue with our chain of thought that handwriting is a window into a person's overall personality, does that then mean that the person has changed as well over time along with his handwriting?

I want to get back to that issue of embodiment again. When we write, we "feel" the words. We "create" the words alphabet by alphabet. When we are small, we learn to "create" the alphabets by writing them repeatedly. We then write words until we get them into our heads. Certainly something happened as a result of that act of writing things down. The only thing I can think of now is that when I am trying to learn a word, I see the word first. My brain processes the visual information. If I then say the word aloud, my auditory senses add to the visual information and reinforce the learning. If I go further and write it down, my motor senses provide another feedback and I'm guessing that reinforces the learning further. Instead if I just press the button 'a' on my computer, I have performed a different kind of motor activity which sends a different kind of signal back to my brain - when you press this button, you type 'a' instead of the message that you can 'write' alphabet 'a' like this...

I strongly feel that there is something very important to the act of writing that is missing when we type on our computers. One might argue that typing on the computer is faster and lets us engage in activities which require higher cognitive abilities. I don't disagree with them but we also need to think about what we take away from kids when we replace their notebooks with computers in this increasingly hi-tech world...

(Thanks to Matt for brainstorming :) )

What if...

Drum beats, melodious music, wave of hands, rhythmic feet movement and perspiring yet happy faces... The floor was filled with people of all ages, race, and gender. There were a bunch of asian students occupying one corner of the floor while americans were distributed around the room and could be found with their Indian friends, trying to learn a move or two. Enthusiastic Indians were also scattered around mentoring their "students" diligently. Uncles and aunties were witnessing this amazing cultural exchange from the first row of the seats. Some of them even decided to jump right in the mix and show that they were still capable of shaking their legs... With loud bhangra music in the background, everyone was dancing to their heart's content. This was the first day of Incredible India musical fest in Chicago. Everyone was trying out new moves and new styles except for one girl. She kept on sitting there, right next to the dance floor, staring at all the people on the dance floor through her glasses. She seemed to be a student as she had a bag loosely hanging from the back of her chair. She had a faint smile on her face and her hands moved a little as if to follow the rhythm. She moved a little bit to get a better view of a new move on the dance floor but there wasn't much space for the wheels of her wheelchair to turn. Her fingers were crippled and her legs immobile. She moved the joystick on her wheelchair with the help of her index finger and moved to another corner to get a better view of the dance floor. She sat there the whole time people danced and rejoiced. She seemed to be rejoicing too but its very hard for me to imagine what kind of rejoicing that might be. She seemed content and satisfied with the fact that she could see people dancing at such close encounters. That seemed to be all she wanted. She might be visualizing herself dancing like that young girl on the dance floor. She might be moving her legs freely in any direction, absorbing the bhangra beats. She might be laughing and doing that head and leg move. But she might also be thinking "what if I could do that in real"... "What if I could get up now... What if I could jump up and down, run around, shake my legs, and wave my hands with the rhythm of the drums and the melodious music... "What if I could just get up and walk...". What if....

Hyeee peeeople!!

The last one year in Chicago has certainly been very eventful with lots of things happening (and not happening!). But what I cherish the most are the new friends I have made here. It is amazing how strangers walk into your life and then become friends in no time... or should I say a family!
As I walked back from my college every day I crossed a cozy pub (Rick's Bar) at the corner of Taylor St and Western. With its open door and bright neon sign, it was very welcoming and used to attract me. I could see people laughing inside, having a good time. It was generally late every day and although I wanted to go through those welcoming doors, I wasn't sure whether I should or not. I guess I hesitated because I have never been a regular bar person and there was a wall around me that stopped me from stepping outside my comfort zone and experience something new. Every day I saw people with drinks, playing pool or darts, smiling and talking. Just by walking past this pub and seeing those smiling faces made me smile and by the time I reached home, I used to feel very peaceful and happy. I used to see the same set of customers everyday. The person behind the bar changed everyday but I assumed that there might be rotations. So it was the same person every other day (approximately). For some reason, I felt that it was a family owned pub. These were the people I saw behind the bar and you can see for yourself why I made that connection - a cool tall guy in his early 30's, a young vivacious beautiful girl in her early 20's (although with girls you never know their age and should never guess!), a blonde lady with a not-so-cheerful face (or more accurately - with an artificial smile) in her late 50's, and finally a short grumpy man (must be Rick) with wrinkled face maybe in his late 50's too. So there I was, it seemed like a family! Anyways... so everyday I saw the "son" or the "daughter" of that grumpy man and occasionally their mother and the grumpy father himself behind the bar. Sometimes they would also stand outside near the open doors, sharing a smoke on a cold night, cheerful as usual. And as I walked past, once in a while I thought - Maybe they have lots of problems in life and that's why they come here... but then its good that they can find happiness in this family pub!

One day, after Neena came to Chicago and had started going to college here, as we were walking down Taylor St., we decided to stop and go through those welcoming doors! Neena was much more conversant with pubs and I felt confident going inside with her. I knew I wouldn't make a fool of myself with her as she knew a lot about drinks, etc. So there we were, INSIDE Rick's bar!! There were a lot of hilarious one-liners on the wall around us (e.g. "Never trust a man who is not drunk" - So you get the point right?). The place was dimly lit. On the far end was a dart board against the wall and another console game by its side. There was a door which I figured led to a small restaurant next door. On the far end, but against another wall was a "juke-box" (I still don't know what it is exactly called!). There were 4-5 tall round tables along the same wall that led to the door. The main door (yes, those welcoming doors!) were facing the bar. Behind the bar, there were rows and rows and rows (... and more rows!) of bottles (of course vodka, tequila, rum etc.) of all colors and shapes that you can possibly think of. Separating these rows in half was a not-so-new cash register and below the register there were some more exotic looking bottles. The wall behind the bottles had a huge mirror (running across pretty much the entire wall). There were a couple of drink-list of beers with their prices stuck on top of the mirror. A plastic notice board hung casually at the end of the wall below a medium sized TV. There were 3 TV's - 2 huge and 1 medium sized. One huge TV was facing us when we sat at the bar with our back towards the door while another one was stuck high on the wall next to the door. So I had to stretch my neck to the left side to see it... Oh I forgot to mention the dance floor and the pool table. So once you enter the pub through those welcoming doors, you have a huge window with all the neon signs on your left (facing Western) and another row of windows on your right (facing Taylor). Then you have the bar on the left, the tall tables on the right. As you keep on walking and once you go past the bar, you hit the pool table. To your immediate left is the dance floor and immediate right is that song-box. Go past the pool table and dance floor and song table, and you'll end up playing darts and some video game. If you feel like taking a piss then the door is right next to the video game console on your left (that's the male one bro!). Of course the female one is right next to it! There is a black and white picture of the Beatles group hanging between the console and the restroom. A sign hanging above the bar mentions that minimum credit card purchase is $10 and then there are all those funny one-liners all around. "How may I help you today?" (a female voice breaks my observation spree)..... I am still coming to terms that I am INSIDE the pub - "Uhhh?"... I didn't know what to order ("A Miller Lite please" would have been just fine .. but that's so boring!). And I had Neena with me... so I just looked at her and she quickly made her mind (and mine) and we were all set (I don't remember what we had the first time... must be some margarita or something... or maybe the Irish Creme?). And then we started chatting with "Rick's daughter". She asked us if we were new to the place and we started telling her about how we had moved from Atlanta blah blah blah... I saw the same faces that I had seen all these months and they were laughing as usual, cracking jokes and pulling each other's legs. There was an old man too in that group. he didn't seem to have any teeth but he was really enjoying his beer. There he was, sitting in his usual spot - one seat away from me on my left, happily sipping his beer. He poured his beer into a glass and then had it slowly. There was another late-50's man in between us and he had a small laptop in front. He was also drinking beer but directly from the bottle (wonder what the difference in drinking styles reflects about the person). He had the CTA (Chicago Transportation Authority) website open in his laptop and he was looking at the live-update for route #49. Let me put you in the right context here. Bus route #49 runs north-south on Western and there's a CTA website where you can check the exact time a bus is supposed to arrive at a bus-stop. The Western and Taylor bus-stop was right across the road. So by checking the bus-timing for that stop, one could predict when the bus would go past the pub. So.. my man was sitting inside this pub, checking the bus timing and predicting when the bus would go past the Western facing window and then looking outside to check if the website was actually reporting accurate task. What a wonderful way to spend your time!! The young girl was talking to the customers and always had a smile on her face. I realized from the way they were talking to her that they were long-time customers and knew her well.

Everybody seemed to have their own small world but also seemed to be a part of this pub. As we walked out of the pub that day after finishing our drinks, we saw that everyone was still sitting and drinking and talking. It seemed as if they didn't have any rush to go anywhere or do anything. The only person moving was that young girl. I felt that if I were to walk in the next day, I would see the same set of people in the same place doing the same thing... as if time had stopped inside the pub for these people. Rachael wished us goodnight and we wished her the same. So Rachael was Rick's daughter... hmmm... We became Neena and Chandan instead of 2 strangers who had walked into that pub for the first time. After the wall had been broken, I wanted to go there every friday! There was something about that place that attracted me a lot. Now when I walked past that pub and saw those familiar faces, I smiled at some, waved at some and they waved and smiled back at me. Neena and I went to that pub many more times after that but not as frequently as those other people. The girl behind the bar became Rachael - a good friend of ours (and NOT Rick's daughter!!!!), Rick's son became Dave (and he was NOT Rick's son!!!), the toothless man became Franky, and the CTA bus-tracker man became Richard. There were other people who sat at the tall tables but they were kind of in the background when you sat at the bar and I never got to know anyone well. The people at the bar were a part of one family (the bar-family) and the ones at the table were the table-family.

Whenever we walked past that pub, Frankie used to wave to us and say "Hyeee Peeeople". For him we were "people" :) I have never heard anyone greet like that so it was really unique. He had a distinct voice and very friendly demeanor. Although old (late 70's), he's still young at heart. We found out that Franky worked at the Lu-Lu's, a hamburger place on Taylor. He didn't seem to have a famliy.... ummmm.. I'll take that back... Rachael, Dave, Richard, and the people in Rick's Bar were his family.

Yesterday we went to Rick's Bar again after 2 months. It was Rachael's birthday yesterday and she was so excited to see us. We gave her a bunch of pink roses and 2 chocolates and then sat down at that familiar bar. We sat at the same place as always. Richard was right there on my left but this time he was playing with a small handheld video-game. I asked Rachael about Franky and she smiled at me. After a while, Franky walked in, smiling as usual and said "Hyeeee Peeeople". The same old style and distinct voice. The same love and affection. I looked at him and smiled. He came straight towards me and put his hand on my shoulder. I was sitting at the bar and so turned towards him. He asked me - "Where have you been?". I told him that we had gone to India to get married over the summer. I suddenly realized that I had become a part of his family too and he was missing us all summer. I felt like hugging him but didn't. He smiled again and patted me on my shoulder and waved at Rachael while pointing to us. Before I could realize it, he had bought us a drink to celebrate our return to the "bar-family". He did it with such flair and style that he should have been in his early 30's and not late 70's. Rachel was also quick to notice the gesture and asked us what we would like. We had a Blue MF (I don't swear in public :P). We thanked Franky for the drinks. I was still trying to make sense of the whole situation. I had not realized that we had become a part of those people in Rick's Bar who always used to laugh, have fun, crack jokes and relax. I was no longer looking at them from outside while walking back home from college. I was INSIDE the pub, within those welcoming doors with Franky and the rest of the bar-family around me. Rachael was her usual as well. She was very excited that we had come to meet her and brought her flowers. We felt that we were at home. Franky returned to his usual seat and poured beer into his glass and started sipping. I smiled at him and he smiled back... full of love and peace. Franky reminded me of my grandfather. That's right, Franky was the eldest in the bar-family and he must have got worried when two small kids (me and Neena) were missing for two months. Maybe I am just imagining too much but then that's what I was feeling at that time... We bought Franky one round of drinks too. He was very happy and gave me a toothless smile. As we walked out of that pub yesterday after wishing Rachel Happy Birthday again, we were feeling very happy and content. Maybe it was the Blue MF or maybe it was the bar-family... Who cares what it was actually. All I cared was that we were back and had become "people" again.... "Hyeee Peeeople" :)

(18th September, 2010)

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Fun Theory to change people's behavior

This is an amazing experiment. Changing people's behavior/practices/routines :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw

Right to Education Act 2009 (India)

Sixteen years after the idea was first mooted, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 has finally been notified, after receiving the assent of the President of India. Article 21-A, as inserted by the Constitution (Eighty-Sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, provides for free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right. Consequently, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, has been enacted by the Parliament. The salient features of the Right of Education Bill include free and compulsory education to all children of India in the six to 14 age group; no child shall be held back, expelled, or required to pass a board examination until completion of elementary education; a child who completes elementary education (upto class 8) shall be awarded a certificate; calls for a fixed student-teacher ratio; will apply to all of India except Jammu and Kashmir; provides for 25 % reservation for economically disadvantaged communities in admission to Class One in all private schools; mandates improvement in quality of education; school teachers will need adequate professional degree within five years or else will lose job; school infrastructure (where there is problem) to be improved in three years, else recognition cancelled; and financial burden will be shared between state and central government.

(source: http://www.digitallearning.in/news/news-details.asp?Title=Right-to-Education-Act-2009-in-action&newsid=16745)

To read the full law, click here - http://education.nic.in/Elementary/free%20and%20compulsory.pdf

Look within

A man feared his wife wasn't hearing well as she used to and he thought
she might need a hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach her, he
called his family doctor to discuss the problem. The doctor told him
there is a simple, informal test; which he could perform and give them a
better idea about her hearing loss.



"Here's what you do," said the doctor, "stand about 40 feet away from
her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone, see if she hears you.
If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a
response."



That evening, when his wife was in the kitchen, cooking dinner, he was
in the drawing room, standing about 40 feet away from her. "Honey,
what's for dinner?" he asked in a normal tone. No response! So he moved
closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife and repeated "Honey,
what's for dinner?" Still there was no response. Next, he moved into the
dining room where he was placed about 20 feet from his wife and asked
the same question. Still further, he didn't get his awaited response. He
now walked up to the kitchen door which was another 10 feet away and
asked "Honey, what's for dinner?" Again no response! So he walks up and
whispers behind her "Honey, what's for dinner?" "Steve, for the fifth
time I've said, "Chicken". "Do you have some hearing problem?"



Sometimes, the problem may not be with the other person as we always
think; it could be within us.

Let's look within ourselves before we find fault with others...

(email from Uttishthata on 22 Feb 2010)