Dow(n)

Monday morning: What's the financial scenario today? OMG !!! Wachovia got bought by Citigroup. and then again my favourite Apple stocks fell again. The financial market is in a BIG mess !!!

Mile sur mera tumhara..!!!

Why this title? It's a sarcastic take on the song that preaches national integration. I hitched a ride on Friday with a colleague/friend to another friend's place. My colleague was on his way to meet his girl friend, still studying in school. He mentioned that though both of them speak Hindi, they were not sure about their future in terms of what their parents would say. I bolstered his confidence by making the point that in any case, they spoke the same language, moreover Punjabi is an offshoot of Hindi. (No offense Punjus). It's disappointing to see parents not accept inter-caste marriages because of the Indian society. Who defines society? It's 'WE' as a collective individual defining the norms of 'SOCIETY'. I have been at the receiving end of this. Lot of my friends have gone through inter-caste/regional marriages and are living happily. Parents teach their children to live a good life, but I don't know why they cannot see that if they agree with their children on such a small issue, they are at least seeing their children happy. I know that it's every parent's dream to choose a prospective bride or groom for their children. But there's no fixed path for everyone. You may end up liking someone and would like to marry that certain individual. The only obstacle then is the mutual acceptance of the prospective bride or groom by the parents. Some cases are easy, because the parents are not so orthodox. I don't know what to say when I hear parents saying that they want you to come to India, see a girl, get married and go back. Is this horse-trading?? or cattle-trading??
I have heard this "what will your children be ?? what culture will they follow??" My answer: They will be good human beings and they will have the best of both worlds. Why marry someone to keep the society happy?? It's this hypocrite society that is responsible for this mess. The media goes crazy when AB marries Ash..and it's this same media/society that ridicules an inter-caste marriage. So what does the common man lack?? I wish parents were open-minded about the marriage stuff, after all we have been seeing 'Mile Sur' for the past so many years. Haven't we become mature enough to learn something about national integration from it?

Week of acquisitions

I was jolted on Monday morning, when I read that Lehman brothers had filed for bankruptcy, Merill Lynch was bought by Bank of America. Two big financial firms and now nothing. Somewhere, I did see this as well: Napster acquired by BestBuy.
I guess what's in store for this week?? more acquisitions?? Eventually are we going to see everything controlled by a single entity ??

I hope the economic crisis improves. I am not interested in seeing the economic slump similar to 2001-2004, just when I am about to graduate. It's as if the slumps have aligned perfectly with my graduation time line.

A Wednesday

My condolences for the victims of the Delhi Bomb Blast. I am saddened again by the srial bomb blasts rocking India. It's as if the government does not care for the "common man". in this context, I saw "A Wednesday". I wonder if every common man decided t implement this model/code of conduct.

Onamashamsakal !!!

Wish you all a very Happy Onam !!!
It's Onam, and I am confused this Onam. Technically we are not celebrating Onam due to the year long mourning for my dear GrandMa/Amma. I am at a loss in refreshing my last memory of Onam celebrated in Pune eight years ago. Onam celebrated in Kerala with pookalam and all was some eons ago. It's a small thing, but my eyes are moist thinking about the last sadya I had with my Amma in 2000. The sight of rice, sambar, uperi, kalan, elisseri, achar, papadam-everything on a banana leaf, hmm..it all seems so far away now.
Thankfully, the Mallu Hokies have decided to celebrate Onam next week in a potluck kinda way and that should break the monotonous and solitary kind of life here.

Marriages are made in Heaven?? Who knows?

I have always wondered if marriages are made in heaven as the saying goes. Who knows if God thought about caste, religion, color, and what not before deciding if two people could marry on earth. Now this thought would not appeal to an atheist, because according to an atheist marriage is a ritual/custom that binds two people in a union of love. I know that this sentence is tacky. On numerous occasions, some south indian guy has called my maharashtrian friend "Ghati", which may or may not be an insult. I find offense in regional segregation of people based on location and I have been quick to point out to that person that I am married to a Maharashtrian as well. It is interesting to see the flustered look on the guy's face and then the muttering 'Love Marriage??' I plead why love marriage?? By rule, all marriages are love marriages, because two people like each other and have consented for their marriage. Who cares as along as you have found your soulmate. I came across Chirag's excellent blog that captured this thought.
I can sum up the whole idea by again reiterating that marriages are made in Heaven, but you need to arrange it on Earth LOL !!! Rock ON !!!

Rock on !!!!

I saw Rock On today. excellent movie !!! reminded me about my college days, etc. I saw DCH in 2001 and now this movie after 8 years is a more mature look at friendships. I guess I have grown older and that kind of changes the outlook towards life. I especially liked Farhan's dialogue "Zindagi main compromises karna padta hai aur compromises kaun nahi karta !!". Who talks about compromises fresh out of college? People talk about compromises only after some stage of their life and that's why this movie makes sense now. Also compromises need not be attributed to failures, I correlate compromises to adjustments. Adjusting to a new job, new country, new school, new car, new house, new wife (strike the last one out, just kidding !!! ). I am listening to this song and this song now, so watch the movie and Rock On !!!