tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80015952012-01-25T12:56:16.421-08:00Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.comBlogger2981100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-55782694768656365182012-01-15T04:59:00.000-08:002012-01-15T19:49:05.614-08:00

So in the short time between my last post and now I went and got married, and made a trip to Sri Lanka with my new bride. I don't think I'll get the time to blog about all the places we went to, but I couldn't resist talking about our most wonderful encounter with Green Sea Turtles at the Hikkaduwa beach. This photo is of one of two turtles we saw at the beach. Both of them are apparently so

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-37768848750345534992012-01-09T00:18:00.000-08:002012-01-09T00:18:47.735-08:00

Here's the roundup of books I read in 2011. First the books that I would strongly recommend. "Brief Interviews..." has the most number of laugh-out-loud moments of any book I've read in recent memory. Cat's Cradle, even making allowance for the fact that I'm a Vonnegut groupie, is a must-read. Sirens of Titan, I thought, is among his most under-rated works. If you are a fan of Douglas Adams

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-8387499522576709912011-11-29T09:10:00.001-08:002011-11-29T09:10:22.070-08:00

There's a debate going on about whether to allow foreign retail chains to operate in India. There are libertarian voices who, by principle, are aghast at the thought of imposing needless restrictions. Urban Indians view retail FDI favorably mostly because they like the idea of having more joints to shop in. Yet the majority of the folks I have come across seem to embrace a protectionist view

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-84183900358329270742011-11-20T07:47:00.001-08:002011-11-20T07:52:01.622-08:00

Apple did a lot of things right, most important of them, I admit, was to build exquisitely designed products. But a lot of their success owes to a brilliant marketing effort too. It convinced people that they could, at a starting fee of USD 199, join an exclusive club. Even today my twitter feed has a steady stream of smug comments from Mac users subtly indicating that they know something that

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-55453497097006078862011-11-10T08:10:00.001-08:002011-11-10T09:19:38.936-08:00

My favorite political debates of all time were those that preceded the confidence motion before the Vajpayee government was ousted from its second term in 1999. Watching the likes of Pramod Mahajan, Somnath Chatterjee and George Fernandes take the floor was such a joy, but nobody could put you in a trance like Vajpayee could. Even his seemingly unending pauses were filled with such a sense of

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-50379037552128519332011-10-18T20:12:00.000-07:002011-10-18T20:14:11.608-07:00

It could be the knowledge that it has served its function for a full thousand years. It could be that it brutally dwarfs everything around it. It could be that it reminds us of an empire that was far ahead of its time. You don't have to be a theist to appreciate that there's something magical about the big temple at Thanjavur.

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-51182721821922395522011-10-10T20:35:00.001-07:002011-10-18T20:14:22.770-07:00

For a town of this size Thanjavur has a surprisingly high density of basketball courts. My favorite, though, is the one in the Medical College campus. In what other court would you find cheerleading peacocks?

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-20318485907186138112011-10-10T02:08:00.000-07:002011-10-10T02:08:40.672-07:00

View Larger Map On a cue that we might get to spot flamingoes, we planned a snap trip to a place called Pulicat lake from Chennai. Pulicat lake is a massive lagoon on the border between Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. On the shore of the lake is a village called Annamalai Cheri that also, we were told, the name of the bird sanctuary. We missed prime birding time by not getting there early

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-30139835024971297182011-09-04T05:11:00.000-07:002011-09-04T05:11:56.908-07:00

Sohra (previously known as Cherrapunjee) and nearby Mawsynram, both regions in Shillong are two of the wettest places in the world. Post-monsoons these valleys hold awe-inspiring sights consisting of lush green valleys, gorgeous hills and staggeringly beautiful waterfalls. This one, my favorite by a narrow margin, is called Nohkalikai, which according to Lonely Planet is the fourth highest in the

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-85487090314178549032011-09-03T02:04:00.000-07:002011-09-03T02:04:38.254-07:00

I've been late to post about my trip to Meghalaya. One of the most remarkable features that we encountered in the Khasi hills of this state are these living root bridges. In a practice perfected by the Khasi tribe, the growth of the secondary roots of rubber trees are guided by the use of betel-nut trunks to form, over the span of decades, bridges that can be used by humans to cross streams and

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-6618212035985296782011-08-15T05:18:00.000-07:002011-08-15T05:18:52.948-07:00

View Larger Map  Last week, S and I found ourselves looking for patches of population within the district of Thanjavur that are not well-served by the Government's public health center network with the intention of setting our organization's health kiosks where it is needed most. As part of that exercise we happened to travel deep into our district. We pretty much traveled on every single road

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-38161424848656799452011-08-14T07:04:00.000-07:002011-08-14T07:04:15.633-07:00

This morning, some ex-colleagues and I did a 100 km biking ride to Shivagange, a hill situated off NH4 towards Tumkur. The highlight of the trip was the first leg of the return journey when RD-man and I put in a burst that lasted 1hr 45 mins in which we covered almost 40 kms without a stop, on some beautiful stretches of country roads.  That feeling of "getting in the zone", I think, is what

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-52439386563784257462011-07-27T22:24:00.000-07:002011-07-27T22:24:12.569-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, a friend and I were enumerating reasons that would rule us out if we were ever to try running for an elected office. We considered the skeletons in the cupboard that won't hold up well to scrutiny, inability to be diplomatic, hesitation to make the hard compromises that comes with politics, and many others. Apart from those, my blog would be an embarrassment too. I would

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-82648660832668384232011-07-22T17:40:00.000-07:002011-07-22T19:47:30.263-07:00

Last weekend, we made a trip to a remarkable place called Kallanai, a dam over the Cauvery river built by the Cholas nearly a thousand years ago. It is said to the oldest water regulation structure still in use today. More fascinating was this curious behavior by the fish at the downstream end of the dam. For some reason, they kept trying to swim upstream, at times jumping with all their energy

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-74565468507335792102011-07-12T21:02:00.000-07:002011-07-12T21:02:26.739-07:00

What's common to every election manifesto, every political speech, every media interview with a neta, every excuse for a scandal? The incessant use of the word "Development". It's not necessarily a bad thing, but while the Yeddys of the world go about turning Bangalores into Singapores and Mumbais into Shanghais, I feel there are two counterforces that are absolutely necessary to keep it sane;

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-42263371651582302502011-06-19T05:18:00.000-07:002011-06-19T20:51:25.366-07:00

My dad has his share of idiosyncrasies. He's got an absurd hatred for coughing. Although his mode of rebuke for non-compliance of the no-coughing rule was nothing but a frown-n-stare, I clearly remember a time in my childhood when I was actually scared of coughing when he was around. I probably still carry residues of that fear. His other spoilsporty behavior comes from his almost irrational

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-70246612856694244172011-06-06T01:17:00.000-07:002011-06-06T01:17:13.783-07:00

I want to believe that line from a Dylan song "I was so much older then. I'm younger than that now". Unfortunately, I can't say that about my finish times in the 10k (sunfeast 10k all these days, TCS 10k now) run over the last 3 years. Depressing!

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-89048157205035239532011-05-30T01:14:00.000-07:002011-05-30T01:14:29.332-07:00

I've been wondering as much about the link between traffic-rule-adherence and water conservation as I have about the definite article before "Water". Tell us, pray, which water?

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-85688927123551384012011-05-23T08:52:00.000-07:002011-05-23T08:52:40.931-07:00

I remember when I got my bachelor's degree in an austere ceremony that involved our clerk handing out a modest certificate through a hole in the wall and then sliding out a register for me to sign in, all strictly done without eye contact. A far cry from the pomp and gaiety and cheering that surrounded my sister's walk.  One reason for the elaborate ritual is surely tradition, but I also think

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-47127552878703290762011-05-07T08:55:00.000-07:002011-05-11T05:32:25.627-07:00

Last week I happened to visit Kolli hills in the eastern ghats of Tamil Nadu, accompanying a friend who was deploying an IT solution for a rural health care non-profit called Isha foundation. While the cool mountain air was in itself an incentive, a welcome break from the Thanjavur summer, the trip was interesting in many other ways. Isha Foundation has a unique approach to health care; as part

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-30680592486573937652011-04-13T10:54:00.000-07:002011-04-13T10:54:08.150-07:00

I have my own secret list of seven reasons why we should reunite with Pakistan which so far read like this 7. The Wagah gates could use a break from the slamming 6. K2 5. We wouldn't nuke ourselves, would we? 4. It will make Kashmiri separationists look awfully silly 3. We'll access that endless supply of uncannily gifted fast bowlers To this list, I now add "2. Coke Studio". Coke Studio is a

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-49716117316988080662011-04-10T03:52:00.000-07:002011-04-10T03:52:12.349-07:00

Just last week, I finished reading Eknath Easwaran's fascinating, if at times fawning, account of his mentor in "Gandhi The Man". I was still grappling with the impracticality of some of the ideas of Satyagraha when the last of the Gandhians decided to put together a little demo. All sorts of people have commented on the goings on; the Arnab Goswamis have ruined their vocal chords by their

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-41932265907933583032011-03-21T21:20:00.000-07:002011-03-21T21:20:51.491-07:00

My impression of Cuba was that of an inconsequential little state, one of the last desperate refuges of that failed 20th century experiment called Communism. Lately, however, Cuba keeps showing up as an ideal worth emulating in a couple of different and surprising contexts. I now work in healthcare, a field in which you will seldom clock a work day without hearing a reference to Cuba. Michael

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-82520759080415841302011-02-14T07:36:00.000-08:002011-02-14T07:36:05.459-08:00

So I finished my first half-marathon in 2:09:30 at Auroville. Enjoyed everything about it. Preparing for the run was exciting and fun (and my running mate had a strong finish too). The marathon ended up being a nice excuse to get together with friends at Pondicherry. Lots to be said about the event too; the trail is one of the most beautiful ones I've run on . It was also nice to meet several

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-19312603628050950902011-02-02T19:06:00.000-08:002011-02-02T19:06:33.886-08:00

Technology has found a new way of being a pain in everybody's ass here in South India. Ridiculously low cost of printing has given rise to a new culture where every dude who is remotely political expresses his (it's almost never a "her") affection to the one above him in the pecking order by putting up posters that have a minimum of these five elements * Center-area dominated by a full-body shot

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-85533159219923943932011-01-08T07:12:00.000-08:002011-01-08T07:12:44.017-08:00

I had a fairly satisfactory year in terms of my reading list last year, especially when compared to the year before that. Here's a roundup: First up are the books that I strongly recommend - books that I probably will re-read at some point. Sceptical Essays - Bertrand Russell Listening to Grasshoppers: Fieldnotes on Democracy - Arundhati Roy Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe The Blind Watchmaker

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-2090422301257734312010-12-28T02:48:00.000-08:002010-12-28T02:48:02.765-08:00

While I'm here in the town of Thanjavur I'm keen to use my weekends to explore this geography for hidden places of interest. A few weeks ago my colleagues and I drove towards the coastal town of Nagapattinam. While driving on a road parallel to the coast we took an arbitrary turn on a whim and drove till we ran out of road, parked our car, hiked through the woods in the direction of the sea and

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-34132382611769469172010-12-19T00:33:00.001-08:002010-12-19T00:33:58.018-08:00

Working for a rural healthcare non-profit in a small town, I thought, would lend me enough action during the weekdays and enough time during the weekends in which to blog about them. In my sixth week here I can safely conclude that I was wrong about the latter. In fact, the whole weekend-weekday separation, along with work-life or professional-personal, have all turned out to be a false

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-37138150223417874362010-11-15T21:23:00.000-08:002010-11-25T02:01:31.563-08:00

A lot has happened in the past fortnight. After spending nearly three and a half years there, I quit Yahoo!, bidding farewell to a lot of good friends, a great team, fat paychecks, nice food, free transportation, diverse lunch-time conversations, Friday evening cricket games and Sunday morning soccer. I do take with me lots of learnings, many friendships and this really thoughtful farewell gift.

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-85725679625521317072010-11-06T07:56:00.000-07:002010-11-06T07:56:03.844-07:00

When we embraced liberalization in the early 90s we unleashed the collective potential of a billion people. Suddenly, the middle class bulged and we could tangibly feel the quality of our lives improve. We had a realistic chance to materialize any dream no matter how crazy it sounded ( IIPM, for instance). As an offshoot that kind of atmosphere also germinated hubris. There was a belief that no

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-72340456964489301742010-10-01T09:52:00.000-07:002010-10-26T10:40:45.214-07:00

Today is my last day in Tanzania. I dine with an American of desi descent and a Bangladeshi from Texas. One of the highlights of this trip is that despite traveling alone I've not had more than a couple of meals by myself. Despite meeting all those people over various lunches and dinners this was the first time I was in desi company and we use the opportunity for some self-effacing desi ribbing.

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-11196394048357684742010-09-29T10:11:00.000-07:002010-10-26T09:51:46.756-07:00

My final day of safari is in the Ngorongoro crater. I learn from my guide that the place gets its name from the sound of the bells of the maasai cattle. This is indeed a fascinating place, like someone cut a circular section of 10 km radius of the Serengeti, intact with all the fauna, and placed it in a petri dish. The 650m high wall that surrounds this crater is in stark contrast to the

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-3260288722328118502010-09-28T21:38:00.000-07:002010-10-18T21:42:55.579-07:00

They say that curiosity, as much as devotion, makes a pilgrim, If you spent as much time as me watching films set in the Serengeti, conjecturing about what exists outside the aspect ratio of the TV screens, you'd understand why this trip is almost spiritual for me. Serengeti, gets its name from Serengit, Maasai for "Endless Plain", which brings me to the whole truth about this place that none

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-32874451297061460102010-09-26T23:36:00.000-07:002010-10-15T23:40:11.473-07:00

I start my tanzanian safari with a visit to Lake Manyara. I have a Toyota Landcruiser all to myself. Feel bad about being the lone passenger in a huge vehicle but secretly appreciate the freedom too, because folks - even friends - don't take too kindly to stopping for every bird. Nasibu, my driver and guide, tells me that they picked him because he is the most knowledgeable about birds. He uses

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-31036465804078735422010-09-25T10:06:00.000-07:002010-10-15T10:08:28.065-07:00

The descent down the east face of the mountain is about as boring as it gets, especially after the fantastic views that the rest of the Machame route threw at us. There's nothing much I have to say about the trail, but the highlight for the day was the song and dance that we had with the staff this morning after breakfast. If days 1 to 6 were all about conquering the peak, day 7 was about

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-21685608601189100492010-09-24T11:25:00.000-07:002010-10-15T03:03:21.702-07:00

I knew from all accounts that day 6 was going to be tough but hadn't thought I'd be doing the hardest thing I've ever done. We began the hike at a little before midnight under the most brilliant moonlight. It sure was dreadfully cold, but the excitement of scaling the summit kept us from noticing the frigid temperatures and we marched on with loud fervor. After an hour's walk we could see the

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-72826898190534639212010-09-23T10:39:00.000-07:002010-10-12T10:41:58.803-07:00

Woke up on day 5 after an almost sleepless night thanks to two visits to the bathroom, directly attributable to the millet porridge I had enthusiastically consumed during dinner. Each visit involved 15mins of procrastination, 10 mins spent in wearing additional layers of clothing, 5 actually going through the motions in the freezing midnight air, and 10 mins more waiting for the sleeping bag to

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-79234411116166312572010-09-22T10:14:00.000-07:002010-10-12T10:24:36.110-07:00

On the fourth morning, we scaled the wall to reach the highest point thus far on the hike, 4200m. The route from Barranco wall to Karanga camp includes a lot of alternating climbs and descends which offered good opportunities for acclimatization. The trail wasn't throwing any challenges so I decided to spend my energy picking up swahili, starting with the greetings Jambo (hello), Kwaheri (

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-10137515628282298312010-09-21T10:28:00.000-07:002010-10-12T10:14:27.057-07:00

To sum up day 3, we walked a distance of 13km in 7 hrs for an overall gain of a mere 100 m in altitude. The purpose of that was to acclimatize the hikers to the high altitudes. This leg of the journey has some stunning views of the mountain and the valleys, including a curious geographical formation called the Lava Tower at 4590 m. I happened to spot a beautiful sunbird on the way to our camp.

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-74032534267784714722010-09-20T10:55:00.000-07:002010-10-07T10:57:48.195-07:00

The second day on the trek was a relatively relaxed walk - about 7 km to a camp called Shira. This leg of our hike took us out of the tree line and into what they call the moorland. The groups had spread out a little and it didn't seem as crowded as on the first day. After we reached the Shira camp, since we had a lot of energy left, we decided to trek up another little hill. We were rewarded

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-33937742435739559902010-09-19T10:31:00.000-07:002010-10-07T10:58:19.198-07:00

I met the group that I was going to be trekking with; a sweet couple from Hong Kong, Karl and Sin, and Warren from USA, who would come to collect such epithets as "Inspector Gadget", "Mr.Colorado" and "The fittest 46yr old I know!". We also met our guide, Richard a.k.a Richie, whose big smile was to be one of the hallmarks of the trip. We reached the base camp and found a whole carnival in

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-40079316014947236612010-09-18T15:25:00.000-07:002010-10-03T01:30:51.187-07:00

On every holiday I look forward to doing some thing(s) for the first time. This vacation began with one of them when I boarded an Ethiopian Airlines flight. (My childish fascination for novelty aside, apart from the totally unintelligible flight announcements, the experience was like on any other airline.) My flight took me from Bangalore through Mumbai, Addis Ababa, and Nairobi before finally

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-28610329352819612812010-09-16T11:41:00.000-07:002010-09-16T11:41:53.302-07:00

Picture source. Ok. I'm a total todo-list junkie. For as long as I can remember I've had various "Things to do before I turn X" lists. Although a lot of people seem to think that that's a terribly unspontaneous way of living life these lists have their use because I seem to get a few things done (except for those items that begin with the words "Get married to..."). One of the things that I had

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-76874053308620913942010-09-12T08:17:00.000-07:002010-09-12T08:17:26.738-07:00

Love is. Especially the unrequited kind. Here's the previous one in the series.

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-23766479924073542122010-08-30T03:42:00.000-07:002010-08-30T03:42:26.307-07:00

The focus of this year's Mobilicity was this fantastically researched and detailed Commuter Rail proposal by IDS and the other folks at Praja. This morning's discussion included common citizens, elected representatives, bureaucrats from the likes of Railways, Metro and BMRDA, and academicians focused on urban issues and sustainability. This gives me real hope. This, to me, is what citizen

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-85498042962799690662010-08-24T09:50:00.000-07:002010-08-24T09:50:09.782-07:00

I have a theory that men who studied in boys-only schools tend to be, on average, a little more competitive at sports than others. In school, I was obnoxiously competitive at football and ended up pissing off bigger guys, not a good idea considering my slight build. Retaliations had involved spilling of blood (mine usually)- and I don't mean that metaphorically. To this day, even when the setting

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-68854868000526011492010-08-17T05:34:00.000-07:002010-08-17T05:34:59.938-07:00

While the dust from the Meter Jam debate is only just settling, I happened to read this passage from Arundhati Roy's "Listening to Grasshoppers". For those of us familiar to her dogma (and she's never subtle about its dissemination) she unwaveringly bats for the folks that "development" has left behind. She points us to the peace-time collateral damage that the middle class has learnt to ignore.

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-61950586928846428862010-08-14T00:44:00.000-07:002010-08-14T00:44:55.906-07:00

I refrained from writing about the consumers' boycott of autorickshaws for two reasons; first I hardly ever use autos and second I don't have a constructive solution to offer to commuters. I got dragged into this by Shreeni. I must concede that the situation is terrible, and the autodrivers of Bangalore deserve the bad name they've accrued over the recent years. But here's why I still won't

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-73764563401275695582010-07-30T06:47:00.000-07:002010-07-31T16:03:17.430-07:00

At my workplace, we have at least one Ping Pong table on each of our floors. Next to each table we used to have a box with 4 rackets and a ball. People came, played, and then left the rackets in the box. Since not everybody was careful with them, the rackets we found were usually in bad shape, which was rather disconcerting. Some smart guy found a solution; the next time he found a racket that

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-32518274701022695742010-07-17T23:28:00.000-07:002010-07-17T23:31:50.802-07:00

I couple of months ago I wrote a post on Zenrainman's house. I missed out a very important feature of that house, the view from their window. Here it is:

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-34372510953210927952010-07-16T09:53:00.000-07:002010-07-20T09:55:14.813-07:00

For a very long time I was a typical urban-educated upper-caste twit who balked at the idea of Reservations (or was I just being what the economists call a Rational Individual?). Some time in the last decade I became convinced that in a massively unbalanced society like ours equity can only restored with the helping hand of affirmative action. I won't go into the details of why I reached that

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-67868218422937576192010-07-15T09:28:00.000-07:002010-07-15T09:35:05.060-07:00

I hadn't heard of Joel Stein until I came across a piece he wrote for Time called My Own Private India. It was one of those pieces that make you prime yourself for a laugh or two, but you end up not even cracking a smile. After I finished wondering about the point of that whole piece, I did concede a belated grin; not because the commentary was humorous, but because it poked fun at Indians and

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-45577870800725486502010-07-07T12:12:00.001-07:002010-07-07T12:16:22.040-07:00

There are several things to like about the Netherlands. I love the dutch language. I really like Amsterdam (there's a lot more to that city than nudge-nudge-wink-wink). Apart from one incident when a dutchman, having caught me leaning against his car -I was doing that to stabilize my camera- called me a "Pakistani" (totally diluting the intended insult in the process), the people there are

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-77185631103587801452010-06-22T03:05:00.001-07:002010-06-22T08:50:41.775-07:00

I accompanied S-man on his trip to the RTO, where, when we were not rebounding from desk to desk, we were being made to wait for no other reason but that one sadistic clerk wanted to assert his dominion. After an experience like that I invariable turn libertarian and I want the government to get out of my way. I do see merit in that argument; the government's role should not be to entrench itself

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-4693339043018424972010-06-20T06:48:00.000-07:002010-06-20T06:52:09.177-07:00

Link to the book.The stories from the indian struggle for independence can never bore me. Between sepoys rebelling, folks walking to the sea to make salt, young men lobbing grenades into the parliament, intellectuals building armies in exile, there's enough to keep a reader entertained for eternity. Yet I can't help feel that our popular history texts trivialize the characters turning them into

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-84804435223349867832010-06-19T05:07:00.000-07:002010-06-20T06:54:32.692-07:00

* I remember that the Bruhadeshwara temple had taken my breath away when I saw it for the first time nearly 18 yrs ago. Later, I learnt that the top dome on the tower is a single stone weighing 80 tonnes - the Cholas built a 4km ramp to move that stone to that height. I visited the temple again this weekend, and I must say it's one of the most awe-inspiring structures in this country. * They

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-18754154115262780702010-06-09T10:44:00.000-07:002010-06-09T10:46:16.226-07:00

R & M hadn't seen each other in a while before they met in the elevator car. "Hey R". "Hey M". It would have been perfectly ok to end that conversation right there. It would have been acceptable etiquette to spend the remaining 15 seconds staring at the LED numbers. However, R said "How are you?". "I'm fine", M replied. That would have been yet another place to put a logical end to that exchange.

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-13114955610304377902010-06-01T06:56:00.000-07:002010-06-01T07:12:26.215-07:00

I like to blog more than I like to tweet, because I find the 140 character limit severely restrictive. I have enormous respect for people who can pack a pithy punch in almost no words. That's probably one of the reasons why I am so fascinated by the wisdom on auto rickshaw hoods. Each one of those aphorisms tells a story that goes beyond the words. Like this one above ("I suck at spelling!")

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-49462564476057959212010-05-25T02:43:00.000-07:002010-05-25T02:50:10.381-07:00

I finished the Sunfeast 10k in 55:07. The good news is that my rank was 447 for the category I ran in. The bad news was that I was at least 3 minutes slower than last year. And then the deeply humbling news was that the winner of the competitive format completed the circuit in half the time that I needed.

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-84621350696634015172010-05-24T09:12:00.000-07:002010-05-25T04:25:38.256-07:00

Zenrainman's house qualifies for a sustainability museum. It looks radical enough from the outside, and then the inside wows you further but the rooftop finally drops your jaw and temporarily stops your breathing. Here's the living room; the suspended lights are all powered by solar energy. Notice how well this room is lit without the lights being on. Notice also, that there are no ceiling fans.

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-68416212259631120932010-05-19T09:46:00.000-07:002010-05-24T09:50:12.436-07:00

"Bangalore's decade old dream is realized" says the head priest. We are getting our own version of the Tirupati temple, right in my own neighborhood. I would have had no major problem with this development if not for how badly this new construction is going to affect the quality of my own life, especially the traffic situation around here. I shudder, because Malleswaram has been victim of this

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-34603864922892563532010-05-19T04:48:00.001-07:002010-05-19T04:51:10.654-07:00

Picture sourceThe football world cup is here. I'm thankful that there won't be HSBC Corner Kicks, no British Petroleum Slick Goals, no Goldman Sachs smart Substitutions. I'm glad there won't be advertisements while players are writhing on the pitch. I'm marginally pleased there will be no cheerleaders. I'm happy that there will be no stupored population so thrilled with the gladiators that

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-50288287802530349022010-05-13T09:23:00.000-07:002010-05-13T09:42:04.322-07:00

I visited Masinagudi for the fourth time. Thinking about the other times I've been there almost made me shake my head in disbelief about how different life turns out from what you imagine. It would have felt like four different births if I hadn't chronicled one of them right here on this blog. But some things don't really change. The wildlife still looks very healthyThis black mongrel called

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-46486428712711304912010-05-06T03:53:00.000-07:002010-05-06T04:04:43.844-07:00

Social commentators have relied on several indicators to get a taste of the zeitgeist; google search trends, metro-station graffiti, twitter tags, lavatory engravings and so on. I think there's another neglected source that gives a pulse of my city; the slogans at the back of auto-rickshaws. Social indicators or not, they are bloody amusing and here's the first of what I hope to be a series.

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-54528685957086958822010-05-02T10:48:00.001-07:002010-05-02T10:53:47.315-07:00

He lives alone on a faraway farm, hedging his bets on an obscure system of agriculture called Analog Forestry. He's not quite a Christopher McCandless in his rejection of civilization as you're likely to find him bent over a laptop in his cozy little house that was built a full 150 yrs ago. His social isolation is also not total, for even today he was visited by a bunch of students that wanted

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-62710708797915612802010-04-25T06:20:00.000-07:002010-04-25T06:26:19.210-07:00

I forgot my bag in a crowded part of Cubbon Park for close to a couple of hours, and found it right there when I came back looking for it. Here are some theories* The dull green colour served to camouflage it.* People's paranoia about unattended luggage ensured that nobody ventured near it.* The park was so crowded that there was always someone near it, and hence people didn't realize it was

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-8109706707680994702010-04-22T10:36:00.000-07:002010-04-22T20:16:57.047-07:00

Today was earth day. We were surrounded by the endless motifs of lost-cause-ness that modern environmentalism brings to the fore. Even the prescriptions of those little constructive mini-steps -such as biking or recycling- are depressing in their insignificance. Every new finding, every new study, every new insight seems to just add to the cynicism. That's why it's always a little brusquely

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-43674891061026051972010-04-17T09:14:00.000-07:002010-04-17T09:20:03.563-07:00

Picture sourceTest cricket, one of my favorite forms of professional sport, is surely going to be a victim of Twenty20. We're soon going to see the end of the richly layered plots, the idea of the honorable draw, the triumph of aesthetics over competition, the epic demonstrations of concentration and perseverance, and all those other archaic values that Tests used to symbolize. Yet I'm not in

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-477214019013563882010-03-29T09:44:00.000-07:002010-03-29T09:49:23.066-07:00

Picture sourceThe most recent leg of the Emerging leaders program was titled "People Leadership". Over 4 days spread across two weekends, we touched upon "Negotiation skills", "Doing business in intercultural settings", "Organizational Politics" and so on. Note-worthy moments from this module* Watching "Twelve Angry Men" as a study of negotiation. I can never have enough of that movie, although I

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-32086048952503812002010-03-12T04:47:00.000-08:002010-03-12T04:54:02.048-08:00

For several years, I flip-flopped on the subject of vegetarianism, because I was never convinced about the reasons to relinquish meat. The every-animal-has-a-soul didn't make the cut. Cholesterol didn't discourage me too much. The cruelties of industrial scale husbandry was out of sight from my conscience. Finally, after a lot of reading on the subject, I was completely convinced that if every

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-76788249240062337232010-02-28T10:15:00.000-08:002010-02-28T10:21:54.799-08:00

When deaf people need to show appreciation, they wiggle their hands over their heads. This visual applause is called the Deaf Applause.

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-3828735694695465412010-02-19T04:31:00.001-08:002010-02-19T04:40:55.381-08:00

The steward announces over the PA system "Please remain seated and do not switch on your phone until the seat-belt sign is turned off". I ignore that, because I'm busy fetching my bags, all 3 of them, from the overhead compartment. I snigger at the advice on the mobile phone because I never bothered to power my cell-phone down in the first place. I've traveled so many times without turning it off

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-39036329837707112202010-02-09T08:52:00.000-08:002010-02-09T19:16:43.861-08:00

Roughly two years ago, to the day, I bought a very nice-looking couch set from a reputed outlet in Bangalore. It was fantastically comfortable. Its awesome coziness drastically reduced the net metabolic activity of the household because you just couldn't help being a sloth when you came in contact with it. It made me so lazy that even my cat, who only woke up for his two daily meals, was ashamed

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-15608106966198588482010-01-19T01:24:00.000-08:002010-03-14T09:32:18.431-07:00

Bank Executive: Ma'am, I'll need your visiting card along with your payslips.R: (hands it over) here you go.Exec: Can I have another one? R: How many do you need?Exec: I need a proper one, this one has holes.R: That's my name and number in braille.Exec: I don't know that ma'am. I want something without holes. R & I have alternately laughed and felt outrage at the executive's ignorance. From today

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-78733916685207271572010-01-12T08:16:00.000-08:002010-01-12T08:43:03.277-08:00

* Traffic behavior - Green by Induction: This is when vehicles assume a green signal for themselves because the vehicle ahead of them got a green. Very similar to how when you are pouring honey out of a bottle, one continuous viscous thread of honey keeps falling out even after you have willed it to stop. Similarly, one long chain of vehicles always has to keep on moving after the signal has

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-19577595986322220852010-01-02T06:55:00.000-08:002010-01-02T06:57:06.464-08:00

There was a time when I read like there's no tomorrow. "Reading" wasn't just a hobby, it was an absolute life-necessity. To not read was to admit a failing. When I met people I registered life-long prejudices against them depending on whether they read the "right" kind of books, the wrong kind or not at all. I got along great with other readers because after all there are so many things to talk

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-70093619485704388562009-12-26T10:28:00.000-08:002009-12-26T10:30:04.241-08:00

The only thing wrong with Avatar was the Pandora horse. What are the chances that in a distant planet, evolution would have thrown up another equine beast of burden that looked exactly like our own horses but had two bonus appendages? There was some shoddy lack of creativity there. I start my review of Avatar with that nitpicking because I want to deliberately temper my absolute infatuation for

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-24914656606507737732009-12-20T09:50:00.000-08:002009-12-20T09:51:03.625-08:00

Fuzzy is the god of spontaneity. Here are just a few things he did in one calendar day. He invited random people on the street to N's sister's wedding because, well, he thought they looked like good neighbours. At the wedding hall, he got up and danced when the nadaswaram band started playing. He stood right in the middle of traffic on dispensary road and performed an elaborate arm-waving ritual

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-87085400136730457662009-12-04T03:26:00.001-08:002009-12-04T03:32:43.256-08:00

If you live in Koramangala and/or want to be part of a remarkable political experiment, read on. Inspired by the example of Adolf D'Souza's election as an independent citizen councilor, Smartvote is attempting to bubble up a citizen candidate for the upcoming BBMP election in Koramangala. I've explained the process in my post on praja. This movement requires a lot of help in co-ordination and

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-80915578290932452032009-12-03T05:14:00.000-08:002009-12-03T05:26:01.128-08:00

A few weeks ago, BBMP came up with an idea to prevent public walls from being used as a place to stick all sorts of publicity material. They hired a bunch of painters, gave them enough of their wares and let them loose on the city. Suddenly wherever you look, you see garish paintings. Some are not-so-bad but most of them are grotesque. Aesthetic judgement aside, are the paintings having the

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-30545998602427316672009-12-03T04:15:00.000-08:002009-12-03T06:17:40.286-08:00

Rank these in descending order of inappropriatenessa. Sculpture of a topless dancerb. Painting of a sculpture of a topless dancerc. Photograph of a painting of a sculpture of a topless dancerd. Talking about a photograph of a painting of a sculpture of a topless dancer. My answer would be d, c, a, b. But I really can't explain why that is so. And watch how if you replace "12th century sculpture

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-61945790103480732182009-11-30T09:05:00.000-08:002009-11-30T09:26:40.207-08:00

I've always encouraged, in my head, the rather simplistic negative stereotype of a b-school as a place where people are taught to be jargon-spewing, self-selling go-getters. Coming in contact with profs Ashwin Mahesh, Trilochan Sastry and Rajeev Gowda over the last few months contributed significantly to alter that perception. Whatever prejudice was left were washed away in the last two weekends

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-3303239045272056542009-11-28T09:12:00.000-08:002009-11-30T21:46:11.695-08:00

A few days ago a newspaper carried a report that bloggers could be arrested if they are found to defame respectable citizens. Since I'm not very confident about my countrymen's understanding of democratic rights, I'm taking the necessary precautions by masking two crucial letters in the word Do**. You know what it stands for, but if I get arrested I'll insist I meant "Dood" or something!

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-77058110426600182592009-11-28T06:43:00.000-08:002009-11-30T07:23:32.049-08:00

Pictures (really bad ones!) and thoughts from my School Reunion.Events like this are reminders of how unforgivably and inexorably the clock has ticked on. Most of my favorite teachers have retired. Some have even died. My classmates have all nurtured paunches but lost their hair. The cricket ground has been replaced by an ugly building that has no regard for the harmoniousness of the place. Yet,

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-80236915659528736032009-11-23T08:45:00.000-08:002009-11-23T09:45:12.363-08:00

MobiliCity took place last Saturday. The first session of the day, for me, had enough positives to make the entire effort worthwhile. Here were policy makers, policy enforcers, thinkers and citizens all discussing a Transport Policy for the state, a document that is a first of its kind in the entire country. Here were people from the world's crustiest bureaucracy willing to let faceless members

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-15068094148527977782009-11-13T00:49:00.000-08:002009-11-13T00:52:34.120-08:00

It's not like I had nothing happening in life. I could have written about the big launch at work and the relief at the end of it. I could have written about the awesome meetings with all the Solid Waste Management pioneers of Bangalore. I could have written about my best bird pic yet. I could have publicized Mobilicity which is coming up next weekend. I could have written about the

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-89429858344101358452009-10-26T10:15:00.000-07:002009-10-26T10:33:12.491-07:00

We had a special Critical Mass last Saturday to commemorate the International Day of Climate Action. S-man beat me to it when it came to posting about it. I'll do the smart thing here and just link to his account. Personally, I was a little disappointed with the turnout. However, what we lacked in numbers we made up for in charisma, thanks to the awesomeness of these two siblings. Watching them

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-44673439532496803742009-10-22T11:29:00.000-07:002009-10-26T10:36:09.854-07:00

The recently released book Superfreakonomics has a chapter on Global Warming that has sparked off one of the most engaging debates that I've witnessed. The premise of that chapter, to paraphrase it (very)loosely, is that geo-engineering (read spraying sulphur or something into the atmosphere to cut off sunlight!) is better than improving efficiency of our current systems and conservation in

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-72197361814964242622009-10-18T20:37:00.000-07:002009-10-18T20:42:44.588-07:00

53 cases of eye injuries in Hyderabad.Two buses burn in Orissa Six firemen choke to death in Thane32 killed in firecracker godown blaze 70 burn cases in Delhi An average of 10 cases of cracker-related eye injuries in Bangalore hospitals Litter strewn roads.Toxic fumes. Untested chemicals released in the air.Scared pets.A few reasons why Diwali is my least favorite festival.

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-18562832251590254762009-10-15T23:04:00.001-07:002009-10-16T02:32:06.488-07:00

Apparently the Arctic will be an open ice-less sea in 10 years. I'm putting this down so that I can come back and check in 2019.October 15th was the Blog Action day to raise awareness about Global Warming. It took me a long time to be convinced that global warming is a man-made phenomenon, and even now when I read material that tries to prove otherwise, I must admit that I'm forced to rethink my

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-39886162908064041042009-10-12T11:15:00.000-07:002009-10-12T20:10:42.355-07:00

I remember reading Ebert's critique of Pulp Fiction in which he says that after the first viewing of the movie he couldn't decide whether it was the best movie of that year or the worst. You only come away knowing that you witnessed something indescribable that defied most expectations you had from movies in general. That feeling was missing for me after Kill Bill. The magic is back in

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-63382547018312843712009-10-07T10:26:00.000-07:002009-11-30T09:08:29.808-08:00

It's heartrending to watch the aerial shots of the flood-hit areas in north karnataka played over and over again on the 24-hr news channels. You've heard all sorts of explanations on why something like this could happen; from bad karma to ill-managed large dams to climate change. But what do the plebians understand! Our ministers, on the other hand, are on top of it. Our dear minister Sri.

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-28049905440547572522009-10-06T09:41:00.000-07:002009-10-06T10:35:00.175-07:00

Last weekend, I witnessed a bonafide world-wonder; a taxi driver who didn't honk once over a 30km ride! I'm not sure if the holidays had something to do with it, but the whole traffic situation was heartening. I must say I came away with a very good impression of the Metro too. Can't wait to have that in Bangalore.Of course, I finally saw the Taj too. I thought it couldn't surprise me, after

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-9749642163765988492009-09-26T08:26:00.000-07:002009-09-26T08:32:40.157-07:00

There's a quote by John Sawhill that I happen to strongly agree with "In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create, but by what we refuse to destroy." By that standard, I think we deserved a pat on the back today. The High Court of Karnataka has directed the BBMP not to fell trees in GKVK. To give a background on the story, the BBMP had proposed to run a 100ft road through

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-90795260830453930522009-09-23T04:21:00.000-07:002009-09-23T04:22:39.824-07:00

Allow me to be naive about this; the idea of watching a crowdfunded independent movie -with a doomsday theme to boot- in a fringe movie hall that doesn't serve 100-Rupee popcorn pushes so many of my buttons that my enjoyment of the movie was almost fait accompli. "Age of Stupid" is a collection of montages all on the theme of how we are being irresponsible with the planet's resources. There is

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-88741086345417008862009-09-21T08:45:00.000-07:002009-09-21T18:58:31.413-07:00

The first time that I went to Kumaraparvatha was a long time ago; cameras needed film rolls back then. Seven monsoons ago, five of us had been crazy enough to spend a night on the peak. We had been rudely jolted out of our sleep when the fly sheet of our tent had flown off at around midnight. P and I had ventured out to fetch it and fix it back on. In the two minutes that we had spent outside,

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-22027937293779299582009-09-14T08:24:00.000-07:002009-09-14T10:31:22.179-07:00

We had started our journey from Bangalore at nearly 3 AM and had driven for nearly 10 hours. That and the trekking we had done in the rain had given me that sweet kind of pain all over my body. We had had a beer each after dinner. I was now sleeping under a night sky that seemed impossible to render without the use of Photoshop. For instance, the far rim of the milky way was clearly visible. The

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-44710480101372832712009-09-08T05:13:00.000-07:002009-09-08T10:10:06.398-07:00

It's as easy to wake me up as it was to put Rasputin to sleep. They first poked me with a broom, collapsed the mosquito net on my face, flashed a bright light at my closed eye and then hit me with a bicycle speedometer. I eventually woke up when a copy of E.O.Wilson's The Future Of Life fell on my head. When I eventually stumbled back to half consciousness I saw five frustrated faces staring at

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-13893254351466778962009-09-06T09:14:00.000-07:002009-09-21T10:17:32.554-07:00

When you pledge 12 weekends to a program that can and was only vaguely explained, you tend to be a little nervously inquisitive before it begins. That's how I felt on friday at the first session of the Emerging Leaders program that I'm participating at my workplace. I'll post my thoughts on the program as we go along, but my impressions from the first two days has been positive. There was one

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8001595.post-7612431308821877362009-08-31T05:40:00.000-07:002009-08-31T05:45:04.384-07:00

We finally went on the biking trip that we had been planning for a long time. The destination was an obscure, but really beautiful lake called VaderahaLLikere off Kanakapura road, roughly 25 km from Jayanagar. We had 11 people going on this trip which is a very encouraging sign. The trip was great fun and I really hope the first-timers are hooked. One grouse that I carried was about the riding

Deepak Rajannahttps://profiles.google.com/111554891287917254612noreply@blogger.com3