Another medium.

This being my first post from a mobile device, I'm keeping it short.

Hello world!

of India.

Eight years have passed since i started ‘living’ in India and that’s eight years of invaluable experience with the Indian junta. This may sound like it’s coming from someone who isn’t Indian but the truth of the matter is that though the Republic of India issues my passport, i am hardly the stereotypical Indian in any way at all. In these eight years, i’ve interacted with, lived with, had enlightened discussions with, fought with and had my fair share of disagreements with individuals from various parts of the country. What i’ve seen and see everyday never fails to keep amazing me; the sheer diversity of language, cultures and idiosyncrasies that this country holds within her borders; and the fact that they still manage to be united under the Tiranga.

This is not about the positives; the India that the world sees is largely what the government wants it to see. We proudly proclaim that India is Shining and she is, it’s what’s below the sheen that is disturbing, to say the least. No, this post is about the bad, the ugly, the reasons that Australians and Americans want to attack and maim us as soon as they see one of us; this is about the small mindedness and the ignorance that prevails at large.

I’ve had the chance to interact with people from India’s four largest cities and also from her smallest villages and the difference is both, pronounced and remarkable. I have regular disagreements with a certain individual who typifies the small town mentality, diffidence to those who are from larger cities and towns, and the determination to defend and preserve their values. Though i don’t agree with the majority of this individual’s claims which range from the preposterous such as the entire banking sector being illegal to the utterly ignorant such as newspapers being vile and evil, i can sympathise with his feelings. Being from what he sees as a less privileged background, one where he has no idea about the world, it’s cuisines, it’s people, their languages and ways, he strives to prove that his point of view is correct, his way of doing things is right. I fail to see the point of this as all it leaves him with is a bunch of friends who perceive him to be a village idiot or crackpot, and also with precious little knowledge on how to deal with people from around the world. This person also continually tries to impress upon me, his ideals and habits. To quote an instance, he examined my music collection in Winamp. As you’d expect with a metalhead, there was very little that he could understand and absolutely no artist that he’d heard of. What ensued was a barrage of abuses that i was supposedly betraying the motherland and not being a good Indian. To say the least, he’d be much better off in Russia.

On the flip side, i’ll cite another example of a person who’s grown up in the capital and been to the finest schools, interacted with the best minds and grew to expect that most of the populace would be like that. Sadly, that isn’t how it works; most Indians haven’t even seen an aeroplane in their lives, let alone a tarmac road. Many don’t have access to electricity and basic sanitation. With this state of affairs, this gentleman’s expectations of his fellow Indians are sky high, compared to what the ground realities are.

And what of me? I’m caught somewhere in between the two extremes, expecting better things from Indians and yet resentful of what i see.

All i can do is hope. One day, we will.

Tarmac

When you apply white shampoo to your hair and see black suds in the drain and still don’t care, you know that the reason for that gunk in your hair is something you love. There are only a few things that i love, rock and roll for instance, heavy metal, country music, The Simpsons, math, electric guitars and so on.

Today, i found another, no actually two more.

Today morning, i failed to keep my promise of waking up in time. In time to get ready to undertake a road trip to the nearest beach, which was supposed to be here. This road trip was to be by a seven seater, four wheeled car, but alas, the need to cleanse my large intestine in the morning hours got the better of me and this four wheeled contraption set off sans moi.

Sans moi and this other gentleman whom i shall call AJ. AJ and me both rose late to greet the day but after cleansing our intestines and filling our bellies, we set off to *you will know where if you click on the link above*. And we did not use a four wheeled contraption, we used one with half that number, half the number of wheels but twice as much fun. Yes, today morning, i finally came to terms with that one thing that any testosterone producing human will live, a chromed up motorbike. The bike in question was a Royal Enfield, a brand that is to India what the Harley is to the USA. Pure passion, nothing else. And along the way, i found that other thing that any petrol head craves, the long, lonely, open road.

We set off for Yanam not having the faintest idea about the road network of Andhra Pradesh and relying solely on the know-it-all Google, which surprisingly worked like a charm, getting us there via the shortest route possible. Once there, and having realised that though you can call Yanam Pondicherry and that all the vehicle license plates read PY, we pushed off, off to where, no one but God almighty and the people who built that road knew. Off we went, a clip below 80, and with the sea breeze in my already filthy hair, i found that one thing that will never desert me, tarmac.

Finally, another quick look at the GPS told us that we were half way to Kakinada, the port town in AP. But along the way, we chanced upon a complex so large and crucial to national security that even Google was forced to take its location down from the map. The map said that we’d be passing through national forest area, with the sea on one side. The sea was indeed on one side but between us and it, stood the receiving station of the output of the Krishna-Godavari D6 block, the gas terminal that supplies the trans-India pipeline with its most valuable commodity, natural gas. The Reliance Industries complex is indeed a sight to behold and the stretch of road leading up to it is one of the best that I’ve driven upon.

I have now resolved that i will own two motor vehicles before i die, one being a Volkswagen Beetle and the other now being a Harley  Davidson bike. There’s no purer rush than the open road, and no other better way to experience it that astride a motorbike, with the engine throbbing between your legs. Don’t get the wrong mental image there.

Drive Safe.

Work #1

From almost two years of work experience in the Indian market, i can safely conclude one fact : The bulk of the Indian workforce is overworked and underpaid. When you’re young, wet behind the years and still to find your feet, most corporate with an ‘established name’ proposition themselves to take advantage of your vulnerability. Most will extract the maximum work possible while paying as little as possible. The folks running such places do not seem to understand the simple fact that no one works in an organisation as an act of charity.

During the time that you lack knowledge and need the company more than the company needs you, it’s ok if the organisation has second thoughts about investing in you. If however, that doubt continues, the employee will have second thoughts about continuing to work in the same place. I can personally vouch for the fact that though the Indian workforce is growing in it’s talent, ability and availability, the human side of the workplace has stagnated.

Many work for almost twelve to fourteen hours in inhuman conditions with the metaphorical equivalent of tissue paper protecting their rights while their employers ‘employ’ all sorts of rigorous and well thought out means to defend themselves in the event of the odd black sheep daring to rear his head and take the matter to court.

Compare any Indian workplace to one of international standards and it will clearly emerge that the ‘international standards’ we follow belong to the international community of some planet that is closer to hell than to planet earth.

Clearly, only one conclusion can be drawn from the contents of this post: That i’m frustrated with the work place and need a break, or rather, i need a career change; or a change of employer.

Review Series #3 - Singers (Part 1 : 10 to 6)

 

2010 is over and everyone is done going through others’ ‘Best of…’ lists. Looking to fill the gap till all you list-lovers will have to wait out till the end of 2011, I’ve started bringing out my own lists. Lists of lists, list upon lists, and then some. Yeah, you get the point, but this has to start somewhere, and here’s that ‘somewhere’.

This is a list of the ten best singing voices that I’ve listened to in my twenty three trips round the sun. (please be aware that this list is subjective, you may or may not agree with my choices here. This is also not based on the number of octaves that a singer can sing in, this is based on the power that a singer has in his or her voice. This list is also subject to the presence or absence of a singer/band on my playlist. If you have any comment about the order or the presence or absence of someone that you like, please do drop me a line)

10.    Natalie Merchant – 10,000 Maniacs. Yes, that may be the weirdest name for a band that anyone has come up since the ‘Sex Pistols’ but this woman has a voice that’s hauntingly memorable. You Must Listen to : Because the Nights and These are Days, both available in two versions, the original and the MTV Unplugged one. You Must Listen because: of the Irish connection, both her parents are half Irish and that gives her one hell of a cool accent. I personally think that the sexiest accent that any woman can have is the Irish brogue.

9.       Alison Sudol (a.k.a A Fine Frenzy) This is a woman who plays the piano and also sings and I think that the combination is very cool indeed. She’s been on the charts in at least six countries and for someone dubbed as an ‘alternative’ artist, that is commendable. Her songs have been featured on the film ‘Sleepwalking’ and also in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother.  Considering that her moniker draws from Shakespeare and that she’s been featured as one of VH1’s ‘You Oughta Know’ artists, this is one woman whose voice you should allow to sing you to sleep. Highly recommended listening. You Must Listen to: Almost Lover & Think of You. You Must Listen Because: of the piano bit and also because of the ethereal feel of most of her songs, and did I mention the depth of her voice?

8.       Brian Johnson – AC/DC – Yeah, this man is the English frontman of an Australian band and he’s electrifying. The lead singer of  the favourite band of any electrician and also a Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame inductee, sent his first record as replacement singer for Bon Scott, to second in the list of all time bestselling albums; such was his impact. His voice is acerbic and yet melodramatic, bitter yet understandable. The perfect voice to Angus Young’s tone, and at 60+ the man has enough energy to hang from a bell during a live concert. Yes, you’d have to be crazy to not have listened to at least one of AC\DC’s simply constructed yet effective songs. You must listen because: This is the perfect heavy metal voice, distorted yet legible enough to be understood. You Must Listen to : Hells Bells, Highway to Hell, War Machine and You Shook Me all Night Long.  

7.       Tom Araya & James Hetfield– Slayer & Metallica resply. – Need I say anything more about the two front men of two bands out of the Big Four of Thrash metal? One’s a nut and the other’s a nut who lost his voice some years ago. Yes, there’s nothing more to be said about them other than you’ve missed a lot if you’ve never listened to either. Both rarely use rhyme in their singing but you hardly ever notice that, all that hits you is the power, the raw power almost like eloquent cavemen. You Must Listen Because : Hell yeah they’re cool and they both play guitar. And they are wild enough to raise hell wherever they go. And one of them is part of a band that’s credited with putting out one of the heaviest records of all time. You Must Listen to: Angel of Death (Slayer), Reign in Blood (Slayer), Jihad (Slayer), Master of Puppets, The Day That Never Comes, The Judas Kiss, My Apocalypse,  Enter Sandman, Fade to Black, Nothing Else Matters… I could go on…

6.       Elvis Presley – Solo Artist – The King of Rock ‘n Roll needs no introduction. With a voice that could make female hearts turn to pudding and a name to match, he was nothing better than the king, but sadly not king enough to make it to number one on this list. His eyes, his hair and his dancing, they were all great and even greater were his songs The man served in the arms, met Nixon and though he died in August 1977, sightings of ‘The King’ are not uncommon to this day. You Must Listen Because: The voice, is simply that of a king, deep and rich, like dark chocolate. You Must Listen to: I won’t help you here. Ask your parents of grandparents, if you’re young enough.