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10 December 2008

Getting to the Ganga

The Himalayas are still too far away to get to this time around. But what we did get to was the Ganga. And places like Rishikesh and Haridwar, which all of which were just names I heard from my grandparents. Till now. And a huge area called Rajaji Wildlife Reserve - it was gorgeous to see so much greenery (and animals) here. And of course, local shopping, exquisite mehendi (henna designs) done on our hands on the road, a glut of sweets....the list goes on. Only a few more days to go here, till we move down south... posted by Pollux aka Paps at 8:12 pm 1 people took the time to talk 
Scategories india, travel

5 December 2008

In Dehradun

True to form this time, even my last flight from Delhi to DDN was late. I was in a foul mood and completely exhausted.

The 40-seater small aircraft and its bumpy takeoff didn't help my mood any. Till, in the distance, I saw the first sight of the Himalayas - snow capped and extending in both directions as far as I could see. I was moved. I had never imagined that I would set eyes on the Himalayas in person in this lifetime or that it would affect me so much. It was just awesome and was so completely unexpected. Suddenly, it was as if all the hassle with getting here never even happened.

And so now, I am in Dehradun. Small city, friendly people. The house has a view of Mussorie from the front balcony. We are planning to go there soon.
It is really surprising to see what draws the attention of kids. Small N is fascinated by a brick house being built next door. She spends hours watching them lay the bricks in a row, putting cement on top and then moving on to the next row. She's never seen any brick houses being built, only wooden houses in NZ.

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 12:41 am 4 people took the time to talk 
Scategories aviation, india, kids, travel

1 December 2008

Still in Singapore

Thanks to my AKL-SIN flight being cancelled on Nov 29. Spent Nov 29 in Akl & Nov 30 in Sing. Sat around in AKL departure lounge till 5 am to be told that the flight had engine troubles that could not be rectified and that it was being cancelled.

Exhausted after two nights of hardly any sleep and now third night of the same looming up in the form of Delhi flight.

If all goes well, should reach at least 1 Dec.

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 5:33 am 1 people took the time to talk 
Scategories aviation, travel

28 November 2008

It has got to end

Almost set to go. The bags are packed and the tickets and passports are in my bag. But I feel so different to what I did just before the happenings in Mumbai.

I feel rage, sorrow, horror ...and the hostage situation is still going on. It is obvious that it is not just the whites who are being targetted. It is all the 'infidels'.

Your God, their God, my God or any God in whose name such things are done, will damn their souls to all eternity for all that they are doing now, all that they have done in the past and what they will undoubtedly continue doing in the future. If I had a gun now, I would have willingly shot the bastards.

But anger is not for now. I say Om Shanthi shanthi shanthi: and think of what Gandhiji said: an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.

When will all this end and how?

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 3:30 pm 0 people took the time to talk 

25 November 2008

Born or made?

Had this really heated argument with friends here yesterday.

Perspective #1: All kids are born with innate intelligence. It is how life and circumstances enable them to apply what they were born with that creates geniuses and super-intelligent kids – ie, everyone has the ability to ‘shine’ but only some are given the circumstances that enable them to do so.

Perspective #2: Only some kids are born with the ability to be highly intelligent and to do well academically and otherwise. That is why not all kids are bright and superachievers because they don't have that ability .

Three of us screamed like banshees for 5 minutes, trying to convince each other that our perspective was the right one. The fourth one was waiting for the right time to make her point. After 5 minutes, we all had to split to complete various other chores at home. So the debate was inconclusive. Just as well, as otherwise, being mature, intelligent women, we might have come to blows;-)

Now, which one is the right perspective?

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 12:33 pm 8 people took the time to talk 
Scategories friends, kids

24 November 2008

Counting down now …

… and only 4 more days to go.

Feeling faint trickles of excitement.

Also, trepidation when I think of how much I want to squeeze into those 6 weeks away.

And annoyance at having to repack my bags for the nth time to make sure it is all within the measly 20 kg baggage weight that I am allowed (I hate the fact that just because I am not flying from or to the US, my baggage allowance is so drastically reduced - that's just so wrong).

And just sheer irritation when I think of the number of flights – 4 – that I have to take to get to my destination.

WLG-AKL-SIN-DEL-DDN – here I come.

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 12:18 pm 2 people took the time to talk 
Scategories aviation, india, nz, travel

18 November 2008

Checking the checklist

I am getting nervous.

So many last minute things to do before going away to Bharat and I can't remember half of them.

Yes, I have made a checklist, but the problem is that I forget many of the things that pop into my mind, before updating the checklist...

I should find some way of making sure that my checklist is complete and that I complete all the things on it. Heaven help me!

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 5:45 pm 3 people took the time to talk 
Scategories home, india, nz

13 November 2008

Goodbye Helen

I really enjoyed this au revoir piece on Helen. Funny, not too maudlin.

Helen had to go not because she was bad for NZ (au contraire), but because we'd gotten really bored with seeing her mug on telly for the last nine years.

And, in spite of an Aussie newspaper calling us druken slugs for having voted a former investmnent banker to power, I am still looking forward to John Key.

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 1:16 pm 0 people took the time to talk 
Scategories kiwi, nz, politics


My first freegan encounter

While waiting at the supermarket checkout on Sunday, I was idly flicking through a mag on all things green. And in there was an article on the food fad known as ‘freeganism’.

Click here to read the rest of the post.

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 1:30 pm 0 people took the time to talk 
Scategories chennai, Childhood memories, food, freegan, india, kids

6 November 2008

Oops! (or is it actually sigh?)

It’s now more than two weeks at the new job, and things couldn’t be any different or any better.

There is such a strong team culture and doing things as a team is the norm here. And I actually heard words like well done and perfect applied to work done all the time. And of course the fact that work is only 8km away from home and I can drive in each day and get free parking. Any wonder that I can’t stop grinning?

It is a whole new world of GA (general aviation), RPLs (recreational pilot licences) and what not. And it is such fun (yes, fun).

But there’s a fly in every ointment. My own personal dhristhi pariharam. The hardest thing is not the jargon, but getting used to and recognising a whole set of ‘new’ people. I am beginning to suspect that this is something I am rather hopeless at. And this is because....read on.

I went down to the main kitchen to get a cappuccino this morning. Saw a whole crowd of blokes hanging around there. Said hi to them and waited for the machine to make my cappuchino. One of the chaps looked strangely familiar. I sneaked another quick look at him and decided I must have seen him:
a. on the train to Wlg in my previous job
b. he had been a retail assistant in one of the shops I frequented
c. he had been on TV, that’s why he looked familiar.

For some reason, I was convinced that it was option c that was the right one.

It would have been alright if I had stopped with just thinking that. But me, I have to talk, don't I? So I said to him, have we met before? He gave me a very strange look and said yes, we have, we had all our IT training together last week. Then it hit me, he was J, another newbie like me in my workplace and we’d gone through two 2-hour systems training sessions together just a few days ago. And I thought I’d seen him on TV!!! OMG! How could I. How did the TV even come into the picture? I’ve officially lost it.

I apologised profusely and said all the right things about how my memory was a like a sieve and he was nice enough to come up with some of his own faux pas. But this is worrying. I can’t be so scatter-brained. Just not good enough.

And ...this isn't the first time such a thing has happened to me.

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 10:12 am 4 people took the time to talk 
Scategories aviation, weird, work

30 October 2008

35 years ago SGR: 30 June 1942 to 30 October 1973

Things went on as per normal. 
Scategories chennai, Childhood memories, family, kids

20 October 2008 
Scategories aviation, work


Navarathri manjal kungumam invite Happy Saraswathi puja to you all.

The men are welcome too! 
Scategories culture, india, kids, navarathri

2 October 2008

An award: and going, going, gone… 
Scategories navarathri, work

22 September 2008

I managed to make time to watch Singh is Kinng on the weekend.

I wish I hadn’t. Singh isn’t the king or even a yuvraj or a manthri, but rather, a complete two-dimensional moron, who ends up getting the gorgeous girl only because it is a badly-made Bollywood movie. *snore*

Can somebody, anybody tell me how that movie became such a hit - I do have a very fertile imagination, but this one is beyond me!

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 10:17 am 2 people took the time to talk 
Scategories bollywood, india, Movies

18 September 2008

Dy(e)ing to design

I was at the littlie’s school last evening to demonstrate ‘India’, as their topic for this term is India. From saris to ghagras and Diwali, we talked about all that and then talked some more to the kids about henna.

Finally came the practical session, which was also the grand finale of the evening: we had to put henna on the kids’ hands. Although I can do the southie way of henna quite well (which is more basic shapes, as opposed to the really delicate northie designs), I did my darnedest best to accommodate the kids’ requests, such as hearts, butterflies, suns etc. Till it was one little boy’s turn.

Little Boy: Can I have a shape done on my hand too?
Me: (encouragingly)'Course, u can. What shape would you like?
LB: A body?
Me: A body? (struggling a bit here)Um, sure, what sort of a body?
LB: A dead body…

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 11:41 am 7 people took the time to talk 
Scategories india, kids, kiwi, school

10 September 2008

Of xenophobes and lunatics

Such xenophobic, parochially prejudiced idiots are dangerous and should be made taboo, illegal, and certified - permanently. If you listen to him talking, then you’d think that Maharashtra is a separate country, as are Delhi, UP and the South – separate from India, that is!!! And targeting famous faces only, as that is good publicity. And we all know that any publicity for such slime is good publicity.

And Hindi films are banned in the South in Tamil Nadu? Does he even know what he’s talking about? Some of the highest grossing films recently have been Hindi movies. Talk about rabble rousers and opportunistic politicians! Disgusting!

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 8:14 am 5 people took the time to talk 
Scategories india, rants, weird

3 September 2008

Is it…? Yes, it is Ganesha, but not as we know him The pits. PC gone crazy. How can Pillaiyar be Pillaiyar without that distinctive 'thoppai'? A slim Ganesha???? With 6-pack abs?

Anyways, a happy Vinayaka Chaturthi to you all. And the Ganesha I know and love at home still has his paunch intact.

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 6:59 am 6 people took the time to talk 
Scategories god, india, weird

1 September 2008


Why, why, why? To eat or not to eat, that is the question.

I am only human and like all humans want to impress the top boss on the rare occasions when I do see him. Today I did see him, he came down to my floor. And what’s more, he came to talk specifically to me. And what was I doing when he came? I was in the process of shoving a large spoonful of smelly rice into my mouth. Very edifying spectacle. I am sure he went away completely impressed.

Why, why why? Why couldn’t I be talking impressively on the phone, or typing an official email or organising some meeting or making a clever joke when he came? Of course, since I am eating most of the time I am at work, maybe that is to be expected;-( I am depressed. I am off to eat some more comfort foods (chocolate).

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 2:16 pm 11 people took the time to talk 
Scategories pet peeves, weird, work

Theratti paal in ten minutes

Fancy home-made theratti paal in 10 minutes flat? Then check this out.

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 7:27 am 0 people took the time to talk 
Scategories chennai, Childhood memories, india, once upon a time, recipes, remembering

29 August 2008

Madras nalla Madras

Apparently, now, Madras day is on Aug 22. This is the first time I’ve heard of it, but I say, way to go.

The city that is used and then abused by many, even its ex-natives, has a lot to offer. Come hell or high water, Chennai is home.

are some choice snippets to celebrate the ‘real’ city and
here you have a view from a moderate ‘northie’.

Read on and if you have been one of the city's abusers, regret!

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 2:16 pm 2 people took the time to talk 
Scategories chennai, india

21 August 2008

A corny tale

When I first read the headline, I thought it was a deliberately misleading one. Like the ones goss mags use: Aamir kicks SRK etc. And then you read the article to discover that in reality, Aamir had kicked a dog named SRK or whatever…..boring.

So, that’s why I thought it was one of those headlines. Because, like you, I too thought corn was more than healthy – super healthy, in fact. A lot depends on how you use it I guess. Click here to see what I mean.

This is yet another example of the US sowing the seed and the whole world happily reaping the fruit or in this case, kernel. Like they didn’t have a mind of their own!

And of course, not to mention the gazillion dollars that will be spent in‘re-educating’ people around the world about healthy food, exercise et al. Except maybe in Africa.

Sometimes I think the US is the worst joke that someone played on the modern world. And on those poor Americans. God save America.

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 1:05 pm 0 people took the time to talk 
Scategories corn, health, US, weird

19 August 2008


I am sure this is a joke, although in very bad taste!

And here I was thinking the Aussies had gone weird by putting kangaroo meat on their menus as their way of eliminating those ‘pests’!

And rat ‘meat’ is a healthy alternative? Carry on like this, and we’ll have a mad rat disease soon enough. Like we don’t have enough to worry about in India.

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 8:14 am 2 people took the time to talk 
Scategories india, Oz, pests, weird

13 August 2008

Faking it

This literally makes me see red.

I can live with (or without) the fake fireworks and the fake cleanliness. But this?

How could they do that to a child? How? Start early. Start telling them from now that they are “ugly”. No age is too early to start the stereotyping. I feel sick.

What else will they fake next?

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 8:06 am 6 people took the time to talk 
Scategories kids, music, olympics, rants

12 August 2008 If all the 6.684 billion+ people in the world cheered at the same time, at India winning its first ever individual Olympic gold medal (Abhinav Bindra, Beijing Games) what would it sound like?

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 11:34 am 3 people took the time to talk 
Scategories india, olympics, sport

7 August 2008

Cashew memories

Take a childhood memory.
Fry it in lots and lots of nostalgia.
And what do you get? Click here to see.

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 12:18 pm 0 people took the time to talk 
Scategories Childhood memories, kids, once upon a time


Saw Mamma Mia last night. Strongly recommended (by me) as feel-good chick flick with stunning visuals (shot in Greece), gorgeous colour, plenty of eye candy (Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and lots of other young laddies), charged acting (Meryl Streep, Amanda whoever) and lots of old ABBA hits (it is a musical, after all). Only, Brosnan can't really sing but gets to do quite a lot of it. Firth can sing, but doesn't get to do a lot of it.

To read a complete review, click here.

Also recommended: Kung fu Panda. Yes, for adults too. Jack Black rox.

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 2:22 pm 2 people took the time to talk 
Scategories Movies

18 July 2008

That'll be the day

Abhi dancing like Ash? With his two left feet?

This I've gotta see.

But on second thoughts, considering how much it costs,it probably isn't worth it;-)Sour grapes?

posted by Pollux aka Paps at 2:43 pm 0 people took the time to talk 
Scategories aish, bollywood, india, Movies

3 July 2008 posted by Castor aka Kiwilax at 1:01 pm 5 people took the time to talk 
Scategories comments

27 June 2008

Teacher talk

Whoever said it’s only the youth of today who are goners? 
Scategories kids, kiwi, school
 
Scategories friends

19 June 2008

Page 123 - The Book tag

Ooh, sound interesting and intriguing. 
Scategories books, tags


Throwing stones... 
Scategories green, india, US

5 June 2008 
Scategories kids, school

28 May 2008 
15 May 2008

Graduate no robes 
Scategories Childhood memories

6 May 2008
 
Scategories remembering

The one-word tag


3. Publish your blog post.

4. Send me a link on my comments box. 
Scategories tags

1 May 2008 
Scategories india

24 April 2008

Tagged and about time too!

Last Movie You Saw In A Theater:
Jodha Akbar.

Favourite Board Game:
Gah, dunno.

Favorite Sound:
River/stream sounds, birdsong, child’s laughter

Do You Drive Fast?
Often *wink*

Do You Sleep With A Stuffed Animal?

Storms - Cool Or Scary?

Favorite Drink:

Favorite Sports To Watch:
Very very rarely, cricket.

What’s Under Your Bed?
An empty flower pot.

Favorite Place To Relax:
At home…

Favorite Pie:
Apple, maybe? 

17 April 2008 
Scategories kids

21 March 2008

Life in the slow lane

and yet it passes by at incredible speed... Posts that were