Fotos from Assam

The first thing that you notice about the land is its greenery. Coming from Delhi parched by the fierce summer sun, the sheer vibrant color of it all swept me off my feet – all I could see from the plane was acres and acres of green paddy fields and greener forest-land. And in between, vast swathes of water: the Brahmaputra and its tributaries meander through the plains, separating, turning, twisting and coming together again, to form a giant criss-cross puzzle of islands and lakes. And besides these water-ways have sprung up the habitations, marked out by the trees and shiny tin roofs; lines which stand out in the face of paddy-green and muddy blue…

I had a quaint old guesthouse which was almost colonial: with red tiled roofs, ,and a delightful little garden…

The view from my balcony was awesome. The Disang flowed behind, a swirl of turbulent muddy water, fed by the generous rains…



and here’s the other side .. taken a bit later into the evening…




As you came out of the guest house, and went towards the plant, there was .. what else ? A vast, placid pond, again !




I loved the way the lilies looked, so I took a closer-up ..




And then there were some local residents, who wouldn’t be hurried along ..



Finally, I got someone to click me in one of the tea-gardens nearby. Couldn’t get my camera on the days that the workers with their wide-rimmed hats and bamboo wicker-baskets were picking leaves.. so I guess just me will have to do !

The Patent Revolution

Given a chance we can give IBM a run for its money. The way we are churning out innovative ideas to bring in new products with usages, that people would never have imagined, I am feeling we are no less than those geeks cramming their brains in those IBM , Bell cubicles (if not better). I wish we had the zeal and enthusiasm to get these patented. Or some lifespring that would have compelled us to metamorphose these brilliant figments into something practical. Alas!! This time I will blame the laziness that this amazing monsoon has brought along. Any way here is an excerpt of the discussion(which has the potential of becoming as legendary as the celebrated Bohr-Heisenberg chat)

Place: The virtual meeting place of three talented souls

Participants:
The Visionary: He sees things that never were and asks why not
The Missionary: He sees things that are, and asks how/why
The crusader: He doesn’t see things the way they are but the way he is

VISIONARY: abe sahu ek naya b-plan socha tha... logon ko indian aur english toilets main bahut problem hta hai... i mean someone likes squatting, while someone likes sitting... so can we have a toilet which will be both... i mean there will be a lever which when raised will increase the height of the toilet and put a seat on it... the seat will otherwise be standing vertically... plus there will be two pedestals for squatters which will be kind of fixed at a little above ground level... the distnace between indian and western toilets will be gapped by a collapsible plastic thing... (same way the distance between virginity and promiscuity is gapped by the expandable plastic things LOL )

MISSIONARY: tera idea achchaa hai ... and not just from the angle of indian/western . I think one applicability lies in terms of height of individual .. salaa western toilets, if their height is adjustable like chairs, then they would suit every member of the family from bachcha to whoever is tallest ..

CRUSADER: Mast hai.. bahut sahi… me bhi kain baar socha tha.. but itna technology fechnology dimesions me mene socha nahi tha…
Abe mere paas ek aur hai… This is for the Indian Roads… What I see is bloody nobody looks at these indicators while taking turns and all.. if you are taking the turn, switching on the indicator only marginally increases your chances of not getting hit.. but what improves the chances significantly is when you have a pillion-rider who waves his/her hand before the turn… if it is a girls hand the marauders become so careful that sometimes they get hit them selves… SO I was planning that we will manufacture a kind of Indicators that will pop out a girls hand with bangles and big nails and all.. and start waving asking for the pass/turn… I guess that will have a great market…initially the young turks will by it blown over by the sheer ingenuity of the product and buy it, we can position it that way.. and as the effectivity of the product is proven on the roads they will be adapted by the masses in hordes.. watsay??

VISIONARY(Doubles up as the missionary and sees things that are as missionary is in a bogus meeting): suppose banda apne ghar ke paas aake right turn le raha hai.. uski biwi ghar pe uska intezaar kar rahi hai... achanak she sees a female's hands coming out of hte rear seat... what will happen to their marriage? and leave wife, usko to husband kaise bhi samjha dega.. what about clients, bosses, friends... sab kya sochenge?


CRUSADER: Arre Listen, Every body will already know that these are fake hands and all… The biggest advantage that this product will offer is that people in general will be more cautious to physical movements indicating to slow down rather than some dumb-a*s light which they might conveniently overlook… (we may think of incorporating some AI as well so that the hand starts waving automatically as soon as it sense that there is a turn ahead…)… Girl's hand theory is based on a study that more than 50% of the traffic rule breakers are perverts as well ( 42.3% of statistics is made on the spot.. )


VISIONARY: Oh Bingo… I can sense another usage of this product as well…. this can be utilized as a great camouflage to offer hitch to big-bosomed beauties on the roads by meek souls in dread of their wives, bosses, friends, clients et al.. If the primary usage does not buy enuff users, I am sure this secondary usage definitely will…

Mood : relaxed

How do u feel like getting a holiday in the midst of a hectic work schedule ?

Well, what if your work itself was such that u feel you are taking a holiday ? Nothing much to do, just come to office and collect your daily paycheck. Stay on till office closing time doing your blogging and chatting, then go out and enjoy the sylvan surroundings.

Sounds good, doesnt it ? Well after a week it turns pretty sort of boring.















I will need to go back to Delhi tomorrow. And while I cant say that I will be absolutely swamped, right now I feel something to do would be better than doing nothing.

All said however, I do hope such breaks keep coming my way !

Pati, Patni aur Woh

Autumn had shed its leaves and spring was sprouting new ones. The old tree looked like it had been there forever and will stand forever. With a branch stretched to the other side of the river, like a marooned islander asking for love, it stood its ground on the bank of the river. The river itself was curvaceous like a beautiful maiden and hid its upper parts in a bend so sharp one would not be able to see beyond twenty farlangs.
I was on my way to the city on a raft. Enjoying the serenity and the slow gurgle of the flowing water. As I came across the bend from the upside, my eyes fell and were rivetted to the beauty bathing in the river. Probably there were others surrounding her but taking my eyes off from her to notice them was not possible and I didn't even try. She was more bubbly than the effervescent river, looked more serene than the full moon night and sparkled like a sky full of stars. My love rose along with me and while I was this standing on my raft looking at her, the overhanging branch hit me and swooped me off my feet into the water.
I dont remember what happened next, but when I woke up I found my beauty looking down at me with concern. Seeing me opening my eyes she felt relieved and asked me how I felt. That is when I realized I was lying on a bed inside of what looked like a palace.

Telecom: India Vs China

Setting: The office of a public sector undertaking.

My colleague had this interesting quip on the telecom sector boom in India: “Why is there a boom? That’s because Indians talk so much. We just love talking, and that’s all we do all day anyway. We are toppers till it comes to any real work. So while we will overtake China in tele-density, try manufacturing a mobile handset in India?!”