Of Jiving the marathon

Enthusiasm, anticipation and excitement in the same order is such an integral part of our life. Talk about beating the mundanity of life, and nothing can be better than surprising yourselves by doing something totally unexpected. A couple of things this year which i wouldn't have thought of doing, but for the opportunities. 

Out of nowhere comes this mail at work, asking people to register for the Sunfeast World 10k Marathon, Bangalore. First few weeks at work is always when the employee gets his time, space for self, and I utilized mine to the best by registering to run for supporting EY's cause of 'I run = they learn'. It is not the idea of running that enthused me, but it was about doing something out of an opportunity when it arose.

Until one is actually part of the marathon running in it, the concept of a marathon is usually unclear. The buzz it generates across age groups is tremendous. I can still feel those additional bouts of energy I received in form of the encouragement from people of all age groups ebbing me and all others, on to complete the last stretch which seemed so beyond me.

Bangalore I think should open up for more such and other events like street concerts, street plays, other community connecting initiatives promoted from time to time when parts of the city will be temporarily closed for vehicular traffic from time to time. The feel good factor is really infectious!

So what, if it's just for a day or a half?

Secondly, another thing i have learnt off late is to never say never again. I had this strange pride in telling people that i had two left feet when it had to do something with dance. Though almost all things to be done on stage pulled me in, dance never figured in the list. But since my MBA days this has somehow become something that i have started enjoying, loving maybe. It is all with the mindset, and if you still think you are such a hopeless dancer like i was, then you better have friends like i've had, with a lot of talent & patience. I  simply can't forget the dance performance at our MBA inauguration in the summer of '08.

And this time, summing up all the courage I could from previous experiences, I enrolled to be part of the dance group without nobody coercing, cajoling or scamming me in. This was for a Jive performance for the annual Ernst & Young offsite Party at the Golden Palms Hotel and Spa as a part of the employee talent program.

Since the time of registering to the day of the event, the group had five days to practice along with the professional choreographers who were specially contracted to help us out. First couple of days passed by, with work and illness taking precedence. It seemed so very convenient to slip away from the scene, but i am a stickler for commitments and thus I headed for practice on the third day. For my long legs, the task seemed ever-more daunting on seeing   people dance like they were born with feet only to dance. But the heart always seems to find answers and be assured and then it takes over the mind and its matters.

And it helps when, you find somebody who can just look at you and say, it's ok you're doing all right if not fine. Therein lies the source of inspiration and energy that we all look for and I found mine in my colleague Pooja. From then on, there was not much to look behind/around considering that not many were part of the dance group as yet. It took us some practice sessions in the escalator lobby in office, one session in a dance studio for half an hour and finally lots of impromptu sessions by the swimming pool at the resort to finally tap our feet to the right note.Once in the zone, the task simply became insignificant and the fun aspects took over. 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if could enjoy all other work tasks similarly and accomplish it? Wishful thinking! 

At the end of the day it's a great feeling to be surprised to know what and how much we're capable of. All we need to do is keep pushing!!!

Complexology - The Art of identifying unanswerable questions

Lately, there has been a spate of family functions and attending it, means answering many questions. Primarily when all senior cousins in the family are married and you are next on list.

"So when is yours" they ask? 

Ask any bachelor, he would tell you that this would be one of the most difficult questions he'll ever have to answer. When is it that we actually know the time, the right time. Every time this question poses itself in multifarious ways, there is a new concern and a newer sub-question to address.

As if the larger question was not enough, I was faced with another question. 

"Do you know whom you are going to marry"? 

The question though very straight forward, has a lot of ramifications. Come to think of it, if one knows the answer for this question, the larger question more often than not gets answered. But trouble is when you haven't found the answer for the sub-question, all the questions loom larger and larger. 

Excuse me for the sheer confusion in the post, the topic is to be held responsible.

For all those people, who faced this question and successfully found an answer, I am all ears to your wisdom. And for all other crusaders who seek an answer, my best wishes are with you.

Picture credit: I, me and Myself.

Title Credit: Vikram Belathur

Make way for the Emergency vehicle: But how?

How many times have we all suddenly heard the hooting of an ambulance/emergency vehicle out of nowhere? And as if this incident has the influence of Murphian laws, it happens mostly during the peak hour traffic. I have noticed this consistently for the last four days in Bangalore and my first reaction has always been to make way. But then, we are in Bangalore, where footpaths are considered as an alternative option to roads anytime they are all full. 

So while I want to make way, I'm helpless and so are thousands of others. At this point of time, I always end up thinking about what should be done:

• What would be the options?
• Whether these options are something which is commonly known to everyone on the road with or without a vehicle? 
• Can technology be used in traffic signals like in few western countries. I don't think this will be a viable option considering our traffic sense and maturity.

While I can think of many more questions, I might just miss the point. How do we MAKE WAY ???

From having personally been in the traffic of Bangalore from the past 10 or so years, I can think of these must-do's.

1. Try to move towards left or right corner depending on where the emergency vehicle is.
2. Try passing on the message to the drivers who are ahead in line and ask them to cascade. This is specific in cases of long traffic jams like we have in bangalore.
3. Most often the emergency vehicles take the one-way's. So always be vigilant in such times.
4. Finally Do whatever possible in your capacity to make way for these vehicles.

Just before i post this I also wanted to check out what people think about this on the internet. On Yahoo Answers this was the best answer to the question asked by the asker. 

The law in the US is that all drivers must yield to emergency vehicles by getting out of the way and slowing or stopping in order to allow others in front or behind to follow suit.

On a regular road a driver shouldn't be an obstruction whether moving or not if they are out of the vehicle's path of travel. Oftentimes in heavy traffic, everyone can be limited by space to move to. This leaves the driver having to negotiate around vehicles in order to get through. Presumably, in heavily congested areas, if everyone moves a little over where they can and pays attention to where the path of travel is forming, they can get out of the way, but everyone following the law is required. Dolts who pay no attention to their surroundings and don't hear the siren are in my mind, the worst. They refuse to move out of the way and will block up a vehicle's only means of travel.

At an intersection or stop lights, its the same rule; get out of the way as much as possible, even if its just a few feet, or if you can, move to an area where you can, but be mindful that moving into an intersection could spell confusion once the emergency vehicle has passed and everyone begins to move again. Small moves over to the left or right are the best solution, if that's all you can do. 

When everyone is paying attention and cooperates, emergency vehicles should be able to have safe egress through traffic.

Make Way Please ! And NOW !!!

A trek it is then...

In a recent telephonic interview which lasted for an hour, I was asked a whole lot of questions, I did quite alright but for these 'few' questions. While being grilled on subject matter is quite usual, being grilled on one's hobbies and interests is a little unusual or quite new for me. 

Interviewer(I): Why does your resume not have any information about your hobbies & interests ?

Me(M): Oh! Well....Seems I missed out.[Should i tell him that my placement officer asked me to reduce my resume from 3 pages to 2 pages]

I: So does that mean, you don't have any interests?

M: I certainly do. Trekking, Playing sports both Outdoor and Indoor, Compering, On-Stage performing etc.

I: Oh! Compering? Hmmm , I will give you a word and in the next 5 seconds, you'll have to speak about it for 30 seconds. And do keep in mind, you are supposed to speak something sensible.

M: Alright.

I: 'Real'

M: Ladies and Gentlemen, A very warm welcome to one and all present here, for a different evening. We are amidst real heroes who fought bravely in the face of crisis during the 26/11 terror attacks. 

A little more Blah Blah... and 30 seconds was over

I: 'Security'

M: Security is the most important aspect of today's environment. Be it internal security, external security, or security from an IT perspective. Country and companies are investing huge amounts of money on aspects of Security. 

Somewhere, guess I said something about cloud computing and he interrupted.

I:Good you know about cloud computing too?

M: [....I thought this was becoming a fun session.] Cloud computing is providing virtual computing resources on the internet by adopting a certain subscription model like pay per usage, or prepaid etc.

I: Is that cloud computing? Anyways, never mind.

M: [Shit, Did i just screw this interview?]

I: You mentioned trekking? Where all have you trekked? Are you a professional trekker?

M: Yes, I'm a pro. Have trekked to Sakleshpur, Kodachadri, and a few other spots in Karnataka. Have you heard of them?

I: I am a certified trekker from BMC. Have been to a lot many treks... 

M: [Was there a need to ask that]

I: So tell me, if you have to reach a destination within a stipulated time, What kind of trekking will you adopt? Like will you cover maximum distance at the beginning, or will you take adequate breaks in your stride.

M: Well it would depend, on the terrain and also the weather Sir.

I: Do you know the types of trekking?

M: Sir, Can i revise my answer to 'I am not a professional trekker, you can call me a hobby-based trekker'!

When I actually said that, that's exactly when I was sure that I had screwed the interview big time.

I: Good, we have clocked 50 mins and we are still going strong!

M: Sure Sir!!! [Oh yea.... My ears have turned black-er and are about to burn off.]

While the later details about the interview are irrelevant, the questions regarding trekking, actually reminded me it's been a while since I trekked and should hatch a plan to undertake one. And thus happened Tadiyandamol near Kakkabe, Coorg. Last friday we left Bangalore for Virajpet, to start our trek to the peak of Tadiyandamol on saturday morning.

In the quest of learning some technicalities, let me try to explain the route first and then the terrain. The route, is a mixture of Tar-road for close to 2.5 - 3 kms from the Kaikamba Bus stop till the Palace of Chikkaveeraraajendra. Basically walking on the ghat section roads.

A little further from the palace after walking for close to 1-2 kms, you'll find the trek track which leads you into the jungle. One could call this a jeep track again till a further distance until where the track is motorable. The terrain, is initially a mixture of steep and normal hilly roads, which I could term as easy, of course the perennial question that haunted us was that of 'how much luggage is judicious luggage on the backpacks'? The terrain seemed difficult due to the hot weather which might have gone upto 36 deg at the most. 60% in to the trek, u'll see quite a bit of jungles amidst valleys, on scaling which the peak seems around the corner.

Though our timing for the trek wasn't great in terms of the weather, the experience sure was worth it. After being fully soaked in our own sweat, we were almost at the top when we saw dark clouds engulfing the peak from both sides along with some breath taking views. 

What we also saw in the process was the formation of rain from the rain clouds which seemed to collide from opposite directions with the peak in the centre. The last climb to the peak was amidst rain drops that seemed like it had needles attached to them. As if each one of them had the mandate to treat us acupuncture therapy. 

Whilst all of us could have completed the ascent to the peak, only 4 of us seemed to find the reason to go the distance in the heavy rain. Although this hampered our photo-op, our minds sure got memories that wouldn't be forgotten in a hurry.

Do let me know as to how you liked the post.