Oil spill

I wonder if the recent oil spill on Gulf Coast is an act of god trying to warn us about the destruction caused by humanity to this planet earth. I believe we have taken nature for granted and caused irreparable damage. May be, it is time for us to give up these materialistic pleasures and comforts to save the Planet Earth. Having got used to the current way of life, I find it really difficult to lead an environment-friendly lifestyle due to many reasons. Going green is just a buzz word and not many have really embraced this idea in real life except for few Hollywood celebrities who could afford. My first step towards going green was to replace all the bulbs to energy saving ones. My next big move could be to buy a hybrid vehicle. I would urge all of you to become environment friendly in order to save this planet and human race from extinction. I am afraid that some day we would be covered ourselves with oil (like the pelicans and fishes) paying a huge price for our own actions. That's when we would realize that death is better than being alive.

Golfing - An incredible experience

Today was my 3rd day @ the driving range and so far, I had a pretty nice experience golfing. Thanks to my colleague and my coach Marcin who has helped me with the basics. It took me more than 300 attempts to get some confidence in my swing though I am no where close to perfection. It would take few more months to get there. My wife accompanied me on my first day which turned out to be the last day too. Never mind as I would definitely try to impress her after few months. With this, I have also started watching the 401 channel i.e GOLF HD as it would help me in understand the game better. Hope this new passion of mine remains a passion forever.

UNITED STATES - Will it lose its 'super power' status?

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, the greatest country on this planet with the mightiest military machine and most advanced economy, is grappling with issues which could reduce its dominance in today's world. Fighting two wars, an inefficient healthcare system, failed educational reforms, rising poverty, rising unemployment are some of the issues which are haunting this great nation. Growing debt is what concerns me the most.If we do not tame the debt in next 10 years, US would no longer be a lone super power. Instead, it would be joined with India and China which are growing at a faster pace.

My view is that there is no country currently prepared to take over the responsibilities of United States. With Obama in the office, I am hoping to see changes in the Healthcare, education, fiscal policy, unemployment, homeland security and foreign policy. USA can still dominate the world if it can create opportunities for small businesses, revamp its educational system, reduce dependence on foreign oil, reduce borrowing, improve homeland security, create jobs and assure its people that there is still opportunities in this best country on the planet.

I am here to live the AMERICAN DREAM and I hope this country does not let me down. I still believe that I am in the right place at the right moment.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Fight against piracy...

There is hardly any Indian Grocery store in Dallas, TX where movie piracy is non-existent. Recently, I had been to a grocery store in Plano, TX where you get a free 'pirated' DVD once your grocery bill exceeds $50. It's the demand among the Indian population which is driving the sales for these $2 each DVDs. Indians are considered to be the most educated and one of the smartest in the community here. Yet, we completely turn a blind eye towards this growing problem. I personally fight this problem by avoiding renting/purchasing any pirated DVD but this would not deter others from doing the same. At this point, I am helpless and I hope that some day I would be joined by few others who have the same opinion as me so that we can collectively fight piracy and educate our future generations.

Summer 2010

Its been a harsh winter for Dallas..All I am waiting for is a warm spring followed by summer. This summer, I am planning to start a new hobby BIKING as there are lot of cycle trails in and around my neighborhood..Second option which I would seriously consider is GOLF. In the coming weeks, I shall scout for driving ranges, good deals on golf kits and accessories. Lot of my colleagues who play golf for passion have shown keen interest in training me. Hope this summer is warm enough for me to accomplish what I have desired for a long time.

Operation Moshtarak

This is the latest and the biggest offensive ever conducted by NATO troops against taliban in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. Includes over 5000 US marines and rest 4000 from around 43 nationalities. But how would one gauge the success of this operation? This remains questionable. One thing is for sure that if they succeed in driving the taliban out of this province, they could bring in some civilian aid and workers who could build the trust among the Afghans.

It is high time that we start thinking about the future of this war-ravaged country rather than arguing about the reason for its present situation. Ironically, rulers from Afghanistan looted most of India's wealth during the 15th and 16th century and today it is the poorest country.

My friend once said "May be continuous karma is haunting Afghanistan." Who is next in the line? Is it an obvious guess...Its neighbor PAKISTAN??? Let us wait and watch.

Vinnaithandi Varuvaya soundtrack- A bold attempt.

Each time I listen to ARR's new album, it makes me feel that he is raising his own standards in terms of quality and experimentation. VTV is a bold attempt to take Indian Music to the world stage. Will he be successful? Will he collapse under his own weight? This remains to be seen. However, he has made sure to break away from the stereotypic charanam/pallavi combination in most of his songs.

My personal favourite is AAROMALE where he has cleverly managed to fuse soft rock (inspired by Pink Floyd) with country kind of music while still trying to maintain the Indian classical mood through the chorus, chords and violin (Not sure of this instrument). The way he juxtaposes two different chords in the background during the chorus completely intrigues me.

VTV title track by Karthick is another favourite which actually took time to grow on me. His use of just guitar makes this track even more difficult to compose.

This is another bold attempt to try to conquer the world through his music. JAI HO ARR.

DO WE REALLY ADAPT

May be I sound anti-indian but this has been lingering in my mind ever since I stepped foot in this great nation called UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. At first, it was a cultural shock and took few months to get adapted. Once adapted, this thought crept into my mind - Does 'WHILE IN ROME BE A ROMAN' apply to NRI's here(as they are proudly referred to back in our home country). Till date, I have hardly met people who have adapted to this culture (I do not mean to say that we forget our culture). This is making me increasingly difficult to mingle around with my country-men as I feel that I have changed the way I live/think in United States. This is just my opinion and has no direct or indirect reference to anyone I have met here until today.

Peer Pressure

Not sure if this is happening elsewhere but I have noticed this increasingly among the so-called NRI parents living in US of A who try to pressurize their kids to pursue different interests at young age in an attempt to prove that his/her kids are superior to their neighbors' who in most cases are indian-origin parents. Do not be surprised if you find kids rushing back from school since they need to be on time for Soccer practice followed by Piano classes followed by Swimming, Taekwondo, Tennis and the list goes on and on. I might be exaggerating a bit but this is what happens in most cases. I did ask one of my colleague (mother of 2 girls) who is in the same boat and she mentioned that her intention is to get the kid trained until they hit the age of 12. After this age, she would prefer her kids to stay at home and concentrate on studies. My opinion is that this kind of thinking is absurd as it never gives the child a chance to hone their extra-curricular skills. You are basically halting the process before the kid even realizes his/her strengths in pursuing these activities to the next level. Since I am not a parent yet, may be I do not realize it now but I will surely try to overcome this peer pressure as a parent and also make sure my child is not bitten by this bug. All I want to say is that let the child decide what he wants to get into and you as a parent should only assist him in making some good decisions.

This is my first blog post and hope to continue posting more such opinions.