Gold and Beautiful

* I wrote this post on Aug 18, 2011 but wasn't sure if I should publish it. Doing it now!!!  It all began on 16th Aug 2001 in Ruston, Louisiana where she came for her Master's program. Before that, GRE was just another exam along with CET, CAT, GATE and NCST.... M.S. was just another option, not the only one. Going back a little more, to her senior year in engineering GRE was not even on the mind. Paying in dollars even to take GRE seemed too expensive... Going to a university in US seemed impossible. But the best gifts that her parents gave her in life were opportunities.... Plenty of opportunities for everything.... no matter how unconventional or impossible it seemed. And for their social and economic background, this was hugely unconventional and definitely beyond means. But Mrs. S. D. never liked boundaries and boxes anyways!!! So she took all the flak for her daughter and let her leave the home (unmarried!!!). Thank you doesn't even begin to express the gratitude...

Before anyone takes offense to the term "Third World" being used in reference to India, let's talk about what exactly is a third world nation. Even though the term is usually used to refer to poor, non-industrialized countries, the term originated during Cold War. It was used to refer to nations that did not align with either US, Western Europe and their allies nor with the Communist Bloc (Soviet Union, China and their allies). Pandit Nehru instead was influenced by different things from both the First and Second World. The five year plans were inspired by Soviet Union's five year plans. However, he preferred Gandhiji's non- violence to their armed revolution. He also preferred Western ideas of electoral democracy over a single party rule (and freedom of press). While people may (rightly) have different opinions on Nehru's politics, the idea of choosing the best from a myriad options seems like a good idea to me. Third World doesn't seem so bad after all...

So, Betty Draper has put on some pounds and Sally Draper has grown up. However, Don Draper still looks the same. Thank God, that some things don't change :-)

I like living in the south mainly because of the weather. I think this is the coldest that I can deal with. But winter was particularly harsh this year ("harsh" being used relatively here, of course!!!). So we decided to go to Hawaii for spring break. We have been to Big Island before and would have loved to go back, trek Mauna Kea. However, we saw this awesome picture of Haiku Stairs (courtesy: Haiku Stairs ) and decided to go to Oahu instead. These Haiku Stairs are also referred to as Stairway to Heaven. More about them later! Stairway to Heaven Waikiki is the most popular tourist destination in Oahu. It was very different from Big Island. Kona, Big Island, is not as commercial/touristy as compared to Waikiki. Waikiki beach is nice, but crowded. There are too many shopping malls in the area.  We also discovered some pretty neat spots in Oahu. First and foremost, sushi is great! You can also eat all kinds of Japanese noodles here. More than 60% of our meals were sus...

This is the second "snow storm" in Atlanta this winter. Considering that it snowed slightly in 2007, then we had a week-long staycation in 2011 and now 2 staycations in 2014, I think everyone should accept that global warming is real, get more salt trucks, snow ploughs, de-icers and shovels and finally, get some driving lessons!!!! In the midst of all this chaos this week I am hearing some conversations all over the media about what happens to flower deliveries for Valentine's Day. Really??? That's the big concern??? #firstworldproblems

Six months ago during the Delhi rape case, an article was published in Hindu about the role of Hindi movies in men's attitude. It was a pretty good article that talked about how Hindi movies and songs emphasize "Inkaar mein hi ikraar hota hai" attitude and other things like that. I remember watching this movie called "Aa gale lag ja" that had Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore in it. From the beginning of the movie Shashi Kapoor keeps trying to woo Sharmila Tagore and keeps running into her wherever she goes. While she vehemently denies any interest in him and even insults him, he relentlessly follows her and tries to woo her. One fine day he is lucky and she gets lost somewhere in a forest with no way to get out. And guess what?? He is there by her side. She falls in the snow, gets really cold and falls sick. She has high fever and becomes unconscious so he takes her into a small cottage that he finds. This is where this movie gets really (more) crappy. So to s...

Thanksgiving break this year took us to Puerto Rico. The island is bigger than Big Island in Hawaii, but small enough to cover in 4-5 days time. San Juan and areas near it are pretty busy, while places to the west are slightly less crowded.  Day 1: Old San Juan Old San Juan is a pretty, historic area with colorful houses and cobblestone streets. The balconies, the atmosphere and the friendly people reminded me of French Quarter in New Orleans. The streets are lined with great restaurants, cafes, salsa bars, souvenir shops and market squares. As you can see in the picture below, finding a parking spot in the city is impossible. A couple of public parking places are available though. All kinds of hotels exist in this area. If you like the regular American comforts there is a Sheraton. Most of the historic hotels and apartments (found on vrbo.com) are tiny and may not meet the typical American expectations. For lunch we tried some mofongos and pina coladas (we were on vac...