marriage reception of my boss
well my boss who is a canadian married a indian gal. (he's my boss in cupertino, california and still continues to be until i complete my logical move to bangalore).
there was a reception arranged by the bride's family in taj-westend hostel bangalore. its a nice place, star hotel (probably 5 star??).
one thing which i always remember in star hotels in bangalore is food is average at best. i don't know why, whether its because its prepared in most sanitary way.
don't know. it just lacks the taste of great food outside - not to mention at lot lot less price. although one thing which is always good in star hotel food is their desserts (ice-creams).
oh i lost track, we arrived little late at reception, but things were just starting - so we're ontime :-). we - includes me and my wife.
after my marriage this is the first social outing for us in bangalore. we took an auto given that my wife was wearing a silk-saree and i'm still getting used to driving my 2-wheeler.
the day before this reception i took her to shopping at jayanagar 4th block and i did reasonably well. but this day we took auto. i bought couple of flower bouquets and had already bought a gift.
we bought it during our mysore trip, but later i found out the invitation specifically said no gifts. its a small one anyways so i deceided to give it.
the reception hall was pretty crowded, my manager and his wife (both of them very good friends of mine by the way) was giving talk. we went in and arrived the open area outside the hall where all my india team colleagues were there.
all of them had come with families and couple of them with kids. only one bachelor. we joined the queue to give the bouquet (and gift) had a photo.
then went out and chatted with my colleagues. then we took the dinner, my earlier comments about food stands. i'm normally very slow eater and this day i was even worse.
once dinner was over many of my colleagues started leaving and it was time for us too (especially since we had to catch auto). we spent sometime with the couple and had another photo.
my manager would've been surprised to see such a huge crowd, most of the people who are invited turning up especially with their families. or probably he was already educated :-).
thats the way things are done in india. the social interactions will be lot more friendly and very open. it makes one wonder the contradictions of the society.
in west (atleast in US) generally people are trustable, but one doesnot trust a stranger, does not open up easily. in india its vice-versa. there are lot of things in which we're at opposite spectrum.
probably because we're exactly opposite in the globe. don't know. something to ponder. the social structure, cultural philosophies seem to differ so much.
the commanalities are democratic countries with a lot of pride (i guess thats true with most countries).
about the couple they make an excellent pair, the bride also having stayed in canada/US longtime is westernized and a blend of both cultures.
groom having been brought up in a conservative family is a natural fit for such a bride. he ofcourse loves all kinds of food (especially indian), willing to try things.
i feel nice to have made friends like him through my stay in US. he promised to attend my wedding, infact would have if not for the clash with his wedding and plans with mine.
his impressions about driving in india were mostly unsurprising given the fact that i felt the sameway after being in US and coming back here.
software industry and product development in india
well for the past couple of days interesting discussions happened during our team coffee talks (talk during coffee i mean ;-)).
It revolved around developing products in indian software companies. ofcourse as usual i had all kinds of opinion on why it has not happened.
how our society structure (what we call as system) and mental makeup (thinking) is very hard to support things like that.
top institutes on india (IIT's, IIM's) hardly produce leaders/enterprenuers. top talent takes flight abroad or just want to work for MNCs.
even after residing in hotbed of innovation bayarea and after studying in stanford i harldy still imagine myself to be starting a company.
it just seems not possible. also product ideas don't come by just asking around. it comes from right seeding, nurturing ec.
there's no single formuale - otherwise many would have done it. but one can identify the things lacking in an environment.
there was other discussion about the boom of industry (software) here and how long its going to last.
the salary differential between a 2-3 years experienced and 7-8 is lot and it creates issues.
eventually things will stabilize hopefully and the renumeration of people will get standardized i hope.
we just have to keep moving to maintain the edge, otherwise costs keep increasing and other low cost centres will emerge as alternatives.
on a side note i was nearly abt to fell off from my bike courtesy to a pedestrian and a pavement and my mood.
i jumped from the bike and protected it from falling off, but the entire weight i held in my left hand which is still paining after 2 days.
riding a motor bike
well i'm falling in love with my bike (hero honda cd dawn) more than i thought. given my history with my car toyota camry in US (first ever owned thing in my life)
i didn't think i wld fall so much for the bike. my car was special - it was my baby, but the real connection or pleasure of riding it was never there. when i sold it
to move to india i never missed it much. coming back to my cd-dawn i was pretty much set on buying splendor from hero honda, mainly because thats one of the bikes still
around (from the days i lived in bangalore - which is 5 years back) and its fuel efficient, good looking. when i went to showroom i realised in everyway cd-dawn
is same except the doom in front. all the specs, performance are same, its 9k cheaper. so i went for it and i'm happy abt it. first day ofcourse i had a horrible
time driving it back home - i was abt to call my brother for help, but i had his old mobile no, so i decided anyways i've to drive it i'll do it. i had driven geared motor bikes for couple of months before i flew to US (thanks to vishwa who lend his vehicle). but its five years so i forgot the basics.
i drove tvs-champ of my dad too, hence was using the clutch was a front brake
and had a horrible time starting up the vehicle, then changing gears etc.
well in brief i was wondering why didn't i buy a kinetic honda or a activa
(auto geared - but poor fuel efficient). well next day morning i read the
manual and realised my mistakes (clutch, minmize accelarator while changing
gear etc). then i had a much better ride - not to mention i started early
to office (7.30 am) to avoid traffic. even now i do it - come early and
leave early, but lot more comfortable riding it - loving it in turns of
how much control i've over the vehicle, the smooth feeling. still it stops
sometimes in signals/traffic when i've wrong speed for a gear, but i don't
panic anymore. i bought a helmet on the first day itself - mainly because
of safety, but sweat a lot because of my horrible ride, so wondered whether
it was a good decision. now i'm sure abt it - because it not only saves me
from the cold winds, but the polluting vehicle's smoke on your face. with
my cool-leather jacket i'm all set and its really fun. now i understand
why guys love riding bikes (and their bikes). well they way u can go thru
traffic is simply impossible with car. so i guess even when i buy a car i'll
be using my bike often i think.
Life...
well this is my first blog and what other better way to start than talking about life.
Life generates passionate comments, arguments from people. Life is sweet to Life is gift of god to Life sucks.
my life has been altered (changed seems to be such a strong word) after i got married. Ofcourse its my choice to get married ;-).
I moved from US back to india (after nearly 5 year stay there). Settling down slowly, buying stuff. I love my newly bought 2wheeler CD-Dawn.
Its awesome and i love it. I understand now why guys are passionate about their bikes (not bicycle guys in india bike means motor bikes).
More musings to continue..
