Some after thoughts of recent happenings in Mumbai...

As i write, the standoff between terrorists and Indian army commandos in Mumbai continues. Till now, more than 120 people have been killed, around 300 injured by the attacks. Yes, the remaining attackers will be killed, the body count of dead persons will go higher, the eyewitness accounts on 24/7 cable news stations will be told and retold, and the speculation about who may be responsible and how they did it will go on.But behind the sheer horror of such barbaric and seemingly random acts of murder and chaos, what is the lesson we learn?
You will not get any underlying truths from the politicians' sound bites, the expressions of condemnation or the expert talking heads on cable tv. To get a clearer picture, we need to look at events thru the eyes of sastra.The verse that first comes to mind is the famous padam padam ya vipadam natesam. Instead of Louis Armstrong's song, "What a Wonderful World," the reality is: What a Dangerous World this is. Anything can happen and in this world, it's often that it does. Shit happens here. You go to have dinner at a 5 star restaurant (as some were doing at the Taj and Oberoi Hotels in Mumbai yesterday evening), and without warning hand grenades are tossed, explosions go off and automatic rifles are firing rounds of deadly bullets in your direction. Who is shooting, who is dying, who is being injured, who is escaping unharmed?? In the chaos, all seems to be random, and all reason appears to be absent (although we know from sastra that everything follows nature's laws which includes the law of destiny or karma, and nature is under the control of Krishna). Another thought related to this tragic event is how this needless killing is a result of prejudice and brainwashing. My first reaction when i started seeing the unfolding drama on the internet and tv was to condemn the killers. But then i saw a photograph of one of the alleged terrorists who had attacked the VT train station in Mumbai. Most of the people he killed were innocent children, women and vendors who sell chai and snacks at the station. But this killer looked to be only around 20 years old, dressed in a t shirt and jeans, like he could have been a college student. What inspired such misplaced blind faith in him that he chose this path? For sure, it was the work of malicious hate-mongers who misuse the teachings of God to incite hopeless young men to think of themselves as martyrs and actually become murderers. Fundamentalists of all religions are the best and worst at the offense of interpreting God's desires and His words to incite hatred, bigotry and violence to achieve not God's wishes, but their own perverted goals. How can anyone who claims to follow God not accept that everyone who has life, has God within him? How can they claim to be superior to others? How can they justify murdering other jivas, either in human form or animal form? How can one claim to act for the Father while making plans to destroy their Father's other children? So brainwashed boys who still look like children, are inspired to kill innocents by their fundamentalist gurus. The secular societies are also ignorant about how to follow a divine system, a society based on equality and spiritual values. So they create sytems that breed injustice, greed and imbalances. These injustices are the nourishment of the envious fundamentalists. Ignorance on both sides. A world where everyone talks about freedom or truth or God, but no one listens to Him when he speaks or to his pure devotees when they appear. Everyone talks; no one listens.The noise, both inside everyone's mind and outside in the geopolitical world, keeps getting louder and louder. It's the sound of danger. The only real protection in any dangerous situation, is the presence of God. In such dire times as these, we or i need to keep in mind the words of the shastra ( Hare nama hare nama hare nama eva hi kevalam, kaluv nasteva nasteva nasteva gathri anyatha, - In the age of Kali their is no other means, no other means, no other means other than chanting the holy names of hari, chanthing the holy names of hari . In fact, He is more accessible in his names than any other form. Unfortunately, i have no attraction for hearing his names. This is the real tragedy of the precarious times we live in.



Think about this.....
A few thoughts on the unfolding tragedy.ShareYesterday at 10:33pmI know I'm not the only one writing on the topic. I can't be. Too many others shared in the collective tragedy.
However, I don't want to focus on the perpetrators, or their motives or modus operandi.
What struck me as I watched the tragedy unfold was how we handled it...sometimes (maybe more) mishandled it and how we reacted to it. Though the reaction part may be premature as this isn't a reaction that's momentary. Its a wound you want to remember...that you hope will help you learn and help you evolve.
The most striking thing. As someone outside India...not constrained to domestic news channels...the frenetic, panting, often unashamed, unrepentant hunt for the newsbyte far overshadowed the significance of the tragedy and its impact on a human level. Newscasters across most channels realized that the nation, as well as the world was watching them. And their attempt to rise up to the occassion came off for the most parts as amateur attempts peppered with shallow questions...in some cases where it may have been more humane to just leave the victims alone to savour freedom. To add to this was the hyperbole and the sometimes garish visual effects. One channel had a blood splattered band running across the top of the screen as tv backdrop for their news ticker. Nowhere nearly close to good taste. But of course, there's method to the madness. The more the sense of panic, the greater the thirst for information. And for most people...that choice is reduced to one of several news channels.
Then there's twitter. I've read about it before but this was the very first time I saw its power and potential at work. Imagine the TV before you, beaming loops of old footage by breathless youngsters more conscious of their being in the center of a moment in history...and paying only lip service to the reason they're there in the first place. And then compare that to seeing twitter from real people. On the ground. Providing real time updates on what they're seeing, hearing and feeling in the place you're wanting to know painfully more about.
Its a no contest. Even if the medium is open to rumor...the raw power of the moment and the frontline real person feel the medium generates overrides the occasional rumor element. And in the end...the balancing power of information helps rub out the rumours. The experience was an eye opener. The next time there's an event I want to BE in...I may not be reaching for the remote quite as fast. Maybe also because this is a medium that seems to give voice to real people who are just as smart...and mostly just as objective...as the TRP focused newscasters.
Of course, you also have to acknowledge the fact that we feed those newscasters. Our thirst for information aligns itself with their own (eventual) profit motive that forms a self reinforcing loop of degrading journalistic quality. Its not an easy problem to extricate oneself from. Unless we have another alternative medium that can serve as an information source.
Now I mentioned that I wasn't constrained by having access to only domestic news channels. Which also allows me the ability to comment on the international channels covering the situation. At first pass...what struck me was the calmer, much more analytical presentation of the information. With fairly unbiased opinions. Of course, that's easier when you don't have a particular national tie. But then again, in my own opinion...what we sorely lack...is an entirely objective media. Its easy to drink the national kool aid but it doesn't always serve the best interest. Not from the journalistic tenet I would think.
While there are the voices in the not too barren wilderness of the Indian media that do refuse to follow the populist path in favour of speaking with an untainted opinion...they're usually drowned out. And when we talk of television...even more so.

Funny Pic...

This is a typical Vietnameese altar, and the deity that you see is of the Lord of wealth (than tai), see the picture abit closer, they offer him fresh fruites, water, cigarettes (only 555 are offered anything else is considered below standard) and wine.Funny na…. keep smiling.

A Trip... An adventure..... A Lesson

They say life is a journey and if you don’t travel and see places then you have read only one page of your life, every journey is a new adventure and this trip from Ho chi minh city to Mumbai was full of adventure, excitement, emotions, action…. Gosh some bollywood writer could make a nice movie of this trip.
I know I am quite late to write about this trip to India, however I still want to write something so that I can comeback to this diary and relive my visit, visiting India is always so refreshing and exciting. Even though I have lived 90% of my life in Mumbai, every time I visit this sleepless city there is something new about it, something that attracts everyone…. I have lived in many places, but there is nothing that compares to Mumbai, there is something strangely attractive about this city.
Coming back to my trip, I dint have much time to do the flight bookings and also most of the flights to India were quite full as Diwali festival season was fast approaching. I checked various options available and best was tiger airways, don’t drop your jaw at the name of this airlines, it’s a budget airlines and sister concern of Singapore airlines, I booked a ticket for 17Oct at 1300hrs, it was a crazy plan, Ho chi minh – Singapore – Chennai – Mumbai. Total journey of about 11 hrs.
My office is close to the airport and hence in the morning at 730 am I came to office with my entire luggage, worked till about noon said goodbyes and headed for the airport. At the checking counter of Tiger airways the guy at the check in desk looked at me in a funny way and said that he cant check me in as I dint have a visa for Singapore, at first I thought that he was joking and dint take him seriously, but when he called the person after me to checkin I realized that he wasn’t joking, I couldn’t believe what he had said. I explained to him that I was flying on tiger from HCMC to Singapore and also from Singapore to Chennai, and hence I don’t need a visa I won’t be going out of the airport and it was a short transit. But he wouldn’t listen to anything and he insisted that I need a visa before I checkin. I told him that I need to talk with duty manager, but that dint help either, coz she understood very little English and kept saying the same thing. I told her that if at all visa is COMPULSORY, then as per Singapore laws if an Indian passport holder has a valid US visa then he can get 96hrs Visa upon arrival, but she would not listen to this either… It was getting too frustrating as she wasn’t ready to listen and kept on saying that Tiger airways passengers needs visa in Singapore and they don’t care about the Singapore immigration laws. I was dumb struck; I knew I had to act quickly. I reached at the booking counter and enquired for other flights for Singapore. It wasn’t sheer coincidence, it was divine blessing, there was a Garuda airline flight scheduled to take off in next 5 mins, I purchased a fresh ticket for Singapore and rushed towards the immigrations, luckily I entered the plane just 20 sec’s before its scheduled take off. Throughout the flight I was thinking of the things that I will do during my stay in Mumbai, the hotels where I want to eat, the friends which I want to meet, so many things to do in such less time…. 
Before I knew it, I was at Singapore airport, the flight landed in terminal 2 and I had to go to budget terminal for my next flight (tiger airways Singapore – Chennai), the budget terminal is like a different airport, its quite far from the main airport and one needs to go out of the main terminal and then take a bus or cab to the budget terminal. I went to the immigration office for visa, he checked my passport and tickets and happily stamped a visa that was valid for 96hrs, for a second I wanted to take the next flight to HCMC and show the duty manager that its so easy to get a visa and they shouldn’t have forced me to buy another ticket. If I had the time I would have done it, but I had other important things to do, the next leg of my trip, Singapore – Chennai. It was so nice to be surrounded by so many desi’s at the same time; the last I got this kind of feeling was when I attended last year’s flag hosting ceremony at the Indian embassy in Manila.
We reached Chennai (yes I was finally in my own country INDIA)at 2300hrs and we were greeted by warm, pleasant breeze. There was this magic in the air, if I try and express this feeling in words, I won’t do justice to it, hence won’t even attempt it. My next flight for Mumbai was at 0020, when I was booking and planning my trip I thought that it will be easy to catch this flight as I had good 1hour 20 minutes between flights, however things dint turn as planned (this thing happens with me most of the time, things don’t happen as per plan, however whatever happens is mostly better than planned). I waited at the luggage conveyer belt for what seemed like eternity, all the while I kept cursing myself for being over confident and foolish. Finally at around 0005 I got my luggage, gosh I was fully messed up, all I did was run the fastest I could along with the trolley. I reached the checkin counter at international Chennai airport at 0012hrs, I met with the air port manager and explained him my situation, all he did was walk away from me. He was least interested in listening to me, and told me that the counter closes 60 minutes before departure time, and there was no way I could be on the flight. In the next 3 mins or so I tried all the tricks in my books (trust me they always work) I flattered him, respected his authority, shouted at him, pleaded, got angry, also managed to produce a tear in both my eyes, …. Did everything I could, but this guy wouldn’t bulge, he dint care what I was doing. Finally at 0018hrs I lost all hope and prayed to krsna in desperation, I told Krsna, “is this they way you welcome me in your country?, I am returning home after 1 year and this is what you do to me….. how mean you can be…” all I could do or think now was to pray and hope a miracle happens ….. and it did, don’t know what happened, the duty manager came towards me, looked at me in the eye and said, never ever do this again. For a minute or two I thought that I was dreaming with open eyes, a chill ran down my spine. I jumped with my bags, and one of the security guard assisted me towards check in and immigration. Guard was with me till the plane, I was being treated like a VIP, I dint stand in any queue or wasn’t checked at any point. It was a nice feeling. When I was seated, I couldn’t thank Krsna and my starts enough. When I reached Mumbai I was embraced by the early morning misty air, the warmth and love that I feel in the air here is nowhere to be found. Mummy, Mansi, Jayesh, Priya, Sakshi, Gopi and Madan had come at the air port, I dint have words, I was emotionally high, happy and satisfied to be in company of my family and friends : ) I will always cherish this trip for its adventures and the lessons it taught me……

VietnameseWedding

On Saturady 11/15 Ray one of my x-team leader from Prudential called up and invited me to his best friend’s wedding that was to take place the next day. I was happy and told him to pick me up in the morning. On Sunday he came to pick me at 7am, after a long drive we reached the grooms house at 830, everyone was waiting for us. 7 unmarried boys were well dressed in a smart white shirt and tie and were holding 7 gifts, each of which were nicely covered with red Chinese cloth. The Groom was wearing a smart white 3 piece suit.

On the way to the brides house, i learned alot about traditional Vietnamese wedding.
Preparations for the traditional Vietnamese wedding first begins by choosing a date and time for the marriage ceremony. This is decided by a Buddhist monk, Spiritual leader, or fortune teller due to the spiritual nature of the occasion.

The day of the wedding consists of an extensive array of ceremonies: the first is the ceremony to ask permission to receive the bride (abandoned in modern Vietnam), the second is the procession to receive the bride at her house, and the third is to the procession of bringing the bride to the groom's house. Both Vietnamese and oversea-Vietnamese who desire to have a hybrid traditional Vietnamese and Western-style wedding will oftentimes incorporate the last two ceremonies with the Western-style wedding.

When we reached the bride's house, the 7 unmarried boys handed the gifts to 7 unmarried girls who had come to receive us and we all went inside the gorgeously decorated house. Both the families when about with the rituals which went on for 45 minutes, after that we took the bride with us to the grooms house.



Traditional and modern symbols of marriage are often featured during Vietnamese marriage ceremonies as decorations on the wedding umbrellas, lacquer gift boxes (or the red cloth that covers them), or even the decorations in the homes of both the bride and groom. They usually include lanterns, doves, initials of the couple, among other things. However, one symbol that is indispensable are the words "song hỷ." This phrase also appears as the character 囍, which is reflective of Vietnam's influence by Chinese characters as well as the vernacular Nom script before the 20th century. While literacy in these scripts during feudalistic times was restricted mostly to scholars, officials and other members of the elite, characters such as these have always played an aesthetic role in important occasions such as weddings.


At the end of the ceremonies, there was a wedding reception for the two families and guests, the wedding was attended by 30 people, and the reception was attended by around 300 people. Drinking and feasting (all crazy foodstuffs) went on for about 2 hours and then everyone again wished the newlywed and we all went home.
This was my first time to witness a Vietnamese wedding; I wish the groom and the bride all the good luck and wishes.

Pictures of the wedding can be seen at: http://picasaweb.google.com/keyur.trivedi/TraditionalVietnameseWedding

Missing home already...

After 15 days of bliss in Mumbai, India, i am back in Ho Chi Mimh city. I have to catch up on lot of things in office, will write a report soon......