Nainital & Mysore – mid 2022
US Visa Interview – then and now
Then – Year 2000. For Student Visa.
The visa tokens were given on first come first serve basis.
Me and my friend – Radhakrishnan – had a nice dinner in Anjappar I think – then around night 10 PM – dropped him in the line which started at the US consulate. The line had already reached Lloyds Road ( now called Avvai Shanmugham Road ). Lloyds Road is where my first project in TCS was – before we all moved to Sholinganallur.
There was a continuous supply of tea/coffee biscuits to the people in the queue. I then went back home after chatting for an hour. I would do the same waiting for him the next week.
Woke up at 4:00 AM and took an auto to the consulate. Relieved my friend around 5:00 AMish – and slowly saw the placeholder people being replaced with people like me.
Finally got my token and got my visa – now dont remember how much time it took – or who even interviewed me or what we spoke.
I did not carry any cell phone – oh wait I never had one that time – and just the folder with all my papers and some cash. Took an auto and went home.
Probably would have treated my friends that evening.
Now – Year 2022. Went for B1/B2 Visa
Had to book the appointment online. Got a confirmation for a Friday and Time – 8:30 AM slot.
This time I stayed in Ibis Chennai City Center – at 1000 Lights. I reached Wednesday night by train.
The interview was on Friday, but on Thursday had to go to a place in Nungambakkam for Biometrics and Photo – Chennai VAC center. It was well organised. They had multiple counters. The documents were checked and ten printed as they call – and took my photo.
While taking the finger print I had to use my right hand to put pressure on my left fingers – as I was not being able to give much force – thanks to my fall last week.
I had trouble when I had to put my 2 thumbs. My left thumb was not registering and the counter person asked me to put more force. I had to put some more force – to a point where it was hurting a bit – and it registered.
Close call. I dont know what would have happened if I had to put plaster etc. how would they have ten printed me.
It was all over within 10 minutes of me entering the premises.
Then got back to the hotel and worked on a very sloppy internet throughout the day.
Doze off by 10:00 PM reading Ponniyin Selvan Part 3. Friday morning, woke up at 5:00 AM. Do my morning meditation routine and even shaved – even though I will be wearing mask all the time – but being clean shaven makes me feel confident. I was ready by 7:50 AM.
I go to the lobby for the shuttle to the consulate – earlier the reception person said there is a shuttle every 30 minutes.
Till 8:10 AM the shuttle did not come. I considered walking – but walking in the Chennai weather would have made me all sweaty – or taking an auto. Did not want to haggle in the morning – since I cannot carry my phone ( or apple watch ) – I cannot book an Uber / Ola.
Finally the hotel shuttle arrived at 8:10 AM and dropped me by 8:13 AM. I got down in style. What a contrast – In 2000 I was sitting on the footpath on a newspaper on the same road. Few people were waiting – for the 9:00 AM slot.
They were allowing 8:30 AM slot candidates.
They checked my appointment letter and passport and let me in.
I didn’t carry my watch – so did not know how long it took. I had to stand in a meandering queue – before I was moved to the seats. There were 4 or 5 counters – and the ones who were seated were sent in round robin fashion.
I had my entertainment – could hear one side of the conversation – as they had speakers when the interviewer would ask questions. They spent a good amount of time with each interviewee. They were being thorough.
There were moms visiting their daughter in US, students going for their higher studies, a doctor, most were from the IT companies, and some one was going for a cultural program. Quite an interesting crowd.
I surveyed the crowd. Just one more guy and I were in Blazer.
We are the ambassadors of India and we should take extra care to present ourselves well. Of course there were some smartly dressed folks in regular formals – but wish the majority could have taken some extra effort to dress up well.
The Mom who was going to meet her daughter wore a nice Kanchipuram silk saree. That’s what I am talking about.
I was a bit disappointed on our crowd. Next time I will wear a dhoti and silk shirt.
One of the interviewers – was wearing jasmine flowers. She was such a sport. I decided if I go to her counter I will compliment her. But I was sent to another counter.
Finally my interview was done, the gentleman said my passport with visa will reach in a week.
I came out, avoided the auto guys offers, took the subway to the other side of the road and walked to Ibis. The time was around 9:50 AM after I reached the room.
The next adventure begins! Looking forward to reconnecting with US / LSU – and taking ADDA truly global.
Bahrain Food Trip
Well went to attend a conference where San was speaking. This time I became a food photographer.
This was in Lulu Mall – next to the hotel we were staying. We had a salad buffet.
1 BD – Bahraini Dinar = Rs.222.
There were some Kerala dishes too. The big brown ball was delicious. Not too Sweet. Deep fried. With ajwain or something inside. The orange bottle was a freshly squeezed health drink.
The salad was ok. Luckily before coming here I spotted a Kailash Prabhat and had a Sada Dosa. San disapproves of me for eating Dosa outside India. Sometimes I do it intentionally to irritate her.
IBIS breakfast the next day morning. Poori sabzi with coconut chutney. It was good. Ahem – San also ate Poori – outside India.
San made me eat lot of cheese. This was the 2nd round.
San’s talk was in the end – and she was famished. When I gave her the option – lets go wherever you want to go – she searched for a Japanese Restaurant – Maki – an upscale one. This was a Veg Sushi. It was good.
The waiter made this bubble with a gun – after 2 tries. It was Vodka based – and very potent.
A Vegan dish. Tofu and Eggplant made to look like fish! This dish was delicious.
The bill was quite steep – we blew up half our per diem in just this restaurant alone.
And since we both eat 2 meals a day – we could splurge once in a while.
Maki was in this iconic building – Bahrain World Trade Center. For Architecture Buffs like us – this was a pilgrimage of sorts. It has 3 wind turbines – and generates 11-15% of the building’s power.
Stole this from internet. I did not shoot this.
Next day for lunch I was searching stuff nearby – and found Raising Canes in a Mall nearby. Raising Canes was the junk food place on the way to LSU from the place I used to live ( Nicholson apartments ).
They have a very unique sauce, curly fries, garlic bread – plus soft chicken fries. Typically I will reluctantly eat Chicken, but this time I volunteered to have half of them – ended up having 1.75. I had ordered the meal – it came with Coke too. Typical American junk food.
It was nostalgic to me. It was the exact same taste – all of them.
San meanwhile ordered from Al Baik – a new discovery in this trip. The Falafel Wrap was really good. And the chips were mildly spicy and crispy.
Return trip Emirates Meal. Thankfully they did not put any paneer – and the cabbage dish was delicious. Got tomato juice – and broke my rule of not watching while eating – and watched No Time to die while eating this delicious meal.
I fall down
It was a Wednesday morning. Sep 7th. I took Standup from home. Then was on call with Tata AIG Insurance – I had paid for renewal but did not get policy documents. It was expiring on 10th. What if basement gets flooded and insurance is not there. They put me on hold forever and finally I get the document by email. I have an interview at 11:30 AM. Shucks, it was 11:10 already.
I take my trusty Adventure 390. Forget to wear the riding wind cheater I typically wear.
At the SAP Labs turn I spot this MG SUV coming on the wrong side. This is a usual – nothing out of the ordinary. To save petrol many do this – else they have to go a long distance to take U turn to join the road towards Hoodi. That was the direction I was going.
I had just got out of the signal and was at a nice 50/60 or more. I take a split second decision to overtake him on the right, instead of slowing and following or going to the left.
I go quite close to the right of the car.
And suddenly the car is swerving into my line. Damn – he was taking a U turn.
And it happens in a split milli second. I feel my bike hitting the driver door.
My first thought was – something was going to run me over. Thankfully nothing like that happened. The car guy stopped. And no bus/lorry was behind. My lucky day.
The bike had fallen on my left leg and I was pinned. I was shouting – Help lift the bike.
Few people came and lifted the bike. I wiggled out and just lay on the road stunned. It all happened so fast.
Someone tried to hold my shoulder to lift me up, I refused and sat up by myself.
Second thought – hope I have not got a fracture. My left hand where I put on the road while falling was hurting. My left leg was hurting like crazy at lot of places.
Now someone was trying to lift me up. Again I refused and I got up. Meanwhile someone moved the bike to the side of the road. I gingerly walked to the side and sat down.
My Apple Watch was buzzing – I saw that a count down was going on. It had picked up that I had fallen and was about to send an Emergency SOS to San.
She was minutes away from speaking in a conference in Mumbai. It would have spooked her if she had got the message.
I cancel it. Again the watch was asking – Are you sure and gave me few options – It was a wrong alarm, I fell, but I am ok etc.
I spoke with the car guy then. Took photo of his license.Got his number and gave him a missed call – and made him show the phone. Gave him Gyan at the same time. I hope nothing serious has happened – I will not bother you. But please do not ever go on the wrong side again in your life.
He was apologizing but surprisingly I was not angry – either on him or on myself. Yes I was stupid for having gone fast. And without any riding gear.
I see another car just go on the wrong side. I sigh.
The crowd around me was asking the car guy to take me to a hospital. I refuse.
I was observing my legs and hand. Yes it was hurting and burning but I felt it was fine. No Fracture.
I check the bike – it was intact. Nothing broke. Not even the rear view mirror – which typically breaks in such impacts.
I could move my left hand fingers – so knew I could ride back home. It was only 4/5 kms away. Better recuperating at home than sitting in a hospital.
I check for phone, bike key, laptop bag, water bottle. I thank all the kind souls who were there helping me out. Then I get up on the bike.
My left hand was hurting releasing the clutch. Luckily Adventure 390 has quick shifter – to change gears I need not hold the clutch – just change gears with my left leg and gear shifts. Whenever I had to slow I had to use clutch – on U turns and inside AECS Layout.
Knew my left hand was not right. Stopped at a medical shop and got Savlon, Cotton and Volini spray.
Got Home. Cleaned the cuts and bruises. Quite a few were there – mainly on the left leg – knee till ankle. Left elbow. Right elbow. Right knee. There was a deep puncture wound – and bleeding was not stopping. Put cotton and plastered it.
I stopped using my left hand. Turned on Dictation on Mac and was sending messages using it. Quite effective. Attended meetings as usual and a few escalations. Otherwise was seeing Carlsen-Niemann drama. And was reading the flood tweets.
I think I was lying on the puddle. My pant was fully drenched.
Day 2 – today
There was swelling on my left hand. I was worrying if this is a fracture. Kept putting volini, under warm water periodically. Did not give any work to the left hand.
If this does not improve by evening – decided to go see a doctor and get an X-Ray + plaster etc.
Luckily by evening I could move my fingers – grasp and hold things without pain. Could also type a bit.
Now its 10:24PM – typing fluently. Swelling is there – but I am confident left hand will be alright.
1.There are idiots on the road.
Idiots who drive on the wrong side.
Idiots like me who go fast – without any armour protection.
I typically wear a riding jacket, riding pants and boots and gloves on my long rides. A fall like this would have not scratched me even.
But I cannot wear this to office.
Resolution : Never cross 40. With Armour – perhaps 70/80 – but that’s it. I just realised that there was absolutely no time to react. I could not even hit the brake – forget counter steering to go away from the car. Nothing came to my mind. I saw the car swerve into my path and next moment I am lying on the road praying nothing should run me over.
2. Life is so fragile. So unpredictable
I was lucky yesterday. It could have turned fatal. What if I had went under the car. I had absolutely no armour protection – except for the helmet.
Riding a bike is very dangerous. I know it very well – but I have to be extra careful.
Actually I was a bit fatigued. The previous day I woke up at 4 AM – we were in Bahrain to catch a flight to Dubai, stop over there and then to Bangalore and finally got back home around 10PM.
I typically do not drink coffee till mid-day but asked Amma for coffee while attending standup. I was feeling a bit woozy.
Resolution : Never ever ride or drive if I am fatigued. It is just not worth it. Putting my life and others in danger.
That’s me with all my armour – yet to wear gloves – just before embarking on a 6 hour solo trip to Bettamugilaalam and back.This was shot just 2 weeks back by Prithvi, when I dropped him at his Saturday coaching class before I went on the ride.
To all the people who love me. I will be extra careful. I will slow down. Promise.
Alai Alai
Miracles are happening all around us.
A tiny droplet of water, a ray of sunshine, a green chemical – all these are combined and a beautiful flower sprouts out – all over the world on farms to gardens to road side bushes.
Well is this not a miracle?
What about the miracle of life itself – which is inside the tiny grass leaf to a mammoth whale.
Anyway – that is science you will say.
Let me tell you the miracle we witnessed on March 1, 2022.
Here is the timeline.
Feb 2017 – My Sister, Brother in law, my aunt and I go to see Adiyogi being unveiled in Isha Ashram Coimbatore on a free ticket – on the day of Maha Shivratri. We saw the massive crowd, the energy.
We witnessed the Isha band sing Alai Alai and the crowd went berserk.
This is like the anthem for Isha. Go ahead and relish this. There is translation.
This was our first trip to Mahashivratri in Isha. Prior to that Akka and I used to stay up all night watching Isha Mahashivratri celebrations on Youtube – she in Coimbatore, I in Bangalore.
Around mid 2017 – My Sister gets diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung cancer. It shook us up. We did not have much time with her on earth.
Akka got solace from Isha. Whenever we got a chance we went to Isha Ashram.
Rounds of chemo and radio therapy continued – she was still walking around and enthusiastically mingled with us – but will get tired.
On 4th March, 2019 we go to Isha – to attend Maha Shivratri.
Akka danced for Alai Alai for one last time – the only song she ever danced for.
Things went downhill fast. By Sep 2019 she was no more.
Charu, my niece had completed her 12th Std and took her NEET exam – the entrance exam one has to take to become a doctor. But with all the turmoil at home and losing her mom – she didn’t score well.
Then she started preparing once again. Her 2nd NEET attempt in 2020 again came short.
We all thought Charu would give up. But she was determined to give one more attempt – to become a doctor.
It was her 3rd attempt and took NEET in 2021.
Then the wait began.This time she scored good – and had a good shot at bagging a seat. There were court cases, stay orders against NEET and the allotments never began.
It was a frustrating wait.
Meanwhile I booked tickets to Isha for Mahashivratri – for 1st March 2022.
Charu’s name did not come in the first admission list. Our only hope was her name to show up on the waiting list.
The Tamil Nadu council said, they will put out the list on March 1st, 2022.
It turned March 1st, 2022.
Charu,Prithvi,San and I started towards Isha. There was huge traffic jams in the approach to Isha. Till 5PM there was no sign of the list. We had data till then.
We parked our car, went through the check in counters and settled in our section. Because of the crowd, or they had kept cell phone jammers – we dont know – but our cellphone data was not working.
It was around 6:43 PM, Charu gets a call from her friend – the waiting list is out – login and check. But we couldn’t.
Charu called her dad / my brother in law who was at home. He immediately logged in and checked and there it was – Charu’s name had made it to the list. Finally!
I could not hear his voice properly – and I asked my Brother in law to repeat multiple times.
As the crowd was going berserk at that very moment.
Because Alai Alai was being sung at that very moment.
San was crying and dancing like crazy. Charu is standing there with tears flowing in her eyes.
If this is not a miracle – what else is.
You can say this is just coincidence.
But for so many things to line up so precisely – to the exact same date, to the exact same window when Alai Alai was playing – this cannot be a coincidence.
My Akka has sent a message to all of us through Alai Alai.
Dubai Expo 2020
Thanks to Covid, it got postponed / extended and we got to see it 10 days before it closed – in March 2022.
