Grow...

"Dad, look! ToysRUs is back again. And this time, they have BabiesRUs too", said my son. Not long ago, he had also been the first to notice that our friendly neigbourhood ToysRUs had been taken down. It had been, not a mere store, but a landmark, ever since we moved to the US when he was 5 years old...

Ever since he started with the choir last year, we have passed the store at least 4 times a week on the way from home to choir practice and back. So it would have been tough not to notice that the store was gone and was now back. Clearly, ToysRUs had grown, which is why they now had 2 signs in the place of one...

But my son has grown too! Which is why, even though he was the first to notice these events, I can't remember the last time we were in that store. It may have been for his 10th birthday, but I'm not sure. So, when he told me that the store was back, he was just saying it in passing...

There comes a time in every child's life when they outgrow generic toys and move up to specific interests. They start looking for specific stuff that is available only in specific stores which are in specific locations...

Our quest today was for the Green Ninja from LEGO's NinjaGo collection which was available at the LEGO store, located 45 minutes of us, in the King of Prussia Mall, in the adjacent state of Pennsylvania. The real beauty of this lies in the fact that this specific Green Ninja was not available in the LEGO store at the Crabtree Valley Mall, in Raleigh, North Carolina which we visited during the long Labor Day Weekend, where he bought the Ultra Sonic Rider from LEGO's NinjaGo collection, which he had researched on the internet over the last several weeks that we had known that we would be visiting cousins for the holidays...

Come to think of it, he has also been very specific when it comes to his personal needs. His customized sneakers are Reebok's Zigtech, his running shoes are Nike + and when it came time to wear canvas shoes for his tour with the choir, they had to be Adidas. Ditto on the body wash and hair gel brands he uses but if I go as far as mentioning those, he will probably give me his trademark stare and say, "Seriously Dad?"...

School starts tomorrow after the summer break and he starts 5th grade! Before going to bed, he has already laid out the specific t-shirt, shorts and shoes that he will wear for the first day of school. Soon, it will be time to decorate his locker and I am sure he will be very specific about the kinds of things he wants to do that...

And soon after, before we know it, he will turn 11! He has already told me what he wants for his Birthday. An X-Box 360 Console with 250 GB memory, Kinect Compatibility and the Halo Reach game to boot! And a Tron Action Figure if I can throw that in too...

Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents, Friends. Any takers? Just kidding...

Rhythm...

I was wrong about the slow song...

http://lakshminarayanb.blogspot.com/2012/06/lean.html

When you run more and when you run longer, the slow song is actually a boon. It sets the rythm.

It's always nice to start a run with a song that has a good steady beat, because that sets the pace. But when you have the music player on shuffle, it's going to throw you a slow number from time to time. You take it as you get it...

Esepcially when you hit the wall, the slow number can be annoying. You're already in deadbeat mode and your entire body is screaming for you to stop. And along comes this slow song. Hopefully, you are not running uphill at that point...

This is the point where rhythm kicks in. Every song, fast or slow, has a rhtyhm. It may not have heavy or even steady beats that you can pump your feet in line with, but if you listen carefully, even the slow song has a rhythm. And it is right then that you start moving your feet to that rhythm...

You choose the pace. You could take one step to every rhythmic count of the song or you could take two. Of course, if you have hit the wall at this point, more often than not, you are only going to take one. But that in itself can be fun...

Pick up the rhythm of the song and start pumping your feet to it. Keep doing it consciously for a little bit. Soon you will realise you are not just stepping to the beat, you are actually dancing on the road. It seems silly. But take it in, enjoy it. The fun has just begun...

It's good to hit the wall. Especially when you start pushing yourself to run greater distances, the wall is a chance to slow down, take a deep breath, recollect yourself and get ready for the distance ahead. To set the rhythm...

Because, when you hit the homestretch, you have a choice. If the music stays slow, the rhythm will guide you. Or if the music picks up pace, you can kick it up a notch too...

I love you Usain Bolt. I can't stop watching the replays of your 100, 200 and 4 x 100 relay at London 2012. I especially love the way you do the cross, kiss your finger and then threaten God before every single race...

But Life is a Marathon. And to Keep Running, You need Rhythm...

Games, Glory & Gold...

The Games are over! But one Gold Medal still remains to be given. Not the one that was stripped from the dope-infested shot-putter from Belarus, but one that is given for a numbers game played outside the arena, outside the host nation even. But the game itself, is all about the host nation, in this year's case, Great Britain.

Every 4 years, just before the Olympic Games is held, Economists, Statisticians and independent researchers the world over try to predict the number of medals and gold in particular, that the host nation will win. It never ceases to amaze people in these professions how the host nation always ends up winning more medals than they have in the recent past or sometimes, even more than they have ever won before at the games.

The game was on this time too. Participants included big consulting firms like Price Waterhouse Cooper's to academicians / students in reputed universities to independent candidates in lesser known nations. But no prizes for guessing which country wins the Gold Medal on this game, yet again. It doesn't do anything to affect their overall ranking, the United States will still stay at the top of the table.

The significance of this Gold Medal is no less than any other, for Emily Williams, researcher at the Tuck School of Business at the Dartmouth University in New Hampshire, USA. Emily predicted that Great Britain will win a total of 62 medals of which 25 would be Gold and in actual, the host nation closed the overall medal tally at the London 2012 Olympics with 65 medals overall of which 29 were Gold.

Having done this 2 times in a row (she had the closest prediction for China at Beijing in 2008 too), she joins the Elite Club of greats to have done this, like the magnificient Michael Phelps and the unstoppable Usain Bolt...

Congratulations Emily Williams! And Good luck for a Hat-trick in 2016 at Buenos Aires...

No Malice...

The northern sun was setting! The crowds still thronged what looked like Main Street. They seemed to be enjoying the shopping, the casual evening walk or the parties that would go late into the night. Ottawa in summer was a fun city...

I was the odd one! I always am. I had an early dinner and was walking back to my hotel. My laggard pace suggested I didn't have much to do that night. Time stood still for me. I was truly matching pace with the large group of senior citizens from the US that were on a tour of Ottawa. Their day was done, as was mine, and they crossed the street in pairs, some holding hands, others not, to get to the huge bus that was waiting to ferry them to their quarters for the night. They were probably headed to other exciting places the next day, but they were done for today. I walked down Main Street (or up, I can't really say), soaking in the sights, enjoying the nothingness...

I felt like coffee! I was assuredly several thousand (or at least a few hundred) miles away from my favorite South Indian Filter Coffee, so I settled for second best, Starbucks. I have to grant, Starbucks is my favorite American brand, not just coffee. Actually, it's not even the coffee. A lot of people say, it is overpriced, unprintable whatever. But I like Starbucks. I like their stores, the couches, the free wi-fi and the fact that I can lounge there forever having just bought one tall latte for a little over $3 (the $ goes even further in Canada)! I love their cups, especially when they turn a beautiful red during the holiday season. But what I love most is that cup in my right hand as I wade through the streets at my own sweet pace. A sip every now and then that matches the rhythm of my walk. The something that fills my nothing...

I saw the sign! I had walked only a few blocks and there it was, in a shopping mall, overlooking the street, but with the entrance inside the mall. I stepped inside through the huge revolving doors and got in the store. This time I was not alone. Many Canadians seemed to like a coffee at that time of the day or were they a multi-cultural mix of people from different parts of the world, all arrived on their bus tours! Whatever it was, I fell in line, a long one at that and moving slowly too. Nothingness filled the store...

I saw her when I was fifth in line! She was the only one at the register, which explains why the line was moving slowly, and she was doing her best being efficient in taking the orders, punching them in the computer, collecting the payment, providing the receipt while ensuring with her words that she had taken total care of that customer. Thanks to technology, she didn't have to shout out the orders to the back office, the 2 others who made and served the coffee, or else, got their orders from another computer (or so it seemed). I took one step forward as the one customer collected his receipt and moved over to pick up his drink. I now faced her fully and for one brief moment, our eyes met. The smile was fixed on her face so I was sure that was not meant for me especially, but just as she wrapped another order, our eyes met again, this time, just a moment longer. Something instantly crossed my mind...

I was next up! I moved up to the register and stood facing her, one foot and a half of table space between. "Hi, Good Evening, welcome to Starbucks, what can I get for you today?", she said. "One tall latte", I said and briefly looked over the glass containers that held the pastries. "Everything looks good, but I think I'll just have the coffee", I said, even as I faced her smile again. "Could you add an extra shot please", I added. "Extra shot? Sure", she said and, "one tall latte with an extra shot", she repeated as she punched it in the computer. That would be $3.43, she said, "would you like a receipt"? "Yes, thank you", I said (I was travelling on work and this was a billable expense). I slowly reached to the back of my trouser and into the right pocket for my wallet. I opened it and then considered whether I should pay by cash or card. The line was still building behind me, so I had to make my choice and I pulled out my credit card reluctantly. She received it, swiped it, pucnhed some keys and tore out the receipt, all in one swift motion and as she handed me back the receipt, she flashed that smile at me again. "Is there anything else you'd like", she said...

"YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL", I wanted to say! And that's all I wanted to say. Nothing more. Just that. But I didn't. "That would be all, thank you", I said, like those words were programmed in my head the day I first stepped into a Starbucks store. And before I knew it, I moved over, collected my coffee, left the store and was back on the street. With something, but nothing...

"Why didn't I say it?", I wondered to myself. She was beautiful. I was sure of that. Was I shy? Or afraid? Maybe closeted. Maybe conservative. I wanted to say it. I was too sure of that. Something stopped me...

On the walk back to the hotel and on several others with a Starbucks cup in my right hand, I have wondered about it again. And I always end up asking myself the same question. "Why didn't I say it"?

Someday soon, I will! Just like I see it. Just because I feel it and just because I want to. For nothing else. With No Malice...

Old McDonald...

Old McDonald turned a new leaf
E I E I O
He sold his farm and went to LA
E I E I O
With a Disney here and a movie there
Here some fun, there some fun, everywhere some fun fun

Old McDonald bought an iPod
E I E I O
And on his iPod he had some songs
E I E I O
With a Chipmunk here and a Gaga there
Here a tune, there a tune, everywhere a tune tune

Old McDonald got an iPad
E I E I O
And on his iPad he had some apps
E I E I O
With a FaceTime here and Angry Birds there
Here a swish, there a swoosh, everywhere a swish swoosh

Old McDonald went online
E I E I O
He logged into some cool websites
E I E I O
With a Facebook here and a Google there
Here a click, there a click, everywhere a click click

Old McDonald had a blog
E I E I O
And on his blog he made some posts
E I E I O
With some fiction here and a fairy tale there
Here a tale, there a tale, everywhere a tale tale

Old McDonald made some friends
E I E I O
He went to the bar and had some drinks
E I E I O
With a pint of beer and a glass of wine
Here a cheer, there a cheer everywhere a cheer cheer
 
Old McDonald went to sleep
E I E I O
And in his sleep he had a dream
E I E I O
With a quack quack here and a bow wow there
Here a chick, there a moo, everywhere a meow meow

Old McDonald missed his farm
E I E I O
And so he took a train back home
E I E I O
With a choo here and a choo choo there
Here a stop there a stop everywhere a stop stop

Old McDonald's back on the farm
E I E I O
He's happy just hearing those good old sounds
E I E I O
With a quack quack here and a bow wow there
Here a chick, there a moo, everywhere a meow meow

Old McDonald had a farm
E     I      E     I    Oooooo!

Krishtunes...

720 PM on 9 Aug 2012. Some call this day Janmashtami, some Krishna Jayanthi. Whatever you call it, it's the celebrated birthday of Lord Krishna, the playful, fun-loving God of the Hindus. And after offering my 2 minute prayer and simple prasadam to him, I decided to spend the evening listening to my favorite Krishna songs. Here I present my TOP 8 TUNES, each from a different genre, with their respective YouTube links. NOTE: For best effect, open the video links in a different window...


1. The first Krishna song I ever heard, perhaps even the first song I ever heard, my mother sang this to put me to sleep when I was her little Krishna...


Song: Kannan Varuvan Kadhai Solluvan
Genre: Film (Panchavarnakili)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-p0zdfAUXg


2. Growing up! My first memory of music was radio and the mornings always began with devotional songs. Few would not have heard this song if they grew up in the 80s and none would not love it. Vintage SPB...

Song: Ayarpadi Maligaiyil
Genre: Radio
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fwLynIgRCA


3. Mrs. Janaki, my Indian Music teacher at school made this song known to me. But due respect to Aruna Sairam, the lady who made it not popular, but viral...

Song: Maadu Meikkum Kanne
Genre: Folk
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAvNsc1HcWs


4. Talked about Mother and Teacher, now I have to talk about God. Or should I say Music Goddess. Why, I call this genre, M. S. Subalakshmi...

Song: Kurai Onrum Illai
Genre: MS Subalakshmi
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4eN1nrohkE


5. Due respect to Classic Carnatic Music which has produced so many wonderful Krishna songs. The toughest genre to pick a favorite, I left out Alay Payudhey and Enna Thavam Seidhanai with great difficulty...

Song: Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai
Genre: Classic Carnatic
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQJhj_RzM4o


6. Call this Fusion or Innovation. None can doubt that Hariharan and Lezz Lewis probably made this song more popular than it would have been with their brillian blend of tune and thought...

Song: Krishna Nee Begane Baro
Genre: Fusion (Colonial Cousins)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Quy2RhefKT0


7. An interesting change, a rare treat. In the day and age where mega serials dominated Indian TV, this title song to a daily-daytime show was a fresh breath of air. Kudos Srinivas...

Song: Aadugiran Kannan
Genre: TV (Aadugiran Kannan)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwaw1uSOcqU


8. After Goddess Saraswati and MS Subalakshmi, there is only Bombay Jayashree. Give her a Krishna song written by Bharathiar and put in an Album and what you have is a heart-rending melody...

Song: Varuvai Varuvai Varuvai Kanna
Genre: Album (Atma)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G48V7KkCX4


There are many many more magnificient Krishna songs. But on this solemn Janma Ashtami night (8th after the New Moon or Full Moon), these are the Eight that ruled my mind...

Hare Rama, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna Hare Hare...

Lean...

I step on to the sidewalk. I amble the first few steps. I have to cross a traffic light, so I push the button. Once across, I look up at the trail ahead. I feel the wind in my face. I feel the urge. I start to jog...

I have a handicap. My neck, in it's normal state is not aligned with my spine. It's inclined forward by about 10 degrees. In a bad world it would cause me shoulder stress and tennis elbow pain. But this is the good part, where I put the incline to good use. I realize I have to cut through the wind. I lean...

A few steps in, I check my music player headset. It's firmly locked in place. I check the volume. It's just right. A new song has just begun. And this run has just begun... I got to thank the genius who invented the personal stereo system. My son prefers to say "innovated" and the world calls it a Walkman. It's a funny story. Sony wanted to reduce the size of its stereo music system and challenged its engineers to find an answer. Our man, the genius, looked at it long and hard. "The best way to make this smaller", he said, "is to remove the biggest part of the stereo". And boom! Gone were speakers and born was the Walkman. Genius. Just remembering the story takes me many steps into the trail...

The trail winds. And the wind is still in my face. But I'm all warmed up and the music comes into play. The rhythm of the song picks up pace and my feet start matching the pace without me even realizing it. I'm running harder. I'm enjoying it...

A good run has some pauses. Like when I come up to a small street with no traffic light. I've got to negotiate how I cross that street. I break the rhythm. It's time for caution. Once across, the music takes over. My feet fall into the rhythm again. I'm cruising...

Ive been running a while. Song after song has kept me moving along. I turn the corner. It's now the homestretch. The trail straightens. I can see far out to the end o the trail. And then it happens. The music stops. The song must change. The few seconds in between are telling. I hit the wall...

"Must keep at it", I tell myself, while I anxiously wait for the next song to start. It does, but it's slow. Not what I need right now. I need my feet to keep moving. I feel my gut wrench. There's a voice in my head screaming to stop. But there's something in me that denies that voice. I could fall dead, but I don't want to stop...

"How did my music player know that I'm hitting the wall?", I ask myself. That leads me to other thoughts. And others. Random thinking helps. At least I'm moving. This is the most difficult time in life... I look up again. I can see the end of the trail. I've got a little way to cover. The slow song stops. I can hear myself breathe. I can feel my footsteps are heavy. "The end of the world is near", I think. The only good thing is my feet are still moving...

The next song starts. It's got a rhythm to it. My feet start to match. I look up the trail. The end is really not far. I feel the suns rays on my face. But this time the wind is on my back. I feel the urge again. I lean...