Shyam's Blog

It was a quick trip to CA for the Memorial Day Weekend. All the words said by the co-passenger on the way from SLC to SJC are still fresh. It was a co-incidence to see that person again on the way back too. Saturday was SJSU graduation commencement ceremony with Omid Kordestani, Senior VP, Global Sales, Google, being the guest speaker. His punch word to 20,000-odd audience present at Spartan Stadium was, "think like an immigrant". He emphasized that immigrants have the mindset of challenging the world and achieving what they want (in many cases, against all odds). I don't know how the audience took this statement. Personally, this was a very bold statement by the VP! Oh.. I forgot to tell - why was I there in that ceremony? My SIL graduated with a Master's degree! With parties and food all day, it was time to sleep when the clock struck 10pm. Sunday was a fun day - Boating at Charbot lake and later, Cherry picking at Brentwood - We get to pick the cherries from the tr...

Pictures from this year's Thyagaraja Music Festival here in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was great to be part of this year's event which was the 12th year in succession this festival was being celebrated in SLC. (From Left: Swaminathan on Mridangam, Mahesh Subramanian on the Kanjira and Divya Ramachandran on the Violin) . Photo - Courtesy Purushotham Kamat. Having a chance to sing with my dad after a long time was truly a boost. Photo - Courtesy Purushotham Kamat.

I was practising today which took me back our practise sessions before our first concert. 'Our' here is referred to my brother and I. It was like making a ODI cricket debut! What was the feeling before the concert? I was not worried about the performance. I just had in my mind that whatever comes up on stage will be fine. With sufficient practise, we were confident with the game plan. At that moment, I thought, "If we make a mistake, it will be because of lack of concert experience and audience will not be too critical about it". What was it singing for the first time? It was a bit different after burning my tongue! Just before the concert, we were served hot 'badam' milk - I didn't know that it was extra hot. That kept aside, it was a good experience. The place was open air with temporary structure built. We had sung 'ninne nammithinayya' (in the raaga simhendramadhyama set to mishra chapu taala) as the main piece of the concert. Because the stage...

Hungry graduates standing in the line for Masala Dosa Two hungry graduate - Yahooooo Two graduates signed the accord for a great breakthrough in the near future Graduation cannot finish without graduation party With parents Soon after graduation, new Graduates ready for Business Executive roles in life Last but not the least, every graduate loves to have such a picture in the album.

Last time I participated in a Fancy Dress was two decades ago! Costume was - Black gown with a cap. Tomorrow is my next Fancy Dress, Costume - Black gown and cap, but with a difference. Then, it was me in disguise as "Arabian Shepard". Ask my mom the reason for making me dress like that - Dressed like Arabian Shepard with a stick in right hand and a white puppy in left trunk. Tomorrow, I will be all dressed for my Graduation Ceremony at Utah State. With a hectic schedule for the day, flying the cap will be the 'catching moment' on the camera.

Today, I was recollecting the days of visa interview at Chennai. That security, the waiting time inside, the anxiety of what questions will be asked, that final moment of relief once visa is approved... and what not. To be short on my episode of visa interview, it lasted for 20-odd days!!! When I went inside at 8am, I thought of coming out by noon and catching the train back at 3pm. Little did I know that people suspect me for something else - reason for this being, my Bachelor's degree certificate which was issued when I was working in the Middle East. Secondly, me holding a Saudi Arabia visa which was still valid on the date of interview. Once I went in, my name was not called at the counter till 3pm. When I approached in the end, one lady comes to me and tells, "your application is under scrutiny. We cannot return your documents right now. You can go now and we will return all papers with the status of application". Just at that moment, I went dumb and didn't have ...

"I moved to this country 30 years ago". "This place has been mine and I have no roots of my own country now after 22 years". We hear these words from so many to make all these cliched. Many movies have been shot to show these NRI emotions. What is common in all? People change places, but it is very tough for places to change people. Today, I watched "Namesake" in a theatre here. All characters are simple and natural. Overall, the movie is so true and in the lines of lives of many non-resident Indians. These 'NRI' oriented movies like this one and many others (Flavors, East is East, Mitr, Sun rises in the East, Bend it like Beckham) have one thing in common - parents trying to force kids to follow what they call, 'our roots'. Also common is the sarcastic comedy of kids making parents disappointed in the end. People who land out of their country lose their identity and after living in an adopted country for several years gain a different id...

Picture of a tree which had 'split personality', flowers on one side and without on the other - a rare thing for any tree.

New creatures at our Apartment's pond - A dozen in all!!! Cute little ones

My blog will be off for a break. Before taking this break, I got a question to myself, "why did I start blogging?". Do bloggers get that question after a while? I may have started it to share my life, my stories, and many other things. Hope I can do the same after a short break. So, "milthein hai ek chote se break ke baadh" .

It was our pleasure to perform in the International Banquet at Utah State. Thanks to International Students' Council for having invited us to present our music. We performed two pieces - one in 'Yaman kalyan' and the other in 'Des'. The former was a song on 'Sharada' and the latter was a Thillana. Here are some of the pictures of our performance. The show was a grand success with performances from India, China, Japan and Africa. I am sure the audience liked the evening which showcased talents from around the globe. Good food really added extra flavor and spice to the Banquet. Charles on the keyboard, Krishna on Tabla, Deepti and I on vocals performing the Invocation. Charles on Drums and Deepti on vocal for Thillana in Desh Deepti and I on vocals

It will be a good idea for someone to share their experience on a few things. How to... 1) buy a car with the best deal? 2) buy air travel ticket for lowest price? 3) buy a property? 4) Invest in stocks and shares? Many a times, I have seen people call friends to get suggestions and ideas. Most of the above things have traps which are unknown for first time buyers. As far as the first two things above, I know a couple of things. 1) To buy a car, always make sure you make sufficient down payment - 30% down payment is really good. Have a good credit history. Otherwise, interest will be too high. Always negotiate with the APR they quote. Car dealers ramdomly quote 6.5%(or above) interest. Just enact to walk out of the building if they don't give 5% or less. Best thing to remember is always bargain. Tell that, "store X is giving the same for 'y' amount and with extra features". Always make the dealer compete with other dealers. Else, they will behave as kings. 2) Air ...

Our house was always filled with evening visitors. The type of visitor ranged from 'pakkadh-mane' auntie (neighbour auntie) for a cup of tea, to, mom's patient(10 years ago) from some far away town visiting us. To describe a few instances of such visitors, here is what I recollect. I have to mention one thing here - visitors were real obstacles for me and my brother when my mom was making wonderful evening snacks for us. Just when she started making onion bhajji, or bread bonda, or masala dosa, or anything delicious, door bell rang :(. There was one family in one of the places we lived - they were family of five with 3 kids coming on a Kinetic Honda. Their arrival was matched with our mom's masala dosa session. When delicious dosa is being prepared inside, outsiders will surely smell sitting in the living room. With no options, they had to be invited into dining hall to make them taste mom's dosa. After dosa, a dose of tea to end the evening with more disappointmen...

For all the geeks and non-geeks ;), today is Pi day. What is it? Remember the value of Pi? 3.14 ??? Today is 03 month and 14th day. So, enjoy the Pi day. Do things related to pi. Eat apple pie, read the book 'the life of Pi', watch the movie 'American pie', and do some complex math related to the number pi. If you find a girl with her last name Pai, ask for a date ;). ha ha ha.

I am wearing a shirt which I wore first during my college. This is the same shirt I wore for my Oncampus interview and got selected! Not to mention, my brother got me this shirt for my birthday in 2000. Oh! long time to own a shirt in a neat condition. Thinking about, 'five years ago' and today, such a huge difference I see in everything. Where was I then? What did I dream then? Comparing this to 'where am I now?', and 'what do I dream to see myself 5 years down the line?'. Surely, many would agree if I say, things have changed a lot. Be it cell phones in India or the new fashion trends. For me, it has been a long walk these years. It has been a jumping one to say the least. After graduating with a BE and having a job in hand, I was enjoying my post BE vacation till the start date of my first job. Because of IT crash, companies stopped taking in freshers. I sat home for few more months to prepare for a new challenge - UPSC exams. Bought books and started in that...

Logan Canyon - snow capped rocks View of Bear Lake from scenic view point Ice formation inside a cave

I visited Logan this weekend and had a nice oncampus walk. Let me now walk you through my walk! I started off from ECE building. Here is the first picture showing the faculty list. Have a look at EL208 door. Zoom into those posts on the door. Sun lab door. That post is there since 2004. After reaching the ECE office, I notice that part of Old Engineering Building had been brought down. Here is the rubble of that. The next picture shows the vacant space of the Merrill Library which once stood there. The big building you see is the business building. A famous view of USU quad!!! Do you remember this board? TSC notice board. Want roommates? bicycle? Car? Computer??? Next board - Most important one in those days! Job board. No job today man!!! :( After that long walk from ECE to TSC in freezing weather of 13F temperature, I had a coffee at TSC Quickstop (near TSC Computer lab) and headed for a drive to Logan canyon.

Here is a link which is worth watching on You Tube. It is a clipping of Chinese Circus. At one point, the lady stands on her toes on the arms of the man. Super flexible body and great act. Watch it here...

Pictures taken from the balcony of my apartment...

The most talked wave in India right now might be World Cup 2007. With the team being announced this week, cricket fever has just started. World Cup 2007 starts in the West Indies in March with India taking on Bangladesh in their first match. It will be interesting to watch news channels in India discussing the prospects of team India winning this world Cup. Who will win... every team looks good on paper right now. It will surely be a treat to cricket fans around the globe this March. Four years ago, I had just stepped into US and I remember watching India-Australia finals which India lost miserably :(. There were around 30 sitting in a small room at 3am - some settling on the couch, some putting blanket and sleeping on the floor, while some discussing strategies of how the team should face the game, etc. Four years past that, my following of cricket has drained out. May be, this tournament might bring back some cricket into my life.