Monday, 20th July, 7:00 PM. Jackson Heights subway station. One of the biggest and busiest subway stations in Queens, NY. One of the many shops and stalls inside this station is a new music store, selling mostly Latino music. It displays a 26 inch flat screen TV mounted atop the window display of the shop. Since June 25, 2009, it has been playing music videos of Michael Jackson, all day long. And every day, I see people gathering in front of the window display, watching in awe, admiration, and at times sadness. I see African-Americans dancing to the tunes, Hispanics gawking at his moon walk, Asians in sheer amazement of his star power. And everyone reminiscent about some moments of their lives when they celebrated some occasion with his music.
A Latino guy is passing by, stops and asks a group of African-American ladies watching the TV - "Wow! They're still playing this every day?" The ladies very proudly say, "Ohh YEAH!" and turn to the tv and continue their cheer.

As I turn around and head to my destination I continue to hear the speakers.. "..if you're thinkin of being my brother, it dont matter if you're Black or White..."

What's in a name?

My name was chosen by my aunt, as per tradition in my family. In my childhood, I hated my name. The most popular girl in my class was either priyanka or pooja or some other very conventional, supposedly "girly" name. "Why wasn't my name something like that?", I wondered, assuming its my name that makes me less popular. Well, that has changed. Aditi is now considerably popular in India, partly thanks to this song. I still wonder the meaning of my name though. The first person to ask me the meaning of Aditi was my school principal. I had no clue then. But since then, I have been searching and finding quite a few answers:

1. Adi = beginning. Iti = end (in sanskrit). Hence, Aditi is that which encompasses the beginning as well as the end.

2. Aditi was the name of a Goddess in hindu mythology. She is the mother of all Gods.

3. Aditi is the mother of Aditya, the Sun God.

4. Aditi is the wife of Lord Brahma

5. Aditi means the one without limits

6. (This one's my favorite) A fellow blogger also had a post on this, and here's what she observed : Rv. I, 98, 10 says that "Aditi is the sky; Aditi is the air; Aditi is all the gods and the five tribes; Aditi is whatever has been born; Aditi is whatever shall be born."

You win some, you lose some

Till july 22nd 2008, everything was normal.. Come July 23rd 2008, and everything changed. I landed in the United States of America. So, what changes from Mumbai to Manhattan?

• I started watching the weather forecasts. That’s a major factor in a New Yorker’s decision-making paradigm

• I finally know “what lies beneath”, and that’s the underground subway system

• I never saw a single mosquito after July 23rd

• I did not see anyone take a crap by the road

• I am not supposed to rush to grab a seat in the train. Even if a seat is empty, a NewYorker will just stand next to it and be engrossed in a book

• Also, nobody attempts to get into the train if they are doubtful about getting at least 0.5 ft of space between them and the other passengers

• A single line for the bus is a single, straight line

• In conversations, the filler "yaar" has disappeared and has been replaced by "you know" and "like"

• Footpath is now a side-walk

• Pedestrians also have traffic lights

• Pedestrians are now respected. Yesterday an Audi stopped a full 15 seconds for me till I crossed the street

• Oh yeah.. it is not “road” anymore. It is a street

• I am now supposed to say “Could you please move in? Thank you.” instead of “Aage badho yaar, itni jagah hai andar train mein!!”

• There is no sound here which even remotely resembles that of an autorickshaw, or its horn.

• Garbage is in the garbage bin, and not outside it

• “Kachrawala” is now the “Officer of the Sanitation department”, and is addressed as “sir”

• I now know what a hand sanitizer is

• I am twice as dependent on the internet as I was earlier

• Everyone has at least one iPod or iPhone

• Mac is cool here – PCs are a thing of the past

• Having a car is not a luxury anymore. It is a necessity. (Not that I can afford it)

• Chicken is now a part of vegetarian food

• Heaters are very important. But so are air conditioners when it’s summer

• Microwave is more important than cooking gas

• There is no “balcony” in the house and even if there is one, there are no clothes hanging in the balcony

• There is no “rainy season” anymore. Rain here can appear any time!

• Ralph Lauren Polo t-shirts is now not a big deal. It’s SAKS Fifth Avenue that’s classy

• Pollution, noise, electricity cuts are a thing of the past

• Diwali crackers at 4 AM are now a thing of the past

• Eating paani puri while dropping it proudly on your shirt is a thing of the past

• Kulfi and sugarcane juice is now rare

• Screaming "Saachiiiin, Saachin!!" while watching that T20 game with my bro is a thing of the past!

Well, the universe always does its balancing act, doesn't it?

Work-life

Working in america after you have worked in india can be difficult. Not because the work is different, or because the companies are bigger. Just the work ethic and the work culture is different. In India, where I worked, it did not matter what time you came or left, what clothes you wore, how you spoke, how you looked, how you smell - IFF YOU WERE GOOD AT YOUR WORK. However, in america, you not only need to be good at your work, but all the other things that I mentioned here.

It takes you a while to accept and get used to this fact. There have been depressing times for me. Times when I thought things were unfair, because I was good at my work after all!
The good part is that I get to experience this while working in school. I am learning my lessons before I go out into corporate america, and this ensures I dont screw up there!

The bottomline though, is : dont repeat your mistakes.

Am Back AGAIN!!

Yes, I like to do this dissapearing act once in a while... I had almost bid goodbye to blogging. I either write about myself or about what is happening in the world. There are already millions of blogs on the world wide web to cover the latter. To cover the former, I am a bit reserved.

So what changed my mind? May be my thoughts were getting clogged with random noise around and I relaised the last time I was able to think clearly was when I wrote. So here I am.

Am back!!

Yeah I know everyone uses that title - AM BACK!! too banal but I deserve a warm welcome!! "How have you finally got back to blogging?", you might ask. Well, I am jobless, and finally got some time to think about writing .. No, no.. don't get me wrong.. they didn't kick me out of work because they were tired of seeing me there 12 hours every day. I kinda.. left them! Yeah, am going to be back to being a student - full time!! So, am back to blogging also because I will have many spicy things to write now!

It feels kinda strange after couple of years of being "independent" and "self-financed" and "I-have-to-go-to-the-ATM-today" types.. Now its back to using money "wisely" and "saving-up" and "pocket-money" other things which I am slowly getting into the groove of..

another transition that I HAVE TO make is to get back to BOOKS.. well, I am a self-confessed non-reader.. I cannot read novels.. fiction, non-fiction.. cannot read even short stories or comics!! Management stuff? Well THAT I gotta try!

Its a nice feeling to be at home at this time in the afternoon though.. lazying around.. with a mug full of my favorite hot chocolate and the dull rainy atmosphere outside.. At work, at this time, I used to check those 60-odd emails which used to greet me in red color in my inbox every single day! Well, I kinda miss them though! The sense of accomplishment and achievement that work gave me, was unparalleled.

BTW - to all my movie buff readers (god, i like the feeling that i've got "readers") couple of movies you JUST CANT MISS:

Khuda Ke Liye
Aamir
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na
(in that order)

Catch it at your nearest theater.. oops.. Multiplex - NOW!

Movies Galore

My reviews:

Om Shanti Om - 3 out of 5
Jab We Met - 4 out of 5
Goal - 3 out of 5
Saawariya - Disqualified
Dus Kahaniyaan - 4 out of 5

Yes, I liked Dus Kahaniyaan... worth the 200 bucks that I spent for that multiplex!

PS: Gelato ice-creams have a new fan - ME.. Loved its Ferrero Rocher and Death by Chocolate flavors.. yum!