Am I a star now ?

2007-12-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

I'm thrilled that people read my blog and even posted comments. Its fun to interact with people this way. In the blog world , the blogger is like a celebrity, a star :).

Anyways life is very busy now. Boss thinks I need to do more and more to have a strong footing in the company. I kind of agree with him. In this IT industry or perhaps even in other industries in America the corporate philosophy in broad terms is "Perform or perish". Nobody is spared. It does not matter how many years experience you have or how much good work you did in the past. Its always the "NOW" factor. No living in past glory ..Sorry.

I havent been able to practice Yoga for the past couple of days.Lethargy for sure.

Okay folks , keep the comments coming.I really enjoy them.

Meaty Meat

2007-10-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

I'm a vegetarian that consumes dairy products. Sorry no eggs. Am I classified as a lacto-vegetarian ? No problem with that. Anyways inspite of staying in the US for 7 years I still cannot stand the smell of meat. Recently we had a product launch party and guess what ? They were probably roasting meat ( not sure if it was beef or pork ) The hall was jam packed and I happened to stand next to where they cooking/roasting meat. I almost puked. The person standing next to me was saying "wow, what an aroma" and looked at me. I controlled my urged to puke and said "yeah, it is". Somehow I could find a place far away from the meat place and breathed a sigh of relief. The veggie food there was cold cut cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, some lettuce, ranch and some Italian dressing. I was the only one eating those veggies without the ranch and everyone else were enjoying the meat. After our VP gave the speech and thanked his team for their contribution it was time to leave. I was already feeling hungry and called my wife to make Chapathis ( Whole wheat flat bread ) and spinach curry. She was like " What , you didnt get to eat anything there at the party ?" . I had to explain. She was not in a mood to cook. I drove as fast as I could and when I reached home lunch was ready!

People have asked me some interesting questions on vegeatarianism for which I did not have an answer then.

1. Plants have life too. So if you are eating plants, why can't you eat meat ?
2. Meat has protein and proteins in beans and milk is not sufficient. So how do you manage to get adequate protien ?
3. Why can't you eat egss ? Eggs are animal products just like milk.

My first blog in 7 seven years!

2007-10-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

I always wanted to write a blog about my life in America as an East-Indian immigrant.I've covered some of the major topics. 7 years of life in US is long to put it in one post. I plan to add as and when I remember anything important.
I moved to US fromIndia about 7 years ago and travelled extensively in US and Canada.
Initial yearsWherever I went, I used to look for Indian restaurants as being a vegetarian I was averse eating just bread/bun with cheese and veggies. Even Pizzas or veggie tacos did not give me satisfaction. I was never used to overhead showers and back we used to take bath from pouring water from a bucket. Everything seemed so expensive whenever I converted to Rupees.I was amazed by seeing the number ofcars on the roads and learning to drive on the "wrong" side of road was fun too.It was initially difficult to catch the accent even though I knew English. Also I had to adjust to certain little things. My colleagues used to tease me in a friendly way when I said Zed for Zee , petrol pump for gas station code, pin code for zip code.etc. It was altogether fun after relocating to the West but I was terribly missing my family even though I had some good friends.
Things I missed badly were1. Family2. Food3. Indian festivals4. CricketThe toughest thing in my opinion for any Indian in the US is food. Even the most expensive American restuarant would not help me satisfy my apetite. The Indian restaurants in the US are just okay.I shared an apartment with my friends and I had no car for a month and was still working on getting all the essentials like social, srivers license, etc. Work was very cool. I was thrilled to know that I need not work 14 hours a day and Saturday and Sunday are holidays!
On the other hand tt was also a humbling experience. Back home we have maids that do almost everything from sweeping/mopping floors to washing dishes. You have laundry guys that come to your home pickup your washed clothes and return them pressed. You get unhomogenized local raw cow's milk delivered to your door every morning.So obviously its either very difficult or almost impossible to get these kind of services here in the US unless you are super rich. But a good lesson learnt : Learn to do your own things!
I was also glad there is no corruption and people have sense of cleanliness( saucha ).
Life after MarriageI went to India to marry the girl I liked. In India its always the girls parents that bear the entire marriage expenses. We travelled all overthe US nad Canada as if there were no tomorrow! My wife had this grand vision about America and the lifestyle here. Okay here is a funny incident. I had invited my American colleagues to my wedding and my wedding card had Swastik symbol. My colleagues were taken aback and thought I belonged to a Nazi group! For those of you that dont know Swastik symnol is a Hindu symbol of peace and my wedding inviation card had Swastik symbol printed on it.
Having a babyThere are pros and cons about having a baby in the US.Pros1. Good medical facilities ( Ofcourse if one wanted a natural childbirth the Ayurvedic way its better to have a baby in India )2. Medical staff show genuine concern unlike some hosptials in India 3. Unaffordable maid services
Cons1. Difficult procedure to get US visitor visa , unfriendly visa officers and not-so-good experiences at the US customs and immigration2. Difficult for aged parents to get adjusted here3. Unaffordable maid services
PeoplePeople in US are generally nice and often quite helpful. When it comes to respecting privacy Kudos to Americans. American society is very individualistic and very tolerant.There have been a few instances of racism but nothing major. It was when I had to get my photograph done for immigration purposes. The person taking my picture did not like the fact that I was becoming a permanent resident ( green card ). He was like " Why do you Indians come to our country ? Go back to your country man". I should have complained but I didnt. Its okay. Not everyone is like that.
Yoga, Hinduism, Sanatan DharmaWhen I was growing up in India I never cared for Ayurveda or Yoga as is the case with most people that are raised in Indian metros. Most of them try to follow Western habits like eating junk food like burgers, pizzas.Ofcourse there is lot of junk/stale food being sold in India as well.After reading and applying certain basic principles of Ayurveda and Yoga I was very impressed and felt that what a fool I've beenall the while! Whenever my grandma tried to apply coconut oil on my head I used to run away from her. Now I regularly apply it before going to bed during summer. After coming to US I had stomach ulcers and I used Yoga and Ayurveda to get rid of it. I attended David Swenson's workshop and he greeted me in Kannada when I told I was from Bangalore.Also I've slowly started inquiring about God and I think the best answers so far are all there in Sanatan Dharam a.k.a Hinduism. I feel Hinduism is a complete system and if at all there is any philosophy that can stand the test of time it has to be Vedic philosophy. Ofcourse US is superior and a superower and has developed its own philosophy , the only currrent system that can run in parallel is the Hindu system, which is why I see in India I know many people that are not at all in awe of America. India is still the philosophical capital of the world.
Returning to motherlandI'm worried about the culture clash when my daughter grows up. As a parent I feel I've bettercontrol over my daughter if she grows up in India than if she growsup here. I could be wrong :) I defintely dont want my daughter to start dating when she becomes 12! Even if I have valid answers as to why she should not date that early the outside culture, the school culture is stronger and its slike swimming against the tide.After about 7 yearsof stay in the West , I feel I should go back to where I belong.I've made up my mind to go back to India for good. Its the people ,that warmth , love and affection I get from them is why I'm returning. Moreover When it comes toeconomy India is doing pretty well now though its still a long wayto go. Money has become secondary to me now and I think I still can lead a decent life over there in India. Also there are dime-a-dozen Yoga and Ayurveda places.

More later

Indian in America

Am I a star now ?

Meaty Meat

My first blog in 7 seven years!