Vaathilil Aa Vaathilil lyrics in Malayalam / വാതിലില്‍ ആ വാതിലില്‍

വാതിലില്‍ ആ വാതിലില്‍ കാതോര്‍ത്തു നീ നിന്നീലെ..
പാതിയില്‍ പാടാത്തൊരാ  തേനൂറിടും ഇശലായി ഞാന്‍
വാതിലില്‍ ആ വാതിലില്‍ കാതോര്‍ത്തു നീ നിന്നീലെ...
പാതിയില്‍ പാടാത്തൊരാ  തേനൂറിടും ഇശലായി ഞാന്‍

ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചേര്‍ന്നു..
ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചേര്‍ന്നു..

കാണാനോരോ വഴി  തേടി , കാണും  നേരം  മിഴി മൂടി..
ഓമലെ… നിന്നീലെയോ, നാണമായ്  വഴുതീലെയോ

പുന്നാരം..
ചൊരിയും അളവിലവള്‍  ഇളകി മറിയുമൊരു കടലായി

കിന്നാരം..
മറയുമഴകിലവള്‍ ഇടറി നിവരുമൊരു മഴയായി

കളിചിരി നിറവുകള്‍ കണി മലരിതലുകള്‍ വിടരുവതനുമയിലായ്‌

ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍,  ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍ ,  ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍ താനേ..
ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍,  ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍ ,  ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍ താനേ…

വാതിലില്‍ ആ വാതിലില്‍ കാതോര്‍ത്തു നീ  നിന്നീലെ..
പാതിയില്‍ പാടാത്തൊരാ  തേനൂറിടും ഇശലായി ഞാന്‍
വാതിലില്‍ ആ വാതിലില്‍ കാതോര്‍ത്തു നീ നിന്നീലെ...
പാതിയില്‍ പാടാത്തൊരാ  തേനൂറിടും ഇശലായി ഞാന്‍

ഏതോ കതകിന്‍ വിരി നീക്കി, നീല കണ്മുന എറിയുംപോള്‍
ദേഹമോ... തളരുന്നുവോ... മോഹമോ.. വളരുന്നുവോ...

നിന്നോളം..
ഉലകിലോരുവല്‍  ഇനി  അഴകുതികയുവതിനില്ലല്ലോ 

മറ്റാരും..
വരളും മിഴിയിലിനി കുളിര് പകരുമതിനില്ലല്ലോ

ഓ… നറുമൊഴി അരലുകള്‍ കരളിലെ കുരുവികള്‍ കുറുകുവതനുപമമായ്…

ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍ താനേ..
ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍ , ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍ താനേ…

വാതിലില്‍ ആ വാതിലില്‍ കാതോര്‍ത്തു നീ നിന്നീലെ..
പാതിയില്‍ പാടാത്തൊരാ  തേനൂറിടും ഇശലായി ഞാന്‍
വാതിലില്‍ ആ വാതിലില്‍ കാതോര്‍ത്തു നീ നിന്നീലെ...
പാതിയില്‍ പാടാത്തൊരാ  തേനൂറിടും ഇശലായി ഞാന്‍

ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചേര്‍ന്നു..
ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടില്‍, ചേര്‍ന്നു …


Lyricist : Rafeeq Ahammed


(If you find any mistake, please leave it as a comment)

Attumanal Payayil Lyrics in Malayalam / ആറ്റുമണല്‍ പായയില്‍

ആറ്റുമണല്‍ പായയില്‍ അന്തിവെയില്‍ ചാഞ്ഞ നാള്‍
കുഞ്ഞിളംകൈ വീശി നീ തോണിഏറി പോയില്ലേ
വീഴാതെ കണ്ണിലന്നു മിന്നിയ നീര്‍മണി
നീറാതെ നീറുന്നോ രോര്‍മതന്‍ നെയ്ത്തിരി
എന്നെ വിട്ടിട്ടെന്തേ പോയി മഞ്ഞാടികുരുവി
നിന്നെ  കാത്തീ തീരത്തെന്റെ  മോഹം  വേരോടി
ആറ്റുമണല്‍ പായയില്‍ അന്തിവെയില്‍ ചാഞ്ഞ നാള്‍
കുഞ്ഞിളംകൈ വീശി നീ തോണിഏറി പോയില്ലേ

മണ്‍വഴിയില്‍ പിന്‍വഴിയില്‍  കാലചക്രം  ഓടാവേ
കുന്നിലങ്ങള്‍  പൂമരങ്ങള്‍  എത്രയോ  മാറിപ്പോയ്‌ 

കാണേ നൂല്പുഴ  എങ്ങോ  മാഞ്ഞൂ 

നെരോഴിഞ്ഞ  വെണ്‍  മണലില്‍  തോണി  പോലെ  ആയി  ഞാന്‍
ആറ്റുമണല്‍ പായയില്‍ അന്തിവെയില്‍ ചാഞ്ഞ നാള്‍
കുഞ്ഞിളംകൈ വീശി നീ തോണിഏറി പോയില്ലേ

കാല്‍തളകള്‍  കൈവളകള്‍  മാറ്റി  നീ  എത്രയോ
അന്ന്  തന്ന  പൊന്നിലഞ്ഞി  മാല  നീ  ഓര്‍ക്കുമോ 

വേലയും  പൂരവും  എന്നോ  തീര്‍ന്നു 

ആളൊഴിഞ്ഞ  കോവിലിലെ  കൈവിളക്കായ്‌ നിന്നു  ഞാന്‍
ആറ്റുമണല്‍ പായയില്‍ അന്തിവെയില്‍ ചാഞ്ഞ നാള്‍
കുഞ്ഞിളംകൈ വീശി നീ തോണിഏറി പോയില്ലേ
വീഴാതെ കണ്ണിലന്നു മിന്നിയ നീര്‍മണി
നീറാതെ നീറുന്നോ രോര്‍മതന്‍ നെയ്ത്തിരി
എന്നെ വിട്ടിട്ടെന്തേ പോയി മഞ്ഞാടികുരുവി
നിന്നെ  കാത്തീ തീരത്തെന്റെ  മോഹം  വേരോടി
ആറ്റുമണല്‍ പായയില്‍ അന്തിവെയില്‍ ചാഞ്ഞ നാള്‍
കുഞ്ഞിളംകൈ വീശി നീ തോണിഏറി പോയില്ലേ

ആറ്റുമണല്‍ പായയില്‍ അന്തിവെയില്‍ ചാഞ്ഞ നാള്‍
കുഞ്ഞിളംകൈ വീശി നീ തോണിഏറി പോയില്ലേ
ആറ്റുമണല്‍ പായയില്‍ അന്തിവെയില്‍ ചാഞ്ഞ നാള്‍
കുഞ്ഞിളംകൈ വീശി നീ തോണിഏറി പോയില്ലേ

Lyricist : Rafeeq Ahammed

One for you, one for me..

Once there was a mango tree within the compound wall of a cemetery. Since it was in a burial place, nobody ate the fruits. One day, two merchants passed by and they noticed the tree with full of fruits and they thought they can sell this in another city. They met the priest to ask whether he is interested in selling the mangoes and the priest happily agreed.

The day arrived and the merchants came….  by evening they finished plucking all the mangoes. But two mangoes fell outside the compound wall.

Then they took two sacks and started dividing the mangoes by saying:

'one for you, one for me…one for you, one for me…'

It became dark and a man who happened to pass the cemetery heard someone saying 'one for you and one for me' and he thought it is God and Satan dividing souls. He got scared and ran to the priest. Though the priest believed in God and Satan, he could not believe this story and decided to find the truth.

They reached the other side of the wall and listened carefully; and then there someone says:

'one for you, one for me….and that's it'

Then came the second voice:

"No, there are two more, on the other side of the wall"

Both the priest and the man fell on the ground….. (fainted or? I don't know…)

Easter, Again...

Another Easter just passed by. This festival has some old but golden memories.

I had a wonderful dream yesterday night...thank you Jesus for making this day special that way, otherwise it would have ended as just another day!

RAINBOW .. Color of Humanity

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel: all claimed that they were the best, the most important, the most useful, the favorite.

GREEN said: “Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, leaves, trees – without me, all animals would die.”

BLUE interrupted: “You only think about the Earth, but consider the sky and sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea.”

YELLOW “You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth to the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me, there would be no fun.”

ORANGE started next to blow her temper: “I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangos..”

RED could stand it no longer: He shouted out: “I am the ruler of all of you! I am blood! Life’s blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire to the blood! I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poppy and the poinsettia.”

PURPLE rose up to his full height. He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: “I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am a sign of authority and wisdom.” Finally,

INDIGO spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: “Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace.”

RAIN began to speak: “You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don’t you know you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me.”

Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands. The rain continued:

“From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of colors as a reminder that you can all live in peace and harmony. The rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow”

And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another.

- A NATIVE AMERICAN STORY

The Woodcutter and the Axe V 2.0

We all know the woodcutter story, the Aesop fable - Fable of the Woodcutter or Woodcutter and the Fairy or the Golden Axe or The Honest Woodman…

(He was cutting wood by the side of a river and his axe slipped into the river. He prayed and a fairy/river goddess came with a golden axe and asked whether it is his axe for which he said no. Then she came with a silver one and he said no. Finally she came with the iron one which the woodcutter was using and he said yes. Seeing his honesty, she gave all the three axes to him. Thus he became rich)

What happened then?

The woodcutter decided to visit Kerala, God's own country to watch Trissur Pooram, a famous festival also known for its crowd. He lost his wife in the crowd and he started praying. God (or the fairy that helped him last time) appeared and asked what happened. He told that his wife is missing. Then God came with the most beautiful woman in the world and asked: 

'Is this your wife?'

'YES' the ex-woodcutter replied.

Fairy became very angry and was about to curse him. Then he told to the fairy:

"Wait, don't curse me. I clearly remember what had happened last time. You came out with a gold axe and a silver one and then the iron one and you gave me all three of them. Now, if I say 'No', you will come with some other woman and finally, all of them will be on my head. And you don't know how much trouble I am having even with one..So, I am happy with this lady"

(As told by Swami Sandeepananda Giri; not verbatim)

Coconut Oil Goes Healthy..

Coconut oil was the primary cooking oil in my native State, Kerala. But since a decade or two, coconut oil is looked upon as a health hazard by doctors (especially the cardiologists) and those so called nutritionists. They say the 'research' say it is bad for our heart. To what extend we can believe these research and researchers? In this present day world, research results/data/statistics/findings has a lot to do with who is funding that research.

Now, what will happen when a reputed US company starts selling coconut oil? That too a giant from the health and nutrition industry?

I read the following product info:
       
       
        Cholesterol Control:


Not all fatty acids are alike. Lauric acid, for example, is a "good" saturated fatty acid. An analysis of 60 cholesterol research studies shows that the lauric acid in coconut oil helps maintain good cholesterol levels that are already within the normal range, as measured by the ratio of total cholesterol to "good" (HDL) cholesterol.
       
        Immune System


The lauric acid and monoglycerides in mother's milk help the immune system of the new-born baby. The same lauric acid and monoglycerides in coconut oil help support the adult immune system.
       
        Intestinal Health


By helping maintain the healthy intestinal flora, coconut oil contributes to the healthy functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
       

well well well

The Woman

Some time back I asked a (lady) friend of mine:

"Assume that you are dead but you are given 5 more minutes. What will you do?"

There came the answer:

"I will apply makeup"

Friends, Coffee and a little Philosophy

(Happen to remember this story today. Read sometime back and it is everywhere in the net. I do not know who wrote this and what exactly was the title. Credit goes to the author).

A professor stood before his philosophy class with some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large, empty jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

Then the professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous yes.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided. “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.”

“The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else—the small stuff.”

If you put the sand into the jar first, he continued, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

“If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.”

“So. . .pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner.”

“There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first—the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

Then one of the students raised hand and asked what the coffee represented.

Professor smiled and said:

“I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

The Easter Feast

Another Easter just passed....

It was a Sunday morning of some 16 years ago. I heard a knock knock on the door. I came out from my room and saw my then best friend smiling at me, carrying something in her hand. She wished me 'Happy Easter'. She was in a hurry and said she need to go to church (was the lead female singer in an evangelical band. Did some cassettes/records too). She brought something to eat. Her family was going through some hard time, financially, and hence what she brought wasn't anything feasty but something simple and homemade.

What matter is the willingness, intention and heart..

That was the best Easter feast in my life, and it always will be..

A Parallel World !

Do parallel worlds exist?  Look at this:

I live in the ground floor of a wooden apartment (which has three floors). Somebody lives just above my apartment who always creates some sort of noise…. Stuffs falling, heavy stamping.. From my observation, he works from home and that too at night. When I am in the hall, he stamps and pounds just above me.. At night, when I rest in my bedroom, he too moves to his bed room and starts pacing or stamping just above me creating creaky noises and mild ‘bangs’.

I am convinced that parallel worlds do exist !

Winter Sport !

I have blogged about many of my vacation trips in the past. But I have never done this kind of a trip in my life so far where I almost reached my destination but could not make it…where there were signs/omens but I did not read it…

I was waiting for the winter to come to see some snow and do some winter sport. Since there is no snow in our place, I decided to visit Lake Tahoe where it snows and lot of winter activities happen. 

I booked a hotel well in advance to get a competitive rate. The trip was planned on 20^th of this month (December). On 19^th, I did some last minute purchase (some gloves, caps etc) and we were all set. We wished to reach there before check in time (3 pm) coz the sun sets very early and then it will be difficult to drive since there will be snow fall during evening/night.

I could not sleep well at night and I woke up with severe headache and thus the trip got delayed for 2 hours. When I was about to enter the road from driveway, there came a ‘red’ truck and there came a thought in my mind ‘ is that any warning?’ then I thought ‘how can I be such a superstitious person?’. As soon as I entered the road, there came a red car for which I had to stop. Then I thought maybe these are coincidence or just a warning to be a little careful. So, there we gooooo

Since we started late, I wished ‘if only the traffic lights were all green, I could save lot of time’. The first light was green, so was the second, third, forth, fifth… hey this is great !

We had checked the Google map for planning and I use GPS to drive. GPS showed a different route than the Google one. But we followed the GPS. But all of a sudden, for no reason, the GPS said ‘recalculating’  and came with a different route. Usually this happens when there is traffic jam/block etc and it also depends on the settings. This time, we had no idea (usually it is my wife who handle the GPS and route and I just drive. So she is good with GPS stuff than me but even she could not find out why the route changed). We missed a billboard which gave a warning about some road closure. We did not care much coz our GPS has traffic update and it can tell us which road is closed and where the traffic is heavy.

We started climbing hills. The temperature started dropping. 5, 4, 3, 2 …I was thrilled and kept looking at the thermometer. I was waiting for 0 to come and finally there it is minus one…wow. It was a great feeling and there it is – SNOW. I saw a board ‘Chains required’ but did not see any car with tire chains. I have seen similar boards like 'ICY' and something related to tire chains during summer too. So, I thought these boards are always there.

Before traveling we asked one person who already have done this route and he said he did not use any chain though there was snow. And I read that there are places where we can stop our car and put chains and there will be professional people who we can hire. I had practiced how to put chains but since I did not feel any difficulty in driving and saw nobody is using chains, I went on. I thought there will be BIG snow ahead where we might require chains. On and off, I saw these guys who were removing snow from the road driving bulldozer and some other equipment (I still do not know its name)

Then, the GPS stopped working…it could not load maps. There is no phone signal and hence we can not make any calls, nor any search. I told my wife:

“I wonder why we are the only people in this road”

Then there I saw another black car (mine is black) ahead of me. It was a relief but then I saw him turning back. I went ahead and it looked dead end for me. There is no road but HUGE ice or snow or whatever. And there goes a road on to my right. Wife said she is sure that our road was supposed to be a straight road and there is no need to take right turn. We were just 30 miles or less away from our destination

So, I turned back and asked a driver of one of those bulldozers. He said

‘Lake Tahoe is that way but the road is blocked and it might take a day to open this road. You have to go all the way down…..” and he gave us a different route (which was the Google route, which had less trouble).

Then there came another guy and he told me:

“You are not using chains. If the highway patrol see you, you MIGHT get a ticket”

I said thanks to them , turned back and proceeded. My wife started getting worried coz – it is snowing, we need to climb down all the way and this will take longer than we expected, may be 2-3 hours more and by that time it will be night.. and she said

“This is what that billboard said, I guess…it said this road is closed ”

But then why the GPS did not inform us? No idea..It gave us the worst route..…

Everywhere it is snow and ice and it made me happy rather than worried and the happiness weighed more, may be. But this does not mean that I was not worried. And I felt I better put chains but there came a thought:

“the road is closed so, there is no chance for police patrolling this road and that driver said I MIGHT get a ticket so chains may not be mandatory ” and wife just said “yes” she was not worried about the chains but other things coz I was driving without any problem. Then….

I spotted a police vehicle well ahead of me and I pressed break. I was on the right side, obviously, closer to the center of the road, but the car started moving to left, skidding. I am going in the wrong direction. There is no control even after putting the hand brake. The car moved slowly and hit a huge chunk of snow and stopped (luckily, coz I think else we could have fallen into the valley....I do not know coz everything was covered in snow). I wasn’t worried and did not lose my presence of mind and managed to back it slowly and proceed further. By that time the police van disappeared. But I said:

“I think we need to put the chains”

We were going down and hence I thought I will stop at some level/even place or turn out place. There was one such place but it was already occupied by the cop! And he caught the other black car. I stopped my car and started putting the chain. Then the cop reversed his van and asked what happened and I told him that I am putting chains. Then he said:

"Follow me and pull over there". I did.

He came out of the van, so did I (we are not supposed to come out of the car when a cop stop us. But he will come to us. Not like India). He asked:

“So, you stopped there coz you knew that you cannot pass me without chains, right?”

“No, sir… Those bulldozer drivers asked me to put chains and I was looking for a right place…I am driving on such conditions for the first time in my life”

He stared at me and asked:

“Did you see those board reading chains required?, there were many of them”

“Yes”

“Then why you did not put chains while coming up? You were supposed to do that”

I had no proper answer and I said I did not find a proper place. As a matter of fact, I expected some special places with pros available to help (that is what the internet say). He did not agree:

“No, there were lots of places”

I just said “I am sorry sir” and he said “can I see your driver license, registration and insurance?

So, it is a ticket ! So far I have a clean driving record and here I am going to get my first ticket…This really made me very sad.

He asked me to go ahead with my chain thing and wrote a ticket. I was wearing a normal woolen glove and the temperature was minus 5. BIG mistake. There was a chunk of snow between the tire and the body of the car. I wet my hand…when I finished putting the chains, my hand/fingers froze (then I remembered my Romanian friend saying “if you do not protect yourself in minus temperatures, it will result in frostbite. And even might result in amputation” )

Cop gave me lots of advice and issued a ticket. My hands was paining like hell and became numb. I switched on heater and changed into another thicker glove. Slowly the pain started going away and I can feel my fingers…what a relief…

After sometime, the GPS started working and said some direction and then again it failed. This time it did not even turn on. But last time, what it said was to take a left turn. But that left turn was filled with heavy snow (coz snow wasn't removed).  I turned and my wheels got stuck, I cannot move at all. Wheels started spinning and the car started coming back. I told my wife:

“It is impossible for us, even with chains. Only 4 wheel drive cars can go through this road”

We were already late (coz of the chain I was driving at 20 miles per hour)..the sun started setting, GPS not working, no phones working, no cars passing, no food to eat, there is no restaurants around, no houses around, it’s snowing and the temperature is minus 5 or 6…

I managed to back my car from the snow, safely and started moving very slowly coz the road has become icy. I went further and said:

“I feel like there is no chain”

I stopped the car and checked…the chain is gone ! we need to turn back safely, go up and get it but what if the cop finds me again without chains?

I was sure that it might have lost in that huge snow.. and yes, it was there buried deep inside that snow I pulled it out but it was damaged !! Luckily I had some tool to fix it. But will it last for the entire trip? No idea.

Chain again and there we go…then the road looked better and I decided to remove the chain. There still was snow on the sides of the road but the middle looked fine. I stopped the car, removed the chain and said:

“what about taking a picture of mine?” and my wife became angry and said:

“Are you crazy? I just can’t believe you, really, I just can’t believe you”

“Ok, fine, no photo then.”

I told I want to make this trip and ready to drive through snow at night, taking the risk. But wife said we better go back home. It was a big disappointment for me. But I said:

“Yes, it looks like something tells us to go back… we are going back home…when you can make a call, call up the hotel and tell them that we cannot make it”

GPS started working and it worked all the way till we reach home and then became dead again.

Finally, its home sweet home….

Man ! , what a trip !

Life in the US - Part 2

County Libraries are one of the wonderful things here. The membership is free and we can borrow 75 books at a time! But the same reason becomes a con because people take more books than they want and thus most of the popular books will not be available (we can book a book). Libraries provide almost all info we need, for free. Means, they will provide free internet, info on schools and colleges, the California driver handbook, info about social security, upcoming events in that locality etc. There are lots of big print edition books for the elderly people. They keep lots of magazines and lots of other language books too (like, Hindi, Farsi, Chinese, Tagalog etc). Apart from books we can borrow Audio and Video CDs/DVDs too. With a single membership, we can use the facilities of the other libraries that come under that county.  

One thing when could not avoid noticing here is the lack of electric switches, in most cases. Most of the panel has only sockets but no switch. This is mentioned by Jackie Chan in his latest ‘Karate Kid’ movie. When the kid says ‘we do not have switch in America’ he says ‘keep switch and save the planet’. Yes, we have 24 hours hot water. Electrical equipment are just plugged into the socket and there is no ‘on or off’ concept, in general (of course there is switch for stuffs like in sink garbage disposer)

Unlike India, we cannot directly consult a specialist. As per the ‘system’ we need to consult our primary care physician and then that doc has to refer to respective specialist. If we break this system and visit Urgent Care or Emergency Room, we will end up paying more money. Some basic insurance might not even cover such visits.

Initially I thought I will take up some university course here. But the reality is education is very expensive here. So, most people (citizens) avail educational loans to study. Back in my native place, lots of people have a college degree and here it is not the case. Even in IT field, many of the locals are not computer engineers. That is one of the reasons why Asians dominate here in IT field.

It’s a rich country, but there is poverty and unemployment here in US too. And at present, it’s very high.  Recently the government cut funds for most of the things. But surprisingly they have funds for war, always. One reason for unemployment is the outsourcing. It’s not just some software but lots and lots of other things too. Go to any shop and try to find something ‘Made in USA’ and its tough time to find. Most items are Chinese and Americans really do not like it. They consider it as cheap quality. But there is not much choice left. This might sound surprising, but it’s a reality that Dell do not make any computer here in US, though Dell is a US company. There is not even a single company in US which makes spoons, forks and knives. Same with canned sardine, Levi jeans and cell phones (including iphone4) – none of these are made here. Here the labor cost is high and hence the corporates just invest their money on other countries to double or triple their return.

This country is strange. Here we can find people from almost every other country. Many ‘real’ Americans do not like this (including one of my acquaintances). This country gives citizenship even through lottery system. People from most of the Asian counties like India, Philippines, China etc cannot participate in the lottery system currently since their population is very high here. But people from lots of other country can participate in the lottery and if they win, they can come here and get settled. Looks like the founders of US wanted to make this a cosmopolitan country. 

That’s how things are here….

So? 

So, God bless America !

Life in the US - Part 1

It’s my first ‘living anniversary’ here in US. Time just flew. How was my life here, so far? It’s good, of course. No complaints. I said no complaints coz what I am going to write are not complaints but some of my observations.

This is my first firsthand experience living in a capitalist country. I had read a lot about US before, including some travelogues. But travelogues have a different approach. How similar it is the life here compared to a country like India?

Quarter dollar is an important aspect of those who live here. We need them for using public phones, coin operated laundries, parking lots etc. And hence we can ‘buy’ quarter dollar from most of the grocery stores. It comes rolled and a roll will contain 40 coins. So, if any increment comes in coin operated services, we need to pay at least a quarter dollar extra, not 5 or 10 cents.

The public school system here is very good as far as the easiness of admission and interaction with teachers etc are concerned. Every child here has got a seat in the school for sure and there is no choice but to attend a particular school (not talking about private schools). Unlike India, a job in a public school is not a permanent job. One can get fired. Here the teachers are there to teach and not to play politics. Most of the teachers like teaching and they are not there just to make a living. Every school keeps its own fund and every school district has its own fund. If a school district has to cut funds, it even cut teaching jobs. Dental hygiene is important here. And there are no kids with disarranged teeth (like the one I have). They all align it (this has become a common trend, which is good, around the world, these days) when they are teens and it’s a big business too.   Head lice is also considered as a serious issue here. Kids can even stay home during the lice treatment period (they have to make some arrangements to pick up homework and assignments). 

One aspect I did not understand is the ‘Drugs’ and ‘Drinks’ aspect. One day, when my son told me how to drink wine without getting drunk, I was surprised and I asked who told him that and he said his Physical Education teacher and its part of his job! Drugs are the funniest part. From elementary school they will start issuing the ‘anti-drug’ awareness pamphlets and newsletters. Drugs are a common problem in high schools and some schools are particularly known for drugs. Now, the ‘what I do not understand’ part. It is not a big deal to find out where it comes from, if the police and school authorities work together and use some technology. But why it’s not happening? From where all those drugs are flowing into schools and what is the police doing? Instead of issuing newsletters, why can’t they burst the network? Another ‘I do not understand’ thing is the school bullies. Every year, lots of kids commit suicide here in US coz of bullying. (In India, there is this ‘samam, vedam, krodam and dandam’ principle to up bring kids. Means, first you tell in a way the kid can understand; if that fails, then give advice; if not solved, show anger.. if that too fails, give physical punishment) 

There are no small here in US, in general. Almost all retail shops are chains. Target, Home Depot, Trader Joe’s, H&M, OfficeMax, Best Buy, Macy’s, Starbucks, Costco, Safeway, FoodMaxx, JC Penny, Toys R Us,  Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Denny’s, Wendy’s, Walgreens, CVS….its a long list. Most of these chains have got their in-house brand and they even sell generic drugs in their label, apart from the pharmacy stores like Walgreens and CVS. Pharmacy stores are not just pharmacy stores. They sell all the medicine plus they stock almost everything else including toys, greeting cards and even alcoholic beverages.

Medicine is divided into prescription drugs and over the counter (OTC) drugs. But there is no need to worry if one wants to do self-medication. Almost all the essential drugs are sold OTC, including some ‘sleep aide’ ones. These sleep aides are kind of cheating. They are all mostly antihistamines (anti-allergy drugs) which has the side effect drowsiness. Apart from this, hormones like melatonin, which has a lot to do with sleep, is also sold OTC. Cold medicines come in two versions – day and night. Night one contains something (usually antihistamine or some decongestant) that makes you sleep/drowsy. Anti-biotic comes under prescription drugs and usually the doc sends the prescription directly to the pharmacy (any pharmacy of our choice) and we can pick up the medicine from the pharmacy store; we cannot choose the brand. Knowingly or unknowingly, most of those who live here take vitamins in excess. This is because most of the bread, milk, cereals etc comes with added vitamins, many a times the same vitamins. Plus many of them take vitamin supplements for no reason at all. Again, B group of vitamins along with some minerals are sold as vitamins for nail, hair, skin etc. 

 Speaking about the pharmacy, this country is ‘ruled’ by Pharma and Insurance giants. Every year most people take ‘flu shots’ during winter. Do we really need it? How do the scientists know which virus is going to hit this year? What if we catch a cold/flu even after getting vaccinated? Well, don’t ask such ‘stupid’ questions. If you want, get the vaccine or keep quite…Medicines are ridiculously priced. A small tube of antibacterial cream which can be sold for less than 5 dollars costs more than 10 dollars. We can hardly find anything for less than 5 dollar in medicine category. My son had to do a physical exam, a vaccine and a tester drug before his school admission and the bill was over 500 dollars. They make 10 tablets for less than a dollar (by outsourcing) and sell each for nearly 10 dollars. A TT injection for my son was 110 dollars. How can somebody afford it? Angels comes in the form if Health Insurance.

This ridiculous rate makes insurance a must. Will that policy cover our teeth? Eyes? No, we need to get dental insurance and eye care separately. Almost all the primary care docs have got only the basic medical education (in India, if one has only a bachelor degree in medicine, he/she will face a tough time to get patients). Most of the dental ‘work’ can be paid in EMIs. That tells how expensive it is. If one has to do a consultation, a cleaning and couple of root canal treatment with crown, it is cheaper to go to some other country like India and get it done. Same with many surgeries. This was the reason why medical tourism was picking up in India and then all of a sudden a ‘bug’ originated from India which seriously damaged the medical tourism. From where did that bug come from? Who created that? Shhhhh…

Vehicle insurance is another trick. Here the insurance is not for the vehicle. Vehicle insurance is tagged to a vehicle and a person together. In India, insurance is for the vehicle. Anybody who has a valid driver license can drive a vehicle which is insured. So, if there are 5 members (with valid driver license) in a family, all of them can drive/share the same car without paying any additional amount for insurance. Here the insurance goes up when more people are added up. And different insurance agency will give different rate. If we just take a policy we might end up paying more for no reason at all. Some credit card comes with some basic insurance too. But most people, including me do not know the exact terms and conditions for such coverage. Usually car insurance will cost a few thousand dollars per year; it depends on the make of the car, where we drive, the driver’s driving history, age etc

Among the chain stores one is interesting. Costco. This is a wholesale store but for individuals…weird? We need a membership ($50 per year for the basic membership and $100 for the executive). Things are supposed to be less priced here. To what extend it is less? I asked couple of people, including myself and nobody has got a clear answer. The trick is every item we buy from Costco is specially packed for them, in large quantities. If we want a tooth paste, we need to buy a minimum of 5. If we want to buy milk, we need to buy 2 gallon minimum. If something is comes in 100 grams at a normal store, here it comes at 325 or 475 grams. Who is going to compare gram to gram? I admit that I have not done that kind of a calculation so far and as of now, I do not know any CPA here (they might have tried this for sure). Everybody who go there end up spending at least 100 bucks at a time. What if we don’t go? We get this feeling ‘hey I paid 50 bucks for membership. I need to make use of it’. Some of the branded cloths are specially made for Costco and there is quality difference. I am not saying that there is no saving at all, of course there is this cash back. But there are some under currents. The more we spend on in-house brand (Kirkland) the more we ‘save’, possibly. In US, the maximum retail price is not printed on the products in human readable form but only in barcode. This allows retailers sell things at a price of their choice. For a pack of lay’s chips, we have to pay a lot more if we buy from a gas station (there almost everything cost more). And every gas stations sell same gas at different price. If we live in a posh area, they charge more. The first gas station after we exit from a freeway will charge more. We need to pay more on weekends too.

Mobile phone or wireless phone as we say here is another ‘experience’. We need to pay for everything, including incoming calls and texts (Back in India, all incoming calls and texts are free, for all telephone service). If we want an iphone, we do not have any choice but to get service from AT&T (as of now). Each carrier has their models. We cannot simply buy this or that phone unless we are ready to change service provider too. Basic service is only for basic phones and smart phones comes with mandatory data package (In India, we can buy any handset we want and use with our current service provider. No particular service is compulsory. We can buy a HTC android and still stick to basic service if we want). 

Here, auto mechanics (and lawyers) are known for charging very high fee. Back in India there was something called ‘servicing’ the car. Means, we can give the car to a workshop for ‘service’. They will do complete checkup (bumper to bumper) go for a trial run and fix problems if any. There are pickup and drop service too. Here they cannot pick up or drop coz they do not have insurance for that vehicle and hence cannot go for a trial run on the road too. Here service is part by part, generally. Most of the workshops have this ‘break package’ ‘oil change package’, ‘timing belt package’, 'headlight package' etc. While doing the wheel rotation, they will check the tire pressure of only 4 tires and the spare tire will be spared. Almost all the time, the labor will cost more than the parts. Hence, a lot of people do most of the minor works by themselves, to the extent possible. 

 

Stanfording a Dream

Last weekend, I visited the Stanford University campus (just a drive through). Studying in Stanford was one of my dreams, long ago. But I never thought that this visit would end-up in such a dream which would have given me a heart attack while asleep.

My-sister-in-law tells my father-in-law that I wish to study at Stanford and my father-in-law tells me that he will take care of the expenses!

When I woke up, I pinched myself to make sure that I am not dead but alive and still can feel…

PS: No offence meant to anybody

Lake Tahoe and a Jet Ski

I do not remember when this desire to do a Jet Ski sprouted in my mind. May be it started when I saw a picture or more possibly when I saw it in a movie…still can’t recollect it. But I am sure about one thing – this desire was there in me since many years. What should we do when we get a chance to fulfill one of our long cherished dreams? May be we will try to make it as memorable as possible..

Lake Tahoe is one of the most popular tourist attractions in this part of the world. A lake shared by California and Nevada. This is the largest high altitude lake in the U.S. which is located at 6225 feet. This is the second (16^th in the world) deepest lake in America with a depth of 1645 ft.  This fresh water lake is particularly known for being clear and has got 2 million years of story to tell. She is a blue beauty. The surrounding area is known for skiing and snow related activities and tourism is the main income in this area, but this lake never freeze.

When a suggestion came to visit Lake Tahoe, I had nothing to rethink about it because Jet Ski is one of the main water sport activity here during summer. And it is near Reno, the mini- Las Vegas and the ‘biggest little city in the world’ a place with Casinos Casinos and Casinos.

When I sat on the Jet Ski for the first time, I was thrilled. I took my son with me and we both were very much excited to do our first water sport.  

Since I had 30 minutes left,  I decided to go far from the shore. I was very excited and drove madly. Out of excitement I had no idea where I am going, I even forgot in which direction I am going. Yes, this might sound stupid but I should admit that this is what really happened. When decided to go back and turned and travelled towards the shore, I realized that I am approaching a different shore. I got lost….what a place to get lost….I did not carry my mobile, I cannot see any other Ski people near me . there were some speed boats moving here and there and they did not notice me and it wasn’t easy to attract their attention. Then I saw a ship near the shore and decided to move towards it and I felt it bit difficult to control the Ski. What the hell is this? I looked around and I saw the board ‘Danger Zone’. WOW, I have crossed the boundary and standing in a wonderful wavy place…

For a moment the fun started moving away and made way to fear. From the danger zone I read this on a boat ‘POLICE’. Are they coming towards me? Am I in trouble? I shot towards them and waved my hand for help. They came to me and one of the officers asked me to turn off the Ski. He looked 'cool' and I told him :

“Sir, I lost my way”  

“From which shore are you coming from?”

I forgot the name of the shore and I told them the name of the organizer and they could not make out where it is. Even at that stage, the officer was very cool and this made me bit relaxed. Then there came a good Samaritan in a small boat and he looked at my Ski and told them the name of the shore. The officer pointed his finger to some direction and said:

“OK, you go that way”

“Should I cross that?” I pointed to some rocks I saw and then the officer who was driving the boat smiled at me and said:

“Follow us”

They started moving and I followed them. Now that the U.S. marine police is piloting me and what is there to fear about? This made me happy and the fear slowly faded away and I started enjoying the ride. One minute, two minute…we are not reaching anywhere and then I thought we are going in the wrong direction.  We were moving slowly and then all of a sudden the boat picked up speed and went very fast. And I too shot after them  though it wasn’t easy to control it and at some point of time I thought  the Ski will topple…Then I saw the officer to whom I was talking to showing me a ‘Thumbs up’ and  now the distance between me and the boat was more. I thought they were asking me to go further all by myself and then my son said

“They are not asking us to follow them any further” 

So I stopped and looked around..

But where is my shore? I could not see it from where I was. So I stopped there and looked at the police boat and using some hand signals tried to tell them that this is not my shore. Then I saw the officer asking me to follow them again and this time they reduced the speed.  And finally, using hand signal he asked me to go right and there I saw my shore!   We both still had some distance and I thought if they get a chance to come near me, they might scold me. But I really wanted to thank them and test the luck. So I ‘ran’ after them and said thanks. To my surprise, he just smiled at me and nodded his head.

It was a ride filled with fun, thrill, action, suspense, horror and what not?  I wanted it to be a memorable one and God said

“So be it”

How can I forget my first Jet Ski?

Thank you God !

Driving in California and International Driving License/Permit

I think I better make this correction regarding driving in California. In one of my earlier blogs which I wrote during the initial days of my CA life, I had mentioned something which could mean that if we have international drivers permit (IDP) we can drive in California. That is wrong and I am sorry if it sounded that way.

The reality is the State of California does not accept IDP as a valid driver license irrespective of our nationality. This does not mean that driving in CA is complicated; the driving rule/law is simple and people friendly. 

If you are a visitor on Business Visa (less than or equal to 90 days), just carry the valid driver’s license you have from your country. CA accepts it and no further license is required. If it is in any language other than English, you need to have IDP with you. You can drive a car straight away ( at your own risk ..if you forgot to stop at a red signal, you could  get a $500 ticket. If you do not stop (some conditions apply) when a School Bus's red lights are flashing, its a $1000 ticket).

Those who are on long term visa are considered as resident aliens and in that case, things are different. In this case, we have only 10 days to apply for a California driver license (this means our license from home country is valid only for 10 days). But if we have a valid license from home country, upon passing a written test, the motor vehicles department will issue a temporary permit which is valid for 2 months (apart from the student permit which is valid for a year). With this permit, we can drive alone ; means there is no need for a licensed adult sitting next to us. But if we do not take a license within 2 months,  we can not renew this temporary permit and hence an adult with valid CA license should sit next to us, when we drive.

Kind of a Surprise

Surprises can offer more happiness (than how it would have been if that thing or situation was expected) when it brings something good.  Is there anything which can came as a surprise, neither good nor bad, make us sad and make us happy as well?

Prologue

I watched the Prison Break only recently, after coming to US; though it was aired internationally (most of us might have heard about this very popular American serial. If not, this serial is about a man who got sentenced to death for killing the brother of the Vice President of USA. When this guy’s brother, who is a genius structural engineer, comes to know that his brother is innocent, he deliberately ‘tries’ to loot a bank to lead him to the prison where his brother is and then successfully breaks him out from that high security prison.  Though the story looks simple, it’s a brilliant work with further twists and the story was written by different people and episodes were directed by different people). 

I am a fan of Clint Eastwood and I have seen most of his popular movies, including ‘Escape from Alcatraz’. Alcatraz was a high security prison built on an island in San Francisco Bay. Only three people ever broke that prison and escaped (they broke the prison and their dead bodies were not found; so it is assumed that they escaped, though some people do not agree).   In that movie, Eastwood plays the lead man Frank Morris who made the escape possible. Alcatraz is not a prison anymore but a tourist attraction.  Last weekend, I paid a visit to San Francisco to have a sightseeing cruise which included passing this island.

The Surprise

Yesterday night, I felt like checking the mail box at 10 pm (since I wasn’t expecting any mails, I did not check in the afternoon) and there is  summons from  the Superior Court of California. I checked the address many times, yes, it is addressed to me. I got worried, what could be this? I used to get some calls from the debt collectors. But they were looking for one Italian guy and not me. So, what on earth is this?

 I opened the envelope and just below my address line, I read this

‘ Failure to respond to this summons will subject you to a fine, a jail or both’.

 Jail? If this innocent man goes to jail, who will break the prison for me?

Looking at my face, my wife grabbed the paper from me and read (she reads at least 10 times faster than me) and told me

“They want you to become a Jury in that court for one trial and you will be paid fifteen dollars’

This is great ! I am the jury of the superior court of California, excellent job ! who care about the pay. I became very happy.

See?

Note: In the U.S. there is this ‘Jury service’ in which the judiciary asks people to become one of the juries. They select people randomly.  It is mandatory for that person, including disabled people, to become the jury if one is qualified (it is not educational qualification but some other criteria and the first criteria is that one has to have U.S. citizenship).  If one is not qualified, one must inform them.  In the case of working people, the employer must give time off. I wasn’t aware of this till yesterday (June 28, 2010)

Height of Technology

The other day, I was listening to radio using my Nokia E51 when I felt like going to toilet. It was too late when I realized that there is no toilet paper.  That phone had no SIM and hence I cannot make any call or send any text. I used the phone to connect to my WiFi in offline mode and logged into Gmail and sent one mail with subject line ‘URGENT’ to my wife (who was working from home that day) in her official id. In few seconds the toilet paper got door delivered. 

Geee

Golden Day !

Golden Gate Bridge was in my ‘must watch’ list since months. But ‘the time’ did not arrive till last Saturday, that is  May 8^th  2010.

I had heard about this bridge loooong back, when we studied about the wonders of the world. But that time, I had no idea that one day I would see it for real. This bridge, built on Pacific Ocean to connect the SF peninsula to the Marin County, is THE symbol of San Francisco. When we consider this was built on 1937, this is really amazing.

Apart from being one of the seven wonders of the world, this bridge holds another credit – United State’s most popular suicide point…. the place where world’s most suicides happen.  Now, pedestrians are not allowed in the bridge at night. Somebody suggested and designed a suicide net to prevent the jumps but there is no fund. The documentary film ‘The Bridge’ is based on this bridge and its suicides. I did not watch that documentary yet but it is said that they captured some real suicide jumps. Wonder what was important, filming a suicide or preventing the jump…I don’t know. If they prevent, may be those guys would go to some other place and die.

What if one do not die after jumping from this bridge? Should we call them lucky or unlucky? I don’t know. The bridge is very high (abt 75 meters from sea water) and when somebody jumps from there, he/she reaches at a speed of over 120 km/hour before hitting water.  If we fall from such heights to water, it is as good as jumping from a 75 m high building onto the floor. Science says the property of water is like that……its kind of immediate death.  But still, some people did not die… lucky or unlucky?

Anyway, I would call myself lucky and unlucky. Lucky, for being able to see the bridge myself…and unlucky?

My Golden Gate visit gave me another everlasting memory. I accidently passed through the FastTrack toll gate without paying toll and now eagerly waiting for my first ticket in the US !