The mediocre me

ZERO… That’s what i am looking at everywhere… within, without, here, there and everywhere… everything seems so mediocre… there is no race for excellence… mediocrity rules… The people are mediocre, their brains are mediocre. How do you expect them to appreciate or respect excellence?

Maybe my observations are skewed… born out of frustration… frustration at not being present at the right place and the right time… time is flying away… sorry, time stands still, we go by…

Back to ZERO… small men see zero in things around men; great men see the universe in ZERO…

I am writing this blog because i have zero things to do today… I had forgotten the name of my blog. But thanks to gmail’s motto and ability to collect every information in the universe, i have managed to get the user name and password… i still maintain, Google is the best thing that could have happened to mankind; after Microsoft…

Evolve, evolve, evolve… from desktop computing to cloud computing… from internet at CERN to internet on palm…

But what am i doing here?… guess i am also mediocre… after all people get what they deserve.

A Wednesday

Will never drink so much… as much as i did on Wednesday… a memorable Wednesday nevertheless… and by giving up alcohol, i will make that Wednesday even more memorable…

El Diego: The ‘god’ of Azteca

There is no place like Estadio Azteca. Not because it hosted two football World Cup finals. Not because it became symbolic of Mexico’s resurrection in 1986 barely a year after a devastating earthquake had destroyed the city. Not because it is a massive, imposing stadium that can hold a sea of 1.20 lakh people producing Mexican waves, and also not because Pele scored a hat-trick that helped Brazil win the World Cup in 1970. Estadio Azteca (Aztec Stadium) is revered in a strange way because the ‘god’ descended on its turf in 1986 in the form of Diego Armando Maradona. Strange, because this ‘god’ had used immoral means to score a goal against England. And yet, the ‘hand of god’ goal has become the jewel in the crown for Estadio Azteca.

I was in the 4th grade during the 1986 World Cup. I remember watching some matches but obviously wasn’t able to appreciate Maradona’s exploits in Mexico City. A decade later, after having watched the replays of the matches, I was able to comprehend what El Diego had done on June 22, 1986 in the quarterfinal match against England.

On Friday, therefore, I was not surprised to see other curious foreigners, like me, trying to get a piece of history by clicking the pictures of the end where Maradona had scored the most famous and notorious goal in football history. And yet, not one of them had scorn for the Argentine. In fact, according to Lis, a stadium official, people come to the stadium throughout the year just to relive the ‘hand of god’ goal.

Lis says Maradona is still loved across Latin America because he was a magician who entertained people with his sublime skills. “His second goal against England in the same match had to have god’s touch.” It is perhaps for this reason that the ‘football god’ has been excused for his ‘hand’some goal.

Maradona’s genius is undisputed. But what could have charged him was the stadium itself. Even when it’s empty, the Estadio Azteca is an imposing structure. Seating in the stands, I felt overwhelmed by the bowl-shaped stadium. Just imagine what could be going through a player’s mind when there are 120,000 spectators creating a pandemonium. Though it may be an intimidating proposition, the atmosphere can act as a tonic for players to play their best football. And perhaps, that’s why the Azteca has produced two of the best performances ever in World Cup football. If it was Maradona in 1986, it was Pele in the 1970 final, who scored a hat-trick to power Brazil to their third World Cup win. The Brazilian great was unstoppable in the one-sided final against Italy.

 Since both Maradona and Pele produced their best football at the Azteca, it is quite natural to ask as to who was the better of the two? While the stadium itself make a judgement, the Azteca, in a simple way, shows symbolically that the two footballing greats were on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Pele and Maradona scored their famous goals of the 1970 and 1986 World Cups at opposite ends!

Both these footballing greats have been honoured with plaques at the entrance and their pictures framed in the stadium museum. However, there is no doubt who people here love the most. The little big man… El Diego.

Mexico City’s love bug

Forget the delicious Mexican food or even Salma Hayek, for that matter. If you are in Mexico City for the first time, then the thing that is bound to catch your attention is the two-door, green and white taxi that doesn’t have a front passenger seat!

That’s right. Scores of Volkswagen Beetle taxis, whose front seat has been removed in order to enable passengers climb into the back seat, ply on the busy streets of this city of tequilla and sombreros.  What’s more, given the cult status of the Beetle and the fact that there are hardly any of these WWII era cars to be seen around the world, these taxis have become the mascots of Mexico City.  The secret behind Mexico City becoming a Beetle city is the fact that this World War 2 era model was produced in Mexico until 2003— years after its production had halted elsewhere.

Being a fan of the iconic VW model, it was a pleasant surprise to see hundreds of Beetles plying on the Mexican roads. What doubled the fun was their attractive colour scheme — these taxis look really cute in the green and white combination.

It was therefore a momentous moment to get into one of the Beetle taxis. As mentioned earlier, the first thing that shocks you is the missing front passenger seat. However, there’s a reason to it. Being a small two-door car, it becomes virtually impossible for a passenger to sit at the front. In order that the back two seats can be used for passengers, the front passenger seat is sacrificed. Not only does it make a comfortable ride but two passengers can fit in instead of one.

According to Juan, who has been driving a Beetle taxi for six years, there are about 40,000 Beetle taxis in Mexico City. “A Beetle taxi attracts foreigners more than the locals. In fact, the first comers to Mexico are in love with these taxis,” he says.

It is therefore natural for tourists to not only take pictures of Beetle taxis but also to take special efforts (waiting for Beetle taxis while letting go the Toyota taxis) to take a ride in one of them.

However, there is a darker side to the Beetle mania. The car is notorious for its high exhaust levels. Considering the pollution problems that Mexico City faces, a majority of locals want these models to be phased out as soon as possible. In fact, the government has wants to get rid of all the Beetles by 2010.

One of the government measures is a money offer to the drivers in exchange for their Beetle taxis. Apparently, the plan seems to be working as most of the drivers themselves can’t afford the relatively low mileage of these vehicles.

Given the grave pollution crisis in Mexico City, it seems logical for the local government to stop these taxis from plying on the road. However, considering the emotional value that the VW Beetle carries, it is definitely sad to hear that the iconic Beetle is on its last stretch.

That’s why, though I enjoyed my first ride in the Mexican Beetle, there was a tinge of sadness when I stepped out. For, I knew I will never get a ride in such a taxi again.

Berlin: A city haunted by history

Berlin was a welcome sight with wide, clean roads, disciplined traffic and other things that bothers Mumbaikars like me on an everyday basis. The German capital seemed to be a city from a different planet where people did not squeeze each other to death in local trains and where cleanliness and civic sense come naturally to people. And yet, the two days I spent during my first visit to Berlin were anything but peaceful. For, I was confronted by the city’s violent and disturbing past. The first encounter with Berlin’s past was rather accidental. I went out in the balcony of the hotel room and saw two massive structures towering above the rest of the skyline. These were war bunkers built in a public park called Humboldthain. I was told that during the war of Berlin in 1944-45, the bunkers, which came out of a hill in the park, had hundreds of anti-aircraft guns to thwart the Allied bombers. For someone who knew a thing or two about the Third Reich and the cold war, Berlin was like a treasure full of relics that told the story of those tragic chapters of world history. A fifteen-minute walk from my hotel brought me face-to-face with first such relic… the Berlin Wall, or rather whatever’s left of the historic monument. Though it is almost two decades since the wall was brought down and though, as an Indian I wasn’t directly affected by this structure, the sight of the Wall was nevertheless a hair-raising experience. For, not long ago, the Berlin Wall had split not only a city, but also the entire world in two parts. On touching the wall, I suddenly realised I was in ‘West Berlin’. I, then, made my way to ‘East Berlin’ with a hop, appreciating the fact that more than 20 years ago, such an attempt would have been met with a volley of bullets. Though the Berlin Wall is all but gone, a strip embedded in the road, runs along the entire length of the Wall thereby presenting the topography of the divided city. The Berlin Wall is lined up with a museum that provides a glimpse of its history, the manner in which it was built and the number of lives it claimed during its 28 years of existence. In fact, alongside the Berlin Wall stands a memorial which honours those East Germans who tried to flee the communist state to West Berlin. It is heartbreaking to read the stories of these victims who made valiant attempts to overcome the physical and ideological barriers. Besides the remnants of the wall, there are many monuments in the city which relive the fateful 12 years of Adolf Hitler’s reign that not only changed world politics but also put humanity to shame because of the extermination of Jews. One of the monuments is the basement of Gestapo headquarters. Though the Third Reich is an uncomfortable topic for Germans, the authorities in Berlin have opened up a museum that narrates the story of one of the most forgettable and notorious chapter in modern history. The museum, called Topography of Terror, is situated along the basement. (The basement is the only remaining portion of this building that is located on Wilhelmstrasse in central Berlin). Gestapo was the name of the notorious German police during Hitler’s reign. It spelled terror not only in Germany but also in the German occupied land during World War 2. The museum pictorially tracks the birth of Gestapo, the terror unleashed by its officers and its end that coincided with the defeat of Germany in World War 2. While the atrocities committed by Nazis are known, the fact that I was standing at the same place which was the nerve centre of the police apparatus in Nazi Germany left me completely shaken. Next to Gestapo headquarters stood Hitler’s Ministry of Aviation building in which were located the headquarters of Luftwaffe. Today, the ministry of finance is located in this huge structure. Just a stone’s throw away from Wilhelmstrasse stands the majestic Brandenburg Gate. Nazi Storm troopers used to march through this gate during their intimidating parades. Next to Brandenburg Gate stands the Reichstag or the Parliament which was misused by Hitler to gain legitimacy for his dictatorial rule.

O Deutschland!

O Deutschland

 

An event in Mexico, one of the most exotic places on the earth, and yet I was thinking about Germany (Deutschland). I was supposed to spend a week in Mexico City and then should have ideally returned to India. However, on my request the BMW guys rescheduled the plan and facilitated my stay in Germany… where I spent an entire week.

Having read and heard so much about Germany… (Bismarck, Weimar Republic, First World War, Hitler, Nazism, Panzer tanks, Messerchmit figher planes, Concentration Camps, World War 2, Battle of Berlin, Luftwaffe, Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Siemens, Bosch, Krupp, Heisenberg, Einstein, Born, Adidas, Puma, Berlin Wall, Communism, USSR, Checkpoint Charlie, West Germany, East Germany, Beckenbauer, Becker, Graf, Schumacher…), it had been my ardent desire to walk on this land…

That’s why on landing at the Frankfurt airport, I could feel goose bumps all over my body… “O Deutschland, I have landed!”

The weather in Frankfurt was miserable and the German authorities were prompt enough to confiscate tequila and cigar that I had got from Mexico… I didn’t complain… I was too overjoyed to even think of complaining.

The best part about this trip was that I didn’t know a soul in Frankfurt and Berlin… though I did have a great friend somewhere between Munich and Stuttgart who I had met in Spain just three months ago in August…

From Frankfurt I took a flight to Berlin… As is the case during December, extreme, bitter cold welcomed me wherever I went… Patrick (the friend who stays somewhere between Munich and Stuttgart) had booked a hotel room for me… The taxi fare was quite expensive… 20 euros for 2 or 3 km. To hell with it, I thought… I was traveling in a Mercedes C Class like a king…

The hotel was quite nice… and it had such an innovative name… City Hotel… Dead tired, I took a swig of vodka and crashed into the bed, the very next moment.

Morning was shocking… As I stood in the balcony to experience the cold of German winter I was stunned to find too massive concrete structures rising out of a hill… THE BUNKERS! HITLER’S BUNKERS… I was mighty thrilled… that’s an understatement, believe me.

It was like I had got a steroid shot… all the fatigue and inertia (the tendency of a body to stay in a state of complete rest or of uniform motion) disappeared in second…

Like a proper tourist, swung my sack over my shoulders and off I went to explore Hitler’s berlin…

Visited the bunker located in Humboldt park… It was incomprehensible… I wondered: “How the fuck could anyone build such a massive structure.” It truly is an engineering marvel. In fact, an elderly gentleman there told me that Berlin is full of intricate, inter-connected, underground bunkers… at that moment I was wondering whether I was in a modern metropolis or lost in the Tora Bora mountain range in Afghanistan…

I purposely didn’t use public transport as I wanted to spend as much time experience Berlin… sight, sound, pain (of walking)… After walking for a kilometer… I was greeted by a huge signboard on which was written Mauer Street or the Wall Street… the very place where the Berlin Wall stood…the physical manifestation of the line that divided the world into two parts…

Walking another 200 metres, I saw a huge wall, some 100 metres long… crumbling at some places… but otherwise still looking menacing… THE BERLIN WALL… I couldn’t control my tears… I didn’t even realize when they started rolling down my cheeks… Touching the wall with my bare hands… (I was fully armed to battle the terrible winter… thermal underwear, two sweaters, monkey cap, hand gloves… my clothes weighed as much as I did)… On touching the wall, I felt I had become a part of history… one of the most exciting and dangerous periods that could have resulted in a nuclear catastrophe… My mind raced through the following events in a flash: World War 2, Stalin, Khruschev, Nixon, CIA, KGB, double agents, intrigue, Bay of Pigs… It was incredible…

(To be Continued… be patient)

 

 

Things to do in life

Been there, done that? Not yet. The following is my wish list:

1. Work for a Formula One team

2. Bicycle ride from Mumbai to Nashik

3. Visit Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida

4. Learn to play dholaki and tabla

5. Own a superbike… preferably Yamaha R1

6. Become a professional rockclimber

7. Learn to fly a fighter jet

8. Control anger

9. Read as many science and mathematics books as possible

10. Solve the riddle of Rubik’s cube

11. Be good at chess

12. Learn to execute sommersaults while diving

13. Manage a football team

14. Buy some good shirts

15. Own a rally car… and drive like a rallyist

16. Apply the teachings of Bhagwadgita

17. Learn Manache Shloka by heart

18. Become a free-runner

19. Enjoy the laws of physics… from quantum mechanics to the Theory of Everything

20. Enjoy the iPhone experience on 3G network

21. Work for Google in any capacity

22. Settle down in Germany

Bhagwadgita and thermodynamics

It doesn’t reflect good on the state of the library in the office… but the best book i could find was a copy of Bhagwadgita… that too in English… I was well-versed with Bhagwadgita during my school days… Ajoba would make me learn two shlokas every day… In two years time, all the 18 adhyayas ought to have been learned by heart… that didn’t happen though i knew six adhyayas by heart…

Anyway, i started reading the shlokas again… and looking for what it meant… i felt so strange…

Strange because when i was a child i didn’t understand a single word and yet could recite many adhyayas… now that i have grown up… i don’t care about what is considered to be the best book ever… such are the tragedies of life…

Anyway… the second adhyaya is unbelievable… profound philosophical thought expressed in two lines of a shloka… No wonder Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s Gitarahasya is based on second adhyaya…

What struck me about the second adhyaya was the famous shloka:

Nainam chindanti shastrani
Nainam dahati pavakaha
Na chainam klesh yantyapo
Na shoshayati marutaha

(Sri Krishna describes the human soul as something that cannot be cut by weapons, can’t be burnt by fire, can’t be drowned in water, can’t be blown by the wind…)

What set my thoughts racing was the parallel between this shloka and the first law of theromodynamics also known as law of conservation of energy….

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed; It can be converted from one form to other; the total amount of energy in the universe remains the same…

Physics in Bhagwadgita or Bhagwadgita in physics… point to ponder…

Hello Folks

I am back… after a long break. Things had come to such a level that i couldn’t even remember my blog’s name! Thanks to a colleague of mine, i not only remembered this blog but also retrieved its password.

Unfortunately, the first thing i did after the decision was made was to read the same friend’s blog and i was outraged by the incident that shook me completely. Here i was in the 21st century, using Windows mobile phone that could track me with a satellite… i was at the forefront of technology… and yet in India, such things continue to happen. Women here are treated like sheeps… meek, vulnerable… People like that guy who misbehaved with my friend are animals… rather, since we humans don’t understand animals… it is unfair to brand such rascals as animals… maybe animals are more civic than humans… No, he was a human.

I expressed my outrage at what had happened told that concerned person to be more careful. Even more shocking was the reply i heard: “These things keep happening… there’s nothing surprising about it.”

Man… i must be living in a wonderland to be not hearing these things if they happen so often!

Cheers

DJ

Gujarat experience

Been in Gujarat since last Saturday. Great fun at the guest house. Just stumbled upon Google’s new application. Trying to customise it.