A plot summary for Sunny Singh's new novel, "With Krishna's Eyes", from Singh's website. Looks like an interesting novel.

"Krishna has been in New York, making documentaries. But, following the death of her grandmother, the all-knowing Dadiji, Krishna returns to her home village in a part of India so feudal, almost medieval in its ways, that, in spite of her essential urbanity and modernity, she must make concessions to tradition. A strange bequest awaits Krishna upon her return. From beyond the grave, Dadiji directs Krishna to enact her dharma (duty), which, it transpires, is to document on film the last days of Damayanti, a strong-minded lawyer who, upon the death of her husband, will commit sati. Krishna, the first girl child to be born to her family in five centuries, finds herself caught between the modern world of loose ties and casual relationships (as personified by her westernised lover, Natchek), and the older ties of blood and obligation, where honour transcends love Always a rebel, Krishna has to confront the fact that her dharma comprises an act as conforming and backward as it is subversive...

With Krishna's Eyes has been published in Spain under the title, La Mirada de Krishna, by Ediciones El Cobre Spain. Within India, it has been published by Rupa, and was launched in New Delhi on 20th July".

There are extracts from the novel as well on the website.

I thought this galeano article might be of interest. I'm a fan.

"07/28/06 "IPS" -- - One country bombed two countries. Such impunity might astound were it not business as usual. In response to the few timid protests from the international community, Israel said mistakes were made.

How much longer will horrors be called mistakes?

This slaughter of civilians began with the kidnapping of a soldier.

How much longer will the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier be allowed to justify the kidnapping of Palestinian sovereignty?

How much longer will the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers be allowed to justify the kidnapping of the entire nation of Lebanon?

For centuries the slaughter of Jews was the favorite sport of Europeans. Auschwitz was the natural culmination of an ancient river of terror, which had flowed across all of Europe.

How much longer will Palestinians and other Arabs be made to pay for crimes they didn’t commit?"

More...

Its been a week again this time around since I blogged. Monday started off crazy with phone calls all day.

July 25
Early morning flight to Orange County. Tried to sleep late and be awake throughout the flight so I could sleep once I get to OC. Unfortunately things didnt turn out the way I expected (surprise surprise) and I couldnt get the room till 4 pm. I got barely an hour of sleep before I had to head to my mom's friends place (where my sis was staying). Had very good indian food and left for the hospital.

Memorial Care was a really nice hospital. They gave us some really cool red vests for the go-live. They called their implementation team/effort as MC21 and had a bunch of stuff branded with that name. It was pretty powerful marketing and it worked. I was posted in the ICU. I couldnt go beyond 5 hours. By 12, I was totally exhausted and had to excused. Managed to catch some sleep in the night and by 8 am I started my calls till 11.

July 26:
Sleep for another few hours, visit family and then to the hospital. A gruelling 12 hour shift till 7 am.

July 27:
Life changes.... 9 am phone call with Philips and Epic CEO. Short Version: Philips and Epic partnership not working and I will be laid off in 60 days. September 29th is my last day at Philips.

Another long meeting with my project team which after 2 hours, I couldnt take any more and had to go to sleep. Get up after about 6 hours and go for Raksha Bandhan at Arunamasi's. After a sumptuous meal of Pav Bhaji and the Rakhi ritual, I return back to work for the 3rd day. Try to go back early but they are unable to find enough support from others so decide to finish my commited shifts before I leave for ATL.

July 28:
After a full shift, I come back to the hotel. Dont check my email and manage to get 8 hours of sleep. I dont think I was prepared to face what just happened, still in shock I manage to forget about it due to 18 hour work days. One last time I visit Aruna masi's where I meet Jatan (her daughter's husband). That was really nice to meet someone so new to me but yet so easy to feel comfortable around him. There was a sense of familiarity. Another day.. another shift... I managed to change my flight so that I could get out by 4 am.

July 29:
Out by 4 am, go to the hotel and pack up. Flight at 6.45 am and get upgraded to First class which as sweet. I managed to catch some sleep so I was kinda ready for the saturday.

Meet up with Sumier and Chetan. Go to test drive the Rabbit but hear some shocking news about a friend which totally turns me off. I havent met that guy in 2 years but used to be close to him once, well... to put it in simple terms... i wont see him again. Something that I have prepared all my life has been to face death but it doesnt hit you till it actually happens. Couldnt stop my tears for some half an hour... but managed to recover with the help of Chirag, Sumier and Chetan. Calls from Toraldidi and Arpit also helped. Dinner at L'thai where 'Nanga Makku' was the topic of the evening, it gets even more amusing after few classes of wine.

Late night movie: Omkara, the indian remake of Othello. Surprisingly brilliant movie, with some great acting, script, story line, songs and cinematography.

July 30:
Sunday morning... brunch at Raj Bhog where they prepared some Sabu-dana vada and potato vegetable in accordance with my new Shravan's diet. Then go off to Dick's to help Janak and Ashley transfer some stuff to his place. Hang out with Rahul, Sumier, Janak, Ashley and Mehboob which was really nice. Watch some more episodes of Project Runaway which I am getting addicted to.

Dinner with Rahul and Chetan at Pie bar on Industry night. Hang out with Sumier and Chetan till late in the night.

July 31:
Today has been sorta interesting. Was preparing my resume till late last night and applied for Deloitte, Perot and other consulting firms. This morning I applied for IBM, Microsoft and John Hopkins. Met up Chetan and Vilas for quick bite (only fruits for me) at Sweet Tomatoes. Then tagged along with Chetan to meet Soumya for coffee at Alon's (got totally lost trying to get there).

Just had a chat with Philips HR manager, shez sent me a list of available opportunities. Will probably try and apply later this week for it. I am trying to get back to ATL quicker than friday evening.

Probably go see scanner darkly tonight with Vilas..

July 14 - Leave for Cape Cod by 5 pm. Reach Hyannis (which for the longest time I thought was heinous) which is pretty much the start of Cape Cod. The Holiday Inn there was amazingly trendy, very nice beds and very nice decor. We went to the downtown 'Main' street and walked around the cute shops and eateries. Drove down to the beach and have a very nice walk. The beach/Marina was very beautiful. Dinner at this really nice restaurant 'Alberto's' with some really nice wine and food.

July 15 - Early morning we leave for Province Town. It was a devastatingly scenic drive. Get there, quick NY pizza slice and then sleep on the beach for about 2 hours. Walke around P-Town which is really very alternative. Had some home made ice cream, went to some interesting shops. Basically got the feel of the place. Left for Boston by 4. Back in boston we managed to go out to 'sunset grill' which boasts of having the maximum number of beers than any other bar in Boston. I had couple of Czec beers, then some pilsners and hefenwiz. More bonding with Rids and then with her PhD friends Karen and Daniel (Dont remember the names...). Met up with the future roommates too. I provided them with my amusing killing of insect act.

July 16 - Sunday morning... drive down to NYC. Return my Mustang, Bus ride to 2 airport terminals (forgot wasnt going Delta and landed up there and then had to change to the AA terminal). Got to Madison about 7.30 sunday night. Got my stuff off the storage and got settled in 205. Went to Vin Santos for my favorite.

July 17 - Staff meeting early in the morning followed by various team meetings. Finally attended everything in person, made sure everyone knows I was there. Met up with Brian and updated him on all the stuff that he needs to do on the technical side. Attended a class on how to extract reports from the software database. That was exciting, learning new stuff. Got out early and back in the hotel, got solid 3 hours of expense report writing done. Skipped dinner. Lunch was very heavy at Pascals.

July 18 - Late start... no clothes to wear, everything in Laundry. Started on the War Room build... Worked continuously till 6 pm. Returned back to the hotel and chatted with B for 4 hours that night. A dry run of Shravan Upwas that tuesday, just to see if I can do it. Had left over Vin Santos (yummy!) for dinner, unfortunately without the wine.

July 19 - Reached work at 7 am! Work was painstakingly boring. Got burned out at 5 and then got back. Pick up Abuelos for dinner... talked on the phone for 2-3 hours with B. Didnt get anything else done then.

July 20 - Reached work at 7.30. By 3.30, was totally exhausted. Left by 4.30 pm. Went to the hotel and got some final expenses and travel plans taken care of. Packed everything up, and shipped the copier/printer and lots of my books back to ATL. Moved everything else back in Storage. Now I just have winter clothes there. Dinner was nasty watermelong delight Cold Stone ice-cream. Was very disappointed and had to throw it away.

July 21 - Left for Airport at 5.30 am! Very early start... Sitting next to this girl Amy who was very nice. We talked the whole flight, I could feel she was a little queasy about flying and thought of helping her out by keeping her occupied. We pretty much went through both 'Elle' and 'Food and Wine' magazines together commenting on much. Got to Atlanta at 9.30 EST. Cabbed down to Sandy Springs. On the phone till 1.30. Then got my license address changed. Tried to get my tag but I didnt have that kind of cash so that was a waste. Met up with B for a bit, had to drive a lot to get there... but it was worth it. Got back home, went to sleep for about 2 hours. Then met up with B again in the night for 'Monster-House' , pretty decent movie but nothing amazing. Was just a good time with B.

July 22 - Its Saturday again. Day didnt really start till 1 pm. Went off to Samir's new place. Activated my Verizon phone and porting was a real disaster. Loved Samir's new apartment, little alcove on the top, tall ceiling and fantastic view of the pool (and pretty people laying down there), tennis court and off into the greens. Cant wait starting to paint there.. Finally got back with Tracy in Crimpers, my old stylist! A change in hairstyle was long over due. Went back to Sandy springs, spent some time with Oral and Armpit :-) not enough tho.. met up with Samir and Dale for my treat (Samirz been guilt-tripped into giving me one for forgetting my birthday!) at L'Thai in decatur. An amazing find, it was one of the best Thai foods i have ever had.. and all organic! I had organic wine for the first time :-) Tried to meet up with B in the night but it didnt happen, instead met up with Soumya, Sumier, Abid, Chetan and Vish. Went to Blakes, Front Page news and 1150 - Cabana outdoor lounge. Couple of Gimlets and a Midori and I was happy. Back home at 2.30 after 2 hours of only water.

June 23 - Started off at 8.30, spent some time with my cuz and then back to sleep. Talked with B for some time and after overcoming a little tiff.. met up with her for a bit. Helped her do some shopping and late lunch at Carrabba's (which was horrible). Met up with Chirag and friends.. for Amisha;s surprised. Tagged along with them to Eclipse Di Luna but left when we got the private room. Met up with Rahul and Sid at Pleasant Peasant. Excellent food, great ambiance but very limited options for both wine and food. Went over the Rahulz after that, smoked some hukkah... chilled out. Back home around 12. Worked for an hour before I went to bed.

June 24... Todayz been pretty busy uptil now. Got my tag done in the middle of 2 hour calls in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon. looks like i have to be in Madison next week since I wont be going to GRR the week after. I would probably want to be in ATL that week in that case. Lets see how the evening turns out..

In the future, people will live by the motto, "If it can live, let it live". Everything we have and everything we do and everything we would consider buying will in some way embrace life. --Richard Reames


Its called arborsculpture, and Richard Reames has been doing it for years. He plants trees in patterns, and uses bending and grafting techniques to form the saplings into benches, staircases, sculptures, and an assortment of other amazing living things. After decades of studying trees, his latest project is to build a village of living tree houses with living furniture, in Japan. He adds, "Theres no reason we couldnt all be living in houses where the walls and ceilings are composed of living tree material and there are leaves coming out of the roof." Check out photos of his personal favorite -- a peace sign tree! [ more ]

Learn more about Richard's book -- 'How to Grow a Chair'. [ more ]

It feels like life is just rushing past me and I am but an idle spectator.. ofcourse it always feels like that since I havent blogged in forever..

My ex always told me my memory sux... lets see how much I can remember...

July 9: Drove to Boston without any hiccups. Entire time on the phone with B. Arrived in Allston by 6. Went out with Riddhi to meet Pranav and Hitesh. Went to one of the suburbs.. a tibetean restaurant. It turned out pretty similar to indian food. Had to take a bus, subway and the T to get there. It was a nice re-union. Chatted with Rids till late in the night.

July 10: Dropped Rids of at Prudential Tower... getting to know boston roads on my sleek Mustang(ooh how it purred under my feet).Urgent customer issues... solved it right until the last second. Caught a plane to Grand Rapids... well to Detroit and then to GRR. Lunch at Houlihans on Boston Logan. Bag did not arrive... in GRR. Bonefish Grill for dinner... some amazing pasta. Worked until late in the night with Joe.

July 11: Long day at work in the basement. Go out with customers for lunch at Heros.Find out about Bombay blasts, try to concentrate on other things but it keeps coming back to haunt me. Dinner at Mangolian BBQ again where I got a lot of shit for getting the Mongo Margarita. Talk till late in the night with people back home to make sure everyone is all right. End up talking to B till really late at night.

July 12: Another long day in the basement. Got a lot of build done, knocking tasks out of the way. Very productive day. My mind was a little bit at ease. Talking to B really helps. Another long 4 hours conversation with B in the evening.

July 13: Half day at work. Travelling back to Boston. Meet Rids and her friends in the evening. Go out for crappy indian food (very khatta masala dosa) at Rangoli right next to her house. End with a really awesome bubble tea from 'Infusions' right opposite the indian place.

July 14: 6-7 hours on the phone trying to work while I keep them meetings on 'mute' and 'speaker'. Leave for Cape cod.....

phone call.....

Yesterday turned out to be a very nice day.

Started off with a sudden shock at entering Queens. I was totally disillusioned by it, thought it was dirty, polluted, unorganized and crowded. I felt like I was visiting a third world country with run down grocery shops and dilapitated buildings. But in the heart of all this chaos was a place to worship, Ganpati Mandir in Queens. I have been wanting to go to a temple for a while now and it was a pleasure to see such a nice temple (very south indian) and so many devotees. We sat there for a while just thinking about prayers and god and counting our blessings. I love the feeling of being there and just connecting to a higher power or just my inner being. It helps me channel my thoughts in that direction.

On the way back we went to Grand Central station, a pretty decent market in there and then shopped a bit in Kenneth Cole. I bought a really nice dress pant, a part of their summer collection.

Went to Lemongrass for dinner and had a good discussion about how we want to have their dinner party with the manager there. I think we came to a good negotiation for the food per head price so that it fits into their budget. I figured it would be good to make myself useful and come to some clarity on the event. I think we are going for the table number and mixing up people and assigning a table rather than a buffet style dinner.

Came back later in the night and opened some amazing wine bottles. That was a wonderful gift for me, wine and cheese.

Vineyard: Chateau Margaux: http://www.chateau-margaux.com/en/Instant.aspx
2003 Chateau Margaux, Margaux, Bordeaux, France
Warm coffee, nose a tiny bit damped at first. The alcohol is strong – not a powerhouse, just very present and underlying. Licorice and black cherries on the mid pallet. Super intense, but very elegant and refined. Although strong, warm and potential it is still very feminine and rounded. My guess Latour. This is also probably one of the most expensive wines I have enjoyed lately!
Point: 99-100

Vineyard:
Hunter Valley is famous for Shiraz, so it is not surprising that the 2002 Hope Estate vintage is earthy and peppery with generous flavors of plums, blackberries and chocolate. It's another gem.

Hope Estate Shiraz 2002

Ocean Drive Vine Talk, July/August 2004
We don'tcare how hot it is. You are not getting out of here without some red wine. Look, you're grilling steak, burgers and hot dogs, roasting pigs, whatever. You want to drink a white wine, go ahead. We'll pop a Hope Estate Hunter Valley Shiraz 2002 from perhaps Australia's oldest winegrowing region. Serve it cool (60 to 65 degrees) and smile. They call it a "thinking man's Shiraz," implying some subtlety and complexity with omnipresent Aussie fruit. We get plums, cloves, a hint of mocha, some pepper and blackberry. It is irresistible.

http://www.hopeestate.com.au/press_reviews/press_shiraz.htm

2003 La Agricola Sangiovese Villa Vieja (Argentina, Mendoza)

Lots of ripe cherry and raspberry fruit on the nose. Very fresh and fruity. Remarkably light. Reminiscent of chianti, but only reminiscent: this is rather lighter and fruitier. And rather simpler than the better Italian examples. A nice wine for lunch though. Very Good Indeed.

In addition to these wines, it was a great conversation starter and we had long and heartfelt discussions about a lot of things, lot many things came pouring out with the wine but I think it was overall a great bonding session!

Looking forward to many more such evenings here in new york with my now married sister and brother in law....

Quick Recap:

July 3: Met up with Mauli. Checked out her new apartment in Lincoln Park area. Looks exactly like an old building in Bombay but it was pretty decent from inside. She has some hodge podge in furniture but she is getting there. I dont think she gets a chance to spend much time in her apartment.

She had my favorite wine Rioja and she had been waiting to open it. So we sat and caught with over wine. Then we went over to 'Avec' which turned out to be little and disappointing (I am not sitting at no community table!) and so we found this place 'Dragonfly' which was a psycadellic place opposite in the Loop area (an upcoming Yuppy area I hear). The couch made me dizzy so we changed seats. Food turned out pretty decent specially with Pinot Grigio.

Went for drinks to W - Wave bar on Lake Shore which was supposed to be one of 'the' places but turned out to be too small and crowded, instead we hung out in the lobby bar with uncomfortable seating. We were pretty tired by then and decided to call it a night.

July 4: Dropped of Sumier to Madison Airport. Back in the hotel got extremely bored. Managed to get 4-5 hours of work done, running in the evening. Indian food in the night, 1 episode of 6 feet under.

July 5: Running in the morning (It was on the task list!), work till 3. On the way to the airport I got a call from American Airlines that the flight was delayed so I ended up turning back and running some way.... overdue errands... got my watch fixed (the strap better not break now) and haircut. Got some reading done, I picked up a pretty interesting book at Mauli's: The Shaping of Modern Gujarat by Achyut Yagnik and Suchitra Sheth. Just got through the preface and chapter 1 right now and it looks pretty decent :-)

Got to NYC late wednesday night. Met Puneet's coz Adia and all four of us caught up with each other's lives over great Crianza followed by headache inducing Merlot.

July 6: Big day for Puneet and sister. Very important day for me too... Dressed up in a blue shirt with cuff-links :-) (first time for me) and a really nice summer suit (Puneet's) with a BR tie (traditional one). Forgot the money order so had to go to Duane Reede (original one on the intersection of Duane and Reede) and then finally the vows where I was so excited to see the court clerk say in the chapel: " With the power vested in me by the state of new York, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife" and then it hit me... she is actually married... my sis has done it!

Time for celebration: Lunch at Pepolinos', Sunset Cruise at Circle line, Drinks at Plunge bar (Roof top of Gansevoort) and Dinner at Spice Market. All turned out to be absolutely memorable and pretty amazing!

July 7: My 25th birthday. I feel old but I also feel like I can be responsible and go another step in life. It is time to step in that directions (specially with my line cleared by my sis!). Lots of calls in the morning... including 6 hours of work calls... done by 3. Chat with Bijz a lot yesterday... a lot of just nonsense back and forth but it seems like we are making good progress.. lets see what else life has to offer. Talked with Sis and Puneet (or Joe - they dont like me sayin dude so Joe Shmoe it is!) about the upcoming party.

Dinner at Copper Chimney (turned out to be horrible!), long walk through Bryan Park (which was beautiful) and called it a day.. Cant do much more with such a heavy previous day...

Cant wait to meet Rids on Sunday! Boston... here I come :-)

Places I have been this weekend:

Madison

Essenhaus: 
Husnus: 
Watched Devil wears Prada: 
Hubbard avenue diner: 
Eno Vino: 
Biaggis: 
Club 5:

Milwaukee

MAM:

Chicago

Holiday Inn: 
Dinner last night at: 
Sigara lounge: 
Sonotheque:
Crowbar:

Its been a busy weekend :-)