What a Treat !

Guess, whom did I see at 10.00 am on 6th June, 2007, while waiting for the elevator at my office buliding "Paigah Plaza" at Basheerbagh, Hyderabad ? Well it was the handsome "John Abraham". I was totally dazed seeing him in his short hair cut, clean shaven look. He looked dashing. When I entered the building premises, I noticed some huge equipment vans and film crew members moving around. So I did know a film shooting was going on somewhere here.

Paigah Plaza, one of the oldest office space buildings in Hyderabad, seems to be developing into a favourite location for shootings. Earlier a particular scene for Mahesh Babu's "Sainikudu" was shot here. But then I couldn't see Mahesh Babu. I understand that the rental charges for this premise is very less, therefore the preference for this very original location.

As a few of us were waiting in the "Q" to get into one of the two elevators available for this 12 floored building, I noticed some activity and security personnel walking in. And there I see a dashing young guy, who looks familiar and in a split second I recognise him. As both the elevators had gone up, John had to wait for over 5 minutes. And when one of the elevators came down, he was hesitant to get in , as we were already waiting for it. But someone from the "Q' asked him to proceed on to the 12 th Floor, a penthouse, where ''a living room sequence was being shot". Before John got into the elevator and moved up, he asked the other crew members to wait on and not rush till all of us who were waiting had got into the elevator. Proved to be a decent and polite guy!

Then I saw Elahe Heptulla getting off the elevator and I curiously asked a crew member which movie was being shot here. It was for Percept Picture Company's latest Hindi movie 'Ashaayein" directed by Nagesh Kukunoor.

But I regret not having asked John Abraham for his autograph. Better luck next time!

Destination Dubai - Shoppers' Paradise

It's great to be back after a two month hiatus.

This summer vacation turned out to be a much needed break from the daily rut- a visit to Dubai with my husband(Phani) and daughter(Adithi).

Some unexpected turn of events instigated us to plan a month's stay in Dubai, with my brother (Nagaraj aka Raju) and his daughter(Gauri). The homework began on a war footing, starting with the procurement of my daughter's and husband's passport. Thanks to my friend Sreedevi, a bureaucrat, who used her contacts and helped with the quick issuance of the same. And then followed the other processes like booking flight tickets, getting visiting visa, medical insurance etc.

Dubai is one of the seven states that constitute the United Arab Emirates.

I and Adithi left for Dubai via Pune on April 6th, 2007 and Phani joined us a week later on April 13th, 2007. It was Adithi's maiden flight and visit abroad. She had a great time playing with other kids in the Airport lounge when the Air India Express flight was delayed by three hours. On the flight, she was annoyed by the full blowing AC which left her cold and wanting to use the toilet frequently. Once we landed in Dubai, she was thrilled to see her cousin, mama and mami. She was impressed with mama's white Sunny Nissan car, but again the AC in the car was a nuisance for her. The weather was pleasant and as we neared Karama, where my brother and his family live in an apartment, I felt I was in Navi Mumbai; a cleaner version rather!

Karama is chock-a-block with South Indians and Filipinos . Karama Shopping Centre is one of the oldest shopping centres housing some well known jewellery shops like D'amas and Joy Alukkas and a few Indian garments stores. At walking distance is LuLu Centre, Karama Market, Day to Day, Spinneys and the upscale shopping center "BurJuman".

BurJuman was hosting a Chocolate and Coffee festival called "Haute Chocolatte", where we got to taste some fine blends of coffee and the famous Galaxy Chocolates for free. A well known chocolate sculptor " Prudence Emma Staite" was commissioned to create some amazing works of art with chocolate. A four feet tall, hand sculpted chocolate model of the famous seven star hotel
" Burj-Al-Arab" ( the yacht shaped hotel built in the sea) was the star attraction.

Bur Dubai is another area predominantly packed with North Indians, Pakistanis and Afghanis. It houses the Dubai Museum, a Krishna and Shiva temple adjacent to a mosque and the famous supermarket "Carrefour". It is a pleasant experience to walk by the creek side. It also presents a great view of the towering buildings.

A visit to Dubai Museum is not to be missed. It is a small museum with excellent display on the history of Dubai. Kids will thoroughly enjoy the museum. It also houses a Souvenir shop, an ideal place to buy gifts for family and friends.

Another amazing place is the upscale shopping centre " Mall of the Emirates" which comprises "Ski Dubai" a 22, 500 square meters (equivalent to 3 football fields), 85 meters high (approximately 25 stories) and 80 meters wide, 5 different runs of varying difficulty and length, longest run of 400 meters of indoor skiing facility which is covered with real snow all through the year.

Lamcy Plaza on the Oud Metha Road, is a cozy shopping centre with the interiors depicting the London Tower Bridge.
Daiso , Japan's leading living ware store which has quality products at reasonable prices is located here. I loved this place.

Mercato Mall, named after the Italian word for 'market' is designed in a distinctive Renaissance architectural style. The interiors resemble an Italian Courtyard. It is located in the posh Jumeirah Beach Road residential area.Deira City Centre is another popular shopping mall with a whopping 1.2 million square feet or more of retail selling space. It houses the hypermarket "Carrefour".

Other famous shopping malls are the Ibn Battuta and the traditional souq located within the Madinat Jumeirah - The Arabian Resort, which we were unable to visit.

A ride on the public transport city bus - a Mercedes with AC to the Gold Souq located in Deira was a royal experience. The yellow metal in all its glory at the countless jewellery shops leaves you mesmerized.

IKEA- a Swedish privately owned company which is the largest home furniture and furnishings store in the world, is located in the Dubai festival city. Shopping at IKEA is a splendid experience. Utilitarian products at competitive prices leaves you wanting for more.

Desert Safari is great fun and an adventure in itself. We had a roller coaster ride in the desert, seated in a Land Cruiser which took us Dune Bashing.

It was a hair raising experience, followed by dinner at a desert camp, with a wonderful belly dance performance by a gorgeous looking dancer.
A Swim in the crystal clear, greenish blue waters of the Arabian Sea and the clean and beautiful Jumeirah beach with its fine white sand was a delight. Adithi loved picking up shells on the beach.
The greenery in Dubai is evident with the well maintained parks; a cool weekend get away, with excellent play area for children. Zabeel park and Creek park are spread over acres of land and have an entrance fee, whereas Karama park and Rasheed park are smaller in size with free entrance.

We also visited my niece Gauri's School " Our Own English High School", and adjacent to it is the well known "Indian High School" where Suma (my sister-in-law) teaches.

We drove past the world's tallest building under construction, the "Burj Dubai".

Visit to other UAE States:

Driving at 120 km/hour on the Vacuum cleaned Sheikh Zayed Road to the neighbouring state of Abu Dhabi which is the largest in UAE was fantastic. We visited Phani's brother-in-law Dr. P.Kallu Rao who stays in Abu Dhabi.

The greenery in Abu Dhabi and the city of Al Ain which is an agricultural and dairy hub leaves you in awe of their contribution to the environment by triumphing the hostile climate. We took a taxi ride on the 'Corniche Road' to Marina Mall at Abu Dhabi. The view was breathtaking.

And a picnic at the hot springs located at the foot of the Jabeel Hafet mountains, Al Ain, with Giri ( an old friend) and his family was enjoyable for the kids.

We were invited for lunch by our friend Tanuja, and her family who stay at Ajman , which is one of the seven states of UAE. My brother drove us en route Sharjah , the neighbouring state of Dubai. The home made delicacies spread out for us was mouth watering. It was an assortment of Chinese, Italian and Mexican Cuisine. Tanuja is a great cook and a multifaceted person. Adithi loved their home and we were very touched by their gesture. Exactly ten years ago, I had visited them at their home in Chennai and they had extended the same warmth and hospitality.

A month flew by in a jiffy and it was time for us to return on 4th May 2007. The weather was getting hotter too in Dubai.

All-in-all it was a great holiday and shopping experience. Thanks to my brother who drove us to all the places despite his busy schedule. The wide roads; good traffic sense; clean rest rooms at shopping malls, parks and petrol bunks; the best of automobiles, charmed me. The only thing that disappointed me was the Internet browsing. There is no freedom of browsing through all the sites, as quiet a number of them are blocked by Etisalat , the telecommunications service provider and Internet services provider.

So folks, if you are an avid shopper like me, visit Dubai. Make sure you carry your credit and debit cards and gear up to walk-n-walk through the huge shopping malls. Shop till you drop and board the flight, the Duty Free Shopping at the Dubai International Airport is a bonanza!

I...Me...My Accomplishments

An attempt to feel good about MYSELF!

I always found it very difficult to talk about my accomplishments and talents. I am sure many of you also feel the same. I attribute it to our Indian culture "SAMSKARA" which teaches us not to boast about ourselves. In typical local lingo "SELF DABBA" is not appreciated.

I assume, that most of us want others to talk about our accomplishments. It is music to our ears. but when a person talks about himself/herself , it is noise, isn't it? And we do not appreciate "that behaviour".

Of course, some people overdo it; that makes it very irritable and painful for the listener. We usually refer to them as MAHA SUTTI (Big Hammer). Anyway I leave this topic for some other day.

Since childhood most of us were taught by our parents not to comment or voice opinions when elders were talking or words like "I did this or that" connoted self centered character. But as I grew up and faced the real life challenges in this big, bad and competitive world, I experienced some conflicting emotions with regard to "Speaking about MYSELF", and words like" Is it O.K to do so?", lingered in my mind.

Encountering day to day experiences, some challenging and some drab, I gradually realized the importance of "speaking about one's self", its powerful impact, especially in the world of work.



Being a psychologist and also having been an educational adviser on foreign education, I have the opportunity to interact with people from different countries, namely the Americans, Australians, Canadians and last but not the least, our own Indians here and NRI s settled abroad. The important lessons I learned during my interactions were, that "if you won't talk about yourself, then nobody will". You have to learn to market yourself, to be heard and for your existence to be acknowledged in your field of work. But to do so, you also need to be well acquainted with your subject or area of expertise. And above all, good networking with professionals, right contacts and being in the right place at the right time, matters a lot in one's so called " Success". It also depends on "What Success means to you?". "Is it Money, Fame, Recognition, Job Satisfaction or anything else?

Each one of us have some hidden talent or the other in us which needs to be tapped, and brought to the fore front.

At different stages in my life, I developed fascination for varied and at times weird things (Hobbies). It ranged from collecting coins, stamps, match boxes, marbles, shells, pebbles, mineral deposits; posters of film stars, cricketers, Tennis players; writing to film stars for their autographed snaps; participating in slogan contests (won 50 packets of CHICKLETS, a set of MONTEX pens, a LIRIL T-Shirt ) making greeting cards; collecting and reading books (had a collection of over 200 MILLS & BOONS ) writing some not-so-successful poems and short stories; painting and drawing cartoons. Phew! a long list indeed.
It was a delightful phase wherein I had good fun. And later, a herculean task disposing all the collected stuff and a heartbreak losing my coins collection and silver souvenirs of different countries, during a major theft in my house (March 2005). This episode, to some extent has made me detached to materialistic things.

I am sharing my experience to convey that our innate talents can be used productively with a little added effort and patience. When I started my career as an educational Counsellor in the year 1993, the concept was very new. It was really tough to keep going and not to change my line of profession. I thank my family for their encouragement. And when I decided to be on my own, I received support from my husband and Mr. A.K. Dasgupta (well known and highly respected librarian in India) and Mr. K.J.Rao ( Statistician and computer specialist); both retired professionals, eager to do their bit for our society's youngsters. We started the advising centre called Educational and Career Information Resource Centre (EdCIRC) in the year 2001. We published a book "Where to go from here?"- A comprehensive guide on educational and career opportunities in India; the first edition was sold out in no time. I am keen to publish the second edition, but lack of funds is a big hurdle, as of now. I received requests from the well known newspaper publications (Deccan Chronicle and The Times of India, Hyderabad Edition) to contribute articles on Careers, Educational counselling, and US education. Therefore my unsuccessful attempts as a kid, to publish short stories in "TINKLE" did not go waste.

I continue to dabble in colours to make bright and lively posters of cartoon characters for my daughter , nieces and my little friends. It is a great stress reliever. My creative talents have been put to very good use for my daughter's school projects , fancy dress competitions, decorations for birthdays and festivals.

Hey, do share your talents with me. Be a sport and talk about "Yourselves"!

A Tribute to Indian Soldiers

I salute the Soldiers of Indian Defence Services -

The Army, Air force, and the Navy.

I was one of those civilians who looked at the armed forces as a glamorous profession; full of adventure, handsome officers, parties and postings all over India.

But my imagination went for a toss, once, the youngest of my two brothers, Ravi joined the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune to pursue Medicine.

The anecdotes he narrated about his hostel life, first shocked me and later stirred the process of eliminating my rose tinted glasses. I began to view our soldiers in a different light, with respect and dignity for the tough lives they led with discipline and endurance.

My brother graduated from AFMC, and we, his proud family attended the passing out parade at Pune in March 1999. He was commissioned into the Armed Forces and he became Lt. H Ravi Ramamurthy.

His first posting was at Ladakh, a region in the state of Jammu & Kashmir in Northern India which is surrounded by two of the world's mightiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalaya and the Karakoram. Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging from about 9,000 feet (2750m) at Kargil to 25,170 feet (7,672m) at Saser Kangri in the Karakoram. Ladakh is the only place possibly in the world where a man sitting in the sun with his feet in the shade suffer from sunstroke and frostbite at the same time! The largest town in Ladakh is Leh. Ladakh is prominent for its remote mountain beauty and Buddhist culture.

During Ravi's tenure at Ladakh, he was posted at Siachen, the world's largest non-polar glacier, sometimes referred to as the third pole. The Siachen Glacier has no significant strategic value. Since 1984, the "snow-warriors" of India and Pakistan have been locked in supremacy for the control of Siachen glacier. Its inhospitable terrain has taken heavy toll of men and resources on both sides. The world's highest battlefield, for over a decade India and Pakistan have fought at altitudes of over 22,000 feet in minus 60ºC temperatures. It is 78 km long and situated at an altitude of 5,400 meters above sea level. The Siachen glacier is the great Himalayan watershed that demarcates central Asia from the Indian sub-continent, and that separates Pakistan from China in this region.

Operation Meghdoot [named after the divine cloud messenger in a Sanskrit play] was launched on 13, April 1984 when the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force went into the Glacier. Pakistan quickly responded with troop deployments. The Pakistanis can resupply most of their posts by road and pack mule. Indians, at their forward positions, some as high as 21,000 feet, must rely on helicopters. Casualties on both sides have been mostly due to extreme weather conditions.

Ravi had many interesting anecdotes to narrate about his stay at Siachen. To briefly recount a few, Tomatoes as hard as cricket balls and Bottle Gourd (Lauki) as hard as cricket bat, and their game of cricket; A bottle of PEPSI heated to make it drinkable; Huge rats scrawling all over when asleep; heating up a bucket full of ice before going to the toilet, Enemy troops firing and many more. He also had a very difficult time acclimatizing when he visited home on his annual vacation. We were actually petrified seeing his plight.

Capt. H. Ravi Ramamurthy's next posting was at Bikaner, Rajasthan. Well, imagine moving from an extreme cold environment to an extreme hot one. But he had a good stay, especially serving the local populace as part of Indian Army's contribution to local civilians. He received an appreciation letter from the Government of Rajasthan, highly praising his contribution to its people. I felt very proud of my brother when I read it.

Ravi, now is Major. H. Ravi Ramamurthy, presently posted at the Army Command Hospital, Pune, where he is on the verge of completing his Post Graduate Studies in Paediatrics. I refer to him as an Officer, Paediatrician and a Gentleman.

Thank you Ravi for facilitating my focus on the realistic aspects of a soldier's life. A soldier has to be mentally and physically strong and disciplined to sustain any harsh conditions, maintain sanity despite being away from loved ones and protect our country from enemies. It certainly is a high pressure job which requires the highest level of motivation. A standing ovation to the defence services whose contribution to our motherland during war and peaceful times is unparalleled .

Jai Jawan !

Information on Siachen & Ladakh Courtesy: Wikipedia & other sources

Hyderabadi Spitters – Can you beat them?

I am a Hyderabadi and proud to be one!

I love Hyderabad, which is aptly called the city of Nizams…Pearls…Information Technology. I cannot dream of living anywhere else in the world, despite the heat and dust; water and electricity problems. It is one such city where the poorest of poor can survive and the richest of the rich can splurge their money on anything exotic; reminiscent of the name Bhagyanagar, the earlier name of Hyderabad.

It is a historical city, famous for Charminar, Golconda, Hussain Sagar Lake, and Salarjung Museum, Qutub Shahi Tombs, Falukhnuma Palace and many more historical splendors. The modern city of Hyderabad is famous for its Hi-tech city, which houses the major IT Companies; Birla mandir, Ramoji Film City, NTR Park, Snow World and countless shopping malls and IMAX Theaters.

The people of Hyderabad are famous for their hospitality and welcome strangers into their homes. Every acquaintance is a friend. But do not expect us to know our neighbour’s house address (i.e. because they are numbered in an erratic manner by the municipal authorities). We always maintain the “Hyderabadi Standard Time” whenever and wherever we go, which is always at least an hour late. So if you actually want your invitees to be on time, then make sure to prefix "Sharp”. And when your typical Hyderabadi friend or cousin says, he will be at your place in 10 minutes, and then it means, easily after 2 or 3 hours or sometimes will never arrive. But now, mobile phones are a boon, at least we can call and confirm 'KIDAR HAI RE' (where are you?).

To speak in the Hyderabadi Deccani dialect is a delight. If you find that the auto driver is trying to swindle you, just say“KY KU BHAI NAYE DHIKRE KYA” (Why brother, do I look new to this town?) or “HAWLE SAMAJHRE KYA” (You think I am crazy). He will know you were born and brought up here. I always find this particular anecdote very funny. We arrived from Bangalore early in the morning at the Kachiguda Railway Station, Hyderabad and were flocked by a few auto drivers. One of them demanded for RS. 250/- to drop us home, where as it generally costs RS.85/- only, and my husband promptly replied “HAME AUTO NAHE KHAREDNA BHAI” (We don’t want to buy your auto). I just couldn't control my laughter. That poor guy received an early morning jolt and walked away from us. If you are shopping at Sultan Bazaar, General Bazaar or Charminar, ask the street vendor "KYSA DERE" (For how much will you give?)Or "KITNE KO" (For how much?) and then bargain hard KAM KARO JI (Reduce the price) and if the vendor does not agree, then say "NOKKO" (Don't want) and walk away. There is every possibility, he or she will call you back and you get the best deal.
What embarrasses me as a Hyderabadi? It is the most common sight in Hyderabad; the open air peeing by our Hyderabadi men folk. It is a great relief that the MCH (Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad) took the initiative of setting up 700 public toilets in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, to commemorate the birth anniversary of our "Father of the Nation - Gandhiji" on October 2, 2006.



Second to none are our Hyderabadi Spitters. You will find PAAN (BETEL LEAF) stains (red coloured betel, tobacco & saliva chew) everywhere, on the walls, vehicles, roads, sometimes on our clothes too. You will find everybody and anybody spitting. The famous spitting zone is the corners near the stairs at any Government or private buildings. This, of course is not exclusive to Hyderabad, but is prevalent in other parts of India. But as a Hyderabadi, I speak for Hyderabad only.

To prevent or rather save the walls, people of Hyderabad are taking the help of Gods. The possible target areas are adorned with tiles of different Gods. So when you climb the stairs of some buildings in Hyderabad, you will find Lord Ganesha smiling at you, Lord Shiva in meditation, Sai Baba blessing, Lakshmi Devi showering gold coins, etc.

I am wondering, now that we have Gods on our side, can we beat the Hyderabadi Spitters?