chaotic order

Jottings : Slice of life -36 (Part 2) I wrote the first part of this piece when my flight was waiting on the tarmac in DFW airport for signs from Traffic control to take off. The inclement weather delayed the flight for over two hours. Enough time for me to read a little and write about Texas de Brazil. Let me continue.. After we had finished dinner, I noticed for the first time a gentleman sitting towards the other end of the table holding fort, gesticulating wildly and making incisive remarks to a set of rapt individuals. I politely asked my friend near me who he was, and I was told his name was James. He had been an integral part of their group for nearly a decade, helped set up their IT infrastructure. However, he left their organization about year ago due to irreconcilable differences with his managers, and now works as an architect for another IT company in Dallas. It was clear, he was well liked and respected by all for his technical virtuosity. When i turned my attention to

Jottings : Slice of life : 36 Everybody's life is a biography worth telling. Each one has challenges, little successes and failures, emotional and physical demands, personal milestones which may or not be reached, but the effort continues unabated no matter what the circumstances are.. A Man's life is an ever unfolding story, never static, often fascinating; but always interesting and different. It was on August 20th 2013 (some dates remain etched in memory) I took an important decision to join a fitness club, and commit myself to a regimen of physical exercise. The idea had long been germinating, but somehow, I never got around to doing it. Painful memories of previous years, when my body had almost collapsed to a point of no return kept returning almost daily, reminding me of the need to take care of it as much as I could from now on. But I tarried the decision.. The intention was there, but would not translate into action. It was during a chance remark in a car ride wi

Jottings : Slice of life - 38 The age of reading books is slowly dying, I guess. But I suppose that is true of reading in general. The physicality of books do not excite us any more, and publishers of books, except in rare cases, really dont care about quality, typeface, introductions, prefaces, frontispiece. Paperbacks rule. I wouldn't blame them. With content available on screens in front of us, or reading done only for professional purposes and not much otherwise, why would anyone care at all about making books with care, or why would anyone read anything other than what enhances their work. When I walk into second hand book stores, I sometimes get this feeling of being transported back in time. A 1902 hard bound illustrated edition of Lady Montagu’s letters from Istanbul in musty, aged condition, beautifully embroidered on its outside, tastefully colored and structured - takes me to a far off time and place. I end up buying it, even though I may have two copies of the same

Jottings : Slice of life - 39 He was a young man. In his mid thirties. Articulate, extremely technical, had his bachelors from one of India's premium colleges and moved to the United states five years ago. He had come in on a Work visa which allowed him to change jobs. And he did change. Not once, but thrice in five years. He nows works for quite a respectable IT firm for a project in Downtown Atlanta. We were a group of five, sitting in a coffee shop after our workout at the Gym. I normally skip this gathering, but today they insisted I join them for a quick cup of coffee. Nothing better to do on a Sunday evening, I consented. After customary small talk, drinks and snacks ordered, our conversation weaned towards employee satisfaction and switching jobs. Apparently Ajay ( name changed) was contemplating one more change. And all others, in the same age group and profession as him, were debating their value in their respective organizations, and how each of them considered them

Jottings- Slice of life - 36 (Part 1) Food, when seen in copious quantities can be overwhelmingly nauseating sometimes. One gets this strange feeling of superfluity coupled with an odd feeling of lethargic fullness in the stomach in well spread out buffets, or lavish weddings, when wherever you look, there is food and only food - nothing else. From simple appetizers, to liquor and beverages, to vegetables and meat, and after dinner aperitifs and Deserts - one’s stomach is satiated with the very sight of it, let alone the giddy feeling of excess caused by profusion of mingled scents and smells that hit the nostril with the vehemence of a tornado. They are all good and pleasing, but there is a limit to what one can eat, and how much could be eaten. Those frontiers were broken down yesterday, at Texas de Brazil, a restaurant at Fort worth Texas. Around fourteen of us were invited by our Customer for a get-together at this upscale Brazilian chain. For those of us, who do not know this,

Jottings: Slice of life - 32 I regularly meet Mr Khan in the Sauna. He is 75 years, slim with a healthy glow on his face. His routine , like mine is to swim for 30 minutes, sweat himself out in the Sauna for 15 and then possibly do some cardio exercises. Though, we exchange pleasantries, not much by way of conversation has happened before yesterday, when he called out to me and said "You swim with poise ,unhurried technique and without any sign of distress.. I enjoy watching you swim. I thought I must tell you.." Coincidentally, I have been wanting to compliment Khan on his own style. For a man of his age, he swims with consummate ease. I reciprocated his compliments and added: "Yes sir, Thanks so much. My objective is not to push myself to the point of exhaustion, or develop a V shaped body, or to improve my muscle strength or health, or to look good. No, none of those things. I swim because I find it extremely relaxing. When I swim my Brain is utterly quiet.

Jottings : Slice of life  - 35 To stand upon the sacred Olympic podium once in an athlete's life time is a commendable achievement. But to walk up to it twenty times in twenty years in a span of five Olympic Games places Michael Phelps in a rarified region of sports that is not readily accessible to ordinary mortals. Granted that Phelps is naturally gifted, some may call it blessed, to possess a wingspan considerably broader than the best of swimmers. Granted his ankle is double jointed which gives him additional flexibility to propel himself. Given all these natural endowments, even then, to achieve what he has achieved is something extraordinary and special. The sheer physical endurance, excellence , sharpness, commitment and above all passion and discipline to keep going at it for such length of time at the highest echelons of the sport, only proves that the limits of Human possibility still remains undefined and  unmarked. And when a Man sets his goals high enough, nothin