Modern technology is amazing.

Last night after dinner at DC (just a stone’s throw away from the White House at the world famous Willard Intercontinental Hotel — I must mention), I hit the road. I took I-495/95 for the first bit, passing Baltimore, MD. Then crossed the Delware Memorial Bridge. .

The bridges provide an important regional connection for long-distance travelers. While not a part of Interstate 95, they connect two parts of the highway: the Delaware Turnpike (Interstate 95 in Delaware) on the south side with the New Jersey Turnpike (later Interstate 95 in New Jersey) on the north side. . .

The bridges are dedicated to those from both New Jersey and Delaware who died in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. On the Delaware side of the bridge is a War Memorial, visible from the northbound side lanes. The toll facility is operated by the Delaware River and Bay Authority.

Then I took the NJ Turnpike. Always remember a Simon & Garfunkel song “America”:

“Kathy, I’m lost,” I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I’m empty and aching and I don’t know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They’ve all gone to look for America
All gone to look for America
All gone to look for America

I exited NJ Turnpike at exit 9 after about 80 miles on it. Road tolls drive me crazy. On the West coast, we don’t have them; only on bridges. But around here, you have to pay toll to use their roads. Injustice, I say. Highway robbery. There should be a law against this sort of highway robbery.

Anyway, c’est la vie. Keep tuned for further updates on where in the world I am. Have fun.

Happy Fourth of July!

On this day in 1776 the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress which announced that the 13 American colonies were no longer part of the British Empire. That was the culmination of the American Revolution.

The American Revolution refers to the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen Colonies of North America overthrew the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and then rejected the British monarchy itself to become the sovereign United States of America. In this period the colonies first rejected the authority of the Parliament to govern them without representation, and formed self-governing independent states. These states through the Second Continental Congress then joined together against the British to defend that self-governance in the armed conflict from 1775 to 1783 known as the American Revolutionary War (also called American War of Independence). This resulted in the individual states uniting to form one nation, breaking away from the British Empire in 1776 when the Congress issued the Declaration of Independence. While the states had already rejected the governance of Parliament, through the Declaration the new United States now rejected the legitimacy of the monarchy to demand allegiance. The war lasted for seven years, with effective American victory in October 1781, followed by formal British abandonment of any claims to the United States with the Treaty of Paris in 1783. [Wiki.]

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It’s been a while since I was in the US on July 4th — the last time was back in 2003. As I mentioned before, I am teaching a course on economic development at UC Berkeley over this summer. It is a wonderful break to teach a topic close one’s head at a place close to one’s heart.

So the rest of the post is personal — the what I had for breakfast type. Here’s what’s happening.

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Date: Thursday 25th June

The first week of class is always the busiest week for an instructor (as opposed to the last week of class which is the busiest for a student.) Class started this week and so I am really busy. I just can’t figure out where the time goes.

Today the weather in the Berkeley/Oakland area is totally different from yesterday’s. Yesterday when I came home (I live up in the Oakland hills, overlooking the San Francisco bay — see satellite map), the fog from the Golden Gate of the San Francisco Bay was rising up to the Bekeley/Oakland hills and engulfing the house. That leads to the strange effect of rain only under the trees — the trees were condensing the moisture. It was cold and windy. It reminded me of Mark Twain’s observation that the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.

Today it was clear. Sunny but not too cold.

Drove to school and did my teaching. I teach Monday through Thursday. Office hours are 2 to 4 Tue and Wed at Evans 697. My office is next to Brad deLong’s. As good neighbors, we are going out for lunch on Wednesday next week after class.

Campus is about 6 miles (10 kms) from home. I cannot use a bicycle because of the steep climb on the way back. I will be driving to school — or when possible, my friend Courtenay will give me a ride. Rides are always welcome as parking is a major hassle around campus. I am not willing to pay for a parking permit in one of the UC parking lots. That means that I have to often park around a mile away from campus. But that is not so bad because walking up and down hills is good for the body.

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Here’s how Google cameras captured the address I live at:

View Larger Map

If you mouse over the picture, you can change the orientation and see the neighborhood. Actually, the drive up is over 2 miles of winding and steep climb up quite a narrow road. If I were living down in the flatlands of Berkeley, I would have used a bicycle to get to school. Going up 2 miles of steep climb with cars coming around blind corners is hard and dangerous.

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Date: Sunday 28th June

(Picture on the right: Cassie at 2 years of age.)

Everyone is home today. I live with my friend Courtenay, her husband Alexis, and Cassie — she’s just turned 4. Courtenay is presently laid-off and looking for a job. She does advertising media director type of work; Alexis works for Abbot Diagnostics.

Wow! It is hot! It was probably 95 degrees inside the house in the afternoon. No fans in the house. We had to go outside because at least in the shade under the trees it was manageable.

* * * *

The weather around here is really variable. One day it is sweltering hot — and the next day it is freezing cold. On Monday it cooled down. The fans that Courtenay had brought from her mom’s place on Sunday night aren’t needed.

Bob passed away on Sunday night after a year-long fight with cancer. He was 78. He was Courtenay’s step-father.

* * * *

Date: Wednesday 1st July

Courtenay said that she would take me to school today after dropping Cassie off at day care. It was one of those perfect days: perfect temperature in the 70s, clear blue skies. I was driving and Cassie in the backseat was being needy and cranky, as she often is. Courtenay was doing her best to calm her down. Let’s listen to a song, we all decided. Which one? How about “Should I stay or should I go”? Cassie likes that.

We put on that song. We were driving along San Pablo St in Berkeley. Traffic was light, it was 9 AM. The song ended and the next song on the CD began with the long familiar notes of the piano. It was Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge over troubled water.” For some reason it was magical. We all sang along.

(That song was recorded exactly 40 years ago. Amazing, isn’t it.)

We arrived at the day care and I said that I will wait in the car for Courtenay to go and drop off Cassie. I had a bit of reading to do before my class, anyway. But the song following S&G was “What a wonderful world.” I ended up listening to it a couple of times and did not bother with reading. Reading can wait. Louis Armstrong’s song in the here and now cannot.

(Here’s a video of Louis Armstrong singing that song. Wonderful expressions on his face.)

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Today I am in San Jose at Adrian’s.

Yesterday (Friday) was “4th of July” holiday. When the 4th falls on a Saturday as it does this year, the holiday is on the 3rd, and when it falls on a Sunday, the holiday is on the 5th.

I drove down yesterday afternoon from Oakland. Adrian was alone at home as the family is in Boston. He’s always doing something — building something, fixing cars, building houses — all that you’d expect guy who grew up in a farm to do. He’s also a crack packaging engineer. Works for semiconductor firms designing those little black packages that chips live inside of.

Prasad came over to Adrian’s place so that he could catch him before he left. Adrian took a red-eye to Boston, on his way to Ireland. His mom is not doing well and he’s taking Niamh and Christopher to see their grandma perhaps for the last time.

Prasad and I went out for dinner. Fast food at a restaurant on Santa Teresa in San Jose.

* * * *

I have some work to do today. As I am alone at home, I will have no distractions. It is 11 AM now and I have not even gotten out of bed. I have to grab something to eat before I pass out from hunger. I will do so as soon as I post this.

Talking of food, dinner tonight is at Prasad’s place. It will be fish.

OK, that’s it. I am out of here. Happy 4th of July once again.

I have stopped responding to people who would like to connect with me on Linkedin and other social networking sites. Like I said before, I dislike herding.

Listening to her sing Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry is deeply moving. Among many well loved songs by her, my favorite is “dasht-e-tanhaai mein”:

dasht-e-tanhaai mein,
ai jaan-e-jahaan, larzaan hain
teri avaaz ke saaye,
tere honthon ke saraab

dasht-e-tanhaai mein,
duri ke khas-o-khaak tale
khil rahe hain tere pehlu ke saman aur gulaab

uht rahi hai kahin qurbat se
teri saans ki aanch
apani khushbuu mein sulagti hui
maddham maddham

dur ufaq par chamakati hui
qatra qatra
gir rahi hai teri dil daar nazar ki shabnam

is qadar pyaar se hai jaan-e jahaan rakkhaa hai
dil ke rukhsaar pe
is vaqt teri yaad ne haath

yun guman hota hai
garche hai abhi subah-e-firaaq
dhal gaya hijr ka din
aa bhi gaye vasl ki raat . . .

Goodbye, Iqual Bano, and thanks for all the songs.

2. Music while on hold. Related to the previous peeve. Most of the time one cannot avoid being put on hold. I am pretty confident that sometime in the future, companies will figure out that it is better to cut out the muzak and just make a simple announcement like, “You are on hold. So that you can continue to do other things while on hold, we will not play any distracting music. You will hear a ping tone every 15 seconds to indicate that the line is active. Thank you.” Stupid companies force people to listen to muzak while on hold. I avoid stupid companies if I can.

3. Ever since Google released gmail with the little “Beta” perched on the logo, it seems that every company releasing any internet related service has to stick a “beta” on its logo. A bunch of mindless sheep.

4. Elevators that announce which floor it arrived at. It is stupid to do a thing merely because it is cheap to stick a microprocessor in a device. Some thought should go into figuring out whether it is actually of any value or not. It took me months to get the floor-announcement fixed in the set of elevators in my office building.

5. Muzak on planes. It’s worse than snakes on a plane. The most offensive is a wailing saxophone. Jet Airways is an offender in this regard. I make it a point to write a polite note to the president of the airlines telling him or her that it is stupid and mindless.

6. Another noise related peeve: the loudness of car horns. It is high time that the auto companies in India figured out that loud horns are not necessary on Indian cars. Most car horns are audible a kilometer away, when most of the time you need something sufficiently loud to alert people within a few meters. Note to Ratan Tata: Please keep the horn very soft on your Nano.

7. Public access doors that don’t open out. This is a safety hazard. If you have to pull the door towards you to exit, it is a trap if there is a rush to get out.

8. Elevators that don’t explicitly indicate which floor is the street level. In the US at least, all elevators have a prominent star next to the button for the street level. This is worth emulating.

9. Banks and other establishments where people wait for service not equipped with a token facilitating queuing. It is silly to have to stand in line when the order in which service will be provided is easily ensured with a little token.

10. People who litter. Out of cars, buses, trains. In any public space. This is a big one issue and deserves its own blog post. You have been warned.

This is the mother of all wounds you could get in a civilian area. I went back to where I was staying. Sure there was pain and blood, but more seriously I was outraged that I had let the system and the weather get the better of me. I had lost my composure merely because there are no addresses in the city and it was hot and extremely humid. Just because I had spent about an hour fruitlessly searching for an ATM in the center of the capital of India, there was no reason to be so stupid as to stumble in the heat and humidity to injure myself so severely that it required a hospital visit.

I am staying at my friend Mitra’s place in Safdarjung Enclave. She suspects that I did this deliberately to get even more sympathy than what she normally supplies. In fact, I cannot post this without her consent. She is the national editor for Mint and a dear friend who puts up with all the bs that I am capable of. In any event, I am telling you all this just to let you know that I am alive but not kicking. The pictures of the knee wound are ugly and horrifying. No, not as horrifying as what Blue Turban is doing to Mango Man but close.

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

Go. Profit from exile. To see, listen, walk, pause beside wisemen; question savages and madmen; and listen to stories. It is always pleasant and, sometimes, improves you.

I have neglected the blog for most of the last few weeks because I have been busy. I have listened, walked, and paused beside the wise. Though I did not question savages and madmen, I did have an experience which I can only term as transformational. I had glimpses of instant satori. Putting that in words is obviously impossible. So I will not even try to do so here. Perhaps some other time. Now it is time to get back into the fray.

I had a wonderful visit to the US. Most of all, I acknowledge the undeserved kindness of so many people. You know who you are and you have my gratitude. Instead of naming people, allow me to name the associated places: Edison NJ, Chicago IL, Boston MA, Acton MA, Astoria NY, Jersey City NJ, Philadelphia PA, and Wilmington DE.

As it usually happens with me when I travel, I learnt a lot of stuff. The easy stuff I will put down in words here.

1. Avoid traveling Continental Airlines if you can. In fact, avoid all US airlines.
2. The duty free shops at Mumbai’s international airport are getting better. Buy your stuff upon arrival. Exception: perfumes are best bought abroad.
3. Do all your shopping at Costco. But then, you know that Costco has been my favorite store for over two decades.
4. If you are traveling economy (as I did), try and check-in last. That way, you can quickly identify which bunch of adjacent seats are available and grab a seat that will guarantee a nice lay-flat 16-hour journey. The obvious drawback is that you could end up in the middle-seat if the flight is full.
5. Don’t expect free booze on economy class. The airlines are hurting and some are charging five bucks for a drink in cattle-class. There’s no such thing as a free drink on most American airlines.
6. Kindle, the ebook reader from Amazon.com, should have been designed by Apple.
7. GPS is better than the old trusted Rand McNally road maps.
8. Carry a jacket and an umbrella. It was cold and rainy, but not in an unpleasant way.
9. Invest in a top of the line noise canceling headphones.

That’s it for now. More to come.

Go. Profit from exile. To see, listen, walk, pause beside wisemen; question savages and madmen; and listen to stories. It is always pleasant and, sometimes, improves you.

– Jean C. Carriere in his play based on the Indian epic The Mahabharata.

I will take this opportunity to publicly recognize that it is an honor working with him. The other day when I was bitching and moaning about how I was dissatisfied with what I was accomplishing, a friend asked me why I don’t just get back to California where I was personally a lot happier. I would do that in a heartbeat. The only problem is that I will never get a chance to work with someone with the vision and integrity of Rajesh.

Click on image to see web album.

2. I don’t buy a book until after I have read it. The excellent public libraries in the Bay area made this possible.

3. I have to have a keyboard before I can write even half a page. The most I can do on paper is scribble a line or two of disjointed sentence fragments.

4. I think I am the second best driver in the world. It is my innate modesty that prevents me from claiming to be the best.

5. My perfect day. Sit by myself on a deserted beach watching the waves come in. Eat Oreos and peanut M&MS whenever I feel hungry. Drink a couple of bottles of red wine. Watch the sun set into the Pacific. See the stars come out. I have had many perfects days like that.

6. I know a little secret about the universe that I am certain no one else knows.

7. Popular Indian heroes are anti-heroes to me. Gandhi, Nehru, and M. Teresa head the list which is long and includes movie idols and gurus.

8. The three men I admire most are the Buddha, Einstein, and Aurobindo.

Here are the rules of the tagged game:

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.

3. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

4. If you fail to do this within eight hours, you will not reach Third Series or attain your most precious goals for at least two more lifetimes.

I apply for anticipatory forgiveness from those I tag:

Saheli Datta, a friend in Berkeley. I love her way of looking at the world and how she describes what she observes.

Meraj Hasan, a friend in Mumbai. The subjects are varied and the point of view is unique.

Sandeep, a friend in Bangalore. He is seriously fights the pseudo-secular nonsense that is overwhelming India.

Suhit Anantula, a former co-worker and friend who lives in Australia. He is the “Save the Earth” type. I think all this “green” stuff is a lot of hokum. But it takes all sorts.

Pratix, whom I have never met. He writes about education and urban planning, subjects close to my heart.

Tim Worstall, a large mammal in the TTLB eco-system, domiciled in London. Timmy is wise. It is all either obvious or trivial to him.

Maria, a friend who lives in NY. Her obsession is with Bollywood. I hate Bollywood with a passion that is hard to convey.

This time I will be going round the world and plan to stop in Helsinki, Paris, London, Boston, New York, Washington, Atlanta, San Francisco Bay Area (Berkeley, San Jose, Saratoga, etc), and Seoul. I start mid-July and return to Mumbai around August 20th. The best part of my trip will be being back in California where I spent the best 20 years of my life so far, and being back in Berkeley would be the sweetest thing of all. As much as any place can be home to a homeless person, Berkeley is home to me.

I was born under a wanderin’ star
Home is made for coming from
Dreams for going to
Which with any luck
Will never come true…
Wheels are made for rolling
Mules are made to pack
I never seen a sight
That didn’t look better looking back …
Might can make you prisoner
The plains can bake you dry
Snow can burn your eyes
But only people make you cry …

That song is from an old western called Paint Your Wagon. There are three simple truths embedded in the quoted lines above. The first is about dreams coming true. See this quote about ideas and ideals for an elaboration of the notion that if you are lucky, your dreams will not come true. The second truth is that things always look better in retrospect. Time lends perspective. And finally, of all wounds, that caused by people hurt the most.

I think this one is fast running out of rhyme or reason, and I am getting all sentimental. So I should stop.