backbenchtalks.blogspot.com
Back Bench Talks: July 2009
http://backbenchtalks.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html
Sunday, July 19, 2009. Surfing isn't just about riding the wave, although that is the part people see and notice easily. There is lot more to it. for starters you need to paddle against the current and waves for at least sometime to be able to catch a good wave to ride on. If riding the wave is like success. In life, the paddling against the current and smaller waves would be like the effort. Some manage to stand up straight and do noticeable things, others just manage to get half up without falling....
backbenchtalks.blogspot.com
Back Bench Talks: April 2009
http://backbenchtalks.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html
Sunday, April 26, 2009. A Tamil Day - Part II (Comedy Drama). Continuing on the tribute to our tamil roots, I and my friends headed toward the Sunnyvale temple from UCB visit. Where the Bharati Tamil Sangam. Was having its Tamil New Year Celebrations. We were there to check out a tamil comedy drama by CMU students working in the bay area, most of whom graduated in the same batch as me. We reached well over an hour early for the play but were glad that we did! But gets you giggling soon enough. As the pro...
backbenchtalks.blogspot.com
Back Bench Talks: March 2009
http://backbenchtalks.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html
Sunday, March 29, 2009. An invitation to go to an event at Stanford, whose proceeds will be used to fund education. Lazy as usual, I reached Sandhills fields a bit late and my friends were already in the fray and their cellphones were totally unresponsive. So as I stepped out of my car I felt a little odd noticing that everyone else had company. Some with hands around one another - the usuals ( "hey I'm in the US of A - I can do whatever I want". Then the most amazing thing happened, without warning, ano...
backbenchtalks.blogspot.com
Back Bench Talks: September 2009
http://backbenchtalks.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html
Sunday, September 27, 2009. Of Gujjus, Dandia and Sanedo. I, like many many Mumbai brought-ups, have known gujjus. For as long as I can remember. A lot of important people in my life have been or are gujjus. I guess was involuntarily forthcoming. I thought this could never change. until I went to attend bay area's biggest dandia event - SEF Dandia. 2009 at the Santa Clara Convention center. Dressed in a red kurta. Dude next to me assumed that I spoke Gujarati and started giving me instructions in Gujarat...
backbenchtalks.blogspot.com
Back Bench Talks: An Ink called Adrenaline
http://backbenchtalks.blogspot.com/2011/11/ink-called-adrenaline.html
Friday, November 18, 2011. An Ink called Adrenaline. Cast upon a role, I had not foreseen,. By a missing Oracle Diwali queen,. I became main lead organizer. Of this year's annual routine! I did what I could to my very best -. Passed the big choreographer quest,. Dances, Acoustics, all issues addressed. Shot short films in a team with real zest. Even got out my violin from its tiny rest. Then decided to fill in as a dancer. For the big fest! Dry run, Dress rehearsal they all went well. In shock I stood.
backbenchtalks.blogspot.com
Back Bench Talks: Opposites vs Likes: The Story of Kukoo
http://backbenchtalks.blogspot.com/2012/01/opposites-vs-likes-story-of-kukoo.html
Friday, January 13, 2012. Opposites vs Likes: The Story of Kukoo. My eyes got adjusted to the dark just as I saw Kukoo's swishing tail disappear into the neighboring patio. For a few days after that, I kept as far away from that rude feline as possible! At First, Likes Repel ). Now, Kukoo had a master and a mistress - our neighbors. An irritable white guy in the late thirties and this chain-smoking, obese female whose hip was as indistinguishable from her waist as her neck was from her chin! I kept a clo...
backbenchtalks.blogspot.com
Back Bench Talks: Do teens shy from Facebook?
http://backbenchtalks.blogspot.com/2013/12/why-teens-may-shy-from-facebook.html
Saturday, December 21, 2013. Do teens shy from Facebook? My guru from whom I learn violin has a teenage student. An American born boy of Indian origin. While some might call him an ABCD. I would never even dream of calling him so. That is because he may be an American born but he is by no means a confused desi! Is it because they see everyone from their grandparents to their uncles and aunts on Facebook, and that well, restricts precious teenage privacy that teenagers seem to need in large quantities?
backbenchtalks.blogspot.com
Back Bench Talks: August 2009
http://backbenchtalks.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html
Saturday, August 29, 2009. Modak Conquest - A humble tribute. The art and skill of preparing these rice dumplings is known to reside only deep within the bastions of the culinary secrets of select Indian women. Few men are even known to dare attempt this undertaking, let alone achieve success at them. My first attempt lasted about an hour and a half (inclusive of cleaning vessels and preparations). The results lay here in pictorial form. Lesson 1 - Do not be ashamed to ask. Modaks contain a sweet stuffin...
backbenchtalks.blogspot.com
Back Bench Talks: March 2010
http://backbenchtalks.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html
Saturday, March 27, 2010. Holi at Stanford II - Mein Kampf. 22nd Mar 1989, Borivali, Bombay:. A little boy was filling his plastic water-pump from a bucket. Hardly a preschooler, his tiny arms were working hard to fill the pump up quickly. After all this was his new pump and he wanted to impress his friends. There were many coloured up boys and girls of various ages that day celebrating Holi in the terrace of his apartment building. His parents were looking elsewhere when it happened. Why did u do that?
backbenchtalks.blogspot.com
Back Bench Talks: May 2009
http://backbenchtalks.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html
Tuesday, May 19, 2009. The Charm of the Mirror. I put the bike at my carpool partner's place and then we drove in her car to work. All throughout the day, was it my imagination or was it real, I could not tell, but for some reason, I found people noticing me much more than usual. It felt like they were holding on to their gaze a bit longer and smiling a little more! Right from the security personnel, to some workplace acquaintances, to some of my own team-members, everyone seemed happier to see me! We ju...
