The Other Side of Life

I am old enough to clearly remember the days when TV was not the all consuming entertainment entity that it is today. There were exactly two channels on TV - very creatively named DD1 and DD2. If you were not watching News, Krishi Darshan or Surabhi on DD1, it meant you had succumbed to the lure of entertainment on DD2.  By entertainment, I refer to the 2 weekly comedy shows by Sri Adhikari Brothers. Conversations in school on Wednesdays never failed to mention Sriman Srimati. (It just occurred to me, that as of today, the actors who played Sriman and Srimati are no more. Just made me feel a little older).  There was also Rangoli, the weekly show that exposed us to the big bad world of Bollywood songs. If "indecent" songs like Choli Ke Peeche were played, we were promptly sent out of the room to bring water or to set the table. Few smart people managed to record the good songs for viewing later. My grandparents were quite progressive in that sense. They would record ...

It's been so long since I wrote a cathartic post. It's been worth the wait! So much is changing around me. I am afraid to breathe out, lest it results in butterfly effect and some other change that will take the carpet away from under me. In the characteristic ax on the foot style or pair pe kulhadi style, I asked for some changes. I quit my job because I wanted to explore doing something of my own, learn something new, try something different. It's been a month and it's been good. I have struggled, enjoyed, found good work to do.  But it's a change, nonetheless. Every once in a while, I can hear the cells in my body screaming to me saying, "Did you not know how change resistant we are? What did you think when you did this? That we will celebrate with wine?" I ignore the screams and go about doing what I set out to do. Then I see a mail from the bank about account balance. And I can feel those cells getting together and glaring at me. That...

My grandmother is quite the storyteller. She often regales us with stories from her childhood. My favorite is the one about earrings.  It seems, my grandfather had lovingly gifted her a pair of earrings, which were, undoubtedly, very pretty and she loved them. She wore them everyday. For five years. Then, she got bored. But this was way before humanity became a victim of materialism. So, my grandfather told her, in as many words, that because the rings were still in good condition and not broken, there didn't seem to be any good reason to buy new ones. My grandmother, being *MY* grandmother, of course wanted new earrings. She tried all ways to convince him, to no avail. And then, opportunity presented itself. She had to travel by the train to their village. Just after she had boarded the train, when she was sitting on the window seat, clutching her bag, saying her goodbyes, my grandfather whispered ominously to her from the platform where he was standing, "Don't ...

High time I am honest to my blog's title - Preeti Reviews.  I can't recall why I thought 8 years back that I would be posting reviews of anything on my blog, but I did. And so, I got stuck with this lame URL. What's done is done. After 8 years, I decided to honor that commitment and write a real review. I don't think I can even call this a review. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight is the story of Nike and for me, easily one of the most influential books I have ever read. Probably even the most influential book. Everyone wants to know how Nike became Nike. What we don't expect is the story of a normal guy, with a normal background, a normal upbringing, to fight the worlds to make his "crazy idea" come alive. He makes us all root for him, cheer for him and in doing so, cheer for every person who has ever had a passion and fought for it. I have often said this, that for many of us, careers have become an easy way to play catch. I like marketing. No, I...

Many experts are of the opinion that very soon machines will be taking over our jobs. I am happy to report that as per my calculations, these experts are quite precisely wrong. At least as far as India is concerned. Take the self-driving cars that the tech world is so pumped about. I am willing to bet my car's never used 5th gear on this, that these over-hyped machines will not even survive the 3 km stretch from Silk Board to Koramangala in Bangalore. Here it is, cruising along at a glorious 6 kmph, with all its sensors showing a safe cruise ahead because the traffic light says green, when all of a sudden a hand pops out bang in front of the dashboard. It is, of course, the royal pedestrian (and 17 more people who decide to follow this man, as he leads them to freedom into the other side of the road), whose need to cross the road is so paramount a requirement, that the world must come to a grinding halt and watch the procession, led by "the hand", cross the road int...