As I step into my 40th...

As I step into my 40th year on this amazing planet, I'm counting my blessings.

My heart is filled with but one thought - Gratitude!

Gratitude towards my immortal creator, the infinite unseen almighty force that has driven me and has expressed through me for all these years - and continues to do so. Gratitude for having chosen me to be worthy of a human form. Gratitude for the testing times that always made me a better person. Gratitude for the infinite blessings for which I'm rarely thankful. Gratitude for making decisions that are right for me as against the ones that 'I think' are right for me. Gratitude for filling my life with abundance - health, wealth and spiritual prosperity.

Gratitude towards my mortal creators, without whom I would not have existed. Gratitude for bringing me into this world and the years of nurturing. Gratitude for continuing to accept me with all my faults and ego. Gratitude for their confidence in me. Gratitude for their never-ending blessings, both implicit and explicit, without which I would not have been half the person I am today. Gratitude for parenthood which is full of so many sacrifices which we children will never know of. 

Gratitude towards my siblings, without whom I could have never experienced brotherly/sisterly love. Gratitude for allowing me to express myself freely growing up. Gratitude that they are still there for me when I need them.

Gratitude towards all my teachers, who have in so many ways influenced me to be the person I am today. Gratitude for their tolerance and patience with me. Gratitude for letting their experiences help me to learn. Gratitude for being the selfless beings that they have been in sharing their knowledge.

Gratitude towards my spouse, without whom my expression of love would have been incomplete. Gratitude for bringing a level of order into my life even while letting me live life on my own terms. Gratitude for taking interest in my interests and cultivating new interests. Gratitude for all the times she remained silent when I raised my voice. Gratitude for tolerating all the late nights that work kept me. Gratitude for bringing another set of parents and their blessings in my life. Gratitude for being a partner in bringing a wonderful soul and a bundle of joy into this world. Gratitude for helping me see and appreciate motherhood and is sacrifices.

Gratitude towards my child, for helping me see the miracle of life unfold in front of my eyes.  Gratitude for the unconditional love and free expression of joy through every action. Gratitude to help me re-live my childhood through him. Gratitude for giving me a self-less purpose in life. Gratitude for the opportunity to experience parenthood and appreciate the role of a parent first-hand.

Gratitude towards my friends & relatives, who have always been with me, sometimes out of sight, but not out of mind. Gratitude that each of them played their role in the making of me. Gratitude for their selfless friendship, support and camaraderie. Gratitude for allowing me to be a part of their lives and sharing themselves with me. Gratitude for showing me the meaning of fun. Gratitude for the love showered on me.

The list goes on...

I know there is no way to repay what has been invested in me to make me what I am today.

I therefore pray that I always remember that and give back to life something worthy of the blessings I have received. Amen!

First movie-making experience!

It had to begin somewhere! So it all started a month back, when Amit & I, two techies, colleagues & friends for a few years now, decided over a casual cup of coffee, to create a short film as an entry for the Anurag Kashyap short film competition on Tumbhi. We started thinking of stories, and in couple of days we came up with one which we felt had some substance. Then followed discussions, debates, tying loose threads and strengthening the plot. Amit spent the next weekend penning down what became the script for the movie. In the meantime, we discovered that the deadline for Anurag Kashyap competition was already over. But we thought, we were truly making the movie for ourselves more than him, so lets go ahead with the project! We now had a story, but we needed a good camera and a person to operate it. One of Amit's friends, Musheer, who is a budding fashion photographer, and met both requirements, was roped in as our camera operator. A Canon DSLR 7D became our primary camera equipment. We decided to call our team White Shadows Productions or simply White Shadows.

Our journey had only just begun. The next challenge was to find actors for our movie. We decided to go with amateur actors from within our company. At the back of our minds, we also thought that if the film gets completed by 24th Sept, we would be able to showcase it in our upcoming company annual day. Vijay Kumar, who we knew was also an amateur theatre actor, was chosen for the role of the main protagonist. The next to join were Suprita and Priyanka who also took on the roles for the newsreader and another lady character in the movie. And we were set!

The mahurat shot for the movie was Vijay climbing up on to the parapet of a tall building and jumping (which was also our climax scene). A few days were spent just trying to figure out how we could give the impression of height and get a good shot. We gathered for a shoot at 4.30 AM on a weekday on my terrace as we wanted it to be a dusk setting. Took about one hour to get the lights set up. Our lighting kit was essentially two lamps of 300W and one of 500W along with an emergency lamp, all of which I was incidentally hoarding at home for many years! A couple of hours and a few shots later, we began to appreciate the intricacies of getting a shot right. The location, light (natural & artificial), sound, camera, actor, direction, all have to blend in perfectly to form one successful shot. We also began to see the technical limitations we had, and as directors we realized that this might even mean altering our script from what we had originally planned it to be. Being typical IT consultants, we started thinking of workarounds to move the project forward.

The next few days wre spent wondering how to shoot the scene better and we decided to shoot it again at dusk in a few days. In the meantime, we decided to go ahead with shooting the newsreader scene that Suprita was to do. We got together in the office on a weekend. The board room became the backdrop for a newsroom. One and a half hours later, we were still setting up the lights and deciding how to take the shot. Six hours later after multiple re-takes, and some hilarious ones, we packed up with a successful shot under our belt.

The next major set of scenes were with Priyanka, which included one with her picking up the note from the road at night, where we faced a different kind of a challenge. Since it was an evening scene we had to shoot it at dusk. But where were we to find power for our lights in the middle of the road? Again, with an innovative brain stroke, we decided to use our car headlights as the lighting for the scene! That, followed by a few interior shots, we were done with most scenes we needed to shoot for Priyanka.

Is this way, we finished shooting whatever scenes we could whenever we could get everyone needed together. Most decisions were runtime (thought of on the fly) as we had a 24 Sept deadline to meet (remember our annual day?). Musheer, being the key person shooting the film was always co-operative enough to come over at odd hours and on short notice. By the 23rd Sept, we had finished a large portion of the movie but it was still not complete. It was then I decided that we should at least screen a trailer for the movie at our event even if we're not able to show the complete movie. So even as Amit continued the tedious process of putting together and editing the scenes that we had shot, I began to put together a trailer/teaser for our upcoming movie. It was 12am the night before the event when the idea for the trailer struck me. After running it by Amit, I started working on it. By 4.30 am, I thought I had a reasonably good trailer that we could present. We screened the trailer at the event, and as we hoped for, also got some interest generated in the movie.

Both Amit and I were also heavily involved in organising the company event, so once it completed, it gave us some more time to get back to the movie. Amit then spent a couple of person-days (read actual time spent working - not real days) editing the scenes and bringing the movie together including adding cool visual effects. We had a couple of other scenes that we needed to shoot which we also finished shooting in the nick of time. The idea was to have the film ready for release atleast on Ganesh Visarjan day. I spent the whole day working on arranging the music and the effects for the movie. By the end of the day, we had a completed movie that we could première. We premièred it first with family on my projector home theatre!

That brought to end a project that consumed us completely for almost for a month. Considering that we did made the film part-time, and for the most part, we were all first-timers, we thought it was decent effort. Thankfully, we were able to complete it to see the results of our efforts.

Here are some trivia about the movie:

First & last shot scene: Man climbing on parapet

Most (re)shot scene: News reading

Costliest scene: Man buying pizza (Yes, we actually ordered three small pizzas and waited for the delivery boy to turn up to shoot the scene)

Highest paid actor: Shiva (Amit's watchman, Shiva, whom we paid 100/- for his effort!)

Actual person-days spent: still figuring out the effort!

The last one month took us through most of the highs and lows of film-making, but more importantly gave us a deep sense of appreciation for this form of art. We also began appreciating the fact that whenever you wish to do a good job, the devil is in the detail. The location, the light, the equipment, the expressions, the camera movement & angles and a million other things all need to fall in place to move the story in the direction of the plot. Would we make another movie? Its like asking a student who has just finished the last paper of his 12th Std exam if he would like to take it again. Too soon to say. But we have been bitten by the bug so it may not be long before you see another White Shadows production.

Last but not the least, a big thanks to all those we were not able to credit in the movie but had to put up with us during our period of madness. Firstly, our wives & families, who had literally given up on us for a while. Next our bosses, who initially thought it was a company event film but co-operated even when they found out it wasn't. And finally the actors who had to be prepared at short notice for the scenes. Without all these people and their encouragement, this project would not have been possible.

The film is now live on YouTube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ4l23qRem4

Until the next life changing event....Cheers!!

Sunfeast 10K run

Participated in the Sunfeast 10K run on Sunday. What an event! It was simply a carnival! There must have been at least 25000 people in the Kanteerava stadium. The Open 10K run itself had over 7000 people participating! I managed to complete it in 1hr 10 mins (walk, jog, run method). Will need to better it under an hour next year. Contrast that to the world 10K winner who completed it under half an hour! There was inspiration to draw from everywhere - from the 75 year old gentleman who came barefoot with nothing but his timing chip in hand, to a German father and his young son running the 10K together. All in all, an exciting event to be a part of.

You can read more about the event here.
Some of my pics available here.

Moving out...moving in!

After a long stay at my aunt's place, we're all set to move back into our renovated apartment this weekend. Just thinking of the move now seems like a daunting task. While moving out, we literally managed to do so in suitcase-loads and WagonR-loads. Now we're starting to wonder how all this luggage/furniture got here in the first place!

It's funny how possessions keep building up no matter how much you discard. Planning to make a list of all the we need to carry so that we don't re-build the clutter there. Building a list will hopefully make us consciously decide if we want to take something. Should also help us organize and decide the destination location for all the items.

Moving in is going to be one thing and settling in is going to be another. Although the place is not new and we've lived here for many years, it will be a new experience and we will need time for getting adjusted. Here's to a successful move!

Bangalore to Mysore - My bicycle journey

Finally, something to blog about...

Here's a copy of my post to my cycling groups "The Bangalore Bikers Club" and "Go Green, Go Cycling"

Please give cycling a thought as a means of commute if you have not already. The benefits are just too many to justify and we would be foolish to believe otherwise.

Here's the ride report:
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I can now imagine why anyone who heard that I was planning to cycle from Bangalore to Mysore, alone, thought I had probably lost it! Its easy to think that about a man who is just 4 years away from 40, weighing over 90kgs, and who just took to cycling 3 months back after a gap of almost 13 years. Then there were those who were in awe of such an idea itself. Thinking back, I have to agree myself that it was a crazy idea. But as someone said, men are all children at heart and the child in me was certain that I still had it in me to cycle any distance if I had enough time. Plus, with more grey hair now, I was certain that I would have learnt something new if I would have failed. I also thought this was a good opportunity to explore my long-pending desire as my wife and kid were out of town (Otherwise, feel guilty leaving family alone even on weekends).

With all this in my heart, and a child's conviction, I set out on my journey to Mysore at 5 AM on May 1st (Labour Day). It was pouring till about 2 AM the same day and although I was happy that the weather would be cooler, I was worried that the roads would be slippery. My other fear was about being chased by a pack of dogs followed by a remote fear of getting held-up on the highway by a gang of robbers (the mind can't help dramatizing!). Remembering what one my colleagues remarked about my trip alone - he believes in *"Darr ke aage jeet hai (There is victory after overcoming fear)" - I set my fears aside and continued on my ride. The morning was pleasant and I had no trouble covering the first 50 kms of my ride non-stop in just under 2 hours. And I was thinking in my mind, "Oh, I just need to repeat this three times over and I'm in Mysore". Little did I know what it took to do that!

I decided to stop every 20kms going forward and not overdo the continuous riding in my excitement. The next 20kms were also a breeze and I completed them well within the one hour that I was expecting to. The 20kms after that took me a little more than an hour and I attributed it to the fact that I was deliberately trying to take it easy. By about 9 am I had covered 100km. I figured that I would be in Mysore in the next 3 hours at this rate. Then again, what did I know!

The weather, which had been kind to me with cloudy skies till then, suddenly turned tyrant with the sun coming out in all its splendor. I kept telling myself that the sun was diagonally behind me and it should not matter much, but I was perspiring more and getting exhausted sooner. I had to stop every 10 kms and and take a breather. The distance from Mandya to Srirangapatna was most trying with long uphill gradients and shorter downhill ones. The lactic acid in my thigh muscles and knee joints had also started kicking in. Now I was thinking, "Dard ke aage jeet hai! (There is victory after overcoming pain)". So I continued on and managed to reach Srirangapatna at about 12.30pm. I was walking with my cycle across a traffic signal trying to take a break, when another pro-looking cyclist passed me asking if I needed any help. I said I was just taking a break and thanked him. He nodded and sped away.

Seeing someone else also having cycled all this distance and looking fresher than me encouraged me and I got on to my saddle and rode on. I may have only ridden for a few kms when I spotted a couple of photographers and a videographer taking pictures and a video footage of me riding. I thought to myself that they must be some documentary film makers or TV news reporters getting footage for a story on cycling. Just a little further I was accosted by a large group of policemen asking me to kindly stop at the side of the road. Just when I was thinking how I could have broken the law by cycling, one of the cops came up to me and said, "Welcome to Mysore, sir!". I was both thrilled and perplexed at such a reception. I noticed that the cyclist who had passed me by was also standing with the group, so I went up to him and asked what was going on. Ajit (as I came to know was his name) explained to me that they were part of a group called the "Jayanagar Jaguars" who were also cycling to Mysore today. The transport commissioner, who was a part of the group, was riding with them today and the felicitation committee and the media reception was in his honor. I knew I had been mistaken as one of them and asked to be excused, but Ajit insisted I stick around. Got to know a bit about their group. They're a cool bunch of adventure enthusiasts into cycling, running and swimming. As I later understood, these guys managed to complete the whole distance more than an hour earlier than I did. I was also happy to know that they also opposed two other evils of society - alcohol and smoking. (Hey Ajit, if you're reading this, thanks for everything. Please send me your email ID).

Curious to meet the rest of the group, I waited and watched. The transport commissioner, Mr. Bhaskar Rao, was the one to arrive next. Clad in perfect cycling attire, he was the complete opposite of a typical image that you would have of a policeman. Ajit introduced me to him and we shook hands. The media was then all over him asking him to explain the purpose of the visit and other details of the trip. The short interview concluded, they sped off towards Mysore with media cameras trailing them. I understand that the snippet was covered in the saturday evening Kannada news on TV9. (And I came on TV thanks to Ajit and Bhaskar Rao!!!)

After that pleasant morale boost, I realized I still had about 25 kms to get home although Mysore was just 15kms away. So I resumed cycling and reached Mysore at around 1.35pm. By the time I was at my destination it was 1.50pm and I was thirsty, hungry and ready to crash. I had covered about 167kms on my bike! Unfortunately, due to the fear of the unknown, I did not carry a camera to record a picture travelogue. But I did capture a couple of snaps of me at Mandya with my cell phone camera.

Here's what I did carry:
- a first aid kit with crocins and muscle rubs and bandages
- three bottles of gatorade (two of them frozen, set to thaw later)
and one bottle of water
- a change of t-shirt and shorts
- puncture repair kit
- also remembered to stash emergency cash in secret areas and carry
only few hundreds in my wallet
- padded shorts (money well spent!)
- helmet and good eyegear (the cracks on my specs are witness to what
could have happened to my eyes)

The trip back on sunday was with my aunt and uncle who had also gone to Mysore on Saturday. I had sent a bicycle rack along with them that I had hired from Sachin of Pedals & Wheels (Thanks, Sachin!). Just clipped the bike on the rack and sped back to Bangalore. We got back to Bangalore in just over 2.5 hours and I was just contrasting the effort that was required and all that we took for granted in a road when we go by car. Thinking about my aching muscles, I remembered Munna Bhai's remark to circuit, **"Eh circuit! tere ko pata hai shareer mein 110 type ka haddi hota hai - todne ke time apun log sochtey they kia? (Two goons talking - Do you know that there are atleast 110 types of bones - did we ever think of that while breaking them??)".

The email about the journey is getting longer than the ride itself! Anyway, that was that and both my body and I are getting back to normal. I rode to work today. I'm not sure I'm going to do Bangalore-Mysore again, surely not in the summer months. But will surely see you guys on one of your future long rides.

Oh, and lessons learnt:
- Hats off to the guys like Samim and the century and double century riders who do this regularly. I have a better sense now of what it takes.
- Have to build-up my fitness more (thighs and knees)
- Finally, at the risk of sounding stereotypical, stop pondering and start acting on your instincts at the first opportunity you get. You wont know if you'll fail or succeed until you try. And no matter what, I'm sure you'll be a winner for just overcoming the fear of trying.

Keep riding and sharing! Groups like these have the capacity to inspire people to go beyond their limits!
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* - dialogue from a popular TV AD for a soft-drink that inspires you to go for it
** - dialogue from a popular Hindi movie, about a gangster who joins medical college to become a doctor (talking to his sidekick here)
__________________________

Article in the Hindu:
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states/karnataka/article419583.ece

More out of less!

The world seems to be demanding more in all areas of life. But in all this, does simplicity play a role? Everyone wantes better cars, better technology, more computing power, better applications - the list is endless. With this there is the increase in resources to produce or support this additional capability. Take computers for instance, every day companies are busy building applications that can do more. But why do we have to change computers every year to be able to run the latest apps on them? Why doesn't someone think of a better way to achieve the same functionality with the existing hardware. Maybe its a nexus between the hardware and the software giants - you scratch my back and I scratch yours! Or maybe its just that no one cares about simplicity any more. Why cant we make existing cars/computers/applications/technology more efficient to perform the same tasks with lesser resources? The answer may lie in our thinking and our whole approach to life.

To pay or not to pay

We went to well-known store yesterday to buy some home decor stuff. On getting home we discovered today that they had not billed us for six out of the eight cushion covers we bought. Now, this is not the first time that the store has goofed-up in their billing. But this is probably the first time that they have goofed-up to the customer's benefit. The discussion at home began as to whether we should tell them about the unbilled cushions or not. If we do, I'm sure we would have to go there ourselves to pay the extra amount and I would be surprised if we even get a note of appreciation from the management. On the other hand, if we dont report it, some poor cashier is going to get penalised for it. After a long debate, we decided that this is not an eye-for-an-eye game where we are trying to get back to them for all the injustice they have done to the customer community. So we decided we will call them and let them know. Let's see how they handle this!