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There Is No ‘Point B’ – Awakening of a software engineer
I wrote my first book, “Chennai to Chicago – Memoir of a Software Engineer” circa 2015. I shared the story of my journey from Chennai, to coming to the US for my Master’s, some heartbreaks, adventures, travels, and the spiritual quests that ensued. I was always seeking something throughout my life. As a kid, as a teenager, as an adolescent, as an adult, as a software engineer, traveler, writer, friend, yogi, I always sought something. I always thought, “There is a Point B and I need to get there.” I had no idea where that Point B was or how to get there. But I always felt, “Something’s missing.” And…
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A beautiful dream with Gwyneth Paltrow
I had a super weird dream. Somehow, I literally traveled back in time, to 1991. I was standing in the middle of a road confused, the place was kind of like those small-town uptowns in Europe, roads laid with hexagonal bricks, where people hang out in pubs and coffee shops, laughing and chatting outside, everyone knew everyone else. It was kind of late evening-nighttime, it was quiet outside, but people were hanging out inside the restaurants. I was standing alone in the middle of the road looking around confused, when suddenly someone grabbed my hand and pulled me. I somehow instantly knew it was Gwyneth Paltrow! That confused stranger feeling…
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Iceland
My trip to Iceland did not start off on a good note. I sat next to a guy on the plane whom I guess was having a Tourette syndrome. Tourette is when people have these uncontrollable ticks. His tick was pulling his hair, arranging his books in proper order on the tray table, and violently shaking his hands. He kept doing that for 7 hours straight, except when he dozed off for a few hours. OCD – Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, is when doing something doesn’t give any pleasure, but not doing it gives immense pain. I felt bad for people living with those conditions, they just can’t control it, they…
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Area 51
I landed in Vegas and booked a room for the night at the Luxor hotel. There was a heavy rush for the long weekend, full parking lots, cars wandering around trying to find a spot to park, long lines everywhere through midnight. I stood in line for hotel check-in, watching people losing money in slot machines, half-clothed drunk women with full makeup at midnight tottering around trying to find their balance, drunk men wandering around smoking cigarettes, nauseating smell of alcohol and tobacco everywhere, scantily clothed men and women groping on huge television screens all around, I felt suffocated inside those flamboyant buildings. What is everyone up to? Trying to…
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Reborn at 35
“Cerebral Atrophy Empty Sella Tortuous Cornea Intercranial Hypertension”. I shuddered looking at my brain MRI scan report. The doctor said, “You have a small hole in your brain”. Is that it? Is that the end of this life for me? I started having high fever after my July 4th trip to the Big Bend National Park in Texas. I went to my primary care doctor and he ran some blood tests and said everything looks normal, would be some viral fever, and should go away in a few days. 3 weeks passed but I had a fever on and off. This time, I felt some weakness in my right hand…
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Being Indian…
Nevertheless, I realized the Indian spinal cord – that makes people adapt to any condition in any country. That’s “Being liquid”. Pour me anywhere, I will fill right in no matter what the shape of the vessel is. People from other countries wonder how Indians live in a country with so much population and corruption. Because we are liquid! If we were solid and rigid, India would have become like some parts of Africa ruled by mafias and warlords. As one of the rarest, quiet, and nice autorickshaw drivers once told me in Bhubaneshwar Orissa, “Sab khaaney ka chakkar hai saab” (it’s all a play for one-course meal). Some pictures…
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Alaska
Alaska!! A magnificent place to travel!
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Life… flowing in and out… Sedona, Arizona
I was struggling to breathe looking at the scorching 110-degrees Sun right above my head in the Sedona, Arizona desert. I had to conserve the last sip of water, I had 30 more minutes to hike to reach my car. The problem was, I could feel my heart struggling to pump with every step I took. If I faint, there probably wouldn’t be anyone to notice for a few days unless some hiker shows up. I have never hiked in hot dry desert weather before, I underestimated the heat. I sat under a tree and closed my eyes. I could rest, but every minute I delayed, I would soon need…
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Man came from Monkey? Dude… seriously?
I remember during 7th grade or so, my history teacher talked about Australopithecus, Zinjanthropus, Pithecanthropus, and Neanderthal men. I am surprised I still remember these terms because it was a “very important question” for the final exam. But there was one thing I didn’t quite understand. The concept of, “Man came from monkey” sounded utterly stupid to me. I asked my mom if it was true. And she said yes. Because, of course, she learned that when she was in high school as well. I walked on the road carrying my school bag looking at buffaloes and goats. I asked my friends, “Why aren’t buffaloes and goats intelligent? Why did…
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Internet – the intra-terrestrial world
Whenever I have a question, I google them. It didn’t work that way years before. People had to go to libraries and refer to pages. Now, it’s like having a library at home that gives us the exact book we need, with the exact page to read. It’s like a genie in the lamp, I rub the lamp, and lo and behold, the genie answers my question. But what I see is how I see it. I type in, “Proof that God exists”, I get a million hits. I type in, “Proof that God doesn’t exist”, I get a million hits for that too. I type in, “World’s going to end”,…
