A life well lived

The news about an amazing tale of a desperate WWII pilot’s encounter with a German flying ace reminded me of Grace, a 92 year old woman I met recently. She is an American, but here parents were of Japanese origin. 

During WWII America wasn't very kind to people of Japanese origins. When she is now asked what she feels about it, she always says "I forgive them". But the big story is yet to come. So at the end of WWII, she was given the job as a nurse at a military hospital. But they were worried about the reaction of the injured American soldiers returning from Japan towards a nurse who looked Japanese. So the hospital provided her an escort between some places in the hospital. When the soldiers whom she was nursing came to know about this, they volunteered to be her escort.

She told this in the most stoic manner(I am sure my jaw was on the floor), And then it continued. She mothered a special child. The doctors said he wouldn't make it beyond 4 years. He made it to 49. Not only this, she has been a volunteer at the special Olympics for close to if not over 50 years now, winning the best volunteer award.

I stood there, tears running down my cheek. Tears of joy on meeting a person, who could not have lived a better life. I really wanted to hug her, but I just shook her hand and childishly congratulated her over the life that she had led. I wish at the end of my life, I can look back at my life with half this much pride.

Terrorism and our response to it!

Last week, the world encountered yet another hate crime. A trigger-happy white supremacist walked into a place of worship, a Sikh Gurudwara at Wisconsin, and killed 6 people and injured many others including a police officer. A lot has been written about this deplorable act. I can't condemn it enough, so I will not try to. I will only share an interesting view point of a friend and leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Driving to the courts, he suddenly asked me, "Roy, are there a lot of Sikhs in India?". I knew where he was coming from. So after answering his question in the affirmative, I asked him for his reaction to the event.  He expressed his displeasure about the heineous crime, but said that the government should not call it an "act of terrorism". I revolted! I said, "If a bearded Muslim youth would have done this, you would have no qualms about calling this an act of terrorism!". He said this is a "hate-crime". I said "So is any act of terrorism". To this he had no answer and he agreed with me.

He corrected himself and finally got to what he wanted to say. He said, look at the response from the government and the community. It is unequivocally deploring the act and speaking out against it quite loudly. The same is not true about other communities, whose youth, though isolated, commit acts of terror. The response is not strong and sometimes even borders on tacit approval. Now he had a point, which I could not counter!

The response of both the communities involved  in the aftermath of this incident is extremely laudable. The US flag will be flying at half mast till 10th August (an entire week). The FBI has conducted hundreds of interviews with the family and associaties of the gunman. The Times of India reports that it (FBI) has issued 180 federal subpoenas and is following 101 leads worldwide. Even the mother of the gunman has expressed her disgust publicly and apologized for her son's act. The Sikh community on the other hand while bemoaning the act has strongly commended the act of the gallant police officer who put his life on the line, even after being shot multiple times, to try and protect as many people as he could. This is how communities should react to an abberation of human conduct.

In stark contrast is the violence of Bodo-Muslim tensions in Assam, India. 77 people have died. Millions have had to flee their homes. There is a media blackout in the region and a strong curfew has been imposed. However, voices from both camps condemned attacks ONLY from the other group and justified acts of their camp by means of "retaliation" and/or "self-defence". Not one waited for peace to be restored first. And those who spoke against their own camp where branded as "pseudo-secular"!

My friend's words, though said in some other context does provide some scope for introspection. I ask the Muslim community. I understand that most Muslim people are peace loving people. And that a handful of "extremists" carry out acts of terrorism which has to be borne by the entire community. But has the Muslim community been sufficiently vocal against its youth who have/are carrying out these horrible acts around the world? The same question can be asked to many Hindus about rising Hindu extremism. Aren't we as  communities too docile towards the handful of youths who bring bad name to our own community?

P.S. Before you start judging my friend, let me tell you a little about him. He is man of Russian origins, in his late 60s who migrated to the US about 20 years back. From my long discussions with him, I can tell you that he is a very liberal man from any point of view, be it race, religion, politics or economy.

The curious case of the India's best engineering students.

Ask any engineering student from any college in India. What do you want to do after you graduate? The answer is generally prompt and more often than not has nothing to do with engineering. Most of us want to do an MBA or an MBA after 2 years of a job, join a financial institution, and some want to become a chartered accountant. Can you remember the last time an engineering student told you that he wants be an innovator or a very good engineer in his field?

I did not study in the best engineering colleges of India. Somehow, my expectation form the students there were also not very high (the fault here lies with me and nobody else. Anyways, moving on) My lament is on the state of premier engineering colleges in India. In this blog, I have spoken about by experiences at IIT Bombay which is undoubtedly a very prestigious engineering college in India. I am actually hesitant to generalize my observation to other premier colleges, but there is a good chance that this is true for many other institutions as well.

First, some context. I am a gradute student. Last year, I had the wonderful opportunity to stay and work at IIT Bombay for 5 months. I like almost every Indian child interested in engineering wanted to go to the IITs. In my childhood, I was surrounded by IITians (including my father) who I looked up to and aspired to be an IITian one day. That day never came. It is the biggest lament of my entire life. Something which I think will take a lifetime to overcome.


However, the IIT that I had imagined and the IIT that I saw was completely different. I had imagined the best brains in India (and indeed the world) striving to become the best engineers in the world.  Most of the people wanted to get the best financial jobs or into the IIMs or CAs and the likes after they graduated. Nothing related to their 4 years of training as an engineer! What a waste of 4 years of training of the best minds of India!!!

I had expected an IIT campus to be full of innovators. Unfortunately, what I saw was nothing but the ubiquitious rat race which is present in any other engineering college in India. Albeit, the goals were higher. But without exception, I did not speak to a single student who wanted to become the ultimate engineer in his field. In fact if I ever brought up the topic, I would immediately get long faces. And what about giving back to the country which spends so much for their education.  I only got huhs- and huhs. I might be wrong here but from my personal experience, the amount of engineering innovations coming out of the IITs for the betterment of poor and the needy is seriously questionable. I follow many blogs on grass-root innovation in India. Very rarely do I read anything from the premier institutes. 

My professor also noticed this. He is an endowed chair at IIT Bombay. His opinion on this was: "Double-triple the intake of IITs. After one year, have a placement round with all the financial companies. All those students who want to go into the companies should do so. The rest should be trained for the remaining three years. The placement round after going through the three extra years should have no financial institutions. This is a win-win situation for everybody. Students who want the highest pay packages in the country need not waste 3 years, earn hefty salaries instead. Industry also doesn't need to wait. And the country truly gets to train the students who want to be engineers". 

I am sure that the quality of education provided in the IITs is world class. However, the management of IITs should seriously consider how the IITians should be oriented. Should it stay the provider of a shining badge which is a stepping stone to everything but engineering. The placement cell should not boast of what is the highest salary or average salary of every student. It should rather publish figures as: The highest and average pay that an engineer from X field got while staying in the X field. Or should it become the gurukul which produces excellent engineers and innovators who by and large stay true to the profession that they were trained for. The goal of IITs as I undertand is not of a placement agency. It is the ultimate gurukul where one goes to in order to become the ultimate engineer. I hope in days to come IITs get known for that tab and that tab alone and not the most difficult institute to get into from where you get the highest paying jobs.

P.S. I understand, for this to be viable we need industry to absorb this engineers as engineers. But remember, I started this blog by saying that this is just a lament because I respected IITs very highly and the present state which I saw saddened me greatly.  

A call for action!

THE ULTIMATE GOAL
I have been shouting at the top of my lungs that Lokpal act (in any form) is not going to help us in completely eradicating corruption. Neither is it going to help in developing our country. We need to demand for reforms and policies, elect the person whose election manifesto is to provide those reforms and track if he or she is delivering on it.

As daunting as this task looks, I have found great heart in the way the common man has taken to the streets for the right cause. This was not possible earlier. Earlier information was not so easy to find. One would have to find the right piece of paper copies of which were rare. Even if someone did come across the information, there was no way to disseminate this news and his views. There was no forum for him to discuss. This has quickly changed in the last five years or so. Information flows freely through TV, radio, print-media and most importantly over the internet. If you have the right cause, you can spread the word through social networks in a matter of days across tens of millions of people.

Earlier reforms and policies where left to the echelons of the intellectual elite. I want to aid in the growth of a critical mass of common people who understand through common knowledge what is best for them and the country and then press for it.

THE FIRST STEP
A critical aspect of raising awareness is letting the youth read worthwhile news. How many of you give a damn to what Amitabh Bachchan tweeted about his pregnant daughter in law or whether Deepika Padukone is uncomfortable with her tattoo. Yet every morning you have to rummage through news channels, news papers and e-portals for morsels of information that you really care about. I am not saying entertainment is not important, but that is not supposed to litter 50% of the real estate of a news medium.

I am trying to build a portal where there would be sections like "national", "international", "sports", "business", education", "entertainment" etc. Any member of the portal can add a link to a news under the suitable section. The forum will be moderated by the members on the forum. However, no member can alter the post of another member. If a member finds that a piece of crap or advertisement has been put up by some member, he can report it to the forum-moderators. The forum-moderators will take suitable action. If required, the poster of a "non-news" may be warned by the moderators. The membership would be terminated if a member receives more than 3 warnings within a space of 3 months. The same rules apply for false reporting.

The portal will also have a discussion forum. The discussion forum will have sections for discussing pertinent topics.

Please let me know what you feel about this idea.

I already came in contact with a guy who has the domain space for this and is willing to do some development. Is there anybody else interested in providing an helping hand?

As an example of this portal have a look at a similar defense: http://www.bharatrakshak.com/

JAI HIND!

Prevent rather than cure corruption

Is Jan lokpal the answer to widespread corruption in India today? One might argue "this is how work gets done in India. People work if there is a sword hanging around their necks". Besides, Jan Lokpal is more than just a bill. It is a huge momentum with which the civil society is trying to reach a corrupt-free Indian society.

Unfortunately as justified as this goal is, and as lucrative as the Jan Lokpal bill sounds, it will not get us there! Questions still exists on:
1. Approx. how many officials will be part of the Lokpal office to handle over 2 crore government officials? How do we find so many non-corruptible people? I know we are speaking of self regulation and ability of a citizen to complaint against a member of the Lokpal or it's decision. But when the police doesn't act against police and judges don't act against judges (when provisions are in place), why will a Lokpal member act against a Lokpal member?
2. In the case of most whistleblower cases, it will be one whistleblower against a complete nexus. This will often end up with the nexus drying the whistleblower's evidences up and will finally lead to the whistleblower's word against the nexuses words in court. What will the Lokpal do then?
3. It is not clear what happens to the whistleblower's protection after the case is over?
4. It is not clear how the Lokpal will handle petty cases. Say for example, I go to the Lokpal and say policeman X asked for a bribe from me. The Lokpal will have no way to help me as it will be my word against the policeman's word! If it still takes days to provide justice, it will still stay lucrative for a lot of people to pay 50-100 bucks and be done with it! Won't it?
5. The Lokpal's office has to work within the ambit of the same law of the land. The proposed way to speed up judgement specifies setting up of more special courts if need be. Setting up a special court would need officials of the Lokpal. It is not clear how we can get officials for that court who fulfill all the criteria as laid down in at such short notice. How would it be miraculously successful and faster than our present courts.
6. Point number 33. of version 2.3 speaks about "immunity to a bribe giver". Sir/madam, there are innumerable cases in Indian where the giver actually instigates the bribe? People pay bribe to the guy who reads their electric meter for a lesser reading, to the customs officer to bypass high customs fees, to the traffic police to not write a chalaan, don't they? I would go one step ahead and say it is often a way of getting things done cheaply for many. Who will report those cases where the government and society is the only loser?
7. In the section, "Punishment for false complaints", the maximum punishment seems to be Rs. 1 lakh. This will be pittance for parties involved in even medium-sized projects. Is this deterrent enough for parties which would like to stall proceedings of important projects for benefits through re-tendering etc.?

Unfortunately, Lokpal or Jan Lokpal bill doesn't solve any of the above-mentioned problems. The people of India are fed up of corruption and they feel the need to do something. Lokpal seems to fit the bill. However on close inspection, it seems to miss the very root of the problem.

ROOT OF CORRUPTION
An absence of Lokpal is not the reason for corruption. Why does the man on the street offer a bribe? Because he wants to get a service and the bribe is the shortest way to get there. Atanu Dey in his book 'Transforming Indian' expresses this as "rent". You pay rent for getting an otherwise hard-to-get service or to speed up the process which is otherwise laced in bundles of bureaucracy. Indeed , the root of corruption in India is excess of convoluted laws and procedures which forces the people to pass a quick buck to get their work done. Until that's removed, you won't see a reduction in corruption. The Lokpal bill unfortunately adds one more process and will only add to the existing mess. It will paralyze the Government even more. Nothing would move because the decision makers would be accused of corruption at every step and would have a Lokpal breathing down their neck. A pertinent example provided by a fellow thinker was: suppose Lokpal was present when Dr. Manmohan Singh opened up the Indian market, there would have been hundreds of socialists who would have gone to the Lokpal and the reforms would have never been passed! We would not have grown at nearly 10 percent a year for the last two decades.

THE SOLUTION
1. Call for minimal rules and red-tape
The solution to corruption is to eradicate the root of the problem. Any service should be made available with minimum red tape. An example for this would be the Indian railway reservation system. Getting a ticket is an uncomplicated single window system, there is no corruption. However, getting a confirmed seat from a waiting list means running around the TT, there is corruption there. An often cited example in this case is that of the telecom revolution. Not too far back you would pay a bribe to get a phone. However today you would go to any shop which sells you a sim card and a phone. The whole process is so simple and the service so accessible that there is no room for corruption.

Imagine if the same was true about getting a gas connection, ration card, PAN card, electric connection, passport, driver's license etc. i.e. these services could be made readily accessible. Once we get our UID, we should need to go to (say) a ration card office and get a ration card in 2-3 hours. If the service is an uncomplicated single-window instant system, then why should anybody pay a bribe? This is certainly do-able and has been done in numerous (relatively) corruption-free countries. We already have the resources to achieve this too. The government would do well to come up with UID-like projects for each of the services it provides and our huge IT-sector would be only glad to take up the opportunity to implement these. The government surely has the money to fund such projects as we are only speaking about a few billion dollars. What's more this money stays within the country and is partially recovered by the government in taxes! This also would provide employment to thousands of youngsters. Such domestic projects are symbiotic for everybody especially in the coming decade when we are going to witness a decline in out-sourced projects.

This mantra of minimum laws has been aptly captured by Mr. Narendra Modi in his motto, "Minimum government and maximum governance". This is the reason why Gujarat and Bihar is marching forward today as the most lucrative destination for both domestic and international offices. Not just private investment, government projects of unmatched scales are taken up, and finished before time and under budget. This unprecedented, often unimaginable and yet replicate-able feat is achieved because the bureaucracy is threadbare and thus inherently transparent mitigating the need and opportunities for corruption.

The true solution for corruption is prevention and not correction!

2. Regulation
No matter what kind of systems we put in, we would never be able to do away completely with personal interactions between the a official and member of public. For example, we would always need a person to go down to read the electricity and water meters or a customs officer for that matter. Unfortunately, these interactions would be the seat of corruption. The threat that people might complain to a regulatory office has not proved to be an effective deterrent because of the red-tape I discussed above. Besides, how does one ensure that the member of public does not voluntarily offer bribe to a officer for benefits. How does one punish such bribe-givers?

Instead of people reaching the regulatory office, the office should have auditing and raiding parties in plain clothes. If one sees it, this comes at the same institutional cost as the Lokpal's office. A raiding party should be made up of a number of officers high enough to make paying the fine more lucrative than bribing everyone of them. Successful examples of the working of such bodies can be found in the bus ticket checking raids in major metropolitan cities like Delhi and Kolkata and also in magistrate level checking in the Indian Railways.

3. Call for middle class to exercise their right of vote
The middle class of India is a huge section of the Indian population and is often most affected by reforms. It is one of the most educated sections of the society. What's best, is that the middle class vote cannot be bought! As an example if the middle class really constituted a big chunk of the ballot, Karunanidhi won't have famously promised TVs to every households for every vote!

Yet nothing explains the abysmal voting rates of the middle class. Apparently only 40% of south Mumbai voted after 26/11. An interesting read here is "Frankly, we don't give a damn!". Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan hits the nail on the head with his call for electoral reforms for transparent candidature and election-expenditure. In his speech at the 'Round table conference on Parliamentary affairs', he asks, "Why should a good man run for elections when he is guaranteed to come last?". He goes on to explain the logical solution that if we have to get right people and the right policies, we as a society must provides incentives for the same.

We the middle class need to give a damn! It is not un-cool to discuss politics or policies. It is not the domain of the corrupt. Neither is it boring. It is only when we discuss them in isolation does it become overwhelming to comprehend. We should elect a man or woman whose policies we have discussed and found pertinent. We should root him or her out if he or she doesn't deliver. Are these discussions really more boring than following an actor's pregnancy or tattoos? Or can't it be done in conjunction?

4. How to use the present momentum?
Like it or not we are going to have a Lokpal bill. The government proposed Lokpal bill is quite toothless and arguably deliberately so. The Jan Lokpal is quite impractical to implement. For prominent differences between both please refer here.

We should use the present momentum to force a parliamentary committee consisting of members from all parties ( I know it has been tried ) to the table with the leaders of the civil movement. We should try to push the points on the Jan Lokpal bill, except for:
i. We should leave the PM and the CJI outside the purview of the Lokpal. Afterall, the PM is the elected head of state of a democracy and the CJI is the head of the judiciary. By bringing the same under the purview of a Lokpal, we would be questioning the very base of our democracy and constitution.
ii. We should only consider the Class A government officials under the ambit of the Lokpal bill. It is going to be infeasible to provide swift yet correct judgement for every case that could come up with every possible government official. Lokpal needs to take care of the Raja-s and the Kalmadi-s. The class B and Class C officers would be automatically taken care of if we do the following:
iii. Press for government offices to provide an outline to provide simple single-window solutions.

I am hoping that the GOI releases Anna Hazare and the others at the earliest and come to a discussion table at the earliest.

Jai Hind!

Suggested reading:
1. Jan Lokpal is no solution by Nitin Pai.
2. Transforming India, a book by Atanu Dey.
3. FAQ: Why is Anna Hazare wrong and lokpal a bad idea.
4. Pragmatic Euphony » Frankly, we don’t give a damn.
5. Time to step back by Pratap Bhanu Mehta.

Suggested viewing:
6. Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan, Round table conference on Parliamentary affairs
a. part-1
b. part-2
c. part-3

Article on Sankalp in the ISU Daily

I have just reproduced the article that was printed in our local newspaper today. Yes it carried a big picture with me in the center too. It is too well composed for me to do any kind of editing!

Sankalp: working toward a more progressive India

By Ryne Dittmer — Daily Staff Writer | Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:27 AM CST

On any given Friday night, a group of 20 or more students gathers in Sweeney Hall. They gather to talk, laugh and work toward building a progressive India.

Sankalp, meaning “determination” in Hindi, is a volunteer-based organization providing financial and logistical support for projects set on improving the basis of life in India. What began in 1995 as the India Literacy Focus Group has expanded to promote worldwide causes raising more than $20,000 each year.

“We engage in funding activities with money we raise for socioeconomic projects back in India,” said Prem Ramesh, president of Sankalp and graduate student in electrical and computer engineering. “One of Sankalp’s main goals is to support and empower the illiterate and the poor and give them an opportunity to effect positive changes in their life.”

A core group of 50 volunteers work at ISU football games, sell hand-crafted items and host other events throughout the year to raise funds. Daawat, a dinner held each spring that focuses on a single project to support, is one event all members greatly anticipate. This spring’s dinner is scheduled for April 5.

Annually, two to three projects are supported by Sankalp’s funds. Numerous requests for funds are presented each year, but to be selected, a project undergoes a multistep process — one that can sometimes become heated as group members are directly impacting the areas in which their families live. Organizations in India contact Sankalp primarily through its Web site. As word of mouth spreads, Sankalp’s requests become more frequent.

Currently under deliberation is the “Backyard Poultry Farming” project. Centered in Angul in the Orissa state of India, the initiative is to give poor families a second source of income beyond agriculture. Specifically targeted by the project are nine villages with an estimated 6,000 people. One hundred women in the nine villages in the region would each be given 100 chicken hatchlings with hopes that they can sell them to generate a steady income. This area averages a total of $375 for annual income.

“Initially they create small groups and educate them. After the project, [we] do a survey to assess the socioeconomic conditions and see the impact of project after implemented.” said Bharath Karthik, project coordinator for the club and graduate student in electrical and computer engineering, describing the implementation.

After looking over the project description, members of the group debate its effectiveness. Some question the total of funds requested and others the reliability of this organization. A list of questions is collected and before a final decision is made, the “Backyard Poultry Farming” group must present full answers. Past projects have been successful and continually monitored by families of Sankalp participants who still live in India. These check-ups reassure the group that its funds are being used productively.

“Sankalp believes that literacy is a part of the overall development, but cannot be tackled in isolation,” Ramesh said. “Satisfying the basic food and drinking water requirements is a primary prerequisite to education, and until these demands have been satisfied, there will be no real development.”

With so many areas of development to be addressed, one project is not enough to create significant change, but Sankalp is not alone in its efforts. Across the Midwest, similar student groups are striving toward the same goals. Organizations on the campuses of Ohio State University and University of California at Berkley all raise funds for sustainable projects in India.

Pushing for a progressive India is the goal of the organization, and its members believe it is an achievable goal.

“I believe that progress has to happen at the level of the rural, urban poor. For that to happen, first we need to address the issues of basic survival. India today has the dubious dual distinction of being one of the fastest growing economies in the world, while still having one of the largest percentage of people living below poverty line,” said Misha Rajaram, vice president of the club and graduate in statistics. “As citizens who are on the other side of that line, giving back will definitely help bridge that gap.”

Funding a project:

First contact: basic information of proposal, Sankalp members decide if it fits within their organization’s goals

Second contact: A more descriptive proposal, including statistical information of the regions and population, along with how the project will be implemented in long- and short-term goals

Evaluation: follows up a selected project to view the success

Exploits on snow ...

The Iowan winter gives me an opportunity to learn various snow and ice-related activities. They are obviously exotic experiences for a guy like me who has spent most of his life amongst the tropics. Here's the list of things I learnt recently, ice skating, snow-shoeing and most recently snow boarding.

I went with Pavan, Jeni, Shivani and Adwait to ice-skate in the ISU ice-arena. Well it was a comedy of errors. None of us knew to skate (except Pavan who had done it just once before). We just wore the blades and stepped on the ice holding the railings at the side trying to walk on ice rather than skate. After about half an hour Pavan left the rails and boldly went to the middle. He could stand without support and he soon persuaded Shivani to come along as well. I followed suit only to start my series of falls. However after the first fall I was not afraid to fall and I kept trying. A chinese man kept guiding me and soon I was skating. After about 1.5 hours I could skate the perimeter of the arena, falling once per cycle. I did manage to give some very spectacular falls and leave blood trails on the ice. I wasn't hurt much and I didn't care! Most of times I fell when I came near my group. Most probably, it was because of my consciousness to show them that I had picked it up :P. All of us skated for 4 hours. It was really good fun. Especially when we tried to take some pictures. I was obviously scared to take my camera and go to the middle. No kidding, my camera is expensive and fragile! None the less we managed it. I had learnt something new and I loved it. Probably, I need 4 more hours and I should be just fine. So here's an invitation to all you guys, I am ready to go ice-skating again, make a plan and count me in!

For snow-shoeing, I had been to King's Peak, Utah. It was really a huge experience for me. I guess, by now I can safely say that I have hiked quite a bit. But this was HUGE. To set the premise, we were carrying 20 kg bag-packs, and lugging 20 kg toy-sledges carrying equipment, food and other rations. We had to plough through snow which at most places atleast knee-deep. We started at 6000 feet and were to reach 13500 feet and back in five days. Well the temperature was never above -30 F. In fact the first night at the base it was -50 F on the thermometer. Kings is not easy to reach in winter as one has to walk around two mountains and walk up the ridge from the south-western side. Obviously, it was no mean feet. And none-the-less my companions were seasoned atheletes or mountaineers. I was actually nervous to be frank. It seemed beyond me, but I guess that was the reckoning. Besides, if I missed this opportunity, there would be a very slim chance that I would be able to do something remotely similar to this ever in my life, and that would be a pity.

However, I did quite well, often leading the group. It's the most difficult thing to do, because the people behind the leader have a trail to walk through. So it is this post which is rotated as often as 15 mins per person. Well I won't write more about that trip because, it will become extremely long. The thing is that we didnt make it to the top, but we made it to 11500 feet. I learnt a lot of things, like rescuing somebody trapped after an avalanche, finding camping grounds on slopes, using my watch as a compass, making snow kitchens, storing water (it's critical), keeping the body warm and saving frost bites, making squirrel traps, making quinzees, starting a fire with just a flint rod. Besides, my experiences were worthwhile too. I heard avalanches at night, saw blizzards, saw huge bear paw marks and fresh excreta (that was not comforting at all), heard the cries of a pack of wolves at night. We were so far from civilization, that one could hear the commercial jets flying even though they were at the flight ceilings. I saw man made sattelites (I have seen that before, but everytime I see it I feel nice). I came to know that one of my compatriots was studying under a professor who designed the code so that the ISS stayed in orbit! I saw the moon lit up the entire frozen marsh well enough to form very dark and well formed shadows of everything around us. Ofcourse, I saw the sun rise and set in the same quarter of the sky. And yes! I was sharing my tent with a girl. It was a little weird. When you are in that level of cold , when the inside of the tent freezes up, people inside tend to press against each other in order to preserve the warmth. In both cases, if I would retreat too much or come too close, it would have been unpleasant. This after she chose to sleep with me would be a disgrace. all in all it was a largely enjoyable trip. It was more about survival than anything else. A trip that I will remember for my life time!

Last Thursday, I was supposed to go skiing at Seven Oaks Resort. It was a beginners course and obviously was a cool attraction for me. Unfortunately, it was cancelled because this warm beautiful weather melted all the snow :(. However, coming Thursday, I am enrolled for yet another session. I might have a chance then. But I can safely say that I would rather put it off to next year.

This Thursday, I went snow boarding and trust me my bum is still sore :D. We went to the slopes of Seven Oaks and again it was a beginner's course. Well to be frank, it is not so easy. The board doesn't stand, it always slides, even as you are getting up. You have to maintain your balance, control your speed by putting your weight on the hells or off it, move your weight around to change direction along with using the various edges of the snow board. And well while learning, you are bound to fall. However, the ice skating experience had really taken away the phobia of falling. Except that I didnt want to pick a lot of speed and then fall face-first! Well to be frank, I wasn't too good at it. My balance was very good and I think I picked up a lot of speed but I couldn't master the art of swaying from one side to another. I guess, it's just a feel and I just need to get a hang of it. And once I get that, I am very sure that I will be able to stop gracefully as well! I am going again coming Thursday. I am pretty sure that I will master it by then and I will try a couple of runs on the advanced slopes. If I can do that, I will be pretty happy with my this years exploits on snow!!!

P.S. Things that I am looking forward to this spring/summer: I am enrolled for kayaking, canoeing and tennis classes. Also, I am looking forward to my first chance of getting my hands behind the wheels of Mustang GT and possibly a BMW Z4! Also through my RA this summer, I should be able to fund my flying lessons and atleast one ski-jump!