Kicking off 2016 in VA & DC

I have started to write this as the Vamoose bus crosses over to Maryland at around 6:00 PM on January 3rd, 2016. The sun has set, the weather has started to get uncomfortably cold, and the guy next to me has sneezed 14 times since I boarded the bus at 5:30 PM at Rosslyn, Arlington (as I'm about to publish this post, I'm also watching The Da Vinci Code on Netflix, and Robert Langdon has just walked into the Rosslyn Chapel - eerie coincidence, or is it?).

A couple of weeks back, my roommate and I were at home, drinking champagne (of course), and on a whim, began to make resolutions for the new year. I will go into these resolutions and their rationales in a different post, but I wanted to focus on a couple of items through this particular one -

1. Resuscitate my blog that has seen no activity since mid-2011
2. Travel to at least 12 states in 2016

Given my general apathy toward New Year Parties & Other Shenanigans (shocking, considering my feelings towards spirits), I was eager to get out of NYC, and took up my cousin's (well, technically, he is my uncle) offer of spending NYE with him and his family in Virginia. I had been to VA & DC only once before, and that was way back during Thanksgiving of 2009 when I was an immature, budget-conscious student - this time, I was no longer a student.

Not intending to digress, I want to keep to the general theme of this blog - sight-seeing in a limited amount of time. In this case, I had around 5-hours available to cover some key tourist attractions in the capital of the US. 

My addiction to touring on foot resulted in the following path - starting from the Smithsonian Station to the Holocaust Museum to the Washington Monument to the World War II Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial to the Korean War Veterans' Memorial to The White House to the Capitol to finally the Federal Center SW Metro Station.

You might wonder why on earth I chose to visit the Holocaust Museum on the second day of the new year (Jan 1st is a washout, as you might expect, due to drunken shenanigans from the previous evening). I really don't know why. Except that I wanted to. And it made sense to me.

While the museum allows visitors to take photographs without flash (a lot of visitors choose to ignore this and then are yelled at by watchful volunteers), there was a certain poignancy to each exhibit, each artifact, each photograph, each painting throughout the museum that made me not want to take any pictures filled with such despair. I was particularly surprised to find out that prior to 1941, it was relatively easier for Jews, the Romani and other persecuted communities to escape Germany & seek refuge in other European countries (such as, France) and the US, but unfortunately for them, the doors to seeking asylum in these nations were pretty much closed off due to prevailing anti-Semitism and petty politics. Knowing what's happening today in Syria, clearly, we haven't learned anything in the past 70-odd years.

I did, however, take one photograph in The Hall of Remembrance...

I would estimate around 3 hours to visit the Museum on a less crowded day, whereas it can take you close to 4-hours in case of larger crowds, as was the case with me.

From here, I walked over to the Washington Monument, which is the world's tallest obelisk dedicated to the memory of Washington and constructed in 1888.

When you visit the monument, you will observe a large number of tourists lying down at the base of the obelisk looking up at it - some will even have their feet against the walls of the monument (not exactly sure what thrills they experience from this exercise, I decided it wasn't worth the effort). 

There were a lot of tourists though... me included.

And more people ambling about the Mall...

From here, it's a straightforward walk over to the Lincoln Memorial. Be forewarned however, it's a deceptively long walk. On the way, you will come across the recently constructed World War II Memorial (well, as recent as 2004 anyway). 56 pillars and a couple of triumphal arches surround a fountain, and the memorial is dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces & as civilians during World War II.

The following photo represents the East Coast...

 

And the one below represents the West Coast (the light was clearly better on this side)...

But at the same time, I couldn't help specifically take a photo of Georgia.

Onward to the Lincoln Memorial - as you walk over, you can catch a glimpse of the Washington Monument once more.

After roughly a 15-minute stroll, you reach the Memorial. My understanding is that the Memorial is always packed with tourists no matter when you actually visit.

Fight through the crowds here in order to get inside quickly, unless you're a nice guy who does not mind being pushed around... Once inside, you see the imposing & very, very impressive statue of Abraham Lincoln.

To your right (and the north side of the memorial) is the inscription of Lincoln's second inaugural address...

And to your left (and the south side of the memorial) is the inscription of his Gettysburg address...

Another factoid about this memorial - Martin Luther King gave his famous "I have a dream" speech on the very steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and the exact spot on which he stood has an engraving commemorating the speech. I was unable to find this spot, but I do blame the hundreds of tourists (damn tourists) for this. If you do manage to locate the spot, do not tell me and make me go green with envy. However, I managed to briefly stalk this couple...

From the Lincoln Memorial, you can choose to visit the Korean War Memorial (time permitting). I found myself at this Memorial mainly because I lost my way and walked south instead of north. I really just wanted to walk over to The White House, which is what I'll discuss next. Only when you undertake long, touristy walks through previously unvisited locations do you come across random (or maybe not-so-random) buildings of importance, such as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Anyway, The White House. Understandably, because the villa (is that the right word?) itself is currently "leased" to someone, you can't really walk in and check the place out. But I promise you that the food trucks near The White House serve amazing food - lucky Obama...

Even this place had thousands of wandering tourists...

There are dozens (more like a hundred) Secret Service agents & policemen that patrol the general area of The White House - you can take photographs of (or with) them, if you want to. I did not want to.

From The White House, you walk down Pennsylvania Avenue toward The Capitol. 

On your left, you will come across a very nondescript building between 10th St & 9th St. This is the FBI Headquarters, and is only recognizable by the fact that its name is the J. Edgar Hoover Building. Opposite this nondescript building is the Department of Justice. Some might call that ironic.

A longish walk later, you will find yourself at The Capitol. This is a pretty impressive structure - currently, its dome is being restored (estimated completion in 2017).

Once you complete the fly-by visit of the Capitol, the Federal Center SW Metro Station is just a couple of blocks away.

Now, I was able to finish this touristy walk (inc. the time spent at the Holocaust Museum) in about 5-hours - started at 11:45 AM and reached the metro station at 5:00PM. There are pros and cons to any such quickie -

1. Pros
1. You get to do a few things properly (the Holocaust Museum, the Washington Monument & Lincoln Memorial)
2. You get satisfaction from checking things off your bucket list (yay, I visited DC)
2. Cons
1. You rush through a few things without a sense of true accomplishment (the Capitol)
2. You only get to check things off your bucket list but don't really experience it (so many museums & government buildings left to see)

Some places that I encourage you to take the time to visit:

1. Arlington National Cemetary (I literally only caught a glimpse of this as my bus drove into DC)
2. The Capitol (there are tours that take you around the place)
3. SO. MANY. MUSEUMS. AROUND. THE. MALL.

The bus has just entered the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. It's 6:45PM or so. The guy next to me has sneezed 18 times since I started writing this. 

Until the next post, which hopefully will be sooner than 53-months from now.

Kthxbai.

12960 minutes in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Continuing with my micro-mini-travelogue, up next is Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota or the Twin Cities as they are popularly called. The all-knowing Wikipedia article on this subject talks about MSP being the most populous region in the state of Minnesota, and from my experience is a far better organized city than Atlanta.

I had a probable 20-30% of the 12960min available for sight-seeing and eating.  As long as you ensure that those few hours are during the evenings, you are all set to have an amazing time clubbing and pubbing. 

Some pointers for first-timers...

1. One important thing to note is that you need to stay as close to downtown MSP as possible, as that is where the action lies. If you do not have the fortune of getting cheap accommodation in the downtown area, make sure you have full pockets - you need a rental car and you need at least $15-$20 to park your vehicle in the downtown area.
2. Walk most of your distances. It's the best mode of transportation, given the high number of random one-way streets strewn about in downtown MSP. Finding your way is quite easy as the area is split into blocks unlike downtown Atlanta. Moreover, given the fickle traffic conditions, it probably is best to find your parking spot as quickly as possible and walk thereafter.
3. Some of the most interesting pubs in MSP are the Irish ones - notably, Kieran's, Keegan's, etc. 
4. As you go closer to the University of Minnesota campus, the number of pubs per block seems to increase drastically. A bunch of eternally high students, mayhaps? Amongst the noteworthy bars is the Library - there's an interesting thing to tell your folks back home... "Mom, I'm going to be spending the night in the library."
5. Things that go hand-in-hand with pubs in Minneapolis are Nordic women. They're all over the place, and most, most importantly, really good looking. A real treat for the roving eye!
6. Downtown Minneapolis also has a large number of excellent restaurants, that tingle the palate with some savory meals while also soothing the senses with some excellent choices in desserts. A few of the restaurants that I can personally vouch for:
1. Dancing Ganesha for Indian food lovers
2. Zelo for Pizzas and Pasta worshippers
3. Hell's Kitchen for American food
7. Food apart, tourist-y spots of course include the Great Lake and the Mississippi River. Unfortunately, I did not get to spend a weekend in the city and was unable to see these wonders - but without fail, make sure you do not act like the fool that I was and miss these sights!
8. The Mall of America is amongst the world's largest malls (and definitely USA's largest), and is a sight to behold. There is a full-fledged roller-coaster as well as a aqua-themepark inside the mall itself. Apart from this, there is the usual slew of eateries that most of you are accustomed to seeing in malls. Important note here - for all Lego fanatics, there are some really cool Lego statues that will greatly excite you (in a non-amorous manner of course).

These are the few things that I was able to do during my short business trip to Minneapolis - Saint Paul. It was definitely a very good change from Atlanta, and I am sure it will be a welcome change for you, no matter where you are from.

Regards,
A Traveler

A not-so-brief hiatus later...

So understandably, I have failed quite miserably at keeping this blog updated. It has been more than 90 days since my previous post, where I had spoken about spending 2hrs at Philadelphia.

I could give a number of excuses for being so lackadaisical in updating my blog. Enumerating them would be fairly pointless, not to mention tedious - for you to read, and for me to type out.

In this 90-day period, much has happened in the average Indian's life.

The IPL (the fourth edition, was it?), followed by a tour to the West Indies. Currently in England (yes, our Indian team does collect an unnaturally high amount of airline mileage points), we're struggling to come to terms with:

1. Zaheer's propensity to fatten and injure himself; 
2. Our general lack of preparation when it comes to major tours like England, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka... well we've covered the entirety of the high-ranked crickets... haven't we? Oh well, I suppose Pakistan - from a few years back though - too); 
3. Our miserable overseas first-test record; 
4. Harbhajan's lack of effectiveness in Away tests unless there's a tremendous uproar over his continued presence in the playing XI; 
5. Our continued over-dependence on the Holy Trinity of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman.

The combination of Lee-Hesh twice failed to re-create their magic of 1999-2001. Somdev provided on ly arbitrary moments of glory, but continues to rise up in the rankings (currently, as World No. 62, he's the highest ranked Indian player in Singles' tennis since Leander Paes in 1998). Sania continues to prove why she's overrated in Singles'; but interestingly enough, has shown tremendous progress in Doubles'.

For some reason, the state of politics in India continues to flounder. We are still coming to terms with skeletons in the closet of the Congress Government. An earlier post of mine regarding voting copped a fair bit of a criticism (offline of course, none of my few readers have the courage / time to comment on the blog itself... tsk tsk...), and focal point in the criticisms was the lack of any valuable asset to vote for. My respect for Manmohan Singh has diminished over the past few months or so. The man who successfully dragged India out of the quagmire of Nehruvian socialism has looked on benignly while scoundrels around him indulged in money-laundering. But I continue to believe that in a diverse population such as India's, there will always be an asset worth investing my faith in.

This money-laundering does not just extend to scamming the Indian tax payers, but also extends to jeopardizing India's security against terrorist organizations. Case in point - the recent serial blasts in Mumbai. A few minutes after the blasts took place, rumours (notice that I spelled it according to the Queen) linking the blasts to Kasab's birthday spread. Falsified and unsubstantiated, of course. That being said, terrorists should have no business in being able to launch a co-ordinated attack on Indian soil - especially after countless promises of heightened security in key areas such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, etc. Mumbai's famous spirit did not diminish of course. But are we as citizens of the city learning anything by-the-by? I wonder...

Maybe the fact that I spoke so much about sports before politics gives a crucial indication on our prioritization skills...

This has of course, been a fairly confusing post. Just trying to recap the happenings over the past 90-days. These are random musings after all. Maybe one day, I will be able to recount the events in these 90-days to my great-great-great-great-great-grandkids via some weird time-capsule or the like? In any case, I've essentially tried to get back into the writer's mould again. It took me awhile to figure out a topic, and ultimately I came up with something that's woefully random and seemingly confused. But we have so much to talk about as Indians, wouldn't you agree?

Two hours in Philly

Okay, what would you do if you had two hours in the downtown area of a massive city like Philadelphia if you were driving a Chrysler 300 (look up the size of the car if you have no clue about it).

(1) Smash your head against the wall for being a retard. There is no space to park. Ever! Or at least until the next step takes place.

(2) After performing the aforesaid (everything prior to the exclamation mark), find parking.


(3) If you have managed to perform the parking-finding action, congratulate yourself. You have achieved the absolute impossible! One thing though; more often than not, this spot that you find might have an attendant, who will look shady to you, and will ask you for your keys so that he can park your car. You have no choice but to trust him. Good luck!


(4) Walk around the streets of Downtown Philly. They're awesome. Almost as awesome as those in SF, CA. A million parking-spots will also materialize in front of you. Automagically!!

(5) Walk in to some random stores for no reason at all. That's the best, I tell you. 'Cause you might spend money even if you window-shop...

(6) There are no Starbucks in Downtown Philly for some odd reason. Well, I'm lying my buttocks off. In the 10-12 streets that I crossed, there were more than 20 Starbucks. You walk a 100ft and you find a Starbucks. All have the same menus as the one on Tech Square, Atlanta, GA. All the Starbucks I came across in Philly were full of customers btw. Don't ask why. I was as confused as you will be. In fact, it still does not make any sense to me. :S

(7) Walk some more through the alleys and "gully-alleys" in the area. Do this during the day, of course. Unless you have a death-wish. I did this during broad-daylight. Tendulkar has, after all, yet to retire, right?

(8) If you are a meat-lover, grab a Philly Cheese Steak. They're supposed to be absolutely to die for.

(9) Go find the lot where your car is well-hidden. Hope that it's still there. The ar, i.e.

(10) Congrats, you have found your car. It still has the radio in it. Drive around a bit during peak hour traffic. If you're as Indian as I am, you'll absolutely love it!!!

(11) Go to Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. You have about 30min remaining, and therefore, no time to stand in a 3-hour line. Yes, my Masters in ECE at Georgia Tech is worth something! Woohoo! Drive around these areas. You will be able to see the Bell through a glass-window. That's the max you'll get. If you are luckier than i am, you will find that the Hall is not under renovation.

(12) Drive around some more.

(13) Lucky number 13. Catch I-95S to the International Airport. Give back your extremely fuel-efficient and parking-efficient Chrysler 300 at Enterprise.

You will want more of Downtown Philly once you're done with this 2-hour tour.

It was like San Francisco almost.

Only that, it was 2-hours and not 2-days.

Oh well.

One more down.

Many more to go.

A month of unity....

All,

It has been an eventful month since my previous ranting. In that post, I had tried to put into context the purpose of individual votes adding up to something meaningful, something that can force our corrupt leaders out and bring in fresh minds to drive our country forward. I certainly have not been the first one to say those words, and I certainly will not be the last.

I do not want to say too much on the obvious "awesomeness" that Hazare possesses, but I do want to highlight the unity he has suddenly created in the country. He has single-handedly achieved something that Indians have been craving for six decades in the post-Mahatma era. He has certainly played his part in ensuring that democracy continues to live in India, something that I had tried to state in my previous post as well - democracy is literally the sole way of bringing our country out of the dark period of corruption that we have seen in the past 12-months.


Apart from the Hazare movement, 28 years of World Cup misery were finally put to rest in Mumbai a couple of weeks back. At the same time, it was also the perfect setting for Tendulkar, who finally received the Winners' medal instead of a Man of the Series or a Runners' Up medal. It ended up becoming one of those things that brought the country together - just hope we do not have to wait another 28 years for such an event to take place again!! As C. P. Surendran spoke of Tendulkar way back in 1998, "Batsmen walk out into the middle alone. Not Tendulkar. Every time Tendulkar walks to the crease, a whole nation, tatters and all, marches with him to the battle arena. A pauper people pleading for relief, remission from the lifelong anxiety of being Indian, by joining in spirit their visored saviour."

The past month has shown that given the right stimulus, this country still unites without thinking twice. Imagine if such unity is seen more often, especially if it comes against those danged politicians! If only we did not need a 72-year-old fasting unto death or a 38-year-old walking in to a cricket field relentlessly for 21+ years in order for such unity to happen, life in India would be much, much, much easier... If only...


Sidenote: With every Hazare and Tendulkar, and I will digress a wee bit from the purpose of this post, we also have those who show up in public in order to stoke their egos and increase TV-coverage. Take for instance, everyone from the film industry supporting the Hazare-movement while they discreetly (or not-so-discreetly maybe?) make "black money" from movies and real-estate projects. Or take for instance, the Sonia and Rahul (I will NOT use their entire name, as using it just tarnishes the word "Gandhi") duo showing up in the World Cup as part of the "aam aadmi". Please don't fool us, I bet you were surrounded by under-cover and under-paid cops.

Why the f*** should I vote?

All,

Rs. 10crore for a vote in the Lok Sabha. This, under the watch of someone I have long respected, admired and looked up to as probably our sole saving grace of our political system.

I forgave him when no action was taken against Mayawati when she built umpteen statues of herself and her guru, each costing more than a few crores of rupees.

I forgave him when "Spectrum Raja" cost the ex-chequer more than a few thousand crores by selling spectrum at low costs.

I forgave him when an ex-IAF officer shamed what should have been our crowning moment in world sports when he took kick-backs during the Commonwealth Games.

I forgave him when he looked on benignly when the Adarsh Nagar scam was taking shape with the help of men from the army and the political system.

I forgave him, for each of these and many more.

It does not matter whether Wikileaks is right or wrong.

It does not matter that the Opposition themselves might be even more corrupt than the Ruling Party, but has suddenly developed a halo during these dark hours.

Why does it not matter, one might ask.

It does not, because we are the cause of this.

Yes, us. The Citizens of India.

India is the largest democracy in the world, we all know that.

An electorate of 714 million.

The largest democratic election in the world.

How many eventually turned up? A mere 57%. 407million.

Why the f*** should I vote?

What is 1 vote amongst 407million going to change?

That is exactly what the most of the remaining 307million citizens would have thought.

This past decade has seen Mumbai torn by at least two major terrorist attacks. Post every attack, televisions and newspapers were filled with calls for the heads of the politicians. Rallies were organized in order to force the government into taking action against those that had previously shown inaction. Come election day, only 44% turned up to cast their vote. Less than 40% of the elitist South Mumbai population turned up.

The reason? 35 degrees Celsius.

Put Sachin Tendulkar (who incidentally stands in line and votes in every election) in Wankhede, and you will see a million people stand in line on Marine Drive - even if the mercury touches 40C.

Similarly, Delhi. 52%.


Nagaland. Amongst the more backward states in the country. Voter turn-out: Close to 90%.

Assam. 70%.

For all those who wonder why Manmohan Singh has been voted in, ask the 70% who got their votes to count.

I know there will be a number of readers (I have very few, but most of them) will point out that percentages do not mean much given the sparse density of population in these regions. But these are the places where a lot of our politicians get voted from.

In spite of my hatred of classifying people into "classes", I will grit my teeth and proceed. A large percentage (there's the percentage word again) of the electorate is poor, illiterate and easily gullible. This is the vote-bank that the politicians target - something that we, the so-called educated citizens, are aware of. Do we not keep complaining against the the rise in number of slums in our beloved city, Mumbai? The city that we feel is being raped and plundered by the politicians. However, being educated, we seem to find ourselves to elitist to vote. And then we crib against the politicians elected.

To those who ask whom to vote when everyone is corrupt - you can register your vote without actually voting for one scoundrel or the other. People have done that. In spite of the Government not allowing a "protest vote" as part of the ballot entry, people have ensured that their vote has been counted WITHOUT voting for the arch-scoundrel standing in his/her constituency.


This boils down once again to that question - why should I vote? There are enough and more reasons why. We complain against these politicians, right? We do this even though we have not been part of the electoral process. We do this even though we have not exercised the Right to Vote - the Right that millions across the world crave for. It is the One Right that these millions wish they had, in order to shout out loud that they want change. We have been bestowed with that Right by the Constitution of India. We have the Right to Vote.


Any so-called Citizen of India who has not cast his ballot has absolutely NO F***ING right to complain against the rascals in the Government. The Right to raise your voice against the ruling party is a Fundamental one, but it is accompanied by a Fundamental Duty - and that Duty is to vote. There is no purpose in being a democratic country if its Citizens do not exercise this Right.


It is the apathetic elite class that has allowed this raping and plundering of the Motherland. Who are they to blame the Rajas and the Mamatas if they have not cast their ballot, and in fact, have more than likely been an integral part of this ring of corruption.

We ask for Raja's head, but why not those Loop Mobiles and the Tatas who have shamelessly been a part of this? Did they not benefit equally (if not more) as Raja in the  2G scam? Why blame the politicians who have  been elected through a process that we refuse to be a part of? What message are we giving those who will be eligible to cast their vote in 2013?


It is up to us to make a new beginning. We have slept too long while our so-called-elected leaders looted the land. It is time to wake up...


Regards,
Aditya.

There is only One City...

All,

Having justly received ordinary reviews for my previous post, I write to you once more with a marginally better, but an oft-repeated topic in mind. This topic came to when I was watching a certain movie on the city that I call my hometown. Most certainly, my family comes from Chennai, but my hometown is a metropolitan that I share with 14million relatives. All packed in to a mere 169 sq mi.

It is one of the fastest moving cities in the world, a city that that does not sleep or relax. A city where every day is a race and not your usual morning walk. A city that offers possibly the best public transport system in India in spite of being woefully inadequate for the population that makes daily use of it. A city where traveling in the ladies' compartment requires you to be a ladki but does not need you to be a mard to travel in the general compartment. A city where at times the fastest and safest mode of transportation is walking or cycling. A city where covering 10km can take close to 1hr 30min, a journey that millions take daily to reach their goals, their ambitions, their dreams.

It is a city where your breakfast costs Rs. 5 (vada paav or samosa paav for e.g.), your lunch costs Rs. 10 (masala paav for e.g.) and your dinner costs Rs. 10 (paav bhaajii for e.g.) in spite of the inflation in food prices. A city that offers food that will test the strength of your stomach, while providing you delicacies that can be found in the nookest of corners. A city where hot meals arrive at your doorstep through a network of dabbawalas who, barely literate, use a fool-proof, Harvard-case-studied color combination that is respected by even the Crown Prince of England. A city where even major American fast-food chains such as Subway and McDonalds' deliver food to your homes for free.

It is a city where the stock exchange opened the day after terrorist attacks on it in 1993. A city where close to 900 lost their lives in communal rioting in 1993, but yet the same involved live in peace today. A city where the lifeline AKA local trains was bombed one day and yet resumed its regular timetable the very next morning at 4am. A city that was brought down to its knees in 2008, but yet woke up to resume its daily frenetic pace in defiance to the atrocities committed over the previous three days against amongst its two most prized possessions - Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and The Taj Mahal Palace.

It is a city where every day you meet someone new, but yet is connected to you in some way or the other. A city where you know the bhaaji-wali's entire family history, yet might never know her full-name. A city where your next door neighbor literally lives about 5m away from you, and you can hear pretty much everything that goes on in their house. A city where you know enough about the rickshaw-wala in one ride to agree to exchange cellphone numbers (remember, that guy might have a jazzier phone that yours) in order to arrange for pick-ups and drop-offs everyday.

It is a city where jokes are classified as veg and non-veg. A city where you find more college students at a dhabeli stall than in their classes. A city where you graduate from high-school to junior-college before going to college where the one thing that occupies your mind more than finding chikna items is earning money. A city where the average student spends more on tuitions than he spends on school and college. A city where the average student spends 2hrs daily commuting, but yet finds time to play cricket in a tiny gully behind the 1-BHK apartment complex that he lives in with his parents.

It is a city where if you have lived there once, you can never live anywhere else in the world. A city that physically taxes you but emotionally comforts you daily. A city where one man is revered as God one day and is booed off the next day for poor performance. A city that possesses the Queen's Necklace. A city where the rich live in "town". A city that has everything but yet does not bat an eyelid before giving it all up for its citizens.

This is where I come from.

This is where I shall return.

This is where I shall remain.

Till the very end.