A Little Bit of Prashanth - Helsinki Diaries

Word Pictures

2009-10-22T02:10:00.011+03:00

Red Leaves
Gusty winds and fleeing wings
Winter is here

The stream seems to be in a hurry
Almost like it has a deep desire to reach the sea
Before winter descends and it can no longer move.

Molly's at 11:00 in the night
Friends, warm Jalo with honey (Jalo Totti?) and Jaegermeister (the Band)
Laughter and bad dancing

8:00 pm Oct, 14, 2009. Helsinki

2009-10-14T20:05:00.012+03:00

Finally, the hours are becoming reasonable at work.

I have just returned from an invigorating run.
I have discovered a running track right by the sea near my house.

8:00pm
Oct 14, 2009
Helsinki

(feels like -2.8???)

With weather like this - the least I can say was that the weather was...bracing.

Here's to the onset of the Finnish Winter. And to Change.
Yet Again.
:)

Helsinki Diaries - The Food & Drink series

2009-10-04T19:06:00.035+03:00

Posts are back. Finally - I feel a little alive now.

Helsinki Diaries - The Food & Drink series

I have been eating and drinking out so much now - that for a while now, I have been contemplating writing about it. And what a wonderful topic to resume my writing with.

There are so many interesting places in the city, but I will begin with Frambois - a quaint little cafe in Munkkiniemi, by the office.

Frambois I can't quiet decide why I keep going back to Frambois - it could that 'little-cafe-in Paris' feeling with pictures of the Eiffel Tower on the wall, a handwritten menu in French on the blackboard; the unmistakable French accent when they greet you as you enter through the door.

Frambois is quiet a tiny little cafe and sometimes I think it appears tiny only because it always has more people than it probably can accommodate.

There is one main course each day of the week and it always changes every day every week. Duck. Fish. Chicken. And the dessert. It's almost to die for. With strange unpronounceable French names, the dessert comes in all colours and shapes. And one unmistakable characteristic is the bon-homie in the place. As you enter, you can hear that highly French-accented voice welcoming you in. It almost feels a bit like Par-eeh! So, if you ever are in this part of town during the middle of the week, then Frambois comes highly recommended. Take a chance. Try out the day's main course and let me know what you thought of it.

Frambois Laajalahdentie 17 00330 Helsinki Tel: 09499901

Posts on a hold

2009-08-25T22:32:00.004+03:00

Posts on a hold.
For a while.

If you don't say anything, do people hear your silence?

Hauskaa Viikonloppuna Helsingissä - A fun weekend in Helsinki

2009-07-19T10:41:00.028+03:00

It's been just two weeks away from Helsinki - and it feels like ages. It feels great to be back!

While Frankfurt was about work, rain and hotel rooms, Helsinki is about sunny summers, fun and friends.

I decided to live out the weekend - after what I felt was days of dreariness. So I called my friend J as I landed in Helsinki 11:00 pm...and after having dropped my suitcase at my apartment, was out in the city by 12:30. Spent the rest of the night at Tiger's. (for those who don't know - one of Helsinki's cushiest clubs in downtown) and finally crashed out at J's apartment at 5 am.

Got up at noon, and after a kebab lunch, was looking to get more sleep, when the weather just cried out. It was sunny and warm and there was an abundance of summer dresses and bon-homie all over. J and I bought some coke and red wine... and we ended up drinking home made Sangria in a beautiful sunny park. (try the recipe out -its quiet easy) Soon, P joined us.

And with wonderful wine and better company, the conversation meandered from music and women to the directorial genius of Quentin Tarantino and of course, the answer to 'what do human beings desire out of life?' All in all, between the wine, the cider, the summer and a dash of optimism, that afternoon, I reached a few conclusions:

- that Women, by and large are wonderful creatures and that there's always something beautiful about every woman (J of course was in agreement, while P - a doctor, was quiet sure of the opposite!)

- that question of Life's purpose is too complex for a summer afternoon - but on the whole it is about fulfilling one's passion

- that Quentin Tarantino is the quintessential genius and that he is a class apart.

- and that I over-analyse things (as you can see by now)

It was finally 10 pm by the time I got home - and got a much needed shower and cooked a hot dinner. I was out again at midnight ... to catch up with friends in the city center, but was soon back at 2 am. And finally got to sleep in my own bed after two weeks in frankfurt.

But one thing is for sure - this Viikonloppua (weekend), is going to mark a shift in the way I look at life, helsinki and women. It's now sunday morning, and as I get ready to do my laundry and my company expense reimbursements, I am sure of impending change in my personal life and Life in general.

The Road Less Travelled

2009-07-12T15:48:00.007+03:00

Lately,
I have been thinking more and more about being here in Helsinki and Finland.
For longer.
More like thoughts running around in my head, rather than thinking.

And I notice that I am talking to more and more people about being abroad, adjusting into new cultures, reconciling cultural differences between international couples and the question of what is 'home'?

There is just One Road that one can take at any point in time. And the idea is to live it well when you are on that road...and to not plan too much in advance.

'Never limit your future by predicting it'.

Taxis Tales...from Helsinki to Munich

2009-06-29T00:41:00.022+03:00

0100700, Helsinki

089423438, Munich

My usage of taxis of late has increased - especially given my official trips to Germany. Conversations in a taxi are always interesting.

Whenever I get back to Helsinki, on my way home from the airport, I usually ask the Taxi drivers, how the weather has been - and most often than not, I hear what I consider a fairly Finnish response - an accurate representation of the truth, overladen with a generous helping of acceptance of the same. "Oh its been about 14 degrees this last week and rained yesterday. Could be better, but its the way it is." :) Another thing I do, is usually engage in conversation. Most of the taxi drivers in Helsinki shy away from conversation...and it's again what I consider a fairly Finnish response - succinct and to the point, with absolutely no interest in being gregarious. There are a few exceptions however ...and it makes quiet an interesting 'telling'. It gives me an insight into how people live and feel in Finland... their attitude to Work and indeed to Life itself.

For eg...on one of my trips, I engaged a Taxi to take me to the airport. It was an afternoon flight and I was quiet early, so I was in no rush and wasn't asking to go faster. The lady driving the taxi already seemed quiet chatty (which by itself was quiet unusual), but I picked up a conversation with her.

The conversation veered around her schedules and work routines, and I found out that this is 'her other job'. It turned out that she runs her own little Graphics Design company...where she does print designs and translations for restaurants - menus and such- speaking Russian, Swedish, English and of course Finnish!

And she worked in this taxi company to help her brother out; her brother runs this little taxi company with one car on the fleet, and two drivers in shift...and when one of them can't make it - she takes his place. "My other job (designing) gets me to think too much, and my mind is always occupied" she said. "And driving is so less complicated - sure you have to be aware - but not the same way when you have to be creative to design". It works out just fine for her - as she said 'I help my brother, I enjoy the break from my work, and make some money and its fine for all of us'. :)

Another interesting person I met was this gentleman with an obviously English accent - a native Englishman. Apparently, he had come to Finland following the woman he loved... and had stayed on for the last 20 years! We talked of fishing and how the old Candle Factory up the River Vantaa had once burned down, with all the wax flowing into the river...killing much of the fish. And how it took a whole 3 years to clean it up and to get the fish to get back to normalcy... :)

And of course, the inimitable conversation about drinking. You can never go wrong with that - a Finnish taxi driver will always have good advice on what to drink, and where...and where all the nice eating spots are!

Germany was quiet interesting as well...and I met few interesting drivers in Munich and Frankfurt. Like for example, the Italian driver in Munich. Apparently an ex devotee of Rajneesh, he mentioned that he had been resident at the Pune ashram many years ago...and that he had long ago given up that kind of life style! Of course, he did try to give me advice about women (considering that my lady-colleague M sitting in the same car) "Never trust a woman - even the Indian woman... her dark eyes are always very dangerous!" He said.

Sage advice from an Italian, ex-resident of Osho's Pune Ashram :)

And the Un-Discovered Musician. After a particularly good dinner.... we were driving back, when I remarked about the music and asked the driver what CD he was playing. Turned out that it was his - he was a composer of sorts...and had been making music for several years now! And yes, he did have some Indian influence as well. Still waiting to be discovered, he drives a taxi to get by in life.

Love, Hope and the Good Life - its all there in a taxi driver's conversation! Here's to more interesting people and conversations! On a whim, I started to search around for similar blogs and stories ...and ran into several. For eg - blogs, photos and sites by taxi drivers! 1.Taxi Tales -Tales of the life and times of a taxi driver - Taxi Drivers Blog - this one was quiet interesting - and even has a link to the www.worldtaximeter.com

2.Taxi Drivers in Italy Say the Darnedest Things A funny article about a woman's experience of the Italian Cab Circle :)

Youtubing for kitsch videos in Helsinki!

2009-05-23T10:41:00.029+03:00

There's so much of interest out there - good art, singing and photography and bad art, singing and photography! Well, art can never be bad - but it sure can not have harmony of colour, shape or sound - perhaps some people find that interesting! :) Here are a couple of videos I found and quite liked.

Don't miss the lyrics on Guiding Light!

XL ki kudiyan

Again - the lyrics - goes out to all the girls I know from XL;

Actually just a couple; But I can tell you this
-the song is quiet accurate

Classic Mississippi Blues: Listening to the Blues in Helsinki

2009-05-17T12:55:00.002+03:00

Its a glorious Sunday Morning in Helsinki. And I have had my 8 hours and here I was - YouTubing for Blues Music. Soon, I was bouncing around links listening to Mississippi John Hurt , Sonny Terry and Lightnin' Slim and of course, the inimitable Howlin Wolf.

Here are a few classics...Louisiana meets Helsinki? :)

Mississippi John Hurt Listening to John Hurt makes you feel good - and thats a great thing about his kind of blues! His deep voice and nonchalant smile makes you feel that 'wellll....this is life, all's well and i kinda feel good' Here's a song called 'Satisfied' which embodies this spirit

Robert Pete Williams And just on the other side - Pete Williams - dark and angst filled. He was discovered in the Louisiana State Penitentiary where he was serving a life sentence for shooting a man dead in a local club in 1956, an act which he claimed was in self-defense. His music is much about the time spent in prison - which he always claimed was unjustified.

Howlin Wolf And then there's the Holwin Wolf - the blues is about no money, but i dont care a damn! "when you ain't got no money , you got the Blues,when you cant pay your rent, you got the blues"

By River Vantaa, Helsinki

2009-04-28T22:51:00.001+03:00

2 km run
1 km walk
1 river
1 beautiful sunset
1 McBurger
1 thoughtful head and
8 hours of sleep and rest (hopefully)

A Frankfurt hotel room on a Saturday morning

2009-04-25T08:11:00.001+03:00

Its' 7 in the morning on the 17th floor of a hotel in Frankfurt. I leave for the airport in an hour.

Here I am

watching video's of Susan Boyle and Davy Graham

whimsically thinking about my crushes

mentally making a list of errands - like that pile of travel-laundry that needs to get done

visualising that run by the stream in this new spring weather

Sigh

The coming of Spring, Helsinki Apr '09

2009-04-11T20:07:00.001+03:00

The Winter has all but gone away. Spring is starting to make Her way through. And I am just discovering the beauty of Vanhakaupunki ! After days of lethargy I found myself singing 'Life is a Highway, I wanna ride it all night long' hoarsely, loudly and completely out of tune. And I knew it was time to invite Spring and say bye to Winter.

I decided to get out and fetch my cycle Dhano Rani from Ruoholahti.

And on my way back - decided to take some pictures. :)

The River Vantaa has been frozen since the time I got here >> This picture was taken in Feb '09. >>

So, it was extremely cool to watch the transformation over the last few days - and now - its almost in spate! And if I now open the window or stand in my balcony - I can hear the roar of the river! And the woodland near the mouth of the river - (Vanhankaupunginlahti) constitutes a natural conservation zone. The area is largely marsh like and has large tracts of grassy marsh area - with patches of wooded land.

However, for purposes of walking amidst the reeds, the City of Helsinki has graciously constructed small wooden duckboards.

Apparently, there are at least 280 species of birds in the vicinity. (Though I spotted only about 5 or 6 including the obvious duck and swan.) Unlike other 'non-protected areas', visitors are not allowed to move or fish within the marshy foliage. Even the inimitable cycle or the dog is prohibited.

And did I mention that it literally is my backyard! :D All these photos are of locations not more than 5-8 mins by walk from my apartment.

(More pictures on my Picasaweb location) Here's to Spring!! life is a highway I wanna ride it all night long...

Go Skating!

2009-03-08T08:47:00.001+02:00

4 Weeks
5 vertically challenged sessions
2 hours each
More body contact with ice than ever in my life
Finally,
the 6th one - I actually managed to slip in a few moments of actual skating
Exhilarating and a sense of liberation - almost like gliding!
(And a hint of 'Finally!')

Time to breathe and take it in

2009-02-15T00:45:00.000+02:00

The days are longer during the winter - just as much as the lethargy and resistance to participate in Life is! When I got back from India, I was too busy 'settling into my new place'; then there was the hectic schedule at work. And then I told myself - even the Finns hibernate during winter. And embodify more of the quiet reticence that personify them. But truth be told that I was just not willing to participate in Life. Not that that was bad :) And how many of us have felt that way - and then found a zillion things outside of us to make the reason for this non-participation. :) But I have discovered how the Finns continue to participate in Life despite the winter cold - between the warm gloggi with friends, and the winter sports - there is always a Life to be led. Like this morning. When my friend Antti visited me; he actually skated on the frozen sea for a couple of kilometers to come visit me! After a warm chai (battling the Finnish winter with India spiced tea!), we set out and I tried his skates on the sea and have been inspired enough to try the new skates that I have bought - which I shall do tomorrow. And this evening. When some other friends and I dropped by at Tiina's for a Valentine's party. And had a most wonderful time, with friends that I am beginning to value as close ones. Enough said - here's to taking another bite. And finishing what Life has on my plate.

Christmas!

2008-12-15T00:17:00.001+02:00

Helsinki in December -the Land of Santa.

Long Dark Days - where its still pitch dark at 8 in the morning and starts to turn dark again by 3 in the afternoon
Long Dark coats - a la Matrix
Cold biting winds
Slippery ice on the roads
Warm Glögi
Long movies at home
Contemplative quiet times
Red and White in every street corner
Trips - where the foreigners are buying tickets to go home ...and the Finns are buying tickets to warmer places (India, Indonesia, Bermudas...)
Snow Angels

Aaaannnnddd its Winter!

2008-11-24T00:41:00.000+02:00

Autumn has come and gone The leaves have dropped and the new season has definitively set in.

Yes. Winter in all its glory! And snow! The snow in the first weeks of winter brings hope to the people of Helsinki - that this winter will be better than the one from last year which in their Finnish minds was 'too warm'! This winter is one of change. Yet again. Last winter was one that has perhaps changed my Life forever - in many ways than one - and Helsinki was just one of them. This winter - I start with a simple change - I am moving apartments - and moving to a beautiful apartment in the North of the city. It has everything my current apartment has - a sauna, a great kitchen - my sanctum santorium,and more - its bigger, its got tonnes of plants and the view from the balcony is spectacular! It's by a beautiful River. And it's by the Bay. Right outside my home (would-be) is a running track that circles a wooded area and a stone's throw away is the river. Serendipity led me to this place and how! I have been searching for an apartment for sometime now. When one Sunday, I was helping a friend move some furniture. We dropped off another friend who was helping out (and who was visiting her mother in the same neighborhood) and I remarked 'Its quite a nice place, wouldnt be a bad place to live in'. Imagine my surprise when two days later, I land up in the very same neighborhood, looking at Suvi's apartment. Anyways - I intend moving in after I return from India. India! 10 months. And a sea-change in my outlook to Life later, I am heading back to India. Albeit for a short while. I have just agreed with my bosses to return back for another stint - a whole year! As I look forward to my new apartment and the continued explorations of new attitudes, hobbies and friends, I am looking back at the year and wonder - what if the year before had turned out different? What if 2007 was different? But thoughts aside - here is to a Year of Change.

Italy, Monaco, France - pictures!

2008-10-25T10:02:00.000+03:00

Finally, uploaded the pictures. Posts shall be up soon.

Nice Monaco

Paris, Champagne, Brussels, Amsterdam - Coming!

Autumn in Helsinki

2008-10-06T21:37:00.000+03:00

Summer’s come and gone And Autumn has come upon Helsinki The leaves from the trees are dropping with as much speed as the clothes did during the onset of summer. It has been a long hiatus. With a very very busy vacation – catching up with old friends, seeing the old in new ways…a post was long pending – especially the uploading of many beautiful pictures of many beautiful places and things. But it seemed like all that energy was reserved for the Vacation and the return to Helsinki after 16 days on the road brought with it a quietness. But the Quiet Moment has been welcome – after the Busy Moment. It almost felt like the chrysalis. And a very timely one. Have you ever felt that way before? And now I feel new – all over again. A bit tempered, more grounded and. Quiet. Posts and Photos will follow. About Rome – a city that was grand About Paris – a city that still is And About Contact Improvisation – finally, a dance form that has taken my fancy.

Runner Id: 2008TASV1261

2008-07-25T10:18:00.000+03:00

Meet Aarti. 5'6'' MBA , USA Working for a Catastrophe Risk modeling company in the US. Intrepid Sportswoman, A Never-Say-Die Attitude Runner Id: 2008TASV1261

Since Aarti went away to the US a couple of years back, (From my oh so limited perspective), I believed that her world was pretty much about "I need to complete my MBA, get good grades"...then it moved onto 'I need to get a job, a good job'; And then a few interviews and a change of city later she landed up in a great job with a financial firm. I was sooo wrong. There was so much more to her. A few days ago her G-Talk status message started sounding a little strange "Aarti did 10 miles", "Aarti did 11 today". And when I asked her about it, she sent me an email...which I think have forwarded to most of you reading this :) She's running a fund-raiser marathon. 13 Miles. This one's to help raise funds to provide education to kids in India.

I was a little intrigued by 'this whole-marathon-thing...and as I dug around, I saw the enormity of the issue and the difference the program is making ...in its own way. Child Literacy: As I read through the net, I began to get a sense of how important a social issue Child Labour and Child Literacy is. It is perhaps a very strategic lever which can be used to transform society. On a macro level, when you look at the numbers, its astounding! And on a micro-individual level, take a moment, delve into a child's mind and feeling and see how it would be - to live amidst domestic violence, poverty, to have to work everyday to eat that next meal...to see all those 'other kids' in thier fancy uniforms...well you get the point. I put a small montage together... a picture does speak a thousand words...

The Asha Marathon Program: What began as a single city, single digit participation in the marathons has now become a mulit city program in the US and in other parts of the world. People are encouraged to participate, and if not complete the full marathon, partially do so. They are given coaching classes, support as required...and funds can be raised by each runner...just like Aarti is doing. All the money goes out to fund Asha's programs around child literacy in India. The money raised is just one of the outcomes - people are willing to take on personal challenges to run the marathon - many running in successive years; coaching programs have been set up and its being held in multiple cities.

Coming back to the issue of child labour... I guess there have always been moments of empathy, sympathy, anger, frustration and a whole host of emotions one has felt with the issue of Child Labour and Education.

This moment is a call for action.

If you would like to do some Armchair Contribution - click the link below. You can donate using a credit card...

Donate Here

By the way - its not elaborate procedure at all - took me about 8 mins...and perfectly safe.

Every rupee, and dollar, euro counts - so whatever your 'denomination'... do go ahead and give - nothing is too small.

And in case you want to forward the 'donation' link to people:

http://tiny.cc/cBIiu

NB: None of the images on this post come from me. They have been picked up from the public domain on the internet. I just put them together in a video format. Music from Enigma - I hope they pardon any IP issues in the view of supporting child literacy programs.

Hiking in the Nuuksio National Park

2008-07-14T11:46:00.000+03:00

Nuuksio National Park Well - not really a hike, more like a Nature Walk. Last weekend, a couple of friends and I set out at 10 in the morning to Nuuksio. Antti is a practicing psychologist who also teaches at the local university and Jarko is a Chi-Gung Trainer. A chance conversation at a party a few days ago led to the Nuuksio National Park - also known as Noux. Finland has some really amazing hiking trails. and the Great Outdoors is greatly enouraged as a form of recreational activity. And Nuuksio is perhaps the one closest to the Helsinki city. More a Nature walk, it has jogging and cycling tracks. It also has a trail for horse riders! Just before we started off on the main Walk, Jarko also took us to a more private one - a private hill of sorts so to speak. When I asked about the appropriatness of entering private area, Jarko replied that 'Nature areas' are pretty public - meaning even if a Finn owned a forest area or an island, other Finns have complete right to walk around...they dont get stopped. If you wanted to camp overnight you could, but sometimes it may be appropriate to speak to the owners. But there you go - complete freedom to walk the trails! Our day comprised walking to three destinations - lakes to be precise. The first was a larger one, and there was already a family there by the time we reached the spot. After a brief rest there, we then moved onto the second one. Here, the two of them had no inhibitions getting out of thier clothes to do a little skinny dip. Nudity is not a problem here - with the sauna culture and is pretty much a done thing. I was too Indian to try anything :) Enroute to the third lake, we also climbed this little hill and actually took the time to stop for a while and rest. It was a most beautiful experience - where all you could hear was the wind amidst the trees, a few birds...and this bee that kept buzzing around me! It felt so wonderful, I think we even nodded off to sleep for a while. When we went down to the third - and I decided to take a dip (with my shorts on, of course)... and for those who know I dont swim - i pretty managed to get wet...the water was just right - about 18 I would say. Another break through - my first Finnish Lake Dip. :) Here's the official website with maps and directions to get to Nuuksio - Getting to Nuuksio - Maps and Directions Have fun!

2008-07-11T01:04:00.000+03:00

Guys- dont miss this one

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

* ing Imran Khan, Genelia, Ratna Pathak, Manjari Phadnis, Anuradha Patel, Jayant Kriplani, Alishka Varde, Nirav Mehta, Ayaz Khan, Karan Makhija, Sugandha Garg, Prateik Babbar, Renuka Kunzru, Naseeruddin Shah

Very nice.

Funny without being in your face. It makes you think about the good moments you had in college, your friends and then you wonder - where they are now, what they are doing...hmmm.

Just imagine they made Friends into a movie, (Monica and Chandler getting married?), removed the the American show's cheesy style, throw in a nice Indian college type flavour

And you have Jaane tu ya jaaane na - An Aamir , Abbas Tyrewala's direction and a good cast.

The story begins with a group of friends heading off to the airport to greet some friends. And the chatter is filled with references to love lost, love won, mis-understandings and The Group. It does lend itself to a certain 'hot pakora' and chai (Or Beer and Pakora) mood. The movie meanders through a story that at times seems familiar and at times has its surprises. I didnt realise it - but somewhere along the way, I caught myself being interested in the lives of the people in the movie...being empathatic with this one, or angry with that one. Thats a sign of a good movie. The cast is an interesting mix.

Jay (Imran) - He is so much like Aamir - it was almost eerie - but quite tolerable. I think he may grow to be a crowd puller. He is the kind of actor that makes people would him want to succeed.

Aditi (Genelia) - She, well - she's cute - I guess you pull a pretty girl from St.Joseph's and she can most likely do! Hmm - on serious thoughts- she does a fair bit of acting...and the chemistry between the two is quite becoming. (Btw - A UK based girl, now in Hyderabad? What happened to Mumbai?)

As for The Friends - you can find atleast one person in your life who resembles atleast one of the characters...making it easy on 'Acceptability Scale'...an easy-going narrative style.

The Ratna - Naseerudin banter brings that light hearted fun at the right moments. You begin to forward to these as the movie progresses. "You can take the Rathore out of the Ranchod, but you can never take the Ranchod out of the Rathore!!" And of course, not to forget, Aditi's brother - the obnoxious painter genius who reminds his sister what it is to be true to ones heart.

For many of the girls - you will defntly have aasoon in your eyes at certain moments :) or perhaps those thoughts that take you back to yester years - reminding you of 'Him'

And no, it does NOT have many 'Awwww , chooo cute' moments - which make it all the more enjoyable.

Rahman shows that he still hasnt lost his touch - the music complements the mood of the movie very well - light hearted and engaging. As for the dialogue- it has been a long time since I enjoyed a good line in a Hindi movie! There were times I was roaring with laughter (wonder what the neighbours thought) By the way - for all you Wannabe Macho guys - thats a good prescription - Beat someone up, Spend a night in jail...and ride a horse on the city roads!!

What ever happened to Viagra and Veerappan moustaches?

Anywhich ways - a total paisa vasool movie.

Go watch it with your girlfriend, boyfriend, gang...your favourite company. Its a refreshing movie. Check out my friend - Vishal's take [COMMA]on the movie - will make you smile

A Little bit of Helsinki

2008-06-26T23:48:00.000+03:00

I have been pretty much writing about my visits and travels to locations outside of Helsinki - so I thought it would be a good idea to write a bit about the city itself....and of course some pictures from the city.

Helsinki is in the southern tip of the country - and is by far the countrys largest city.

With a population of just over 550,000 it defintly is a mite smaller than Bangalore (!) but the richness of its culture, history and the energy of its youth make up for its scale.

From a tourist´s point of view, the city definetly is a friendly place- I wont say warm...but defntly friendly. People are not necessarily outgoing, or boisterously welcoming - but you are definetly taken care of; in my brief stay of 4 months, I havent heard a single word of racism...except perhaps one - though I may not have heard it properly - and anyway the lady was completely drunk. And one incident of someone being absolutely rude to me in a cinema hall- but I guess she was drunk as well!

Ah yes - drink flows easily and you can find a lot of 'bag-ladies' and drunk men around at times...but they are pretty much well behaved.

Getting Around

For someone who has had to rely on autorickshaws for most of his life and never drove a car much, I was absolutely thrilled to experience the freedom that the city's public transport provided - the trams and buses, the metro and the trains.

The city is criss crossed with Tram lines...and you can pretty much get around to any part of the city on a tram.

Trams have been running in Helsinki for over a hundred years. Horse-drawn trams appeared on the streets in 1891 and the first electric tramline entered service on 4 September 1900. Over a hundred years of tram history includes many interesting stages in the development of tram traffic in Helsinki. Here's a YouTube video of a restored Streetcar (more than a 100 years old!) on a tramline...and you would agree with me when I say that - its more ínteresting to ride a charming old tram rather than a mariginally more functional modern one!

Interesting trivia - of the city's 550,000 population, a little over 200,000 commute using trams on a given weekday! Over 40 %!

The metro is another popular mode of transport- quite the thing, very quick - frequent. Trivia- Over 50 Million people use the Metro every year!

A deep escalator takes you down to the stations (this takes a minute to reach the bottom!) and we have trains every 4- 6 minutes.

An interesting phenomenon here is the suddent burst of motorcycles and bicylces in the city- with the coming of summer.

With the clearing of the skies and the snow and rains dissappearing, motorcycles started springing round every street corner...all kinds - Harleys are very popular and of course the ubiquitous Japanese models the Hondas and Kawasakis.

Imagine to my surprise when one fine day-I see a whole new contraption just around my house...being ridden by some folks in typical biker gear - long hair, glares, leather jackets and all!

Designer bicycles!

But cycles are a big deal here - everyone rides one..You can buy a reasonably good one for about 200 Euros...with the more expensive desígner ones costing about 2000Euros. I bought mine from a friend...almost for free :) And no, its not designer...but it does get me around.

Of course, the Finn loves his boats - they come in all shapes and sizes; Did I mention, that I lived right by the sea - my neighbour hood is called - the Green Bay - and I pass by some of these boats everyday! And some other interesting pictures.... Saw this buggy and three more at The Aussie bar : ) The kids love thier skate boards- at every corner and plaza Horses??...:) Naaah- just a larger than life poster :)

The Market Place

An interesting culture around the city - like in many cities - is the presence of the local market. Abuzz with activity, loud

chatter, where the loud colours of the fresh strawberries competes for attention with the boisterous music of an aged Banjo player, you can find it all at the the market place. Helsinki has several of them, but the biggest and most famous one is the one next to the Harbour...open during Summers...on the weekends only.

You can buy fruits, Finland stuff :) and of course have your coffee and croissant. Over several days, I have taken photographs around the city - and they are all uploaded here. You are welcome to check them out - leave a comment on the blog though, if you'd like to. The Helsinki Diaries 1 The Helsinki Diaries 2

A Day in Estonia

2008-06-09T22:46:00.000+03:00

It was a long Saturday evening. Late night movie, crashed at a friends house. Woke up at 9 to a friends call - 'Hey we are at the Harbour - headed to Estonia...do you want to join? Sure I wanted to! Took me 60 min to get home,wash up and head to the harbour...on my trusty bicycle. Passport in hand, bicycle in the parking lot, I bought my ticket to Estonia on a cruise. We spent the entire day at Tallin, the capital city of Estonia. Here's an interesting trivia - Skype - that ubiquitous interent software - came out of Tallin ! 'The Old Town' is the most 'touristy part of Tallin - and thats where we headed as well. Here are the pictures from that trip.

Mediterranean France - Montpellier

2008-05-25T10:19:00.000+03:00

Mediterranean France has all the promises of the Mediterranean - Sun, the Beach, Good Wine... A chance workshop at the IBM office took me to Montpellier - a small French town off the coast of the Mediterranean. The town just has 200,000 inhabitants but it does feel a lot more than that - with all the around. The town predominantly is a University Town - but also has some large companies. IBM had this huge Center where they conduct Research, used to do some Production work and now have large facilities for Benchmarking etc. We were taken around the Center and our host - a super die hard fan of Super Computing had words of praise everytime he took us to show a new server. He would walk us by a Z series server and mutter - 'Very Impressive, Very Imressive' in a most French manner - and mumble 'How Beautiful' on and off. One would think that the young frenchman was referring to the French Women that we got to see later in the evening! And of course - he pointed to the Blue Gene and said - thats the one that beat Gary Kasparov - with a look of a proud father...and he couldnt have been more than 25. After our meetings on day one, we got to go out for a bit and I managed to do my touristy thing - of taking a few pictures. Here's where they are all uploaded. A smallish town - not too crowded - you could really enjoy the Mediterranen town in a most relaxed manner. The people are friendly, beautiful and pleasant. One of the town's attractions is the 18 century Aqueduct that used to supply water to the town's populace. I managed to catch the main Aqueduct in the evening sun - and it looked so beautiful... We did have our customary beer at the Plaza next to the Palace of Comedie - and to have the warm Mediterranean sun graze your skin was a welcome change from the Cold Finnish days (!) We finished the day by going to Dinner to a restaurant by the Beach - hmmmm - and it just couldnt have been better - Wine, the warm sea air and the beautiful sun set - reminded me so much of Goa actually! Dinners are always the most interesting times after a meeting with clients - because it is the time for people to let thier hair down - not that the Finns do it much ...especially with work - colleagues...but we did. I had some interesting conversations with some of the folks who were there. There was a Finn lady with a 21 year old son and we talked about marriage, living in and settling down - how like a mother to say that - but it just goes to show - parents around the world share the same feelings, concerns and hopes about their children! We were talking about Living In and it was interesting to hear that she would be concerned if either of her children (son or daughter) were to tell her that they were getting married without having lived with the companion for a while! I also discovered that the Summer House culture is very big in Finland. Everyone has a Summer House! It's usually away from the city, is by a lake...every Finn is proud to have one! And like I read by a famous Finn Architect - "Summer houses are very personal - they are like journal entries." :) Another interesting gentleman I met at the workshop was ...lets just call him Steve. Steve is a mid 30's professional in IBM. Conversation led me to find out some interesting things about him - Studied Chemical Engineering in graduation, Computer Science in his masters and his PhD in Speech Recognition; Not to forget that he worked in a bar between courses, has been tinkering with bikes and has built many of them by hand - and that he loves Indian food (Go Curry!) and cooks well! Here's to more traveling - and I hope to visit Montpellier again - its a very beautiful place and I wish for each of you to be able to visit it sometime!

ISKCON@Helsinki; Dinner@Prashanth's

2008-04-05T01:55:00.000+03:00

An evening at ISCKON

We also found ourselves one evening at the local ISCKON temple. It is really interesting to meet Finns who have dedicated their life to this. In fact, there were people who could recount stories of the Good Lord Krishna, which am sure most of us wouldn’t know!

They served some really yummm vegetarian food – which was a star attraction!

Dinner at my place

So an interesting experience for me is – to host dinners, get togethers at my place. Done that twice this month already!

First time was Pizza

We had close to 10 people…with Inder’s little one – Agasthya as well.

The Second Time :

We headed out to the local Indian store to buy some stuff – and after ages, I found myself buying Indian snacks - bhujia and stuff…

We also went out and hired a DVD – 300..and came back to watch it on my oh-so-nice Flat Screen.

When Sapna and Aditya came by and joined as well – we couldn’t find any good movies online to watch – so that unfortunately was a dampner. But Sidharth as usual rustled up a most nice dinner…hot dal, aloo and pickle to go with it.

The house was full – 6 people…and we even had to find places to sit down – but it was fun!

Here’s to more of them this year!

Easter Weekend!

2008-04-05T01:52:00.000+03:00

Easter weekend!

It was the long Easter Weekend and Chaitnya - Young Lad 2 was over from Turkuu in Helsinki.

While Young Lad 1 Deepak was away in Italy (ahem!) and the women ( Mitali and Bincy) were in Switzerland and Sapna and Aditya were in Lapland, a few of us chose to stay back and explore Helsinki.

Day one: Sea Life –A Natural Park for Marine Life

Originally, the 3 of us had decided to step out (Sid, Chaitanya and I), but on a whim, called a few people – in 30 min had a group of 8 all gathered at the Lahsipalatsi tram stop!

Rakesh’s wife – remember the Paani Puri – was at it again – and this time packed chips, a few drinks and such. We stopped at a store– (and after some mild flirting with the girl at the counter), picked up some chocolates and drinks as well.

It was a very nice time – both at the Aquarium – where we got to see Jelly Fishes, Sharks and not to forget the Corals; and after – when we stopped by at a small hill next door to have our picnic goodies!

The Next Day, the three of us headed out to the Zoo.

This trip gave me an opportunity to see the quieter side of Helsinki.

The zoo is a short 15 min trip from the Metro. And almost quietly in a most unobsruse manner we are taken to the quieter side of Helsinki. Serene, wide open spaces, idyllic. Being by the sea side gave it a very cold nip and through our entire two hours there, we had to hug our jackets, keep our hands in the pockets …and shiver a lot.

More than the animals, the idea was to venture out and see what the city had to offer and I often found myself being curious about the people watching the animals rather than watching the animals- It takes all kinds to make humanity – I saw families with the children in tow, young couples, old couples, mothers and fathers are pretty much the same all around the world – chasing after their kids, and how happy they are to see their kids excitement!

I was reminded a lot of my nephew and niece that day.

After a good two hours, we walked our way back to the exit – and there is this one stretch connecting the island to the mainland – across a bridge – which we literally had to race across because of the nipping wind!

After some good coffee to warm up and the customary purchase of refridge mangnets, and Chaitnaya went fida on the girl at the counter…we headed back home.

Day Three: The Design Museum.

We decided to do some ‘Cultural activity’ i.e see some Musuems of art and culture today.

Most museums were closed this day – but we found one that was open…the Design Musuem.

We landed up at the doors and spent about a couple of hours here – on show was some Design work by a famous Finnish Designer who’s work is to be found in the City’s metros, bus stations etc. Mostly furniture. There was also on exhibition, some Indian Jewelry.

It was nice to hear the voice of Bismillah khan on the telly, with Silver Jewelry from over India – Orissa, Rajasthan, South India.

Cruissseee time!

2008-04-05T01:51:00.000+03:00

Cruise time....

Within a few days of me coming to Finland, the IBM team decided on a two day cruise to Stockholm. Given my old self, I was tempted to say – hmm – I need some time to settle down, you guys carry on. But armed with my new context, I chose to head out.

We left on a Friday evening and spent two nights on the Cruise, with a day at Stockholm.

That Friday was a full day. Thursday: Buy Gifts for Young Tamanna who was celebarating her birthday on Friday, book cake. A fair amount of work – calls, writing RFI responses…

Friday:6 AM – 8:00 AM– Wake up, tea, pack bags 8:00 – Check out of Hotel – take taxi to my new apartment 8:00 – 8:30 Dump luggage, set down things 8:30 - 4:00 Looonngg day at work – conference calls, meetings, India, Finland…sighhh <12:00 – pick up Tamanna’s birthday cake> 4:30 – rush back – still taking calls on the phone 5:00 – race to the Harbour to catch the Ferry

Whew – long day, finally settle down in my cabin – met Laxman and Chaitanya(Young Lad2)– natives of Turku – poor folks – in a team of about 10, they are the only ones living in a different city!

Deepak, Young Lad1 – my comrade in arms to have fun on your stay – resolve to make the most of our time on the Cruise. A young lad of 27, with a hearty laughter and a carefree attitude.

We began the cruise by taking a walk around the decks, doing the typical Titanic poses. :)

Jokes, casual banter…great leg pulling filled the evening.

Finally, we pulled out the cake and the gifts we had purchased for Tamanna. We managed to get to a place where we could light birthday candles; To celeberate your 6^th birthday on a cruise to Stockholm – with not one, but two surprise birthday cakes! Rakesh’s wife, being her usual hospitable self had managed to pack some snacks. So imagine this – we are a few kilometers out into the sea – between Helsinki and Stockholm, eating Paani Puri, cake and pulling each other’s legs – 11 people in a small 5 feet by 5 feet cabin!!

It was a blast!!

The Little Imp who Made the Cruise Special !

We finally set out for dinner – a most sumptuous bouffet dinner.

The Bombay Dancers.

The cruise had decided to promote India as a theme as they were launching a new cruise that would go all the way to India. So the India them was sprinkled through out the ship – Incredible India posters as we entered on the jetty to large 30 feet Ganesha posters hanging from the ceiling! The highlight was of course the Bombay Dancers – a troupe that was especially flown in from India. They performed Bollywood dances on both nights – which the crowd absolutely lapped up!!

Casino time! After dinner and a show at the Bombay Dancers, a few of us got to the Casino – where they also had live music playing on one side.

Of course, innocent bystanders we were (!) and just sat by and watched. After a while, we resolved that we would need to play our hand at the casino. In the meanwhile, the live band was playing live music and some of us went dancing on the floor – mostly 90’s music.

It was close to 12:00 and Deepak and I kept wondering if this was the only place we could dance that evening…and upon making enquiries with the bartender, discovered that the ‘Club’ was on the 13^th floor right on top.

We made our way to the top – and suddenly the whole atmosphere changed. There was loud House Music playing, psychedelic lights and a young hip crowd dancing away on the 13^th Floor! The right time as the night was just beginning here.

We ran into a couple of Patrick’s local friends here. Patrick is big young Finn who likes to live the life…and so were his friends. So we chatted about Clubs, Dancing, Women (!), what works, what doesn’t.

We had our fair chance at the floor as well – at both the Club and the first Dance floor – alternating between the two – I also had the experience of asking a woman to dance with me - one of those pretty young things. I discovered how easy all of this is, compared to India.

We finished up by about 2:30 – and spent another 45 min talking to friends in one of the cabins. Finally we headed to our bed…looking forward to our visit to Stockholm…that would begin in just a few hours time.

Our Saturday begin with a bouffet breakfast – sumptuous yet again. Mostly comprising a lot of bread, various kinds of cheese, eggs…well – you get the idea.

We got out to the city of Stockholm – taking the bus to the City Center. The bus dropped us off at the City Center – and we just missed the City Tour Bus. However, we bought tickets to the next one – which was about two hours away.

So we took that time to walk around the city.

The City of Stockholm

The city of Stockholm, I must admit – had a little more colour and life than Helsinki. The streets that we visited – so reminiscent of old Europe- Cobble stones, small streets, old buildings…

One interesting place was the Old Royal Palace – and we managed to catch the change of Guard as well…

The Viking Kutumbh Mitali began the buying of the famed Viking helmets. Following her was Young Deepak and myself. We decided to adopt Bincy on a lot of pleading from her side…:)

The Viking Family had to follow a Code of Conduct – wear the Helmet at all times; speak in

a most chaste language and stand by the Family! Ha ha ha – so this was our team – two 30 + year olds behaving like 20 somethings and the 20 somethings behaving like teenagers! We roamed the city with our helmets, with passers by asking if we were returning from a party, making touristy purchases.

The Prime Minister of Helsinki.

ON our way back, we had to ask a few people how we could order a taxi. A couple of girls (well – they seemed to be prettier in Stockholm rather than Helsinki – but I cant quite make up my mind), managed to help us. As we were standing by the square, they squealed in excitement – pointing to this innocuous couple walking with shoppiig bags – not more than 30 meters away from us. Turned out it was the Prime Minister of Sweden…out for shopping with his wife – accompanied by just two gaurds. Compare this with India – with about 20 cars in two…roads jammed..you get the idea…:)

Anyway, the Viking Family returned to the ship to yet another long night of Wine, Dancing, Juwa and….

After a repeat of yesterday’s menu for dinner (!), and seeing part II of the Bollywood Movie (the Dancers), we walked over to the Gambling tables.

I spent the better part of an hour, just standing and seeing how people were playing – and finally decided to try my hand at the roulette table.

I played very cautiously for about an hour – making a marginal win…with low stakes…and then of course, was willing to raise my stakes. In less than 15 minutes, Deepak and I managed to win about 70 + Euros, and lose it all :)

Bincy took more than an hour and half to do the same :)

However, the rush of seeing the dice turn on the wheel, waiting with bated breath to see where it would land, planning how we would place our bets – odds, evens, rows, colors was quite the experience!

Deepak and I went back to the Club, danced a bit more…had a couple of close shaves in terms of dancing with the women – learnt a bit more about being open, adventeruous, and then headed back to our cabins; but one thing was sure – we were going to try out more of the Clubs back in Helsinki!

But all good things come to an end... the ship returned back to Helsinki by the morning. Back to work, and regular life...but with a little more appetite to enjoy Life ;) See pictures here

A whole new resolve to have fun! Suomenlinna - the Fortress Island

2008-04-05T01:44:00.000+03:00

Isnt it wonderful if we as human beings learnt to be happy with what we have?

A truism that has perhaps been in existence since 10,000 BC :)

But not just happy with what we have, but also go beyond what we may consider as things that limit our ability to be happy, to live life fully…and that takes something…not always easy.

With this context, let me go onto what else has been happening in Finland.

Suomenlinna

The first weekend, Sapna, Aditya and I went on a short trip to a nearby island – called Suomenlinna.

Suomenlinna is just a 20 min boat ride away from the main city of Helsinki.

After a brief coffee stop to beat the cold air, we set out to explore the island on foot.

Perhaps a not entirely appropriate time to be at the island – cold winds, etc. at least it kept the tourist hordes away.

Photo Courtesy - Sapna My camera gave way in terms of battery so am attaching here the photographs which Sapna took on her camera – thanks Sapna!

Some other nice snaps that she took at her stay at Helsinki – very beautiful! These give you the flavour of the city, the streets, churches and the local harbour.

Suomenlinna - a visit to the Fortress Island of Finland

Back in Finland - finally! 2008

2008-04-05T01:35:00.000+03:00

Back in Finland- finally!

For those of you who know – this has been a much delayed return.

Finally, I landed here, through all the trials and tribulations of IBM’s Short Term Foreign Policy.

After a relatively shorter flight direct from India to Finland – compared to the longer one via Germany, I got out of the airport at Vaanta.

Snowing.

Since my hotel apartment would let me check in only later, I decided to hole up at a friends apartment.

…I landed with bag and baggage at Kaalevankatu – a small street downtown in Helsinki.

While I was waiting for Sidharth to land back from his visit to Turku – a historical town near Helsinki, I looked at the apartment I was waiting in – and wondered – where did all the nice apartments I looked at go – this was not what I saw the last time I was here. The apartment was small, strangely built – a huge hall with a bed at one side, a telly at the other and the kitchen and loo to one side (!)

However, I let that be and shortly that evening landed up at the familiar Accome Senate – the Apartment Hotel I stayed at last time.

I ran into this Indian gentleman at the door – who was for the first time in his life, had come to foreign land …a recent fracture had left him a little cumbered in his moments, so I helped him get into his room, settle in and guided him around. You can imagine how it felt – just like I did the last time round – and I was full of empathy for his situation.

I also met up with Sapna, a colleague from India who was staying at that Hotel for a week then.

She had already made some friends and so we stepped out for dinner that evening with her, Aditya (yes – we are quite a few Indians in Helsinki), a Chinese lady who worked for TCS and a German gentleman who worked for IBM.

We ate at a Fish – Market, down by the harbour.

While the rest of my company ate a most sumpuous sea-food meal, I spent the better hald of 15 min explaining to the lady taking our order, that I wanted something purely vegetarian - and that Fish was not vegetarian fare.

Welcome to Finland!

Notes from 2007 contd...my first few experiences...

2008-04-04T01:27:00.000+03:00

The First few Days in Finland!

How often have you felt so completely in a strange new place, with every thing you do is a new experience…

The whole experience of living on your own – in an apartment hotel (unlike in India, where I most often than not had Paati, the Apartment Watchman or chatty neighbors!)

There was also my first moment with Snow!

That most wondrous element of nature which to the ones who have never ventured out of tropical India, have only seen on the telly or the net.

So enamored was I, that I kept taking photos over and over again – till I saw them on the comp…and realized that most of them were beginning to look alike (Prashanth in snow; kids in the snow; building in the snow, bicycle in the snow :) )

Not to forget the Cooking – cutting onions, cooking the rice, making the Tadka!

We also visited IKEA – which was a fair distance from the main city of Helsinki. Trudging through a km of snow, through the dark afternoon did not quite prepare me for the experience that awaited me – IKEA has set up huuuggeee demo model houses – filled with things you can buy. And we had gone a week before Christmas – so the whole place was filled with Christmassy things – decorations etc. The place was all red, white, silvery and golden!

You can buy things for a fairly inexpensive price here – and you can buy almost anything to get your house going. In fact, the apartment I am currently staying at is an ‘IKEA House’ with pretty much everything from there.

See all pictures here

New Years....Hampiiiii

2008-04-04T01:20:00.000+03:00

New Years....Hampiiii

For someone who likes things a little planned, to be able to buy a ticket at 4, for a bus that was to leave at 10, without knowing where I would stay, was quite a breakthrough! And thats exactly what happened.

Hampi. The Vijaynagara city.

Historical capital meets Hippie Destination...the settings are indeed all that you hear...quite the experience. but let me begin at the beginning, a very good place to start. I spoke with Ravi who invited me to join him and a small group of friends to Hampi. He did warn me that it would be a very unplanned trip- so atypical of me to do one if those. But given my moods I said yes; and I joined him and three of his friends at the crowded Gandhinagar bus stand...

10 in the night. And as we stood there- - got a glimpse of the City at 10- standing amidst people shouting abuses in Kannada. The little darshinis cleaning out and shutting shop. The cops doing thier beat. ravi walked over and bought our 'supplies' for the night- cans of KF. We got onto the bus- my first Sleeper Bus. I had a berth all to myself and I was pretty happy about it. The bus took off and the gang congregated in one berth and the cans opened up. Wellll was this how college kids travelled :) smokes were lit, windows opened and light banter. Enroute we stopped as the bus had a breakdown. And our bus driver got into an argument with a lorry driver who knocked the rear lights! With this minor excitement done with, we all got back in and I crashed out.

Waking up as we reached Hospet.

Of course, we had rickshaw wallahs accost us as we got down...but we got into a restaurant to wake up to some milky tea and hot idlis. We hired two autos to take us to Hampi. Enroute, the auto drivers offered to help us with some local vegetation ...which after much deliberation, the gang declined.

Hampi! The main street near the Virupaksha temple. bustling with activity like any tourist town. Little shops selling colourful cheap t shirts, beads yellow, red greem and a multitude of other colours. hawkers. And of course, so reminscent of Goa - the little box reastaurants with Italian, Israeli, Mexican menus.

We took a boat across the Thunga river to what is popularly known as Hippie village.

Of course, dressed as we were, like tourists (glares, knap sacks, i pods) we were accosted by the Tout Brigade offering to take us to the Best Hotels with Best food. We finally settled upon one...which turned out to have the last rooms as guests coming after us were turned away. After a cold wash up, hot food, we headed out.

The plan was simple- hire the bikes which every tourist seemed to have and generally venture out.

We left our hotel and within about 100 paces, made our first pit stop. Of course, we had intended a quick stop, but an hour after we had left our hotel, and a few beers later, we were still a 100 paces from our hotel! However, armed with directions and smokes, the gang hired its first batallion of vehicles...mopeds, that we wouldn't be caught riding in Bangalore! Soon we were vying to ride the mopeds.

Our first stop were these magnificent stone pillars. So part of the landscape - almost like the townsfolk took it for granted - but we spent close to 30 minutes hanging around, admiring them.

The day saw us making way across several stops. In fact, it seemed more like we were enjoying the ride across the countryside as much as we were, looking forward to reaching some place.

One interesting experience was meeting with a priest from one of the smaller temples.

We stopped to ask for directions, and within 5 minutes, he had invited the gang to come into his home for a smoke (!)

So, there he sat, crosslegged, ash smeared all over his body, idols of various Gods sitting next to him, fingers cupped around his lips – smoking !!

Shiva’s Prasad indeed!

We did run into the inimitable IBMer along the way (cant just seem to avoid them, can we!). But some interesting photo ops with the temples, ruins did make up the rest of the two days.

It has been so long since I made that trip that I have pretty much forgotten a lot of what I intended to put down on paper - a pity…and I resolve to make notes as and when I see something interesting …for my blog.

F or more pictures on my trip to Hampii...Click here

Notes from 2007 - The Official Christmas Dinner at Helsinki!

2008-04-04T00:52:00.000+03:00

(ps. I finally decided to catch up on writing - so here you will find a little bit of me, from 2007 onwards :) )

The first Official Team Dinner. Something that we had …well let me see.. in November 07.

This was that legendary moment when I declared publicly – ‘I love Finland’ – now a much recognized by-line :)

The evening was hosted by a most interesting character who managed to keep all of us amused through the entire evening by singing songs in 8 different languages we could think of.

That evening we had people from

India

Great Britain

Finland

Sweden

Greece

Lithuania

…and he even sang a song from The

Netherlands

Spain

!We celebrated a birthday and heard 'Happy Birthday sung in greek; feasted on fish eggs (row...or was that roe??) The Wine Flowed, Puns passed and everyone had a wonderful time...

The Official Christmas Dinner

See pictures here...

Back from Finland...

2008-02-03T16:05:00.000+02:00

Before I begin - my disclaimer - which, am sure, most ardent bloggers have used at least once - maintaining an online diary requires diligence, i am discovering :) I can see many faces smiling and nodding in agreement.

I have been in India since the last week of Dec 07; And it's been every bit of a self discovery as travel. It's not just just travel that changes you...it's your choice to change...and then situations arise wherein you stand and say...I choose this.

But enough of pedantic insights...this blog is about my time in Bangalore, a wild New Years and a little bit of Prashanth :)

I thought being in Finland increased my appetite for company. It did. I landed in Bangalore on a Thursday morning...and by Friday eve was all set to go out and party. I made a couple of calls...but ppl had already made plans. So, i was all dressed and no where to go. I remember I called atleast 5 friends only to discover that none was free.

So, when my brother asked me what I wanted for my birthday the following monday, I was ready with an answer - Fun Company! So that birthday, we went out to Taika...one of the older clubs in the city. With a heady mixture of a couple of larges, beer, music and old memories, i returned home to a 3 hour chat with my sister in law...on the virtues of closure and the importance of new beginnings.

You could imagine that I was really looking forward to New Years.

2007-12-24T17:39:00.001+02:00

Santa Land!

2007-12-24T14:50:00.001+02:00

Finland and the Land of Santa Well - this is my first post - and its all in honour of my Finnish experience. Hmmm-Finland - Its Beautiful. Its Cold. And you get to make you own Dinners. You know what they say - Travel changes you - and its not a new saying : ) But when it happens to You - you can see how it alters Your life! My first month - and I have managed to cook rice, dal and some vegetables – - and I have discovered many things about myself ~ I have a cleaning fetish a la Monica Chandler ~ I miss my family (I never did in India) ~ I can be quite a pain for those in close proximity ...well thats enough insight for the first month. Food aside, the travel gets to open your eyes to a bit of 'Culture' as the Brits would say. Did you know that Finland is the official home of Santa? They have a month's celebration in Helsinki. On Nov 25th, the city officially inaugurated the Chritsmas Season with Santa, little elves, real reindeer and lots of singing. Sure - it rained that day - but it didnt stop the festivities. The celebration continues through the month- The streets are all lit up, the shop windows vying with each other for your attention - girls gaily laughing, boys screaming with gusto and the wind chilling your bones! As I live out my year's assignment here, I intend putting down what I see, hear, think, feel, think about the Finnish Culture, people, Prashanth, life and love. So be seeing you... And as they say in Finland - Moi !