Five weeks to go. . . and a small diversion.

I ran the Mumbai marathon last Sunday and completed it in a time of 5.20.  Very happy as this was my first 40km plus run in a week that averaged close a little over 90 km.  The temperature was a mild 32-33C albeit accompanied by a sharp sun setting the tone for what I should expect.  I have been pampered these lst two months by the sub-20s temperature while training in Hyderabad.  Probably, I should start my weekend back-pack runs a little late when the sun is fully up, to get a truer measure of "fatigue quotient", what?  Better late than never, as the maxim goes.

Took off late Sunday evening to HK with Nandita and Atri, for a short holiday and some work.  While there we went sightseeing to the Peak, DisneyWorld (for Atri), Po-Lin monastery (an oasis of calm near the hustle and bustle of HK) and a few other places.  We also caught up with Neha and Gaurav for dinner at this awesome restaurant called the Mask of Sichuan.  Can't thank you both enough for a fantastic choice of place and your wonderful hospitality.  Thank you so much guys, it was wonderful to have met you, god bless.

I also went to the RTP store and kitted myself out with lots of food (Hammer, Nuun, Expedition foods), some clothing accesories and a new pair of shoes, Inov-8's  Roclite 318 GTX.  These will be the shoes I wear on the main run, so a one-month break in period seemed reasonable.  Also, picked up a few pairs of Injinji moisture wicking socks to run in.

I plan to run/walk/train to about 110-120km a week for the next three weeks before I begin to taper down.  Training will be interspersed with cross training and some strength training for the back and shoulders as well as the mandatory pranayama/yoga.

Lots of final formalities as well to be undertaken - medical tests to be completed and sent, travel arrangements to be completed, visas to be obtained, et al.  The next fortnight promises to be busy busy indeed.  Good stuff!

I also intend to fill the back pack with the actual stuff I will be carrying during the race and do 3-4 dry runs over the next 2-3 weeks.  That should hopefully help me have a near accurate idea of the weight count under different combos and experiment a bit.  Will let you readers know how that stacks up as well ;-)

As you may know, I am running the AC2011 supporting the Nethaji Mercy Home in Chennai (see earlier post below).  Any contributions are gratefully acknowledged.

Closing this post with a verse from Dreamline, by Rush, one of my all time fave bands, ". . . they travel in the time of the prophets, on a desert highway straight to the heart of the sun.  Like lovers and heroes and the restless part of everyone, we're only at home when we're on the run, on the run. . . "

Best
S

A Humble Appeal, Please Read and Support

A very happy new year and a wonderful 2011 to you all!!

Sorry about the radio silence for sometime but as you will read below, I have been a bit busy working and training.  As you may know, I moved from Mumbai to Hyderabad over a year ago and I now work with primary agricultural cooperatives, farmers and rural citizens in Andhra Pradesh, India.

One of my pastimes these last few years has been long distance running, both for fitness and leisure. I am now participating in the Atacama Crossing 2011 or AC11 in short. The AC11 is a six-day six-stage race covering nearly 250 kilometres (or nearly 160 miles). It takes place in the heart of the Atacama Desert in Chile, South America. The desert itself is 15 million years old and 50 times more arid than California's Death Valley. The entire race will be held at least 1.6km (or 1 mile) above sea level. Daytime temperatures are expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius/104 degrees Fahrenheit, while night-time temperatures may drop to 5 degrees Celsius/41 degrees Fahrenheit. Joining me in this race are over 120 other people from 35 countries, including just one other person from India. The entire race is self-supported which means that each individual must carry his or her own gear, food and clothing for all days in a backpack. There are just checkpoints, plenty of water (at checkpoints and campsites), tents (at the campsites at the end of each stage) and medical assistance – no other outside assistance is allowed.  For more information, please visit http://www.4deserts.com/atacamacrossing/

There are over 20 charities that will be supported through AC11 and it is in this connection that I am reaching out to you all today.

I am running AC11 to support a charity for abandoned children and orphans called the Nethaji Mercy Home, situated at Chennai in India. This charity was started by a gentleman, Mr. A Muthukumar and his wife and is a sanctuary for several children who are either orphans or abandoned by their parents.

The Nethaji Mercy Home is intended to nurture, protect and care for destitute children who are left in the streets and also children from poor and broken families. It promotes the total development of children through loving care in a homely atmosphere with adequate nutrition and healthy social interaction and education for all children till they are mature and old enough to venture out independently. For more information, please visit http://www.nethajimercyhome.org/

I humbly request you all to contribute as much as you graciously can to support the stellar service and work that Muthu and his team are engaged in. As you will all appreciate, the children need food, shelter, clothing and medical care. There are also expenses for various items including school supplies, personal hygiene and many other miscellaneous items required for the day-to-day operation of the orphanage.

Contributions can be made by Crossed Cheque or Crossed Demand Draft favouring the Nethaji Mercy Home, payable at Chennai. Please send any cheques or drafts to:

Nethaji Mercy Home
No. 12, Pandithurai Street
Kamarajpuram
Velacherry, Chennai 600042
Tamil Nadu
INDIA

If you prefer to transfer funds by wire, details are given below.  Please forward this link/post to anyone you believe would be happy to contribute to this charitable venture.

Thank you for your patient reading and also thank you very much in anticipation of your kindness and generosity. Your assistance is much appreciated.

God bless you all
Sumanth Cidambi

PS: Bank details as below.

For money transfers effected from India, please route to:
Indian Bank, Chennai, INDIA
Swift Code: IDIBINBBTSY
IFSC Code: IDIB000V013
Account Number: 474986058
Account Type: (Current Account)
Account Holder Name: Nethaji Mercy Home

For money transfers effected from the United States, please route through:
Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo), New York, United States of America
SWIFT Code: PNBPUS3N
Account Number: 2000191062434
FOR ONWARD CREDIT TO:
Indian Bank, Chennai, INDIA
Swift Code: IDIBINBBTSY
IFSC Code: IDIB000V013
Account Number: 474986058
Account Type: (Current Account)
Account Holder Name: Nethaji Mercy Home

Alternatively when transferring money from the United States of America, you can use:
Standard Chartered Bank (New York)
SWIFT Code: SCBLUS33
Account Number: 3582021188001
FOR ONWARD CREDIT TO:
Indian Bank, Chennai, INDIA
Swift Code: IDIBINBBTSY
IFSC Code: IDIB000V013
Account Number: 474986058
Account Type: (Current Account)
Account Holder Name: Nethaji Mercy Home

For money transfers effected from the United Kingdom/England, please route through:
National Westminster Bank (London)
SWIFT Code: NWBKGB2L
Account Number: 440/02/04442903
FOR ONWARD CREDIT TO:
Indian Bank, Chennai, INDIA
Swift Code: IDIBINBBTSY
IFSC Code: IDIB000V013
Account Number: 474986058
Account Type: (Current Account)
Account Holder Name: Nethaji Mercy Home

Alternatively, when transferring money from the United Kingdom/England, you can use
Standard Chartered Bank (London)
SWIFT Code: SCBLGB2L
Account Number: 0170885820
FOR ONWARD CREDIT TO:
Indian Bank, Chennai, INDIA
Swift Code: IDIBINBBTSY
IFSC Code: IDIB000V013
Account Number: 474986058
Account Type: (Current Account)
Account Holder Name: Nethaji Mercy Home

In the interim. . .

Short post. Have been off blogging for a while as we had a son early December 2008. Life has revolved around Atri completely and I've had to reprioritise my likes and things I wanted to do to ensure I have enough time to be a good father. Here's a short snap of the three of us (Nandita, Atri and I) at a recent vacation in Kerala. As always, Atri evinces a strong fascination for cutlery of the pokey variety. . .

After The Hiatus

I've been quite lazy and simply bored to put down my experiences for the last three four months (not that I was a regular earlier as well) but in a cheap attempt to garner publicity and prevent the blog from being put on IV feed to keep it from dying, I just thought I'd post more frequently...

This last fortnight's highlights have been my trips across the UK, the continent and the US - five countries in 10 days on business meetings with a weekend each spent in London and New York, culminating in an NYSE listing of one of our companies.

On the way, I managed to eat and drink in several fantastic restaurants in Frankfurt (Gusto at the Villa Kennedy), London (Gastro cuisine at The Ebury Pub - classic Italian at La Strada - Indian at Chor Bizarre and Benaras - single malt cocktails at The Salt Bar - Chinese at Royal China - British pub food at Wetherspoons), Chicago (classy Italian at Il Mulino), New York (single malts at DBA and The Bitter End), Indian at The Katti Roll Company, general lunch at the Fanelli Cafe and The Olive Garden and fusion food at Breeze), apart from packed sandwiches and sodas that we consumed on the flights between cities we travelled.

The highlight of this trip were two culinary finds - Il Mulino in Chicago - the food was simply incredible and rich - I had the Grilled Zucchini Starters and the Risotto Primavera together with bread soaked in olive oil and washed down with red wine - passed on the dessert although I did managed to drink some of the cranberry grapa that ensured a sound night's sleep.

The next find were single malt cocktails that I sampled a weekend earlier in London at the Salt Bar. Whilst I was first shocked at the idea, the liberal side in me sort of took over and I can attest the experience was worth it. Both the cocktails usually use a Jack Daniels base, in our case we tried two single malts. The first cocktail was The Honey Old Fashioned, which replaced the traditional bourbon with a Bowmore 15-year that was then stirred with honey, ginger and orange zest. The second was a Smoky Manhattan, which replaced the JD with a measure of the Laphroaig Quarter cask and orange bitters instead of angostura.

Also clicked several pictures in London and NYC, two cities that I love to visit and simply walk around - the weather was quite benign and I pretty much walked 4-5 hours each day - my new acquisition, the Canon IXUS 800 IS, which I think is a pretty cool camera and quite useful for a someone like me, whose hands cannot stop shaking while shooting a picture - great zoom, great functionality and quite mobile.

Pictures coming soon, watch this space!!!

Cheers
S

Reverse Migration a.k.a Back to Desh

Ok, a really quick note on a few things - First, the long hiatus on the blog, I seemed to have developed writer's block and that's just been cured. Secondly, on my life in general - I've moved back to India recently into a new sector as well, I now work for a mining and metals corporation.

Why did I return to India? Well to paraphrase a skull, "Quit while you are a head, that's what I say" and that seemed as good a reason as any to me to change lanes. . .

Most important pieces of learning in the new job (a) IBM now stands for Indian Bureau of Mines and not International Business Machines, and (b) CSR now means Corporate Social Responsibility and not Customer Service Representative...

Life has been quite hectic these last 2-3 months what with the move from overseas et al but hey in the words of FZ, "whatever you have to do to have a good time, let's get on with it, so long as it doesn't cause a murder."

More to follow regularly (I hope...)

Peace
S

A New York State Of Mind

“Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a flight to Miami Beach
Or to Hollywood
But I'm taking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River Line
I'm in a New York state of mind”

Well, well well… It all started with Ravi’s arrival in Rochester last Saturday. I picked the bloke off the 10.42AM Delta flight from Atlanta. He looked a right piece of work, lack of sleep and a lot worse off the red eye – coast to coast flying can be quite a drag, I am told, hehehehe!!!

Anyways, so much for the grand plan of going to the Niagara Falls or Buffalo or spending a quiet weekend surfing the streets and pubs of Rochester!!! In the parking lot (the other place usually being the loo), an audacious idea was born – why not party in NYC Saturday eve? After all, it would be a shame to let this opportunity go. So a quick call to the resident New Yorker, Monsieur Shanky of Banerjee fame was made, informing him of our imminent arrival. We made a quick stop home for me to grab a fresh pair of undies, jeans and a clean tee and the usual hygiene accessories and then hit the I90 eastbound.

We reached NYC without major incident in about 5 ½ hours and stopped off at Shanky’s house first. Later that evening found us first at the fashionable digs of the Aubette, a high end night club on East 27 Street, sipping single malt and spilling some of it (that would only be me, of course, Ravi and Shanky being quite refined in their behavior) and chatting up the bartender, a chappie called Luis (we nicknamed him “the XXI”, after a Franco/Hispanic emperor of sorts!!!). The thing that struck me was the huge piece of granite, a slab almost 6 feet wide and 4 feet high placed as a centerpiece on the main wall behind the bar, and more interestingly, what was carved on it.

“Cur Non Ut Plenus Vitae Conviva Recedis, Aequo Animoque Capis Securam, Stulte Quietem”, a quote from De Rerum Natura.

The quote loosely translated meant, “Why not like a banqueter fed full of life, withdraw in contentment and rest in peace, you fool.” Well, I can proudly say I actually came close with my own translation, “When you are happily drunk, its best to shut the f**k up.” And this was before I heard the actual meaning.

We then decided to have our dinner and quickly exited to the Houston Restaurant on Park Ave. What can I say, incredible food. I had the wild salmon with roasted yellow and red peppers accompanied by a fair measure of The Macallan. Simply divine!!! Post dinner, we indulged in some incredible dessert – a recommendation of our gracious hostess, Theresa – Apple Walnut Cobbler. That took the stuffing out of us completely for a while. Mmmmmm, apple cobbler!!!

Fully fed and insufficiently watered, we decided to head down to the local Reddy’s equivalent, Milano’s, unarguably rated as one of NYC’s top 5 dive bars. For those, who came in late, the crowd is a strange mix of Long Island types, college-age kids and the occasional mid town professional. Just imagine Reddy’s without any food and add a juke box to complete the picture – that’s Milano’s – awesome place. As usual, the bar was reasonably full and the drinks of good measure, enough to send me slightly up the winding path.

We left Milano's close to midnight to head deeper into Greenwich to pick up another bite to eat at the Indian Kebab Factory only to realize the place was closed for renovation or some other reason, I cannot suddenly seem to remember. As an alternative to twiddling our thumbs, we decided to hit Mc Dougals Ale House and polish off a pint of Guiness or two.

We headed home closer to 2 in the morning, partially inebriated and fully happy. Ravi’s actually promised to come back here for New Year’s Eve, oh well that’s a tale to be written about in 2005.

Cheers
S

PS: I just realized my West Coast friend actually traveled coast-to-coast (approximately 2,550 miles) to have a drink with Shanky and me. Folks, the next time he makes a fuss in India about driving down from his crib to MG Road or thereabouts (in terms of relative distance, less than 5 miles – you get the picture), to meet with you people, I believe he has earned a well placed foot in his arse!!!

So Long And Thanks For All The Fish aka I Kept It Short and Simple

I ws rcntly tld by a frnd (?!?) tht I wrt mndlssly lng blgs 'n tht a blg shld b kpt shrt, so jst t' hmr hm, ths 1 sntnce s in tht vn... (ok, that was slightly painful, even for me!!)

All ye dudes and dudettes, it was super fun meeting and phreaking with you on my India trip this time around... and hopefully we can do this sometime soon next year too, if not earlier...

Lavanya/Deepak, Jyoti/Sushanth - wonderful time outside Bangalore city limits... thanks so much for having me over at your homes, I had a blast...

Furthermore, will quickgun339 nom-de-geuring as NannaHesaruInspectorGarudaIsMyName please simply own up... For the life of me, I canna figure out who you are... Nimme real life hesaru is so not Inspector Garuda... and hopefully, you're not one of those actors from some Kannadiga sitcom, I may have met at Reddys (aka c&b watering hole) or BGs (aka alternative discotheque) or similar fancy locales...

Finally, I also once read somewhere that a dedication is the best way to curry favor, so here we goes...

To Nair for all the Curries and to Anu and Vijay Homie for all the Favors*...
[Choke Choke, Sniff]...

Words fail me thereafter...

Cheers
S

*P.S - Or Wuz Dat Flavas?

Journey Into God's Own Country aka A Brief Kerala Road Trip

Hmmmm...

Been planning to attend Jyoti and Sushanth's wedding right off the bat for almost three weeks now but last minute meetings at work and a whole host of other factors (including my insufferable laziness to change my ticket bookings) saw me on the road to Kottayam, through Bangalore... The cast of characters this time had potentially included Sandeep "The Hunter" Menon, Nikesh "Where Am I Today" Pereira, Monseiur Rajesh Le Nair and me... Sandy did one numbers Shikhari Shambu vanishing act and had to excuse himself from the travails of travelling into God's Own Country whilst Nikesh had to work the weekend, so that left the remaining two little Indians... The agenda was very simple - attend Jyoti-Sushanth wedding and also sample the culinary delights of Kerala - Karimeen and Kallu or was it vice versa, I suddenly can't seem to remember... Anyways we dinna bother with any of those insufferable technicalities... After all, you don’t need an excuse to have a good time do you???

Nair and I, accompanied by his brother headed out from Bangalore to Kottayam, through Palakkad... Beautiful, gorgeous, idyllic, picturesque, scenic and all the other usual yada yada yada adjectivals to be applied here… what made the drive even better was the good roads, the NH7 all the way from Bangalore through Hosur, Krishagiri, Salem and Coimbatore and then the leap into Kerala state through the NH47... That took my breath away completely... The scrub and bush land of Tamizhl Nadu replaced by lush and verdant greenery... Paddy fields, banana and coconut plantations, semi-tropical jungle growth, the monsoons had done their turn and everything looked greener after the turn of the state border... We reached Nair's family home in Pallakad and stopped for lunch there... Good ersheri with rice topped off with payasam... Post a small siesta, Nair and I headed off down south towards Kottayam, passing Thrissur, Angamally and a few other back-of-the-bush towns... The best part was the drive on the ridge of the Western Ghats, quite steep and winding, with the attendant "watch out - dangerous curve ahead" every 200 meters or so... We were driving peacefully in most places and enjoying the view around us, the point of the journey being not to arrive... And reached Kottayam post 9 pm and met the other junta at some place "downtown" that served plenty of sea food, and liquor at ridiculously low prices, I suspect they must have been brewing some of that stuff inhouse - illegal stills, shhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Anyways we made merry till the almost wee hours of the next morning, when we remembered we had a wedding to attend... That got us all shook up, having been told tales since our childhood by the family equivalent of Aesop or the Brothers Grimm on how quick and short the marital ceremonies of the Nairs are compared to the other procrastinating castes and creeds in India... Almost legendary enough to warrant a reverse quote "Don’t Look Left Or Right, or You May Miss The Actual Wedding"... Ya, well we made it to the wedding on time, which finished on time, though some wise arse did have to make a mention that "Sushant's wedding took longer than most Mallu weddings I have attended"... I then realised the poor sod used to keep a stop watch and timer beside him on such occasions... Definitely has a part time career during any track and field olympics or similar event...

After a hearty kalyana sappad (read as Calories - ~100,000, here's to Talwalkars India!!!), we headed back from Kottayam... On the way back, we managed to stop at one of Nair's haunts from yesteryears - Kalyan Hotel for an excellent repast of Karimeen, Kalamakai and Kallu... Super Stuff, Super Stuff...

Fully sated, we headed back on the road wishing we did not have to leave... Well, there's always next weekend...

Peace
S

A 1950's Explorer? Well, You Canna Blame The Lad For Trying!!!