Hi,
Mumbai Bombings
It is a NOT pleasant thought when you hear that just outside your aunt's home in Mumbai -just opposite a train station a bomb exploded killing scores.
I stayed there in the cramped quarters - for all my trips (except the last one where I stayed with father at Juhu beach basd ISKCON temple and middle school -he was in such a great hurry to get back that he didn't even call his own sister -and took the same train back -which had arrived in the morning and left for original station in the evening -we came back sitting by the gate on the floor - a memorabale journey where the ticket chekcers checked us 5 times even before we left Mumbai). My first trip had got me admission to Hindu Inst. of Management (HIM) in rural (and unruly)Sonipat, Haryana near Delhi - -then an affilate of Narsee Monjee Inst. of Mgt Studies -run by
local Gujarati Community based at Vile Parle (Kevlani Mandal).
In another of my four trips in all - I attended the wedding of my Japan based Maharastrian ex-roommate Chandorkar from HIM days-working with Wipro . Then his Japanese female colleague sitting in the seat ahead of me seemed exotic -we exchanged a few words. Surprisingly I was the only one from my batch attending that wedding though there were atleast a couple of locally based classmates -whose weddings I had also attended (again the only one from our group -- in their hometowns). My brother's first trip then (1999) -we also went to Elephanta caves on the sea island off Mumbai -my first overseas trip where I saw crabs in the sea-with nephews and nieces aged 8-16.
Local Wildfires
Today while planning to take my
first on-foot/unescorted trip to some establishment since coming to LA --to the local public library-with the 7 year old son of my friend Kamal K. -I learned that this area comes under San Bernadino County. In the evening I was shocked to learn that our area is declared "a state of emergency" http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/07/13/wildfires/index.html
by none other than action man -ex-Mr World- Schwargernegger/Commando (his movie "Collatoral Damage" might inspire some of Mumbai blast victims to take the justice to its final conclusion) . Thankfully, it seems the county is much bigger than those in Maryland (where I stay -near Washington, DC) and the forest fires are many hundreds of miles away.
It really makes your mind work faster -esp when you are comfy in a friend's house -with all the facilities available to make you feel at home: even
the Sony channel (from India via satelite dish installed by him) on his 52 inch Sony TV showing high class Indian family dramas (like "Kabhi to Nazar Milao" - atleast sometime exchange glances) cannot overshadow the modernity and the expansiveness of is 4000 sq feet home -with all amnetities and interior decoration only reserved for the super elite in India (as was being shown on the TV soap operas). He is high earning,very hard working but only slightly upper middle class -having all comforts reserved for Indian elite. Indian newschannels showed more nudity (nearly bare-breasted models from fashion shows in Europe ) than is permissible in US -surprising??
BMW:
Today , it was perhaps an emotional moment for him -since he was returning his rugged BMW silver colored SUV (with rugged black interior) to the company . Surprisingly, in US you can take a vehicle on lease/rent and return it after some years. He
paid $500 per month for three years as lease rental for the formidable vehicle costing somewhere around $80,000. Not too bad when you compare wih my room rent to be $450 per month. BMW films (The Hire) might interest some motor buffs (only 5 minutes long) http://www.bmwusa.com/uniquelybmw/bmw_art/films
Life
Life is tough when you realize that you are in the same spot as you were in July/Aug 2004 -having put all my eggs in the basket -of coming to US and awaiting the dreaded visa interview. Taking care of my (now late: since Aug 12, 2004) poisoned cousin helped keep my mind off the extremely worrisome issue. That was at the ICU of SMS Medical College & Hospital where I spent atleast 12 hours daily at night and morning trying to help my cousin revive -in US relatives are not allowed to take care of the patient (Dr Kamal
, my friend and Harvard studies sponsor -is a graduate of this college -and his M.B.B.S. degree seems to be recognized as equivalent to USA's MD -by California state Association of...-after he cleard the USMLE exam and completed 3 years of residency in US).
Now, my worries are kept at bay by devoting nearly all my waking hours in making sure that the two kids (4 and 7 year olds ) of my frend are using the summer break time wisely . My pre-school work experience is coming in useful and am getting new pointers in US culture and immigrant experience.
Any observations?
Umesh
Umesh Sharma
5121 Lackawanna ST
College Park, MD 20740
1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
weblog: http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
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