Bandh (basically a strike)

Today, I am working from home. All my colleagues are told to work from home due to a Bandh (or a strike) that is in effect from 6am to 6pm today. Tamil Nadu chief minister declared a strike for the entire state today to protest against the treatment of Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sri Lankan government. He requested all businesses and activities to stop for one day to show solidarity. These bandhs sometimes get quite violent so our company decided to have all employees to work from home to get out of harm's way. I don't see anything really happening here (although I haven't stepped outside of the house today - because it's too hot and I am not well enough healthwise to withstand the heat) but our driver called in this morning to let us know that he would not be able to come because the public buses are not working. It's very interesting that these things really affect ordinary people's lives, and that too for something that is happening in a different country. I guess since the elections are coming up, politicians are using every possible issue out there to damage other political parties' positions.

I'm still alive!

Yes, I am still alive. It's 40 degrees celsius outside and it's humid. It is simply impossible to go outside other than in an air conditioned car. Even inside the house, not all the rooms are air conditioned, so Arvind and I are confined to one room. But this is not much of a problem for Arvind because he just got his knee operated (ligament tear) and cannot move anyway. I stayed with Arvind at the hospital for a week and it was tiring, but probably more so for Arvind since he was the who went through all the pain and drowsiness. He is safely back home now under Amma's good loving care but now I am down with a cold... I guess I overstretched myself by doing my usual work, etc on top of attending Arvind. The good thing is that both Arvind and I are on our way to recovery :)

Elections coming up

The elections are coming up in India. All political parties have been actively engaging in their political campaigns, making new alliances, etc. The first page of the newspaper is always talking about it. One article that I found recently was quite funny - there is a political party (or rather a political group? since I am not sure if they have their own candidates) that is trying purswade people to vote only for vegitarians who meditate! Their reasoning is that vegitarians are more calm and less likely to cause trouble after they get elected and those who meditate are even better in terms of these two aspects. Very interesting. These things can only be seen in India, I think.

Back from Ahmedabad

I went to Ahmedabad for a seminar and just came back. To my surprise, the city was hotter than Chennai! Although the temperature at least drops a bit at night in Chennai, in Ahemadabad, this does not happen! My colleague and I ventured out in the city after the seminar each day (which was about 6pm) but the night was still hot and steamy :) I made some interesting findings in Ahmedabad... camels on the streets! Papa Johns! Oh by the way, Gujurati food (Ahmedabad is in the state of Gujurat) was sweet... Literary all the food was sugery... Not the my favorite type of food, for sure.