Nahi Yaha Chaina

Well, thats one form of NYC that I didnt imagine myself thinking about. :)

So, I am finally here. After an intoxicating prelude around the same time last year, I was craving for more. This is arguably the most talked about city in the world. For good reason too.

Cravings generally end up 2 ways. You fulfil it or you end up being disappointed due to the high expectations you have set. I dont know which of the 2 this one falls into. Being an ardent Mumbai fanatic ever since I was a kid, NYC is almost the Western mirror of Mumbai. Frenetic pace to the city. Fraction of a second to decide on stuff. A bustling city which apparently never sleeps. So, I should have been drawn to NYC like a moth to the fire. Did I? Maybe, maybe not.

For starters, last year was very different. I knew I was on a paid vacation. I knew I was going back in 2 weeks. I kind of had this 'Nothing to lose' attitude mostly due to the fact that I may never come back here. Primarily due to my oh-so amazing relation with Visas. Do it now and do it well was the mantra. And I had one helluva ride.

Its not the same this time. There is this pressure associated this time. Pressure of getting a house in order. Pressure of creating a life away from India. For me and my family. But, the most excruciatingly painful task is to do this all alone without my family. There is a zero emotional support level out here. I dont go back home and talk to anyone about some irritant in office. Or, for that matter, about something good that happened. Would have meant a pizza, a movie or a drive back home in Pune. That will need to wait.

Instead, its all about ticking off items on my checklist. Bank account, SSN, Credit Card, Driver's license, a Home with good schools nearby, admission to school, my commute plan, medical insurance, falana timkana. Yes, I am huffing and puffing.

I hate the scenarios wherein I need to agriculture a good time. I have never needed to plan a good time. You don't plan a good time in India. I mean you do not do it always atleast. Plus, its always in my subconscious that I am here for monetary benefits that this country offers. Not completely correct methinks. Every expense is being monitored by me. I am buying beer but should I but that bag of chips? I need to walk 14 blocks but shouldn't I spend $2.50 and take a Subway instead? Oh my gawd! It is getting the F out of me.

And what does the city have to offer? Well, plenty actually. That world city feeling. Some bustling parks, some quieter ones. The best bars that I have been too. A super duper public transport facility. The best evenings. And some fab room mates.

Maybe ... eventually things will settle down once my family is here. And time will also have a say.

Till then, I am trying to analyze ... is it more of a give than a take?

Two Tales Of A City ... !!

I am back.

Its almost like every post of mine is a I AM BACK post. Unfortunately.

Here I am sitting at home and basically just relaxing. Am I? Well, weekdays are quite hectic in office and even today was hectic despite me taking a day off. Some long pending household chores. But that's done. Perhaps the best take-away from a holiday spent at home is home-made hot lunch. Delicious.

But anyway, life at office has been so fulfilling. I have already bragged about my new responsibilities in some previous post. So its no use repeating that.

I have had the chance to work with some very cool people. One of them being Guru. The background is that we needed some Senior SQL developer and he joined the team in December when I was on leave for a week. So, when I came back from my leave, Guru was the first person I met. He hails from Chennai and was supposed to be in Pune for just 2 months. Well yeah. ;)

It's August and every attempt of his to return to Chennai seems to be running into a road block. In the meanwhile, he seems to be enjoying his stint in Pune. It's not that bad after all.

But my first distinct memory of Guru goes back to either December or January. We were having a casual chat about some basic introductory stuff like Where are you from OR Where have you worked previously.

The chat meandered towards whether both of us have been abroad. And we both had. He mentioned that he had worked for L&T Infotech. I told him that I went abroad working for Tieto which is a Finland based company. And then it was like back to my strange relationship with co-incidences.

I mentioned to him that I was in Sweden. Being in Malmo, you tend to mention Sweden as compared to Malmo since it is not one of the more popular cities of Sweden. Surprise surprise. Guru was also in Sweden. I probed him about which part of Sweden had he been to. Without taking the name of the city, he mentioned something like its a small city in the southern part of Sweden. Then I mentioned to him that I had also stayed in a small city in Sweden called Malmo.

That's it. He didnt need another invitation. Guru happens to be very touchy about Malmo and how he regrets returning back to India from Malmo. He intends to be buried in Malmo apparently, maybe at the cemetry in front of Gustav Adolfs Torg. Since then, barely a week passes without us talking about Malmo and trying to find out ways to return to Malmo. We have even irritated our team mates with our Malmo tales. As a co-incidence, we both still carry our Skanetrafiken cards in our wallets. When I showed him my green Skanetrafiken card, he was quick to flip through his wallet and show me his white Skanetrafiken card. Memories.

And another co-incidence. He lived at Davidshallsgatan which was like one bus stop prior to the one I got down at, at Mollevansgatan. We both knew identical super markets, hang outs, etc.

And the discussions dont seem to end.

Two tales of two super sentimental losers about a beauty of a place called Malmo.

Cheers ... !!

Hejdå ... !!

That's Good-bye in Swedish ...

Its time to bid adieu to Malmo ... a city that I have made my own for the last 18 weeks ... I say it with quite a lump ... but life goes on ... but its been a pleasure living in Malmo ... a weird city where you feel more Danish than Swedish ... due to its proximity to Copenhagen ...



I will miss the daily routine ... getting up at around 6ish and getting ready before waking up Kunal and then calling Biwi ... then proceeding to get the tiffin ready ... followed by tea/coffee ... getting down and waiting for the rest of the gang and trudging out in the snow (and later some sunshine accompanied by a chill in the air) towards Triangeln to board the bus ... and then walking again from Centralen to office ... while coming back it was a different story ... we started discussing about dinner at 3 pm itself ... the knocks on various doors to get the Belan for roti ... :P

We got so much of free stuff at Centralen ... from ready-to-cook chicen to ice creams ... to juices ... amazing ...



The weekend trips to the open market ... a walk down the frozen lake (its no more frozen and it looks inexplicably pretty) ... after-dinner walks till Gustav Adolfs Torg ... those midnight dancing attacks at the hotel club ... casino hopping ... a laidback afternoon at Kungsparken ... brannboll at Ribergsborg ... just too many memories to jot down ...

We talked about it in February that post-April ... time would fly since most of us were going to visit places around Europe ... and with Biwi also coming to Helsinki ... things only got better ...



Helsinki, Rome, Venice, Zurich, Bern, Spiez, Luzern and Copenhagen ... the only sore point was Paris ... but I will be back ... :P

I also learnt some Swedish ... but at best I can define my skills as below-par... :D

I couldnt stay without my Jojo card (its Yoyo and not Jojo :D) ... coz that guaran-damn-teed that I could freely roam around Malmo by bus without paying a penny ... er ... ore :P

It was weird in Jan and it is weird now ... back in Jan, it was like sunset at 1530 and sunrise at 0900 ... now its sunrise at 0430 and sunset at 2200 ... so its been quite weird that way :) ... we almost saw no sun in Jan-Feb since our office timings are 0800-1600 :P



As much as I am thrilled to get back to India ... I am peeved to imagine that I wont be in Malmo now ... a beautiful city and a great host ... I will miss you Malmo ... take care ...



Cheers ... !!

Shylock Land ... !!

He is one of my all time favorite fictional characters ... for some reason I like the villains who have this aura about themselves and didnt Shylock have that? A mean guy who was mostly correct in expressing his views ... but not necessarily in the correct way ... and I am going to Shylock land for Easter ... along with another childhood-dream place ... Roma ...

Shylock happens to be the evil twist in one of the very few comic plays by Shakespeare called The Merchant of Venice ... a legendary play that takes me back to school everytime I remember it ...

We were spared the nuisance of Julius Caesar coz our batch was the first to start off with The Merchant of Venice after most of our senior batches went through that ordeal called Julius Caesar ... and we had Mr. Guzder to teach us Literature at school ... who better than Mr. Guzder I say :P

The Merchant of Venice is a play set in Venice and is a story about 2 friends ... Antonio and Bassanio ... where Antonio is a ship merchant while Bassanio is his spend thrift friend ... and Antonio always helps him out in all his endeavors ... Bassanio is in love with Portia who lives in Belmont ... Shylock is also a merchant but he is a Jew and his angst against non-Jews has been portrayed so amazingly ... Shylock and Antonio never get along ... Shylock has a beautiful daughter in Jessica who is in love with one of Antonio's close buddies Lorenzo ... and there is the clown Launcelot Gobbo ... all in all its a twisted plot with Shylock always trying to gain on Antonio in some way or the other ...

Bassanio needs some money from Antonio to go to Belmont and woo Portia ... Antonio's ships have still not returned and he is a bit short on cash so he decides to borrow money to help Bassanio ... and surprise surprise ... only Shylock is ready to lend him money in Venice ... but he has a shrewd condition if Antonio doesnt pay him the money on time ... he will cut a pound of flesh from Antonio's body ... :P

The play can be divided into 2 parts ... the first part is all about introducing all characters and there is more of Antonio and Shylock ... but the 2nd part is more about Bassanio and Portia and how they come to Venice to help out Antonio ... Portia steals the show in the last quarter of the play ... but its a gripping play and makes you chuckle a lot ...

I remember that Biwi and I spent a lot of time discussing Venice for our honeymoon ... but since we got married in December ... we were a bit wary of the snow ...

But it looks like we are pretty close to realizing our dream ... we will be in Rome on April 1,4 and 5 while we will by roaming in the gondolas at Venice on April 2 and 3 ...

I hope we come across Shylock ... Bon Voyage ... Cheers ... !!

Helsingfors ... !!

Well, thats the name of Helsinki in Swedish and I thought it is appropriate if I somehow used both Swedish and Finnish in some way :P

I had been to Helsinki last weekend to meet Biwi and throughout my flight I kept going back to that horrendous day in October when it seemed like every path I was taking had an invisible wall that I was banging against ... and who would have thought on that day that I would be meeting my beloved in Helsinki of all places ... but am I complaining? No way ... :)

The thing I like about Europe is that office hours are only till 4 pm which gives anyone ample leeway to plan something on a Friday evening. I boarded a train from Malmo to Copenhagen (since that's my closest international airport. Malmo has its own airport but it does not have too many good direct international connections) at around 5:30 pm. It takes around 20 minutes to reach Copenhagen airport (the train station is located at the airport called Kastrup Lufthavn) and I was at the airport at 6 pm ... still 2 hours away from my 8 pm flight ...

Copenhagen airport is quite huge (I have not been to too many airports to be honest) and I thought its the right time to explore the airport. And a person like me has to head straight to the liquor section, isnt it? Well yeah.

It took me around 40 minutes to check out all options and short listed a few that I will get to India in 2 months time. But I took some wine biscuits for Biwi and after paying in Euros, I received some Danish change. Man ... I was suddenly carrying Euros, Swedish Kronors, Danish Kronors and INR ... all at the same time ...

It was a 90 minute flight to Helsinki and Biwi had promised me that she will be at Terminal 1 at 2230 local time (Helsinki is an hour ahead of Copenhagen) but I did not find her when I reached. It was 2300 and there was till no sign of Biwi and I was starting to worry a bit ... coz I did not have a cell ... neither did she ... and there was no way to contact her if she doesnt turn up ...

But she finally came at 2315 and I was relieved at first and then extremely happy to meet my wife after 2 months ... I was so emotionally drenched ... thats what I call ... Moments ..

We boarded a bus that took us to Helsinki Central station (called Rautatientori) and its quite some distance from the airport. From there it was a 15 minute walk to Biwi's place ... and we had some planning to do for the next 2 days ...

Saturday morning and a bit of afternoon was consumed in making some food and it was early evening when we headed out ... along with Biwi's 2 colleagues ...

It was colder than Malmo the wind was making it worse ... but we went to The Rock Church first. I must say I have never seen a church like this in the sense that it does not look like a church from outside but once you are inside ... you feel like remaining inside ... its beautiful and has a arena atmosphere about it ... there is a gallery too and the view from the gallery is even more special ...











From there, we went to Zoological museum but that was already shut but we managed some pics ... and then we visited the Parliament house ... I couldnt believe that the President of Finland stays just down the road with zero security ... :P







Helsinki is quite picturesque ... the trams, the statues and small over-bridges make it very pleasing to look at ... Swedish is the second language in Finland and everyone knows both Finnish and Swedish since its part of basic education ...







We then went to The Cathedral ... this is the standout place in Helsinki for me ...

It reminded me so much about what I have read about St Peter's Basilica ... the statue of Alexander in the open space in front of the Cathedral gives you that great historic feeling ... if thats a valid phrase ;)







Unfortunately, there was a procession in place inside the Cathedral and we couldn't quite get inside ... we then roamed around in the streets which was magical ... a typical European evening ... there are people who come out on the street and play music ... just amazing ...





We checked out a few malls. Biwi and I also went off on a metro tour :P ... this was my first time in a metro train and its really something to behold ... Biwi also told me that the metro in Helsinki is the world's northernmost metro ... Kudos ... :P

We then headed back home ...

Sunday morning was also consumed by food and we headed out post 1 pm ... it was funny though ... day light saving had started and there were 2 huge tower clocks in the centre of the city which showed different times ... it was hilarious ... fortunately we had set our watches to the current time ...

We went back to The Cathedral and managed to get inside this time ... and it was even more prettier inside ... there is something about these churches in Europe that does not allow you come out again ... but we had to ... sadly ...

We checked out some more malls and managed to get some Euros for myself and my colleagues back in Malmo since our cards don't work in Sweden and Denmark coz Euro is not the default currency there ...

Back home ... I was eating away since I was not going to get any food till 11 pm coz my return flight was due at 2115 ... Biwi walked me till Rautatientori from where I was supposed to board the bus to the airport ... these are the times you hate being part of ... leaving your loved one after spending some magical moments ... but we are going to meet again and I am sure we are gonna have more fun ... with that I waved good-bye ... reached Copenhagen at 10 pm and then Malmo at 10:30 and was back at my room at 11 pm ...

And as I put up as my status message ... I need a unique scissor ... a scissor that cuts wings ... wings of TIME ... so that it never flies when I am with my loved one ...

Alas ...

Till the next fun trip ... Cheers ... !!

Sverige musings ... !!

Ok ... Sverige stands for Sweden ...

Its been close to 2 weeks since I have been here and I thought its a good time to write about some of the stuff that I have observed over here.

The day I landed at Copenhagen (I know its in Denmark but it's a stone's throw from Malmo), the instructions (both written and oral) were so precise that I did not feel like a newbie. I didnt spend a lot of time for a train ticket from Copenhagen to Malmo. There were 3 different platforms, each catering to different regions. There was one dedicated platform for Malmo and there were lifts to take passengers to the platform from the airport. The ticketing system specified that there would be a discount if the number of people are more than 1. This was fruitful :P

Before every station, there were clear announcements as to which is the next station and the duration for which the train would halt at that station. This was very helpful since we had lots of baggage with us and it calmed us down a lot when we knew that Malmo is the last station and the train would stay there for close to 15 minutes.

The sunrise and sunset were some of the initial shocks. It was 5 pm when we reached Malmo and it was pitch dark. The sun doesnt rise till around 0830. So it was like going to office in the dark and coming back also in the dark.

The pedestrians have their way most of the time here. The vehicles would stop if they see anyone crossing or even when they feel that someone is approaching the zebra. So now I am used to walk right past the road. If I do the same in India ... I would be killed ... in a very bad way :P. People who are driving bring along lots of stuff with them for TP in case they have to stop if people are crossing. For example ... sandwiches, newspapers, etc.

There are also buttons at each crossing for pedestrians that speeds up the Green signal. Divine.

People here are very reserved and stick to their groups if they have one. Buses are twice our size and its pin drop silence inside. This is very weird for us Indians. We love to make friends with strangers. People dont like strangers saying Hi to their kids :(

There is a digital status board at each bus stop with route information and the due time for each bus. Additionally, there is an asterisk for each bus on this board which denotes that the bus is close by. And the bus will stop at the designated place and not an inch further or behind. There are buttons available to every passenger which can be used to inform the driver that you want to get down at the next stop. If there is no1 who presses this button and the driver finds that there is no1 who is waiting to board the bus either, then he will not stop.

Sweden is a child centric country and people value their families a lot. Its common to find people coming to office during odd hours like 3 am or 5 am and leave by noon to be with their families. Parents pick up and drop their kids to school everyday. Both parents are entitled to leaves when the baby is to be born. Both parents can work at 80% workload till the child is 8 years old. Both parents are entitled to sick leave if their kids are sick. Locals feel homesick in office ... :P

People love their weekends ... in the sense that they stay at home. The streets are deserted during weekends. Most of the stuff is automated ... but thats expected in this part of the world. People talk more about going to a different country during their free time rather than some place in their own country :P

The local currency is Kronor. One Euro is around 10 Kronors so that translates into 1 Kronor = 6.5 Rupees ... most of the grocery here is quite affordable ...

30 eggs are for 25 Kronors, Onions are 5 Kronors for a kg, Potatoes are 8 Kronors for a kg, Tomatoes are 4 Kronors for a kg, a Bread packet containing around 30 slices is for 10 Kronors, boneless Chicken is 75 Kronors for a kg, a lite of Milk costs 10 Kronors, a litre of cooking oil is for 17 Kronors, etc.

If you convert it to Indian currency, it may seem expensive but as a percentage of the salary it is quite affordable ...

Well ... thats most of what I have observed over here ... I am sure there is more to come ...

Cheers ... !!

Cards galore ... !!

Everything here works with the help of cards ...

I have less of cash and more of cards it seems in my wallet. I have my identity card and photo ID card from India. When I left India, I was given a Travel insurance card to cover my medical expenses, if any, from India to Sweden. I was also given a Citibank World Card for Euros which contained my allowances. As soon as I arrived at my hotel in Malmo, I was given the hotel card, with the help of which I can access various stuff in the hotel like washing machine, room, hotel entrance as well as lifts. Yes, you cant use the lift without a card. If you go inside and press the button of some floor, it wont work if you dont use your card. As Sabhtarsha would say ... Ajeeb hai yaar ... :P

On the first day of office, I was given the Tieto Sweden card to access stuff in the office here. The HR came up and gave me yet another card. It was the medical insurance card. Yesterday, I was the proud (??) owner of yet another card. The monthly bus card to roam around Malmo any number of times during one month.

Lagta hai patte khelne baithna padega ab ... or do I need a card for that too?

Cheers ... !!

Sprint across Vantaa ... !!

It was 1430 local time as the aircraft descended towards Helsinki airport, more commonly called Vantaa. At that moment, I was not too concerned about the mind boggling clouds surrounding the aircraft or the snow outside. The big concern was that my connecting flight to Copenhagen was due to depart from Vantaa at 1535. Something told me that it was not going to be easy. And it came true ...




My seat number was 59J ... the total capacity was 60 seats and I was sitting in the tail of the aircraft. The aircraft had just one exit and it was going to me an arduous task getting to the exit. We touched down at 1435 and it was 1445 till I came out of the aircraft. Now what? I had to find my way to the "Connecting flights" section. Fortunately, I found the section sooner than later. The gate number for my flight was 28. I had to go through the security check in. I had 2 bags with me. One laptop bag and the other a carry-on bag. The carry-on bag contained ready to eat stuff like Maggi, etc. It also contained something that was going to set me on a marathon across Vantaa. It was a bottle of aftershave lotion. The limit on such liquids is 100 ml and unfortunately mine was 150 ml. Dratch.

I was asked to step aside and I went through a rigorous examination of what I was carrying. I was asked to remove my belt, watch, Kada, wallet, boarding passes and tickets. Practically, everything apart from what I was wearing. My shoes and socks were checked in detail. I was not enjoying this. All I could hear was ... "This way please, Sir" or "Please turn around, Sir". Fortunately, I was not carrying anything suspicious. After querying their seniors, the security personnel gave me 2 options ...

One ... remove the aftershave lotion OR Two ... check in my carry-on baggage. For some reason, I didn't like the first option. I agreed to the second option. I was asked to proceed to a counter with my baggage. It was 1455 and I had to wear my belt again along with putting everything back in my pockets. I met a person at the counter and he asked me to furnish my passport. He proceeded to ask me something which I did not understand in 2 attempts, primarily due to his accent but it was more to do with where I am headed to. I replied with Sweden. He pointed me to his left. I asked him, "Where am I supposed to go? I am in a hurry". He said, "Find it". I did not have time to be surprised by this.

I headed to the direction he mentioned and saw lots of counters. I went up to a counter and met the lady at the counter. She was courteous enough to inform me that counter number 215 is the one I should be going to. I asked her for directions and she told me its towards the right. All this while, I descended from the 1st floor to the ground floor of the airport. I went up to 215 and let the lady know my state. To my surprise, she took it up urgently and said just one thing ... "Sir, I will make sure your bag is boarded in the aircraft but I must tell you that you need to run". No wonder ... it was 1520 and I was wondering if I would be allowed in.

Surprise, surprise. Another security examination since I was using a different entrance of the airport. Double Dratch. I went through everything again. The belt, watch, wallet, etc. It got over in 5 minutes.

I had to climb the floor I already descended but from a different direction and make my way to gate 28. When I reached the first floor, I was at gate 13. I had to run across 15 gates to reach gate 28 at 1530. The people were still moving to board the flight. That sight made me feel great. I boarded the aircraft and thanked my stars for everything.

At a temperature of -8, I was sweating as I took my seat ...

Cheers ... !!