The World Is Curved

It has been a while since I started reading "The World is Curved". But these days I barely get time to read the book. My car's service was long overdue. After procrastinating for a long time, I finally took it to the Maruti Link Service Center in Salt Lake after lunch. I carried the book with me hoping to read it while waiting at the service station. The weather is very pleasant during this time of the year. So after dropping off the car to the service center, I walked to the nearby CK Block community park, occupied a comfortable seat and continued reading the book.

The park was full of children playing cricket all day long. The warm rays of the afternoon sun falling on my back and a full stomach made my eyelids heavy with sleep. I couldn't find a comfortable spot in the park to lie down and take an afternoon nap without the risk of getting hit by a cricket ball! So I resisted the urge to take a nap and continued reading chapter 8 - Class Warfare and the Politics of globalization.

The book is a must read for anybody who wants an insight on how the world economy really works. The interplay of globalization, capital markets and the current wave of protectionist political forces is truly breathtaking! One statement from the chapter is still ringing in my ears. I could not resist the temptation to quote (below):

"Economic development has raced ahead of cultural development; as a result culture is now acting as a brake on upward mobility. So, instead of railing against the economic system, we need to do a better job of helping people to adapt to it and rise to its challenges"

Colours of India

I took these photos in Puri Beach in January, 2010.

Alternatives

An Eventfull Sunday Evening

Today we watched a hindi movie at Bioscope in Axis Mall. The mall is very close to our apartment (visible from our balcony). Tickets at Rs 60 is dirt cheap compared to Inox. The theatre is superb with awesome interior decor and comfortable seating arrangements. However, the screen is much smaller compared to inox!

The Axis Mall is not ready yet. Apart from the movie theatre and a restaurant named "Aheli" (that serves bengali cuisine), there is no other retail store open yet. After the movie ended we reaized that a thunder storm was raging outside. The mall authorities had to shutdown the main entrance (both entry and exit) due to the thunderstorm. So we were stuck inside with nothing else to do. Finally after a long wait they opened a second exit for a few people who were willing to venture outside braving the wind and the rain. We were one of the few who decided to risk the storm to get home.

Back home as fate would have it, the rain water had seeped through the glass windows and flooded most of our rooms. Luckily, the vacuum cleaner was up to the task! It took us a good half hour to get rid of the water with the vacuum cleaner and mops. When we were done with the cleanup, I realized that the phone (landline) is dead but luckliy the broadband is till working. My daughter was busy playing with herself. So blogging seemed like a good option. Barely did I complete the first two paragraphs, my daughter climbed on my lap wanting to type "ABCD". I saved the draft of my new blog entry, switched to MS Word, increased font size to 36 and let my little one type to her heart's content.

Then the unexpected happened! I didn't realize that a stray bat had entered the living room and was hovering above our head in circles. My daughter was the first to notice it and appeared quite amused at the acrobatics. "Papa..look a bird" she said.

As soon as my wife heard from the kitchen she got nervous and started yelling at top of her voice! I switched off the lights, opened the main door, opened all windows wishing that the creepy creature flies out of the apartment. After a few minutes I couldn't see it anymore. Thinking that it has flown away, I switched the lights back on and got back to blogging. However to my utter dismay, the bat re-appeared again from its hideout and started hovering all over the room. When we were at our wits end my wife suggested that we switch the lights on. Finally the creature flew out of the room and disappeared into the darkness where it belongs!

In spite of all the trouble, the thunderstorm was indeed a big relief from the summer heat in Kolkata! Looking forward to a new day tomorrow.

A Radio Jockey is Born!