ParaGliding A New Adventure

Watch this video and my experience of Paragliding at Interlaken-Switzerland, jumping from around 4000 feet mountain attaining more height while being air borne for 15 minutes, and landing down the valley in Interlaken.

Indian Outsourcing story: Two Sides of a Coin

A genuine attempt from Thomas Friedman, the Pulitzer prize-winning NY Times commentrator, to understand the emerging India and how outsourcing and information technology is changing the country. Despite some flaws, this documentary telecast in Discovery Channel proves to be insightful and thought provoking. You can watch the video here.

PARESH

Is India Western, or Europe Indian ?

An interesting, reasonable views of Professor Dean Brown, an eminent Theoretical Physicist and Sanskrit Scholar, who has recently translated our Upanishads. The interview is really illuminating and connects two seemingly unrelated aspects of humanity - Sanskrit and Physics.
Wherein he expresses that Sanskrit in fact is the mother of all European languages.

The link of the video is: Brown Interview


This interview was telecasted under Thinking Allowed Television series. Visit their web-site at: Thinking Allowed


PARESH

Paresh 

American's view of India

Saturday, December 03, 2005
Another view
Lets hear what these MBA's from America have to say...

http://www.here-now.org/shows/2005/08/20050819_3.asp (first few minutes)
Excerpt...
This summer, many MBA students are passing up jobs on Wall Street for the chance to work in Bangalore, India, a city some call the outsourcing capitol of the world.
These future captains had a chance to work in Bangalore, India. They experienced India's explosive growth first hand.
One was working with HP and taking the outsourcing to next level. 'Outsourcing' of medical analysis, engeneering design, high tech. Now it was tough for them to digest that the management was now indigenous. (Way to go India).
They all agree that India is the place were it is happening and happening in the BIG way. They wanted to see it for themselves.
They were surprised to see the fabric of the Indian society. They also found a lack of gratitude.
One of them saw the contrast in Indian life. Individualism is also mentioned in context of change.
They think it is positive that Indians think US is the promise land.
Listen for yourself ... worth your time.

Nice, very nice...

All that I did not like is when Indians say 'America is better'. After staying in Europe for an year and in one of the most developed nation of the world(Denmark).
I still feel that India is the place where I want to be eventually, because that's where my roots are. Our Social fabric, values and traditions are the one's which we are proud of and we will be always.
I have experienced that staying in Alien land makes you more patriotic and you realize the importance of being an Indian in more broader sense.
Seems that Ashutosh Gwarikar movie 'SWADESH' had an tremendous impact on me :-)

Hats off to all Indians.

INDIAN

Another Hero Dies

Soldier Gopendra Singh Rathore, who served as aide-de-camp (ADC) to K. R. Narayanan when he was President, followed his Supreme Commander in death as well. Major Rathore, or Gopi as he was called, was killed during anti-terrorist operations in Jammu & Kashmir on Thursday, a day after Narayanan passed away.

Major Rathore also served as ADC to President Abdul Kalam for four months before being shifted to his regular battalion.

Major Rathore was marked for positions of high responsibility in the Army having topped the National Defence Academy and won the reputed Sword of Honour. A highly decorated Officer, he wanted to be back to Field Operations, for what Army is meant for. And he voluntarily went to back to Kashmir wishing to make his efforts in building Kashmir again a peaceful Tourist spot.
But apart from being an excellent army officer, he had passion for literature and literary work, read extensively and wrote poetry. His first collection of poems came out in 2002 and Mr. Kalam received the first copy. His literary bent of mind earned him laurels from many quarters and he regularly corresponded with Governor of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi in Hindi and exchanged views on literature and literary issues.

On hearing of his death, Mr. Gandhi described him as a flower in the army and expressed the agony and pain of having lost a 35-year-old friend. "Major Rathore was an exceptional soldier and an extra-ordinary human being. His professional bravery was matched by his literary sensibility,'' wrote Mr. Gandhi in his condolence message.

When working as ADC to Mr. Narayanan, Gopi looked after the Moghul Garden lawns and had in-depth knowledge about the plants and flowers of the gardens. Once when he was explaining the history of a plant to a foreign dignitary, Mr. Narayanan commented: "Gopi you should better become a horticulturist!" Those close to him testify to his humanism and compassion — when he came to Delhi a few months ago, he revealed that he was reading the Koran and trying to understand Islam.

Time for India to think again, whether It will act against Pakistan sponsored Terrorism by acting tough with Pakistan or whether it wants to continue loosing its Army Heroes and civilians.

INDIAN

'Fields' the biggest shopping mall in Scandanavia

Last week I was getting bored sitting in the midst of Valby... a posh locality in Copenhagen. There are no shops and stores like we have in every locality in India. There are special zones for shopping and then you only get essential commodities at the outlets.I heard of 'FIELDS', which incidentally is the biggest shopping mall in the whole of Scandanavia and North Europe. I thought about visiting the mall on Friday night, I enquired about the route and timings from my Dane colleague and it came as a shock that the mall closes at 11Pm on this Saturday though it closes at 5 Pm everyday. Its peculiar to Denmark and most of the European countries that they close everything by 5pm. Its only on Saturdays that few shopping places are open till 6pm. Anyhow I had already made up my mind to visit the biggest the best here.To reach 'Fields' that is situated one stop from Central Station Kobenhavn H in 'Ørestad'. Øre incidentally is to DKK is similar to what Paise is to INR. To reach Ørestad one has to ply in either Eurorail or DSB train to Mälmö, Sweden. I took the DSB because the frequency of the train is every 20 mins. It takes 8mins to reach Ørestad from Kobenhävn.Reaching the station you just have to walk for about 250 meters and you reach a big shopping complex called Fields. I wasn't impressed by the architecture. Its a plain glass building with lots of lights shining bright(i reached there in the evening). The mall is no doubt huge but its not that impressive. No big international brands, no good stuff to buy. The only thing that was good was the supermarket within the mall called 'Bilka'. Its huge...really huge. Everything is available in that shop, n when i say everything i mean everything u get in a supermarket... The only thing different here is that you get good bargains. Here bargain refers to buy in stock and save money and not India-wala bargain. Selective electronics are cheap as compared to India, otherwise its really really expensive. Then I understood why all the Danes carry age old mobiles... those nokia 3210 and 3310 etc. Although Danes are a wealthy lot but I am sorry to report that they don not have good taste for clothes.

So finally came back to my place after being bored

Beautiful KØBENHAVN

This week I take you on an excursion of the Danish capital Copenhagen or KØBENHAVN.København is a beautiful port city that is strategically located in Denmark for the famous ‘Vikings’ to conquer the seas. It is actually an ancient trade city… ‘Køben’ means ‘Merchant’ and ‘Havn’ means ‘Harbor’… København is Merchant’s harbour.Sleeping in the cozy feather quit on a lovely Saturday morning I woke up to the knocking at the door at 08.30. To my surprise few of my colleagues wanted me to get ready because they wanted to explore Copenhagen. I too wanted to explore the city but ever since I had landed here every Saturday and Sunday either it rained or snowed. Looking outside the window it seemed to be a promising day for excursion. I got ready and in the meantime there was a typhoon in my room (just kidding…that were my colleagues), leaving it as it is, we all reached the Copenhagen centrum (central in EN) station. We went up to the tourist information center and got worthwhile information. As we were chalking our plan for the day, few other colleagues also joined the bandwagon. We signed up for the tour within the city via bus. Ten Indians, mini rally of the sort in the Town Hall square, incidentally its election time here in Denmark, Danes will vote on Tuesday 8/02/2005. The social democrats were already gathered for the procession to the parliament.The trip started from HC Boulevard. HC is Hans Christian, any bells ringing…’The ugly duckling’ , ‘The princess and the pea’ … yes he is the same world-renowned fairy tale writer. He wrote more than 200 fairytales. In Denmark he is very very popular. Do visit http://hca.gilead.org.il/ or http://www.hca2005.com websites to know about him. This year it is his bicentennial. Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875).A gift to the city of Copenhagen from a special committee that engaged in collecting money.The guide took us to the short bridge that connects the Copenhagen to the small island of Amager nearby (I hope you remember there are >200 islands in the country). Some of the area between Copenhagen and Amager is reclaimed from the sea because the main city is rapidly growing out of bounds. The houses in Amager are a nice mix of contemporary and ancient architecture. Then we went to the new opera house that is a gift to Denmark from the Maserk Company’s owner at the cost of €300Mn. The opera house is stunning and is exactly opposite to the Queen’s palace. We then went to see the palace, built in 1870’s all the palaces were in the authentic state except for one that was recently restored. In all there are four palaces one for the old generation one for the current generation, one for the kids and one for the guests. 5th Feb is the crown princess’s Mary II (she is from Tasmania) birthday…(Ur Majesty Ms Sunaina you share B’day with her Highness, treat me once I am in Delhi). We visited the HC Andersen’s house and the beautiful canal where he used to daydream and write the fairy tales. I saw the mix of the latest ships and the age-old boats, some scuba divers were also having fun diving that day. Good view. I will upload the some photos soon.Østerport is to the north of København and is a functional port. The windmills are installed at mouth of the port opening to the Baltic Sea. Every windmill generates 2MW and is 100 feet high. The statue of little mermaid.The Royal Danish library is huge and has almost one book for each Dane. The Royal Art Museum has the famous statue of ‘The Thinker’. All statues here are made in bronze and have oxidized over the years and are now green in color. 'Tivoli' amusement park is adjacent to the Art museum and is an interesting contrast to the museum. There is a roller coaster ride that takes 45 sec to complete and on the opposite side the art museum that takes hours to see. Police yard headquarter is a unique place. Denmark has 54 police stations in all. Postal department… my office is one of the biggest establishment in Denmark. 54lacs Danes send 3crore letters each day… Saw Indiakey - The place from which boats used to go from Baltic to India. Nørrport… The biggest underground Station in Copenhagen… København S… is just like the train station in MS-Windows theme. Age old architecture with wooden panels. Quite a mix of modern and classical infrastructure. All the buildings were destroyed in the great fire of Denmark back in 1860 and thus the København area has all the buildings built after 1870. Actually where ever you go in this country you find a mix. Will not mention it again I promise. Vesterport is now the busiest place in København because all the restaurants, shopping place, amusement parks and Cineplex are. One of the Cineplex here has 17 screens and is the biggest. You can view English movies only on Saturdays or Sundays in a fixed slot. We visited the cathedral where the crown prince got married to Mary of Tasmania. We saw the embassy area. The area is relatively tiny as compare to India. It’s just like few houses on a narrow street but quite posh. We also saw the parliament. The parliament building is also unique as it has sculptures of men and women holding their head in disbelief and contempt. These are symbols of the taxpayer whose money has gone in building the block.I had a fantastic time and would definitely explore more of it in the summers.That’s all for this week folks… keep dreaming.

Sweden and Helsinki Cruise Trip

Its been really long-time since I updated the blog, reason... I was busy and did not have any time for serious fun. So come 21st April Friday holiday and off I go, breaking away from the ever monotonous life in Downtown Copenhagen.

The weather has been really wonderful in the Scandinavian countries from 15th April and with Sun shining bright till 8.30 in the evening; it’s a very good life. The central Europe wasn't all that bright and sunny. It was raining in almost whole of the central and southern EU. I initially thought of visiting Milan and Venice (Italy) but due to Pope's death all the flight to Italy was booked. I was so keen to visit Venice that I went to the Venice of North EU ;-) Stockholm. As Danes say København is the Paris of Scandinavia( Scandinavia consist of Denmark, Sweden,Norway and Finland) , Stockholm is Venice and Oslo the biggest Village in whole of the Nordic region(Include Greenland and Iceland in Scandinavia).So, I was off to Stockholm. I was late to book flight or train ticket to Swedish capital so I took euro lines bus ticket. The trip is supposed to be really 'cool'.

I boarded the big 40 seater Volvo bus of SweBus Express bus at 9 pm from Copenhagen Central, the bus was almost empty. By 9.05 pm it was quarter full with tourist from all across EU and few from America. The bus was on its way to Stockholm via Malmö(The across sea city of Sweden from Copenhagen, around 15 mins ferry ride from Copenhagen Airport), Helsingborg and Göteborg(Volvo city and the second biggest City in Sweden). It is a long 9 hour journey. Initially I anticipated it to be a boring and uncomfortable ride but to my pleasant surprise it wasn’t a bit what I thought. The Volvo buses are really very cosy. The outside temperature was between +5 to -1 degrees Celsius but the inside it was really snug and I had to get rid of my jacket. I was dead tired after a hectic day at office and soon slept. After a while the bus halted at the border check post, an officer on a routine check up did a round of questions with a group of girls from Spain and a boys from Turkey. The bus was soon on the way without much delay. It was the only 1 hour of proper sleep I could get the whole night. The tunnel towards Malmö(beneath the Sea) is really very well constructed and the cars go zipping on the track. Even the bus did easy 90 km/hr.

The Swedish cities are based more on modern architecture as compared to Denmark. The roads are not that good as those in Copenhagen and other cities in Denmark but still very good. Copenhagen to Malmö, Malmö is near Copenhagen Airport, actually it is the very next city after Kastrup where the ‘Lufthavn’(airport) of Copenhagen is. You can reach the city fro Copenhagen in about 20 mins by train, with some part of the journey under water. Most of the Swedes living in the vicinity use Copenhagen International Airport for air travel. The bus picked more passengers at Malmö and within 10 mins was on the way to Helsingborg (as you might remember Helsingborg is the closet Swedish city from Denmark). To read more about Helsingborg please read the previous post ;-) Few passengers got off and got on and we all were on our way to Göteborg. It was 2 in the morning and mostly everyone was sleeping. A little beautiful Swede girl sat next to me and she was so conscious that she had a tough time sleeping. Once the bus stopped for the change of drivers I got to talk to her and then she was so relaxed that she slept on my shoulder the rest of the night. Her name was Sophia and she was visiting her grandparents in the city of Norrköping.

I reached Stockholm at 6 am. I got information and map of Stockholm, the capital of Sweden is a beautiful culmination of old and modern architecture. Stockholm, Sweden's capital city and major port, lies between Lake Malaren and the Baltic Sea. Part of the city is situated on an archipelago of twenty islands and part on the Swedish mainland. The city, with its bridges and canals, its large open spaces and both old and modern buildings, creates an efficient, harmonious city.The old city, which, when founded in the 12th century, had a city wall. This area is made up of Stadholmen. Riddarholmen and Holgeandsolmen islands. Even though the city has suffered a lot of damage from fires, the centre has still managed to maintain its medieval feel. This is the site of two highly important religious buildings, dating back to the 13th century, the Saint Nicholas Cathedral, on the island of Stadholmen, site of royal coronations and the Riddarholm Church, on the island of the same name, resting place of Sweden's Kings and Queens. Stadholmen island is also the site of the Royal Palace. Completed in 1754, the building contains 608 rooms, some of which still host official royal ceremonies. The National Museum, located in front of the Palace, is housed in a 18th century building and contains the largest collection of Swedish art. The 17th century House of the Nobles ((Riddarhuset), on the island of Riddarholmen, is a splendid example of Dutch Baroque and once served as the residence of the Nobility. Holgeandsolmen island is the site of the Parliament building (1905) and the old State Bank (1906) and the Town hall, which is located in the centre of the Kungsholmen district. This red-brick building was constructed between 1911 and 1923 and features a 106 metre bell-tower, which chimes twice a day. The building's blue room is the site of the Nobel Prize presentations, which take place on the 10th of December every year, on the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the rich 18th century industrialist.The lush, green island of Djurgarden is located to the east of the centre, beyond the small island of Skeppsholmen, site of the 1998 Modern Art Museum. Djurgarden was the royal hunting zone and today is the site of the Vasa Museum, inaugurated in 1990 and home to a large battle-ship. The Skansen, a large open-air ethnology museum is situated a short distance away. The museum houses exhibitions of Swedish farming life, with entire ancient Scandinavian buildings on display, which have been transported and re-built on site.The ultra modern district of Norrmalm is located on the mainland to the west of Lake Malaren and north of the old city. The district is home to the main railway station and the Kungstadgarden, one time royal gardens and now an important meeting point. The Stadium, built in red brick in 1912, for the Olympics of that year, is situated in the Ostermann district. The large district of Sodermalm, south of the old city and linked to it by the Centralbron (central bridge), is the location of the Globen Stadium. Built in 1989 and site of sporting events and concerts. The 1883 Katarinahissen, is a 38 metre high panoramic lift, which provides the visitor with spectacular views over the city.Like other large cities, Stockholm is best appreciated by walking around it. The public transport system is , however, clean and efficient. I got to see Alfred Nobels house and the museum.I took a sight seeing trip of Stockholm by bus but if you visit Stockholm I recommend a boat trip. The sight seeing was very informative and it was really nice because you appreciate what the Swedes think of their heritage and the trips take you up close to the monuments.

The only bad thing of this sightseeing trip was that the bus did not stop at any of the picturesque location but I clicked loads of pics from the moving bus . After the sight seeing trip was over, I ate Pizza at ‘Pizza Hut’ as getting Vegeterian stuff is too difficult so I had no option to eat Veg Pizza, though I love it as that’s also one of my favourite food. Then I went to big shopping malls in Stockholm, I must admit except for the designers brands available it is nothing different from malls back home in India. Got bored of looking I saw the information about the cruise to Helsinki (Finland). I went to the port and booked my tickets for the trip.The Stockholm-Helsinki cruise.Silja Lines operate cruise per day from Stockholm to Helsinki. A one way trip is about 15 hours and is between two time zones. Finland is 1 hour ahead of Sweden and Denmark. The ship starts at 5 pm Swedish time and reaches Helsinki at 9 am Finnish time. The ship was a huge cruise liner with 13 decks.Good fun. I met my colleagues who too were travelling to Helsinki. To know more about the ship click the following link http://www.silja.fi/FLEET/Silja%20SymphonyI had a rocking time on board. I got to feel the midnight sun although it wasn’t the exact midnight sun. The sun and the moon were looking eye to eye at 9 pm. The islands on the way are really very beautiful. The ship was huge and had approx 2200 tourist on board, a complete 5 star hotels in itself. I had good fun exploring the casino and pub on deck. I saw Magic show and a live dance performance. The Tax-free shop was a major hit with the tourist. Every one was stacking vodka and beer cases. I went to the discotheque and had a great time. The karaoke was a real crowed puller and then the DJ took over; Indians were dancing at Swedish and Finnish tunes, awesome it was until 2am that everyone danced and rocked the floor. I went to bed at 2.30 in my Cabin, which was shared by my room mate. I woke up early in the morning at around 8 and was enthu to arrive in Helsinki and Helsinki didn’t disappoint me.
It is really a very beautiful city. You don’t need to be an artist to appreciate the picturesque landscape. I already had signed on the cruise liner for the sight seeing in Helsinki. The lady guide was really old she was around 60. She had a Finnish accent and spoke everything slowly in English but she was very good at what she knew about the history of the city. The bus tour was really very good I recommend it all who wish to see Helsinki.
Finland was once a part of Russia before communist rule. The country’s 90% population talks Finnish and the rest talks Russian. The city is very clean and is surrounded by the Baltic Sea from three sides. The retirement age in Finland is 65 yrs. There are far too many women in country then men. The city is very well planned and the people are very friendly. Had my breakfast at the Mac …and there in Mac Vegeterian means that you don’t want beef, so had to personally instruct No Beef, No Meat, No Fish. What I got in the end was Bun with Phool Patthi(Cabbage and Suace, No Aloo burger).. O MY GOD…I started hating being a in Europe because of my different food habits. I have loads of pictures from Finland and a few souvenirs. Returning to ship after an unforgettable trip around the city I was tired but decide to go for Swimmping pool and Saunaa and Jacuzzi bath on Ship. It was great fun and relaxing and with all gorgeous women beside you gazing around J After that, went up to the top deck and spent most of the time looking at the beautiful sunset. Recharging myself with orange juice for dinner at the bar playing live music, the band played all sort of numbers. I was then back to disc on the thirteenth floor. The party was getting hot at 1 am. I was there till 4 am and there were some really good babes from Russia and every Indian friend of mine found a Dance partner cum GF. But poor me I am getting engaged in July, so could only miss my Darling in India J

I woke up at 10.30 Swedish-time. Got ready for another day in Stockholm this time I covered the old city ‘Gamla Stan’. It is nice to walk past the old style houses. The parliament complex is accessible for public. Had a look around, ate ice cream and then basked in the summer sun in the park near Opera house. It was already 1pm and I had to catch the bus back to Copenhagen at 2.30. I went back to Stockholm central and ate Veg Pizza again loaded coke and water for the trip. I enjoyed the return journey. The Swedish country side scenery was breath taking. The bus reached Copenhagen Central at 12 am, reached my apartment at 12.35 am and Amitav started all over again cooking rice and Daal for dinner. Enjoyed the supper and went off to sleep at 2.30… don’t ask what happened next morning in office. I was half asleep almost whole day ;-)
To see all the pictures please click the following link:

http://photos.yahoo.com/paresh_mishra