Happy New Year from Rose Bowl Parade Route in Pasadena

I have been off from NYC and in Pasadena and the Los Angeles area for last 10 days. And tonite, New years Eve (and the blue moon shining) wishing every one a Happy New Year from Colorado Blvd (part of the historic Route 66). The Blvd pavements are packed with campers hanging out during the day and overnite for the rose bowl parade tomorrow!

Here are some pics from Pasadena!

The Sun setting for the last time in 2009





Being Stopped to Vote for a Bake Sale!!








Well folks we are going to get out and spend the new years eve on the colorado route, mingling with the folks and welcoming the new year. By the way, since all places close down at 2 am here, we will be bringing the party home for an after party!!

Happy New Year!!

Its Mahatma Gandhi's 140th Anniversary today. And Google's Gandhi Logo Rocks.

Just noticed that the Google Logo had changed today. And for a good reason. It was the 140th birth anniversary of Gandhi. In India Oct 2nd is celebrated as the Gandhi Jayanti Day.

I have gone through parts of his autobiography, 'My experiments in truth' and it gives a good insight into his life experiences and reasoning. Though he lived in very different times, a lot of what he believed in and practiced is as much in need and relevance today as then. We need renewed calls for and the practice of the philosophy of non violence.

Thanks Google for reminding the greater online population of this truly great person (even given some of the controversies surrounding his life).

The Best Frickin' Deal for a Round Trip from New York to Delhi. CheapOair.com rocks

Okay folks, so whats the best deal you have got for a round trip from New York City to Delhi in the last 1-2 years. Lets start with $800. Perhaps some of you can say , yea. I am sure you can fly cheaper.
$700..... (maybe)
$650....
$600... (i am begininng to see no hands raised)

Well i just got it for $550! yes you read the right $550 roundtrip from NYC to Delhi. Thats $550 with all taxes and fees added. No other fees applies!
And do note I am flying British Airways with one stop over in London and then returning via Jet Airways with one stop over in brussels. Now that is a rare deal! See the confirmed itinerary below.


In fact the ticket price was just $275 with some $300 for taxes (i got a $30 promotion discount).



And i got it just like that. Today.
Just a few hours ago on CheapOair.com
I had been looking for a deal for the past few days and was about to settle on a $950 round trip on Qatar airways (a 5 star rated airline. i was excited to try them out). But their site had some issues in the online booking payment page! I tried three times and then gave up.

It was meant to be i guess because it really paid off to look at CheapOair.com. Till yesterday they had been showing flights as low as $775 but this was unbeatable.

Way to go guys. i am definitely going to look at your rates before i go to kayak.com or cheaptickets.com for my future reservations. Looks like you have the cheapest airfare deals

A Widget that Helps Patients Find Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are research studies conducted by doctors to test the new treatments. Without such studies we wouldnt have all the great drugs and medicines. Also in many cases, these studies provide access to potentially life saving treatments.

Every day thousands of patients are instructed by their doctors to look for clinical trials as a way to test a new treatment which may work better than conventional treatments.

I came across a clinical trials site that allows bloggers to create a nice clinical trials search widget for any health condition. You too can create this widget and embed the same in your blog and help patients find these trials and connect with the trial investigators.

Here is how the widget looks for Multiple Myeloma Trials

Screening BKS Iyengar's "Yoga: The Ultimate Freedom"

I recently attended a special screening of a vintage video tape showing an hour long yoga demonstration by one of the worlds greatest Yoga Exponent, BKS Iyengar. This black and white recording, titled "Yoga: The Ultimate Freedom", showcases the worlds foremost yoga expert, BKS Iyengar demonstrating a variety of yoga poses. The video was shot in 1976 and is considered the best recording of this great yoga teacher.

Note, Mr. Iyengar (affectionately called Guruji by his students) was 58 years old then! He is almost 90 now and still practices hours of yoga in his home/yoga institute in Pune, India.







As you can see in the pictures below, these are very advanced and technical difficult yoga poses that require years of dedicated practice. But as Mr. Iyengar himself goes on to say in the video and elsewhere, yoga can lead to the Ultimate Freedom of the body, mind and spirit. He also emphasizes that even though the poses may look tough, if you start and view yoga as a life long journey then the poses will begin to flow. Mr, Iyengar himself is a living example of such a transformation - when he started practicing yoga at the age of 15 he could barely bend down enough to reach his knees as he suffered from Tuberculosis which greater limited this spinal movements!

I have been practicing yoga for 15 months now and attend a weekly class of 90 mins. The class goes through a series of poses with intense stretching and focusing of the mind that makes one realize one's own body. And yes, with each class the body begins to open up and the stiff joints and muscles begin to loosen up. The relaxation and lightness that one feels after each class can only be experienced.



Hope you consider embarking on this lifelong journey of discovery, freedom and joy!

Indian Mangoes, Kesar Variety are not to be missed.

Folks, if you have not had Indian mangoes, then are you missing one of nature's most delicious gifts. Yes, mangoes are not that popular in the USA and most Americans have only had access to mangoes from Mexico or Haiti. Okay they are mangoes but really they hardly compare with the flavor and taste of Indian mangoes. And perhaps you are wondering that if these mangoes from India are so good. then why you Havent had or heard about them before? Valid question - because till 2007 Indian mangoes were not permitted to be imported in the US! In 2007, while visiting India and signing the nuclear treaty, president bush agreed to allow import of Indian mangoes (as the famous headlines of the day went, India agrees to exchange mangoes for American nukes!!)

So coming now to the mangoes! more than 85% of the worlds mangoes are produced in India - and here truly hold you breath - there are more than 500 varieties of mangoes grown in the india - yes 500 - there is the Alphonso, Kesar, Chausa, Safeda, Malda, Dussheri, Biju, Langda, each with its own unique flavor and characteristics.

In the US, you can get high quality, hand picked and packed Kesar and alphonso mangoes. Kesar actually refers to saffron - so imagine a mango that tastes like saffron.



When the mangoes came for the first time in the USA in summer 07, we were so excited that along with my friends at iFood.tv that we organized a whole event tango with mango - 20 dishes all made with mangoes - from appetizers to desserts.

The kesar mangoes are simply delicious - mid sized, with a yellowish green skin with tinges of saffron , these mangoes have a delicate fragrance. Sold in boxes ten each (priced at $30/box - yes sounds a bit high but they are well worth the buck) , you can get them in select Indian grocery stores (Jackson hts in queens for example, or the India market in jersey city)



And in case you are wondering how to best to eat them, then forget about the usual way of slicing them (yea you can do that). But if you really want to enjoy a kesar mango and become blissful. then the trick is to hold the mango between you thumb and index finger and massage the mango gently from all sides. As you massage the mango, the pulp become juice. After massaging for 2-3 minutes. just pluck out the skin at the mouth of the mango and then suck the juice. And experience natural bliss!

Rajeev Motwani Passes Away, Possibly a Swimming Accident

Just read that Rajeev Motwani passed away. Shocking news. Rajeev was a legend in silicon valley and had advised both Sergey and larry at Google (Sergey's blog about Rajeev) This is an enormous loss and a tragedy. I had met Rajeev once at the TIECon in 2005 and it was just humbling and inspiring to have met him.

It appears he fell in his house swimming pool and couldnt get out (as the Wikipedia notes, Rajeev couldnt swim very well). The nature of his death brings up one big concern, which is based on interactions with folks in my personal network and experience. Several of my friends from India (myself included) have had limited training and practice of swimming. Two years ago, a group of us were swimming in a lake in upstate NY and a person wandered just a bit further into the deep. Luckily we had a good swimmer who swam the person back to shore. A similar experience was replayed in Australia, when a friend and me scrambled (and gasped) to swim across a small lake. Thankfully nothing untoward happened, though things could have gone horribly wrong. And then just a few weeks back, when my raft flipped in the Colorado river, my limited swimming abilities added to my inability to really do much in the water.

And now this tragic death, highlights the need to create greater awareness for learning how to swim. This summer i am going to practice my swimming skills and urge folks in my personal network to do so. You never know what can happen. Perhaps this tragedy could have been averted. So sad.

Piano Notes Wafting in a Subway Platform

New York City never ceases to amaze. But its in the small, unexpected and the unimaginable acts, sights and sounds, that the city truly does amaze one. And tonight was one such moment. I had just entered the subway at the Union Square Station (after watching the absolutely mindless and totally not worth it. Lost World) when i heard the notes of a piano! Yes and there across the platform on the downtown N, R, Q, W train was a main playing beautiful notes on a piano! That was the first for me in 6 years of living in the city. I have seen drummers, jazz musicians, flutists, guitarists but never a pianist.

And there he was playing, in the middle of the platform oblivious of the din of incoming trains. There were just a handful of people and every one was sought of caught in the stillness of time. It was a pure Kodak moment and for a rare occasion i didn't mind waiting longer the for uptown train. As you can see, the picture above and the video below are worth more than any words!



In the mad frenzy and hustle and bustle of the city, you never know when the city can send you into a time warp (as it did Will Ferrell into the land of the lost. Thankfully the mindless T-Rex didnt break the solitude and the notes of the pianist)

Awe Inspiring Yogathon at the Iyengar Yoga Institute

The Iyengar Yoga Institute organized its 5th annual Yogathon today. Just like a walkathon or a marathon, the Yogathon challenges one to go test the limits of their endurance and willingness as participants (read serious and regular practitioners) hold tough (and mind contorting) yoga poses for long minutes, in some cases the minutes almost become hours. And the yogis friends and well wishers pledge donations for every minute the pose is held.

This was my second yogathon and i was looking forward to it (i have been practicing at the institute for a year and hope to make it a lifelong habit) It truly was an experience and an inspiration to see yoga as a life of continued practice and learning. Enjoy these pics and marvel at the poses, the flexiblity and the wisdom from which this practice emanates.

The yogathon started with Matt Dreyfus doing the head stand and a series of inverted twists.




Then Tori Milner began her series of the back bends such as The dhanurasana, culminating with the toughest pose rated in Iyengar Yoga. This is the Nataraj pose - the classic pose named after Lord Shiva and rated 60 on a scale from 1 to 60 ).




As Tori was doing her backbends, Dmitri was holding the Utitha Asana for 15 looooong minutes. This pose looks deceptively simple but is really tough to hold.



Other highlight of the day included a series of really leg bending poses,





And then a 45 mins shoulder stand by Eve Holbrook.



And an amazing sequence of poses by three Women on the Ropes (laura brunn, naghmeh ahi and michelle) !

Awesome indian Pakistani food at my cousins wedding in albany

At my cousins place in albany on the memorial day weekend.celebrations are on for a ore wedding mehndi and reception.and of there is something that one can't get enough of is the awesome food that has been prepared by my cousins mom.they are originaly from pakisan (so that makes us truly a cross border Indian pakistani family).now north Indian mughlai food is great and shares a lot of commonalities with the Pakistani cuisine but there are differences in the style and spices used in quite a few dishes.and they taste awsome.sincebi have come I have ben feasting on chicken bhujia (ground chicken fried with green peppers and tomatoes). Then last nite I feasted on a staple dish -rice with rajma (kidney beans cooked in spices. Also called pothi on punjabi).and not to forget the juciy and delectably delicious kofas(meatballs cooked in rich spices )

And all this when the mehndi is yet to begin !! Will be posting pics of the food and of course the celebration pics .