During the workshop children learn the six-gold keys to success through innovative games and interactive processes that reinforce human values. Through fun and laughter, children learn valuable lessons on how to share with others, work and play in harmony and develop a sense of belonging. Children become more self-expressive and comfortable and natural even with diverse groups of people.

Students are also taught yoga and effective and powerful breathing processes which help eliminate fear, anxiety, depression and other negative emotions. Meditation, being an important tool to tap the children's hidden potential, forms an integral part of the program.

After undergoing the program, children demonstrate enhancement of creative skills, improved memory and concentration, development of leadership qualities and healthy emotions, clarity of mind as well as improved interaction with their peers.

Start Time: Friday, December 25, 2009 at 8:30am
End Time: Monday, December 28, 2009 at 12:30pm
Location: HAL Convention Center, Bengaluru
Registration details: http://dhamaka-utsah.webs.com/

Both fun and challenging, this 18 hour seminar provides teens with a comprehensive toolbox to both manage their own emotions and stress as well as dynamically navigate through adolescence.

The program broadens youth's vision of the world and provides practical knowledge and skills they need to realize their highest potential.

Independent research has also shown that the processes learned on YES! reduce anger violence and depression, as well as improve focus, clarity of mind and concentration.

Main Aspects of the Program:

1. Physical – Dynamic body exercises, yoga and innovative breathing techniques.
2. Mental – Practical knowledge to eliminate counter productive activity and enhance learn ability; Techniques and interactive processes to improve memory, concentration & focus.
3. Social – Experiential processes to develop problem solving strategies and social skills; Interactive games to develop leadership and life skills; Teamwork exercises to teach cooperation and conflict resolution.

Start Time: Friday, December 25, 2009 at 2:30pm
End Time:   Monday, December 28, 2009 at 6:30pm
Location:   HAL Convention Center, Bengaluru
Website and Registration Details: http://dhamaka-utsah.webs.com/

Is there something I want so badly that I feel like if it doesn't come true I will have missed out on something special? Yes!

Are there intense signs telling me that this is the chance to put everything I've got into furthering that goal or dream? Yes!

I have to invest now in something I want to grow in and make it more important in my life. But to get what I want, I need to let go of whatever is not working and anything that has outlived its usefulness, whether that is an attitude, or a life situation that no longer fits who I am today. And possibly take a few moments to stand back and look at what I've accomplished.

During these last several months, I have craved for changes in my life that I am now ready to take to a new level. In the past, just when I thought I knew what was going on and which direction I wanted to go in, something happened to hamper the progress. I live in a changing world, and now is the time for me to change along with it, I have to ride the waves of change. Before anything else, I want to become clear about my future. Not by worrying about the details right now, just getting the big picture, so I have something to aim for.

Talking to you: Are we just friends? Or, are we closer? Do I want to connect intimately and also to keep everything private? I struggle to determine the difference between fantasy and reality. There is desire for pleasure, but there is also the change of feeling misunderstood. My values and beliefs are in continuous debate with me.

Cheers
Mayur Poddar
@poddu.com
@www.67knots.com

I have plenty to write about, but I feel a lot of it is either totally boring or too messy. Today, I’m going to share some of the lines from my online chat history. There’s no story here, just abstract lines.

• What do they say ... if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

• I’ll take the bus to wind tunnel road. You can pick me up from there.

• Morning sweetheart.

• India is shining. But all that glitters is not gold.

• Don’t blame yourself. Find somebody or something else to blame or share the blame.  My decisions and choices are not all mine.  My mind is not all mine.  People and things around me influence and affect my thinking all the time, sometimes momentarily, sometimes permanently. And those influences are sometimes to blame. And I cannot block out those influences.  Then life would be like a telephone wire. Chattering goes about all the time. But the wire remains a wire. A strip of copper. Dead.  I will brood, I will regret, I will sulk, I will reminisce, I will blame others.

• What’s troubling you?

• If you hold your breath long enough, you'll experience hypoxia, I call it - the next best thing to madness. You can still think. Whatever you think, you will feel it's all ok, you won't have a choice.

• I have a kind of morning sickness. No. I’m not pregnant.

• Why am I like ... when I think of somebody I care for ... I forget my own troubles. Even if that's for a few moments.

• People come into your life for a Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime.

• I checked her kundli. She has only 1 small window of 2 months in 2011. If she doesn’t marry then, it’s never.

• We have to make compromises and adjustments. But we CAN choose when, where, and with whom.

• Sometimes I feel like I want to wail, then I suddenly realize that I’m not able to.

• Lots of hugs and kisses and blessings. And know that you are loved a lot.

• My internet connection is all f****d up today. Comes and goes and comes and goes.

• I slept after the last call 2 u. Woke up at 6. Lazed around. Felt like it, so went to the clinic and gave blood for testing, went to McDonalds for breakfast. Got to office at 12. So far nobody has come to me. Got 7 calls on the phone between 10 and 12, didn’t answer any.  I’m such an ass.

• I need to get drunk... only then will this feeling go.

• I want to see the expression on her face. I have a feeling she is probably expecting it. When I meet her next, I tell her. If she is not interested in a fling, then … Whatever ya. I’m so f*****g confused.

• Waiting for something big to happen. Something really really big. Something that will blow my mind away, or make it numb, either ways. Something explosive.   something...

• Right now I wish my head felt numb.

• I’m pretty tired and in no mood for polite conversation with people who I don’t know!

• Somewhere I want to, actually, wanted to, fall in love, again.

• The last one is not something I will talk about just now. I'm not very proud of myself about it. It is  .... somewhat ... scandalous.

• There was a time I was hiding from the world, so I said I was meditating. Most people buy it.

• I’m working in a garment factory. Software consultant - got a contract for 3 months. 2 weeks left.

• Good Good. Treat yourself well. And keep smiling.

The waves of heat that blow over the surface of a desert
It's there, it's for everyone.
It's untouchable, it's for no one.
It's dense, it's intense, it's impenetrable.
It's fragile, delicate, about to disappear.
It's alive, it plays, it's asleep, it drools.
It's calm, it's mad, it laughs, and cries.
It changes in a blink, and again back to it.
It hides things that exist, shows things that aren't.
It is not the mirage.
The mirage is in you, you live a mirage.
Today, I feel like that wave of heat.

Cheers
Mayur Poddar
@poddu.com
@www.67knots.com

Yesterday I passed by my past. Friday morning in Bangalore saw an unusual spell of rain. I was on M.G.Road, waiting for a friend, to go shopping in City Market. Don't know what brought it on, but I had this uncontrollable urge for a softy cone. I walked down to the regular softy shop on Bridage Road, found it closed, and went into McDonalds. The rain turned into a light drizzle just then.

I had just stepped out of McDonalds, licking my vanilla softy cone, when I passed a couple walking in the opposite direction. I thought that was somebody familiar, and being very engrossed with my softy cone, didn't immediately pay attention. After several moments, it struck me. I replayed the last few seconds in my head. She looked as beautiful as before. I turned around and watched her walk away in the other direction, silently waving her a good-bye, trying to ignore the trembling in my legs, then telling myself, C'est la vie, and trying to mentally recite this poem I read recently.

It's written by Semone Akil Tabb, in which he has so clearly written exactly what I had wanted to say for a long time.

Like a thief, unexpectedly you robbed me
No more coldness within my heart
You changed it from dirty stone
Into a beautiful piece of art

To passion I had no vision
But you kissed my eyes and let me see
Another part of my rigid being
You so graciously set free
Emotions which I found foreign,
Seem to be a second language today
You taught me how to speak them
Within my heart they’ll stay

Like a thief, unexpectedly you robbed me
Stole my heart without a peep
I thank you for being so silent
My heart you shall keep

Cheers
Mayur Poddar
@poddu.com
@www.67knots.com

My favourite song was ...

रात कलि एक ख्वाब में आई , और गले का हार हुई ।
सुबह को जब हम नींद से जागे , आँख तुम्ही से चार हुई ।
चाहे कहो इसे मेरी मोहब्बत , चाहे हसीं में उड़ा दो ।
ये क्या हुआ मुझे , मुझको ख़बर नहीं , हो सके तुम ही बता दो ।
तुमने कदम जो , रखा ज़मीन पर , सीने में क्यूँ झंकार हुई ।

Cheers
Mayur Poddar
@poddu.com
@www.67knots.com

In mid-December, I visited Ganga, a friend from old times, at her newly acquired abode. Besides being a top executive in a very large organization, Ganga is also an Art of Living (AOL) teacher, and is rather unrelenting when it comes to making excuses for not attending AOL courses. When I thought I had reasonably convinced her that I couldn’t go to the ashram at the time, she called them and registered my name and gave me the course fee. No way out.
 
So off I went to the Art of Living ashram in Bangalore. I did the 3 day residential Basic Course at the ashram, during which time I had the opportunity to meet Sri Sri Ravishankar (a.k.a. Guruji). The highlight of the course is the Sudarshan Kriya. During the stay at the ashram, I had several unnatural experiences. Maybe unnatural is not the appropriate word here. Try unusual. These experiences came with the Sudarshan Kriya, meditation, satsang, and at the time of meeting Guruji. The kriya was particularly unnerving the first couple of times.
 
On day 2, I lost my sandals, and couldn’t find anything comfortable in the one store at the ashram. I was told that this happens all the time at the ashram, and that the sandals were probably stolen, or exchanged with somebody who couldn’t find theirs in a hurry. I felt no anger and quite calmly told myself that whoever had my sandals probably needed them more than me. And probably in a trance, I decided to, and within just about the outer limits of bearable physical distress, managed to stay bare feet for the rest of the 2 days. At the end of day 3, I took a bus home, walked home from the bus stop, and rode the bike to my cousins place for dinner, bare feet. And I was enjoying it. Until my cousin noticed that I was leaving her apartment that way, and got the “Are you crazy! They got to you, didn’t they?!” talk. I must say that the 3 days not only took my mind off the low, but made me feel way better. The low comes from sustained loneliness and unemployment, and makes me think crazy things.

Naveen and Monali came visiting their motherland in December. On Christmas-eve, we drove down to Mysore, Naveen at the wheel, for what was supposed to be a day trip. We had breakfast at Kaadu Mane, where Monali totally freaked out at the monkeys. And how can I forget the search for a Shell gas station, not for the gas, but for the cleanest possible public toilet. I tell you, these 2 have stayed in gora land too long. I played along merrily, but inside, I was feeling restless.

Mysore was a lot of fun. We visited the Mysore Palace and spent good time admiring the paintings and artifacts and figuring out if we could find the existence of our previous births in any of those paintings. Yes, we actually did that. At a spot, I even wanted to lie flat on the floor so I could get a good look at the paintings on the ceiling.

Lunch was at Kamat Yatrinivas, a typical unlimited meal. I ate so much, I couldn’t believe myself. I think all 3 of us ate beyond our known capacities. We later hooked up with Mamata at her office, and that’s when, against my wishes, it was decided that we stay overnight at her place. Naveen and Monali went shopping for handicraft gift items, stuff that the gora people appreciate very much. And I got a haircut, the shortest crop ever. It was so close to a clean shave, it’s only now, after 3 months, that I have to use a comb. I despise using a comb now. There was a time when I had longer hair. That was the time I had plenty of hair on my head.

Naveen was very enthusiastic about getting a beer, so we all drove around town to Purple Haze, the hippest pub in Mysore. On Christmas-eve, the hippest pub in Mysore had all but 10 customers, and that’s including the 4 of us. Anyways, I having quit alcohol, had forewarned the gang that I’d be sipping fresh lime, something they didn’t approve of at all. And when we finally sat down at the table, I let myself become weak, and ordered a tequila shot. One led to the other, then another, and when someone had paid the bill, I had had 6 shots.

After that, my memories are blurred. I vaguely remember climbing down a lot of stairs, eating yucky noodles, and then getting off the car in the apartment basement, and somebody scolding me for shouting. Then I remember lying on my back on the carpet and mumbling something non-stop. I’m quite sure I was walking on my own, because none of the others, or even all of them put together, would have had the strength to carry me around.

The next morning, we ate idlis and dosas for breakfast, and then I drove us back to Bangalore. The highlight of the drive was that I got stuck on one song and played it over and over again, and in fiddling with the mp3 player, nearly rammed into another car in front of us.

तू ही तो जन्नत मेरी, तू ही मेरा जूनून,
तू ही तो मन्नत मेरी, तू ही रूह का सुकून
तू ही अखियों की ठंडक, तू ही दिल की है दस्तक,
और कुछ न जानू में, बस इतना ही जानू
तुझ में रब दिखता है, यारा में क्या करूँ, सजदे सर झुकता है, यारा में क्या करूँ

ना कुछ पूछा, ना कुछ माँगा, तूने दिल से दिया जो दिया
ना कुछ बोला, ना कुछ तोला, मुस्कुरा के दिया जो दिया
तू ही धूप तू ही छाया, तू ही अपना पराया
और कुछ ना जानू, बस इतना ही जानू....
तुझ में रब दीखता है, यारा में क्या करूँ, सजदे सर झुकता है, यारा में क्या करूँ

Cheers
Mayur Poddar
@poddu.com
@www.67knots.com

Wish you and your families a very very happy new year.

It was probably the hottest summer day in Vancouver when I finally took my flight test. August 15 2008, aptly applied to me, is Independence Day. I passed the test, and lo and behold, I am now the proud owner of a Commercial Pilot License. As much as I had wanted to complete the Multi-Engine Instrument Rating (MEIR), I promptly brought an end to my flight training. With several of my friends without aviation jobs a year after completing their courses, I saw no merit in spending another fortune on MEIR. The economy was already hurting and pilot jobs in India had all dried up or blown away. Of course, there was one last thing left to be done. And that was to return to India and complete the Indian exams for license conversion. I was dreading those. Imagine going to an exam knowing well that the pass percentage is 10% - only 10% of the applicants ever pass the exam.

On my way back to India, I hopped over to San Francisco (SFO) to meet Shachi - Srikant and Naveen - Monali. Flying to India via SFO was somehow $200 cheaper than going direct from Vancouver. Canada is a bloody expensive country. The 2 days I spent in SFO were fabulous. Shachi and Srikant treated me to an evening of champagne and bowling and one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen. So much alcohol after a long time made me woozy and crazy. The next day, Naveen took a day off to show me the inspiring Stanford University. Just being there made me want to study. We then drove to Half Moon Bay to grab the best clam chowder, and we later smoked a cigar by the Pacific Ocean. That was the last time I drank, smoked and ate non-vegetarian food.

I lost my laptop at SFO airport. More appropriately, I forgot it at the airport. I forgot a bunch of stuff at Vancouver too. I was going home after a very long time, and nothing seemed to trouble me. I was at peace. Or so I felt. As my luck would have it, the laptop was later traced to the lost and found at SFO airport, and Naveen picked it up for me. Someday, I may see the laptop again.

I landed at Bangalore at 1pm on mom’s birthday. The plan was to surprise her, by landing up 2 days before what I had communicated to her. My sister gave it all away. And I’m so glad she did. She picked me up from the airport, and drove me apparently for a rendezvous with her husband before we went home. We ended up at Rajdhani, a new restaurant at UB City. And there was my entire family, 15 of them, waiting to give me the biggest surprise ever.

Four days later, I was in a train to Delhi. I signed up for tuitions for the Indian exams and spent the next 2 months studying. This was the most intense form of studying I have ever done in my entire life. I hadn’t studied like this in school or college. The days stretched beyond my liking and I had nothing else to do but study. It was like a study fever. I lived in a PG (Paying Guest) run by a hitler of a punjabi lady and her mouse of a husband, sharing a room with 2 senior high school boys, eating 3 somewhat deplorable meals a day.

I picked up a nasty cold in Delhi. With the cold, I had walked up to the Saket J-block market to pick up some brandy. My room mates had encouraged me to get some, the brandy would cure the cold and I could focus on the books. The small liquor store did not have any brandy. As I dragged myself away, something caught my eye from behind the shelves of the pharmacy just beside the liquor store. And I walked home with a bottle of Bournvita. I don't even remember the last time I had Bournvita. And the Bournvita worked wonders, it gave me so much energy, my room mates said I was getting high on it. Another day, I started coughing. I thought it was allergic, but it developed into a chronic cough. It took 3 months and 4 doctors to cure.

My class was a 15 minute walk from the PG, and my tutor, Mr.Duggal, gave the small class of 10 enough to work at. Towards the end of the classes as the exams got closer, he said that he had high expectations from me. And the pressure was becoming unbearable. The authorities made matters worse, the 2 days before the exams were as miserable as could be. Along with several classmates, I had to spend those 2 days standing in long queues to get an examination admit card. Those 2 days could have meant several more hours of study and those few annoying marks that make the difference between pass and fail. A month later, the results were declared, and I had passed. Pappu pass ho gaya.

What am I doing now? I am in Bangalore, looking for a job in IT. There are no pilot jobs anymore in India. And India is where I want to be. The colors, the music, the people, the food, the beauty, the simplicity, the love. It’s all here. Home is where the heart is. And IT is what I did best. So that's what I shall continue to do.

May the souls of the Mumbai carnage rest in peace and those who lost their loved ones be given the strength to accept.

The winter this year has broken all records. It had to; I was around. It continued to snow, well into the third week of April, something that hasn’t happened in the past 50 years. The sky remained grey and the rains kept coming, and the ground was often covered in snow. Spring was largely unpleasant, and summer arrived a month late. But it’s here now. And I am loving it!

For a large part of my student life in Vancouver, I lived in a home-stay (also known as P.G. accomodation). And let’s just say that I was spending too much time staying at home. Winter skies and sunset at 5:00PM had an overwhelming influence on my will. Desperate for a change, in February I moved in with Nav (a.k.a. Jugnu), another student pilot from India. We now share a 2-BR basement suite. This place is a 200% bachelor pad. Being so much nearer to school and living with another student pilot was an irresistible deal. I spent my first week cleaning the place, reorganizing the furniture, setting up my room and stocking up on food. When I was settled into the basement suite, it felt good, like I would finally get on with the studying. There was another student pilot living just 2 doors away. He was everyone’s friend, and Big Papa or Big Daddy is how everyone called him. I called him Godzilla. Godzilla is long gone now, back home in the Caribbean.

Vancouver is not a cheap place to live in. I have written about this so many times. And international students can find it particularly daunting to make ends meet. My monthly expenses were in the range of CAD $800 to $900, inclusive of rent, transportation, medical insurance and grocery. I know of several students who share a large apartment to save on rent and grocery costs. Grocery is something that hurts the most. Imagine paying CAD $1 for an onion. Yes, that’s about INR 40 for one onion. That hurts. When I pushed myself into staying here through the winter of 2007, I also came up with a rudimentary plan to trim my expenses and/or supplement my financial resources.

Now here is something that most people outside Canada are unaware of. The explosive growth of the oil-sands has lured several people to migrate to Alberta, leaving the service sector of Vancouver starved of staff. Small and medium commercial establishments, in an effort to stay afloat, have had to raise wages, hire inexperienced people, and pay cash. There are numerous jobs at fast food joints, pubs, gas stations (petrol pumps), construction sites, etc. I got a part time job at one such establishment. I was working 3 days a week, and was making just enough for my rent and groceries. This lasted me through the winter, and as winter rolled out, I went back to studying full time.

The work was only partially physically demanding, but it kept me standing for 8 hours. While I worked, I learnt again, how difficult it is to earn money. People here acknowledge and respect this fact. How much you earn or what work you do is of no consequence. One could be a waiter, cashier, petrol pump attendant, cleaner, taxi driver, kitchen assistant, anything at all. It could be a day shift or a night shift. Work could be physically demanding or not. It could involve direct interaction with customers or could be completely behind the scenes. The one common thing is that everyone works hard. If you are in the workforce that runs the vast service industry, you win respect from every person you serve. I served hundreds of people every day that I worked. If there is one thing I remember about them, it is their courtesy and politeness, irrespective of their color, age, status. Even if I were mopping the floor, people passing by would stop to say hello. It sometimes felt strange, because equality among all is not something I have witnessed very often. And this stark truth often overwhelmed my senses.

There was always the one odd person, who behaved like he owned the world, but there are always exceptions, and we should be accomodating. I must mention these two youngsters. One of them, in his early twenties, stopped when he saw me mopping the floor, and suggested that I take up mopping as a career instead of flying. The other, late teens I imagine, offered to pay me to mop his house. Would you believe me if I said that both these boys are Indians? Well, they are. And now, would you believe me if I said that both these boys are student pilots like me? Yes, they are. This was a surprising and disturbing experience. I can only hope that such people will understand humility, learn to give respect and become better people. I hope, from the bottom of my heart, that all us Indians can some day discard the artificial walls of caste, status, income and the work we do, and just be simple, honest people who are respectful to one another.

Cheers
Mayur Poddar
@poddu.com
@www.67knots.com