Random albeit enlightening observations for today

• India is mulling over the idea of introducing FDI (foreign direct investment) upto 49% in the retail sector. If this does happen, its only a matter of time before the metros in India are flooded with Wal Marts and Carrefours. Good for the consumer. More choice, increased competition and lower prices
• In conjunction to the above point, the reactions one gets in India when one asks for "non trans fat" or "polyunsaturated & monounsaturated fat" or " non dairy" creamer are interesting...try it sometime. ..although there the odd "organic" labels to be found. A nice German lady in the store today pointed at one such label and asked me,"Can I trust that?" :-) I wanted to recite a few lines from one of my favourite hindi songs which I think also best describes India and Indians. Its called "phir bhi dil hai hindustani" which means "we are still Indians at heart"...and the opening verse goes (translated) " we (meaning Indians) will give you our umbrella if it rains, but sometimes we will also sell you old things in new packaging" Its a hilarious song and is the next best thing to my shortened version of all things Indian: "We are like this..only"
  
• Thank the Lord for the small and the not so small pleasures in life....the pleasures which one can always bank on no matter what. (Sathe we agree on this). Diet Coke, Chris Martin's voice, Leona Graham's voice, Soy milk, a guitar, lovely bangalore girls, soothing summer rain...I could go on
• Low Cost Airlines are revolutionising the Indian skies. I am now, in all probability going fly from Bangalore to Delhi for just 50 Euro!
  
• My fascination for Latin America seems to be growing...its unexplainable yet does not feel out of the ordinary...need to explore that feeling more and understand it better
• It seems the quest for looking good never ends....although people still keep trying (sense the irony)
  
• In case you were wondering how I encountered a German lady (mentioned in point 2), Bangalore is bursting with expats, tourists, interns (not just aiesec), research students et al...the foreigner ( of all origins...caucasian, african, oriental) is no longer a stranger to Bangalore and even better, Bangalore doesn't seem to view the foreigner as a stranger
• If I do end up making it to alumni congress at IC ( we're organizing India's largest tennis tournament around then), my sense is its going to be a mindblowing 4 days of insane laughter, inane chatter, lots of reminiscing and plenty of bitching ha ha. Reason?My company for those 4 days would in all probability be sid p (who sadly still does not have a blog) and Aakash. For all of you who have had the misfortune of meeting either of them, you can do the math
• And since we're on math, I bought the standard Indian school certificate 10th grade Math book. I want to "refresh" my knowledge of the subject. Again...sense the irony & the gall I possess to say that I need to refresh myself on a subject I have no knowledge about whatsoever
• CDMA technology makes mobiles cheaper but proves a serious impediment when at times you cannot receive messages from GSM networks....especially if *name withheld* from my Spanish class has a GSM phone and she actually did send me a message...and the beggar continues to ride his horse to newer heights :-)