On Indian last names...

Having lived in quite a few different regions of the country and having studied at an institution where I met people from every state in India, I have had the opportunity to synthesize the variety in Indian last names. I categorize them as below (Please note, this does NOT cover last names of all religions):

1. Use of father's name as the last name - Several South Indians, predominantly Tamilians seem to take this approach. For example, Arun Rajan, Sulu Gopal, Kartik Ramakrishnan, etc.

2. Use of caste / community as the last name - Examples are abound: Satish Iyer, Utpal Patel, Laloo Yadav, etc.

3. Use of the ancestral village/place of origin as the last name - Harish Mysore, Vikram Akkineni, Sanjay Manjrekar (Manjre arguably being the name of the village that this person's ancestors hail from), etc

4. Use of 'Gothram' as the last name - Arjun Bharadwaj, Arun Kashyap, Mita Vashisht, etc.

5. Use of ancestral profession as the last name - Feroz Contractor, Nilesh Batliwala, etc.

There, hope that adds some clarity to the profusion in variety of Indian last names. Feel free to let me know if I missed out any! :)

Some other observations -
1. Christians in the South sometimes have Hindu first names and Christian last names (Harsha Mathew, for example)
2. To further throw a wrench in the works, some south indians use the name of the village and the caste/father's name in their full name: Hardanahalli Doddegowda Devegowda, Gadicherla Venugopal Rao, etc.
3. In Bengal, Bhattacharjee and Bhattacharya both mean the same thing, although they are 'different'.

So, tell me - Which category does your last name fit into?

TPS Report...

Akshay checked his vibrating Blackberry as he piled into the throngs headed down the escalator at Newport station. At the last minute, Andy, his best buddy and business partner, had emailed him asking him to bring a copy of the latest TPS report from his home office for the client meeting in downtown Manhattan. "Crap! Just when I thought I had enough time to stop by Starbucks for breakfast!"

Muttering under his breath, Akshay made the 12 minute walk back home, picked up the report and trudged back to the subway station. When he got out onto the sidewalk in midtown, he was greeted with chaos and excited crowds. "...Yes, a second plane. This time into the south tower." "..Just 5 minutes ago." As the enormity of the incident hit him, he sunk to his knees and alternated between weeping for Andy and thanking the Lord for saving his life...

I love...

...women!

Smooth skin that provokes me to caress, beautiful eyes that I can stare into forever,
intoxicating smell that I fall prey to every time, voices that are melody to my ears and...well, I shall leave the fifth sense to your imagination! ;)

Women - they are just so, hmmmmmm, nice! Sigh...

Beyond the mental stimulation and emotional comfort/connection that they provide, I am thankful to the sensual delights that women bring into a male's life!

Strobe lights, alcohol, action....!

Ever notice how clubs are just designed to promote potentially questionable (?) behavior?

They are always dark, bringing a sense of mystique with them and lulling you into a false sense of comfort that 'no one can really see what you are upto'! ;)

Alcohol flows like water, making you loosen your inhibitions. The music is loud, making you speak directly into the ear of that cute girl you just met (and we all know how critical the 'ear factor' is! ;)) and thus promoting physical proximity.

And then, the strobe lights that impinge on your senses and make it all seem other worldly.

Little wonder why you see the things you do see at clubs! :)

Here's to old pals from ATX...

Old friends make the best pals they say. Every time I go back to a city that I previously lived in and meet my friends from there, there's a certain comfort factor that I experience and thoroughly enjoy! I was in Austin last weekend and loved seeing my 'old' pals from there. Here's to all you Austin junta!!! Cheers!