Of This and That

Earlier I had written about how we try to teach good habits to our kids. I call that model code of conduct :-). However, we all know that things don't always work out as expected and sometimes we are put in a spot by our own code. This one is recent. One model code of conduct that we follow with my daughter is that she should return to home before 8 pm. She is allowed to play downstairs with friends, but by 8 pm she should be back at home. A few min here or there is fine. Sometimes, we allow friends to come and play at home past 8, but usually that is the boundary. If it really extends then she has to listen to the lecture again. Recently, a colleauge of mine had come down from USA and we (the team) went out for dinner. Needless to say that it got delayed and I got home almost by 11 pm. Wife told me the next morning that our kid was questioning as to why the code of conduct isn't applicable to me. She was asking "When papa comes late, why isn't he answerable to us? Wh

Late last month I was away on my yearly vacation to Ghaziabad (north of India) and this time we decided to go via the new Duronto train. It was really a great journey, given that this train takes much less time, is non-stop and has great service. They did feed us with paneer in all meals, which was a bit too much, but over all a good experience. For a change, at the start of the journey, the taxi came more than an hour earlier. We reached the railway station well within time, but some unpleasant situation, caused a bit of anxiety and we managed to finally board the train and get to our seats with only 10 mins to spare. The power situation is really bad in Ghaziabad and neighboring cities. Overall it seemed like the cuts last for almost 10+ hrs a day. It is hence no wonder that almost everyone has an inverter and a generator. One of the days was so bad, that the inverter got completely discharged and even the generator ran out of diesel. Given the high temperatures, this further aggrava