Sonia, X + 1, family ...

Tonight's blog shall touch on a variety of issues - all of which are not at all related to each other ... so if the title does not make sense, its because it was not meant to :)

I
A post on Prashant Mullick's blog on the issue of whether it is ok for sonia gandhi to be PM ... personally, i think its a case of too little too late -
a) there is no legal standing to stop it
b) she has slogged her way up to it- surviving 5 years in opposition
c) she has a mandate of the people .....

would love to get everyone's views on it - comments are welcome.

II
A friend, Mayur and his family just departed today for India - left the US for good ... no, there was no problem. he had no job issues (layoffs, politics, H1 or otherwise). His company was paying for his GC ... everything was fine ... just figured he wanted to go back ... and go back he did! i have been thinking about it for a while now, and i am still convincing myself he actually did it - i think its non-trivial. i have seen very few guys go back purely because they wanted to (generally its a situation - layoff, nojob after graduation, visa problems ... watever) - and almost no one with a family!

started thinking about my own situation and aspirations (wont pen them here) - but suffices to say that when i came to the US, even i talked plenty about going back and what was the best time to do it ... cacked a lot about the issue late into the night with friends, only to reach a dead end or a hopeless "there is no way out" conclusion. reminds me of RK Narayan's "x + 1" article. a lot of it although dealing with cliched stereotypes, can be empathized with to some extent. after two years of working with desis with families, i have seen this following situation that narayan deals with far too many times now. Narayan says

In discussions with friends, the topic of returning to India arises frequently but is brushed aside by the lord and master who is now rising in the corporate world and has fast moved into a two garage home - thus fulfilling the great American Dream. The impending arrival of the first born fulfills the great Indian Dream. The mother-in-law arrives in time: after all, no right thinking parent would want their off-spring to be born in India if offered the American alternative. With all material comforts that money can bring, begins the first signs of un-easiness - a feeling that somehow things are not what they should be. The craze for exotic electronic goods, cars and vacations have been satiated. The week-end gatherings are becoming routine.

on my last trip to india ... i had some serious discussions on this issue with my highschool buddy jayadeep during one of our meets at shivaji park in dadar. he seemed to be pretty clear on what his intentions were, i wish mine were as well! the dilemma continues, the questions are too many - whether to go back to india? when is the best time? or is there a best time at all? go back and do what? if not then ... ? PLan B? hopefully, answers will be available before it becomes a moot issue.

III
On to a totally different note, my parents arrived at my place ... will be here for a month, am looking forward to spending some quality time with them ...