Sandy!

That's not my friend who studied college with me. That's the hurricane also dubbed as Frankenstorm by some, that left us east-coasters wind-punched, drenched and hence indoors. Things in Baltimore weren't too bad. The rains and the winds seemed like they wanted to join in on the Halloween spirit and lashed at us bigger than ever. I hear that several areas in Maryland, Virginia, DC and New York have been greatly affected with power outages and floods. I really hope conditions improve quickly, businesses reopen and people get back to their routine stronger.

This is the first major hurricane I have witnessed after coming to the US. We had one sometime last year. But thankfully, it wasn't much drama. Just some items kept near the windows fell and people had to set their hair again. One of the things I saw and really appreciate is the emergency preparedness system here. Things aren't perfect. But, there is so much to learn and incorporate in India. We were quick enough to take the naming trend from here and started giving regional names for our cyclones. Why not put in place better tracking and response systems?

Earlier in the weekend, the path of the cyclone was traced out and all the areas that were likely to be affected were notified and asked to start acting quick. There are emergency preparedness and response teams at every level - Federal, State, City and also institutional. Evacuation routes planned, special emergency helplines created, every person in the city is notified to stock essential supplies, schools and colleges inform every student about the situation and change in schedule of classes and more! Hospitals ensured of power and in the worst case, patient shifts were also planned. The power company reaches out to every customer seeking support and asking to be safe and make sure that all power dependent devices are fully charged as they try their best to provide uninterrupted service. And what's more, they also had real time data with geographical mapping on the individual houses that has suffered power outage and those were changed immediately on being restored.

I cannot help but draw a quick comparison to the system we have back in India. Imagine the number of lives we could save with better tracking and response. Why should a patient who came surviving a critical condition later lose the battle to a power outage? Why should people stand,watch and lament as hundreds of coastal houses get washed away? Why should people be left hungry and starving without essential supplies? It is Halloween and perhaps the right time for these questions to haunt us. Man has been selfish, cruel and ungrateful towards nature. And when she responds, we just can't take it. Let's try our best to get back to good equations with her. Keeping in mind, she's a woman, that task is probably going to take a while. Meanwhile, why not try to be better prepared until the next time she shows her wrath?

Sayee

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Love of seasons

It's Fall in Baltimore. Time for the trees to try their new outfits and look colorful. Fall is my favorite season after the monsoons. Monsoons back in India have a special charm to them.

Ancient paintings, writings and cultural practices such as reverence for rain as God, appear to be like a bread crumb trail to the man-monsoon relationship. As a kid, I lived in Mumbai and I remember the wait for the first shower spell. We used to have a countdown that would appear in our newspapers eagerly waiting for their arrival. People would prepare well in advance for the monsoons. The seasonal hawkers would know that it's perhaps time to replace the artifacts with umbrellas and raincoats. The manufacturing companies would know to make them attractive and appealing to the current trend in the city or have the usual age-wise segments. Pink, Green and Yellow with cartoon characters for the kids, retaining the color but filling them with flowers instead for the ladies and the consistent all black/grey ones for the men. Within this, you would always have people, like me back then, who would want something halfway between kids and men. We don't get that luxury of choice and usually end up using mom/dad's.

The city doesn't come to a standstill when it rains, though the infrastructure might suggest so. People have learnt to live and love the city as it is. The monsoons bring with them a drop in the mercury which gives a huge breather for the people from the scorching summer that just bid adieu. Evening sets in early. I love the hot street snack accompanied with a glass of tea, enjoying the rains and watching how people react differently towards things. You see a mom walking her kid back from school and you notice how she leaps over the puddle of water while her kid jumps right into that. The smoke, the rain, the sound all suddenly seems so picturesque and inviting.

Continuing with the 'people react different towards things at different ages' idea, I want to leap ahead to my college life when I moved to Chennai.I started to avoid the puddles, but now because I drove my scooter. My allegiance to the street snack didn't change, in fact it grew. Used to love riding together with my friends sometimes doing weird things on our way, stopping at every other street to grab a hot spicy bite and then looking for the nearest cool drink shop to douse the tongue-on-fire! We used to tuck our shirts out as stepped out of college and love getting drenched. We were more eager to get home, not to avoid the rains, but to dry, get into the pyjamas, have that sip of tea and enjoy your show on TV. What a life, man! Who doesn't love holidays? we all do. And back in Chennai, the government used to declare state wide holiday for schools and colleges if heavy rains are predicted. It was usually a scrolling marquee on the news channel that had all the cities and towns that declared a holiday. I haven't prayed more than this to have my city in that list!

As I recollect all those wonderful memories, I feel I should go back sometime and re do all of that. It's been a little over a year since I came to the US and I am introduced to a new season, Fall! Had never seen trees getting yellow and red except in Windows wallpapers and Indian movie songs that were shot abroad. And trust me when I say this, the view is absolutely stunning. Which is why, its my second most favorite season. My reaction to fall isn't that different. I love walking over the heap of brightly colored leaves on the pavement, I love sipping tea and I still crave for a hot street snack. It's just the beginning of Fall and I have already fallen for it!! So much so, it has decided to make me give a heartbeat to this blog site. I hope to keep it pumping.

-Sayee

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