Idle musings

It was in 2004 that I purchased the book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Pirsig. I am a quality assurance professional since 1996 and continue to be extremely interested in my job ! I got to know that Pirsig's book was about quality. Naturally, it made me pick the book up. When I read the book for the first time, I must confess that I quickly skimmed through some of what I thought were the "boring parts" in the book. Since then, I have read the book again a few times. The book has grown on me, particularly the boring parts ! My latest reading started on or around Independence Day in India, i.e. 15-Aug. In the book, Robert Pirsig has described two journeys: one is a physical one, with his son and friends on motorcycles and on feet, hiking in the mountains. The other is a mental one where he explores different attitudes of people and discusses abstract concepts. In my first reading, the physical trip narrated in the book attracted me m...

My wife and I visited U.K. from 07-May-2018 to 20-May-2018. I have begun this blog post on 28-May-2018, exactly a week after we returned. Just yesterday, my wife remarked: "The U.K. trip was like a dream come true !" We had planned a trip to Kolkata last year, but that did not happen. As the departure day neared, we hoped and prayed that this trip would be successful. Thankfully, it did turn out well, leading to my wife's comment. We saw some "must visits" during our trip, particularly in London. The surprise was in the rest of the tour, which threw up unexpected sights and experiences. One example is the wonderful flowers that we saw in front of the "Experience Barnsley" museum and the Barnsley police station. The flowers in front of Barnsley's Police Station and museum were a sight to behold ! When we arrived in Barnsley, we were a little weary. The sight of these flowers refreshed us immensely ! The rest of this blog post discusses abo...