I live in Silicon valley, California. I work in computer software. I enjoy travel, hiking, reading, writing, tennis, cricket, meeting people. Favourite authors: V.S.Naipaul, Paul Theroux
Oct 1990. Kashgar is the biggest oasis in the Gobi desert in Xinjiang. The town its people, the market, the mosques and the back streets have earned it the rightful expression of 'the cross roads of Central Asia'. The streets and the surrounding fields are lined with tall poplar and eucalyptus trees giving shade and checking the advance of the sandy desert on the outside. Donkey carts, bicycles and the colourful Uighur people fill the streets. Most of the population here is Islamic, belonging to both the Sunni and the Shiite sects as well as the Shafee sect which is mostly found amongst the Uzbek and the Uighur people. The family planning programme of one child per couple does not apply to the Uighur minorities and so one can see lots of kids wherever you walk ... read more
Faking an Upset Stomach It was the day after the carnival ended in Salvador da Bahia. I was staying at Geraldo's place, sharing a room with Robert Brown from Auckland, New Zealand. Geraldo is a Brazilian with Jewish origins. His wife is of Italian extraction, as many Brazilians are, especially in Sao Paulo. His wife is very interested in India and has named their daughter 'Kirana', after the Sanskrit word 'kiran' which means the 'ray, usually of the Sun'. Geraldo lived and studied in Texas for two years and so spoke good English. His impressions of the US is that Americans feel that the US is the centre of the Universe. Salvador is the first place where I had participated in the Carnaval. I don't know how it works in Rio de Janeiro or New ... read more