2009

Yet another year coming to an end and yet more to come! Slightly looking back, it’s very surprising that all those days have gone in a jiffy. This is end of a turbulent year all over the world and also beginning for an end of decade. My wishes to you all for the coming year give you happiness, prosperity, all your wishes & dreams coming true. Rock on…HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Religion

I feel and put it hard when I think about this topic. Not only my views are different from my family members on religion but I think there needs to be a change at least with the next generation. Any religion is a package of rituals, customs and habits which promotes happiness and well being at daily level. Mostly it compromises of customs which are devised some thousands years back for well being. My pondering is, they were devised long back and today is not like that day. Does everything devised then make relevance now? Does it not need upgrades or changes or customizations according to the changing world? If it cannot be customized to promote happiness why are they customs then?

It is evident that people who got to think and do these; the so called religious heads float organizations and make money out of it. People don’t even think what and why they do when it comes to religion. They just blindly follow. There are few who do everything against the religion and still propagate it. Every religion at a base level tries to promote love, share, care, peace and togetherness among people. Are these propagated and followed properly? Then who are those and where should the change happen?

I have been encountering religion based discussions for the past months and all these thoughts keep hovering on my mind. Yesterday I read this piece of story in TOI. I think this is how it should be. An excerpt of it here and please read the full story on http://tinyurl.com/yfojghe

"A few months into my pregnancy, we had decided that we would not give our child any religious identity"

“We are not against religion, but who are we to choose a religion on our baby's behalf? We will expose him to the values of different faiths and cultures, and when he grows up he will be free to follow any faith—or none if he wishes.”

Strong in their decision the couple had a fight with the local municipal office for leaving the religion field empty in the birth certificate form.

"Are you ashamed of your Hindu identity? Why don't you want your child to be known as a Hindu?" an officer asked her rudely. She shot back that while she was proud of her Hindu roots, she was not a practicing Hindu. "Why in a democratic, secular country can't parents take a decision like not giving any religion to their children?" she asked the officer.

Unconvinced, the officer cited a technical problem and passed the matter on to a higher official who understood their plea but still cited the technical problem that the system cannot accept if the religion field is left empty. There were four choices on the form—Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Others.

The mother did not want any of them for her child, as even Others required them to identify the sect or community. She argued with the officer some more and finally agreed on Others, but without any identification. "Others is just to facilitate the generation of the certificate. We know our child has no religion" she says.

Now, this is called a change. There is always a first time for every time. I am sure there are lots of couples wanting to do the same, but pressured on by peers and society. It definitely needs huge courage to face this nation choosing to be a liberal.

“But it's just the beginning of the several hurdles which are bound to crop up ahead—at the time of school admission or securing a passport for the child, for instance. We are prepared for those battles too" says the mother determinedly.

Citing a technical problem is a lame excuse here. How big deal is it to change it or include a “Liberal” field in the form? Orkut has the option of choosing an option “Spiritual but not Religious”. Why not our own municipal corporations have it? Where should the change start from??

Mistakes in my life

Robin Sharma’s blog posts get updated to me automatically as and when he writes. (Pls don’t ask me how. It’s a top secret!). His latest post was on mistakes. Reading that I started remembering all those I had done in my life so far and remembered the one from which I had learned which any teacher or book could teach. It happened in my work place and it’s something which the industry would have never seen so far. I wonder how I missed to share it here. I have to!

I was working in a private FM station. For those FM channels the only source of revenue was through the ads they get everyday. It means the revenue generated from ads is used for other expenses like salary, maintenance, marketing etc etc. There was an advertiser who was very difficult to crack and the sales executive won an exclusive campaign which was only for 5 days from them after some 1.5 yrs of follow up. My job was to schedule those ads according to the agreement signed and create a playlist for the entire day and send it to transmission. Ours was an 11 station network spreading upto 45 stations nationally. All 11 stations would be booking a schedule for every station.

As weekends are holidays, on Friday the schedule for next 3 days would be uploaded to for transmission altogether. One Friday as I was tired I decided to come on a Saturday and upload the schedule for Sunday and Monday. I came, did all the work, finalized the playlist but somewhere out of my mind, I missed to upload the playlist to transmission.

No advertisements were scheduled for transmission for 2 days and the day passed as well. The schedule included the most sought after campaign of that respectable advertiser as well. The whole day, the channel was getting aired without any advertisements on air. I realized it on Monday early morning and rushed to office and somehow managed for that day but the previous day was gone. I had already missed one particular schedule like this but this was for one full day which had advertisements from across the country and this exclusive campaign with us.

I got shocked in my spine and my boss was almost devastated hearing it. It was one day salary for all the employees took a toll because of my silly mistake. I got a severe bash from boss.

I was out of the world. My confidence in myself was negative. I decided to quit but did not have the guts because that job came to me after a struggle of some 1.5 yrs for money. Yet, I did not want to continue as I had no confidence. I was a hopeless guy and felt I was fit for nothing. I went to my head and the conversation started. I was almost choked of losing a job myself.

Me: Sir
Boss: Come In
Me: Sir, Im sorry for my mistake
Head: Your sorry won’t reverse what had happened
Me: I understand it Sir. I have lost my confidence in myself and I have decided to quit. But I need a job, so pls let me know if I can work in some other department at least as an intern.
Head: Take the seat. Sit down
(He offered me a glass of water)
Head: How old are you?
Me: 23 Sir
(After a short pause)
Head: “You are just 23! At this age you are bound to make 100 mistakes. You have just done 2 now. There are still 98 to get done. My advice to you is to not repeat the same mistake again and again. Quitting is not a make up; it’s escaping from the responsibility. You are honest that you admitted your mistake and it’s the good thing about you. Now, go on and carry on with your work. I will manage with what went wrong.”

Speechless, there were no words coming out of my mouth, not even a thank you. I went to my seat and the whole atmosphere had changed top down. I don’t know whether it was a fresh lease of confidence in me or something or anything else. But, the burden in me was away. I decided to continue in the same job. I quit the company after 2 years; I was handling revenues for 3 different business units. People who wanted me to quit were made shut and continue their work.

What happened here was that, this gentleman taught me a lesson for life. I still and will follow it. I do mistakes but don’t repeat them. However I’m have professionally grown now, it’s because of this gentleman Mr. Subbu, at present working as Marketing Head, Marg Constructions, Chennai. Sir, whether you read this or not, I thank you and I feel good now for taking that advice and I shall follow it for sure.

Most of our lives are full of mistakes. We are not taught what to do right at every situation and cannot be taught also because every situation changes. Life is not programmed and it’s not smooth. But, there are few qualities when we abide by it, makes our life smooth. Forget, forgive, share, care, love, support and stand by. This gentleman displayed all these qualities on me. I follow the same. I don’t remember what people have done on me. I don’t want to keep them in mind too. You guys try it out too.

“Mistakes when taken on a right way by forgetting and forgiving give us an opportunity to build more awareness and understanding and gain precious experience. Experience that will help us do, feel and be even better.” says Robin Sharma.

Runaway and Vanishing Brides

Runaway bride is a class movie made brilliantly with wonderful performances from Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. It’s a story of a reporter Ike who sets on to make a fact based report of a girl Maggie, who has a history of fleeing away from her fiancés. Finally Ike and Maggie fall in for each other and the wedding is set. On the bridal march, Maggie backs and flees leaving Ike. The reason was not that she felt Ike as the wrong person but she dislikes the big fat weddings. She then comes back and opens her mind to Ike.

“I love you, Homer Eisenhower Graham. Will you marry me?

[Maggie sits down, clears her throat]
I guarantee there'll be tough times. I guarantee that at some point, one or both of us is going to want get out…

But I also guarantee… [starts to cry] … that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Because I know in my heart... you're the only one for me.”

Wow! That was the touching moment of the movie. Way back in our daily life, every failed guy wants to hear the same from their sweethearts and the sweethearts too fail to see the whole picture around them both. I think forgetting, forgiving, changing themselves for better, commitment, understanding, care are all very much essential than the initial spark of love because these are the traits which keep the love burning bright at every stage. Both the partners got to have it for each other. We live in a fast paced world, gone are the days of Mills and Boons romance. And I keep pondering this: Afterall, life is once, who will not wish to live with the loved one thick and thin changing themselves for better!.

Well I guess I went off the topic for sometime! :)

Vanishing bride is a novel I have started with. It’s a very old novel and I have just finished few pages of it. Not a bad read though. Just an coincidence that both the movie and book are about brides in it and deals with relationships.

LOL

Joke of the year 2009 is here.

Cobbler gets Rs 2 lakh as electricity bill for just using one bulb for 3 hrs per day. Check out http://tiny.cc/nLsJW

It was a beautiful morning today. I saw a young father who would just be a school pass out, teaching his first standard son his lessons. The way he was teaching was impressive. The father read out loud the sentence from the book, translated and explained the son about what it meant. The little boy was listening so carefully to his father.

Coming away from that sight, the clouds began to pour. The sky was grey, roads were black. There was this chillness in the breeze and a slight drizzle. Absolutely romantic weather! I never minded getting drenched and started to drive. Driving in that climate was itself romantic. 25 kms, non stop rain, chill breeze, rain drops hitting my hand sharp were bliss. I enjoyed the drive although I got drenched. I don’t mind if I get any disease or even death for that matter. That particular moment was great. And, its not that I don’t care about tomorrow. I do have a wish, a dream…

ஒரே கனா என் வாழ்விலே... அதை நெஞ்சினில் வைத்திருக்கேன்

கனா மெய்யாகும் நாள் வரை உயிர் கையில் வைத்திருப்பேன்

வானே என் மேலே சாய்ந்தாலுமே நான் மீண்டு தாங்குவேன்

நீ என்னை கொஞ்சம் கொஞ்சினால் நிலாவை வாங்குவேன்

it means

I have a dream of my life which I hold in my heart

I shall hold on my breathe till the dream comes true

I shall withhold even when the sky breaks on me

And a little love from you will make me scale the sky...

Sorry if the transaltion is not exactly correct. These lines are from the movie Guru and they mean a lot.

Feast of love

I watched this movie for the second time. The story is intricate and how people are when love spells on them. It’s about 3 different couples. One who are seniors having lost their son, a young couple in their 20’s starting their life and another in their 30’s.

As it’s titled the story is about how love intervenes in their lives. Bradley’s partner breaks away and goes on to have a relationship with another woman. Oscar meets Chloe in the coffee shop he works eye to eye. Harry is a good friend to both Bradley and Oscar. The story moves on as seen from the eyes of Harry.

Bradley in desperate need for love goes for the next relationship immediately and falls wrongly for Diana who had got just separated from her ex. Unlucky again, the relationship breaks and Diana goes on to lives with her ex. Bradley is a hopeless, dejected guy. After a chat with Harry, he goes on to his kitchen, takes a knife and cuts his thumb and calls the doctor to admit himself and tells her that he required that physical pain equal to how it pains him emotionally.

And he is lucky, Margaret, the doctor and Bradley get together. It’s the marriage ceremony of the young couple Oscar and Chloe, Bradley and Margaret see each other eye to eye and Margaret tells him looking out of the window “an unusual man, an innocent man, an open-hearted man. Someone who has given tremendous love, but never had it returned, not in the way he deserves”. He had found his true love.

Oscar and Chloe get married and Chloe gets pregnant. Bradley, Diana, Harry all become friends living in the same locality. Love made them all united and there is a peaceful living. They play rugby an evening. Suddenly, Oscar crashes down and loses his life. Believe me, that was a sad part of the movie. A young guy with a loving wife who is about to deliver loses his life. While everyone was happy for their life and of Oscar and Chloe, this sweetheart is left devastated. It was a heartbreak which you would have never imagined. In life, yes, there are many who would have never imagined how it is.

The movie doesn’t end there. There is a conversation between Harry and Bradley which tells what real love is. Bradley tells, “Chloe knew everything what was going to happen for Oscar. And she didn't run away. She didn't crawl into a hole. She found them a house, she threw away her birth control, and she married him”. That’s a braveness that Chloe had. She loved Oscar more than anything and lived with him for the time knowing he is going to die.

Bradley’s and Chloe’s character are to be noted. It made me think. Not only has this movie made me think about the painful and blissful feeling of love. It definitely transforms people. Talking down practically out from the movies, I have seen people who have broke their lives and people who have stood up and lived their lives.

One of my friends wrote beautifully “It is not that you never want to love whole-heartedly, it’s just that it takes a particular someone who loves you deep enough to break down this wall around the heart and pull you out…”(yeah she is a expressive writer). This is what required for anyone who has broken or got broke. My pondering is why not it should be the same person with whom you broke with?? How can it not happen when it can be worked out and started afresh leaving behind the past?? Afterall, life is once, who will not wish to live with the loved one thick and thin changing themselves for better!

Butterfly on a Wheel

Butterfly on a Wheel is the movie that grabbed my attention recently. This no nonsense and no bloody crime drama which has a twist in the end showcase what it means when it occurs to you. A brilliant performance from Pierce Brosnan and Gerard Butler, this movie showcases what and how it is to experience pain, get lost and shattered. Its about lives and somehow it meant a lot.

Writing on it more will make you numb to enjoy the movie. Just renta DVD and watch it without reading the reviews, come back and comment here.

Keep it simple

Received this in a forward mail. Please take some time to read it.

Yesterday, I was driving, and the FM radio went off for few seconds. I thought, I should have an iPod. Then suddenly I realized that I have not used my iPod in last 6 months. And then… more things, Handy cam in last 2 years, Digital Camera in last 2 months, DVD player in last 1 month and many more. Now I can say that I bought that Handy cam just out of impulse, I have used it twice only in last 4 years.

So, whats wrong and where? When I look at myself or my friends I can see it everywhere.We are not happy with what we have but all are stressed and not happy for the things we don’t have. You have a Santro, but you want City… You have a City, but you want Skoda. Just after buying a new phone, we need another one. Better laptop, bigger TV, faster car, bigger house, more money… .I mean, these examples are endless. The point is, does it actually worth? Do we ever think if we actually need those things before we want them?

After this, I was forced to think what I need and what I don’t. May be I didn’t need this Handy cam or the iPod or that DVD player. When I see my father back at home. He has a simple BPL color tv, he doesn’t need 32″ Sony LCD wall mount. He has a cellphone worth Rs 2,500. Whenever I ask him to change the phone, he always says… “Its a phone, I need this just for calls.” And believe me; he is much happier in life than me with those limited resources and simple gadgets. The very basic reason why he is happy with so little is that he doesn’t want things in life to make it luxurious, but he wants only those things which are making his life easier. It’s a very fine line between these two, but after looking my father’s life style closely, I got the point. He needs a cell phone but not the iPhone. He needs a TV but not the 32″ plasma. He needs a car but not an expensive one.

Initially I had lot of questions.

I am earning good, still I am not happy…...why ?

I have all luxuries, still I am stressed........... why ?

I had a great weekend, still I am feeling tired...... why?

I met lot of people, I thought over it again and again, I still don’t know if I got the answers, but certainly figured out few things. I realize that one thing which is keeping me stressed is the “stay connected” syndrome. I realized that, at home also I am logged in on messengers, checking mails, using social networks, and on the top of that, the windows mobile is not letting me disconnected. On the weekend itself, trying to avoid unwanted calls… and that is keeping my mind always full of stress. I realized that I am spending far lesser money than what I earn, even then I am always worried about money and more money. I realized that I am saving enough money I would ever need, whenever needed. Still I am stressed about job and salary and spends.

May be, many people will call this approach “not progressive attitude“, but I want my life back. Ultimately it’s a single life, a day gone is a day gone. I believe if I am not happy tonight, I’ll never be happy tomorrow morning.

I finally realized that meeting friends, spending quality time with your loved one’s; spending time with yourself is the most important thing. If on Sunday you are alone and you don’t have anybody to talk with, then all that luxuries life, all that money is wasted. May be cutting down your requirements, re-calculating your future goal in the light of today’s happiness is a worthwhile thing to do. May be selling off your Santro and buying Honda City on EMIs is not a good idea. I believe putting your happiness ahead of money is the choice we need to make.

I think, a lot can be said and done but what we need the most is re-evaluation of the value of happiness and time we are giving to our life and people associate with it .

Where are we!??

I am a big fan of the movie Iron Man and Paycheck for different reasons. Iron man for the super hero plot and Paycheck for the way they would have imagined technology in 2003.

You would not have forgotten how Tony Stark designs his super powered suit in Iron Man. That’s not for movie alone. That’s for real and it’s called Augmented Reality (AR). It’s a technology which merges our physical world with the virtual world. Eg: if you are walking down in an unknown place, you will be guided step by step to the location you want to go. Hold On! Don’t think that this is GPS. GPS is just a positioning or identifying service. AR is beyond it. Check out Wikipedia, on AR, especially the columns on current applications and future applications.

Accidentally while writing this, my thoughts are different. They move away from the technology and question how is it relevant or to ask in particular, when will they be relevant for us? I feel we are living in an outdated world. The idea of AR was conceptualized somewhere in 1990’s and has come into practice now (Check out here) and looks we will have to keep fascinating on the ideas like this. Uh! Where are we!??

Today and Global Warming

Gearing up with full protection to face the rain and facing just the clear sky, seems to become a daily habit for the next couple of months which is so called the monsoon season. I read a news about Al Gore (remember An Inconvenient Truth!). When I say his name I feel like yawning. The documentary he produced was like that. But today there was something which I thought about what he spoke and what I have witnessed.

His documentary was on Global Warming. I am a lazy fellow and a hesitant fellow to update myself by reading (the reason behind is I sleep after reading 2-3 pages). So, I haven’t made any research on how the events connect to Global Warming.

In Mumbai, usually the monsoon starts by June 1st week and gets over by August end or September 1st week. Few Mumbaikars tell approximate dates as well. This year it was worse that till August 1st week there were no rains and there were few spells during October. It is like the entire Monsoon getting shifted. “So what! What’s the big deal! As far as rain comes its okay right!” ask many. These are the people who actually destroy the environment. Lack of rains or patterns shifting is a result of Global Warming.

The same is not only in Mumbai but in Chennai too. Chennai receives its part of rain during September - November. Today the first week of November gets over and we have received only few hours of rain. Our people with no knowledge of what it is spoil the environment. Mostly I see the “Chalta hai re…” attitude. It all starts from small habits like “Do not split on the road”, “Litter only in dust bins” and all the first grade lessons. We have missed to follow and lack self discipline. The same guy who makes the entire nuisance polluting the environment here immediately changes his attitude while in a foreign country. Can he do all those in places like Dubai? He will not. He will be s*** scared even to think about doing it.

We got to wake up to this. Some time back there was another new article reading “India might lose its south – west monsoon soon”. The change should happen within. We as individuals have to do something. Reduce usage of plastic bags; plant more trees or whatever could help the environment. I with an advice from a friend have reduced the usage of plastic bags. I say no plastic bags wherever I already have a bag to accommodate the stuff I buy and I carry existing carry bags to the store. I hope you would follow it too.

We are losing out Green. Do check out what the world does to protect it and what you can do as an individual. Visit Hopenhagen. Let me know too. We have a responsibility to give a better world to our children like how we recieved it from our fathers.

5/11

அடாது மழை விடாது பெய்தாலும்

அடாது புறப்பட்ட என்னை - படாது

படுத்தி விட்டது இம்மழை! - படாது

படுத்தி விட்டது இம்மழை!

--புலம்பல் சித்தர் இராசாராம்

I work in Mumbai. Mumbai receives rains between June - September every year. Those months would be pathetic to travel between places. I recount my experience earlier (28/7 blog is good for nostalgia). Mumbaikars are still haunted by 26/7. To escape from the 2009 rains, I made a plan to shift myself to Chennai temporarily during that period. Once that period was over I would get back to Mumbai where the rains would be over and also an escape from Chennai rains. (I make good plans…Ya! only plans…)

The initial plan got executed and I got back to Mumbai escaping from the rains, but there was something added to it. Im back in Chennai and the rains have started. Yesterday, the first official day of monsoon 2009, I woke up late in the morning and it was pouring heavily. I had nothing to cover and fearing of the long distance ride in the bike I opted to stay in home. In the evening, rushed to nearby shops and got rain covers for myself. It was full proof. Back in mind I was planning of all ways of covering myself completely so that not a drop of water will go in and was eagerly waiting to rain the next morning with the new coats on. Put in my shoes in my shoulder bag and carried it along with a plan to change it in office (This is the first time Im using shoulder bags for office. Felt something awkward in the back..Uh!)

As planned it started drizzling. That was the perfect time. I was covered completely from head to toe. Only the face was open that too closed with the helmet. I started out of home. There were fellow people on the road going empty handed in that drizzle. I appeared like an alien to them. I never minded as I had to travel long and had a faith on the rain pouring down. (Boss! I was prepared to face it...and wanna face it… oh rain, c’mon man…lets see if it is you are me…)

The drizzle increased and was constant… I was moving on the road and alas…! They stopped and the sun was shining... Holy cows…! With full protection, I was expecting to pour heavily and there were no clouds. Couldn’t react or think much on it as I kept driving. The covers started giving sweats inside. But, as I wanted it to be, there were black clouds soon and it started pouring. People driving along took cover on the road side. I, with the new rain coats on, did not stop or slow my speed. Guess I was the only one on the road. It started pouring heavy and I was in a singing mood as I won’t get wet.

Reached office in the rains with a planning executed well. There was something which was bothering inside the covers while I was driving. Eagerly, when I took out the covers to look out what they were, I was crying shocked. I was completely wet! I would have come in the rain only for around 20 mins! Huh!!! All these covers...! Coudln't do anything except a sigh....

All the way from June, from Mumbai these rains have spoilt my purpose. They never spare me every year. Today I'm planning to buy another anti rain accessory. Let’s see how that works.

Late post (written a month back)

A decade and a half back in Madras, a bus ticket in Pallavan transport from Perungalathur to Tambaram (2.5 kms approx) costed 45 paise. The bus would be green in color running in an inclined 45 degree position on the left hand side. The bus isn’t designed like that. The crowd in the bus would make the bus slanted. The conductor inside will feel hell everyday to cruise through the crowd to issue tickets. For 45 paise that travel would be an “uh!” for me.

Now, times have changed. The fare is around 5 rupees. The distance is more than 2.5 kms. Pallavan transport is now MTC. The buses have GPS devices fitted. I am able to see which bus is coming next, when and where exactly my bus route is running. I heard Chennai is the first city in India to implement mass PIS in public transport buses. It’s good to see those. The buses have automatic doors with nil scope to hang in the foot board. One feature which I see curiously is the electronic ticketing in the bus. The device which they have is super cool. With a press of 2 buttons the ticket comes out and the entire MIS is taken care in a minute. Earlier, the conductor has to fill up ticket sales stage by stage in a long sheet of paper and submit it at the end of the day. I was conversing with a conductor who was still filling that info although he had the device. He was saying his superior still wants the info in paper only.

This city has not only changed in its transport alone. The once so called and still being called as a conservative city is the safest city in India now and it competes with other major cities in everything. Be it jobs, infrastructure, governance, public amenities, culture and so on, this city competes and its legacy continues as well. I was actually a bit surprised to see a gay parade happened in this city and most of it was it had happened peacefully. People are open to change here and accept the change. This is a city which every individual will surely like to live if given a choice.

Exactly been around 2 months I am posting to my blog. I have got good time now to spend with my friends and that has made my writing take a rest. Many of friends ask (actually they amuseJ) why I write for and who reads it. I really don’t know how many read it and I have no answer to them because this is something which I will cherish in the future. When I have nothing to do, I can open my writings and enjoy the nostalgia.

People

Very few people seed the urge in me to write. We learn different things from different people. This is a continuation to my post People who have made me to re-think over.

I saw this man first while I was travelling in bus to Andheri station in the morning hours. The bus is crowded usually. This man asked for the bus route and got into the bus from the driver side which he is not supposed to. He then rushed to the other side of the bus through the crowd, pushing people around, but with a huge smile, asking excuses and then he returned back to the same place. On seeing this for the first time, although he was asking excuses and sporting a big smile, I was furious that he was doing it for some notorious fun and the conductor also seemed not to bother.

The next day, it was the same bus stop and this man got into the bus and was rushing through the crowd the same way. But I felt ashamed for not noticing something. He was having a stick in hand which the blind men use to guide them. Yes, this man is blind. It was a shock to me. I asked sorry to myself. I did not know that he was blind and was making wrong assumptions. I was wondering why he had to rush through the crowd to the other side. By the stop where he boards the bus, the conductor is on the other side giving tickets and this man goes all the way to get his ticket. And he does it with a smile and asking excuses all the way to the people.

I have re-learnt to be gracious to people from him. He can demand a seat to sit and ask the conductor to come to him for a ticket. He doesn’t do that and goes all his way not bothering about the difficulty in between to get the ticket. He greets the difficulties in between with a smile. This man displays the confidence and humane nature in him. I have stamped few shoes in the crowded places by mistake and have never asked excuses. I take it for granted that it’s a crowded place and it happens for me too.

We tend to forget the small things in life. We devalue people before us. We don’t bother, don’t ask excuses and missing to communicate also happens. We take them for granted and don’t realize how much it would have concerned them and we keep doing it the same way. We are humans and do mistakes. It does not matter as far as we don’t repeat it time and again. Let’s re-think what we had learnt about kindness and love. I am now returning a call to a friend who was concerned about my health and I had not answered properly while asked.

Need of the hour

Need of the hour - Formula for the nation's progress.

A fresh start…

A clean politics is what every average citizen wants in the country. Elections 09 seem to have indicated it. With congress getting a clear mandate, Mr. Singh and Rahul wanting to have a clean and young cabinet at least from their party, it gives a fresh perspective of the government. This election has also made the BJP and third parties to revise and redo their policies which were outdated. My interest in politics have pepped up again after a gap of over 5 years.

The UPA camp on deciding the cabinet looks refreshing with a bold and professional look. Mr. Singh once criticized as weak PM and lags in decision making, looks bold and energetic now. The portfolios to be given influence the performance of the upcoming government. MPs like Rahul, Scindia, Milind Deora, Maran, Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Shashi Tharoor and more with good expertise are definitely refreshing. Mr. Singh himself being one of the best economists in the world being a PM is a pride to our country. The first 100 days is to be watched out for few economic reforms. The noted economists’ magic is the need of the hour to tackle the job loss and the slowdown.

Altogether somewhere I read few years back that India will be able to show its superpower to the world by 2010. I feel this as the beginning.

Squares & Cubes

The title of the post draws inspiration from the title "Angels & Demons" just for its rhyming sounds.

My name has 3 R's in it and people call be triple R or sometimes "R cube" also. That’s how Im related to the cubic entity. But from no where, the square entity follows me at times when I haven’t given a thought about it.

Google had announced "Project10tothe100" program. I wanted to contribute to it and the title of my idea in a jiffy narrowed to E2. It denotes Education & Empowerment. Yeah…The antenna in my brain pops up wherever there is something to be conceptualized. And when Google calls for ideas, I got pepped up. Unfortunately I was not able to complete the idea I started to visualize. To more about the Project from Google visit project10tothe100.com

Back to square, my earlier naming patterns for an event of CII were I2 and P2. I2 means Inventions & Innovations and very straight and a bit silly too, P2 is Paper Presentation. These again were conceptualized but could not get executed.

Guess the squares made by cube were not fit enough to get executed and showcased but I am glad for the attempt.

Ooh la la law!! X(

Democracy is our nation’s strength and sometimes I feel it as a weakness as well. 10 terrorists came into the city and killed several people which the world knows. One terrorist is caught alive and he is interrogated. I guess he should only be interrogated. Why does the court need to give him a lawyer? Is the court trying to give him a chance of fleeing free which is not going to happen!! What is the motive behind booking some 300+ cases against one single terrorist and appointing a lawyer for him? There is a cost attached to all these court proceedings. He should be interrogated and his back links should be found on intelligence basis but I feel its waste of time and huge money in bringing him to court when the whole world knows he is a terrorist.

The above is an external affair problem and below is an internal affair.

Elections are in pace. I know for sure there is going to be no change after the election whichever party holds the cabinet. As a voter I see all the candidates as invalid and I decide not to vote. But there are a lot of chances that my vote will be misused. Thank god, I found out the section 49-O in the Conduct of Election rules. I have a right not to cast my vote which means I don’t need to vote for any candidate. It’s like me boycotting the election. It’s not going to affect the winning chances of the candidate but by this my vote can’t be misused. I felt happy about the law in place until I read about a loop hole in it.

The section says – “If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.” which means the anonymity of the voter is lost which is against the procedure of voting behind the ballot box and hence the rule cannot be used by any voter wishing to live peacefully.

Moreover, the EVMs don’t have the option of “None” or “Not applicable” which again forces the voter to vote on some candidates of no caliber. Its like wherever there is a provision of law there is provision of a loop hole as well. Our law sings to the every citizen's tune.

Elections 2009

A fine morning, after reading the headlines, I asked a friend “Do you know Sarath Babu”. He replied “Ya ya, the one who acted with Rajinikanth. Ya I know him.”

I did not expect that reply or else I would have got prepared to face it. Then I told him about Sarath Babu. Sarath is from a very humble and poor family in Chennai. His mother sold idli’s door by door for his schooling. Sarath made it to BITS Pilani for his engineering degree and got placed in a software firm. Later he got into IIM-A for his management degree. He topped in the exams and offers poured in. But, he did not take them. He said “I want to be an entrepreneur and adding more he wanted to start a food chain inspired by his mother”. Touching story!

Now, Sarath is taking another step in his life. He is contesting for the Lok Sabha elections. Now wants to give it back to the society. He is an independent candidate from the South Chennai constituency contesting against the biggies.

I wonder in which film has the actor Sarath Babu played a role like this.

Btw, 2009 elections have transformed to be a national event with a day holiday for most of the citizens. Campaigns are at full swing in all means and forms of media. Why is this all for? Where is the change? are my questions. I could hear few voicing out "You be the change!". It makes sense while hearing and while reading the below statistics I feel "God save this place"

• 
  
  Total no. of Candidates with Criminal Records = 222 (i.e. 16% of 1425 candidates)


• 
  
  Most of the major political parties have fielded candidates with criminal records, with top four parties being INC (24), BJP(23), BSP(17) and SP(10)


• 
  
  Most states have candidates with criminal background contesting elections- Bihar is at the top with 51 candidates (or 26%)


• 
  
  There are 306 charges of heinous nature on the candidates which includes, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, extortion, etc.


• 
  
  Percentage of contesting crorepatis has increased from 9% in 2004 to 14% in 2009


• 
  
  68% candidates have not furnished their PAN card details.


• 
  
  Number of women candidates is just 122(7%) as compared to 1593 of men(93%)

Source: ADR Press Release in New Delhi. Thanks to Anil for the mail.

I have no comments to explain the above!!!!! X(

Mumbai meri jaan

I was recently reading an upbeat news article which will make us very proud. It was a dream coming true article which made feel proud and astonishing. The heading was "Mumbai to emerge as the global financial center". I was surprisingly shocked with a pessimist mood on how could this happen. Not that I don’t wish it to happen, but how could it happen and how will it be. Then scrolling down to the bottom of the article there were comments from fellow citizens. A copy/paste of that for you is below;

The article says "Mumbai is the best suited to emerge as a global financial center, especially because the domestic demand for sophisticated financial services is high," a finance ministry official, who asked not to be named told The Economic Times. After the formation of the new government, the ministry will take up 49 recommendations to restructure the current financial regulations. The popular proposals which are being speculated include encouraging innovation, introducing new products, removing segmentation of financial markets and strengthening corporate debt market.

Reader's comments (8)

1: How long did it take to build the Bandra-Worli sea link? About 25 years in the making...! How long will it take to remove Dharavi ...about 100 years+. Look, nobody is going to accept Mumbai as a World Financial Center unless it learns to present itself clean with good roads, communication, drainage plus other necessities such as Hong Kong. Our politicians will never let it happen.
2: Caution! Idiots at work :).
3: hmmm.. sounds just like the $10 laptop to me!

4: Wishful thinking. We don't yet have the infrastructure to support the current IT business we have. Indian govt seems to have no clue as to the kind of infrastructure demands a global financial center requires. It's a different story that India will come out stronger after the recession. That always happens with many countries except that this time around it may take a while for the US to come around stronger.
5: one more scam in the making

6: but before it happens i think all we will die due to poverty. but still happy feel proud of Indian

7: so, the opinion that India will emerge stronger after recession is coming true. hope the ministry succeeds.

8: Guys, we all know that India can turn into what we want it to be overnight. There needs to be a revolution and maybe this is the opportunity. When the politicians realize that anything they do will be reflected in how India is perceived by the World, they might bring in a radical change to their thought process. Let's hope for the best. This could be the first step towards India becoming the Super Power in the years to come (not too far, well before we die, for sure).

Source: SiliconIndia dated 02nd April 2009

All the above comments represent an average citizen’s anguish and yearning to see a developed nation. It is not that we don’t have anything to make it. We have everything and it’s all getting eaten up by some crooks in between who are supposed to make it happen.

நல்லதோர் வீணை செய்து அதை நலம் பட புழுதியில் விடுவதுண்டோ!!

You dont make a beautiful musical instrument to trash!!

Heart – Made in India

I remember days where “Made in India” products were known for awful quality. Then after our current PM introduced LPG policy (It’s not the gas cylinder policy. It’s Liberalization, Privatization & Globalization) things turned around and the world started to look upon India for technology. Now, I guess its one another achievement for our country if this invention is going to be a success.

An artificial heart for Rs 1 lakh! Click on the link to read the story. It is definitely an laudable achievement. Kudos to the team for their vision and efforts!

The Monk who could be wrong

True love can never react so as to cause pain either to the lover or to the beloved. Suppose a man loves a woman; he wishes to have her all to himself and feels extremely jealous about her every movement; he wants her to sit near him, to stand near him, and to eat and move at his bidding. He is a slave to her and wishes to have her as his slave. That is not love; it is a kind of morbid affection of the slave, insinuating itself as love. It cannot be love, because it is painful; if she does not do what he wants, it brings him pain. With love there is no painful reaction. Love only brings a reaction of bliss. If it does not, it is not love. It is mistaking something else for love.

The above lines are not mine. They are from the patriotic monk Vivekananda. I have read many quotes on the same. These lines are simple in explanation and true to some extent. He further says “When you have succeeded in loving your husband, your wife, your children, the whole world, the universe, in such a manner that there is no painful reaction of pain or jealousy, no selfish feeling, then you are in a fit state to be unattached.”

He means love detaches a person from the lively world. But, are we born to be detached? Mr. Monk, I wish I could debate this with you. We are born to live. Expectations, desire, pains and so on are humane nature. It may harm one but it depends on how we handle it. When you have someone loving you, it protects, nurtures, enables you to dream, achieve and do everything along with your partner. Looks like those lines are written out of love failure. He should have seen people around him behaving like how he has written.

Rather, I ponder, should love not have expectations? If two people are in a relationship and love for each other, should they be without expectations from each other?

I feel its all about understanding, sharing, caring and living for each other. You expect yourself to be understood by your partner and the same from the other side. You expect your partner to share, care, and love and live for you. The same levels of expectations are there from the other side as well. Love sustains when those expectations are met. Living for each other takes love to a greater stage and it wont happen when there is only taking in either side. From tiny daily issues to big long term plans there have to be adjustments with both of them.

Humans tend to lose themselves after only giving from their side and lose heart of not getting anything in return and all the negative aspects of love begin there. All these in a relationship need more patience and determination and when the passion to live exists all the odds fly like dust.

See the Future

Down the lane

Had a mail from Yahoo in my Inbox today

Dear Yahoo! Briefcase user,

We will officially close Yahoo! Briefcase on March 30, 2009. Until then, we are offering you the opportunity to download your files back to your computer. You need to take action before we close, after which any files remaining on Yahoo! Briefcase will be deleted and no longer accessible.

I wondered what were there in my briefcase and as a precautionary step logged in to check out and there was the surprise and memories.

All the project documents during my management studies were stored. We had to do projects and internships as part of the curriculum. Few mates joined for internships which had a pay attached to it, few paid for projects and so on. I was recommended by a Professor to an Government organization. It did not bother me seriously when I heard about it as it was a Government organization. I was put to an interview with an IAS officer. It was told that there will be no pay during the internship. I agreed. I was briefed about the work and while coming out I was charged. I was so proud that I got that opportunity and did not want to miss boasting myself (why should i miss... the work done is my product) and did boast while presenting the project back in college with the below lines:

“We were designated as Management Trainees, but were treated as Management Consultants”
“We as Interns in this project do not give suggestions for improvements. This is an action plan for execution”

The college management and mates were watching with a “this guy is flying above in the cloud and is going to crash!” look.

I did not crash and rather I was taken much higher. I got involved in a real time big project which had the big names of the industry coming together.

Now, I recollect those memories. I had spoken in length and depth about this to most of my friends and the response I get from them is “Shut Up! You have told this umpteen times and don’t speak as if only you had done it in this world.” I would shut up for a while but again start it. I cannot put this into rest. LOL! These are not sweet memories to keep within., these are a great memories which charges me to go forward.

Yahoo had kindled these memories and writing this post. I am now transferring those files to Google Docs.

And the boasting will continue B-)

B Prize Cheat codes

Disclaimer:

The contents in this post are purely fictional and does not indicate any particular event or person or object. Any such incidents are purely coincidental and the author will not hold responsibility for some imaginary connective thinking. This post is a personal opinion and the author does not regret for the same.

Recently read 2 books which had won the very famous prize and sharing the tips to crack the prize. Yes, you can do it!!

• 
  300+ pages is a must
• 
  Choose the place were you have born and brought up as the location of your novel. Remember only uneasy settings of your place and it has to get narrated diplomatically. (Very important!! Added adavantage if you and me are from the same country. Its a very lovable country.)
• 
  Don’t have less than 10 characters. Set all the characters intense with a gloomy background. Detail the main characters (3-4) one in each chapter sequentially and in the very next chapter narrate other characters together and in the very next chapter tie the characters each other with a tragic twist.
• 
  For sure, you will remember your 2-3 bad experiences of yours or your neighbors. Thread them to the narration.
• 
  Hire a Prof. English literature from a well known university to make sure a literary flow and for "Foreword". Definitely include "Dedicated to", "Preface", "Plot" and whatever 2-3 liner pages you like to have.
• 
  You could also take a story from a very old movie in the world. Yeah, there are 7 continents (Don't know if i am wrong!). Or there could be no story also. Just chain of events with a big bang end will do.

As usual, reader's improvement and additions to the list are welcome.

X(

A thought to think!

There are hundred thoughts to think upon. One of them is below;

I witnessed two events this weekend which involved thousands of people gathering together. In one event, people were detaching themselves from what they truly were and in another (different set); they showcased their might & courage.

The first event was in a mythological place / a shrine where people thronged and were shouting slogans/prayers in praise of the Almighty. What they were exactly doing was that they were surrendering themselves to God asking him to handle their lives and asking him for favors. In the process there were chaos and fights in the crowd on who will enter the shrine first.

The second event was in New Delhi, the capital of India. It was the Republic Day parade in Rajpath. It had in its soil the great soldiers and citizens of the country. People in organized groups with sheer discipline and precision timing, showcased their might assuring themselves that they collectively will serve the country. The mighty weapons of the country, the rich culture of the multilingual states, the efforts of people in saving the country, were displayed, remembered & recognized. It was altogether a “We Can & We will” attitude showcased in the event which made feel proud & confident about the future in this country.

Now, both the events had people gathered together. In the both the events people were from the same country. The first event had people of one single religion at one place and the second event had people from different religions coming together for the interest of the nation. It is said that when people gather and pray, God gets delighted and grants their wishes. Sounds good and makes me to participate in it too. But, I would rather prefer to know my strengths and work in leveraging it to myself and the people around, because, it is also said that God prefers and helps people more who help themselves by putting in their best efforts for themselves and others as well.

Now, which one do you prefer to do?

Annanukku Jai, Kaalayanukku Jai!!

Jallikattu is an occasion celebrated in south Tamilnadu showcasing the bravery in men. No intro is required for this bull sport. If you don’t know what it is pls contact Mr. Wikipedia / Mr. Google.

Government and also animal welfare board are trying to ban this game as they are concerned about the bull. The typical Jallikattu bulls are endangered species now. People would fear to go near it even during normal time. The bull is made run in a huge crowd with gold, money and other things tied to its horns. The man who stops and tames the bull gets the prize. Sounds easy ah!! Check out the pic below;

Check out the other pic. This one is shot recently. I had tamed this bull 15 years back. Yes believe me…15 years back while I was a kid I had tamed this bull!!! I was a kid and the bull was a calf :))

People

We sometimes encounter people, perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken.
--Fydor Dostoevsky

This post is about the people who have made me amaze, puzzle in the past few days. They are from different walks of life and different age groups.

First is this boy in his 10 or 12 yrs. This boy is a chai vendor near my client’s office in Mahalaxmi. I go everyday to have a cup of special chai from this guy and watch him closely. This boy shows a sense of maturity in handling the business (yeah...chai vending is also a business and this boy is also an entrepreneur). He is in his early stages of life and I wonder what at this stage of life made him not to go school and pursue his business*. I have seen a bunch of kids on work but so far none have puzzled me like this. This guy has a style in his work, has a never tiring face and greets everyone with the same energy level. Haan Sir…Boliye This guy gives me energy to look out life in a positive way. Kudos to this young chap! He is one of my inspirations.

The next is a granny. I saw this granny in Andheri railway station once. Her skin was so loose, spine bent and she was wearing a gown like a kid girl. For sure she would be in her second half of 80’s. There was no one along with her to accompany. The moment I saw her, my eyes were looking at who had accompanied her! Andheri railway station at the morning hours is jam-packed and people push each other to move forward. Granny was sitting in the platform. A train arrived and I was all gasps on she is going to get pushed. Amazingly, she managed herself and went along in the crowd. She is very old that people at her age couldn’t even mange to stand for some time. This granny had a clear vision too** without specs and at her 80’s with no one accompanying her; she was energetic and had managed on her own to commute. I wonder how she would have led her life such that she has the courage at this age to manage on her own. Granny…You rock, you are a rock star!!!

Next is a man in his 50’s. With gentleman dressing, looking very tired, walking like a patient and coughing at regular intervals, I have seen him a couple of times sitting across me in the train***. He has the marks of an ex-serviceman. He carries around 5-6 newspapers and untied assorted flowers in hand. I have only seen those type flowers tied as garland. Once he is seated, he starts with the TOI and falls asleep soon. He appears as a tired person and I start thinking that he has worked very hard through his life for his loved ones and failed to be understood. Or may be those flowers are for a missed loved one or may be to be offered to some deity. All these are my thoughts when I see this gentleman. My thoughts never go out of these and immediately it takes me to my memories. This gentleman makes me think about life in the mornings I see him.

I once saw this person while on my way to Andheri station. He had nothing below his body beyond his thighs. What he had was only his upper part of the body! He crawls on the floor with support from hands and his half cut thigh is dragged along in the floor. Life can’t be cruel like this to a human being. Whatever evil he has done, this is a cruel punishment in his life. I would prefer to die rather than living than this. Yet, this person was doing an honorable job. He was cleaning the floor with paper dusts left by the commuters in the ticket counter and receives money if somebody gives him. He doesn’t sit idle and beg for money. He cleans the place which we use and receives money for living. He is not only a good citizen but also makes me believe that life can be lived however it may be to you.

There are so many like these people whom I meet in my daily lives who encourage and instill the confidence of life. It’s the other side of the world which has a mix of positive and also negative things. Life is all about how we live along with it!

*On the other hand, it’s not a must to study to run a business and not all who are educated are intelligent too. Most of them are cracks and I too fall in that category.
**Health is obviously wealth especially when you are old. I wish to be independent like this granny with good health not bothering anyone during my last years.
***There are regular passengers who rush in the empty train to sit in their regular seats. I have my regular seat tooB-)

(lifeless over the happenings around)

ON A SABBATICAL

(will be back once rejuvenated)