Composed Volcano

hey all...

2009-03-19T01:59:00.000-07:00

visit www.composedvolcano.com to read my future blogs!

cheers
priya

17th Convergence India 2009

2009-03-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

South Asia’s largest ICT event is scheduled to take place during 18-20 March 2009 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Convergence India, an annual exhibition & conference is in its 17th year and enjoys patronage of regular clients. The success of the show not only lies in getting as many exhibitors to showcase their products but to ensure these exhibitors get to meet their potential customers under one roof. The way Convergence India event has succeeded in featuring in the annual marketing spends of these companies year after year speaks volume of its superiority.

Having been associated with the company behind the show (Exhibitions India), I nurture fond memories. The adrenaline rush before and during the show, the swanky setups done by domestic & overseas architects, hoards of people to interact, myriad activities, it’s a gala affair in its own right. Added advantage was all that fat you accumulated during the year you could look at shedding some of it during the event, with all running around from one end of the hall to the other!

The event this year will be featuring Telecom, Mobility, Broadcast, Cable, Satellite, Entertainment, Information Technology and Information Security. Prominent international speakers will debate on the trends, challenges and solutions for progress in the ICT sector.

Here's wishing the Ei team all the best....

Nedumbassery airport gets its medical unit..

2009-03-16T00:52:00.000-07:00

I remember clearly the agony on the face of my friend as she narrated to me about her painful experience at the Delhi airport 2 years ago. It so happened that her husband who had a back problem was suddenly reeling in excruciating pain. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t have the medicines handy. But for a fellow passenger (God bless him) who helped them with a pain killer, I don’t even want to imagine where things would have lead for my friend.

So, when I read about the medical unit being commissioned at the Kochi International airport at Nedumbassery, I was happy. I think it should be made imperative for all the airports to have medical facilities. Even the railways stations should be encouraged to make available first aid besides a medical shop. It would save many a passenger in emergency.

The unit at Nedumbassery is run in association with the Amrita Institute of Medical Science and is equipped with all basic medicines and supporting infrastructure. The unit will function round the clock at the Kochi International airport. They have tied up with nearby hospitals for doctors, Para medical staff and ambulances in cases of emergency.Besides providing medical support to the passengers the medical unit also will provides the airport employees with first aid when the need be.

Hope all the other airports follow suit…

Way to go gal!

2009-03-14T03:21:00.000-07:00

If rumors were to be believed, the Slumdog millionaire fame Frieda Pinto is to play Daniel’s Craig’s gal in the next bond flick tentatively name Bond 23. She has been called for a screening and believed to be under scrutiny of the casting crew since Quantum of Solace.

That will be one great news for the Indian cinema fraternity. Freida Pinto has also been cast in Woody Allen’s latest movie, shooting of which is scheduled mid this year. She is the next to join the few who have made already made appearances in Hollywood flicks.

Well, thinking of it, life is all about surprises and opportunities - few taken, few missed. The key is to keep moving in the direction your heart leads and to prepare yourself better for the next opportunity life surprise you with. The mantra is to set priorities and understand what makes you happy and go for it!

What women want?

2009-03-09T00:22:00.000-07:00

The bride hunting for my BIL has left me wondering about many a question about women in general. Don’t get me wrong here; I have high respect for ambitious ladies, who want to leave a mark. But I still feel that one needs to act according to the circumstances, prioritize and then take a call.

After the rigmarole of PB (prospective bride) hunting through the matrimonial site, matching of horoscopes (yes it still is a big thing in Kerala) and chatting up of parents when it actually comes to the guy and gal talking, I am quite surprised at the flippant behaviors of the gals. They either are too busy to talk or haven’t found time to check the PG’s (prospective groom)! Half of the time they are worried about their non transferable jobs. Again, don’t get me wrong, but if you are good you surely fill find a good job elsewhere!

I am aware at this point that had I been a male I would have been branded as a MCP by now; thankfully no one has come up with a MCP equivalents for females so I am spared for now at least (or have I pre empted the ladies to come up with one…I fervently hope not!)

The point I am trying to make is that a relationship can’t start let alone sustain without certain adjustments. One need to question oneself at this juncture, does the PG possess all qualities that you expected for? If yes, do I trade it for a nice job and let go of this person whom you really think you can be happy with? Well, is it worth it?

No matter how much you deny, any lady working / non working would always want to have someone at home they can go back to. And that one person needs to be chosen without preconditions pertaining to one’s career, that is. The focus should be on the person, his characteristics and your compatibility together.

I feel people are forgetting that you need to happy at home to be happy elsewhere….

Jai ho...

2009-02-24T03:09:00.000-08:00

Hearty congratulations to A R Rehman and all those connected to the much acclaimed Slumdog millionaire. As I was reading the news from the red carpet I chanced to read a small opinion article of that of Aadesh Srivastava (music director in Bollywood). He, like few other critics, appear to be furious at the movie and the fact that India through Mumbai has been shone in the bad light to the extent that foreigners have started calling Indians the slumdogs!

Chill Mr. Srivastava! You stay in Bombay. Ever heard of Dharavi? By playing ostrich you cannot ignore the ground realities. Let’s stop being hypocrites and give the movie its due credit.

And about people regarding us slumdogs… please excuse them..for they aren’t well traveled or well read (I am sure or rather hope the percentage of such people isn’t high). Probably they don’t know that their own comrades find India attractive enough to be here on a vacation, business or even life long stay!

Your anger is genuine to an extent; but your statement that you will never get associated with any project which shows India in poor light…if it at all happens..Bravo! But these things should rather be left to situation, if you were given a chance to be a part of a project which means international fame, would you leave it? Well, you need to think about it.

Anyways, India is the most beautiful country in the world. And there’s no denying that. For people making opinions sitting miles across…God bless…

Jai ho!

Wah Ustad Wah!

2009-02-17T21:32:00.000-08:00

Inaugurating the year long programme for the Dharani society, (an initiative by the Dharani School of performing arts) it was none other that Ustad Zakir Hussain, the great great table maestro who graced the stage by his unbelievable performance, here in Kochi (Feb 17, ‘09).

Having grown up watching him fleetingly on various shows on the television (I don’t have the patience to watch music concerts on TV, prefer live) and the most famous wah ustad wah advertisement that intercepted the then popular chitrahaar, the weekly much awaited movie or other soaps, it was an enchanting experience to watch him performing live.

The humble maestro was teamed up with Shri Dilshad Khan the young promising Sarangi player. His swift hands moved on the instrument with so much grace, it almost felt the music was getting generated elsewhere! Be it be a steam engine effect or galloping horses, Ustad fingers presented these gentle variations along with his original compositions with unquestionable class.

Ustad Zakir Hussain yet again won a Grammy this year in the Contemporary World Music Album category for his collaborative album Global Drum Project. Born to Ustad Allah Rakha, Ustad Zakir started performing way back when we barely 12. He has various national and international shows and awards to his credit.

After yesterday’s performance, the whole of the audience was left spellbound as the heart craved for more.

Hail you Ustad ji…. Par ye dil ne maanga tha more!

Fame & Shame

2009-01-13T07:50:00.000-08:00

What a start to 2009! On one hand we have the Indian industry’s biggest fraudulent case coming to light and there on the other hand we our very own Dilip Kumar a.k.a A R Rehman earning glory on the international stage by bagging the Golden Globe award for Best Original Music Score for 'Slumdog Millionaire', a rags-to-riches story of a Mumbai slumdweller.

I almost fell of the chair when I read online news about Satyam reading “I didn't pay much attention to balance sheet says Satyam CFO”.!!!! When did the abbreviation CFO become Chief Fun Officer, I wonder! No seriously, I found the statement really funny. I met few people who are darn worried about their investments but on the contrary there are people who still think things can only get better. Well only time will tell.

I have wanted to read Q&A book by Vikas Swarup (Slumdog millionaire has been inspired by this movie) for sometime now. Incidentally, only recently I finished reading 6 suspects, another book by Vikas Swarup. This book talks about the murder of a corrupted son of a equally corrupted politician who gets away with anything be it be drunken driving over innocent pedestrian dwellers or even a daylight muder of a bar girl who refuses to give him a drink beyond bar timings. This book portrays the sorry state of the country where even delayed justice favors the influential thus tramping over the innocent. Tragically enough most of the incidents are pictures of real life scenario.

Getting to talking about the proud moment of watching AR Rehman holding the globe award and thanking billion people back home, I wonder how he and his family is reacting when I, a mere fan is so overjoyed. He probably wouldn’t have dreamt of coming this far himself when he started his musical career. But it is his creativity, the ability to connect with mass with his versatile kind of music that is making him more successful and more popular. I really wish that he wins the Oscar too…now wouldn’t that be great!

On that happy note, let me get back to finishing the book I am currently reading… The Choice, by Nicholas Spark. I am at a sad juncture of the story hoping everything turns fine afterall I am all a happy story ending person, you see :)

Around the world on a bike

2008-12-20T23:34:00.000-08:00

Almost all of us have an innate dream to travel the world but ever thought of doing it on bicycle? Sounds bizarre? Well that’s what Philipp and Valeska Schaudy have been upto. This couple who were recently in Kochi have been on roads since the year 2006, is set to cover all continents in 5 years. They have covered in the last 2+ years Europe, SW Asia, Africa, and Australia and are going to be spending some time in India making their way up north before they cycle away to their next destination in Asia. ‘Abnormal’ is how Philipp and Valeska describe themselves on their website www.2-play-on-earth.net.

When asked about the idea behind this travel, they said “When we travel from our arm chair, we sometimes misjudge about places and its people. We draw conclusions which might not be right. The world is so beautiful and there are people just like you out there eager to welcome and share with you their bits of life. They are if not more equally warm and loving. And you get to know all this only if you travel and have a first hand experience.”

We chose bicycles for our travel because it gives us opportunity to mingle with the local crowd. It gives us the flexibility to stop at a small roadside shop to have a cup of tea and chat with the locals who we would have never been able to do had we traveled by plane/ trains, besides its emission free, added a smiling Valeska.

Working as lecturer photographer, author and guide in the Arctic (Svalbard, Greenland), Philipp plans to go back and share with all, his experiences with people at large. Both Philipp and Valeska dream of spreading a message of love at all places where they leave their footprints. There is no need to be apprehensive of people of different color or who speak a different language. It’s just a matter of extending your hand and you will be surprised how many friendly hand shakes you get, signs off Philipp.

Hello world

2008-11-27T23:22:00.000-08:00

I am filled with mixed feelings of anger, sadness and frustration. Anger because of the current situation in Mumbai, sadness at the plight of the innocents lives suffering and frustration at our helplessness.

Can’t we all come together and do something about the growing terrorism? How many more events of terror do we go through before we wake up? When will we all feel each other’s pain and not live in fake environment of personal security? Its someone else today tomorrow it can be us.

Everyone needs to be clear on one thing; terrorism can occur anywhere to anyone, we Indians were just unfortunate.

Saluting all the soldiers who have put their lives on the line of fire….jai hind!

Hello Mr. Bhandarkar,

2008-10-31T22:21:00.001-07:00

I watched your 'fashion' last night. Sincere effort but yet felt raw. You failed to touch upon so many subjects anorexia, slimming drugs, or is it that your research showed a skewed results for drugs and sex? Your Page3 was so much better. It was well researched and you had different stories to tell in one sitting. Corporate was over the top and I didn't bother watching Traffic Signal after the not so positive reviews.

The rushes of Fashion were alluring enough to pull me to the theater. If you ignore the acting aspect, Kangana Ranaut is looking fab in the movie. No pun intended! She will be more successful as a model. She has the poise, attitude and a sexy bod for that.

As my friend rightly mentioned Prinyanka Chopra whom we normally classify in slim category looks plum in front of her co stars Kangana and Meghana Godse. All said, all of them have done a superb job. Priyanka after her silly twittering role in Love Story 2050, showed she has it in her.

Btw Mr Bhandarkar is Koko (Konkana Sharama) and Ranvir Shorey your lucky charm? What the hell are they doing in this movie? Even calling them special appearnce doesnt justify their mere presence. It looked so out of place. I personally place Koko & Shorey in high esteem and it breaks my heart when they appear in nonsensical role which does nothing to harness their talent.

All in all, the movie was quite predictable. No surprises at all ( except for Koko & Shorey). No climax or anti climax. Just a plain story with no twists and turns and absolutely no humor.

Really Mr. Bhandarkar....you could have done with some humor to lighten up the mood. Please dont tell me that people in the fashion industry lack a funny bone!

yours sincerely

p

Travel bug

2008-10-28T00:45:00.001-07:00

Being bitten by one, I am finding my blog up to date nearly difficult if not impossible. But the good news is that I am not planning to start a new blog focusing on travelogues....stories and more stories.

It’s an amazing thing - Travel even if you are doing it within the confinement of your arm chair. It makes you see beyond you, your city and your people. Life is about so much more.

Its fun, learning about new place and its culture, its people who are as warm and friendly, only if you open your mind and look beyond them being just as a stranger. You will be amazed to find dis/similarities in the local food and the ones we eat. Travel offers you all of this and so much more.

Till I come back my travel blog details….here’s wishing a happy and a prosperous deepawali!

Mindi!

2008-08-11T22:22:00.000-07:00

Yup! That’s what you get when a malayalee tries to speak Hindi. I have been a witness to so many hilarious instances; thought would blog about the 2 of my favorite ones.

Take 1
My school friend’s mom (aunty) as a newlywed had to move to the north of India where her husband was posted (having brought up in Kerala, this was her 1st visit to the North). Aunty had barely picked up few words in Hindi when uncle decided to flaunt his wife’s culinary skills to his friends. And in order to impress uncle’s friends, aunty decided to pick up some Hindi which would help her in portraying herself as a cordial host. So here goes….

What aunty learnt was ‘thoda aur khayiye sharam karne ki koi zaroorat nahin’- meaning- please help yourself with some more food, don’t hesitate. Instead the dialogue that actually got delivered on the dinner table was ‘khayiye khayiye, sharam to aati nahi hai!’- meaning- eat more you shameless! Sharam being the operative word here completely changed the meaning with wrong usage in a sentence. LOL.

Take 2
Hub’s friend has had this reputation of sending anyone to splits with his Hindi from his school days. Being brought up in the north I would have never thought of inviting anybody home in shudh Hindi (pure Hindi) the way I got invited by him (the main protagonist in this story).

Padhariye Padhariye (a.k.a welcome welcome) …Aasan grahan kariye (please have a seat)…is what his mentor (wifey) taught him. But what was more hilarious was the way he remembered or was taught these verses. Assan was connected with ass, since the ass goes first on the seat it becomes assan :). Good training (read avenge) lady ;-)

Man! Did I or did I not get a momentary time machine experience! Trust me, I felt like I was taking part in some famous epic play like the Mahabharata or Ramayana!

Being posted in the land of mallus, I hope I get have many more such laughs, Amen! ;-)

Informative video

2008-07-31T05:22:00.001-07:00

hey found a nice presentation video on SEO, social media and blog....check it out!!

Same old news!

2008-07-31T03:54:00.001-07:00

Be it be politics, pollution, crime rate, power shortage….over a period of time all of us have got immune to receiving this sort of news. So much so, when we pick up our morning newspaper we are kind of aware what we will get to read.

Newest addition to the list is ‘the bomb’.

Ever since Bangalore banged followed with blasts in the Modi land and lucky faulty chips episode at Surat (thankfully 20 bombs got diffused before any damage happened), the bombs have become the ‘in-thing.’

Every day we get to hear of some news or the other about bombs. One hoax call about Kerala and I was 'bomb'arded with phone calls whole of that evening. There are articles being carried in the local newspapers about how to play role of an alert and responsible citizen almost every day.

I wonder what this world is coming to. We call ourselves free, when we cannot even watch a movie or dine out in peace?

Stage race – season 95

2008-07-28T23:34:00.000-07:00

Till year 2007…..Cycling me?? No, thanks….2008…Cycling why not??

Thanks to hubs (hubby) who introduced me to Tour de France this season. Well, I am not here to blog about this year’s race and the beauty of the strategies made by each team (will take time to be an authority on that!); just that I enjoyed the game.

My favorite cyclist was…….hmmmm?? Well, not there yet, to judge, but yes I definitely regretted not watching Lance Armstrong in action, a couple of years ago. For there wasn’t a single day in the 21 days of the competition, when hubs didn’t mention Armstrong. His wins, discovery team, their strategy etc etc etc.

I was told that yellow jersey is the most prized and that’s its each rider’s dream to win it, once in their lifetime. It goes to the overall stage winner. White jersey with red polka dots goes to the king of mountains while the green jersey goes to one with maximum sprint points.

Btw, what amazing stamina these cyclists have! Hats off!! (Smile) I still remember when we (hubs and myself) rented bikes to go shopping in Mauritius, puffing and panting we couldn’t wait to get back to our hotel….wish we doped ;-)

Now about that, what beats me about people who doped and got chucked out is, were they so confident that they will not get caught? A professional cyclist would know the line he can’t cross? Won’t he? It’s so disgraceful! I felt sorry for Ricardo Ricco’s team who withdrew from the race when the former tested positive.

Next year hubs wants to see the race in live. I am not sure how much of you can really enjoy. With the speed these cyclists ride, they will be past you before you know and technically you can’t travel with the riders right! But still I don’t mind going to France. My 1 day in Paris 2 years back didn’t do any justice to my trip at all plus traveling alone is no fun according to me. Want to explore more with hubs who shares my love for traveling.

(Btw people who are planning to travel to Europe the 1st time, can check out my tips for travel in the blog named Europe….Cheers!)

Power “less”

2008-07-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

40 hrs per week, 2 hrs per day and ½ hrs per day….these are the details of scheduled power cuts in states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala respectively. On other hand, Bangalore is facing an acute shortage of diesel. The spin to the story is that majority of the electricity in Karnataka gets generated by hydro power. The absence of sufficient rainfall is causing shortage in power at source which in turn results in unscheduled / scheduled power cuts which prompts people to use generators, which needs diesel to run. Tada!!!

Experiencing the ½ hr cut daily I used to wonder where we are headed and what could possibly save us? But after getting to know of situation in other states, I feel blessed.

US-Indo nuclear deal talks about electricity reaching every household. What they don’t say is how many houses are we talking of here? There are some 40,000 villages which haven’t been electrified till date and what happens to the current deficit? Why is renewable energy not talked about in a big way? Possibly because of the costs? Then what can be done to ease out the burden on the customer? I know of banks who give loans to buy renewable energy products at lower interest rates, but the attractiveness of the offer is questionable. In the west where people get incentivized to pump back unused power to the grid, solar panels are not even feasible in our country.

Liberated that we may be, but there is long way to go……..

Malayalee beauty

2008-07-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

Recently, I got invited to Miss Kerala 2008 beauty pageant that is organized by Impresario Event Management India annually.

The event was held at Le Meridien, Kochi and unlike the past trends, where the participation was limited to Kerala, this year the competition was thrown open to malayali girls across the world. And the organizers wouldn’t have been disappointed with the roaring response they received. There were finalists from Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.

Having met all the finalists during the grooming session I had my personal favorites two of which got it to top 3. Anyways, the gals were good. And what a surprise package was little Ann. The youngest of the lot, this 16 year old tiny thing showed all that age didn’t matter. She was bang on, on all questions thrown at her. Besides winning the best smile title she won the 2nd runner’s up, a title she said she will use to voice her opinion on girl’s empowerment and other social activities which she is already active in. Here’s wishing her all the best. 1st runner’s up Reema Rajan with her contemporary dance performance (which completely awed me) bagged most talented, best voice, miss photogenic and best eyes awards.

Miss Kerala 2008 Shree Thulasi, a dusky interior designing student stood tall at 5’8”. Elegant, well poised and confident Shree Thulasi stands a good chance at Miss India beauty pageant if she decides to participate. This btw is completely my opinion.

Proceedings went smoothly except for the traffic blocks caused by the 1200 invitees plus those people who couldn’t gain access without invitee passes. All said, it was great to see confident and forthcoming ladies from our very traditional state, a state that staged a ‘dharna’ expressing distaste for beauty pageants (not sure if it was last year). Things are changing and changing for good!

To check out the contestants and the winners log on to their website.

Eat, sleep, shop and talk cricket

2008-07-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

With husband pampering in mind and 1st salary in our pockets my friend and myself decided to check out the talk of the town ‘the bat and the ball inn’. Yes it’s the same place which was inaugurated by Sreesanth, Robin Uthappa and Charu Sharma recently in Kochi. Warm and welcoming, this place consists of a 5 rooms (tastefully done), souvenir shop (good collection), boutique (beautiful and economical towels, cushions and covers but frightfully expensive dresses), silly point café (which was yet to get functional) and Cornucopia restaurant (which is where we had our sumptuous dinner).

Whether it was Fish (nice) and sauce (eeeuuuu!!) or seekh kabab (yummy) and sauce (again dude!!) or the tastefully done steaks each with unique blends of red wine, fresh filter coffee or vodka the husky voiced chef was around to get the first hand feedback (both good and bad). This place might be a disappointment for those who have to couple their food with drinks since this place doesn’t serve liquor as yet (who has seen the future!).

Overall good experience, enough to go there again. And hey I forgot to mention, they end it with style too. Along with the bill comes shots of cold coffee (strong and creamy)….yummalecious..seriously!!

Must eat: salads
Suggestion: might be a good idea to reserve seats for group larger than 4

Me, Myself and the Autowalas

2008-07-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

Technorati Profile
Come what may, my equation with most of the auto drivers just doesn’t seem to get better ever. I changed my base from Delhi to Bangalore and then to Kochi (not because of the autowalas…plz give me a break!), but no change whatsoever in my experiences with them. Is it me, I wonder! Why is it that they would always want to charge extra bucks from me and if I dare refuse, I get those looks of – ‘go and get rich by $$ bucks!’ If not the money then it has to be the route I suggest him to take or the reason I didn’t wave my hand well enough for him to notice and stop his auto or because I am not carrying change or if none of these reasons seems apt, then I am sure with my reputation with the autowalas, they will come up with some or the other reason to hassle me.

If only the just for meter kept in the autos for the sole purpose of display worked, my life would have been much simpler.

All for a cause

2008-07-01T23:54:00.000-07:00

In today’s times of fast cars, you might write me off as bizarre if I tell you to cycle across the globe. Well, that’s exactly what my friend here is doing. The seemingly quiet and shy Amiram is on a 1 year cycling tour across 12 countries in Africa as an awareness campaign on Global warming, climatic changes etc and inform about the available solutions to combat the same.

Amiram and his team are open to other enthusiasts joining them in this endeavor. All that is needed is that they must share the same passion for saving the environment. Check out their website for more details.

Way to go Amiram!!

Such is life!

2008-06-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

‘Leave everything to God’, my mom was told, when despite rigorous efforts she failed to find the right match for me. But I guess my mom feared that she might still leave everything to God but what happens if God also decides to leave everything to someone else? May be this fear drove her to keep knocking Almighty’s door every day with the help of many pundits and many astrologers. They surely must be missing my mom for their daily daal and roti. No kidding!

There was a time when we didn’t need to go to a temple. Our home was a temple (pun-intended).Window shopping was the only luxury I could afford most of the times. After all, didn’t I have to save for the numerous visits to temples and for performing various Pujas? How I wished then to kick “my guy’s” ass once I meet him for making me go through all this.

Even God was amused and had his full quota of fun at my cost. It’s like this. I was predicted to get married every year starting year 2001 and ‘finally’ one astrologer got it right in 2007.

I don’t like getting dragged to a temple unless I want to and I am not an overtly religious person. But still, the time I was in Delhi and Bangalore…footloose and fancy-free (read unmarried) I like a dutiful daughter lighted up the diya (a.k.a lamp) before leaving for work in the morning.

That was then. Now that I can’t designate a separate area as Puja room, I have created a small place within the kitchen with one of my favorites Laddu Gopal and Ganesha idols.

Call it irony, God would have definitely known that one day my beer drinker atheist husband who loves to host his friends will create a bar just next to my puja corner (read near to the idols). After all it’s only God who answered my family’s combined prayers in the form of my husband. As my friend’s favorite adage goes…”Such is life!”

What do u think?

2008-06-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

Keep it Simple, that’s what Vodafone has done with its new chotta credit ads. Crisp, to the point and (I guess) hence effective. Couldn’t have been a better time to release ads, with kids at home busy preparing for exams. It has a touch of innocence and a moment of truth to which most of us have been able to connect to. Nice ad.

Now let’s look at the Motorola ad. I wonder if the minds behind the ad have kids at home?

I mean just think of a similar situation at home. You are reprimanding your kid for his/her ‘I damn care’ attitude and s/he instead plugs on mobile headphones and nods in exhilaration. Enough to get a conniption fit! Couldn’t Motto guys think of a better way to reach the younger generation than showing something that can be wrongly connoted as “cool?” Irresponsible kid in an irresponsible ad!

What do you think?

Outstanding!!

2008-02-10T04:00:00.000-08:00

One word to describe the story, the direction as well as the acting. Yes, I am talking about the best declared movie of the year Taare Zameen Par. What a movie!

Nothing less was expected out of Aamir ‘pefectionist’ Khan . Seamless direction and that too with all fresh faces. Standing applause for Dersheel , the main protagonist, who takes the cake. Would an oxymoron like “mature kid” sound apt for him? Guess, it would. Tisca Chopra, Vipin Sharma all did there best natural bit on the screen. Music and lyrics falls just in line with the story. Emotional ‘Maa’ sung by Shankar Mahadevan is my personal favorite. Just loved it.

In my opinion this movie should have succeeded to be an eye opener for parents of not only children who are physically or mentally challenged but otherwise too. You talk of parents, friends or teachers today kids experience tremendous pressure; pressure to just not do well but surpass. Well, healthy competition is always good. Kids emerge more strong and confident but the flip side to it they might give away to the pressure and loose all the confidence which could have done wonders if nurtured well.

Once in a while a sensitive movie like Taare Zameen Par would force parents if not less for atleast 3 hrs in the cinema hall to sit back and think if they have been fair towards dealing with their kids and if there is a better way, which in the rigmarole of daily life one tends to forget.

Did Munnabhai get a fair deal?

2007-08-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

One good thing about a democratic country like India is that we have the freedom to voice our thoughts without any fear. So here I go!

The TADA court judge Kode said that Sanjay Dutt wasn’t a terrorist. Touche! Sanjay is just an actor who happens to be caught in a quagmired destiny of a wrong doer. From drugs to possession of illegal weapons, he did it all.

Though I am filled with sympathy and remorse as I hear about the 6 year RI for our Sanju baba, yet I fail to understand why would anyone buy an AK-56 and be in touch with the infamous wanted group of people. I sincerely don’t think he had a role to play in Mumbai blasts but the very fact he tried to “destroy” the illegal weapon drives his image away from being clean. Did he get scared??….only he knows! Best thing 14 years ago would have been to surrender and innocence plead.

Kudos to Kode! It would undoubtedly have been a Catch 22 situation for Kode to reach a conclusion as harsh, considering the star status of Mr. Dutt, but still he stuck to what was right reassuring the public that all are equal in the eyes of law.

But personally speaking, 6 years is just too long! I am not saying that Sanjay Dutt should have been excused for what he did but may be 2 years would have been just fine considering the fact that the so called crime was committed 14 years back, that he is one of the leading actors in times today and that he is clean and not involved in any criminal activity whatsoever.

Isn’t it ironical to get reprimanded just when you are sorry for the past and want to make it up in the future by being good?

As for the janta, another 7 years (atleast) before they get to see the next sequel to their favourite Munnabhai movie series!

The Art Of A Good Marriage

2007-07-31T14:33:00.000-07:00

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.A good marriage must be created. In marriage the little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands.

It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.It is never going to sleep angry. It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through the years.

It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is standing together facing the world. It is forming a circle of love that gathers the whole family.It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy. It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.

It is not looking for perfection in each other. It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humour. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow old. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.

It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal. It is not only marrying the right partner; it is being the right partner.

*this article is a direct take from the net

Changing roles?

2007-07-30T12:29:00.000-07:00

Post office is being seen in new light by few of the major corporate. And why not? With subjects on rural penetration and customer convenience prevailing in the boardrooms, people have no choice but to evaluate the existing strong network that can be capitalized on.

Yesterday it was Air Deccan which made ticketing kiosks available at post offices across Karnataka and today its Hutch who has made it convenient for their post paid customers by tying up with around 131 post offices across Tamil Nadu for easy payment of mobile bills. All you got to do is to locate your nearest post office and pay your bill!

Well, with renewed services at post offices and customer care being of prime importance to all corporate, day is not far when the postman will also be responsible for collecting mobile bills and may be even distributing movie tickets? Who knows!

As I end this blog, I am trying to find the right phrase for “dekho daak aaya” post this role change...…any suggestions?

An Inconvenient Truth

2007-07-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

Conergy, the group company of SunTechnics made its launch in India official on 3rd July by screening the academy award winning documentary film – An Inconvenient Truth. I was lucky enough to be a part of SunTechnics since the entry was by invite only.

An Inconvenient Truth, brilliant but shocking movie. Brilliant, because the level of detailing Al Gore has gone into to put across his views on climatic change more so on Global warming is phenomenal. Shocking, because the facts shown in the movie were quite alarming. From showing the level increase in carbon dioxide to possible extinction of polar bears, to the melting of ice sheets at Greenland or Antarctic and its effect on sea level and coastal area inhabitants, rise in temperature in the last 10 years, growing population etc Al Gore showed it all. And I must admit in a very impressive and articulated manner.

It actually gave me goose bumps thinking of the future. It’s rather sad the objective to curb global warming has yet not become a global objective and still lies with few people like Al Gore who travel from place to place spreading the message.

Al Gore concluded his case in the movie indeed with a very nice story of a frog. A frog when jumps into hot boiling water jumps out immediately. But a frog that jumps in a beaker of cold water put on a boiler sits right there even if the water starts boiling, till the time somebody actually pulls it out.

We are the frog sitting pretty, the world is heating up, and the occurring is quite evident. Rise in temperature, hurricanes, droughts, heavy rains etc have become a part of the everyday news.

Let’s do our bit

-Use energy saving appliances at home / offices
-Replace all bulbs with CFLs
-Consume less of fossil fuel
-Encourage car pools
-Use renewable energy sources
-Invest in a hybrid car if possible
-Walk more
-Ride a bicycle
-Save power by switching off lights, fan etc when not in use
-Unplug appliances when not in use, since they also consume power
-Plant more

These are the small steps that we can take without disrupting much our day to day life. Al Gore talks about taking progressive approach in his movie.

Well, for sure it has to be progressive and collective....it has to be a global revolution. Let each one of us spread message across and work towards a beautiful tomorrow, where our future generation think high of us for taking the right step at the right time.

Rashtrapatni?

2007-06-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

Well, is that what we will call our new president if Pratibha Patil, the most favored candidate makes her way into Raisina hills? Sounds funny.

Anyways, I am completely lost in terms of the selection or nomination procedure. I am yet not sure of the credentials of the most favored candidate. I have great respect for the incumbent APJ Abdul Kalam and admire him for the vision and his soul touching speeches addressed to mostly to the young generation.

Though personally I would be very happy if a “women” candidate gets to be the first citizen of India. It just makes me feel proud to see the powering and towering women around. Goes without saying she needs to be a well deserving candidate, having a mind of her own and least affected by the infamous political scenario.

Rain, rain, go away come again another day?

2007-06-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Paradoxically as much as we need rains to quench the thirst of mother earth the infrastructure at many of the places in India just doesn’t allow rains to be a pleasant welcoming experience. The road between potholes, absence of apt conduit for the rain water, mucky streets…..taxes are paid in the name of community development yet the ‘janta’ still pays, only in the form of time and personal discomfort.

Hello…..anybody listening?

The world of advertising…..

2007-05-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

We have had some nice and creative advertisements in the recent past. Greenplay ad with a punch line of janam janam ka saathi where a Sikh kid meeting savithri ..his sweetheart from the previous birth (which I find quite funny), or the Mentos ad of that of a college classroom scene, or the superb ad of surf excel showing brother and sister love, where the brother “beats up” the puddle which makes his sister trip. I like all of these. Another ad that I will probably never ever forget is the old Cadbury’s ad where a girl rejoices in the victory of her batsman boyfriend on a cricket field. None of the current Amitabh Bachaan series of Cadbury ‘pappu’ ads (pun intended) are anywhere near to it.

Off late advertisers seemed to be parking their money on creating advertisements on the theory of reverse psychology. It goes like this, how many times do we find ourselves saying “what’s wrong with these creative agencies” after watching the 30 second commercial on television? My guess would be, most of the times. Yet we remember these ads….may be because we hated it?

The train ad of Coco Cola with Aamir Khan, or Kajol in Tata Indicom, the unbearable Sunny Deol ads, Shahrukh and Preity santro corny ads ….wow! as I am writing this blog I realize I remember ads with only celebraties….hmmm

Anyways, be it be creative on uncreative ads, the objective is achieved if the creative lots are able to make their clients’ product and services appeal the customer or for that matter just gain mind share of the aam aadmi.

Life in a Metro

2007-05-12T23:40:00.000-07:00

The latest Hindi flick I watched today with an old friend from Delhi, who has relocated to Bangalore. Nice attempt by Anurag Basu with some fine lyrical songs; though the essence of this movie is quite disturbing. Disturbing because what was projected were facts to which most of us could relate to.

We talk of sanctity of marriage. Whether it exists is anybody’s guess. The male chauvinism as projected by one of my favorite actor in the movie, Kay Kay Menon makes you hate him to the core.

The movie through its characters put forward the idea of each person having the right to be happy. Very Well said! You cannot make others happy till the time you are happy. But then, at what cost? I am no one to preach what is right and what is not, for what is right for me might be totally out of context for someone else.

Don’t we ourselves question our decision taken in the past? Decisions which looks so right then but so ridiculous now? Anyways, getting back to the movie, good performance by the “Kiss n tell in-news gal” Shilpa Shetty and “tickle your funny bone guy” Sharman Joshi who for a change portrayed a serious role (after RDB). With few lighter moments it was super show by “get in skin of character” Konkana Sen and talented and seasoned actor Irrfan Khan.

Just like Page 3 left a disgusting feeling in you, this movie would kindle lotsa questions in your mind, few pleasant and few not so pleasant.

Muse on....

2007-05-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

"You don't have to specialize - do everything that you love and then, at some time, the future will come together for you in some form.".....Francis Ford Coppola

To mom with love…..

2007-05-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

On my way to the office I tuned in to Radio Indigo, one of the music channels that has been building up the tempo from the last few days towards the big D-day called “the Mother’s day”; this year falling on 13th May (2nd Sunday of the May month).

I wanted to be just like her. Not the looks but everything about her. I am talking about my mom…..my pillar of strength. An exceptionally bright lady whose talent perhaps didn’t find the right conduit. Wisdom galore, a super mom working non stop with no breaks even on Sundays. I wonder if I can be even 40 percent of what she is to three of us (me and my siblings).

From ‘Mother’s day for peace’ to ‘mothers’ work day’ and finally to ‘mother’s day’…this day was formalized for a different reason at different point in time, but as it stands today, Mother’s day is attributed as a special day to mother’s all around as a thankful gesture.

Well, I don’t think just one day would do any justice to the level of sacrifices and unconditional love moms shower on us…Nevertheless… happy mother’s day to all mommies!

New and better?

2007-05-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

What is new today may either get more refined or completely obsolete tomorrow. I was an infrequent blogger on live space for sometime when I decided to jump into the blog arena full-on through my space on blogspot. It has hardly been two months and now I learn of a new and improved blog tool and weblog platform called WordPress!

My tech geek friend has now decided to maintain two blog spaces and elect the best one. He has also blogged his first set of views on Blogspot vs WordPress on his space called Pradeep’s Point.

Even before I heard about WordPress, another friend of mine introduced me to tumblelog which enables you to have media posts instead of long editorial posts as on a normal blog space.

I am sure there would be more such weblogs on the block. But, I will stick on to blogspot for now unless tomorrow I face a wall where I cannot do without using WordPress or for that matter Tumblr!

Muse on....

2007-05-09T08:41:00.000-07:00

Never conclude a person on his present
'cos TIME has the power
to change an invaluable coal into a
valuable diamond....

Lessons from a donkey...

2007-05-08T00:59:00.000-07:00

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of theanimal, he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick togetting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each ofour troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.
2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less

The road less traveled

2007-05-07T23:08:00.000-07:00

Nah, I am not referring to the book by M.Scott Peck lying in my library of ‘yet to be read’ books but to a recent trek trip I made to Kallathigiri on the foothills of Kemmangundi in the state of Karnataka. On the road from Kemmangundi to Tarikere a deviation takes you off to Kallathigiri, a beautiful non-commercialized hill station. 18 of us from my office planned a trip full of adventure and team building activities. Ofcourse we took guidance from experts from Outback India, a 15 year old firm comprising of 12 enthusiasts.

It was a 6 hours journey from Bangalore through the peak evening hours to the home stays in the heart of the coffee estate. Nice and cosy cottages where we shacked up. We had a rigorous trek planned for the next day hence we got into bed as soon as we arrived which was past midnight.

I got up quite early the next morning. The warm rising sun as if pacifying the cool whiff of breeze, swaying of the silver oak and mango trees besides other beautiful wildflower bearing shrubs and coffee plantation; I watched all this in peace sipping a nice hot cuppa coffee. My cottage overlooked the hills and absolutely nothing can describe the view or the experience.

Post a game of badminton and breakfast, I stacked my bag with water, snacks and medicines for the group and set off for our trek on Saturday morning (5th May) at 0900hrs. The whole trek was divided in three parts depending upon the interest and physical level of the group. The first and second part concluded at the foot and the centre of the Kallhathi falls while the last one which was more adventurous and risky concluded at the head of the Kallhathi falls.

We had a rocking time at the foot and the centre part of the waterfall. Most of us didn’t carry a change and neither had we planned to get wet. But, our excitement took over us and in no time we found ourselves splashing water and standing right under the falls. The rocks were slippery and we literally had to walk animal till we reached the fall. We stood amidst tiny rainbows in the waterfalls for hours together and took lotsa pictures.

We had a nice picnic with snacks that we carried and then split into two groups. Ofcourse I was in the group which decided to explore the mountains even further. The gravity at its best, the trek now got more rigorous and scary. We had to walk with nimble feet holding on to the tiger grass from its roots. Tiger grass gives you good support when you are climbing up. There were no other trekkers besides us. Now you know why I titled my blog as road less traveled?

With bruises and scratches on feet and thorns in hands we finally made it to the top. We slouched on our belly over the rock on top and experienced the bird’s eye view of the area. Our instructor showed us the route we took from the top and also circled in air the home stays where we started our trek from. What a sense of achievement we all felt.

The trip down was more risky than I thought. We had our heart in our mouth for the initial 1 hour. Myself, Ritika (12 year old daughter of one of my colleague) and Revankar headed the group and we had personal agenda of being at the lead during the whole trip. Trust me, it was great fun in doing that. :-)

We reached our base camp at 4 pm for lunch! and in very good time since ½ hour post that it started pouring heavily. Should I call that a bonus? Indeed! Team from Outback India were sweet enough to arrange for some nice hot pakoras and bhajis alongwith some coffee. What fun!

We had few team building games before we assembled back for campfire and a dance party. Post dinner at 2330 hrs, we had the option of night trek. Only two of us opted for it. The rules for the night trek were no talking and no carrying of torches! We were supposed to walk in the moonlight and to our amazement; we could actually see a lot of stuff without any artificial light! We heard all kind of spooky noises and for once I was really scared :-) and talks of various strategies we needed to adopt just in case a wild animal passes off was just worsening our fears. My shoe laces were open and I was in no mood to stop and tie it up. LOL …..Anyways, we were back to the base camp safe and sound and tucked ourselves in bed. We slept like a log.

I woke up early the next day, and found no water in our washrooms. We learnt that the pipe which gave the water supply from the falls to the home-stay got damaged in the rains the previous night! So we were instructed to change and freshen up with the available stored water and start off for our rope activities. The group was again divided into three with one team leader.

We had rappelling, commando bridge and bungee rope game. For rappelling instead of a mountain which had got wet and slippery with the rains, rope was tied off a 35 feet tall tree. We were given a zoomer, gri-gri, carabiner and ropes for rappelling. From each team 3 people were supposed to participate with participation of 1 lady a must and for the rest 2 activities the entire team was to participate. This was my first rappelling experience and truly speaking the technique confused me. But somewhere midway in the air I got a hang of it and made it to the top of the tree! Damn…it was hard but a great experience.

Post the games we rushed back to our rooms, and thankfully the water supply had restored by then. We washed and changed and packed our stuff. Our lunch was arranged in Kemmangundi, 8 km drive uphill.

Post our lunch we started off for Bangalore. Nice breezy weather followed by rain coupled with Kishore Kumar retro songs made our day. I had a terrible headache by then so I decided to a pop a pill and get some sleep while the team engaged in antakshari, the music game. We reached Bangalore around 1930 hrs while I reached home by 2130 hrs after securing some stuff at the office which I carried for the trip. Having no strength or patience to eat I hit the sack and funny enough I found myself discussing the intricate techniques and ways to follow to make trek easy, in my dreams….

Technically my first adventurous trek (long time back I did 11 km on roads in Ooty with my school friends which I now will call a walk and not a trek!). Well, all in all it was a super trip, super memories fringed with some super cool camera shots!

Do good unto others what you want others do unto you

2007-05-07T22:21:00.000-07:00

A nice story ..

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay,for his hungry stomach, decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. Onthe way through school, he found he had only one thin dime left and he wasvery hungry.

However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened thedoor.Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. The woman thought he looked hungry, so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?" "You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us,never to accept pay for a kindness." He said..."Then I thank you from my heart."

Year's later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled.They finally sent her to the big city,where they called in specialists to studyher rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation.When he heard thename of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes.Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see her.He recognized her at once.

He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to saveher life,from that day he gave special attention to the case.After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office topass the final bill to him for approval.He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. The woman feared opening it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words..."Paid in full with one glass of milk." Signed, Dr.Howard Kelly. Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: Thank You,God,that Your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands."

Love quotes ;-)

2007-05-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

Be close with someone
Who makes you happy.
But be closer with someone
Who can’t be happy without you

****************************
U cant make some love you
All you can do is to be someone
Who can be loved
The rest is upto the person
To realize your worth….

****************************
The purpose of relationship
Is not to have someone
Who is complete
But to have someone
With whom you can be complete

****************************
You can live without the person
Who says “u r mine”
But u cannot live without someone
Who says “I am yours”

jus' li' that!

2007-05-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

2 imp things to remember in life...

don't take any decisions when you are angry
don't make any promises when you are happy...

What is your nerd type?

2007-05-04T03:48:00.000-07:00

Hey I recently visited Kumar's blog (a vistor on my blog space) and found this time pass kool stuff...check it out :-) ......well below what you see is my test result...hmm, i can see few friends of mine arching eyebrows and saying...wo! this test works ;-)

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Drama Nerd You sure do love the spotlight and probably have a very out-going and loud personality. Or not. That's just a stereotype, of course. Participation in the theatre is something to be very proud of. Whether you have a great voice for musicals, or astounding skills for dramas/comedies; keep up the good work. We need more entertainment these days that isn't television and video games (not that these things are bad, necessarily.)
Literature Nerd
Social Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Anime Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Musician
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

jus' li' that!

2007-05-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

"If you want something you never had,
do something you have never done.

Don't go the way life takes you.
Take the life the way you go.

And remember you are born to live and
not living because you are born."

(above is a direct take from a wallpaper)

Unleash your mind

2007-05-03T20:11:00.001-07:00

I had an interesting meeting with a representative from iDiscoveri, an enterprise founded by alumni from Harvard, XLRI and IIT. Having presence in Bangalore, Gurgaon and Mumbai, this company has a unique vision of reviving the education scenario in India. Though the objective of my meeting was corporate driven but I was quite impressed with innovative ideas that form the very basis of this enterprise. So thought of blogging about it.

Well, the team here besides organizing summer camps for kids with activities meant for holistic learning and development, also design curriculum for different schools partnered with them. The curriculum is framed on the basic premise of “mind receives well what it “sees” in comparison to what one “hears”.” The teachings and learning is more project and practical oriented for students to comprehend and receive well.

They also conduct workshops for teachers; subjects related to parenting; environment related, corporate programs like leadership skills etc.,

You can logon to www.idiscoveri.com for more details.

Slow sinking of the ship?

2007-05-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

Well, the answer lies with the Captain (pun intended). Low fares are easy to draw in people but what is being done to retain them?

I was on a 21:30 hrs flight from Chennai to Bangalore last night. No points for guessing the flight was delayed as usual. We landed in Bangalore at 02:30 hrs! The Chennai airport with roughly around 100+ wailing kids, distressed parents and sleepy other co-passengers, waiting endlessly for their wait to end.

There were smart announcements (read cheap tricks) of delayed flight, every time by 45 minutes. Do they think customers are fools? Or is it that they are playing a game of patience with the customers? The passengers were left at their own plight not even a single blue and yellow uniformed staff was there to give the correct information. Ill staffed and ill trained, the staff looked least bothered. Perhaps, they have got well conditioned.

This is not the first time, since I have heard at different point in time people cribbing. With 360+ flights running during the day, even a single customer like me decides not to fly with this service provider.....on every flight, every day…. The Captain has a reason to worry.

It was a noble business strategy to make the flights economical for the aam aadmi but not at the cost of his/her time and patience please!

Top 10 brands globally………

2007-04-30T02:51:00.000-07:00

Article that I read on the net didnt explain further the criteria for selection....but the results are as mentioned under....

Google
GE
Microsoft
Coco Cola
China Mobile
Marlboro
Wal Mart
Citi
IBM
Toyota

4/9 for Australia

2007-04-29T02:50:00.000-07:00

In 9 years of World cup history (the first world cup was played in 1975 in England), Australia has won 4 matches. And 2007 victory is Hatrick for Australia! What is it that they are doing right and we Indians wrong? Don’t we practice enough? Or is it something else? My personal opinion is that we lack the killing spirit…. The do or die attitude which drives you to push yourself and give the best and may be team spirit as well? Not sure though.

India’s exit from World cup this year has been quite disgraceful. It’s high time we identify our weak link and act on it.

Mr. Alphonso and Ms. Kessar get their visa clearance

2007-04-28T02:32:00.000-07:00

It is mixed emotions for me. On one hand India clears the irradiation test for its maangas (read mangoes) hence placing itself on the exporter list after 18 years. Following which now Americans get a taste of ‘raja’ of the Indian fruits. Other markets like Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand have also opened up much to the joy of mango producers. Reliance which can make business out of dust, if they have their way, have said to have planted 1 lakh mango saplings in Jamnagar, Gujarat and will be exporting mangoes worth Rs.30 crore to the US this year!

Well, I am also compelled to think as a consumer. Will mangoes get dearer? I suppose so. There has been a stark rise in prices for varieties of mangoes over the last few years owning to low supply. Exporting mangoes will directly affect the price of remaining percentage of mangoes kept for domestic market. Soon we will know!

Anyways, nothing can stop me from biting into juicy mangoes or for that matter sipping the elixir called mango shake… summers without mangoes…..nah!

What a shame!

2007-04-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

An international event was organized at Palace Grounds in Bangalore with 40 countries and 200 delegates as paid participants. People traveled across miles only to find they were all duped. Palace ground lay silent with its sprawling ground with no signs of event set up or the organizers themselves. Frantic calls to the organizer ended up futile.

Besides waste of money and time for the participants, think of the image of India that stays tarnished in their minds, now forever! Strict action should be taken against such defaulters and overseas participants’ interest safeguarded.

Earth has got company

2007-04-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

With the news flashing about discovery of a planet by few European astronomers, I raced ahead in time and thought of the possible scenario. 20.5 light years from now a life beyond earth?

Going by mythology, earth will be destroyed completely and give birth to a new start / fresh beginning or for that matter going by scientific discoveries that brings forth the repercussions of challenges like global warming, increase in population etc; year 2050 is predicted to be the end of everything living. Should we then look at an alternate locale for living?

The new planet is said to be the closest to what earth is. Well would it be all rose at Gliese 581? Would our future generation reside there? Would they breathe free air or walk around with oxygen masks? Would the Earth pick up everything from scratch and rebuild? Would there be rockets flying in and out carrying travelers between GL 581 and earth? Would there be Mittal equivalent in Gliese thinking of a M&A with a Arcelor equivalent on Earth? Would there be Hollywood part II and Bollywood part II at Gliese? Hmmm….well, I might not be there to witness any of it or should I say I would be…..if we were to believe there is a life after life?

it always starts from you...

2007-04-26T01:07:00.000-07:00

Two very cool videos on global warming and water planet ..... http://www.leonardodicaprio.com/ ......

virtual green house on lexus' website http://www.vfvirtualgreen.com/

Preview of Al Gore's The Inconvenient Truth ... http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2078944470709189270

Check 'em out!

The heat is on

2007-04-25T00:16:00.000-07:00

New Delhi without winters, a ferry ride to the Gateway of India, an island within Chennai, drought in Cherrapunji are few of the scenarios we can expect to witness if global warming is not arrested or slowed down soon.

Disappearing grassland, perishing cattle and wild life, infertile lands, low agricultural produce, floods, droughts and earthquakes will become the order of the day.

It is said that 2035 is said to be the year when the Himalayan glaciers would totally melt and vanish causing catastrophic disruptions. Vector borne diseases, like dengue and malaria, are expected to rise sharply across India as changes in temperature makes it conducive for mosquitoes to thrive. Heat stress would cause deaths. In the past 150 years, the 11 hottest years were witnessed since 1995.

India probably is the least polluting country as compared to US, Australia and the other EU countries.

What is the conclusion of the meetings conducted by the UN backed Inter Government Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)? I don’t think we want to hear anymore about the catastrophic scenarios. We all know it already, don’t we? I stay in the silicon valley of India and how many times have I heard the old timers complaint of the deteriorating weather conditions, high level of pollution, etc. The reason is so simply evident!

It has to, has to be joint effort of all countries coming together not only to have board room style meeting but also to honor the commitments made.

It’s high time we get into solution mode. US is still not being a part of the Kyoto Protocol… can somebody shake the giant up! Why are we suffering because someone else decides to turn a nelson’s eye to the problem and sit over it…. Yeh?

Propagating ‘The Ant Philosophy’

2007-04-24T23:28:00.000-07:00

I think everybody should study ants. They have an amazing four part philosophy…….

First, ants never quit. That’s a good philosophy. If they are headed somewhere and you try to stop them; they look for another way. They will climb over, they will climb under, they will come around. They keep looking for another way. What a neat philosophy, to never quit looking for a way to get where you are supposed to go.

Second, ants think winter all summer. That’s an important perspective. You can’t be so naïve, as to think summer will last forever. So ants are gathering their winter food, in summer.

The third part of the ant philosophy is that during the winter, ants remind themselves, “this will not last long; we will soon be out of here.” And the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they will dive back down, but then they come the first warm day. They can’t wait to get out.

And here’s the last part of the ant philosophy. How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All that he possibly can! Be like the ant. Go ahead, do all you can!

(article as appeared in news daily…)…

Different Perspectives

2007-04-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my garden. My kids see flowers for Mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.

When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away. My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile right back.

When I hear music I love, I know I cant carry a tune and don’t have much rhythm so I sit self consciously and listen. My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don’t know them, they make up their own.

When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk. My kids close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.

When I pray, I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that. My kids say, “ Hi God,! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry I don’t want to go to heaven yet. I would miss my Mommy and Daddy.”

When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets. My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross, and worms to play with.

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize that they were the big things.

(article as appeared in a news daily.....)

India to witness job downpour?

2007-04-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

Only two days back I got talking to two of my friends from the banking industry about the RBI policies and the opening of the banking sector in 2009. And the possible M&A between Barclays and ABN Amro makes headlines today. It’s a good move by Barclays to enter the market and be visible for next two years before the sector opens up in April 2009. Current policy by RBI doesn’t allow any new entrant to get into retail business without having a rural presence. A bank like Barclays, one of the largest financial services company from UK would possibly not want to dilute it image by entering the rural market at this point in time.

By acquiring ABN Amro, Barclay also might be looking at strengthening its position vis-à-vis the other players in the market like Standard Chartered, Citibank and Deutsche Bank of which Deutsche bank is said to be sitting pretty in the wealth management segment.

Year 2009 is going to be exciting. We will possibly have fewer but larger banks with M&As hitting headlines quite frequent. All said, it will rain jobs in India. The fresh batches at business schools can possibly look at career in the banking industry which would be “the industry” of 2009 as they pass out.

Technorati...

2007-04-23T03:37:00.000-07:00

Technorati Profile

jus' li' that!

2007-04-23T03:19:00.000-07:00

the balloon of hope gets deflated by the prick of reality

Are the global manufactures still finding India attractive?

2007-04-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

In the hindsight the reason you had global companies setting up their manufacturing plants in India was the low cost of production. Looking ahead or for that matter looking at the conditions now, will it remain the case or the companies would look at a different destination altogether?

>Real estate prices are on a constant raise.
> With a restraint on increase of production capacity and imports, the cement prices are expected to be directed north for times to come.
> Another reason for the rise in cement price could be the high cost of production. The fossil fuel such as coal is getting depleted. But the demand for it remains high, directly affecting its cost thereby. The energy requirement for the country will up by 270,000 MW of electric power by 2030 as against the current 130,000 MW capacity! The power cost is on a rise for sure!
> There is dearth of quality workers.
> The wages have upped by almost 30-40% this year.

The real estate prices are not expected to go down neither the cement industry looks like will cow down. The infrastructure costs rocket will surely not plummet. The 2006 figures show a 8.9% unemployment in India. We definitely need to create more jobs but how?

VFM and VFT

2007-04-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

Yeah…its Value for Money (VFM) and Value for Time (VFT) for the recent 3 movies I watched on the big screen. Offbeat and refreshing parallel cinema.

The Namesake: based on a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri and directed by our very talented Mira Nair is a simple movie touching upon cross cultural differences, the Indian heritage and value system etc. The story pans between Kolkatta and the New York where the brand new couple move and start their life together. With Tabu and Irfan at their usual best, this movie is a must watch.

Provoked: Inspired by a true life incident where a wife kills her abusive husband post he pushes her to the brink of misery. Jag Mundhra, a fresh NRI director certainly deserves an applause for handling the sensitive subject like this and making it reach a form it truly deserved. Aishwarya proved for once that she has it in her. Brilliant acting. Naveen Andrews will make audience hate him to the core, so certainly he did his job well. Again a must watch.

Bheja Fry: What a refreshing change! You will simply love it. Directed by a fresh director from Mumbai, this movie is filled with moments to tickle your funny bone (if you have one!). Vinay surely takes the cake. The detailing with which he played his role is simply marvelous. A talented Ranveer got completely wasted in this movie. Though the movie is a direct take from a French movie Le Diner De Cons (The dinner game) you must not miss this hilarious flick. Time to unwind and release some stress.

Waiting On The World To Change

2007-04-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

On my way to office today I was listening to Radio indigo when they played John Mayer’s ‘Waiting on the world to change’, Grammy winning first single released from John Mayer's 2006 studio album, Continuum.

Being the philosophical me, I got thinking yet again….Well, you cannot change the world around you or the way things function. Not always will things move at the pace you would like. There are times one gets bogged and frustrated. But atleast you are in your control. I would rather look around than wanting to change the world!

I have and will keep believing the fact that ‘you are in a situation just because want to be there’. Happy things happen around you if you are positive. Mantra is to understand the human factor, their pulse and your willingness to understand. You can either change the situation or let go depending on the degree of seriousness of the issue. Just like charity begins at home, change also needs to take place somewhere deep within you.

But keep evolving always and contribute the best of you, to you, to your dear ones and to the nation. Don’t leave things to others for others might be doing the same!

Why renewables?

2007-04-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

There is an increased need of resorting to green and renewable resources of energy in combination with the traditional use of fossil fuels. Energy scenario today shows an estimated requirement of 400,000 MW of electric power against the present generation capacity of 130,000 MW by year 2030 in order to achieve energy independence. Renewable energy will never run out and is available to all individuals in equal amounts regardless of their location. It is reliable and economical form of energy that can be tapped and efficiently used on a long term basis. Renewable sources of energy from biomass, wind, wave, tidal, solar and hydro are the future of heat and power generation. Renewable resources are the key to guaranteeing long term security of supply, fulfilling rural diversification opportunities and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Ener-G

2007-04-19T02:34:00.000-07:00

From a technology company where everyday all I heard was something related to coding, software, security et all to a renewable energy company, where each day what I hear is subjects like sustainable development, environment, non conventional sources of energy, systems…. it has been an interesting transition from a software company to SunTechnics.

I have been reading about the energy sector and thought would share my views…

We all dream of being citizens of a self sufficient country. We felt proud on going nuclear. But, as far as energy scenario in India is concerned, there is a long way to go.

There are thousands of villages that are still un-electrified. There are millions of homes in the urban area who witness scheduled or unscheduled power cuts. There are n numbers of industries concerned about their rising electricity bills. To bridge the gap between energy supply and demand, more energy generating engines are required. However, more generators would mean requirement for more fuel, which itself is getting scarce. Burning fuel also means emission of harmful gases into the environment resulting in global warming which in turn results in causing natural disasters.

Distressing situations like this have forced both developed and developing countries to sit up and debate on the future of energy security. A sudden need of identifying alternate source of energy has surfaced. ‘Renewables’ is no longer an alien subject in the west, yet to pick up in India.

Interesting news for you could be that India is the only country which has a ministry that is responsible for the promotion of renewable energies. It’s called The Indian Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources (MNES). MNES has set for itself a goal of supplying about ten percent of the total power demand from renewable energies by 2012.

The team here at SunTechnics shares a common dream of giving back to the environment, energy in all possible non-conventional forms and fosters an eco friendly self-sustaining energy ecosystem.

Well I cant even say let’s wait and watch how fast this positive turnaround happens…for in future I do see us- ‘the common man’ playing a key role in just not conserving energy but generating it too!

Signing off at a happy thought of picturing the future generation staying in a greener and cleaner space….

Cheers!

Reinventing thyself

2007-04-19T02:18:00.001-07:00

15th April, 07, its Vishu today, a day signifying advent of New Year. As I sit in my apartment, there are people around yet I am lost in the labyrinth of what I can call my own world of thoughts.

I am forced to write about what I am thinking right now. It’s about reinventing the self. So many times it happens that one gets caught in the rigmarole of the daily life and loose out on the perspective. Perspective of living. The bigger calling, I would call it. Sometimes a need arises to stop and introspect. Steer the way back to course.

It is very painless to cuddle up to your comfort zone. Equally turbulent to tread the unknown lonely path. But the choice has to be made. I find myself to be a big hypocrite at times. I keep saying I cannot survive in placid environment yet there are times I have just done that. Thankfully I have had messengers – ‘god sent’ I must say who remind me of the bigger calling in life.

Jet ko mila Sahara

2007-04-17T02:14:00.000-07:00

The much speculated M&A of the year 2007 gets it to its final state. Having holding the larger market share Jet’s decision to buy out Sahara ensures its uno position for longer times to come. What was the need now? It made sense then. But Kingfisher backed out long back. In lieu of the fact that Government is not giving any additional rights to fly, Sahara justifies the union by saying it’s a win-win considering the fact that Jet get additional flight to run between lucrative Delhi- Mumbai sector on a platter plus other logistical benefits. How much I wish to jump into Goyal’s mind and understand for myself the real thought that went behind before signing the dotted line!

Year bygone..

2007-03-28T04:34:00.000-07:00

It’s my birthday today and amidst numerous phone calls I sit reminiscing over the year bygone. A year eventful with memories good and bad. No matter how inconsequential, instrumental in making the ‘me’ as I stand today. Wait…am I getting all philosophical? Cos I have no intentions to! Birthdays are just way of telling you that though you are getting wiser but it necessarily doesn’t mean that you have to act one ;-)

Europe!!

2006-11-19T01:55:00.000-08:00

Technorati Profile
It was an official trip for me to Hamburg from Bangalore, India but I had already on my agenda a short personal backpack tour to Paris and Vienna besides sightseeing in Hamburg of course.

After a short stop-over at Frankfurt, I finally arrived in Hamburg early morning around 10 am. Hamburg, city of lakes which has the 2nd largest number of population in Germany after Berlin bore a deserted look and I was told that it is because it was a Sunday, the rest day.

I took a cab from the airport for Hotel Berlin, where my accommodation was arranged for a week. Hotel Berlin does not quite live upto its 4 star image. Extremely small rooms but courteous staff. Junges is a fairly nice hotel on the same road as Hotel Berlin and is closer to the main train station. I stayed there for few days and found it comfortable.

My chauffeur from the airport to the hotel was an African guy, bitten by ‘enthusiasm’ and later may be by a ‘laughter’ bug, since he chatted nineteen to a dozen and laughed at the end of every second sentence. I tried concentrating on the roads and kept asking him about different interesting structures and places that I saw.

It was my first visit out of the country and for a new person it can be intimidating at times especially when you have nobody known to talk to and especially when you find roads deserted and markets closed. For working people who love shopping, Hamburg can be quite a disappointment since shops are open till around 7 pm on weekdays; till 4 pm on Saturdays and closed on Sundays. I was quite surprised to learn that shops did not open as a special case on Sundays during the world cup. Germans are rich people. What else can I say!

After having checked in at the hotel and a quick shower I decided to get out on street and absorb “Hamburg.” The main train station called the hauptabahnof was 15 minutes walking distance from my hotel. It is a good idea to keep your camera handy with you when you move out, which is what I did. I reached hauptabahnof taking several photo shots on the way. Many a times I had this strange feeling of getting mugged on that lonely street! Knock wood nothing of that sort happened nor did anybody warm me to ‘be safe’. Hamburg is safe to walk around but still be wary since weird people exist everywhere.

The breeze was biting cold. Thankfully I had wrapped myself in layers. Winter sets in during October month; hence I was suggested to carry lots of warm clothing. Hamburg is quite known to have an unpredictable weather. I myself witnessed extremely moist foggy winter day just a day after full sunshine.

Hauptabahnof looked like any mall from India. 'Huge' with array of colorful shops. I enquired and somehow located the bus service spot. I paid Ihan (name of the tourist bus guide), 19 Euros and secured a window seat on top level of the bus. You get a better view from top and if you manage to get the front most seats on top even better. There was one stop-over at St Michael’s church during this two and half hour of sightseeing. Ihan spoke both in German and English. The only challenge was by the time he started describing in English we would have had already crossed the place he was describing about. He told us that the average income of German is a whooping amount of 76k Euros! I enjoyed each bit of this city trip. At least Hamburg did not look dead to me anymore.

I was quite tired and sleepy by the end of the sightseeing trip; I decided to call it a day and hit the sack very early. Though there isn’t much time difference between Germany and India (Germany is behind by 3.5 hrs) I found it difficult to get into German time for first few days, resulting I had longer days than anybody else.

At work, week one had days filled with training sessions. It was quite interesting to meet and observe people from various parts of the world- Singapore, Korea, Brazil, California, Italy and Belgium. I made friends almost instantly with my colleagues from Korea and Italy. We all got together for a common lunch on day one where we went to mensa (army mess) very close to office/ hotel Berlin. Mensa did not look any less than a restaurant on Church Street of Bangalore. We also went out for a common evening on day two of our stay to a restaurant named Casino. Few of us from the Asia Pacific region were quite disappointed to find it a plain eating place and not the ‘real’ casino. But I was told that there are few of those in the city.

I ordered the safest dish on the menu for the evening- Gnocchi but the surprise element was the ripe banana split into two halves which came as a dressing over my main dish. My colleague from Korea ordered a flat noodle dish soaked in orange juice (and I thought my dish was most interesting). But you need not worry as yet; there are joints to suit the oriental taste buds that you can explore.

A typical lunch dish can cost you around 3 to 5 Euros while a dinner can be anything between 7 to 30 Euros. The water comes with a fizz and doesn’t come free even with your lunch or dinner. People indulge in mixed beer here. I was amused to know about ‘Alster’, the mixed beer. Mixed beer has a different name in the south of Germany. You get alster by mixing beer with Sprite, coke and even fanta. No wonder beer is more popular than water and also legally allowed to be consumed on streets anytime of the day!

There were many eateries in and around my office complex. But these opened only during the day and that too just around the lunch time. Guess they did not make too much business out in the night since there were not too many residents around that area; just few hotels with tourists struggling to find a new eating joint each new day. You can count me in when I say ‘struggling tourists.” But if you go to places like Reeperbahn you will have array of eating joints, pubs and discotheques. Reeperbahn is also infamous for having a red light area.

Thanks to my friend back home who managed to find some link who could be of some local help to me in Hamburg, I could do a bit of detailed sightseeing (not just from the bus). We sat near the Alster Lake situated in the middle of a busy commercial area. Post this we took the S bahn and reached the harbor.

The train systems can be a bit confusing for a newcomer but once you get a hang of it, it’s fairly easy. The ticket vending machine has directions in German language, so it is imperative to have a local with you else you might get lost. Even the directions inside the station are in German so if you are traveling alone you might have to trust your judgment and do some guess work. But I must admit the train systems are really good and impeccable.

There were few ships docked at the harbor and it was a sight in itself to see those larger than life built structures from up-close. It was more than nippy that night since the wind from the North Sea was ice cold. We were hungry. We got packed French La Crepes (with banana and chocolate sauce) and got into the ferry for a ride. It tasted awesome and I was looking forward to have more of it in Paris which I was visiting the coming weekend.

We chose to take the upper floor under the star ceiling. We got off after 15 minutes to take a ride back to our original point. We had an interesting meeting with two ladies at the stop while we were waiting for the ferry for a ride back. Both were ausleanders (foreign residents in Germany) to Hamburg and hailed from other parts of Germany. I was surprised to hear them say that they found Hamburg a much closed community in terms of people being hesitant in giving apartments for rent to ausleanders; accepting gay couples and so on so forth..

Bollywood and Shahrukh Khan are almost synonymous for Germans. The TV channels broadcast Hindi movies some times and they are mostly Shahrukh movies. Else you will see only German programs on the television here except for one news channel that is broadcasted in English. After having exchanged few interesting facts and snippets about India and Germany (Hamburg in particular) we bid adieu to the two ladies and got in our ferry.

People travel to work in these ferries besides other modes of transport like cars and bikes. You will find quite a few swanky looking two-seater cars on street and a separate lane clearly marked for bike riders.

After the ferry ride we took the U bahn and reached the Hauptabahnof. It was well past dinner time. We packed a pummes-doner (chicken with finger chips) from a Turkish joint for our dinner. The portions here are fairly huge. A mini pummes doner was equal to a large portion. So if you are not too hungry you know now what portion to order.

Hamburg is fairly an expensive city. The airfares are cheaper than the train fares. One way fare from Vienna to Hamburg was around 120 Euros on an economy flight. The WGs (shared rented apartment pronounced as waygeys) will cost you around 250-350 Euros for a single room with shared kitchen and bath and that too in a not so posh area.

If you are thinking of shopping at Hamburg you can go to the famous fisch market (fish market) on Sunday early mornings which has other exhibits besides fish and that too at a reasonable price or you can go to the city centre near to the Hauptabahnof where you will have numerous options. For souvenirs Tea embassy at Hauptabahnof is a good bet (it is located near the entrance where you have the Nike outlet).

If you go to the city centre do not miss to taste some fish and chips from ‘fish and chips’. And for those who indulge in all sorts of meat should taste the typical German food called Curry Wurst. Wurst is the German translation for Sausage made of all kinds of mixed meat and is a considered to be a delicacy. Before leaving India people had suggested me to carry few packed ready-to-eat food. But I would not suggest it in case you are open to experiment with food and want to ‘experience the city’ through food. Non meat eaters don’t fret as yet even the vegetarians have some respite.

I enjoyed my each day at Hamburg to the hilt and found Germans quite warm, friendly and helpful. I guess the ausleanders might have a different story to tell but visiting Hamburg can be fun.

I had booked tickets on euro rail from India. It costs you a bomb if you book tickets in Germany or anywhere in Europe. Almost cent percent more that what you will pay in India. I got myself booked tickets for Paris and Vienna for the one weekend I had in Europe before I left for India. So my plan was Hamburg-Paris-Vienna-Hamburg via train. Geographically it was not an intelligent thing to do because I ended up spending most of the time in the train. But my idea was to experience as many places in the best possible way so that next time when I have more time on hand I know exactly where I would love to spend time more.

Mine was a typical backpack trip on a shoe string budget. I did not book myself into any hotel. I spent the night in the train traveling and spent the day sight seeing. You can also book yourself into bed and breakfast (B&B) kind of places where you can rent a place for 1 hour before you set on street.

I reached Paris, the fashion city early morning on a Saturday. The first thing I would suggest when you are traveling in a new city without a local guide is to locate the tourist information centre. Almost all the stations had a centre like this that could help you with a map and some local guidance. It is always a good idea to have at least a rough itinerary with you to enable you to ask specific questions and also avoiding wasting time in last minute planning. You can plan places you would like to visit etc via internet.

The underground rail (metro/bahns) is the fastest and the cheapest way to commute. Best will be to understand to read the map well. The train stations are fairly complexly built in Paris and you can be easily lost. For those who haven’t been exposed to the metros the easiest way to understand the map and the route is if you are traveling from A to B and you need to get down at X, check where X is from where you are currently located. If it on the way to A follow the direction on platform that shows A or vice versa. Cross over / changing lane is also easy if you have a map with you. All lines are marked in different colors and are numbered.

I visited the famous Notre Dame, Arch de Triumph, Eiffel tower and the famous Louvre. You need whole one day to see this art museum perhaps my only regret while in Paris since I didn’t have that much time with me. I am saving the Louvre for my next trip. There is an underground shopping mall with eating joints etc around the Louvre that you can check out as well. For the foodies, area around Arch de Triumph can also be a good option since there are multiple brasseries.

Forewarning to people visiting France, French people do not like non French speaking people and can get unpleasant to the extent of getting rude. Luckily I did not meet too many of them and surprisingly kept bumping into Indians. You have a souvenir shop near the Eiffel owned by a Gujarati, named Sajid who was quite helpful. You are also advised to take special care of your belongings especially your passport since there are frequent mugging cases in Paris.

After spending few hours in Paris I set off for Vienna. Something in my heart said that I would love Vienna and that is what truly happened. Vienna is a beautiful city with water canals running parallel to most of the roads, with colorful flower beds on road dividers and pleasant people.

Walking around and finding a direction on Vienna train station is simpler than that in Paris. I had read about the hop on and hop off bus service in Vienna. So after collecting the maps from the tourist information centre I headed for the State Opera the starting point for the sight seeing bus services. I took the U Bahn.

You have two options for bus service. You can either take a three hour tour with a guide with 1-2 stop over and costing around 36 Euros or you can opt for the hop on and hop off bus service costing 20 Euros which allows you to get off at the destination you choose and catch the next bus service (of same provider) after an hour or as per the schedule. I opted for the latter. You are given a ticket and the bus schedule. You have red line bus, blue line bus and a green line bus covering different routes and tourist spots. The bus starts at 1000 hrs and service till 1800 hours.

There is absolutely no way you will know which line (color) is the bus since there are no paint marks on the bus for identification. Hence, you just ask before getting into the bus. And all these buses start from State opera and return to the same spot right after 1 hour after dropping/ picking people from various spots.

I took the red line and got off at St Stephan’s Cathedral. Huge and magnificent. The cathedral is equally magnificent from inside. You can light up candles and also drop in your prayers in a drop box. There are multiple souvenir shops around the cathedral, so you can visit few of those before its time to catch the next bus. The cost range for any souvenir started from 3 Euros, which holds true for Hamburg and Paris. After picking few souvenirs I headed for the bus stop. You have clearly marked bus stops for hop on and hop off buses. So there is no question of getting lost.

I got off at Opera and took the green line to see the Schonbrunn and Belvedere. Both have two hours of stop so you can plan a quick lunch at one of these places since they both have eating joints within the complex. Schonbrunn is a beautiful palace citing history about Austrian art, culture, music and of course the royals. It was said that Mozart was a favorite musician of Maria Theresa the queen. You have multiple options of checking out the palace- short tour/ full palace tour only/ palace and garden tour etc. I took the 35 minutes Imperial tour which was the shortest tour of all. As you enter you get a walkie information system that serves dual purpose of giving you information about the palace as you wander and also tracking you for security reason. You can choose your language on the walkie. There is a nice souvenir shop inside the palace complex where you can pick the typical Austrian bells that most of have seen in Hindi bollywood movies. Vienna was cold while Paris was warmer. I decided to have hot cuppa coffee with some snacks overlooking the magnificent palace. It’s an experience beyond words.

Belvedere which means beautiful view truly lives upto its name, for it has gorgeous manicured gardens and view of almost all famous sites and monuments in Vienna. Fine collections of paintings have been preserved in this museum. The entrance will cost you 9 Euros and 3 euros additional if you would like to know more about Austrian art and how different it if from German art etc on a walkie. You will find here, glimpses of Klimt art- in paintings, in souvenir shops etc. You have a shop inside and one across the street opposite to the museum where you can pick up nice scarves, hand bags, with the famous Klimt’s The Kiss printed on it, notepads, info booklets, painted stones etc. Just that you will have to lighten your purse strings a bit.

I got back to the State Opera and got in a blue line bus with an intention of sight seeing from the bus. I saw and captured on my camera the Giant Ferris Wheel and the Danube Tower. The Halloween preparation was in the air as I found huge pumpkins decorated along with flowers on side walks and dividers. Though Halloween is an American concept but it is finding popularity in other western countries as well.

After spending the whole day at Vienna I headed back for Hamburg since I had few more days at office before leaving for India. All my shopping was done except for chocolates which I planned to pick from the duty free shop at the airport. My colleagues gave me Lebkuchen- a German cookie as a parting gift along with some Yogi tea! All in all it was a great and memorable trip to Europe and I am looking forward to visiting and ticking off many more places on the world map soon.

Few handy tips:
-Keep multiple copies of your passport and visa
-Keep copies of the photograph as it appears in the visa
-Banks will be the best place for money exchange
-Be conscious of your belongings
-Take print outs of local language common words from the net to help you communicate
-Chalk out the itinerary well in advance so that you are not lost after landing in the alien country
-Collect maps and all relevant information from the tourist info centre / hotel
-Hotels also have info flyers on activities happening in the month in the city (music, theatre etc)
-Try and arrange for adapters for your electronic items with 3 pins, though the hotels do have them at times. (fyi- The nokia phone charger does not need any adapter and works fine)
-Check out the weather forecast.
-For winters it is a good idea to carry boots/ closed shoes besides other warm clothes.
-If you prefer watching TV then carry DVDs and your laptop. But if you know the local language then no need to worry. All programs get broadcasted in German.
-Do not plan any shopping on Sunday as shops are closed except for the souvenir shops.

A day at SOCARE

2006-09-19T02:24:00.000-07:00

Technorati Profile
SOCARE, Society’s care for Indigents is home for 70 odd kids coming from different backgrounds. Background- some dark, some grave.

SOCARE took birth in the mind of Mr. V Mani during his days as a banker at RBI. He used to pass the central jail on his way to the office and often was left wondering while looking at the waiting mothers and kids of convicts, the life of these kids. Post retirement, Mani decided to invest all his savings and retirement benefits to start SOCARE. Mani along with his wife Mrs. Saroji Mani lovingly extended the comforts of their home to indigents, by turning their home into a hostel.

Today there are kids who are provided education, training in extra curricular activities like dance, martial arts, yoga etc at SOCARE. 7 of us when decided to surprise Pradipta on his birthday and spend time at SOCARE, least did we expect “the experience”. It is beyond words, to explain how we all felt.

Aged between 2 to 15 these kids were lively and intelligent too. You will find a wall cabinet full of cups and trophies they won in different streams- education, sports and other activities. We watched them sing, we watched them perform bharatanatyam (a dance form they are getting trained in) and before we all realized we were having a gala time together.

We had major fun post we sat through their compulsory tuition time in the evening. Subash, a ninth class student made me and Kaushal sing all Himesh Reshamaiya’s songs! The nasal song by Kaushal broke them all into peels of laughter. We regretted though not knowing the verse of the songs properly, LOL. While Jadeja was teaching few of them to make a paper camera, Suhasini was breaking her head trying to win a game of chess which ultimately ended at a draw. Supriya was quite amused when Renu whom she was teaching Maths discreetly joined the Himesh Reshmaiya singing group. Deepak thrilled the kids with his giant camera. Pradipta at this moment was probably thinking of adopting all kids! We simply loved them all, Lavanya being my favorite.

We all realized one thing, all these kids needed was love. The authorities of SOCARE, even if they want to shower the kids with love have to restrain just to keep the balance right. They share a common dream of bringing up the kids well, giving them an environment conducive for learning and see them soar heights in life. Hence, like any other parents have to take disciplinary measures. They look up to individuals like us who can come and spend some time with the kids.

We surely are going there back again. If you too are interested, here’s how you can contact them.

Mr. V. Mani/ Mrs. Saroji Mani: 2642, “Desik”, 12th Main, ‘E’ Rajajinagar II Stage (Subramanyanagar) Bangalore- 560 010.
Ph no: 080 3321864 / 3520329

Mr. Anandagopalan (one of the trustee): 82, Bhuvaneswarinagar, C V Raman Nagar, P.O. Bangalore 560 093.
Ph no: 080-5240055

Mrs. Asha Narasimhan (one of the trustee): Ph no: 3320059

Cheers!