Coffee Break

Homage to Mahatma Gandhi

2012-01-30T04:57:00.000-08:00

Today 64th martyrdomday of Mahatma Gandhi’s is being observed in our country. A number of functionsand prayers mark this day where distinguished personalities and spiritualleaders emphasis on imbibing the values taught by the father of the nation. Allthe halal shops are ordered to be closed because Gandhiji believed in non violence.On this day, do not kill the hens which lay golden eggs. Martyrdom Day was alsoobserved in all schools today.

Nestled amongst tall Eucalyptus trees, the children of this school like their counterparts in other schools wereasked to maintain silence for one minute with their heads bent down as a markof respect towards the messiah of peace. ‘Observe silence to pray for the soulof Gandhiji. Observe silence in respect of Gandhi so that we imbibe the values ofnon violence for which he gave up his life,’ the principal had repeated thrice inthe morning assembly. The bell rang at sharp 11. The children and the students gotup from their seats. Those who were already standing froze in their places likestatues. One 10^th grade child had just stepped out of the classroomto walk towards the rest room when the clock struck 11 indicating observance ofsilence by all true countrymen. All thechildren in the play ground stood still with glum expressions, annoyed for obstructingtheir game. This mischievous boy was a man in hurry. Not paying heed to the shrillnoise of bugle he went about jumping here and there. As he walked, he tried tojump higher in his futile attempt to reach for the roof of the corridor obliviousto the fact that PT teacher’s spy eye was watching him.

At the end of one minutewhen the silence stopped and children were allowed to come back to normal, PTteacher pounced on the boy and whipped him with the long thin tail of thewhistle. The louder the child wailed, the harder were the thrashings. Other childrenwatched and looked at the PT teacher with a gratitude for sparing them. Whatwaste if these big boys can’t stand still just for a minute and that too inrespect towards the father of our nation whose values the schools are trying toinstil in them. If they don’t understand now, these children will never learnwhen they grow up and the teachings of Gandhiji will remain mere teachings in thetext books.

Violence in the name of imbibingnon violence! Haven’t we heard actionsspeak louder than words?

What would have Gandhijidone to discipline this child?

Overtly Sentimental Indians

2012-01-22T01:58:00.000-08:00

SalmanRushdie cannot come to India because twenty years ago he wrote something againstcertain Gods. It’s different that mostof these self appointed guardians of God haven’t read the book and those who had thepatience to read 545 page volume need to be applauded for their endurancefirst . These people are very angry withSalman ( I mean Salman Rushdie and not our Sallu). They won’t allow him toenter mere desh ki dharti even if hesays sorry. What is done can’t be undone. We Indians never forget and forgive, and weare overly sentimental and intolerant when anyone says anything bad against ourGods. Ours is a secular and tolerant society, we can tolerate anything but whensomeone speaks against our religion, our language, our caste, our God or our statethen our blood boils.

I tried reading the book twice but could notread beyond chapter 2 but forget about me; I am not the intellectual type. Let’snot digress from the focal point of this piece.

Weban movies because some scenes and dialogues in the movie hurt our sentiments. We Indians are very sentimental you see! MF Hussain was forced to die in exile becausehe painted Gods’ pictures and some people didn’t like what he painted. We can ban books, issue fatwa against whoeverwe want , burn effigies, destroy anything and everything we can lay our handson when we are angry and our government allows us to do it because ours is atrue democracy… the largest democracy in the world. Article 19 -1 –a of the constitution gives uscomplete freedom of expression. Complete freedom you see … simply express madi ! It’sour right to express anger, disapproval, and disagreement and how we express,that is also our choice.

We also don’t shy away from showing our displeasurewhen outsiders want to settle down in our state or don’t speak our language, atleast that they can do it. Why can’tthey go back to the state of their forefathers and live and die there as if anyonecares. Article 19-1-e gives all Indiansthe freedom to reside and settle inany part of the territory of India but we don’t care because we have the privilegeto express our displeasure the way we want to, how we want to and when I wantto ; after all we live in a free democratic society.

SinceSatanic Verses is in news again. I will make another attempt to read it. I hopethis time I can go beyond Chapter 3.

On Turning 18

2012-01-14T23:26:00.000-08:00

Turning eighteen comes with its own anxieties and stresses. There is a constant pressure from friends andfamily to look and behave your age. Eighteen is considered the age when one issupposed to turn into a responsible individual overnight. This is the age when oneneeds to start thinking about the future... blah blah. ‘Society expects certaindecorum from you. The family looks uponyou.’

Well, I am referring to the pressures and anxieties on themother of an eighteen years old son!

Nikhil turned 18 yesterday. I am worried … because

· I won’t get to drive my car.

· I will have to get used to listening todialogues like ‘I am 18, I know what is right for me.’

· I will have to shell out a greater part of mysalary towards his pocket money because ‘Nogirl friends’ rule does not apply after 18

Birthday celebrations were a subdued lot to ensure Nikhildoes well in board (read life).

A close friend called yesterday to wish, ‘It does not lookthat you are mother of an 18 years old!’ Not sure if this was a compliment or advice.

Lunatic in my Head

2011-11-12T23:06:00.000-08:00

The unusual title of the book promptedme to pick this up.‘Two O’clock on anApril afternoon the color of dusk.’ The opening sentence itself gives you ataste of poetic style of writing of Anjum Hasan.

The book opens with the life of FirdausAnsari, a college lecturer of English literature who fails to see any purpose inwhat she is doing. Like Firdaus , thenumerous other ordinary characters in the book Aman , Mr and Mrs Moondy, Ribor,eight years old Sophie who has discovered that she is an adopted child , Mr andMrs Das, timid and insecure Aman who is a civil services aspirant but has his heart is music, go about theirlives wondering at the same time the very profundity of their lives.

Effortlessly written andbeautifully crafted, Lunatic is about the ordinary lives of ordinary people eachone struggling to find its meaning. Thestory unfolds emotion by emotion yet it is a fast moving book. The book virtuallytransports you to Shillong where it is raining and misty all the time. AnjumHassan has reiterated that a good book need not always follow the conventionalroute of proper intro, gradually building of characters, body, conclusion and climax. The description, narration andthe treatment given to the characters rule the roost.

There is no single protagonist in Lunatic. Only in the sequel Neti Neti Not This Not That Sophie Das emerges as the protagonist of the novel. The mistake I made, I read Neti Neti before I read Lunatic.

A thought provoking book which leaves a bitter sweet lingering taste in your mouth making youwonder why most of us fail to takecontrol of our lives .

Home by Manju Kapur : Book Review

2011-09-03T07:55:00.000-07:00

Home is the saga of a big fat Indian joint family of Karol Bagh. The Kahani Ghar ghar ki begins with Banwari lal , a well –to- do cloth merchant is proud of his humble beginning in Lahore in Pakistan. The novel depicts a day in the life of a conservative Indian family of yester years, their behaviour, the elements that guide their behaviour and other fine nuances of their psyche are depicted descriptively thus enabling the reader to actually experience their lives. The epic that spans across four generations portrays the stereotype roles - men have the responsibility to take the family business/ name forward and women to enable it by procreating sons and making sure that the house the men folks return to after a hard day is a home and not just a house. Each one is groomed about his/her role early in life leaving little scope for conflicts.

The story begins well with two sisters Sona and Rupa, former the fair and lovely wife of Yashpal, the elder son of Banwari Lal and the latter a dark plain jane married to Premnath, a junior level government clerk. Banwari Lal’s progeny …two sons and one daughter… Yashpal, Pyarelal and Sunita , their respective spouses beautiful Sona, practical Sushila and jobless drunkard Murli, third generation Raju, Nisha, Vijay , Ajay, Vicky, Pooja, Seema, Rekha , fourth generation Virat , etc etc… the story gets lost in characters. At times the reader finds it difficult to keep track. There is no central character, central characters keep changing.
Manju Kapur very adroitly brings home the crux of joint family structure; the family members stick together and support each other in spite of their differences and internal jealousies. The brothers not only take care of Vicky, their dead sister Sunita’s son , they marry him, perform all the ceremonies for his wife and child in spite of his being the black sheep of the family and an unwanted burden but he is still their own blood and family.

Nisha, the gorgeous only granddaughter like other women of the family is brought up with values that for an ideal woman home, family, kitchen and the children come first and rest everything is farce. Such values may not be relevant today with generation Y even in small orthodox towns. Nisha has to suppress her desires first to study English literature, then to marry the boy of her choice and then to set up her own business. The women are groomed to behave as per the expectations of the family, those who think of going beyond this periphery remain unhappy!!
Did the sexual molestation by Vicky leave a permanent scars on Nisha’s life ? What happens to childless Rupa ? Why does she leave her claim on Nisha to whom she has brought up like her daughter? Such questions remain unanswered. Published in 2006, Home is the first fiction genre by Random House. Overall it is good read, the language used is very simple and the scenes flow naturally and swiftly without giving readers a temptation to turn pages.

The Zoya Factor : Book Review

2011-08-13T01:11:00.000-07:00

Zoya Singh Solanki, a young bubbly advertising executive is a typical dilli wali - aggressive and muh fatt but with a heart of gold. Her lucky charm is unearthed when once she happens to have breakfast with our Indian team (by default the word Indian team implies Indian cricket team). She was born at the exact moment in 1983 when the Indian team clinched its first World Cup. Her lucky charm is confirmed time and again when her breakfast with the team results in their victory and not having leads to defeat. Even before she realizes her own lucky charm , Zoya is not only declared the lucky mascot of Indian Cricket team but the onus of making the team win is thrust on her slender shoulders. She is cajoled to travel with the team to make the country win. Forget her advertising job, an all paid trip to the picturesque locations of Australia with the team for the World Cup is only a small sacrifice for the pride of the country. And apart from a sweet romance between Zoya and the handsome hunk Nikhil Khoda , the captain of the team, what follows is victory after victory. Hurray! By the time you reach the last page, like a true patriotic Indian, it leaves the reader with a lingering feel good feeling.

Anuja's writing is very young and peppy, totally in sync with the current times of generation Y. Cricket being Indian universal fever, the book appeals to all age groups and genders. Ample serving of humour and generous sprinkling of local language and slangs like Kaali Peeli transports you to nayi dilli ki sadke and ajmal kham road ki galia. Will India clinch the world cup this time even if Zoya has returned to her Rohtak road wala ghar leaving the team players to fend for themselves? The minus point of the book is its length, 507 pages. It’s an unending wait to know what happens to Zoya , Nikhil romance - she the damsel in distress and he an knight in blue standing in front of her with a cricket bat in hand – how romantic! It’s the perfect setting for a Hindi blockbuster. Our Hindi film industry thrives on it. Zoya factor is soon to be a major motion picture by Red Chillies Entertainment. It’s any one’s guess- Nikhil Khoda , the handsome hunk will obviously be played by our 43 + but ever charming Shah Rukh Khan but none of our current heroines fits the role of vivacious Zoya .
As you turn page after page with huge font, it is not difficult to picturize Zoya ; she is so much like her creator Anuja Chauhan. The back cover of the book with a chirpy black and white picture of the author ; for sure SRK is already thinking of auditioning Anuja for Zoya's character.

No more Secrets

2011-07-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Just finished reading Secrets and Sins by Jaishree Misra. The theme is quite in line with what I wrote in my previous post, the reason I was tempted to read this book to know ‘what next?’ Jaishree is churning books with the speed unmatched. Her debut book Ancient Promises was the most gripping ; her style of writing is great, she has command over the language and the transition is impressive. But... but... but all the themes sound more or less the same; I can very well predict the story in her next book… secret and sins, secret and lies and now scandalous secrets or something like that …what’s the secret in sticking to the title secret, may be it is the s word. No doubt she is a promising writer provided she cuts down the details and come to the point. The book is too …too long; patience is the key if you want to read the entire book from cover to cover. I left a few pages in between as I wanted to know ‘what next?’ Secret and Sins is of course well edited but there is a typo on one page …doesn’t go with the image of Harper Collins.
Taking a cue from Jaishree’s books, I am now on word deleting spree in my debut book (still a manuscript). My original word length of 130000 words has come down to 94000 but the target is to bring it to 80000, let’s see if I can without killing any characters. There was a time not so long ago when I rejoiced on crossing every 1000 words , now I rejoice when I delete 1000. Didn’t I tell you, it’s all about your state of mind.

Some relations change and still they remain the same

2011-06-30T04:51:00.000-07:00

Boy meets girl. They are the best of friends but neither of the two comes forward and proposes. They adore each other but don’t know their own hearts; exactly the way it happens in Hindi movies. At the right time, both find their Mr and Miss Right and live happily ever after. They live their own lives happily with their respective families …girl with her adorable husband and children and the boy with his lovely wife and kids oblivious to the existence of each other. The past is behind them because there wasn’t any past between them.

One day many many springs later, destiny stage manages to bring them face to face. They meet like two acquaintances trying to give each other a peek into their lives in few hours that they are together. They talk about their aspirations and inspirations. No romantic overtones articulated. Nothing happens but the sparks do fly haywire causing the hearts to flutter in anticipation and desperation. For girl, he was everything she had wanted in her life partner. Subconsciously , he had always been her inspiration. And for him...

Both of them realise they were always meant to be together. What next?

Toastmasters Speech 2 : Organize your speech

2010-08-19T23:58:00.000-07:00

Art of Parenting
There was once a mother who had a school going son. One day the son came back from school and showed a beautiful pencil. The mother asked, “From where did you get this?”
The child replied “Someone had dropped this in the school, I picked it up”
Mother kept quiet. After few days it again happened that he brought home something belonging to someone. The mother again did not say anything. This saga continued in high school, even when in college. One day it was money, next day it was a cell phone. Mother did not bother much though she realized it was not the correct thing to do. Once he was caught while stealing something and taken to police station. When his mother was informed, she rushed to the police station. She was in rage. She gave him a hard slap on the face. The son kept quiet. After few seconds he replied, “I wish you had given me this slap when I brought that pencil home when I was 6 years.”

Fellow Toastmasters and dear guests, Parenting is very challenging responsibility. More challenging in these times when the adage Spare the rod and spoil the child is a cliché and no more relevant. Parenting styles vary from culture to culture and time to time but there are a few principles which remain the same. I have learnt these principles of art of parenting from my children which I am going to share with you today.

When Nikhil, my older son started going to school, he would return from school in the afternoon and go to his room and start playing. I used to get very bugged, I wanted him to come to me, tell me about his school the way all children do but he would simply not talk. One day I asked him, “When you come from school you don’t talk at all, why you don’t tell me what happened in your school. All your friends come home and tell lots of things to their mothers but you don’t”
His simple answer was ‘You can also talk’. I was taken aback listening from 6 years old. His innocent face when he said this is still in front of my eyes.
That was the first lesson I got, I realized why can’t I talk why am I waiting for him to start. My child could be different from other children, why I have to expect the same behavior from him as other children.
All children are different; every child is not an achiever. We should not forget that we as a parent are also not perfect so why hanker after perfection. Every child gives a different experience.

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.

The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them how to ride bicycles. A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard.

Teach your child to take his own decisions in life and be responsible for it. Movie 3 idiots had lot of take aways for parents as well as children. Let them carve their own path in life, we be only the mentor and navigator and not the path finder. We should not impose our decisions on them. We as parents should expose them to multifarious faculties so that they broaden their vision and deepen their roots.
Every child comes to this planet with certain tendencies and basics which cannot be changed. Encourage them to dream but let’s not give them false hopes.

In spite of lecturing them day in and day out there was a time when my children were not very docile and I will have to repeat everything at least three times before they listen. Once I told the younger one, ‘when daddy tells you something you listen immediately where as I keep shouting at you the entire day and no one is bothered.” He replied, “When daddy threatens us with some punishment, he means it but you keep saying but don’t do it so we are not scared of you, we know you only give hollow threats.”
Your child will teach you how you need to discipline him.
That was the time when I had to discipline myself first. Disciplining is a value which is as much required in childhood as much as in adulthood. If you were not disciplined as a child, you cannot be disciplined when an adult and you will have a hard time organizing yourself in life. Discipline is like a fixed deposit; you pay now and reap the benefits through out life. Discipline is not an antithesis to freedom. In fact only a disciplined mind can be free. I have understood this with my 27 years experience in parenting that disciplining does not come with preaching.

If I have to raise my child all over again
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.

We need to practice first and then preach. Walk the talk at home. Children hate sermons. They believe more in action. You cannot say I can do this because I am a parent and you cannot do this because you are a child. You can’t preach “exercise daily, get up and go for jog where as you are happily sleeping.
Good or bad, whatever parents do, children end up adopting many of those habits unconsciously.

My mother had been a working woman all her life. When sweets were distributed in her department on some occasions, she used to bring her share of sweet, divide into three and give to us. It was not we could not afford it but she used to say, I know you like sweets so I didn’t feel like eating without sharing with you. We three sisters used to criticize her ‘why can’t women think about themselves, it is always husband and children.’
Twenty years later when I am a mother and a working woman, I have kept a small box in my desk. Whenever we have a celebration and office boy comes and puts a piece of sweet in front of me, I quietly put in my box and take it home for my two boys to eat. I always think of my mother when I do this.
I realize how children copy parents when they grow up even if they don’t like a part of their behaviour.
If I have to raise my child all over again
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.

I saw some eyes blinking in disbelief when I mentioned that I have 27 years of parenting experience. Yes, you got it right, it is 27 yrs. My older son is 16 years and my younger one is 11. Raising each child is a different experience.

Childhood comes only once, the parenthood also comes only once. Responsible parenting is the best gift you can give to your child. Right parenting determines what your child be in adulthood. Parenting is a great responsibility and we should do whatever best we can to make our children responsible citizens.

Ten Reasons why I admire the West

2010-08-16T01:42:00.000-07:00

Yet another Independence Day (August 15) has come and gone with a culturally bankrupt English movie channel actually having the absence of mind to show a film titled Independence Day (July 4). Read more...

Mysteries of Parenting

2010-08-06T04:11:00.000-07:00

'I am going to give a speech on Arts of Parenting in my Toastmasters club meeting,’ I announced to kids when I reached home.

The house is literally upside down when I reach home in the evening. Literally and not virtually. Kids jumping all over, music full blast, school bags thrown in the living room, smelly socks on sofa, the younger one still in uniform so and so forth. The moment they see me they hurriedly start picking up things running here and there like piglets run on seeing a big cat around.

Coming back to my speech on art of parenting, my two brats have given me creamy rich experience on how to tame the kids.
‘I will start with the lyrics... Give me Some sunshine , give me some rain, give me another chance , I wanna grow up once again,’ I said loudly to grab their attention. None of them was paying any attention to what I was saying.

‘But I am not going to sing the song, I will only speak the lyrics,’ I declared on seeing a bewildered expression on their faces when I grabbed the elder one; the younger one slipped out of my hands.
‘There are various ways to train the children, you see. You need to discipline them, you need to listen to them, pampering is as important as disciplining, don’t give hollow threats, practice and don’t preach, be a friend ….’

None of them was interested in listening to my expert opinion on how to tame the unruly lot.

‘Mom, I have a suggestion.’
I was proud that I have groomed my kids in such a way that even 11 yrs old can give suggestions on better parenting. ‘End it with another version of song that you are crooning. Give me another chance I want to become a better parent once again; mouthing this he sprinted to his room.

‘How creative! That’s the perfect way to end your speech,’ said my sweet sixteen.

Never mind the feedback from children. After all they are only small children; I have still decided to go with my fistful speech on Mysteries (read Art) of Parenting on 12th Aug

Mysore Blues

2010-05-17T00:39:00.000-07:00

Mysore may offer a great weather, minimal pollution, no traffic jams, excellent quality of life. Surprisingly it has been declared the second cleanest city in India though what I see everywhere is filth. Spot a street, a gali , a road, a corner which is not littered with filth and garbage. If Mysore is the cleanest then how about the rest? Heritage city, 2nd cleanest city.. tags are good for its image but it definitely lacks in terms of quality of education that it offers though websites boast of twelve colleges for undergradation, four for Engineering etc etc but the reality is different.

After SSLC there is not much of choice. KV and DMS are the only schools which offer CBSE. KV offers only PCMB and PCME, if you are keen on doing Commerce then go to DMS but DMS is strictly not for those who are not fluent in Kannada. Your child will be a frustrated lot by the end of first semester. The only known college for PUC is Sadvidya where the fees charged is as per the paying capacity of parents and not the merit of the candidate. But if you don’t get it here, then where?

Mahajana was once a revered college of Mysore and known for its excellent faculty but like everything else, things have changed here too. A friend whose son goes to Mahajana college says, ‘let your child sit at home and study privately but don’t send him to Mahajana. Neither anyone there is interested in teaching nor is anyone studying.’

A dog’s Day in

2009-12-30T02:07:00.000-08:00

Today is his 3rd B’day , don’t know which present to take.

Hubby suggested Toys

What will he do with the toys?

‘Story books’ , came another suggestion

‘Have you gone nuts?, he will chew them and shred into bits and pieces.'

‘Something to eat?’

May be, sometime you do talk sense.

‘But pedigree costs Rs 400/ , I gave a box of building blocks on Neesa’s son’s b’day last month and that cost me Rs 200/. For her child’s b’day a gift worth 200 and for her dog’s b’day worth 400.’ Even if one adores dogs and is an animal activist still this doesn’t sound logical.

‘What to do, quickly suggest something’, I prompted hubby

‘Take half the packet of pedigree which will be worth only 200’, his brilliant idea did not seep in

What will we do with the rest of the pedigree? We don’t even have a dog, who will eat that? You? , I was out of my nerves now

I dig in to the closet to look for any unused things which a dog might want to possess

‘But how will anyone know what a dog likes? Did her dog tell you?’ Hubby had a point

I found one ball which was not new but was almost new

Today, Carrot, the b’day dog was not tied outside in the veranda unlike the other days. After all today is his b’day and he can’t be tied in one corner on this day

The guests invited to the party were treated with cake, chips, sandwiches, coke. Carrot roamed around freely unleashed in all the rooms sniffing from one object to another and from one guest to another. After all every Dog has his day.

Alien on one’s own soil

2009-12-11T01:21:00.000-08:00

Even after 15 years I get a shock ... I get a cultural shock after visiting north. Every time I come back from Punjab I get a cultural shock. I am not so shocked when I return from Europe but north to south is a cultural shock even after so many years. It is not about which is good or which is bad. It is also not about the aggression, flamboyancy or the lack of it. It is about the difference. More shocking is why one should feel like an alien in one’s own country. I am sure people don’t feel the same when they relocate or visit east to west coast in US.

Even if you know the language, eat the same food still India’s cultural diversity is unwelcoming. A north Indian feels as much alienated in South as a south Indian in Punjab. Even after fifty trips from north to south to and fro in past fifteen years I am unable to find out why? Why everything feels so strange? We all take pride in our language, culture but perhaps we also take pride in being closed cultures

Wake Up Sid

2009-10-14T23:17:00.000-07:00

Karan Johar must have run out of ideas on how to show extravagant display of emotional family drama, high end glamour, designer houses , exotic foreign locations, pretty faces, jazzy clothes , foot tapping music , climax , lot of noise halla gulla so he thought of making something entirely different something which audience especially young generation can effortlessly correlate.

While watching the movie, I must have at pinched my 15 yrs old son least six times ‘ see Sid is like you’ Filthy messy littered room , eating only junk, shouting at mom and later regretting it , not a worry about future, taking life as it comes. ‘We don’t know what will happen in future but let us enjoy our present to the core’.

After intermission he changed his seat.

The movie is very refreshing , fun to watch, ; for a change it is cool to watch low budget, non fiction, down to earth movie RK did an awesome job. For sure, he is a face to watch for in future. Konkana Sen too was very good and was just apt for the non glamorous image of the character. I wonder how Kareena Kapoor / Preity Jinta / Ash would have looked in this role!

What Next?

2009-09-15T02:47:00.000-07:00

I know all about him what he eats… what time does he sleep… which book is he reading these days… his weekend plans… grade his kid got in mid term exam and even gift he gifted his wife but I haven’t met him for the past six years may be seven. Guess who is he to me! Can’t guess. Ok one clue. He is my friend. Confused! Na he is not my friend, he is my facebook friend.

What is it in facebook that is not there in real flesh and blood people? He has 500 facebook friends with whom he loves to share all irrelevant updates of his life.

‘I make it a point to visit facebook at least once a day to keep in touch with all in one shot’ says he in one of his sweet tweets.

Besides seeing him only once in person seven years ago I have seen him only on facebook,. when I first met him on facebook he looked very different from the real self may be some people look different in pictures or may be he had changed. Thanks to his new digital camera gifted to him by his brother (he updates all his irrelevant details), I see him in different moods. serene, bustling, naughty. 100 % sure, firstly I will not recognize him if I see him in real life again because I am so used to seeing him on facebook. Secondly he is not as handsome as he looks on facebook.

He and one of his real life friends who lives in the same city….

‘Real life friend: ‘hey lets meet sometime’
Facebook friend: ‘too much of work, very busy, let’s catch up on facebook’

Facebook and twitter are the trendiest way to keep in touch with people. You are old fashioned if you are not on facebook , no matter how many good friends you have in real life, number of friends on your facebook account and followers on twitter are metaphor of your popularity and amicability. I just crossed 50 facebook friends last week since I opened my facebook account eight months ago.

Old adage: You are judged by the kind of friends your have
New adage: You are judged by the number of facebook friends you have.

First came emails , then e messages , e cards, e shopping and now e friends , what next?.

Khan Kaun

2009-08-17T02:13:00.000-07:00

‘You do not know who SRK is, then you know nothing about India and Indian culture …what a waste!!’

The long term effects of this episode are only positive. The first direct benefit from this episode is it has given spice hungry media some juicy news, and public to think life beyond SWINE. The second benefit is MNIK is a must watch now even by those who are not SRK’s die hard fans. The 3rd - now SRK is famous in US too. Sure this news must have made small or big headlines in US too.

Why such a halla gulla about SRK being detained and questioned at airport in USA? Americans are capable of questioning even Obama if need be.

If there is one thing that India can learn (though we don’t believe in learning either by our own misfortunes or thro others’ experiences, we only believe in giving sermons!) from this episode: spare no one when it comes to the security of your motherland. That will be the perfect way to do tit for tat instead of detaining Angelina Jolie as suggested by madam minister.

‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ only bounces back on us when we open our doors, hearts to anyone stepping foot on Indian soil, water without checking their complete credentials.

Budget for whom?

2009-07-07T03:12:00.000-07:00

by karthik kumar
The idea of India is very urban. The idea of progress is very urban. The idea of government is very urban. The idea of civil society is very urban. Most of the cities in our country fall in the penumbra of urban consciousness.

When we think of people who live in these cities, we see them through the eyes of a government that has the same empathy that the British rulers felt for the urban populace. They are them, they are not us. That is why tribal villages in India evoke thoughts about insurgency more than they do about development. That is why silently, the patches of ungovernable areas within the country are growing while we are making our cities gated communities.

For one, the annual budget exercise of a Central or a State Government meant nothing to people. It came and went; in the few educated homes the passing item of interest was the excise duty on consumable — from cigarettes to cement and, later on, it was the personal income tax slab. Decades after, the middle-class mental poverty has expanded just as government receipts, spends and deficits have.

India needs change at the level of her soul.

The people who are in charge of the budget, those who go spend the money and the rest of us who fill our stomachs with it until the next year, need to believe that the country outside the cities needs to be included. That they are us.

Before you think I am a cynic, I must tell you that my staple diet is HOPE. Because, outside the cities, even today, there is no sewage system. And drinking water does not come out of a tap.

Every policymaker in India, every bureaucrat, every businessman must read a book titled Paraja — this is a novel by Jnanpith winner Gopinath Mohanty. Fortunately, an English translation by Bikram Das is available today. It is the story of a tribal from Koraput, Orissa, whose life is in the clutches of petty government officials, moneylenders and the police. The story is set in the early days of post-independent India. Decades after, his lot has not changed. Only his innocence has been lost.

On that note, goodbye until the next budget.

Connection Dil Se

2009-06-05T02:21:00.000-07:00

‘Most of the new age technology is superfluous and we can do without most of the gadgets.’ That’s what I had always thought. Were we not happy and stayed connected with our friends even when there were no mobile phones and even landline was a luxury? Life went on smoothly even without computers but now… I am forced to change my opinion.

Technology can do a lot more than connecting your boss to you on a lazy Sunday afternoon like it can connect old pals, old school and college friends.

I had never ever thought I will even know the whereabouts of my class mates from school, college or univ, and the thrill of getting connected to school and college friends after two decades is unexplainable. Thanks to Facebook , the memories of Economics dept are again fresh, It is as if nothing has changed, we go back 20 years in life and we still live in those times when we could discuss for days the most trivial issues. When Nikhil tells me that he is looking forward to becoming an adult and enjoy the freedom, I tell him “we too felt the same and now we look back to those days with nostalgia.”

Another fact which is nothing to do with technology, Basic human nature does not change, it only reaches it ultimate as we grow old. Those who were serious earlier , two decades later are little more serious now. And those who were non serious are perhaps gone worst and take nothing seriously now. Some liked to yap yap, they yap much more.

HOPE for underprivileged child

2009-05-21T03:06:00.000-07:00

Most of us have the desire to do some philanthropic work but don't know for whom to do and how to go about it. On the other hand there are many children who are unable to pursue education due to financial constraints. There is a wide bridge between the people who want to help and the children who are in need of assistance. HOPE is a small effort in this direction. It provides a data base of children who need financial assistance.
As of now six children have been identified who need financial assistance for pursuing education. They may drop out for want of assistance. A little help from the donors will be instrumental in putting them on the right track in life.
How you can help:
• Sponsor the fees/books/school bags, shoes etc of a child
• Monitor the child's performance by meeting him/her at least once in six month

No cash transactions involved. The sponsors are advised to pay the school fees directly to the school or provide assistance in kind and not give cash to the recipient
Till now six children have been identified for this assistance. Five school girls and one boy for PUC 2nd year. Within 24 hours of launch of this initiative we have found sponsors for 5 children. The target is to provide assistance to 10 children during 2009-10 academic session.

Sudoku Mania

2009-04-17T01:23:00.000-07:00

Since I first laid my hands on a Sudoku puzzle a week ago, all one can find around me are pencils, erasers and Sudoku puzzles. Arranging 9 numbers in 9 by 9 grid looked impossible but looks are very deceptive. What really looks high funda need not be when you take a pencil and eraser in your hand.

Today I could solve a medium level puzzle without any assistance. Yes I have done it!
Well it is not me alone. If I am breaking my head over something why leave rest of the family in peace. Now post dinner time in our living room is more appropriately called Sudoku time; kids hubby all take one puzzle each from easy to medium to hard to evil level.

I am reminded of the ‘Goldilocks and three bears' when daddy bear sips porridge from the biggest bowl, mama bear from medium sized bowl and baby bear from the cute smallest bowl but in Sudoku this order may be in reverse.

To Cheer or Not

2009-04-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

I am not an ardent cricket fan but IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket season is too action packed to be overlooked. It keeps the nation busy by giving each one a subject to debate upon like should we have desi cheer girls instead of firnagi? Should they wear traditional Indian consume may be a sari or a ghagra choli ? If yes, what should be the length of the blouse incase they will have a blouse on et al.

The second edition of IPL Twenty 20 Cricket Tournament this year will not only deprive Indians of that irresistible star studded high glamour quotient live sports extravaganza but also gives them more time on hand to scrutinize the contesting candidates in the elections.

IPL vs Elections - the country had a choice between holding elections or IPL on Indian soil. The government chose to have elections in India and send IPL abroad. The alternate route of sending elections abroad would have been a more popular choice.

Holding the IPL matches during election time would have made sure that the matches will go on smoothly as all criminals and their associates will be on election duty. No wonder the crime rate in India invariably goes down during election time. The owners of the teams are obviously cheering as it means more money and less khit pit over dos and don’ts. The fans in Pakistan are cheering as they will be able to watch their heroes in action. The cricket fans in South Africa are shouting from their roof tops and are too ecstatic to welcome international cricket teams home.

Not sure, if IPL should still retain ‘Indian’ in IPL. Well ‘I’ also stands for ‘International’. Indian politicians are cheering as any militant attack during the election time would have sealed the fate of the political party in whose state the attack would have occurred. It gives them a saving grace and yet another chance to parrot ‘India is not Pakistan, it is safe’.

But for hardcore cricket aficionados, the real action has no comparison with reel action.

The Bored Generation

2009-03-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

“Mom, I am bored”
How many times in a day do you hear this complaint? At least five or may be countless times. This is more so during holidays.

Two months summer holidays is a stressful period for parents especially working mothers. The new generation is a bored generation. Even with 24x7 T.V channels, computers, play station, X- boxes and summer camps the children are bored to the core.

Our holidays many summers ago were very enjoyable and a true stress buster. We either visited our grand parents or a truck full of cousins and aunts visited us. The curtains drawn to escape from bright scorching sun, it was non stop chit chat, ludo, snakes and ladder and marbles in the back yard. The host was never hassled about how to entertain the guests and from where to order pizza for them (as there were no pizzas then and eating out was an exception and not routine). Lack of space never bothered the host. Post dinner time was even more fun, lolling over the mattresses on the floor; we treasure fond memories of childhood. Our working mother never felt that the guests over stayed, even two months stay was less.

Now cousins are too busy to come or even the host is busy ferrying children from one activity class to another. “If cousins come then who will look after them during the day? They will get bored” I wonder how did such formalities originate between first cousins?

However it originated but I must confess that in their hankering after grabbing too much from life our children are really missing out the real childhood.

Will this ever happen in India?

2009-03-25T04:59:00.000-07:00

March is the appraisal month. The Self Appraisal is the first step in the month long appraisal process in which every employee fills in his achievements, any accolades received from clients/managers during the year, areas of improvements, strengths , aspirations and goals for the future year.
The goals have to be strictly SMART (Specific Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time bound). Each goal has to be clearly mentioned with a fixed timeline. The appraisal next year will review how much of it one could achieve. Framing SMART goals gives clear direction to the aspirant and is the first step towards realizing your goals.

With election season round the corner, it is only natural to compare companies’ appraisal process with that of the country. Why there is no such appraisal system for the politicians who are responsible for the health of the country? Company appraisal directly impacts the career of its employees and which in turn is related to the health of the company. Ditto for the country.
Every party’s election manifesto talks of removing poverty, regular water supply, more jobs opportunities, better road conditions et al with no time lines , no specific goals. Individual appraisal impacts one professional and one single organization but the appraisal of the contesting candidate has an impact on the health and the future of the entire country.
What if a country is run like an organization! The credentials of a candidate are scrutinized fully before assigning him the responsibility of running the country. Clear policies framed with SMART goals, strengths listed, areas of improvements demarcated.
Sample this – Twenty roads will be repaired in the first quarter with monthly quality checks by the quality team, government schools will have to face the audit by external auditors to avail the aid for the next year…. Will that ever happen in India?

When my kids taught me how to do Sheershasana…

2009-03-12T04:33:00.000-07:00

Eight months into it and I am addicted to it. I hate it when the alarm croons …’if you seen it and you mean it you have to go ...’ from teriyaki boyz - tokyo drift at 5.20 am. But once I am up… I am up. Even if you are one or two minutes late, you have to squeeze in your mat in between forty odd people of all sizes and shapes. Initially all asanas looked difficult as how much active you are in your daily life, yoga is totally different ball game. With time, I was able to touch my toes with lot of pull and push. I felt elated to do most of the asanas with ease leaving bak asana and bhuja peera asana. In Bhuja peera asana you put your body weight on your wrist and forearms. I am scared to even try this as I feel I may twist my wrist in the process. This asana is meant to make your wrists and forearms strong. Once I tried doing this and oops …my wrists were paining as if I have fractured my wrist, I wonder whether bhuja peera means giving pain or relieving pain.
When I thought I was really comfortable doing yoga then the instructor introduced us to Sheershasana. This looked very easy, I tried doing it but the more I tried the more I fell let right and centre. I really couldn’t do it but I was embarrassed as people half my age and double my size could stand upside down in a jiffy. The instructor would do this asana only once in a fortnight, he had a fixed routine for every asana. I knew 2nd and last Friday of the month will be for topsy turvy asana , I would try my best to escape this like staying late on Thursday so that I have an excuse not to go for yoga on Friday but this didn’t go on for long.
Now Rahul and Nikhil had a task to achieve - teaching their mother how to do Sheershasana. First they took a day to get the hang of it; once they got it they put me through the grueling routine. After a few falls I was able to stand on my head of course against the wall. “You have to throw all your body weight towards your upper portion of your body and while in position take your feet as close to your head as possible and then take it up and there you are standing upside down”.

Who is responsible for the mess?

2009-02-26T03:35:00.000-08:00

“History is a boring subject and what am I going to gain by mugging up what happened two centuries ago and which king ruled over which country.” – Nikhil my son who is appearing for 9th std hates History and he tells that with pride. We always have a war of words when I ask him to study History.
I love reading about kings and their wealth but the way they depict and describe in school text books it does appear very boring. Moreover school text books are not updated regularly.
Yesterday I was teaching him Economics. In a chapter on Poverty, they have explained about poverty line, how it is determined and what was the poverty line in 1975 and how poverty is the result of British policies… blah blah. When I was studying Economics in college, these were the same things I had studied. Out text books haven’t changed at all. And most importantly for how long will we keep blaming Britishers for the mess we are in, how about the mess that our politicians have created since Independence and continue to create. Are they not more responsible for the state of our country and not letting our country grow?

Who is a millionaire: Slumdog or Christian Colson/Danny Boyle?

2009-01-31T04:31:00.000-08:00

I am confused not because why Jamaal Malik could speak fluent English and that too in British accent, also not how he got his name ( Jamaal is a Muslim and Malik is a Hindu surname) but I am confused about what has really appealed to people about this 2 hours movie. For sure movie goers don’t go to see filthy slums and all that comes along with it. Have people found the slums, the open drains and children playing on the mound of garbage so beautiful? Sure not. SDM portrays out of the box thinking and it is very creatively done. Two truths – first truth this story can be about any slum dweller minus the millionaire part. The second truth - this movie is a hit at the box office and has won 11 nominations for Oscars (that’s old truth now). As they say the proof of the pudding is in eating. Since Slumdog is doing very well it means it has made lot of business sense for Christian Colson to produce and Danny Boyle to direct this movie. Would this movie still be a hit if it wouldn’t have got a single nomination for Oscar? No idea. Anil Kapoor dominantly portrays himself in all the photographs splashed in media about Oscar nominations as if he is the main character, the fact is though he has screen presence throughout the entire length but he has a very insignificant role. It would have been the same thing even if anyone else were there in the hot seat.
Now Slumdog has shown us Dharavi - India’s biggest slum and introduced us to real slum children.
“How pathetic!”, “Nice movie but sad, how people live in these conditions!”, “Inhuman, we should not take kids for this movie, why show them these truths about India!”, “What foreigners must be thinking about India?” That’s how most of us would have reacted after watching this movie. Britisher Danny Boyle has made loads of money by showcasing India’s poverty, dingy slums, maimed beggars and the world is going ga ga over Litika, Saleem and Jamaal- India’s slum kids. The truth is this movie is half real but for the three slum kids who were picked up from Dharavi slum to play three main characters. Their natural acting made a BIG contribution to its success. The least the producer can do is take charge of their life, send them to best schools and support them economically till they become adults and open the doors of opportunity for them to become real life millionaires or else they will remain as slumdogs.
Caution: Don’t take your small children for the movie. Some scenes in the movie leave inerasable impressions on the mind. And yes, adults must watch for the pleasure of watching an Oscar nominated movie

Hong Kong

2009-01-18T02:04:00.000-08:00

High rise buildings is the first thing that you notice as you drive from Hong Kong airport to your hotel. This airport is claimed to be world’s largest airport. I don’t know if it is the largest but it is really massive. HK is a concrete jungle; you will crave to see patches of greenery. In spite of hardly any trees or plants grown on the sides of roads there is no pollution. at least you don’t feel it in the air. It is all very clean. Hong Kong and Thailand offer different things to tourists and cannot be compared . HK is very well planned bu it was all very mechanical , it is like any western country which is now getting tinges of China.
Disney Land Resort was great but if you have been to US Disney World then it is a baby. Euro Disney in Paris is bigger and better than this one. If you are staying in any of the hotels inside the park Hollywood Hotel or Disney Land resort then you get one complementary visit to the park so you get two days to the park at the cost of one. If you rush up you can finish it in one day. There are no wet rides, only dry rides. Both these hotels are excellent but only Disney Land Resort hotel offers breakfast with cartoon characters, also it is quite much expensive as compared to Hollywood. If you are staying in any of these hotels then you must spend some time going around the hotel. It offers exotic locations for photo shoots, models of cars used by Hollywood actors in the hot movies are on display so you stand against them and get your pics clicked. You can spend hours together going and looking around the place. Christmas time is very colorful time and is good time to be at the park, the shows are superb you should not miss any of those, if you are in hurry miss the rides but don’t miss the shows they are awesome. The park is open from 10 to 8 pm. It was warm even in end of December but next day it snowed in China and HK became very cold so during winters you need to carry both kinds of clothes.
I love to make new friends when on a holiday. We met Praveen and Vibha and their 5 years old son Aryan, a cute happy go lucky family from Kolkata. . It happened to be Aryan’s b’day that day. Rahul and Aryan got along very well.
Ocean Park is another must on tourist list, in fact this one takes more than a day so if you are short of time, start early. Here too don’t miss the shows; if you are adventurous and love the thrill of rides then this is the place for you. There are lots of thrilling rides. Turbo drop tops the list. Do not even venture into this if you have a weak heart. It first uplifts you to a height of 100 meters and then suddenly drops you down in a free fall. Though you are fully tied and secure but it is a virtual free fall, it is worth trying once. Just the thought of it is enough to scare your wits away.
Besides Ocean Park, Peak Tram is another place which will keep you occupied for one evening, it also houses Madame Tussad museum, this one is not as big as the one in London but if you have never seen original even this one is very good. Nikhil had a great time getting photographs clicked with each and every wax statue. He wanted to post all those on orkut. In our 10 days trip we took 1500 pics altogether. I preferred the times of non digital cameras with rolls. The pics came out better coz you thought twice taking a pic but in digital you just go on and on without even anyone or anything in frame. Moreover nothing like the luxury of getting your rolls printed and watching the album whenever you want , though you can do even in digital camera but it is not a must and you end up not doing it. It is almost three weeks since we came back but still haven’t sat down to view all the pics. I hope I get the time to look at these pics before the next vacation. During our last trip to Europe we took with us seven rolls, I love to look at the colorful pics in the album. Well, advanced technology comes with ifs and buts
Coming back to HK, Ladies Market gives you a taste of India; it reminded me of lajpat Nagar, Delhi. Here you will find women selling all sorts of things from bags to clothes to souvenirs in make shift market. This market tests your bargaining skills. Living in India this is not a problem for us. They will quote $ 600 HK and give you for half of it. If you want to enjoy and soak into it, you need at least half a day or else you can pick a few things in an hour and done with it.
Night Market though it is called men’s Market but it is for all – you get lots of chunky jewellery, clothes, bags, toys. Here too negotiation is the rule of the game. If you want to savor typical Chinese food at reasonable price then this is the place. It is open till 12 midnight. I appreciated two things in HK - firstly lot of ladies are working women , anywhere you go you see ladies are manning the show. Secondly it is all very safe to be out even till 12 night. We were out till 11.30 with children roaming on the streets but can we think of staying out in NY, Paris, Delhi or even Bangalore ?
HK is a gourmet’s delight if you are a non vegetarian and is adventurous enough to try new varieties. HK is not very expensive but it is more expensive than Thailand.
If you are going all the way, you can cover a few near by places like Macau; there are day’s conducted tours from HK.
Like all other countries in South East Asia, HK too takes tourism really seriously and earns good revenue from it. There are lots of places of tourist attraction, it is best to dedicate five full days for HK.

Ghajini

2009-01-12T06:19:00.000-08:00

Twice I went to watch Ghajini but the tickets were sold even before the window opened.
"Let's get the tickets in black?" coaxed hubby.
"No way! I will not even pay Rs 5 extra for a ticket bought in black, it is against my principles"
I didn't want to be third time unlucky so I booked the tickets well in advance.
The movie is going houseful. It is all in all an Aamir Khan movie. Only Aamir Khan could have carried this movie well on his shoulders alone. The script is great; there is not a single boring moment. The plot is gripping, till the end you don't know what the end would be. Aamir Khan looks awesome; you would drool over his looks. Music is also cool.
The first half has shades of a movie from 70's starring Asha Parekh and Shashi Kapoor, (can't remember the name). Asha Parekh teaches dance in a prestigious dance school. Like our Ghajani heroine, she pretends to be in love with a business tycoon but she mistakes the business tycoon to be the driver of the tycoon and falls in love with the driver. It is a jackpot for her when she comes to know the true identity of the driver. Well, that was love story, this one is not.
"But what is the theme of the movie?" asked Lata whom I was convincing to watch the movie just once.
Theme! Ghajani is about violence and revenge. It is the story of revenge. It is brutal violence, something that you won't like to even imagine. The scene where Kalpana is hiding in her room and goondas are looking for her everywhere to kill her, she doesn't know if she will survive, she knows they will trace her ultimately, praying hard for some miracle to happen, reminded me of real people trapped in their rooms in Taj and Oberoi hotels when they knew the gun trotting terrorists will break open their doors and come inside any moment to kill them. They must have prayed really hard for some miracle to happen.
Though I took my children along but it is advisable not to take them for this movie. Are we teaching the new generation that it is cool to be revengeful? Living in a world where hardly a day passes without any news of violence in one or the other part of the world - bomb blasts, terror attacks , murders , rapes, scams , people killing each other for gain, revenge … these are part of our daily doze. Should there be movies which propagate violence and revenge? Is it okay to be revenge the only motive of your life?
Don't know whether cinema imitates real life or vice versa.
More dreadful than the actual violence in the movie is the fact that Ghajini is a super hit movie. What have people find irresistible in the movie? Aamir Khan's charming looks, his powerful acting, direction, script, songs or are we becoming immune to violence?

Oh mere Rabba…

2008-12-17T00:26:00.000-08:00

I am unable to decide whether I liked the movie and if I liked , then what did I like in the movie. If you want to watch Re Ne…. because you are a die hard fan of Shahrukh and you like him because of his macho image. Mind you …it is completely unlike Shakrukh movies. The scirpt writer didn’t have much to write about. Infact I doubt whether a full fledged script for this movie was written. The script writer got little confused , he wanted to write something different for SRK and I think he went too far off. Yash Chopra wanted to show Punjab, punjaban, gole gappe, punjab dee galian , barish so he made this movie. The new comer Anushka Sharma is a fresh face but totally non glamorous. In both the roles, SRK one as anushka’s husband and another as her boy friend ( yes… she is newly married but she has a boy friend but there is no triangle in the movie. It is a circle where it begins and ends with Shahrukh Khan),he looks totally unlike SRK.
SRK looks typical husband material the boring variety type who either knows how to bury his head in the laptap or talk in monosyllables. If you are already there in the theatre just enjoy watching Amritsar , Golden temple , gol gappe wali galli , paranthe wali gali etc and don’t go for logistics like why a wife is unable to recognize her husband when he is without mustaches.

Guess who is who in this picture!

2008-12-15T01:37:00.000-08:00

See what make up can do to people especially women. The Lions Club team represented by eleven Lion ladies gave a scintillating performance (Not my words, that’s what everyone is telling!). Though we focused on doing our best and enjoying ourselves, the 3rd prize came as an ‘add on’. Not only dancing on the D day, we enjoyed practicing and preparing for it. We are definitely going to miss that now.
Some of us were stepping our foot on stage for the first time and were really nervous but we kept telling ourselves – let’s do our best and forget about whether we get the prize or not ( we are so used to telling these dialogues to our children that now we can go on efforlessly about such talk !!)
Dancing apart we discovered many things during the three weeks practice sessions-

• We formed a few new friendships.
• Deepika was reluctant to dance as she had always believed that she had two left feet. To her pleasant surprise she has now discovered that like every one else she too has one right and one left foot
• Rama Raghvan and Rasika are indispensable; we couldn’t have managed without them. They were there not only to give us physical and moral support but also to make sure that we put our best foot forward.
• Divya is a great host. She opened her heart , house and kitchen to make sure that we felt at home

Why walk on moon when you can't walk safely on earth

2008-12-15T01:26:00.000-08:00

As the TV channels show the wild dance of terror playing out on the streets of Bombay, I am reminded of this verse by Rabindranath Tagore.
Today neither our mind is without fear nor the head is held high. Read More

You can help

2008-12-03T22:33:00.000-08:00

How many of us are thankful of what we have? ‘Count your blessings’ that’s what strikes you first when you visit AWMD (Association for the Welfare of The Mentally Disabled) in Udaygiri Mysore. People crib about not having a son or pray for a daughter but there is a large chunk of population who have children born with mental disabilities and the only thing that matters to them is that their child irrespective of gender should be able to live somewhat like normal child at least become independent functionally. Brainchild of Mr. Manohar, this NGO aims at making differently abled people function normally and independently and ultimately aims at making them financially independent. The children are trained in early care where they are taught basic self care like using the toilet, brushing teeth. The early intervention program was conceived with the intention of helping large number of children together. Children visit AWMD once a week with their mothers. Both the child and the mother are trained in self care so that it can be followed up at home. This training is generally imparted for 6 months. Vocational programme trains them in various vocational activities like candle making, mat making, paper baskets, dustbins, paper bags et al.

How you can help:
Be a volunteer
Help in marketing the products made by children. You could put up a stall in your company/ school/college/building
Help in finding employment for the trained beneficiaries
If time is at a premium Sponsor a child- Rs 500/month
To know more details contact: manoemohan@gmail.com , Manohar- 98450 98635

My heart weeps ...

2008-12-02T03:53:00.000-08:00

My heart weeps for those who have lost their loved ones in Mumbai terror attack. The children who lost their parents in the attack. The child who lost his mother in the attack. The image of terrorists shooting his mother will haunt him for entire life. How will a small child live without his mother? What will happen to his ambitions, his dreams… each moment.. each breath that he will take will remind him of his mother. He will long for the coziness of sleeping with mother, mother’s touch, her smile, fragrance of her clothes and even her scolding … what had he done to deserve this punishment? There is no substitute for a mother. I am depressed, angry and disappointed that I am living in a country where anyone can shoot at will and there is no security of life. Where 10 young men barely out of their teens can hold an entire nation to ransom. Is it Jungle raj? I have no reason to be hopeful in future. This is the price we have to pay for electing and tolerating corrupt, incapable and inefficient politicians.
If I have escaped this time, I may not be lucky next time. With no hope for future that things will be better off in India, who knows when my time will come. Today I want to sit with my children and tell them stories that they have been asking for days and cook their favorite dish. Who knows tomorrow I may be killed by the bullet of an insane terrorist.
….a mother

Let us put our house in order first

2008-12-01T23:43:00.000-08:00

Post 11/26, life will not be same for any Indian for a very long time to come and never ever for those whose any of their kith and kin has perished in Mumbai attack or even for those who have escaped the attack by a whisker. The images of gun bearing terrorists will always haunt those who have lived to tell the tale of horror minute by minute.
As soon as the news of Mumbai attack, the worst so far on Indian soil spread , the Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh washed his hands off by announcing quickly that it was a handiwork of Pakistan. This piece is not about whether Pakistan is involved in this act or not. Even if at this stage of investigation it is believed that Pakistan has directly or indirectly supported this heinous act, let us ask ourselves what have we done to prevent it?
This is not the first time that an act of terror has taken place on India’s soil. For the past one year, it has been the order of the month. Hardly a month passes without any news of blast in one or the other part of the country so much so that a minor blast with one or two causalities gets only a brief mention in media. The terrorists have become bolder and their numbers are increasing day by day. This time they surpassed the imagination of even Hollywood script writers. The plan for Mumbai attack was not put together in hurry. It was the outcome of months and perhaps years of planning. For sure, it went through many alterations since its original plan and must have gone through several trails before the final act of disaster that was executed to have maximum damage.
The first question we need to ask ourselves what our intelligence services were doing all these months? Why didn’t they get to unearth anything about it? If they had some clue about it then why didn’t they act in time? No point blaming others now, the damage has already been done. If our intelligence officers are not capable then why they are there in the first place? Like private sector, incase of non performance why they are not given pink slips?
Secondly, it is not only the duty but the job of the Coast Guard Services to protect our sea borders. Are they really protecting our borders? How can twelve armed men enter our borders with bags full of grenades and arms through sea route without anyone knowing about it? For sure, the terrorists must have checked this route for their safe arrival. Did we have confidence in the capability of Coast Guard? If not then no one will be a bigger fool than our government to believe that no enemy can enter our country through sea route. If they are not well equipped or trained then it should have been the prime priority of the government to provide them with required arms and instruments to execute their job fully.
Every time there is talk of outsiders penetrating our borders, India’s ‘porous borders’ becomes the lame excuse. The defense of the country should be the top most priority of our government at what ever cost. If lack of funds is the issue then it is advisable to dismiss the mission to moon and divert the money for defense of the country. Let us walk safely on earth first before we learn to walk on moon.
India’s police force has been the laughing stocks for years. Has our government taken any steps to equip them with modern arms and ammunition to prepare them for facing such a war? We expect pot bellied revolver bearing policemen to take on AK 47 trotting agile well trained terrorists.
We have the habit of waking up from our slumber only after the damage is done, we think of everything possible to prevent the next attack but again have lackadaisical attitude when nothing happens for some time. Now hotels will have fool proof security, spend heavily on safety of guests but will forget everything soon only to be woken up after the next attack. When it was expected that terrorists will hit again and hit really hard then why such casual attitude towards providing security to its guests? Why hotels have multiple entrances, why can’t there be just two entrances - one for guests and one for service staff. Is it so difficult to provide heavy weight security at just two points in a hotel which is on terrorist hit list? Isn’t a stitch in time better than two later?
Why NSG is located only at Delhi, why not in all metros and why train only NSG officers, why can’t our police men be trained in this? If NSG was located at Mumbai then this terror scene would have got over much earlier and many precious lives could be saved.
We blame our government for not doing anything for our safety. It is ironical that the public is helpless in a democracy. Is there no way to morally pressurize our government to deliver? Our government makes quick plans for our safety bothering little about its execution. Should we believe that the terrorists have read our mind and got scared just by our thinking of taking a few measures for the prevention of next terrorist act? Unless we put our house in order, it is heartening to state that this Mumbai attack will not be the last heinous crime on India’s soil

Childhood sans innocence

2008-11-30T07:16:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, I happened to be a judge at a creative writing competition for children from 9 – 13 years. The children were asked to imagine and write a story based on a picture showing sea, fishes and a few sea animals like octopus in it. Children came up with innovative thoughts and weaved stories. I was much distressed to read that most of the children had used the words commandos, RDX, hijack, kidnap, bullets, security, terrorist and built the stories around these lines; some of them had portrayed octopus as the terrorist who had come in a ship to kill fishes.
Where is the innocence of children gone? Can they think life beyond bomb blasts, terrorists ? It is sad that their vocabulary is laced with such words which we had not even heard of in our childhood. Where are the fairytale thoughts in which the good always overpowers evil? It is not only sad but scary too … what kind of upbringing and culture are we giving to our children where bomb blasts are the part of life and terrorists are not fictional characters.

Mom, I haven't won the prize…

2008-11-23T22:55:00.000-08:00

“Why didn’t my child get a prize, he was so good?”, “How come that child was given the first position, she was so ordinary?” Hmm do these reactions sound familiar?
We often hear people accusing the judges of a competition for the bias decision. It is easy to accuse the authorities and judges for the unfair judgment when you are one of the participants but come to the other side of the fence and you will say ‘I wish I was on the other side’. The same happened to me last week when I was invited to be one of the judges for a fancy dress competition at St. Joseph’s Central school. Participating is far easier than pronouncing the Best amongst the best. This is more so when all of them have put in their best foot forward. The dejected faces of children who are not the winners melt your heart and make you feel guilty.
There is always a debate without any conclusion on whether young children should be made to go through the emotional ordeal of facing competition. One school of thought states that not fetching the first place amounts to failure and leads to emotional imbalance for young children. Why should the tiny tots be made to go through these emotional traumas at a young age? Right! But isn’t competition the most important reality of life and the earlier they learn about it the better it is for them. Regarding that emotional imbalance, it can be handled pretty well by children if parents do not put undue pressure on their children to be the winner. It will be a part of the game for the child if she/he sees a big smile on mom’s face even when she/he doesn’t bring a trophy home. Isn’t participation as fun as winning a prize? School teachers too can pitch in by not giving partial treatment to those children who win the competition and encouraging other children to try their best.
It was a great show but the highlight of the event was not the brilliant show put up by primary school children but the discipline and time management practiced by the school. The show started at the pre announced hour irrespective of who is present and who is not. When one of the judges failed to turn up at the designated time, the principal Mrs. Joyce Lobo took the instant decision to request someone else to judge the event instead of waiting for the judge who was held up. In sharp contrast to this I am reminded of an event when a chief guest made the audience wait for two hours in the hot sun.
I wonder why we appreciate these values in childhood but tend to forget them as we grow up. Any answers?

Dostana

2008-11-17T01:15:00.000-08:00

Homosexuality! Nope, that’s not the theme of Dostana. The theme is fun, friendship and love triangle in that order. Directed by Tarun Mansukhani and produced by Karan Johar, it is quite different from KJ’s other movies…no family emotional drama, rona dhona, marriage songs, Shah Rukh Khan and his other trade marks scenes. Priyanka Chopra looks awesome in tini mini outfits. The show of skin in Hindi movies is quite taken for granted these days. Hindi cinema has really come far off from the days when heroines had to give long interviews and say stuff like ‘it was the demand of the scene’ like dialogues, to justify their wearing anything above knees. Now wearing a bikini looks like a normal dress in movies.
Kiron Kher rocks and retains her title of a Punjabi mother Number 1. Abhishek Bachchan is a better actor as compared to his other movies especially his gay acts in this movie. John Abraham focuses more on show of skin than acting. Bobby Doel is too stiff. He needs to reconsider his decision of re entering films. Shah Rukh Khan in guest appearance in Bobby’s role would have been a wiser choice. Though it would have taken the lime light away from JA and AB but KJ’s lucky charm would have made a far better business and commercial sense. Are you still wondering if it is family movie? It is a movie which can be watched with your entire clan even with your young children as the earlier they learn about these taboo concepts the better it is and what a better teacher than AB/JA who put on the gay act to rent an apartment.

Cherishing Good Friendships

2008-11-16T22:05:00.000-08:00

It has been more than six years since I shifted from Bangalore to Mysore. Life in Mysore is in totally contrast with Bangalore’s. Here average time spent on commuting to work place is 20 minutes. There is no need to wait for the weekend to do your shopping or visit a friend; since everything is so close by and driving is not a nightmare you may very well do it any day. Mysore is a laid back city; here people have ‘take it easy’ attitude which is good but irritating at times. Everyone is busy but no one is really in hurry. People have the luxury of living life at their own pace.
It’s been six years and I have started appreciating the + points of easy going life. I don’t miss Bangalore at all not even its action packed life, pubs, malls, shopping, airport, ample job opportunities, connectivity and traffic jams. But I miss Madhayam and the people associated with it. Madhayamites share a unique bond. It was quite refreshing meeting them all at Diwali get together last week; thanks to Rakesh and Vandana for the invite.
A small cultural show put by the Madhayamites exhibited not only the talent but also a great chemistry amongst the members.
After all, in life nothing is more fulfilling than cherishing a few good friendships.

Hyderabad

2008-10-24T02:50:00.000-07:00

The overnight train journey from Bangalore to Hyderabad was very comfortable but you don’t get good dinner in the train. So it is advisable to carry dinner with you.

With so much of hype about the city, the first impression about the city as you set foot on it - it is over crowed. There is no traffic sense at all. Vehicles use every inch of space on the road. It is free way for all. If you can drive in Hyderabad, you can drive any where in India. I still don’t understand how pedestrians cross the roads. There are no pedestrian crossings and traffic won’t stop at all for you. The first day we had to hire an auto to cross the road. By the end of 5th day, we could master the art of crossing the road. In fact it was quite simple. The trick is to signal the approaching vehicles to slow down with your hand and you criss cross your way in between the moving vehicles to reach the other side of the road.
Spitting city – the second impression I got about the city is - it is very filthy. There is no civic sense amongst public at all. What you see around is filth and garbage. It is a common sight to see people opening the door of Mercs at the traffic signal to spit on the road.

Shopping experience – it may be a shopping paradise but our shopping experience was different. Shop keepers are not courteous especially the saree shops. They don’t like if you want to unwrap the saree, admire it and then buy; they want you to buy first and then unwrap at home. Perhaps we are pampered shoppers in Mysore. Here they not only open the pieces fully and show but drape and model it for you also. They want you to admire the piece even if you don’t end up buying anything. As far as pampering the shoppers is concerned , Punjab and Delhi are one step ahead , as you start showing serious interest in their products, out will go the call ‘ Chootu jara thanda lana madam ke leye’ . Ultimately you end up buying more than you require.
If you are on pearl shopping, make sure you get 35% discount. It is a common practice more so in big stores. Just take out your visiting card and avail 35% but you don’t get unless you ask for it.

Hyderabadi biryani- It is simply superb. So much talk about Hyderabadi biryani, it is much better than that. You are really missing out on something if you are a vegetarian in Hyderabad. Three best places for biryani- Paradise, Bawarchi and Bahar. Paradise’s one day business is Rs 10 lakh and there is one floor dedicated to take away. There is no match to Hyderabadi Biryani.

Salarjung museum- I had read about tourist attractions of Hyderabad in my history book in 7th standard, more than twenty five years later my sons read about the same attractions. Alas they are not attractive any more. People recommended us to spend at least a day in the museum; we visited all the rooms in the museums and finished it in 90 minutes. The artifacts and collections are marvelous but our experience would have been better if things were little more organized there. There are no direction boards or arrow marks so you don’t know how much you have seen and how much is yet to be seen. We were keen on seeing Nizam’s jewelry but that section was closed. We were informed by one security guard that there are 46 rooms.

Charminar- anybody who goes to Hyderabad will not come back without visiting the historic monument so why make an effort to maintain the place? As you climb it, dirty walls with graffiti all over welcome you to make sure that you go back totally disappointed. So if you have not visited charminar you have not missed anything. Life is cheap in India. In spite of so much talk about security measures, this place has an unsecured fence. No metal detectors, no frisking by security guards.

Lad bazaar- it is a bangle bazaar with bangles of all varieties and colors but you will be looted if you don’t know the art of bargaining. If you have the patience to haggle, you can get 50 % bargains.

Banjara & Jubli hills area is totally different from rest of the city. It is cleaner, better roads, less traffic. Your impression about Hyderabad depends on which area you visit. Since we visited Secunderabad first, our first impression of this city was – filthy city. Even the residents are confused about the concept of twin city, you don’t know where one city ends and where another begins and how they are divided. Don’t bother too much just ask someone and go on. But whatever you do, don’t miss the biryani.
I would like to visit Hyderabad again for two reasons; I could not visit Ramoji film city and another of course for Biryani...more is still less.

Karvachauth ka chand

2008-10-20T02:59:00.000-07:00

It is almost a month since I blogged. Actually I have written a post on my trip to Hyderabad but haven’t posted it, nothing just feeling lazy to select pics for the post. Will do it by this week end. Yes weekend? Friday was Karvachauth. People down south do not know much about this ‘fast’ except those who watch Hindi movies and Ekta Kapoor serials. Have you watched Dil Wale... where Kajol keeps fast for Shahrukh Khan and breaks her fast by drinking water from his hands? Got it, that’s Karvachauth!
When I see myself performing all the rituals of this fast, I feel the more things change the more they remain the same. Well, it is more looked as an opportunity for married women to deck up, flaunt their bridal outfit and best of their jewellery. Forget about the remaining hungry part, remaining hungry for a day detoxifies the system. One should look at the positive side of it.
I went for the pooja at 4 in the evening where married women from age group 22 to 65 had come to perform the karvachauth pooja.
You are allowed to drink a cup of tea or a glass of juice after the pooja. The food is eaten only after moon appears in the sky. First you see moon with a strainer and then you see your husband with the strainer and break your fast. Don’t ask me why we do with a strainer as I don’t know. Since the inception of 24 hours transmission, as soon as the moon appears in one part of the country, the pics of Karvachauth’s moon are transmitted on the T.V for the benefit of women in other parts of the country where it is cloudy and moon is not visible and it enables them to stay float for some more time as ' When moon appears in Delhi, Bangalore is not far behind'.
But how do you break your fast if your hubby is traveling? I tell you if you are so orthodox and traditional that you don’t want to break your fast without looking at your hubby and he is not in town, try video conferencing. After all what is the use of technology if it cannot perpetuate traditions?

How observant are we?

2008-09-24T01:29:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the privilege to be an invitee to a Rajasthani theme party hosted by a close friend. The hosts hail from the picturesque Rajasthan state. Since the theme was ‘Rajasthan’ the guests came dressed up in colorful Rajasthani attire. Needless to mention the cuisine was purely Rajasthani with dishes like gatte, dal bati choorma, ghevar etc. Like a typical Rajathani woman, Lata played the perfect host and had put in lot of effort to prepare the mouth watering Rajasthani dishes.
The theme party would have remained incomplete without testing the awareness quotient of the guests on Rajasthan. Prepared by Pradeep, it was a simple but very creative quiz with questions about forts, palaces, deserts and celebrities of Rajasthan but most of us failed miserably.
“I have heard about this fort/place but I am not very sure about it” was the most common response to all the questions. Though we had heard/read about these places many times but we were still not very confident. Many of us did not even know the city of their( host) origin.
Information is all around us but do we really grasp even half of it?
Having a theme party about a place is an excellent way to generate interst in that place as it is a human tendency to find out the answers to unanswered questions and to learn more about it.
The moot question is –
Do we really pay attention to people even our close friends when they talk about themselves? In the past 6 years I have spoken /met Lata umpteenth times but are we really paying attention to things around us? Is it that we are unconcerned about others even the people close to us or we have the ‘not my business’ attitude?
Perhaps the same attitude is carried in others things. If we think we are directly or indirectly benefitting from this( a conversation/ lecture, information, piece of knowledge), we pay attention or else not. I did not even know that Lata’s and my son who are the best of friends have the same birth place. Are we becoming indifferent to things around us and absorb only what is benefitting us directly?
These days we believe in superficial relationships. This is the world of ‘Let me mind my own business and you mind yours’. Though we may not be practicing this delibrately but over a period of time, it becomes a habit with us.

Shall I tell the truth to Rahul?

2008-09-17T03:09:00.000-07:00

Bringing up new generation children is a tough task and bringing up sensitive children who ask lots of questions for which parents may not have the logical and appropriate answer is even tougher. Last week, I happened to meet Suresh Oberoi, the yester year veteran actor at a club. Rahul, my nine years old son became very friendly with him and bombarded him with questions for all the two hours that we all were together. Though Rahul has not seen any of his movies but based on his thinking and imagination , he found lots of things to talk about. The actor answered all his questions patiently and jokingly called Rahul a ‘BBC reporter’.
Suresh Oberoi is a very friendly gentleman and he was nice and polite with who ever he met there.
The actor invited Rahul to his house in Mumbai during Christmas holidays and asked him to stay with his family in his house. The issue is not whether to accept the invitation or not. The issue is Rahul has taken the invitation at its face value …really seriously.

Rahul: Was uncle really serious when he invited me to his house?
Me: Yes , he was ( I didn’t want to break his heart)

Rahul: Then why didn’t he give me his landline or mobile number ? Has he fooled me ? why did he fool me?
Me: Speechless

I have no answers to these questions. Celebrities like to be nice and friendly to people they meet especailly children. I do not want to tell him that the actor was just being friendly and nothing else I do not want to hurt my son.
I cannot also tell him that actor has invited him genuinely because that in all probablity is not true.
Rahul is a very sensitive boy; these days he remains in deep thoughts and after the first few questions hasn’t spoken on this subject. I know that some thoughts are going on his mind which he is not sharing. I don’t know how to give logical answer to his queries.
As a mother should have I stopped the actor from telling something to a child which he doesn’t mean even if it was just an act of being friendly and nice. I am confused. Shall the tell the truth to Rahul?

Bachna Ae Haseeno

2008-08-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

What stays the most in your mind after watching the movie for close to three hours is the title song. The movie opens with the title track evoking cheers and whistles from the young and young at heart in the audience. It seems the music composer and lyricist spent all their energies on the title song and they were too exhausted to worry about the rest of the songs in the movie. As far as songs are concerned all the three women in the movie get a fair deal, one number each with the hero. Out of three babes, Bips is the best perhaps she has the best script written for her. Deepika doesn’t leave a lasting impression as she doesn’t have much to do. Minnisha Lamba though she does justice to her role but looks like any of the typical fair Sikh girls in Punjab nothing more nothing less. The first half is fun and entertainment and the story unfolds quickly whereas in the next half the director is little confused on how to wrap up the story. Overall, the movie is good but the second half could be more impressive with a better script. Ranbir Kapoor is a natural actor and is almost a veteran now after this movie.
Locations are excellent. If nothing else you can feast your eyes on the wonderful locations and envy the stars who get to shoot at such exotic locations. With so much of hype about the movie, you will feel left out if you don’t watch the movie even once.

Partition Days Memoirs

2008-08-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

Listening to partition time anecdotes from their grandmother is the favorite pass time for my children. My mother migrated to India from Sargodha in Pakistan along with her parents and brother. There is one story that I distinctly remember and often ask her to narrate. At the time of partition, the Hindus who migrated from Pakistan had to stay in refugee camps for few weeks till some permanent arrangements could be made for them. Families who possessed movable and immovable properties in Pakistan moved to India with just two or three suitcases. The same was true for Muslims in India who were forced to leave everything in India and go to Pakistan almost empty handed. For most of us, who were born in post independence era, it is difficult to imagine how it is possible to pack all your life’s savings and memories in just three suitcases and start life afresh.
The refugees stayed in crammed rooms. In one such camp there were eighty people who used to sleep in one 12 by 18 sq ft room. There was not enough room to stretch fully. They took turns to stretch. Their luggage was piled in one corner almost touching the roof. All of them shared one single make shift toilet.
During the day, they stayed and cooked in the open ground in front of the room. One day, one vendor came to the camp to sell oranges at a cheap price. Since refugees did not have much to eat many people bought oranges from him. One young boy who was my mother’s neighbor in Sargodha was also staying in the camp along with his parents; he bought five oranges and offered it to my grandmother. My grandmother was furious to see the oranges. She reprimanded the boy and said, “The people are dying of hunger and getting killed in front of your eyes every where and you are thinking of eating oranges, take away your oranges; neither my children nor I will even touch any of these oranges.”
The boy was very attached to my grandmother and got upset to hear the bitter words. In anger, he threw the oranges across the wall. Just after few minutes, there was hue and cry everywhere in the camp. The people who ate the oranges sold by the vendor were dying as the oranges were injected with lethal poison. Within minutes, thirty five refugees including women and children lay dead in front of them.
The boy came running to my grandmother, touched her feet and said, ‘Ma, you have saved us all, we all would have been dead if you would have accepted the oranges”

Not now, I am busy!

2008-08-05T02:44:00.000-07:00

I don’t have time’ is the most common statement used in professional and perhaps personal life. Not replying to e - mails in time, delayed work, reaching late for appointments et al and for every no show the most common excuse is ‘I am very busy, I don’t have time’.
Everyone seems to be very busy. There are some who pack many things in a day’s work where as there are others who remain busy all the time, complain constantly about lack of time and ultimately achieve nothing much in a day. On introspection, we would realize that those who make the worse use of their time are the first to complain of its scarcity. What is wastage of time? Is working, relaxing, reading, talking, playing wastage of time? None of these. It is not the quantity but the quality of work that is important. Bad or no planning, not prioritizing the work, procrastination, habit of not saying ‘No’ and other such time stealers tick away the time to nowhere. By the time you realize, it is already end of the day with hardly anything substantial done during the day. Though we talk about doing many things in a day but ultimately we really don’t do too many things in a day. We remain busy because we are only talking about them and taking unnecessary stress.

Catch me if you can

2008-07-24T00:16:00.000-07:00

I have a huge collection of video cassettes though half of them are not in the working condition and the other half cannot be played as the video cassette recorder itself is not in the working condition. Read More

Cyptic e-mails

2008-07-15T01:59:00.000-07:00

A large part of the first impressions you create on others come from posture, expression, eye-contact and gestures. Studies indicate that 55% of communication happens through body language, 38% through tone (paralanguage), while just 7% happens through words. Being in a profession where I need to communicate through e-mails with people from different walks of life, professions, ages and gender, I have come to believe that e-mails too exude body language and a major part of the message can be comprehended through the sender’s choice of font, font size, punctuation marks, spacing etc. It is interesting to read between the lines and understand the sender’s mood and emotions. Short forms used in the e-mails like u, v, 2, 4, wanna, luv, ur indicate that the sender is a carefree and casual person and is not very serious about the message or, in short, at this moment you are not taken very seriously by the sender. A mail festooned with gestures like smiles, frowns, etc reflects the emotive mood of the sender — jovial or gloomy.
On the other hand, a mail complete with all the punctuation marks and appropriate spacing between words and paragraphs not only emanate the professional attitude of the sender but also indicates that he or she is ‘to the point’. It also conveys that the sender is a kind of person who values the relationship. A simple, unambiguous and brief mail with clear queries points towards the sincerity and no nonsense nature.

A mail addressed to you by your first name specifies intimacy and conveys that the sender is keen on building a rapport with you whereas a mail beginning with the message or a simple ‘hi’ connotes that you are one amongst many and don’t have a special place in the sender’s heart. Some of the mails are quite challenging and one needs to go over it a few times to understand things left unsaid. This is particularly true of a mail written fully in upper cases (caps). It may mean one of the two things — either the sender is yelling at you for something or the Caps Lock key was left on by mistake!

What are dreams made of?

2008-07-09T05:12:00.000-07:00

In Chandigarh, when I was in school, I remember a friend who lived exactly six houses away. She was always very simply dressed and wore boyish clothes. She did not exhibit any ‘style’ in dressing, talking or anything else which generally the high school girls and boys like to exhibit at that age. Very unassuming character, all I remember about her is playing cricket and talking about becoming a pilot. She went to a non- convent school and was an average student. One thing I clearly remember about her that she was very bold and would often take out her kolhapuri chappal if any boy passed a remark at any of us. My mother felt very safe if I would go anywhere with her. We would meet every afternoon and either sit in my room or stand at the gate and chat for hours about irrelevant things. Unlike the children of these days, we didn’t have to run from one activity class to another to unearth our hidden talents.
After high school, we went to different colleges and got busy in our own lives. Few years later I shifted residence and we gradually lost touch with each other.
Fast forward to seventeen years later…
Last week I learnt that Sunita Sharma is Capt. Sunita Sharma now. She is not only trained commercial pilot but also has been a flying instructor for the past fourteen years. At present she is working with Kingfisher airlines.
My mind goes back to flashback. The face of that plain Jane, thin, tom boyish girl flashes my mind who was an average person by all standards. Yesterday I spoke to her. She was taking a day’s break after flying. We spoke over the phone for an hour or so, talked about good old days, spoke about relevant as well as irrelevant things and giggled on silly things. It was as if nothing had changed in the past two decades.
Two morals of the story: Dreams do come true; you should have belief in them and the perseverance to make them true. One doesn’t need to be a superhero to do extra ordinary in life. The bigger moral - old is gold, nothing like childhood friendships.

Duties are as sacred as rights!

2008-07-08T01:49:00.000-07:00

Democracy is a strange beast. History is replete with stories of nations shedding blood to have a small pie of democracy; on the other hand unrestricted democracy and freedom is said to create more problems than it resolves. Read More

Cell ored

2008-07-07T04:51:00.000-07:00

Just a decade ago, owning a mobile phone was a luxury. Today, it is neither a luxury nor it is just a phone.
Forget about mobiles. There was a time not so long ago when one had to measure the red tape length wise for eight to ten years to get a phone connection. In this fast track age, mobile phones have become indispensable for us. We wonder how life existed without cell phones. Today’s fast paced world requires us to multi task not only to stay ahead of the competition but just to stay afloat. Mobile phone is one of the innumerable technological devices that help us keep in touch not only with the outside world but with our inner self. With time, they are becoming smaller in size but better and wider in features. Rightly so, you can judge a person by the mobile phone he keeps. While on my way to office every day, on the six km stretch I marvel at the sight of people balancing their tiny handsets between their right ear and neck. Doing this while riding a two wheeler is a true test of their driving skills and requires courage and speaks volume about their ‘I care a damn attitude’. Causalities in the road accidents due to cell phone usage become mere statistics. We are capable of using our cell phones all the time and don’t feel shy of using them during presentations, interviews, lectures just to communicate ‘I am in a meeting and will speak to you later’. We often forget that all mobile phones come with a key to put it on silent mode. Mobile phone was invented to improve our communication but has this really improved communication? Have we made new friends or are our relationship better just because it is anytime anywhere communication now? Definitely not.
Earlier we made an effort to remember the important dates and numbers, now this is done by our computer or phone. Our life revolves around this tiny gadget. We can live without our family or friends but not without our cell phone.

Chained……

2008-07-07T04:45:00.000-07:00

By Kavya Shankre Gowda
Let me warn you. You have no choice but to finish reading this write up now or else bad luck will befall on you in the next few days. It happened about a month ago. A reader paused to attend to personal necessities after reading the first paragraph of one of my previous article and forgot to return. Before he could blink, Mike Tyson appeared from no where and bit his ears.
However, if you read this column every month and e-mail your friends about it, you will be showered with nothing but good luck.
Okay, okay, I'll stop.
Did you believe me when I said you must read this article or you will invite bad luck in your life in the coming days?. Are you one of those internet freaks who believe and forward every chain letter that you receive? Chain letters that annoy but still you fall for it.
What are chain letters? Anything that says "If you do not forward this e-mail then bad luck will prevail forever and if you forward this to 5 people then something( Like your boss will not assign you any task) good will happen within 5 minutes" or something along that line is considered a chain letter. Not just that but anything that gets forwarded to so many people even if there are no promises of good luck, like virus alerts or asking help for a cancer patient is considered a chain letter!
The most common form of chain letter nowadays are friendship stories, wishes and poems that urge you to pass them to everyone in your address book. Most of them promise a favorable but mostly impossible outcome if you pass it on to enough people.
There are more, like for every person you forward the message to; Microsoft will send you $500 or so. If you believe this then you badly need to brush up your math. Have you ever wondered that handing out $500 each to an ever-expanding number of people would bankrupt even Bill Gates? Or how on earth would he get your bank account number to fill it up?
I got an "Angel Wish" chain letter from a friend last week but instead of telling me to forward it; she asked if I could write about the stupidity of it. And that’s what made me write this article.
What's the big deal about these chain letters then? Is this really a problem? One website explains: "There are two main problems, which affect any type of chain letter. The first is quite simple; the sheer volume of mail generated by a successful chain letter clogs up mail servers and connections, slowing down the whole Internet. The second problem is even more annoying. Did you ever wonder where the scum who keep offering you credit cards and related spam got your email address? They buy addresses in bulk from "marketing" companies (you've probably been offered some of these as well.) Where do the "marketing" companies get addresses? Absolutely anywhere. Take a look at a chain letter. Isn't it great how the names and, often, email addresses of everyone it's been sent to are listed on it? I've counted over 200 email addresses visible on one chain letter. A simple program can strip all of these from the message, ready to be sold to someone who will then send you ten messages a day offering you a free life insurance quote. Whoever sent the chain letter to you has already, quite unintentionally, exposed you to this risk. Please don't expose anyone else. A related tip: When forwarding jokes (which are not chain letters, because they benefit everyone that receives them and not just some geek) clear out all the email addresses on it before forwarding. This both makes life hard for spammers and reduces the size of the message, so it sends faster."
There is a solution to this chain-letter plague. Delete them. If a poem touched and inspired you deeply, you may save it, print it, pin it on your wall, but please do not forward it to others.
Finally, every rule has an exception. If you ask your pals to read this article, I won't mind. In fact, I'm encouraging you to do it and all the good things that you've been experiencing will continue to happen to you.
For example, the sun will still rise in the east tomorrow.

Super Star India: From Incredible to Unstoppable

2008-06-26T01:53:00.000-07:00

By Mubeen Khan
Shobha De who recently turned 60 celebrated it by coming out with a book called Super Star India: From Incredible to Unstoppable.
De's new book draws a co-relation between the author and the country's age that is 60 years of independence and how India is evolving into a superpower. Characteristically in her latest book, De tries her hand at social commentary and serves up what is supposed to be a congratulatory and formal expression of praise to a confident and resurgent India. Whatever De’s intent might have been, what the reader gets, however, is a catalogue of all that is shameful in India. Poverty, hunger, social inequities and the less than commendable attitude of Indian men towards women in general; all of these find a place in this hall of shame. Why the writer would choose this particular title for a book that chronicles India’s negatives in such detail is hard to fathom. At the end of each section, where she details the ills of our country, there are a few lines about how and why India is unstoppable. For this book, De has turned an observer of the Indian society at large and gives a vivid picture of our problems but takes care to simultaneously inform the reader of the privileged perch from which she does her observation.
The funny part is that De takes great pains to emphasize her own credentials as one from the upper crust by writing that 'The Ambanis live in their palatial residence-not far from where I stay' or talking about her globe-trotting with specific attention on the place of stay (either a five star or expensive clubs).
There is a mention of reference to various high-end brands everything from Cartier watches to Fendi bags to Gucci to Prada stuff that is clearly out of reach for 99 per cent of India's population. To use this as a barometer for any kind of India’s progress is in itself very skewed.
De’s writing style has been well-honed over decades of writing and editing society magazines for years now. Popularly known as the queen bee of Penguin India Like all other De writings, it's an easy read, though it's a bit of an irritant to see her pepper sentences with Hindi words like, 'Goli Maro, ajeeb, halaath to the skeptics. She also in her writing employs phrases like "pretty confused", "pretty sinister" which will give you an idea of her literary style too.
In the end, it's a book that if read should be done a section at a time with time gaps in between. Although it is a book that does not add up to much, the tone is too elitist and too narrow in its assumptions. It is very much like a drawing room discussion where nothing is verifiable and anything goes.
Happy Reading if you choose to read!

Home Based Jobs, Get Rich Quick Schemes & Scams

2008-06-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

Kiran Kumar, CEO, forexveda.com , a Foreign Exchange Trading company shares a very informative piece on Scams and how to avoid getting caught in the scam web

Congratulations: you have inherited $ 12 million. Let me hear from you URGENTLY by my private e-mail address: dr_dereklamber@yahoo.co.ukPHONE:+44-703-183-4622
How many times have you seen such e - mails in your inbox? Though we know that even a known person will not give Rs 1200 for no reason but in our heart we want to believe this stranger now dead in some far away country who of all the people in the world thought of leaving $ 12 million for you. Let's think hypothetically, even if this were true, will the person who is sending you this mail, choose to reveal such important information merely through an email. Won't he come and meet you personally and give this good news? Many of us sensible people just ignore this and laugh it off as a wishful thinking but still there are some who believe this and go all the way replying to the mail and enquiring details about it and ultimately falling into the trap. Before the better sense prevails to them and they realize that it was a fraud, much harm has already been done and instead of recipient of the email getting any money, he realizes that he has lost not only his peace of mind but also some money in the transit. Adding one more to the list of scams is internet scam. These scams originate in various forms but the objective of all the scams is to extract as much money from you. These scams clearly state that the transaction is absolutely clear and you need not pay anything but as you start communicating with them and getting into their trap, you end up paying a few thousand dollars as a courier charges or agent's fees. 'After all what's the harm in paying $10,000 as courier charges when you are getting $12 million', one may think. Many well educated people who are computer savvy and are well versed with evils of internet have succumbed to the pressures from internet. Perhaps the thought of getting rich in a jiffy is too strong that we lose our common sense and see no harm in trying. The modus operandi is same in all these scams. They never ask for money in the beginning. Once you start communicating with them, they say that they have sent money through an agent and you will have to pay the courier charges. People who believe, send the money for the courier. It may end there or they may start getting demand for more money for various reasons. "In one such incident, a client of mine showed he has 36 million dollars in his bank account in first caveman bank. It took me few minutes to find out there is no such bank" tells Kiran Kumar, CEO, Forexveda.comRecently CNN IBN reported about a girl in Delhi who stole a few lakhs from her company to pay those Nigerians who lured her in to an internet scam. She was later arrested by the police.Most of the Home based Jobs, get rich quick schemes and Internet scams fall under one category. If it was so easy to earn Rs 15,000 in a month by working for just two hours, all the organizations adhering to eight hour working shift will close down. Why only internet, newspapers are loaded with advertisements about getting rich quickly, work two hours a day and earn Rs 20,000 in a month. Internet is a place where you find thousands of get rich quick kind of schemes. People who don't understand the work from home concept still fall prey for these schemes.
Earning money through GoogleOne can advertise in Google as well as become a Google partner and let companies advertise in their websites. One has to have high traffic to the website/webpage and each click on the advertisement gets them a small money. Search engines are smarter than we think, before giving us money these search engines make sure that the clicks are genuine. This is again not the right way of earning money online and people end up paying money to middlemen who promise to teach them the tricks. If these clicks are fake, it is possible for them to track it down. The penalty can be cancellation of your account. Network Marketing
Network marketing is another way of earning money but selling is not everyone's cup of coffee. These are called MLM or in people's lingo 'chain schemes' 90% of the people who join these schemes lose money because they fail to sell these schemes to their friends.
Day Trading in Stock market
I was surprised when I read some investment advisors recommending day trading in stock market as a good work from home /home based business opportunity. In day trading mostly brokers make money through brokerages. Most of the day traders lose money in day trading. Online trading is one of the toughest professions and one must be very careful in investing in day trading. Do not trust people who only talk about profits, but not risks associated with the trading.
Mutual Funds and Unit Linked Insurance Products
Investments in Mutual funds and ULIPs are exposed to risk as the asset management companies invest your money in the stock market. Recently a well reputed insurance company collected crores of rupees from the market for their insurance scheme. Company did not offer high returns but their agents did. People invested money going on the verbal assurances from the insurance agents. The tip is to ask the agent to give their promises in writing before trusting them and investing their hard earned money. Be an Insurance agent is another way to earn money.
Most of the Insurance companies find it easier to sell their products by recruiting large number of insurance agents. They advertise like this " Be your own boss. Work 2 hours a day and earn more than Rs. 20,000 a month" People are lured into this profession by development managers with attractive commissions and renewal commissions. Insurance companies have appointed more than 20,000 insurance agents in Mysore alone. Those who join as insurance agents manage to sell few policies within their circles. Most of them drop out in the 2nd year as they exhaust all their contacts in the first year. These people don't even earn their renewal commissions. They cannot go to court to demand renewal commissions as they don't get anything in writing from these Insurance companies about renewal commissions. When you join as an Insurance agent, ask the company to give you the commission structure in writing. Some companies give the proposal letter in their letter head but commission structure will be on a plain white paper. This holds no good when you try to demand the renewal commissions.
It does not mean that anything mentioned on internet about earning money is fraud. Internet provides ample opportunities to make money but one should know how to make use of it. One must use common sense while getting in to these kind of schemes. Schemes try to get members by showing few examples of people who have made lot of money. In the days of online learning, learning about how internet can be used to your advantage is child's play. “People with good understanding of the internet can surely make lot of money but there is no get rich quick scheme in Internet. One has to really work hard to make money. People with just one or two hours of spare time a day shouldn't venture into online business expecting huge income” - says Kiran Kumar
Internet is not good or bad as far as earning money is concerned. It is up to you how you use it to your advantage or disadvantage.

Brand in your customer’s mind

2008-06-20T04:44:00.000-07:00

An intersting piece by Kavya Shankre Gowda
One of the truths of modern business is that there is almost nothing that your competitors can't duplicate in a matter of weeks or months. If you have a great idea, you can be certain that somebody will copy soon!. And not only will they follow your lead, but they may also be able to do a better job or sell the product or service at a lower price. The question is, "What competitive edge do I have to offer that cannot be copied by anyone else?"
The answer would be simple, your brand.
Branding is more than just a business buzzword. It has become the crux of selling in the new economy. If the old marketing mantra was," Nothing happens until somebody sells something," the new philosophy could be "Nothing happens until somebody brands something."
A brand is something that you can own and nobody can take that away from you. Everything else, they can steal. They can steal your trade secrets. Eventually, your patents will expire, your physical plant will wear out and technology will change but your brand can go on and live for ever. It creates a lasting value above and beyond all the other elements of your business. A brand cannot be all things to all people. By definition, no single brand is going to appeal to all customers. On the contrary, branding is based on the concept of singularity — targeting individuals in a personal manner— and therefore precludes the concept of universal appeal.
The foundation of your brand is its name. After its uniqueness wears off, it will be your brand name against the brand names of your competitors in the marketplace.
Many companies have committed translation faux pas when they failed to cross reference the brand's name in other languages or cultures. One of the most popular instances was the marketing mishap with the Chevy Nova. The car didn't impress the Latin American Customers, as the vehicle’s name in Spanish means" It doesn't go."
Brand’s name should be catchy, easy enough to communicate, and should be acceptable to consumers from various ethnic backgrounds.
If possible, the name should also complement the overall core values of the company. For instance, Pampers was a perfect name for the diaper line that Procter & Gamble launched in the late 1970s. The name is easy to say, has positive associations, and links to the performance of the product. Besides that, the brand came out at a time when cloth diapers were still largely popular with mothers. By its name alone, mothers could make the switch to disposable diapers without compromising the comfort or pampering of their baby. There are also chances of de-branding that can happen when the entrepreneur fails to associate the brand-name with a positive value-added product. The best illustration would be Vijay Mallya buying the Bangalore Royal Challengers team in the current IPL cricket series. The performance that the Bangalore team has put up, may contribute to de-branding his already built brand.
So most importantly, a brand must be endearing and rest will endure on its own.

Tips on English - Part 2

2008-06-20T04:28:00.000-07:00

Another useful piece from Supantha Banerjee on tackling English
Cultural differences
Same words may mean different things to different people. E.g. ‘Fix a flat’ may mean, ‘arrange for an apartment’ in some parts of the world, whereas the expression may mean, ‘fix a broken tyre/tire (both are correct, though ‘tyre’ is more common in India where as in US ‘tire’ means car tire) of your car. The example stresses that the content of a communication package should be written keeping the receiver in mind.
Short & Sweet
Shorter sentences are always better and create less confusion in the minds of people. Shorter usually means clearer, less awkward and unambiguous. Given an option a sentence should be revised to make it shorter.
Jane and her boss have differences over the way in which the program should work.
The sentence above is wordy. A better version of the above sentence could be:
Jane and her boss differ over how the program should work.
Consider As
Consider means ‘regard as’. Usage of ‘consider as’ is incorrect at the least and wordy at the best. As should never follow consider although we see this usage time and time again.
Incorrect: Bob is considered as a guru in Oracle
Correct: Bob is considered a guru in Oracle

Incorrect: Consider this email as my code review sign-off
Correct: Consider this email my code review sign-off
Magic Modifier
Incorrect placement of a modifier in a sentence can change the meaning of the entire sentence. E.g. Great care should be taken to align the word ‘only’ with the word it actually modifies.

I coded the new program only yesterday – I don’t need to code any today.
I coded only the new program yesterday – I did not code any other program.
I only coded the new program yesterday – I did not do anything else.
Only I coded the new program yesterday – Nobody else coded any.

Back to school

2008-06-12T03:40:00.000-07:00

The holidays are over and the children are back to school. There is a routine in the house and the life for us mothers is more structured and disciplined now. What a relief! …But relief for whom ? Definitely not for the children. Stress is not the prerogative of adults alone. Children average or above average lead a very stressful life now a days. Not only academics, they are expected to excel in everything they put their hands into be it theatre, dance, sports, drawing. The day we enroll our child for tennis, we expect him/her to play US Open one day. Though we tell ourselves we don’t pressurize our children but the undue anxiety by mothers shows it all and they understand our expectations from our body language.

There is a constant struggle in their minds to do well because doing well is the sign of getting accepted. An average child finds it very difficult to cope up with the competition. If they are unable to reach the bar created for them, it leads to stress. Studies show that most of the children are with average intelligence, the percentage of children with below and above average intelligence is very less.

I know a young mother whose son has just joined first grade. The child doesn’t like to write and writes very slowly in the class; he is unable to finish the class work in the class. The young mother is so worried about his future as if his slow writing may lead to his failure in life. Her undue anxiety does reflect in her body language

It's the beginning

2008-06-05T02:13:00.000-07:00

Majority of the youngsters living in Mysore do not want to begin their career in Mysore because Mysore is not a happening city – divulges one survey. The most logical cause for non happening tag of Mysore is its dawdling industrial growth. The survey also reveals that big industries do not demonstrate much interest in setting up a shop here because of city’s laid back image. The million dollar question is how to make Mysore a happening place? ‘If rapid industrial development takes place in Mysore, other things will follow suit and it will automatically become a happening place’. It is like a chicken and egg story. Every entrepreneur wants to play it safe by setting up a unit where the risk is minimum and the basic ingredients for success are aplenty. It certainly requires gargantuan courage to set up your own venture, but the bigger courage lies in being the first one to do so. It required enormous courage when SPI’s CEO Sid Mookerji ( in the pic -extreme right being introduced to Ms. Indra Nooyi, CEO PepsiCo) contemplated setting up SPI more than a decade ago in Mysore after Bangalore shed its nickname of Pensioner’s paradise and became the hot spot for new ventures. He dared to dream big and today SPIzens are living his dream. Mysore’s IT growth owes a lot to SPI for SPI being the first home grown company to provide employment to local talent in a big way and securing a significant place for Mysore on state IT map.
Software Paradigms International, the parent company being named in as one of the fifty fastest growing Asian American companies in USA is a testimony to this. It was a moment of immense pride for all SPIzens when this announcement was made in the White House last week.
We were elated when SPICity, our state - of - the - art campus was built. We were euphoric when SPI acquired select BPO business from COMAT in its debut acquisition. Walking the talk has become a habit with us today. Well wishers often compliment us and say ‘SPI has come a long way’. We beg to differ here - ‘we have a long way to go and this is just the beginning’.

Tips on English - 1

2008-05-22T03:02:00.000-07:00

Supantha Banerjee has sent a useful piece on the errors made in English by most .
Let us re-learn a few things and apply those before hitting the ‘send’ button next time!
Advice Vs. Advise
Nine out of ten writers make this mistake.
Example - Joe, find the analysis below. Please review and advice.
There are two possible errors in the sentence that is marked bold. The sentence (a) lacks parallelism (advice, a noun, does not go well with review, a verb) and (b) it does not have the required verb. The intent of the sentence is to request Joe to review the analysis and provide feedback/guidance. The word ‘Advice’ is a noun, whereas ‘Advise’ is a verb. So ‘advise’ should be used in place of ‘advice’ for the above example.
The sentence would be correct if re-written as:
Please review and advise – Using correct verb form of ‘advice’ or
Please review and provide advice – Using ‘advice’ as noun.
It’s Vs. Its
One particular error that never ceases to make me cringe is the misuse of the words ‘it's’ and ‘its’.
‘It’s’ is a contraction and abbreviated form of ‘It is’ or ‘It has’. Usage of ‘it’s’ is similar to that of ‘that’s’. ‘It’s’ in a sentence is correct if ‘it’s’ can be replaced by ‘it is’ without making the sentence awkward! Let me quote a famous line from a popular song (by Bojoura, a Dutch singer) for explanation:
If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium,
If it’s Wednesday, this must be Rome….
Let’s replace ‘it’s’ by ‘it is’
If it is Tuesday, this must be Belgium
If it is Wednesday, this must be Rome…
The sentence still carries the intended meaning and it is grammatically correct. By the way, do listen to the song, which was later adapted to create a Hindi classic in 1973! (Does “Churaliya” sound familiar?)
‘Its’ is a possessive pronoun. Usage of ‘its’ is similar to that of ‘his’, ‘her’ or ‘mine’
A word of advice (not advise) would be to refrain from usage of ‘it’s’ and write the full expression ‘it is’. Shorter does not always have to be better!
Doing good?
How often have you heard this expression? Countless times! Even though it ‘sounds good’, it’s not grammatically correct. In the above expression the word ‘good’ is trying to modify the verb. But ‘good’ is always an adjective and cannot be used as adverb.
Incorrect: I am doing good
Correct: I am doing well or I am doing fine

Miser! Who me?

2008-05-16T04:47:00.000-07:00

My sons call me a miser because I ask them to open the gift packets carefully so that the gift wrappers can be reused. They call me a magpie when I keep the envelopes received in the post neatly so that they can be used again for some purpose at home. They hate it when I ask them not to throw old note books which still have a few pages blank so that they can be made into a rough note books to be used at home. They laugh at me when they see me collecting flyers from newspapers with one side blank and cutting them into four as these come in handy for making grocery list and can be used as post its. My kids find it very amusing when I stuff one polythene bag in my hand bag when going to work as I might stop to buy some mangoes on the way. They feel embarrassed when I refuse a sleek polythene bag from the vendor and quickly offer him my own cloth ‘thella’. They also make a long face when I discourage them from buying expensive gifts for me.

Communities

2008-05-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

I am a keen observe of how people from various communities behave. Every community has some distinguish characteristics which set it apart from other communities. Like South Indians are known for their simplicity and docile nature. In north, house owners prefer south Indian tenants as they are considered to be simple and people of few needs and expectations. North Indians especially Punjabis are known for their exuberance and aggression (both positive as well as negative). Their flamboyancy is demonstrated effortlessly. The stories of generosity and liveliness of Sikhs are so well known. Hospitality has different meaning in various regions and communities. In Punjab, the more the number of dishes on the table for your guests, the more is your affection towards them but such display of hospitality and affection towards your guests are not correlated in south. In down South, sari, jewelry and steel shops are always crowded with buyers whereas steel vessels are quite outdated up in north. Since north Indians are ostentatious by nature, for them bone china and porcelains mark the status symbol. It is interesting to observe their differences.
These behavioral differences have their origin to one or the other things. Almost every family in Punjab has a story to narrate about their war experiences of 1965, 1971 and even partition; hence the aggression is but natural. With the growing migration and globalization, these lines tend to fade gradually.

Master Key

2008-05-12T04:25:00.000-07:00

Last week I was invited to a play enacted by children in the age group of 9 - 13 years. The children did a fantastic job in accentuating the importance of preserving our environment. The story was about a young boy of 10 who cares a damn about his surroundings. Ipods , cell phones are his closest pals. He survives on junk food like the new breed of generation. He hates to walk and wants chauffeur driven car to take him even to the house next door. The play was about his transformation into a caring individual and how he pledges to save environment.
After the glittering performance during an interaction with the audience, the anchor asked if there are any experts in their chosen fields amongst the audience. I still don’t know why she asked that but in spite of her repeated announcements forget about raising a pretty hand none would even flutter an eyelid. Though there were doctors, lawyers, educationists amongst the group but no one would get up for the fear of being labeled conceited. Most of us are brought up on the modest diet of ‘let others call you expert’ instead of you blowing your own trumpet. Suddenly, all heads turned when a small girl barely 8 or 9 yrs from amongst the audience chirped ‘I am an expert in every thing I do, what ever I do is perfect’. The anchor’s comments could not be heard due to thunderous applause by the audience.
Isn’t it true that confidence is the master key to be called an expert in everything and anything? You can have the world literally at your feet if you are confident or at least divulge that you are confident. Don’t know whether success follows confidence or the other way round!

Another Chance

2008-05-09T03:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Election Day in Mysore. During last one month, the contestants had painted the whole city in varied colors of blue, green, red. The city looked soooo colorful. Even the holy cows were not spared. Just a day before, it is unusually quiet, perhaps a lull before the storm. TOI is advocating people to use their franchise, Cast your vote, vote for Karnataka.
Whoever wins, will it really matter? Will there be no stray dogs on the road if x party wins? Or will there be no garbage choked streets/corruption/hump free roads if y party wins. All are same. Contestants are spending money like water ( no that’s a wrong example as water is a precious commodity these day) , but naturally who ever wins will make sure to get back all the money spent within next one year ( with interest of course). If they don’t earn by whatever means, how will they contest next election. It’s a vicious circle. Don’t know if there is any Abhimanyu who can break this chakarvihu. But it doesn't mean I won't vote , I will and so should you. Let's give our Politicians another chance.

It happens only in India

2008-05-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

What do you observe when you look at this picture? You observe stark differentiation between foreign and Indian nationals. Like many other things, some things happen only in India. Once, while accompanying an American client for a visit to the Royal Palace, I was hugely embarrassed when I was asked to pay Rs 200 as entry fees for both of us. The ticket clerk mistook me to be a foreigner. After a closer look, he apologized and clarified “Sorry madam, it is Rs 120 only, Rs 100 for the American lady and Rs 20 for you. In some places the discrimination is even worst. The foreigners cough up Rs 1000/ for a visit to Taj Mahal where as Indian nationals pay only Rs 20. Those western looking NRIs too end up shelling out the exorbitant rates meant for foreign nationals. All tourist places run by government are authorized to charge the discriminating rates for Indians and foreigners. The logic of extracting extra charges from foreigners without any additional service is un comprehensible. India has a rich heritage to exhibit but India is one of the most unfriendly tourist countries. Lack of clean rest rooms, no good roads, no authorized translators/guides are just a few road blocks. Discriminating entry fees is an add on. Charging a different fee is justifiable only under one condition. If some extra services like a guide service is provided to the visitor. Extracting extra bucks from foreigners for the same service is obnoxious.

Happy Women's Day

2008-03-14T02:05:00.000-07:00

8th March was International Women’s Day. This day is identified as the day for the celebration of womanhood. It celebrates the life of those women who face hardships in life with their inner strength. Ayn Rand, Mother Teresa, Helen Keller, Eleanor Roosevelt and many others led an exemplary life. They had to struggle and make difficult choices. In today’s context, from rags to riches life story of well known author J.K.Rowling is the most inspiring. For a progressive thinking woman, this day starts with family and close friends wishing her ‘Happy Women’s Day’. During the day her thumb goes numb replying to Women’s Day SMSs laden with choicest of quotes on ‘inherent strength of women’. Her colleagues both men and women walk in to her desk to wish her. Her mail box is full with emails from well wishers conveying ‘you mean a lot to me’. Feminists roll out their tired speeches on women’s rights. Perhaps a seminar or a lecture thrown in to motivate her to reach great heights completes the picture. After all, this is the appointed day for all humanity to shower their appreciation towards women around them. Men around her silently observe this hullabaloo and wonder ‘why no Men’s Day’. The day culminates with romantic dinner with boyfriend/ husband or a night out with girl friends where she is dressed in her best and giggles non stop over silly things. All through the day she is on cloud nine and her self esteem is sky high. She feels proud to be a woman. Not a single negative thought crosses her mind; suddenly she becomes aware of her capability to overcome any hurdle and emerge victorious.
…The day gone. This day is forgotten until the next Women’s Day.
Now it is back to the usual state of low self esteem and helplessness. The feelings of bitterness and envy again emerge out from undercover. Where have all her strengths, sacrifices and accomplishments gone? Don’t know where. The issues of gender bias, discrimination at home and work again make a home in her mind. Her multi tasking ability which was her strength till yesterday now becomes her lack of focus.
There are hundreds and thousands of women everywhere who continue to face and fight the small battles at work and home without knowing anything about Women’s Day. It’s a Women’s Day when there is equal pay for equal work and it’s not the gender but merit decides her growth path. It’s a Women’s Day when opportunities and avenues for growth are thrown open for all irrespective of gender; it is day of celebration when the birth of a girl is as big an occasion for rejoice as that of a boy. Isn’t it a women’s Day when she becomes aware of her strengths, when she is not forced to put up with domestic violence and has the courage to walk out of a bad marriage? When she comes out from the feeling of inadequacy and when the emotion of envy flies out from the window sill only to be replaced by a feeling of support and cooperation towards other women, is it not the day to celebrate? There is a new dawn for her when she thrashes her image of woman’s worst enemy to take the role of woman’s best friend.
Did anyone say men vs women? Success cannot be achieved by suppression but is a result of man woman synergy.
Happy Women’s Day to all you women out there! Let the feeling of Women’s Day linger on the entire year and not just for one single day.

Call me by my name

2008-02-11T03:50:00.000-08:00

They say what’s in a name; I say everything is in the name. You may call rose by any other name, for sure it will smell as sweet but ask rose - will it liked to be called by any other name such as Blacky or Creepy . Definitely not.
I have an excellent memory , can remember phone numbers , flight numbers and anything and everything about a person but when it comes to remembering names , I am a complete blank. I remember everything about one acquaintance I bumped into at a coffee shop recently … I remember everything about her… the color of her dress, type of jewellary she was wearing (I am sure all women are good at that!), how many children does she have, which class/ school do they go it, her phone number, where does she live etc etc but don’t ask me her name. Sometimes it is very embarrassing when I fail to remember the name of person with whom I have spoken nth number of times, had lunch also. I have tried all tricks like associating the person’s name with some incident or famous personality but nothing seems to work. Suggestion any one?

Change of Mind

2008-02-06T00:38:00.000-08:00

A decade ago there would be a big fight in the house if I even heard about any friend /colleague migrating to the land of opportunities, I would almost die with envy, “They are the lucky ones who will live a life of luxury now and me forced to deal with daily problems of no water supply, frequent power cuts, pollution, corruption, need to pull strings to get anything done even nursery school admissions, and daily kich kich in life over petty issues. “How to get away from all this?” was the constant struggle in my mind
Fast forward to 21st century; things have changed in India and so is my mind.
Day in and day out I am bidding bonvoyage to my colleagues who are sent to company headquarters in Atlanta for a temporary or permanent stay. At times I wonder where has the feeling of envy gone? It has not gone, it has just been replaced by another feeling… a feeling of empathy (if they are going for good)
“I wonder how they will adjust to a different life; won’t it be painful for them to say good bye to the life of comfort – comforts of hot dinner neatly laid on the table when you come home from work, coziness of sleeping late when your driver drives your kids for early morning tennis class, convenience of leaving your kids with a neighbor when you are dancing your heels off on valentine’s day party, availability of all the international brands in the mall next door and that too within reach , flexibility of spending time with your cousins when they are in town on a weekday ( you don’t have to ask them to make their trip only on the weekend and that too inform you two months in advance so that you can book your weekend), your elderly parents having the independence of hiring an auto to roam around when they come for a visit ( need not wait for you to come home and take them out)
Did I mention about ample career opportunities and fat… fatter… fattest pay packages?

Write - Don't write it off

2008-02-05T22:49:00.000-08:00

Shivram Gangadhariah has sent a lucid write up on why we should insist on written messages when it comes to official and important communication and just not depend on the vagaries of sound waves.

At a crucial stage in Mahabharata, when asked for confirmation of the news, Dharmaraya announced to Guru Dronacharya "Yes, Ashwatthama, the elephant, is dead". Lord Krishna blew his conch in the middle of the announcement, ensuring that Drona only heard "Ashwatthama is dead". Heartbroken by the news of the death of his beloved son, the hitherto rampant Drona withdrew from the battlefield of Kurukshetra, thus changing its course. Now, if Dronacharya had insisted on a written statement instead of verbal communication, there would have been no scope for manipulation and confusion. Of course, it is not feasible to insist on written communication in mid-battle, but the above story shows the inherent risk in verbal communication.
It is quite possible that you work late hours to meet the client’s deadline and successfully complete module 13, only to find the client unhappily informing you the next day that he actually wanted module 30 done ASAP, not 13. Needless to say, the communication was all verbal, with no documentation whatsoever. It is pointless to argue with the client that “yesterday you had said 13, now you want 30 – how come?”, because client is always right (as is the boss, and the wife!). A short follow-up mail from you to the client immediately after receiving the verbal instruction, stating that “working on module 13, as per your instruction – please confirm” would have done the trick. It would have elicited a response from the client saying “OK, go ahead” or “Correction! I want module 30, not 13”. That would have resulted in a job well-done, and put smiles on all the faces that matter.
In intra-office affairs also, written communication helps avoid unnecessary headache. The strange notion that seems to be floating around of late, that mature people depend on verbal instead of written communication is … well, strange. Written communication does ease your work, but take care not to overdo it, like it is often done in Government offices. One of my previous employers, in the pre-email era, had intra-office memo with the catchy legend printed at top: “Don’t say - Write”. It did help reduce confusion, and the resulting friction.

Fifth or Reverse gear!!

2007-10-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

“How does a suicide bomber feel when he is about to explode the bomb?” asked Rahul, my little one. “Is RDX the main ingredient in the bomb?” he nudged me again before I could answer his first query. Flabbergasted at his innocent queries, “How intelligent and well aware the children of this generation are!” I murmured to myself.
Times have changed. Today’s children may perceive our childhood as bland and lackluster. It was almost the same routine everyday for most children of those times. After school hours were spent in playing with the neighborhood children till the final call for dinner came. A hearty meal followed by a long story session from grand ma was something we all looked forward to. Stories of fairies, demons, animals, ghosts elevated us to another world. As time passed, the life changed first gradually and then swiftly. Satellite invasion replaced grandma stores with soap operas, cartoon channels and the like. Fast changing technology, modern means of communication, free flow of information and the ability to travel speedily across nations and oceans changed our lives for ever.
We now lived in global village. Swanky cars, sleek mobiles, fancy gadgets, designer clothes, dot coms…, one look at the tremendous achievements the man has made…we cannot resist patting ourselves on the back.
We have come a very long way indeed. Right in our living rooms we can watch live dramas of destruction, barbaric mowing down of thousands and crumbling down of very symbols of modern existence like a house of cards and what a novel way to achieve the ulterior motives. Each method of mass annihilation is more advanced than the other. Our vocabulary has gone overboard; we can talk of bio terrorism, global terrorism, suicide bombers over a cup of tea.
Whither man’s intelligence! I wonder if we are becoming regressive or progressive.
God save this world.

Problem of Plenty

2007-10-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

Life without emails and mobiles!! Is it possible? Forget about mobiles there was a time not so long ago when having a landline at home was a luxury. One had to wait for eight to ten years to get a phone connection. Going to neighbor’s house to make a phone call or watch Sunday movie on T.V was common and nothing to be ashamed of. I get nostalgic when I think of those days. A week long wait to watch Chitrahaar on Wednesdays (half an hour show on Hindi film songs) added on to the exhilaration of watching a T.V programme. Now, what’s the great fun in watching a movie on T.V, it is available 24x7 or get a DVD and watch it whenever you want. People had various reasons to laugh and cheer about - getting a trunk call ( long distance call) after four hours wait, waiting for the postman in the hope of receiving a letter from a dear friend or a telegram announcing the birth of a child in the family. People traced happiness in small things.
Fast forward to the new fast track age… everything happens at the click of a mouse. Want to keep in touch with your friends in US, send an email or just pick up your cell right now (unless it is night time there!). Possessing a cell phone is no more a luxury, it is taken for granted. Every member of the family possesses a cell phone, sometimes even two - one official and another personal. Each one has an independent room and vehicle.
You may buy anything for children but their happiness is momentary. Every weekend there is a get together or an outing so what’s the big deal about another invitation for a high profile party or eating out? There is an abundance of clothes, toys, books, household items and even marks; a child scoring 85% is an average child; earlier we distributed sweets on getting a first division (60%). Now people look for happiness in bigger pleasures which are elusive.
Everyone has everything in plenty except Time. We have time neither for us nor for others.

Six Reasons for why one should blog

2007-08-17T01:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the world of blogging. Blogs have been around for a decade now. They have come a long way from the tag of ‘time pass’ hobby to the trendiest thing to do. “Do you have a blog” or “Do you blog” is the most common question to break the ice between two strangers. There are blogs on almost all subjects and sub - subjects one can think of and by all the names as there is no copyright on blog names (I suppose!). I could not name my blog for a long time as which ever name I decided on; there was a blog by that name. After zeroing on Coffee Break, I have decided not to do any more google search to find out if a blog by this name already exists.
‘Comments’ to a post add the spice and make a blog interesting. Many bloggers read only the comments and not the post as these gives them various angles of a story. For some, blogging is a kind of addiction and in Marxist terminology, it can be rightly called the ‘opium of the 21st century’
Six Reasons for why one should blog

1. True freedom of expression. You don’t have to write as per publications’ guidelines and editor’s instructions
2. Instant gratification of your efforts and writing abilities
3. An ocean full of info on every topic under the sun
4. Immediate feedback to your posts
5. You get a chance to give a piece of your mind to those writers whose ideas don’t appeal to you
6. The sixth reason is for the readers to tell

Journey of Indian National Flag

2007-08-14T05:10:00.001-07:00

The journey of Indian National flag was started in pre independence era. There are many opinions about which was the first flag of India. It is commonly believed that it was in 1904 that first Indian flag came into being - designed and made by Sister Nivedita, an Irish disciple of Swami Vivekananda; it was also called Sister Nivedita's flag. This flag contained red and yellow color signifying freedom struggle and victory respectively. It had words "Bonde Matoram" in Bengali on it. The flag also contained a figure of 'Vajra', and a white lotus in the middle. Unfortunately the photograph or image of this flag is not available anywhere. After this, many designs of the national flag were proposed; some were accepted and some not. Each design and color used had some significance attached to it. Indian flag in its present form was designed by "Pingali Venkayya" and was accepted by Constitutional Assembly on 22nd July 1947. There are strict laws regarding its manufacturing and its hoisting.

Chak De India is not Chak De Phatte( ‘Let’s have a blast’!)

2007-08-13T03:25:00.000-07:00

The recent release Chak De ('Go Get it' expression) India projects two things very coherently – firstly the women power; in spite of his stunning performance, it is the not King Khan but the ordinary women who steal the show with their hockey sticks. Like everywhere else, here too it is the women who have the last word. Secondly, the word 'sports' does not mean cricket by default (children now know that there are other sports to be played except cricket and tennis)
“If you have the will anything is possible” especially when it is a Hindi movie and the hero is none other than Shah Rukh Khan, the movie comes with a message and the moral of the story is loud and clear. With an appropriate dose of patriotism, it is a must watch for its being unusual and, catching on the patriotism flame at the time of India’s 60th Independence Day . It is an excellent watch if you are not looking for any glamour, romantic overtones and comparisons with Lagaan, another movie based on sports.
Chak De sans glamour and romance; the theme overshadows the actors.
For a change, it is fantastic to watch India’s national game taking the centre stage but the distressing part is, it happens only in the theatre.

To Smoke or Not to Smoke

2007-07-24T04:18:00.000-07:00

The proposal to ban smoking in offices, public places and even homes (take your maid’s permission before smoking) has mixed reactions. Women and non smokers are rejoicing but smokers are grumbling and chain smokers are grumbling even more. Will it really help in reducing the smokers’ population in the country is anyone’s guess? Do you know anyone who has quit smoking? Shah Rukh khan and Saif Ali khan have quit smoking- that’s what they report in publications.
SPI took a trend setting initiative to commemorate Environment Day (5th June) this year by prohibiting smoking within the company premises. Now SPIzens have two choices – either they don’t smoke or go outside the campus to smoke. Generally smokers get the urge to smoke at fixed interval like the tea/coffee addicts. If that hour passes, the urge too passes out.
Last week in the afternoon I was enjoying the rain drops falling with a thunder on the window sill of my cubicle. Who wants to sit in front of the monitor in such a cool weather? No living thing could dare venture out for a smoke in this thunder storm. And there I saw one guy running outside the gate ; he perched himself nicely under a tree for a smoke. Completely drenched but he was unable to let go of the cigarette butt until it burnt his fingers tips. (Paisa Vasool!)
This story has two morals - First- unless the realization comes from within, no amount of restrictions or rain can stop you from smoking. Come rain or shine the smokers will smoke.
The bigger moral- those who are honest will always be honest no matter whether anyone is watching them or no.

The Name Game

2007-07-18T02:23:00.001-07:00

A rose called by any other name would smell just as sweet, wrote Shakespeare.
Mysore will be Mysooru / Mysuru and Bangalore will be named Bengaluru soon and so will some of the other cities in Karnataka.
So what? What’s the big deal about it? Will this twist of the tongue make Bengaluru less polluted, less congested; will it bring relief from stray dog menace or yes, will it become Singapore( BTW do you remember once upon a time S.M. Krishna wanted to make Bangalore …sorry Bengaluru like Singapore?) How it is going to change life for any one of us. Don’t understand why such a hullabaloo on name changing ceremony except the twisting of tongue to pronounce it. Are there not more important things craving for attention than a mere change of name? If only name change could improve things...
The proposal for the name change first came in Dec 2005, it is only July 2007. In a country where everything from Buses to proposals thro decisions move at a snail’s speed, it is pleasantly amazing to note that the decisions can be taken so quickly and things come to conclusion in 18 months. What if our politicians start demonstrating such exuberance and elation in other matters too like stray dog menace, efficient public transport, depleting greenery, traffic snarls ….I will have to write an essay if I start mentioning everything.

Clean Up Your Act

2007-07-10T23:45:00.000-07:00

There is this person in our company, a well respected senior guy who often goes on business trips abroad or putting it rather undiplomatically …keeps having foreign jaunts at company’s expense. The general impression about the people who travel frequently … these guys having sufficient exposure, have good civic sense and are generally well mannered, cultured and courteous. The other day I got the ‘taste of India’ when I went to see him at his desk ….I was welcomed by wrappers of imported chocolates, biscuits and half eaten biscuits littered around his desk in his cubicle. The techie was so absorbed in fiddling with his swanky palm top that he barely noticed my presence… it was a perfect demo of technology amongst filth.
Did I say filth…which is there in abundance every where in India. Well, this post is not about India versus Abroad. It is just about attitude anywhere. This comment should not be mistaken as anti- India campaign; I love my India in spite of filth.
“There are not sufficient dust bins around” is the most common excuse for over flowing dustbins at every street corner. We behave like good boys and girls when we go abroad but the same people on landing at Indian soil behave differently. Will we still throw garbage and litter the roads if we are in US or Europe, or even our neighbor Singapore. No! we won’t rather we dare not because we will be heavily fined if we do so.
Let’s put it like this; we all need a stick on our heads all the time, that’s how human beings work irrespective of education and intelligence quotient!!. Self motivation to clean up is hard to find and does not last. Ask us to pay a fine of even Rs 100/ for every bit of paper or every spit of pan thrown on the Indian roads and execute this sincerely, then see the sheen on Indian roads.
Well, that’s not in my hand. Now, I want to do what is in my hand … request the Facilities Dept to send one waste paper basket to this guy’s desk

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Your Time Starts Now

2007-07-10T02:06:00.000-07:00

Mysore summers have been exceedingly long this year; the salubrious and moderate climate of this royal city is no more its USP for residents and tourists alike. Mysore is not the exception. The heat has caught on the entire globe. The world is getting hotter year after year. Global warming is not a science fiction any more but a looming reality. The United Nations inter–governmental panel on climate change has predicted that temperatures will rise by 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Developing countries like India will be the worst affected by the climate change. Water scarcity, infertile lands, land slides, floods, droughts would become a lingo of the weather report. With all these problems to tackle where is the time and energy to chase our dreams and ambitions.
Reversing or controlling the trend is the real challenge for scientists. If we can reverse the trend or even slow it down, this will be the most precious gift we will be leaving for future generations.
This is the time to act and not ponder and play around. The time is not to indulge in blame game but find a solution together. The count down has begun.
Many may shun this as a piece of crap as what has individuals got to do with the global phenomenon and what can they do. Yes, individual acts can make a difference.
Prof Wangari Muta Maathai , the Nobel Peace Prize 2004 Winner is a living proof of it. It all started with the seven trees that she planted in her backyard on World Environment Day 30 years ago. Over the years , that single act of hers has grown into a world wide movement with 30 million trees in over 30 countries that earned her the Nobel Peace Prize for her ‘contribution to sustainable development , democracy and peace’.
After all it is the effort by every individual counts. Let’s all do what is within our reach. Planting trees, conserving power, using fuel efficient vehicles, shunning plastic bags are few things which do not even require much effort from us. Spreading awareness and educating others especially our children on saving our environment is of prime significance. Dedicating just a day for this every year wouldn’t be enough for celebrating Environment Day, let’s celebrate it every day.

2007-07-09T22:17:00.000-07:00

Knowing Etiquettes Matters

Shivram Gangadhariah has sent an interesting article on how important it is to know diversity in human behaviors and etiquettes as these convey different meanings in different cultures.

We should be thankful to the wonderful diversity that exists in human behaviors and etiquette. Otherwise ours would have been monotonously boring world. But this diversity can create some problems. When it comes to etiquette, ignorance is certainly not bliss. Innocent actions may cause confusion or, worse still, may be construed as offensive.
Following examples, courtesy Economist.com, show some of the complexities arising from diverse etiquette. Germans prefer formal mode of address such as doctor or professor, stressing their educational credentials, so you shouldn’t make the mistake of using first-names in Germany. In England you are expected to be punctual to meetings, whereas in Italy being 5-10 minutes late is the norm. Attending a meeting in Dubai wearing a dish-dasha (a white ankle-length gown) and gutra (head cloth) is likely to draw criticism, as foreigners are not supposed to wear traditional Muslim clothing. At times, etiquette can be very subtle. In Japan, business cards should ideally be produced from the pocket of your jacket, and not from trouser pockets. Also, the business-card presented to you should be left in front of you, because putting it away is a signal that the meeting is over. Sometimes, ignorance of etiquettes can cause much more serious problems than mere confusion – it may offend your host and damage the relationship beyond repair. For example, in Hong Kong, gifting clocks to acquaintances is a strict no-no because it is thought to signify death.
First-time visitors to India who are ignorant of Indian behaviors may be bewildered to find their hosts shaking head side-to-side to indicate agreement or approval, because most of the rest of the world understands a sideways shake of the head to mean disagreement or disapproval. In our own Mysore, it is improper etiquette to say “naanu hogu thini” (“I am going”) while bidding good-bye - the correct expression is “naanu hogiddu baruthini” (“I am going & shall return”).
Do spend some time and effort learning local behaviors and etiquette before visiting a new place, as it will help you to some extent in becoming good brand ambassadors. It is not without reason that employers spend small fortunes educating their staff in behaviors and etiquette of the locals, before packing them off to foreign shores.

2007-07-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

The Programmer's Disease

RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury) is a lingo in IT industry. Vikas Kamat has penned an article on how to cure such injuries. He has fondly named it Programmer’s Disease.

We all love mouse as an input device to the computer, and today it is hard to fathom a computer without a mouse-or-trackball-like device. But stop for a while and think how many times in a day you are moving your right hand (for a right-handed person) from keyboard to mouse and vice-versa, it’s probably in tens of thousands of times. The Programmer's disease occurs by excessive use of the computer keyboard and the mouse. In the medical community, it is also referred to as CTS (Carpel Tunnel Syndrome) and RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury) and increasingly, it is causing a serious problem for workers in the IT industry (hence the name).
How I Fought Programmer’s Disease
In the year 1999 -- about ten years into my programming life -- I started experiencing acute pain in my right hand (I'm right handed). I didn't know about RSI then, and sought physical therapy, which provided temporary help. I had some colleagues who underwent surgery, but the pain returned very quickly. I would use ice-packs, which tremendously helped during the treatment. But the pain was not curable.
In year 2000, a fellow programmer suggested that I switch my mouse-clicking hand.
I tried it, and it was difficult initially, but the body learns sooner than you think. The pain subsided, and over the period of last seven years, I have become ambidextrous, and best part is that the pain is gone!Switching the Clicking Hand Cures RSI
Tips to Prevent RSI

• Stretch and massage your hands

• Perform activities with hands that are opposite to the repetitive strain -- like weight lifting, racquet sports (like Tennis, no Cricket doesn’t help!)

• Distribute the work to other parts of the body -- use alternate fingers and limbs.

Personally, I am waiting for the two technical breakthroughs – one is a foot-operated mouse. As automobile driving technology has shown us, the foot can be very sensitive and can respond very rapidly. The other thing I’m waiting for is a digital glove so I can keep my hands in the pocket of my pants and still operate the PC.

Road to Good Health

2007-06-19T05:03:00.001-07:00

‘Give lift to your heart, use stairs and not lift’ …says a bright yellow poster adorned on the wall just outside the elevator as we enter our office in the morning. I often find employees in their 20’s and 30’s lovingly admire creatives on this poster while they wait for the elevator to descend. Perhaps ‘your’ heart’ in this poster literally means ‘your’ heart and the message is for others and not the reader. It is natural that our health seems valuable to us only after we lose it.
The most unfortunate fallout of the unprecedented economic progress that world has witnessed in the past decade is the radical change in the life styles of most employees. The project dates, deadlines, work sheets, number of billable hours take the lead in running the biological clock. Time being the most precious commodity; the employees are working more, exercising less, eating wrong and taking stress thus grossly affecting their overall health. Studies show that almost 1 billion people worldwide suffer from high blood pressure and more than half a billion will harbor this silent killer by 2025. High blood pressure is a leading cause of stroke and kidney failure. Hyper tension and heart diseases are no longer privileged domains of people in their 50s. These can strike even as young as twenties and thirties. Right diet and adequate exercise are instrumental in keeping one fit and healthy. Ironically as per the reports, the bird flu killed only 2000 people worldwide but it created a panic that even the hard core non - vegetarians turned vegetarians overnight.
The age old proverb “you should visit a doctor only when you fall sick” is passé in modern day environment. “Visit your doctor regularly so that you don’t fall sick” is the modified proverb. Good health means more than treating illnesses when they occur. It also means achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, getting optimal nutrition, exercising and staying fit to prevent disease.
Getting started is always the hardest part. It is entirely your choice as what you want to do – exercise, swim, jog, yoga or simply walk but do something as good health like most good things in life is irreversible.