Monday, October 27, 2008

Migrant Issues or Goonda Conundrum?

3 In India, most political parties are increasingly resorting to violence to make their point heard. Which means that subtly over a period of time this political violence will permeate to all other sections of the society.

While the country’s first moon mission was being launched in southern India with great pride and international acclaim, hordes of angry rioters were burning buses in Bihar, protesting against anti-Bihari migrant violence that had been incited by a regional politician in Mumbai. Achievement on the moon mission was measured in terms of scientific excellence: in Mumbai and Bihar it was by measured by riots and death.

The Raj Thackeray’s episode has been rankling for the last few months now. The governments, both central and state, are doing precious little to address the fissures Raj is so hell bent upon on creating. The decisiveness of those who matter is again conspicuous only by its absence.2

The trouble started at the weekend when Raj Thackeray, leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), attacked people from Bihar who were applying in Mumbai for Indian Railways jobs. There have been many past attacks on Mumbai taxi drivers and other workers from north India, and the weekend’s assaults led to four days of strikes, shop and school-shutdowns, violence and deaths in both Maharashtra and Bihar.

This unsavoury and unethical game of whipping up the regional sentiment for one’s personal gain, without regard of the effect it may have on the integrity of the whole nation. Maharashtra has always been a very important part of the India. This polarizing of communities is not going to help anyone but provide Raj Thackeray his temporary political gains.

Raj Thackeray broke from his uncle and set up his rival group because he feared he would be eclipsed by Bal Thackeray’s son when Thackeray, who is now old and frail, faded from the political scene. The word now is that Delhi is considering whether Raj Thackeray should be stopped. It is trying to persuade Maharashtra’s Congress and NCP-led coalition government to jail him for months, in the hope that this would reduce his power and will to fight. Acting somewhat reluctantly on instructions from Delhi, the state government on Wednesday filed 54 legal cases against him on grounds of inciting riots and action prejudicial to national integration, and briefly arrested him. How ironic that politicians who tolerated such illegal activities when it suited them, should now initiate legal action – ironic, but not surprising in politics.

On the flip side, the polarizing effect in other parts can also be witnessed. The indications coming out of Jharkhand and how they are now read1y to target Marathis, is clear indications that things have come to a head. Even though Marathis had nothing to do with it.

For all his talk about being true to the Maharashtrian way of life, Raj Thackeray seems to have a big problem using ‘Indian style’ loos. The MNS chief spent an uneasy night at Dombivli police lock-up on Tuesday night, swatting mosquitoes due to the load shedding, fielding questions from chatty cops and holding his nose against the all-pervading stink. And the next morning, Raj absolutely refused to use the police station loo because it was ‘Indian style’. When the cops said they couldn’t provide him with an alternative, Thackeray chose to remain constipated all day rather than use the Indian loo.

Lets not confuse the issues. Raj Thackeray is not a visionary; if anything he just has the next elections in his sights and a vision to overturn Shiv Sena and his cousin Uddhav Thackeray.  He does not even fall in the category of “one man’s terrorist, another man’s revolutionary”. He should be held accountable for any deaths resulting from his “rule of the sword” politics and inducing violence.

In the age, where India is already dealing with region and religion based terrorism across the country, we do not need the most important state in India to become embroiled in regional violence.

Friday, October 24, 2008

A Touching Story

Another Forwarded e-mail, but it definitely touched my heart. The message is clear. Please read on.

I was walking around in a Big Bazar store making shopping, when I saw a Cashier talking to a boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old. The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll. Then the little boy turned to me and asked: ''aunty, are you sure I don't have enough money?''

I counted his cash and replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy the doll, my dear.'' The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. 'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much . I wanted to Gift her for her BIRTHDAY.

I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.' His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.''

My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.' Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me 'I want mommy to take my picture with her so my sister won't forget me.' 'I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.' Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?''

'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough.' I added some of my money to his with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!' Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!'' 'I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose. My mommy loves white roses.'

I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind. Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away.. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever.

The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

Please DO NOT DRINK & DRIVE.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Expats brush up their India quotient

nam Would you be surprised if you were told that foreign executives and employees are taking up e-learning courses on Indian culture, behaviour traits and even English before visiting the country? Don't be, for that's what they are doing. Really.

Communication is often a problem foreign executives face in India. For example, Indians often find it difficult to say 'no' and are averse to declining requests.

In such cases, remarks such as "I will try" become a polite way of saying "It is not possible". An expatriate is likely to take this as a "Yes", giving rise to lot of miscommunication and blame game.

"To evade this situation, global corporations and executives are brushing up their know-how on India," says Bhavin Turakhia, Founder and amp; CEO of Directi, an Internet based solution provider. "There has been a growing demand from our clients-especially those preparing for their maiden visit to India-for help with understanding the cultural traits and differences that separate them from their Indian counterparts," says K Venkataraman, Director, Cognizant.

Cognizant Academy, the in-house training centre of Cognizant, has developed two e-learning tools to introduce expatriate clients to India and its cultural traits. Similarly, Directi Flexi Learning Program and Directi Online University, give a range of information on the corporate and people culture in India.

But why would an American need to brush up his English before visiting India? This is because of the difference between Indian and American English. For instance, in India we say "revision" and Americans say "review"; what we "prepone", actually gets "advanced" in the US and our "timing" is their "schedule".

We take the "lift" and they get into an "elevator". Foreign nationals are often at loss to understand why Indian festival holidays are not observed on a fixed day of the year and are flummoxed by Indians' perception of punctuality and assertiveness.

The reluctance of Indians to decline requests or make firm and realistic assertions about the feasibility of tasks and deadlines keeps them wondering. The e-learning programmes on India prepare learners for Indian counterparts who plunge into specifics even if they do not know the person very well, ask personal questions as a means of building rapport, give out personal information readily, tend not to contradict their bosses or escalate issues, and so on.

Some everyday habits of Indians such as eating with bare hands are also explained here. When asked to cite the most frequent and amusing question by expatriates, Venkataraman says, They often ask: "While greeting an Indian woman, should we shake hands or just say 'Namaste' with folded hands?" "It is always welcoming for existing employees to know that a new joinee, especially an expatriate, has taken the initiative of understanding the company and country culture prior to joining the company," says Turakhia.

Source : Yahoo

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Be careful while eating Apples

Not sure if this is true or not. I received this as a forwarded mail. I thought I should publish this as it wouldn't do any one any harm. Perhaps, someone would benefit from this.

Be Careful while eating apples. Please do not eat the skin of the apple as it might have a wax coating.

Check before you eat many of the fruits. WAX is being used for preservation purposes and cold storage. You might be surprised especially apples from USA and other parts are more than one year old, though it would look fresh. The wax coating prevents entry of bacteria. So it does not get dry.

Please Eat Apples after removing the wax as demonstrated below. Please follow this and let others know......

apple1 apple2 apple3

Hope it will be of benefit to you & others.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Mail from a Software Professional

Dear colleagues, I am working in Bangalore Software City ...
I wanted to share an incident of my life with you, hoping that it may be an eye opener to you so that you can live more years.
On 27 th October afternoon I had severe heart attack symptom and I was rushed to the hospital.
After reaching to the hospital the doctors prescribed a test called angiogram. This test is basically to identify blood flow of heart arteries. When they finished the test they found a 94% block in the main artery, please see the image below with red circle.

untitled

At this point I wanted to share my living style which has caused this block in my heart arteries. Please see the below points of my life style, if any of these points are part of your life style then you are at risk, please change yourselves.
1. I was not doing any physical exercise for more than 10 years, not even walking 30 minutes a day for years.
2. My food timings are 11:00 AM Breakfast or no Breakfast, 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM Lunch and dinner at 11:00 PM to 12:00 AM.
3. Sleeping in very odd timings, going to bed between 12:00 AM and 3:00 AM. Waking up at between 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM ... Some times spending sleepless nights.
4. I used to eat heavily because of long gaps between lunch and dinner and I used to make sure that Non-Veg is available most of the time, there were times when I did survey on city hotels to find delicious Non-Veg dishes. I was never interested in vegetable and healthier food.
5. Above all I was chain smoker form years.
6. My father passed away due to heart problems, and the doctors say the heart problems are usually genetic.
Once they identified the major block they have done immediately a procedure called angioplasty along with 2 Stents, mean they will insert a foreign body into the heart arteries and open the blocked area of arteries. Please see the below image after the procedure.

untitled1

I learnt form the doctors that 60% people will die before reaching the hospital, 20% people will die in the process of recovering form heart attack and only 20% will survive. In my case I was very lucky to be part of the last 20%.


Doctors instructions:
1. Need to have physical exercise for minimum of 45 minutes daily.

2.
Eat your food at perfect timings, like how you eat during your school days. Eat in small quantities more times and have lot of vegetables and boiled food, try to avoid fry items and oily food.
3. Sleep for 8 hours a day, this count
should complete before sun rising .
4. Stop smoking.

5. Genetic problems, we can not avoid but we can get away from it by having regular checkups.

6. Find a way to get relived from the stress (Yoga, Meditation etc).


So I urge you all to please avoid getting into this situation, it is in your hands to turn the situation up side down, by just planning / changing your life style, by following simple points above. Because life is wealth and GOD gives you life only once. I pray to GOD that no one should face this situation. If you find it's useful you can forward this mail to your friends and loved ones.....

Monday, October 20, 2008

It's Raining

HeavyRain It's been raining for a couple of days, and yesterday evening saw the highest rainfall in the recent times. The rain started as a passing shower, then became a steady cadence. Heavy drops thud the skylight. The music almost lulls me to sleep.

Scientifically, Rain is liquid precipitation. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapour into drops heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface. It is also the primary source of fresh water for most areas of the world, providing suitable conditions for diverse ecosystems, as well as water for hydro electric power plants and crop irrigation.

For me, it is one of the best gifts that Mother Nature has blessed us with. I love to walk in the rain. In my days of forest visits, I always longed for rain. Its a beautiful feeling to hear to its noise as it drops. It also served as an inspiration for me and made me forget all my worries.

My most memorable walks were those on rainy days on the way back home from school. There was something happy and frolicsome arainbout jumping in the puddles. We would lift our heads to the sky and let the rain fall on our faces with our mouths open wide, as if to tell the heavens to pour out its sweetest drink it had to offer. I loved watching the bubbles rise in the puddles as each droplet made its own statement. I loved seeing the leaves wet and rich in colour, as the rain rolled off, only to await its next drop.

When our lives feel thirsty and dry, it is the rain that comes to quench that thirst. At times it is clothed in pain and sorrow, and its mantle feels heavy on our shoulders. Still, the fresh water that is poured between each crack, and between each rocky place, flows deep into the rich, warm soil of our hearts. It then brings healing to our brokenness as our earth mends itself with the gift it has been given.

It is after such a rainy season that we take notice that something new and beautiful has been created - something we have never seen or noticed before. It is a gift that is held close to the heart and cherished forever.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

An untold story

ahm Recently I have received a forwarded mail which goes like this.....

The Fox News TV (USA) asked the Iranian President Ahmadinejad;
'When you look into the mirror in the morning what do you say to yourself'?
He answered: I see the person in the mirror and tell him 'Remember' you are no more than a small servant, ahead of you today is the heavy responsibility, and that is to serve the Iranian nation'.

Ahmadinejad, astonished many when he reached Presidency by donating all the high valued Iranian carpets to one of the mosques in Tehran and replacing the precious one's with the low cost ordinary carpets. He observed that there was a huge extravagant lounge for receiving, welcoming the VIPs and ordered it to be closed, asked the protocol office to arrange for an ordinary room only with the wooden chairs.

On many instances he joins the cleaning staff of the municipality for cleaning the streets in the area where his home and the Presidency are located. Under his authority whenever he appoints any minister to his post he gets a signed document from him with many points, particularly highlighting that he shall remain poor and that his personal and his relatives accounts will be watched and the day he leaves the ministry shall be with dignity, and therefore it is not lawful for him or his relatives to take any advantage of his office.

First of all he declared himself for all the 'Big' wealth and the property he owned was a Peugeot 504 car, model 1977, an old small house inherited from his father 40-years ago in one of the poorest zones in Tehran . His accounts with a zero balance and the only money comes in to his a/c was from his salary from the university as a lecturer with an amount of US$ 250 only.

For your information the President still lives in that same house. This is all what he owns; the president of one of the world's important countries; strategically, economically, politically and with regard to its oil and defence. He even doesn't take his personal salary with the argument that all the wealth belongs to the nation and he is the safeguard over it.

One of the things that impressed the staff at the presidency is the bag ahm1 the President brings with him every day, which contains his breakfast; some sandwiches or bread with olive oil and cheese prepared by his wife and eats and enjoys it with all happiness.

One of the other things he changed was his personal carrier 'the President's Aircraft' to a cargo aircraft in order to save the spending from the public treasury and he ordered that he will be flying with the ordinary airline in the economy class. He organizes meetings every now and then with all the ministers to know their activities and efficiency and he closed down the office of the Manager of the president and any minister can enter to his office without any permission. He also stopped the welcome ceremonies like the red carpet, the photo session or any personal advertisement or respect of any kind while visiting any place in the country.

Whenever he has to stay in any of the hotels he asks them to make sure not to give him a room with any big bed because he doesn't like to sleep on beds but rather likes to sleep on the floor on a simple mattress with a blanket.

Try comparing this with the emoluments and privileges our ministers get !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Above all, the waste.

The above content might be aimed at creating a hype in his favour, as he continually opposes the west or it could be plain truth. One cannot be sure without evidence. It made me read more about him and I stumbled on his blog. It made me wonder why the Iranian government has imposed severe blogging restrictions on citizens, but apparently that doesn't seems to apply to the country's president?. Ahmadinejad has joined the blogging bandwagon - by starting his own weblog, back in August 2006.

Ahm2 The blog is a very surprising and unusual move by the conservative president and it comes amid the continuing censorship of Internet sites by Iranian government. Issuing media releases without Web site back-up is like a eunuch advertising his sexual prowess. Iran has one of the most sophisticated censorship system in place to censor and block sites which it deems inappropriate. Iran has even cracked down on blogger's who have posted anti-government messages and it has even blocked the Blogspot blogs in Iran.

Ahmadinejad's first post, titled autobiography, tells very less about his childhood, and talks more about Iran's Islamic revolution, and the country's war with Iraq. He begins by telling his humble origins. He calls himself as son of hard-bitten toiler blacksmith. The blog which is translated into English, French and Arabic also asks readers to participate in an online poll which asks if they think the United States and Israel are "pulling the trigger for another world war".

Iranian leaders say the world financial crisis indicates the end of capitalism, the failure of liberal democracy and divine punishment — marking the superiority of the Islamic republic’s political model. “The school of Marxism has collapsed and the sound of the West’s cracking liberal democracy is now being heard,” supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini says, recalling the fate of the Soviet Union.

Ahmadinejad, who is backed by Khomeini, says “it is the end of capitalism.” Such convictions can be traced back to the ideals of the 1979 Islamic revolution, which Ahmadinejad has sought to revive since he rose to power in 2005. He benefits from the luxury that the Tehran stock market has been unaffected by the losses that stock markets in neighbouring Gulf states have suffered. That stability is attributable to the absence of foreign investors and to the government’s firm grip on economic activity.

Several Iranian newspapers, regardless of their reformist or conservative leanings, have also blamed the global economic crisis on excessive liberalism. And some officials, such as the head of Iran’s electoral watchdog body, have come up with less conventional theories and branded the turmoil as “divine punishment.”

“These people see the outcome of their bad deeds. This problem has spread to Europe now which makes us happy. The unhappier they are the happier we become,” Ayatollah Ali Janati, who heads the Guardians Council, said in last Friday’s prayer sermon.

Ahmadinejad has recently echoed that, saying “the reason of their defeat is that they have forgotten God and piety.”

Saturday, October 18, 2008

What I’ve achieved today is India’s achievement: Sachin

" If stones are thrown at you, you convert them into milestones..." - Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar celebrates after passing Brian Lara’s tally of 11,953 runs to become Test cricket’s highest run-getter at Mohali on Friday It was a shade under 19 years ago that a curly-haired and reticent teenager made his maiden Test appearance, at the National Stadium in Karachi. Women in the zenana stands teased him as “India ka bachcha” and the Javed Miandads felt they had an easy prey. By the end of that tour, though, Sachin Tendulkar was no more a bachcha.

On Friday afternoon, after what he described as a “fantastic journey,” Sachin became the highest run-getter in Tests. Having made an awesome statement over the 22 yards in neighbouring Mohali, it was time to make a few points off the field. That the “stones” thrown along the way had actually been converted into “milestones”.

He didn’t have to prove anything to anybody and, as important, just didn’t have to answer critics. Didn’t have to lose sleep over “opinions” too. The first to 10,000 runs in ODIs and the first to 12,000 in Tests... Add 39 Test hundreds and 42 in ODIs and, well, you have a CV which would make anybody envious.

Records are destined to be re-written and Sachin accepted that with humility which is such a characteristic of his. Sachin isn’t new to doomsayers; he isn’t new to scattering them either. And it isn’t the pressbox pundits alone who’ve piled the pressure; it’s been his fans as much, expecting of a 35-year-old, the promises he made at 16.

He may have fulfilled more than he ever guaranteed, but there is never an end to greed and seeking; Sachin goes three innings without a huTaking run to surpass Lara's Recordndred and they start declaring betrayal and, worse, death. Tendulkar quickly becomes Endulkar. It’s been upon him to fight off dark blame and dire prophecy.

Magically, he’s done that time and time over, against the run of life’s extraordinary costs exacted on someone still so young — knees eroded out of a quarter of a century of scampering, a back corroded by bending at the crease and crouching at the slips, elbows torn from flexing and falling.

Where he has defeated all of those ravages is in that one faculty he has zealously protected from external depredation: his head.

And here is where and how sport extends beyond itself and becomes one of life’s great metaphors -- Sachin’s is a feat of the will to endure, of tenacity against the tide; he is about the doggedness of seeing off a rough patch, not running away from it, he is about grafting when his gifts have deserted him. He wouldn’t have gone past Brian Lara today if he hadn’t had the gut to go past those sorry scores all season and still think he had it in him.

It’s been a tough season and it hasn’t been the first such one. But it takes a tough man to see them through. Welcome, little master; you’ve probably shown us we’ll get there, even if we mostly count in ones.

Hope you will lead India to crown another World Cup.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Politics at play - Tamil Nadu issues an Ultimatum to the Union Government.

parliament Created after Indian Independence in 1947, the Parliament of India is an expression of the faith that the people of India have in principles of democracy. These are participation by people in the decision-making process and government by consent. The Parliament in our system has immense powers because it is the representative of the people. Since there are 543 elected (plus 2 nominated) members in Lok Sabha, to have a majority, a party should have at least half the number that is 272 members or more.

Often times in the recent past it has been difficult for a single political party to get the majority that is required to form the government. They then join together with different political parties who are interested in similar concerns to form what is known as a coalition government. Many parties in the coalition have used the number of seats to turn Government policies to their advantage.

Perhaps this is where the new strategy of the Tamil MP's to resign en masse comes in the picture. I am no one to comment on the political tactics adopted by the Government of Tamil Nadu. They had always used their seats in the Parliament to get what they want. The centre has been giving in till now. Some how a new found confidence, perhaps because of the confidence gained by surviving the vote-of-confidence.

Giving the time frame of a fortnight to New Delhi to respond, an all Party Meeting organized by the Government of Tamil Nadu warned the Union Government of India that all forty members of the Indian parliament representing Tamils would resign en masse if New Delhi failed to take up the right steps to protect Eezham Tamils.

Politics in Tamil Nadu, over the past half a century, has had two distinct schools: fan clubs and political oratory. Yes, the odd protest handsmovement has evened out the periodic person or party; largely though, the Tamil Nation has been a binary solution space.

Dravidian orator politicians are a vanishing tribe today. They speak Tamil with a diction that makes little practical sense and with sentence constructs far removed from how regular people speak the language in their everyday lives. It’s a tradition that has had a long and often elegant history. Born as a means to tackle the upper caste hegemony on politics that depended on speeches made in English with a British accent, it certainly was one of the pillars on which Tamil Nadu carved a distinct identity for itself. That cliché can only be understood in its entirety when one considers how different the state is – both in terms of its politics and the attitude of its peoples to the Indian state.

The AIADMK, by its very nature, has been more a fan club than a political party. MGR wasn’t a great orator and Jaya isn’t either – and they don’t need to be as leaders of the other school. The Congress probably has the best speaker of Tamil, if in a non-Dravidian style — P Chidambaram. However, neither the Congress nor the finance minister can win anything by themselves in the state anyway.

Great oratory, by itself, has rarely won elections. It needs an emotive issue that fools voters, requires great orators who appear committed to a cause and a very low penetration of mass media. With the Sri Lankan military almost capturing the L.T.T.E strong holds, this seems a write time to cause some media stir and turn the vote banks.

In my opinion, what happens in Sri Lanka is their internal issue. If the people of Tamil Nadu turn against the Indian Government and demand that they want an independent country, Government of India would take the same stand that Sri Lanka has taken against the Eezham Tamils. For every nation, its sovereignty is most important.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Satyam banned from World Bank

Satyam Computer Services has reportedly been banned from doing any off-shore work with the World Bank after the Bank's forensic experts discovered that spy software was covertly installed on workstations inside the bank's Washington headquarters, allegedly by one or more contractors from Satyam Computer Services.

According to a Fox News report, the forensic analysis was conducted after a major breach of the bank's treasury network in Washington in April this year.  Upon its discovery, insiders report, bank officials shut off the data link between Washington and Chennai, India, where Satyam has long operated the bank's sole offshore computer centre responsible for all of the bank's financial and human resources information.

Satyam was also banned from any future work with the bank. "I want them off the premises now," Zoellick reportedly told his deputies, according to Fox News. But at the urging of CIO De Poerck, Satyam employees remained at the bank as recently as Oct 1 while it engaged in "knowledge transfer" with two new India-based contractors. The software enabled every character typed on a keyboard to be transmitted to a still-unknown location via the Internet.

Fox News claims that outsiders have raided the World Bank Group's computer network, one of the largest repositories of sensitive data about the economies of every nation, repeatedly for more than a year. It is still not known how much information was stolen. But sources inside the bank confirm that servers in the institution's highly restricted treasury unit were deeply penetrated with spy software last April. Invaders also had full access to the rest of the bank's network for nearly a month in June and July.

The contract, which began at $10 million and grew to more than $100 million by 2007, was suddenly not renewed this year.

Source : DNA

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Parthan Kanda Paralokam

parthan Recently two Jayaram movies were released. One is ' Veruthe oru Bharya', a family entertainer and the other one ' Parthan Kanda Paralokam '. The first one was something that Malayali's were looking forward to and it received an awesome welcome and still plays in many cinemas. I am yet to watch the movie and my impression of the movie is based on hearsay. The second one ' Parthan Kanda Paralokam ', on the other hand can be termed a flop.

Success does not bless one all the time. Everything indicated that Jayaram has finally got a much-needed pep in his acting career after nearly five years. But he couldn't make it this time, as his latest Ramzan release 'Parthan Kanda Paralokam' suffers severely due to poor scripting, characterization and direction.

Director Anil, who earlier made films like Pattabhishekam, Uthaman and Njaan Salpperu Ramankutty, has nothing new to offer in this film with a weak script by Rajan Kiriyath. Although the basic plot is promising, it fails to reach anywhere.

Jayaram plays the protagonist Parthasarathy, popularly called Parthan, who lives in Krishnapuram village. The story revolves around Parthan and his continuing fight with uncle Falgunan (Jagathy Sreekumar). While Falgunan is the panchayat president, his nephew is his staunch opponent and their war soon spills over to the village temple that has been locked for many years over an ownership dispute.sreedevika

Meanwhile, Parthan has had many near-death experiences due to which villagers call him ' Paralokam Kanda Parthan' meaning ' Parthan, who has seen the other world'.

The main actress is Sreedevika, who plays Falgunan's daughter. The panchayat chief tries his best to keep her away from his nephew, known as the silly do-gooder. The film takes an interesting turn with the entry of Madhav, played by Mukesh, who claims to be Parthan's old college friend. But the strange part is the protagonist does not remember his 'friend' at all. There is nothing unusual or new in this flick and its script is so weak that it seems to have been written at the last minute.

Jayaram's role is neither bad nor good. Jagathy Sreekumar as Falgunan and Mukesh as Madhav are convincing, while Sreedevika merely adds glamour to this farce. Kalabhavan Mani does not impress us at all in his not-so-significant role as villain in the last few minutes of the film. Nothing to mention about the technical aspects of the film. Cinematography seems to be okay.

All in all, Parthan Kanda Paralokam fails to impress or entertain. We expect more from a talented actor like Jayaram.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Nothing is Impossible : Together we can end Hunger and Poverty


More than 850 million people in the world are hungry. Worldwide, some estimate that 40 million people die each year because of hunger and diseases related to malnutrition -- and many of them are children!

"Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor", I do not know who said that, but it is definitely a true and interesting quote.

Looking at the scenario in India, poverty is reducing but it is still a major issue. Rural Indians depend on unpredictable agriculture incomes, while urban Indians rely on jobs that are, at best, scarce.

Since its independence, the issue of poverty within India has remained a prevalent concern. According to the common definition of poverty, when a person finds it difficult to meet the minimum requirement of acceptable living standards, he or she is considered poor. About two thirds of India’s more than 1 billion people live in rural areas, and almost 170 million of them are poor. Although many rural people are migrating to cities, three out of four of India’s poor people live in the vast rural parts of the country. For more than 21 per cent of them, poverty is a chronic condition.

The Indian government has implemented a number of programs designed to eradicate poverty, and has had some success with these programs. The government has sought to increase the GDP through different processes, including changes in industrial policies. There is also a Public Distribution System, which has been somewhat effective so far. Other programs include the Integrated Rural Development Program, Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, the Training Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM) and to the credit of the government, other on-going initiatives.

Millions of people in India are unable to meet these basic standards, and according to government estimates, in 2007 there were nearly 220.1 million people living below the poverty line.Nearly 21.1% of the entire rural population and 15% of the urban population of India exists in this difficult physical and financial predicament.

While there have been advances in poverty eradication, progress is hampered by population growth, insufficient investments to address the problem and the biggest culprit: a lack of political will.

The United Progressive Alliance, the ruling coalition of the Government of India has announced the annual budget.

The budget, which outlines government spending priorities from 2008 to 2009, has sparked a heated debate in India. Analysts have raised concerns over the increase in the overall government spending, particularly for high provisions of social expenditure and the debt relief program for small farmers, which accounts for US$ 15 billion, or 1.3 percent of GDP.

Meanwhile, others claim that the increased spending in the social sector is simply a populist strategy to attract voters in the next national elections in May 2009. Furthermore, the government's cornerstone policy of containing the fiscal deficit is contingent on expanded revenues resulting from a projected growth of 8.8 percent for the fiscal year. However, unstable financial markets and high commodity prices could possibly undermine these projections and pose challenges to the government's fiscal position.

The division of resources, as well as wealth, is very uneven in India – this disparity creates different poverty ratios for different states. For instance, states such as Delhi and Punjab have very low poverty ratios. On the other hand, 40-50% of the populations in Bihar and Orissa live below the poverty line.

The poverty ratios illustrated here are divided in two types: urban and rural. Specific reasons for poverty vary in the urban and rural settings.

A number of factors are responsible for poverty in the rural areas of India. Rural populations primarily depend on agriculture, which is highly dependant on rain patterns and the monsoon season. Inadequate rain and improper irrigation facilities can obviously cause low, or in some cases, no production of crops.

Additionally, the Indian family unit is often very large, which can amplify the effects of poverty. Also, the caste system still prevails in India, and this is also a major reason for rural poverty – people from the lower casts are often deprived of a number of facilities and opportunities. The government has planned and implemented poverty eradication programs, but the benefits of all these programs have yet to reach the core of the country.

The phenomenal increase in the city populations is the main reason for poverty in the urban areas of India. A major portion of this additional population is due to the migration of the rural families from villages to cities. This migration is mainly caused by poor employment opportunities in villages. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that there are few job opportunities in the urban areas of India.

Where are India's rural poor people and who are they?

Poverty is deepest among scheduled castes and tribes in the country’s rural areas. India’s poorest people include 50 per cent of members of scheduled tribes and 40 per cent of people in scheduled castes.

On the map of poverty in India, the poorest areas lie in parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal.

Large numbers of India's poorest people live in the country’s semi-arid tropical region. In these areas shortages of water and recurrent droughts impede the transformation of agriculture that the Green Revolution has achieved elsewhere. There is also a high incidence of poverty in flood-prone areas such as those extending from eastern Uttar Pradesh to the Assam plains, and especially in northern Bihar.

Poverty affects tribal people in forest areas, where loss of entitlement to resources has made them even poorer. In coastal fishing communities people’s living conditions are deteriorating because of environmental degradation, stock depletion and vulnerability to natural disasters.

Why are rural people poor?

A major cause of poverty among rural people in India is lack of access for both individuals and communities to productive assets and financial resources. High levels of illiteracy, inadequate health care and extremely limited access to social services are common among poor rural people. Micro enterprise development, which could generate income and enable them to improve their living conditions, has only recently become a focus of the government.

Women in general are the most disadvantaged people in Indian society, though their status varies significantly according to their social and ethnic backgrounds. Women are particularly vulnerable to the spread of HIV/AIDS from urban to rural areas. In 2005 an estimated 5.7 million men, women and children in India were living with HIV/AIDS. Most of them are in the 15-49 age group and almost 40 per cent of them are women.

There is more than enough food in the world so that no one need ever go hungry. Those who wish for a more peaceful, just and sustainable world are helping to make ending world hunger a major priority. In fact, all of the world's leaders agreed to cut the number of starving people in half by the year 2015 as the first priority of the Millennium Development Goals.

Let us work together to improve the opportunities of all human beings to build better lives.One of the greatest feelings in the world is knowing that we as individuals can make a difference.

Together, We can end Hunger and Poverty.

Source : IFAD, UN.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Blog Action Day 2008!

Me and Aloshi (Aloysius - Author of 'i blog - everything') are friends and share our blogging thoughts. It was he who brought my attention to the concept of Blog Action Day and he was already participating in the event. When he told me about the event, I was glad to follow.

What is Blog Action Day?

Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s blogger's to post about the same issue on the same day. The aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. This year, the event will be held tomorrow (15th Oct 2008).

Each blogger brings their own perspective and ideas to their blog post, and each blogger engages their audience differently.

First and last, the purpose of Blog Action Day is to create a discussion. Blogger's are asked to take a single day out of their schedule and focus it on an important issue.

On Blog Action Day, the blogging community effectively changes the conversation on the web and focuses audiences around the globe on that issue. Out of this discussion naturally flow actions, advice, ideas and plans.

In 2007 on the theme of the Environment, blogger's ran environmental experiments, detailed innovative ideas on creating sustainable practices and brought attention to organizations and companies promoting green agendas.

This year, it aims at focusing the blogging community’s energies and passions on the issue of global poverty.

Blog Action Day is about mass participation and anyone is free to join in! There is no limit on the number of posts, the type of posts or the direction of thoughts and opinions.

I am in. Are you?

Behind every successful Person:

Often still waters run deep.

They say 'Behind every successful man, there is a woman' and vice versa. This particular statement ignites a fire in many of the readers.To be successful, the first thing you have to do is to have confidence in yourself.

If you ask me, the one behind every successful person is the one who instigates change in him / her for the better. Some times, this could be our rivals.

haters Other times, it is the realization that it is we, ourselves that block our success. There is said to be shadows in us. They are our Fear-based Defensive Inner Selves. These Inner Selves carry our most hidden fears, beliefs and habits, charged with emotions that are linked to survival messages. They are unconscious and powerful. If we do not address them, they will dismantle our dreams. The Shadows attract people who hold you back or devalue you.

I read books about successful people. In fact, I read every book or magazine I could get my hands on. I would tell myself one good idea would pay for the book and could make the difference between me making it or not. Everything I read was public. Anyone could buy the same books and magazines. The same information was available to anyone who wanted it. Turns out most people didn’t want it.

I worked jobs I didn’t like. I worked jobs I loved, but had no chance of being a career. I worked jobs that barely paid the rent. I had so many jobs my parents wondered if I would be stable. Most of them aren’t on my resume anymore because I was there so short a time or they were so stupid I was embarrassed.

Most people won’t put in the time to get a knowledge advantage. Sure, there were folks that worked hard at picking up every bit of information that they could, but we were few and far between. To this day, I feel like if I put in enough time consuming all the information available, particularly with the net making it so readily available, I can get an advantage in any technology business.

But ultimately, after God, it is my rivals whom I should be thanking. For they inspired me to outperform them. Each tactic they played against me taught me new lessons.

There are no shortcuts to success. You have to work hard, and try to put yourself in a position where if luck strikes, you can see the opportunity and take advantage of it. I would also say it’s hard not to fool yourself. Everyone tells you how they are going to be ”special,” but few do the work to get there. Do the work - enjoy life, and success will be yours.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon : A song of the patriotic fervour

Yesterday while writing the post on the Malayalam movie Kurukshetra, I have quoted a few lines from the famous song 'Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon'. After reviewing my post, I wanted to listen to this song once again and searched You Tube for it. I have listened to it many-a-times and had lost the count of how many times I listened to it since yesterday.

Since this song fills my mind now, I would like to share the lyrics and history of the song with you.

History

Aye Mere Watan Ke logo is an Indian patriotic song written by Kavi Pradeep and composed by C. Ramchandra. It was rendered by Lata Mangeshkar around the end of Sino-Indian War. It was famously performed live, by Lata Mangeshkar in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru at the Ramlila grounds, in New Delhi on Republic Day, 26th January, 1963, and a copy of the soundtrack spool was also gifted to Nehru on the occasion.

None of the artists and technicians involved with the song, including singers, musicians, music director, lyricist, recording studio, sound recordist, charged for the song, and later lyricist, Kavi Pradeep, pledged the royalty of the song to the 'War Widows Fund'.

This song is a tribute to honour the sacrifices of the gallant Indian Jawans (infantrymen) who in the 1962 Sino-Indian War fought to the last man and the last round on the icy desolate peaks of the Himalayas with obsolete bolt-action Lee-Enfield rifles against the assault rifles, heavy machine guns, mortars and artillery of the People's Liberation Army of China.

During 1962 (Indo-China) war days, Kavi Pradeep heard about Param Vir Major Shaitan Singh Bhaati. He was so touched by his sacrifice and bravery that he penned down the lines `Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon` (translation: O people of my country). This song was originally supposed to be sung by Asha Bhosle, due to a misunderstanding between composer C. Ramchandra and Lata Mangeshkar. Kavi Pradeep though, was adamant about having Lata Mangeshkar sing the song, as he felt that hers was the only voice that could do justice to the number. C. Ramchandra was unsure whether Mangeshkar would agree to sing, so Kavi Pradeep began the task of convincing her to hear the song. On hearing the song she was moved so much that she instantly agreed to sing the song, on condition that Kavi Pradeep be present at the rehearsals.

Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo emerged as one of the greatest patriotic songs of India. It was while listening to Lata Mangeshkar’s rendition of ‘Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo’ that the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was moved to tears. Reportedly later he confessed to the singer: "Beti tune mujhe rula diya" (my daughter, to-day you made my eyes moist.)

For writing the song, Pradeep was conferred the honour of "Rashtriya Kavi" (National Poet) by the Government Of India.


Lyrics of the Song


In Hindi Translation in English

ए मेरे वतन के लोगों
तुम ख़ूब लगा लो नारा
ये शुभ दिन है सब का
लहरा लो तिरंगा प्यारा
पर मत भूलो सीमा पर
वीरों ने है प्राण गंवाए
कुछ याद उन्हें भी कर लो -2
जो लौट के घर न आए -2

ए मेरे वतन के लोगों
ज़रा आँख में भर लो पानी
जो शहीद हुए हैं उनकी
ज़रा याद करो कुर्बानी

तुम भूल न जाओ उनको
इस लिए कही ये कहानी
जो शहीद ...

जब घायल हुआ हिमालय
खतरे में पड़ी आज़ादी
जब तक थी साँस लड़े वो
फिर अपनी लाश बिछा दी
संगीन पे धर कर माथा
सो गए अमर बलिदानी
जो शहीद ...

जब देश में थी दिवाली
वो खेल रहे थे होली
जब हम बैठे थे घरों में
वो झेल रहे थे गोली
थे धन्य जवान वो आपने
थी धन्य वो उनकी जवानी
जो शहीद ..

कोई सिख कोई जाट मराठा
कोई गुरखा कोई मदरासी
सरहद पे मरनेवाला
हर वीर था भारतवासी
जो खून गिरा पर्वत पर
वो खून था हिन्दुस्तानी
जो शहीद ...

थी खून से लथपथ काया
फिर भी बंदूक उठाके
दस -दस को एक ने मारा
फिर गिर गए होश गँवा के
जब अंत -समय आया तो
कह गए के अब मरते हैं
खुश रहना देश के प्यारों
अब हम तो सफर करते हैं
क्या लोग थे वो दीवाने
क्या लोग थे वो अभिमानी
जो शहीद ...

तुम भूल न जाओ उनको
इस लिए कही ये कहानी
जो शहीद ...

जय हिंद जय हिंद की सेना -
जय हिंद , जय हिंद , जय हिंद

O! the people of my motherland!
Raise all the slogans you desire,
This is a great day for us all,
Hoist your beloved Tricolor,
But don't forget on the border,
The brave did lose their lives,
And remember each great soldier,
Who did not return home ever,

O! the people of my motherland!
Shed a few tears,
For those who martyred on ice,
Remember their great sacrifice!

Don't you ever forget their glory,
So I narrate this noble story,
For those who martyred on ice,
Remember their great sacrifice!

When injured was the Himalayan might,
Our freedom was in jeopardy,
Till their last breath did they fight,
And then laid their dead body,
Resting their head on the soil,
Sacrificed and slept immortal,
For those who martyred on ice,
Remember their great sacrifice!

When the country celebrated Diwali,
They played with their blood the game of Holi,
When we were sitting safe at our homes,
They dealt with deadly bullets and bombs.
Blessed they were those soldiers,
Blessed were their youths,
For those who martyred on ice,
Remember their great sacrifice!

Some Sikh, some Jaat and Maratha,
Some were Gurkha or Madrasi,
But each soldier who died on the border,
Was a brave Hindustani.
The blood that stained the mountain,
That blood was that of an Indian,
For those who martyred on ice,
Remember their great sacrifice!

With blood their body was drenched,
Yet they lifted their rifle and aimed,
One killed tens of the enemy,
Then fell down unconsciously.
When the final moment came on,
They said they will die now,
Be happy! O beloved of the nation,
We embark on eternal journey now,
How great were those patriots,
How great was their pride,
For those who martyred on ice,
Remember their great sacrifice!

Don't you ever forget their glory,
So I narrate this noble story,
For those who martyred on ice,
Remember their great sacrifice!

Victory to India!, Victory to her army!
Victory to India!Victory to India!
Victory to India!

In tribute to those who lost lives protecting our great nation.

Vande Matharam. Jai Hind.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Kurukshetra : A portrait of Kargil War

post
Last evening I have been to the Cinema in my hometown after a very long time, perhaps after years. It is not very often that movies are released in 'Class B' Theatres and concerning the movie houses in my hometown, this is the first incident in my memory. The experience was good, though the movie house was not as crowded as the 'Class A' Theatres in the neighbouring towns.

Kurkshethra directed by Major Ravi, casting Mohan Lal and Biju Menon is perhaps the first attempt in Malayam Cinema to bring to life the valour of Indian Soldiers during Operation Vijay. Almost ten years since diplomacy backed up with determination and force saw the Indian flag fly high once again over the rocky terrains of Kashmir, Kurukshetra endeavours to recapture those decisive operational and strategic modus operandi of the Indian Armed Forces that led the country and its people to a proud conquest.

In my opinion, Kurukshetra is one of those exceptional war action dramas that is rich in rewards and insights. This hard-hitting film is a fitting tribute not just to the much-loved soldiers we have lost in combat, but also to the departed souls who spilled their blood across the Line Of Control.

The film does take an emphatic anti-war stand that it depicts through gruesome details. It has a certain-to-concern-you assertion that's less about war grounds and weaponry and more about the intrinsic nature of mankind. The movie is not as impressive as Keerthi Chakra, Major Ravi's first movie, but is far better than his second one - Mission 90 days.

Budgeting seems to have been a concern for the movie, as it lacks the conviction that movies like 'Border' or 'LOC Kargil' managed to. The war scenes are not that effective. It could be because my idea of war scenes are based on scenes from 'Saving Private Ryan', "Border', 'LOC Kargil', 'Behind Enemy Lines' and many other Hollywood movies. This commanding film is often tormenting to watch, but it can also be shockingly engaging as it skilfully blends chilling wit, with plenty of misery and terror. Some of the shots in the movie seems to have been adopted from Hollywood movies.

A lot of it succeeds on account of a script that's kept taut, as it dabbles with some very valid themes. There are plenty of personality conflicts at play here, as well as the excruciating aggravation that simmers inside men who really look forward to putting constructive changes into effect, and yet remain helplessly wedged in the intricacies of the red tape.

After a pretty sluggish start, the film moves ahead in full steam as Colonel Mahadevan (Mohanlal) nobly pilots his troops up the Kargil Mountains to victory and golden history. Whether or not you have brushed up on your 90's history, it's a story that's general knowledge, and hence Kurukshetra lays down all the events on a salver before us. There is the notorious coffin scam, as well as a real efficient dig at a prominent photo journalist who had strived to wage the war with her camera lens.

The film at times lacks the imperative knack to sustain a steady surge throughout. There are occasions when it seems pretty confused; especially the supposedly poignant ones that get stretched beyond possible limits. Subsequent to making an instructive point, it reiterates its philosophy continually, to the point of appearing emotionally manipulative. The sentimental clichés mar an otherwise excellent film.

A lot of it succeeds on account of a script that's kept taut, as it dabbles with some very valid themes. There are plenty of personality conflicts at play here, as well as the excruciating aggravation that simmers inside men who really look forward to putting constructive changes into effect, and yet remain helplessly wedged in the intricacies of the red tape.

Regardless of some slip-ups, Kurukshetra offers a convincing portrait of the inanity of war. It is also a warning for those elements who wants to see the sovereignty of our nation destroyed.

If you expect a movie that is a blend of war and love, then you would be disappointed. The movie ends with a translation of the famous Hindi Song:

"Aye mere watan ke logon
zaraa aankh mein bhar lo paani
jo shahid hue hai unn ki
zaraa yaad karo qurbaani"

We might not be able to do anything for the martyrs of Kargil War. But let us at least shed a drop of tear for those gallant men who sacrificed their today's for our better tomorrows.

Vande Matharam.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Are Men Blogger's from Mars and Women Blogger's from Venus?

The thought of writing a blog on the differences between the male and the female wmennwomenay of blogging has been lingering in my mind for quite a long time. The points were there in my mind, but I have been searching for a good title and finally settled on a modified version of "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus".

The differences between a man and woman are not just physical. The difference is evident from Handwriting, Thoughts, Actions, Responses, Reactions, Writing and what not. A Handwriting expert can look at one's writing and say if it belongs to a man or a woman. Here's some more:

Men want to solve the problem, women want to vent

Whenever there’s a problem, women tend to want to vent or discuss it. This goes along the lines that there are emotions usually connected to the problem. Women want to approach a problem by first talking about it. However, men tend to want to go directly to the problem solving. This ties into the next point, which is..

Men skip the feelings part, women are generally comfortable with their feelings

Women feel more comfortable expressing their feelings, while men don’t. Women tend to cope by expressing feelings, while men tend to cope by actually trying to solve the problem.

Women talk more than men

It is a fact that women talk more than men

Men cut to the chase, women like to tell and share stories

Men like to cut and get to the source of the problem, while women like to talk about the issues. This can be a problem because women tend to think that the stories are important, but men can feel that it is a waste of time.

It’s no secret within the blogging community that there are more high-profile male blogger's than there are female counterparts in the blogging world. This seems to be changing as blogging takes hold of the general population.

The differences in blogging between men and women aren’t so much in levels of success or types of blogs. Instead, the differences lie primarily in the way that the blogs are written and promoted. It’s no surprise that men and women blog differently. After all, men and women have a general tendency to communicate differently. The underlying difference in the way of interpreting and conveying thoughts through words matter on the blogging world as well as in other areas of communication. And just like in the rest of “real life”, neither form of communication is necessarily better than the other. They’re just different.

Here are some facts whichI have collected through web sources:

Women are stereotypically the ones that are tasked with nurturing relationships and building a community of people around them. In the world of blogging, this can be the key to “making it”. However, men tend to have an edge up on building professional networks through their manipulation of existing systems. For that reason, many female blogger's build their relationships within their blogs through regular communication with their readers whereas many male blogger's build their relationships through online social networks.

Women are better multi-taskers than men which gives female blogger's something of an edge up on the day-to-day productivity of blogging. Active blogging requires writing regular posts, researching different topics, commenting on the blogs of others, social networking on various sites, attending to the advertising revenue of your site and many other daily tasks. Women have a tendency to juggle these better than men and so often find themselves behind the scenes at major blog networks.

Men have a better grasp on defining themselves as experts whether it’s in the office or on the web. In moving up the ladder of success, the self-defined expert with follow-through moves more quickly than the person who is qualified but doesn’t make sure others know it. Male blogger's are quicker to add the “expert” or “professional” label to themselves online and therefore boost their credibility. Even without the label, male blogger's are more likely to use language that establishes themselves as knowledgeable in a subject whereas female blogger's often write in language that seems to only be expressing an opinion.

Women are more expressive in their emotions. When women read something, they often want to be connected to the heart and humanity behind the matter. Male blogger's are more factual and analytical in their writing whereas female blogger's may be more likely to look at the human behind the numbers.

Michele Woodward, in her post on "The Difference Between Men and Women" says - "There is so much to learn and appreciate from the differences between men and women. If a man can learn from a woman to slow down and enjoy the experience, while the woman learns the satisfaction of making and reaching goals, a kind of relational balance can be had – a balance which makes life for each of them that much more full. "

As blogging grows, more and more people are adding their voices to the chorus of communication happening on the Internet. Readers may find that they have a preference for one gender over the other when it comes to who writes their news and information. For that reason, blogger's of either gender who are seeking to be more successful will look to the other gender for tips on how to improve their blog and attract the readers that are currently going elsewhere.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

An evening walk - A Memorable Experience

eveningMy town was one of those quite villages in the land of lakes and letters, that barely seemed to be touched by tourism and development. I took a walk yesterday evening to buy some groceries and to take a photo. It was an early evening walk. Early evening is a pleasant time to go walking.

The walk showed that times have changed and the old farmlands have given way to business centres. Where I used to see Ambi's and fiats, I could now see Mercedes and BMW's parked outside some of the houses. My pedometer registers this distance as slightly more than half a kilo meter. In a way, I'm excited about starting up with walking again.

Good to breathe the fresh air. Yes, I'm getting the message from every corner of my life that I need to re-establish regular walking into my daily schedule. What I'm getting is that I need to start walking again immediately, on a daily basis. This town I live in is great for walking, which I'm grateful for. It's safe, enjoyable, and scenic. Lots of amazing walking paths.

My diet is light years healthier now than it was an year ago. I'm losing weight and people have started to notice. Mostly, my clothes fit looser. I walked along trying to be in the present moment and yet remembering good times from years long past. Not that I don't have good times now; things are just so different.

It's been years since I have been away. Many new stores have opened up since I last took the time to observe this section of the town. The old library building where I started my reading habit, has given way to a new one. I have to go away soon and wouldn't be returning for another year. God only knows what changes would be brought about in that period of time. Even my century old school buildings seems to have changed. Many new restaurants have opened up. Nice. I wonder if it's a struggle with so much competition. It feels nice to walk far.

A friend calls on the cell phone. He want's to know when I would be flying. The quality of walking while talking on a cell phone is not the same. He ends the conversation anyway.

Houses that were a million rupees when first built are now over five million. Yet, the building has not changed other than looking older and somewhat worn. Hmm, Realities of our society.

I notice many different kinds of birds on this walk. I have once been an active bird watcher and could recognize about 148 species of birds. But that was almost 8 years ago. Lack of field experience, and my skills are not up the mark now. I made a mental note to refresh my knowledge and study more about birds indigenous to this area so that I can identify all the birds am looking at. I know some are Drango's, but not able to identify further.

I've already said enough about this walk. I hope to walk again tomorrow. Returning home, my pedometer tells me this has been my longest walk in recent times. About 4 kilometres.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

"Interesting Quotes"

I started web logging back in 2006, but my secret blogs were never published until I started blogging on 'Blogspot' by the end of 2007. Over the period of time, blogging has become a wonderingserious hobby. Since am a serious blogger these days and find the facilities offered by Blogspot a little in-adequate, I wanted to try a blogging tool. Finally I have found something that I am comfortable with. Those who know me wouldn't be surprised to find that the tool has been developed by Microsoft itself :)

This is a test post using the Windows Live Writer, but a serious one nonetheless. I came across two interesting quotes today. Read on...

"An American's Thoughts on American Economy"

''The federal government is sending each of us a $600 rebate. If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, the money goes to China. If we spend it on gasoline it goes to the Arabs. If we buy a computer it will go to India. If we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. If we purchase a good car it will go to Germany. If we purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy. The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it on prostitutes and beer, since these are the only products still produced in US. I've been doing my part.

~Dr. Marc Faber in his monthly bulletin (June 2008)~

"Make Every Act an Offering" :

A Quote from the Bhagawad Gita

Be aware of me always, adore me, make every act an offering to me, and you shall come to me; this I promise; for you are dear to me. Abandon all supports and look to me for protection. I shall purify you from the sins of the past; do not grieve.

~Bhagavad Gita 18:65-66~

Looking back - The Huddle that started it all:

From the very first day I could remember, I had always wanted to outdistance my rivals. For many years, I used to be after titles.
Sometime during this stage, I started reading about the former British Premier - Sir Winston Churchill. As I progressed through my reading on the great leader, I came to know that had it not been for an accident of birth, Churchill would have inherited the title of a Duke. He was a man who had dominated the world stage for over three decades and then turned down every hereditary honour a grateful nation could offer; including the title of 'the Duke of London'.
From then on, the ultimate ambition had been to rise above mere titles and posts. Many had described me as an achiever, while many of my contemporaries thought of me as pushy or even arrogant, according to their aptitude of jealousy.
Wherever I worked, I used to quickly gain a reputation as a hard and smart worker. I was thought of as extremely bright, demanding, hard working and beyond my back - as arrogant and dominant.
I had read that the anger or jealousy of one man could block the advance of a career but I found it hard to accept that it could apply to me. The truth dawned on me when a particular set of colleagues turned against me and two hard workers in my team. It annoyed me more when their tentacles seemed to have spread through the organization. It was not our fault that we were friends, hard workers and originated from the same state. Combined, we had over 20 years experience in our field. Did the contemparories fail to notice that though friends, we were strangers to each other during work hours?
I always give it 101% in anything I take up. Most times, I have ended up having others' workload on my shoulders. My workload was always prodigious and I always have the attitude - 'don’t make excuses' - which in turn branded me of being arrogant and dominant.
My policy was against short term gains and long term loses. The goals were set on clearing the base issues and then working the way up. In Quality terms, a root cause analysis was done and strategies were derived to clear off the root cause and thereby eliminate the resultant problem.
I also learned that in most cases, it was not set procedures that failed, but people who bent the rules their way to do what they want. My strict stand against such lousy heads did not help me in clearing my name from being branded dominant and arrogant.
My skills and work experience lies in a technical support environment. I have seen processes were resolving the customers issue comes first and other processes were achieving a higher customer satisfaction survey mattered most. I always went along with the first, because in case of the latter - the management did not care about what happened to the customer. All they wanted and expected from a team was to follow tricks and tactics (including non-ethical ones), so that the set goals were achieved.
Because of my firm belief and stand on resolving the actual issue first, I was not the favourite candidate for the management in Type Two processes. I used to be strict and harsh on lousy heads and this lead to a team vs. three huddle. Three Mallu’s were accused and demotivated by a gang of racists. Me, Anoop and Sunil were accused of feelings that haven’t even crossed our thoughts. Yet, when I asked the opposition in the open house to speak up their issues and ask us the issues in front of everyone - no one opened their mouths.
I repeated my stand - I was, I am and I will always be harsh on any lousy head. Duty comes first, Work is Worship and Workplace is the temple. I Am not sure how many of the rival gang believed in that principle. The only thing I knew was that I and my fellow accused believed in those lines.
The speechlessness and lack of courage to speak proved that we were being framed. This was the incident in my previous organization that started regional biasing against the Mallu’s. 60% of the staff in the Bangalore branch of the organization is made up of Mallu’s and being of the majority, they have a say in things.
It could be that certain people who are in management and is among non mallu’s are quite unhappy at the turn of events and do not want the Chennai centre to be a replica of its Bangalore center.
With my strong stands, I might have made my colleague's life hard - but for the customers whom I was expected to serve - my policies undoubtedly made their lives easier.
Struggle on, but never lose your integrity.