Speechmaker's speech, made

Fergie

2009-04-23T20:31:00.002+05:30

He is old. Really really old. And still could put men the age of his son to shame in terms of the enthusiasm for the game he still has. Commands the respect of the entire legion of football fans around the world who have ever heard of ManU.

ManU's fan following around the world as also in the England itself has a lot to do with the man. While people elsewhere were ascending the football ladder by the power of cash injected from sponsorships and takeovers, Sir Alex has kept his focus on developing young players rather that buying stars with all the cash the world's richest football club has.

The touch he has with the young players has helped such an array of English players who have come up the ranks to don even the English shirt to go with the red one. When the Gunners were going through an entire season unbeaten, it wowed the whole of Europe and blew people away with their beautiful style of play. But inspite of all that, the hearts of so many fans still stuck with ManU for all the homegrown players they have, the legacy they bore, the passion they showed. And through all this the hand of Sir Alex has always been there on everything the club has ever done and all the titles and championships it has won, as also the many it will still win when he is not longer at the helm.

He has won all there was to win, (unless he wakes up one fine morning wishing to in the World Cup) and is the envy of even the self-promoting José Mourinho.

Seriously, what makes this man tick?

Learning Photography - 1

2009-04-23T20:10:00.002+05:30

Have been pursuing my hobby for a while now. As is common to all other hopefuls, it was such an expensive hobby to keep in the times of the film-cameras, what with the developing costs in addition to the cost of the film-roll itself.

Now however, with everyone (almost) having access to a decent digital camera and the option hence of keeping GBs of stock photos on digital storage, it is so much more enjoyable. You are also allowed to make more mistakes :)

Canon has launched a website for explaining the nuances of SLRs but you can use those fundamentals in your compact digital cameras also, at least to some extent. Recently I purchased the Canon Powershot A590 and have been experimenting with the little manual control it offers. But the fundamentals are now shifting into place. Will be uploading a few photos showcasing the effects that manual controls can have on a photo rather than just using a point-and-shoot camera. Watch this space!

Elections, bloody elections...

2009-04-09T19:40:00.002+05:30

I still remember that autumn of 1999. Along with other students in my undergrad college, we went as a group to Ziro to participate in the elections. A unique trait in the rural areas ( as also in most other areas) during elections is to divide the votes on the basis of the locality the candidate is from. Hence, when we went there, it was already decided who will be the one getting all our votes.

When we reached there however, the same night we were told to 'be prepared' as some people were overheard talking about attacking our group at night! I thought, "What the hell!" Turned out there had been some tension brewing at the time what with a car reportedly damaged and burnt the previous evening.

The next morning, as we were taking a walk post our breakfast, we came across a classmate of mine, same college, but who was from a different locality and hence supporting a different candidate. We met him and we din't even talk properly! And to think that we always hangout together back in the college.

That was when I had once decided that I am never ever taking part in any election in my lifetime. The time has come around when elections are taking a huge chunk of media and I can't keep myself insulated from it. Also, this time it is noticeably an effort to educate voters on the candidates they will be electing to the Parliament and I appreciate the celebrities taking time out for doing this.

This time it won't be possible for me to go back home and vote , but now it is starting to seem more like the decision to abstain from it lifelong was a rather brash decision, taken without the benefit of my wisdom as it grows with age :) Or is it?

Have been hearing about no one having the ability to dodge political affiliations as one tries to shimmy up the social ladder, is it so? Will I be able to keep myself sane? Or should I be instead taking a more active role to ensure that the elections throw up a worthier elected assembly?

Only time will tell it seems.

Angels and Demons

2009-03-15T17:20:00.002+05:30

Ah! I just finished reading the book a week back and was amazed at myself for not having read this great book before! It has that classic breathless pace of a Dan Brown novel and at the same time is equally if not better that the Da Vinci Code.

But more than that, the believability factor of the novel is so much more enhanced by those diagrams he has cooked up. You cannot help but wonder how much research and hours would be taken by even an inspired symbologist to come up with those symbols and the mother of them all: that Illuminati Diamond, it truly is mind-boggling!

It is books like these which make me question why I did not take up writing as a career. The sheer satisfaction of writing a book which would be loved and read by millions is ecstasy.

Have moved on to reading a book on Nike in its early days. Cya!

Traditions

2009-03-15T17:17:00.000+05:30

Caught the last quarter of ‘that’ program on Discovery on Apatanis on TV this morning. Aside from other observations, it focused on the marriage rituals and customs of the Apatanis. As is the wont of the Discovery-style documentaries, it was unbiased and true. It mentioned giving of mithuns, meat and the various rituals from Maabo-Inchi, Arii Banii and Mida. What struck me was the mention of such gift-giving as ‘Bride-Price’ and the exchange these days made easier by using paper currency. Up until now, I had always considered that these were gifts, and not to an extent as expensive as the ‘dowry’ prevalent elsewhere. Keeping amounts fixed in terms of currency as a proxy for mithuns and other allied gifts has eliminated much of the problems of gifts not being accepted. The program also mentioned that the gift-givings were reciprocal with the groom’s side first giving gifts and then the bride’s. However, there seems to be a view considering that this is taking it the easy way out and that customs are being erased out because of this new practice.

This set me thinking on whether it really is so, and whether this new practice was good or bad?

The question was, was this introduction of money into the social fabric a sign of the times that this was a custom that needed changing, or was it intended just as a respite for those cases where the financial burden of the traditional customs could be lessened for those who needed such help. Should have been there when this amount was being decided to be able to hear out the logic and the reasoning behind it. I guess I will have to grow up some more for that. :)

Am going home for Myoko this 19th, will see what I can learn there.

The Dark Knight: One another time, please!

2008-12-06T12:28:00.003+05:30

The movie begins with that iconic shot, the 'Joker' standing with his mask in his left hand. And right then and there, it establishes the theme of the movie, with the Joker as the lead role, not the 'Batman'. Director Christopher Nolan has spoken of the movie and his handling of the editing as preparing an eulogy to the departed Heath Ledger and ensuring that what was so eerily portrayed by Ledger would come true on screen and would be recognised by audiences as the finest ever enaction of the character.

Make no mistake, the movie is much more about the Joker than Batman, and Nolan had to ensure that this came out subtly, even while letting Batman triumph in the end.

So many scenes from the movie will remain etched in my memory forever, recounting a few:

1. When the Batman battles his look-alikes, and is thrown from the car, he stands on the top of the railing preparing to drop. The way he climbs the railing, staggering a little, and so matter-of-factly like he's been doing right since coming out into this big-bad world, and the actual scene, where the camera goes above his head and follows him as he drops, Mindblowing! It's worth rewatching the movie even for just this scene alone!

2. The 'pencil-disappearing' magic-trick first establishes the nature of the mind behind the painted face. Hiding a simple and innocent pleasure in trying to one-up whatever it is that others think and do.

3. The first time he utters the phrase "WHY SO SERIOUS?" He says it so menacingly, it shakes my spine, no kidding! I don't know whether the voice used as the Joker is actually Heath's or is digitally altered, but the final editing as it comes out in the movie is so creepy, it deserves all the adulation it gets.

4. The 'sky-hook' in Hong Kong. Truly amazing in the way it got conceptualised. Simple and deviant. Even the Joker would have been proud of that.

5. "We are tonight's entertainment!!" What a way to capture the nonchalance of the Joker. He makes fun of himslef in a way that is scary to people around him! Also the accompanying gesture he makes- smoothing his hair when Rachel confronts him- a classic! if not for the situation, it would make for perfect date-behaviour!

6. The 'Bat-mobile turns to Bat-bike!' Incredible was what I thought when I saw the bike finally break out of the Bat-mobile as a separate piece. I remember watching "Batman Begins" and marveling at the design of the bat-mobile. The design is such that it seems really tough and no-nonsense, all-terrain vehicle, something you don't wanna mess with. And then you are hit with this one, pure-magic! One would be wholely forgiven for calling that bike design 'gorgeous'

7. The 'truck-overturn scene' No words to describe this scene. Just pure charisma. And the subsequent scene where the Joker stands his ground as Batman comes charging on his bike. Just another instance of the diabolical mind and brilliant psychologist behind the veil of a clown-faced fool.

8. The 'Joker-interrogation' The way the Joker laughs and utters, "you have nothing to threaten me with, nothing to do, with all your strength!" And the smirk on the Joker's face says it all, he is enjoying it! I have read in an interview given by Christopher Nolan (Director) that this was the first scene shot for this movie, and that it established the tone of the movie from thereon, with the Joker toying with Batman, Harvey, and Gotham City.

9. "So in a way, I know your friends than you ever did!" The psychologist at it again. And that little 'tongue-flick' he does every now and then, scary.

10. "I just want my phone-call!" Watch out for the innocence in his voice as he makes his request!

11. "Hi!" the look on the Joker's face. watch this scene again.

These are only a few of the many iconic dialogues brought out in the movie, nearly every word of sentences spoken by Sir Michael Caine's Alfred is so beautifully structured, it is as if the words are just the URLs, with an entire site linked behind it! (Yes, that's true!)

The above are just facets of the screenplay, the direction is exemplary. A batman scorner will bring out facets like the fight sequences, which might seem a bit robotic on critical analysis, but that is the whole point, this is the BATMAN! and he CAN beat this guys to pulp, he does not need to know kung-fu to do that.

But what carries the movie through despite its insane length (running time of two and a half hours) is the vision of Christopher Nolan. With the story on a knife's edge the whole movie, he leaves you just one step behind in every plot, you are second guessing yourself at every juncture and marvelling at how the plot unfolds after every rivetting scene.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing can distract from this movie with the amazing cinematography, the darkness in the plot, the continual hope for Gotham City, the uncertainty in Batman's future, the seeming invincibility of the Joker's tricks. There's nothing I can do, with all the movies around, to distract me from being partial to The Dark Knight. It is a masterpiece, and deserves to be called so. The Oscars should have been a forgone conclusion, and in my heart, it already has.

And long past this Oscar season, I will still be watching for the 'nth' time, - The Dark Knight.

Why we should not be enthused with the MacBook Air

2008-10-18T11:00:00.004+05:30

Recently, many of the people I have met and have discussed Apple products with have been ecstatic with news of the MacBook Air. And I can't help but always advise them against deciding to purchase it. I will try to illustrate why it is one of the most unsuitable laptops for those of us who are not yet in an environment of Wi-Fi networks and hence making do without the use of CDs/DVDs.

No LAN port: Can you imagine that? In India, and more so in the state of Arunachal, the availability of Wi-Fi is not so great, to understate it gently. And this means, either you have to invest in one of the Wi-Fi routers in case you are content to use your Air at home; but then, isn't the Air supposed to be ultra-portable and meant to be carried around?

No CD/DVD Drive: Are you kidding me? In this part of the world, that would sound the death knell for a laptop. With movie watching the primary usage of the laptop for the student population, the CD is the ubiquitous mode of data-transfer. And while the USB drives have made a good appearance, they are obviously not the cheapest storage option compared to DVDs available for 20 rupees. This would have been ok if Wi-Fi was available everywhere, but then..

Lack of a user-replaceable battery: The battery that comes with the MacBook Air is attached to the unit. In other words, when the battery conks out, then the only option will be to send it to the Apple factory to get it fitted with a new battery! Which is exactly what I am most unwilling to do with all the data on my comp not to speak of the pira**d softwares.

In all, it is not a bad product for where it was manufactured, i.e. countries with adequate Wi-Fi networks and stuff, but, for us, here, well.. not right now please.

Biting the Apple

2008-10-16T17:17:00.003+05:30

I have been a tech-geek for as long as I can care to remember, and one of the things you will notice about us is our idolizing of the Mac as the revered god of all things 'computerial'. This week saw the launch of the new MacBook and MacBook Pro. But frankly, the newer models lessened my intention to one day own a Mac. The 'new' Macs to me seem more like one of the zillions of laptops running the standard MS Windows or some derivative of Linux OSs.

The fine line between Apple and others, I believe, stemmed from its refusal to lean to the masses. While the rest of the world went after an array of models concentrating on various configurations to suit every type of computer user, Apple had just 3 models of laptops (MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro – as of before the launch of new models earlier this week), with 2 options in each of them. What this did was to build in an identity that we could relate to, something I call, Mac-like. Their design philosophy was based on the minimalistic, and the serene white panels all over their models. The colour was reserved only for what was displayed on the screen.

Also, the obvious close integration between their hardware and software made the Macs what they were - Macs.

Going to the masses has brought in enormous popularity for Apple, not least because of the universal iPod. However, this has come at the cost of pandering out to the common masses and the quality we always have associated with a Mac has taken a beating. Recent customer complaints which are only growing in number is testament to this fact.

Now it does not even seem worth taking the new MacBook which comes loaded with great graphics and features, which are exactly what is touted by so many others.

But the point of this post is, I did not dare buy the Mac when I was younger, because they command a significant premium over the regular laptops and I would be spending my parent's money on it. And now when I am getting to the point where I can decide on one or two things where I do not have to be hard on my money's worth, Macs are no longer Macs (sigh!)

Second Life

2008-10-08T17:55:00.002+05:30

Is that the name of that online app? Sorry, unintended similarity there. What I wanted to refer to is just the fact that my second coming is on the anvil. I can positively feel it rising inside me. That hunger I had during my childhood days to lay my hands on as many books as possible (collecting actually, 'cos i am a crab and that's what crabs do as i have been told).

This has been triggered by the recent reading renaissance observed by my flat-mate and his unabashed love for fantasy novels (the LOTR kind). While I had built up this opinion that reading them was a waste, I cannot help but marvel at how can someone (he is older than me) still have the patience to read through it? It set me thinking a lot.

I still remember having read nearly all the classics by the time I was in the seventh standard. And it always bothers me; Is that the reason for the current lull in my reading life? The fact that I had read all these tomes at such an age and hence undergone the process of leafing through great books without having gone through enough in life to be able to understand and relate to it. Or should it be the other way round that everything in life that I encountered has been tempered by those readings?

These thoughts have been with me for the last few years, but today I hit upon the solution. These are philosophical ramblings, and no amount of pondering would be enough to generate an answer. So the best thing is, read on; but only when you enjoy it, don't think of forcing yourself to fall asleep with a book clutched in your hand with only the second page reached.

I am off to buy one! and thanks for all of you who visit once in a while, 'cos I believe having to write makes you need to read! and for that i say thanks, again. cya all in a while.

this has got to stop!

2008-09-30T11:39:00.004+05:30

The funniest thing happened (according to me, i.e.). Last night i dreamt that I was at the office working on a Deal Slip for **** for further management approval. I dreamt that I had mailed a wrong version of the file to a person and also on top of it had already marked the mail to the CEO.

And then I woke up.

I mean, dreaming of office work at night? Am I going crazy? Is this healthy? All sorts of questions are ringing in my mind as to what is happening to me and whether this is right.

Any suggestions anyone?

Mumbai (Mis)adventures - I

2008-09-01T16:30:00.004+05:30

Some of my most painful moments since arriving in Mumbai apart from the rain and traffic have been in relation to services.

On first reaching here and attending the induction, I was told that I would have to open a salary account since they didn't deal with my Axis bank account. So I signed up with SBI who had a counter there because the ICICI guy had left for lunch and I dint want to wait idly. (I was to regret this later.)

Now, I also was told to get a new mobile connection since this number would be mapped to my employer ID. Did that.

And I was told to get my PAN card ASAP.

Now, the fun began.

When later I was checking my mobile bill on the net, I was amazed to find that my mobile connection has been registered against my father's name! Some crazy data-entry operator had mistakenly seen the 'Father's Name' column while filling in names in the database. (grr!!)

Then when I had to apply for a pan-card, the guy said I needed an address-proof (either a passport or the postpaid-mobile address details) and since I did not have a passport, and my mobile was registered under my father's name so this was out of the question.

So I asked mum for sending me a bank statement which had my local address on it.

On the last day of the month my colleagues started getting their salary in their accounts, I checked mine and it showed - Zero rupees. I enquired why and find out the company was dealing with SBI for the first time and there were some issues. (grr!!) It was resolved after a week and thankfully I had the money in my account. And then I forgot the password. The reason is, the password in SBI net-banking needs to include a special character in addition to characters and numbers (Grr!!) and with 8 bank accounts already crowding my head with ATM-pins, customer-ID numbers, customer-ID names, bank-account numbers, net-banking usernames, net-banking passwords, I guess I can forget a number once or twice. So I reset the password using a facility they provided which said it would get changed and the new password would arrive by post in a week. (sigh!) I got the password a week later.

Now one fine day I check my account on the internet and it shows 700 rupees. Further scrutiny revealed that the rest of the amount had been transferred to a deposit account with a maturity period of 1 year (for my own benefit I was told by the bank)
Someone reassured me that I could draw out this amount in the interim period also, so I tried online-transfer to my bank account back home. So I encountered this facility where when you register a payee for online-transfer, you have to validate this account by entering a code that you receive through an SMS on your phone. And I saw that the phone number mapped in this account was the one I had at home and that I no longer had it. So I tried changing the phone number and it said that it has sent an SMS to my OLD number to validate this new number (GRRR!!!!) I called up the branch manager and informed her of the problem; she said the phone number change cannot be done now because of whatever reason but that she will validate the transfer request if I wanted to. I said "SURE! That’s why I went to all this trouble in the first place!"

So I decided that I should change to ICICI bank because they have an existing relationship with my company. Now, I called up their representative and a person came and got my account-opening form filled up and took it back. A week passed and my colleague who had opened along with me got his account activated whereas mine still showed "Dormant" (grr!!!) So I call up the agent and he said my form has been rejected because I listed a hotel as my permanent address. I explained patiently to him that it was owned by my family but he wouldn't listen, so I said I could provide him another address without a hotel in it. So the agent came down again and I refilled the form.

So far so good.

Now I had to get my PAN card made. The guy came in and unlike the previous one, he said he will get it done even though my mobile was not in my name and I did not have a passport. He took a copy of my driving license and my Employee-ID and took out a letter from the HR certifying my appointment in the company. He said we will get our PAN numbers in a week.

A week passed and still no news. I called him and he said the copy which he took of my Driving License did not include the page on the validity of the license. (grr!!) So I called him, he came in again and took out a copy with all details.

Next I needed a data-card, to access the internet, and the guy comes in, says it’s very easy, it works just like another mobile number and that I only had to give him a bill of my existing mobile connection. I remembered my connection is in my father’s name. (Grr!) with a flash of inspiration I said then can I take the Data-card in my father’s name? And the guys says, “Sure, as long as your father is also an employee here!” So I somehow arrange for another letter from the HR who is by now pained by my frequent requests, so I just tell him this is the last time.
And so, a good 2 months later, all systems are up and running. Until the next time, I guess. (sigh!)

Some Useful Changes

2008-07-09T16:36:00.004+05:30

The new template is slowly but surely taking shape now. Have added the tag cloud and got rid of annoying borders I had got with the template I downloaded. Have the 'peek-a-boo' nav-bar in place (take your cursor to the top of the page to see it :) )

Next step is to secure a header image in place and then a decent background which will complete my basic setup other than the supplementary widgets like polls and comments.

BTW, have been doing this since am stuck with no work for two days. (Taking advantage of the connection at office rather than labour on the free dial-up over my mobile.)

Will modify other elements soon, keep watching this space.

World Toothbrushing Record!

2008-07-08T13:29:00.003+05:30

How long do you need to brush your teeth in the morning?

One minute? 2 minutes? 5? 10? by now you must be viewing this post with skepticism but believe it or not I used to regularly brush for an hour everyday during engineering. To save you from the effort of having to imagine the state of my teeth, let me just explain that this happened due to a dear friend of mine.

He was actually one year senior to me but we used to be able to have long talks anytime we met up - in my room, the stairs, hallway, TV room, dining table, bathroom even! Our favorite though was the porch in front of the hostel where we would stand brushing and talking, talking and brushing, brushing and talking... and by God, was it useful! We used to discuss each and everything under the Sun and try and make sense to each other. Of course it helped that shared the same hostel and by virtue of being just junior to him, I was second in hierarchy in everything from getting the Hostel Prefect post to the livers saved separately from the chicken kept for everyone in the mess.

But yeah, the brushing habit built up then has been nagging me till now and now my fiance has a great time taking fun out of the duration of my brushing, ah! pity those who seldom get the pleasure of taking time out, and brushing for pleasure.

May God give them knowledge!

finally!

2007-12-23T19:53:00.000+05:30

ah!!

now the last term here! will miss this place probably, at least will remember that this is where i set out to do what i will be doing in about 6 months from now..

got some shocks already though, got to see the NITIE prof and boy is he mad! a monologue for and hour and fifteen minutes?!! too much hai yaar..

the Service Marketing prof seems to be a bit of a taskmaster..sligthly boring in the way he delivers the lecture.. but the case we did today was interesting.. was about NetFlix and how and why it developed its business model to the way it is today.. was an eyeopener.. plenty of ideas for use in other online implementations (need to remember this)

the term before last

2007-12-08T02:49:00.000+05:30

only the last paper of the exam to go.. then it is a much-needed break and then its back for the last term here...

one of the 'globe' papers actually.. meaning thereby that it is rumoured that the marks in the paper are given on the basis of the weight of the answer sheet after weighing on a scale (and i mean literal weighing, like in grams! yes! )

js kidding :P

i guess things are going to change now that work life finally is drawing nearer, and i probably have very little idea of the daily tensions which are going to result from it so... lemme enjoy my time here while i can! will brave it anyhow as i have, till now.

Tired of being an atheist

2007-12-06T22:55:00.000+05:30

God! are you listening? am tired of being an atheist! help me realise your existence, show me the light! help me understand all that is happening around me! please !

man, you must have been taken aback by what is written above, was just a rant, will pass, don't you worry.

funny how the world works, sometimes you feel you understand someone (girls obviously) but then... sigh :(

should i stop worrying and let them handle the problems? but what does that make of me? an indifferent beast? or does that make me a peacemaker? would i give an arm and a leg for the latter!!

have to think about that...

probably the next drama is going to unfold in a while now... awaiting that.

Fun Fact - I

2007-12-06T14:30:00.001+05:30

http://support.microsoft.com//default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;261186

Random websites - I

2007-11-28T18:25:00.000+05:30

http://www.rinkworks.com/said/kidlove.shtml

irreverence

2007-06-21T11:56:00.000+05:30

shit, never realised i would be missing the bangalore weather so much and so soon. although the food was shitty, smells from the sewer everywhere, bloody traffic, the weather was like heaven! aah! those cool breezes in the evenings, rains at night... (sigh!)

and now its hot-yellow-heat, barren landscapes and insects. lucknow is undoubtedly the last of the places i would prefer to stay in. no city to speak of since there are no traffic lights in the entire 'city' (i prefer to call it a town).

but yes, coming back to the course here and starting out on a world of discovery with the profs here is again what keeps me up. this is now the 2nd year here and lots more opportunities exist to explore any area you want to. i think this is the reason why the IIMs and the IITs produce varied personalities. Did you know our insti produced the wife of Kunal Ganjawala(that Murder singer? ) Rocky (our legendary prof here) refers to her choice of profession as the one that made him the proudest leaving other well-established guys in McKinsey and the likes..

this place offers you that platform from where you can look out into the world and find out a corner you want to reach out to. and it helps you reach there.

that reminds me, i need to reach out to that reading for the class at 2 o'clock this afternoon. so long.

guide to autorickshaw-travel @Bangalore

2007-05-16T02:09:00.000+05:30

hmm.. so here it is guys, those of you who are stepping into Bangalore for the first time and hoping to enjoy the weather here need to learn the following points before you touchdown here:

Basics

a running autorickshaw is ALWAYS cheaper. (kidstuff)
go and learn poisson distribution to keep yourself occupied while waiting and getting frustrated at the lack of autos (serious)
be prepared.. for anything.

Bangalore specials

NEVER ask the driver "how much?" Just get on if he is willing to go without talking about the fare upfront. (essential)
learn the name of some place midway from your destination. (helps when he asks which route to take, because he will be running on meter and will take you on an all-expense-paid-by-you-trip around Bangalore.
be prepared for BAD traffic. (Bangalore is the worst i have seen. ever.)
you dont need anything to keep you occupied because your heart will be pumping wildly looking at the rate that the meters in the autos run at, so travel light.
hold on for dear life, the brakes are rumoured to wear out the fastest in this city.
read this guide from the top again and memorize it.if need help then contact the author by a comment or mail and he would be ready to help you.

Great! so now, happy shopping!!

@Bangalore!!!

2007-05-15T01:49:00.000+05:30

in the city of gardens this past month, and it has been swell weather throughout! showers now and then and the cool breeze makes you go wow! and then the feeling crashes down when its dinner time. you go out, get a look at the menu, and pick something. and trust me, it never will come out the way you imagined it would be.
the first night i had hunted around for some chinese and got a decent meal at a good restaurant. then the next day i ventured out to find out some cheaper alternatives. and we ordered a chicken hyderabadi. i was expecting something red and spicy hot. and then, out it comes and it is... you guessed wrong, it was GREEN! a green chicken dish, talk about a healthy non-veg meal!
next day we went for an even cheaper option. a southie restaurant called swadisht. i went in and picked out the punjabi thali, a reasonable option for 40 bucks (it offered ice-cream as dessert.) and then it comes out and i have to think back to what my knowledge of punjabi cuisine was all about. the thali has a f^@&!#$ bowl of curd-rice!
now i forgot to mention that i used to consider myself as very adaptable to any cuisine, until now that is. so now i resolved to get the hang of it and next day ordered a southie thali!! it was good actually.
and that was how i discovered. when in the south, eat south.

blogging for blogging;s sake

2007-03-06T13:31:00.000+05:30

ever wonder how you can always find a blog better written and worded than yours? its not the same with a book. Reasons could be that since not everyone can get a book published so we dont compare it so hard with what we could have come up with. Precisely the issue with blogs.

I know there will be criticisms of this but blogs were intended for instant composing, not as a well-threaded document of the times. Its evolution was as a tool whereby the individual could jot down random thoughts while he would be surfing the net.

we would have to agree that it has now developed into an art form now. with well thought-out pieces which make us go "wow !"

well, as it goes. interesting!.

2007-02-16T19:07:00.002+05:30

my leader type: (??!!)

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

professional hazards - I

2007-02-16T19:07:00.001+05:30

(19 August 1999, Seville, Spain) A professional French pickpocket used astoundingly poor judgment when selecting his most recent victim at the Seville Airport. The thief, who specializes in international events that attract crowds of visitors, thought he was in his element when he circled a group of young men and chose his prey. Little did he realize that he was dipping into the bag of Larry Wade, champion 110-meter hurdler for the US Athletic team. He was also spotted by Maurice Green, the fastest sprinter on Earth, capable of running 100 meters in 9.79 seconds. The two athletes quickly chased down the thief despite his hefty head start. The pickpocket attempted to pretend that he was just an innocent French tourist, but the entire episode was captured on film by a Spanish television crew that had been interviewing Mr. Greene at the time. “He chose the wrong man,” deadpanned a spokesman for the Civil Guard.

In Mars We Trust

2007-02-11T23:26:00.000+05:30

In Mars We Trust

The Power of Two

2007-02-03T01:16:00.000+05:30

© The Times of India, Feb 2, 2007

In business, collaboration makes better sense

By ARUN MAIRA

The ‘last mile’ challenges sellers of products and services in rural India. Customers are widely dispersed, infrastructure to reach them is inadequate, and therefore profits are elusive. A way out for businesses, explained in CII’s report on ‘Winning by Inclusion’, is to combine capabilities and share infrastructure in the last mile thus reducing investments and costs.

The World Bank, too, has examined delivery of public services for education, healthcare and sanitation to the poor in rural as well as urban India. It contrasts examples of effective and low-cost delivery with the myriad examples of wasteful and often useless schemes. It points out that successful projects generally have two characteristics. They involve the local community in planning and managing the service. And very often, they are collaborative ventures between government, NGOs, businesses and the community. The lesson for those who want to do good and also for those who want to make profits is that going it alone is costly and ineffective.

While successful examples provide valuable insights, they are too few and far between. The challenge is to spread the models and scale up benefits. The default solution almost always is to impose an overall authority and enforce ideas top down. Thus an insight from successful examples is smothered — collaboration on the ground between many agencies working together as partners produces results, not a single agency acting on its own. Why then do we instinctively revert to a ‘dominator’ model of organisation to get something done, even in the face of economic logic and empirical evidence that suggests we need partnerships?

Social scientist Riane Eisler gives an intriguing explanation. In her analysis of the evolution of culture and ideas over 10,000 years of human history, she points out that two opposing ideas of social organisation have contended with each other at various times. One is the idea of partnerships and equality, principally among the two sexes. Whenever this model has prevailed, there has been greater peace and an effervescence of creativity. The other idea, more prevalent, is domination by hierarchies with a single leader, invariably male, at the top. The dominator model, she explains, is intolerant of opposition. It is also very effective for the organisation of war. Dominant organisations use the power of the word (propagating their own ideas and banning opposing ideas as heresies) as well as, in the extreme, the power of the sword (of violent punishment) to prevail. The partnership model is always a threat to those in power because it brings others up to their level to share the power that they have so far enjoyed. Eisler concentrates on western civilisation, in which she tracks these aggressive forces in the growth of the Christian church, ostensibly founded to propagate the ideas of a man who brought the message of love, compassion, and of ‘turning the other cheek’. However, the dominator model, of top-down authority intolerant of opposition, is also evident in many eastern societies and in international relations.

This model produces results, but not in all contexts. When problems are systemic, when there are many interacting forces with reinforcing and balancing effects amongst them, when many actors must collaborate to understand the system of which they are all a part and cooperate in its improvement, partnerships are necessary. The dominator model could win the battle against Saddam, but it cannot impose peace in Iraq.

In an increasingly interconnected world with several challenges, such as saving the environment, reducing poverty and eradicating violence, cooperation is necessary across national boundaries. Collaboration is also required locally, within countries, to produce results on the ground.

However, the tool-kits of leaders and managers are not equipped for these challenges. Concepts of organisation and management taught in government, army and business schools teach managers how to be more effective within the dominator model. The emphasis is on teaching strategies and skills for competition and control, rather than strategies and skills for collaboration and co-creation. No wonder Alexander the Great’s Art of Strategy and Sun Tzu’s Art of War are management bestsellers.

We cannot carry on in this way. We need a new curriculum of leadership and management with new concepts and texts. What this will require is eloquently explained by Dee Hock, the founder of Visa — the credit card network that revolutionised financial services in the 1960s. Technology was an enabler for Visa’s success, but the breakthrough, Hock says, was in the governance model of an enterprise without a single owner that requires hundreds of banks and millions of merchants all over the world to cooperate to maintain its integrity. Reflecting on the state of the world today, Hock says that our intractable societal problems are caused by an institutional failure: “At the bottom, it is a wrong concept of organisation and leadership based on a false metaphor with which we must deal. Until we do, the problems that crush the young and make grown people cry will grow progressively worse”. The false metaphor is domination and top-down control, whereas the new dawn will come with partnerships, even amongst those considered unequal — rich and poor people, backward and developed nations, men and women.

The writer is with the Boston Consulting Group.

The Past and the Future

2007-01-07T22:59:00.002+05:30

isn't it uncanny when the wishes of parents run contrary to their own wishes? (confusing wording of the sentence i would say :P ) or put in a better way, their hopes of seeing their children happy might instead restrict their vision to what 'they' think of as good for their children.

i will give you an illustration. Parent A wants his son to stay at home and manage the family business, he looks forward to being able to guide his son. There's a catch however-

Situation 1:
Let's say the son wants nothing to do with the family business (as of now) and wants to explore some options (conveniently nontraditional options). Now the parents want to see him happy and not make mistakes which he might regret, but hey, if the guy does not 'make' the mistake, won't he keep thinking HIS ENTIRE LIFE about what could have been? The point is that once he has started thinking for himself, he will be having desires, a liking for the uncharted territory. Do you give him the chance?

Situation 2:
To pre-empt the above situation, this time the parents do not give the son exposure to the world outside, keeping him 'domesticated'. Ok the son will be happy, but is it not a trade-off of the potential he had and the knowledge he could have gained outside? More importantly, are the parents keeping their son happy or are they keeping themselves happy?

Their can be no conclusion from this thought but 'freedom'. Never has a cage kept a bird happy. No amount of good food, tender loving care, will be enough to satisfy his curiosity of the world outside. No amount of reasoning that there are predators outside will quell his want for an opportunity to venture outside JUST THIS ONCE.
You have to let go, for his own good.

Killing the art of Poetry - II

2007-01-07T22:59:00.001+05:30

Eager minds, bright new faces,
Know nothing about the coming race.
Where colleagues are competitors
Lecturers their accomplices,
Books their weapons and conceit everywhere.

Feeble minds may balk,
Some leaving the job mid-way,
Still some will battle on,
With hopes of going further on.

A few wise old men,
In the midst of all this,
Quietly hold their own and fight,
Not against any enemy but someone within.
They have been through hell and are trying to survive,
Where others have given up and died,
They go on, cherishing unfulfilled dreams,
Unspoken, and secret desires of the heart.

The young don’t know, they don’t care,
There’ll always be people who dare,
This is the way of the world.
Not everyone has to be brash and bold,
In the end, we all are the same,
Is it not, even if we don’t have fame?

Killing the art of Poetry - I

2007-01-07T22:59:00.000+05:30

Music is what I hear,
When it should have been silence,
Even when no one is near,
Time immemorial whence

Why, thought I, should I have to think,
Things that should have been out in a blink.

And I remember what brought upon this,
Which reminds me of all the things I miss,
Things go on, they always do.

Everyone meets other people, me and you too,
And so thinking, I get down to rest,
Knowing I’ll never get used to this mess.

fact/fiction undersigned by 'Signature' :P

2007-01-07T01:47:00.000+05:30

have heard a lot about the Beatle's LSD experiments and the rousing success its 'by-product' the " Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" received, so decided that i should try a little one of my own, albeit, fueled by a lesser quantitiy of 'Signature'.

missing dear friends is the first emotion i felt, long lost friends resurfaced in the inner recesses. Could-have-been relationships sprung possibilities in my mind (not necessarily the platonic kind, cos i have committed to the girl of my dreams already and there is no other like her), lost friendships, potential business partners and ready benefactors.

for people who know me, please leave a comment if you find anything thought-provoking here, it will be greatly appreciated. Have decided to open up my life gradually from the coccoon i have restricted myself to, and hope it will be for my betterment.

The issue here is about getting out of one's comfort zone. For those not familiar with the term, it means sticking with something you are familiar with, rather than trying out the unknown. Getting out of it is one of the most enlightening experiences you could get. Thought that flock of hair looks cool on you? SHAVE THAT OFF!! My friend Rajoy did it here and i sure would have envied the attention he is getting if i had not already found the girl of my dreams. She is the reason i do what i do, she is the reason i live, and she is everything that makes my life worth living. I call myself an atheist barring the religion that is her. People might call it 'blind' love, i call it a love that does not need eyes to see it, only the heart to feel it. I love her too much.

best jokes- I

2006-09-13T22:52:00.000+05:30

A Buddhist Zen master went up to a hot dog vendor at a baseball game and said, "Make me one with everything." When the Zen master paid with a twenty-dollar bill, the hot-dog vendor put the bill in the cash drawer.

"Where's my change?" the Zen master asked.

The hot-dog vendor replied, "Change must come from within."

rebirth

2006-05-04T18:23:00.000+05:30

Am posting after a considerable gap of time. Have been from heaven to hell, realised it was the other way round, and now am contemplating the next course of action.
Was in Gurgaon for a month doing my summer internship for a company here until the project was scheduled to be scrapped and so had to hurry and finish up the work.
Meanwhile i have had a few life changing experiences.. first i realized that the world as i wanted to make it is not yet ready for it. so have changed my track and am willing to play the waiting game till such time as the time is ripe. more on this as it comes out gradually..
Have been reading a lot to combat the boredom here, and have nearly finished "The Fountainhead", and have discovered a mirror to my thoughts, not necessarily in the mould of the hero-worship of characters in a movie or novel, but in the way of looking at the world 'objectively'. I can state that at a certain age, every person should read this novel, it will present to him a glass through which the world's problems appear simplified, things which you were not able to figure out become cystal-clear.
I wont reveal anything about the book though, that enjoyment should be allowed to the reader when he holds the book in his own hands and sits or lies down with it.

Have made up some changes i would like to accomplish in myself, have set some principles and realised that the time to take responsibily has come. no longer can I afford to ignore the world as it is, dreaming wistfully of a new order which would be just perfect.

a motto i have to take up for the time being, till such time as there is no longer a need for it --
"Money is Everything"

2006-03-09T16:30:00.000+05:30

There's a sudden change in the weather. The sunny days of winter and spring are making way for the next bout of summer rains. Reminds me of home, of endless rains, of rounds of carrom as we passed time trapped inside our homes.
The rains are viewed so differently across the country that by itself it could qualify as being a measure of the various different ethnic clans and cultures here, not to speak of the geographical spread.
Back home it was always seen with a feeling of helplessness, resignment to indoor sports, (we had indoor varieties of all the games played!), and smelly clothes arranged on the line with fans running furiously to try to dry them. The huddled people in front of the TV, sharing in joy, and laughing in mirth. Yes, TV was a great source of bonding and as a past-time in the rainy season, nothwithstanding the constant fights among us for the control of the remote.
Here the rains bring a totally different emotion along with it. It gives respite from the scorching sun with the dancing peacocks thrown in as a good bonus (not to forget the dancing humans).
But there is also a binding thread with it.
It is seen everywhere equally as a harbinger of a good harvest, a new beginning, creation, and change. It is seen with fondness by the elders reminding them of times gone by. Rains bring out the emotions in two lovers, and makes the longingness grow deeper.
For some rains may be disasters, for the cotton crop, for the low-lying habitats, and for the goats!!
But,
Rains bring with it water.
And with that.
Life itself.

Crazy Tree

2006-02-12T15:11:00.000+05:30

Crazy Tree
Originally uploaded by JuanJ.

fine discovery.

Manali eye-opener

2006-02-09T12:09:00.000+05:30

a gem from the visit to the Rohtang Pass..

enjoy!

chess

2006-01-08T02:24:00.000+05:30

selection trials for the institute team to play against the rest of the IIMs is going on. And since i am not a bad player myself, i thought why not.

3 games later... i realise one thing. Get the crap out of your heads that these guys here are studs with studies and projects keeping them busy all of 2 years. Nope. Doesn't work that way. In fact i have come across 'studs' who are experts in their domain but in a field far removed from the curricula. One of the guys here, let's call him EPL, he is undoubtedly the authority on the English Premier League. At any given 'moment', (yes, 'moment') he can rattle off the statistics as to the number of goals scored by which team against what team by whom with the foot or the head, leave alone the simple matter of the number of red or yellow cards. Come exams and nothing, no change in schedules for him. I guess considering the odd times of the games (he also keps track of UEFA Champions League matches) what he has managed to do merits him receiving a PGDTM (Post-Graduate Diploma in Time Management). ok, i think you get the picture.

another of the guys is the musically inclined guy you'll find in all institutes. But this guy is no ordinary freak, his routine consists of making the upstairs gym-room as sound-proof as possible and then belt out as loud as he can on his electric guitar using the 10000 watt speakers. (What an example of a dichotomy of aims.)

well, to get back to my chess game.. wonder what the name of the guy in-charge of organizing the chess competition? None other than Viswanathan Anand!!! And since i have drawn with him this evening, one sentence that will never probably leave my mind is "i drew with viswanathan anand!!"

Love?

2006-01-08T00:38:00.000+05:30

ok, with thoughts of issues come the perennial thoughts about the feeling 'love'. Now don't worry, it is not that yours truly is 'falling'( or failing) these days. It is just that recently a discussion started on the bulletin board here and i thought how we men are perennially perplexed about the mysterious charms and guiles of women.
As i mentioned. even at this level, i.e., a post-grad level of the highest order, people are still searching for the keys to the locked doors of enlightenment on the subject of women. I would have thought that by now either they would have given up unsuccesfully, or else they would be tired of the thing.
For the benefit of all men, let me assure you while pretending to be the 'Master' that there is nothing as love in the real world. Instead what is mistaken as love is one of the following:

Infatuation (no need to detail it cos it is always covered in the advice columns of magazines or else in sunday editions of newspapers.)
Girl Power: This is the classic case of the first-timer (or rather the never-timer) who mistakes the power the girl is exercising over him to be attraction from her. This has to be carefully explained by an example. In case of Bollywood movies, it would be the 'good' guy and he would be running all the errands for the girl, however in the end the girl would choose the 'bad' guy who turns around and cares about her after ignoring her for the first part of the movie (a.k.a. Ishq Vishk Pyaar Vyaar)
Guy Power(?): Well in this case the guy believes that his 'machoism' would be appealing enough and that the girl is well smitten. Sadly, the girl ditches him in the end when a 'good' guy, the man of her dreams(sic), comes along.
Love: Love mistaken as love? No i have not gone bonkers here, the point is that there are varying thoughts about love as an emotion and psychologists agree that people differ in the degree to what people feel about it. This is one of the most major causes of opportunities missed, friendships lost, and relationships turning abusive.

Hmm.. so what is the inference? Nothing. The subject is the topic of enless discussion over drinks in the boys dorms in schools, colleges, universities -and now i have learnt- even in workplaces. So, is there no end to it?

NO. Go figure.

PS: Men are like a fine wine. They start out as grapes, and it’s up to women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

IIM ?

2005-12-28T21:56:00.000+05:30

hmm...

sure made me think a while. although, with the power of speech on my side i should've probably seen it a wee bit before.

well, let me clarify a little bit. the IIM stands for "i i am" which translates to-"i am what i am"- for the uninitiated. in other words this is where you are supposedly taught the skills to survive in this dog-eat-dog-world environment and that is where those two I's jump in.

and then let me clarify some more. This is a declaration that, "the views expressed here are the authors own and do not reflect the views of the institute in any way. Any enquiries regarding the stated matter will not deal with the institute in any way whatsoever."

And then, YES, this is the IIM campus over here. but this is going to come up only once here and no further because the content of this blog is about the author's views on issues and life in general and not concerned only on the IIM brand.

coming back to the topic, well, the european exchange students served up an enchanting array of items. (and i was quite wrong about guessing that they would be attempting any jhatkas and matkas). they brought up some heart-rending songs in french (no idea about the lyrics, but i can assure you that the tune and the music make words unnecessary, and wasn't it said that music reaches across language barriers?)
plus, there was the dinner that i had mentioned in the previous blog. although yours truly got to taste only the rubberised version of their pasta and a rocky version of the ginger-bread toast since he was busy writing this blog.

hmm.. a recent survey said the length of a blog should not be too long that the reader loses interest. funny though, because the boom in blogging has resulted from the very fact that
there were no rules and people could write anything that they want. well that brings me to a very favorite expression of mine... vicious circles. ever thought that the human life is one vicious cycle? (and not only by the hindu and buddhist reasoning of rebirth). More on this in the next blog in the series.

a european night..?

2005-11-30T20:31:00.000+05:30

its that time of the year again and the exchange students are busy sweating it out. Poor chaps have to cater to a dinner for 500 and have to juggle that along with a song and dance routine!! However, i missed their performance because of a system failure on my comp's part which had to be rectified quickly 'cos important mails were on their way to me.
But then... the saving grace is that dinner will not be missed and one can look forward to something different from the same old southie stuff served up by the mess-maharaj every turn possible (while pacifying northerners with a cold-rubber like rotis strewn about near the buffet table...

ah.. yeah.. european.. we call the french guy as 'porn star' because of his good looks, he doesn't mind. What is left secretly desired by the junta here is a lady porn star!! (pj)

coming back to the entertainment stuff, since they don't have a song and dance ritual, i wonder what the presentation will be about, an opera maybe?, nah.., that would be a killer punch to the many insomniacs in the campus. So what then? People cannot get enough of gori chamri so i guess the 'european night' will have an Indian touch with a bollywood-style song.. the added advantage of which will be jhatkas and thumkas for the benefit of the crowds...

over and out for now... will come back with the report later..

In the Beginning...

2005-11-24T15:47:00.000+05:30

and then man stared, "what was that?". lips moved and something in his head made its presence felt.
thus was born speech (not yet a language... mind you) and began the genesis of the rich cultural and literary heritage that has brought forth this blog..
so, what can you expect to find here..? well for starters, a dissection of issues by so fine a knife that the cut remains invisible while the damage is done.. (crappy line but it gets the point across)

anyways, let speech Begin!! ...