Mundane Musings

To win a lottery!

2012-01-17T11:41:00.000+04:00

Its that time of the year again -Dubai shopping festival time. I have already filled a dozen lucky draw coupons. Till date I have not even won 5 dirhams. This year there are fully furnished apartments, big cars and a million bucks (Thats nearly 1.3 crores in Indian rupees)for the lucky folks. Honestly if I win any of these , the first thing I would do is to resign from my job.
I have my eye set on the apartment actually. I know I am not lucky enough to be a millionaire. And I probably would spend it all on a tour or a cruise mostly, so it really isnt worth it. I keep hoping and praying every time I put the ticket in the drop box. And then I would think of all nice thoughts so that my instincts tell me that I would win. But till now nothing has ever happened.

I am just so fed up of working and there doesnt seem to be any respite. I am tired, not happy with the salary( I just consider it a shade above having no salary at all). The only way out is to win the lottery. Lottery comes in many forms to many people. Some people get good jobs. Some get rich husbands or dads. And I have neither. Oh I would give anything to win a lottery now.

Hyderabad Blues

2011-11-28T11:17:00.000+04:00

Finally went to a destination which was not Trichur or Chennai. This time I went to Hyderabad. For once it was a change. Of course it did look a lot familiar to me. As most buildings resembled the ones in my hometown of Chennai but this was more of a hilly city.
The Salar Jung museum is definitely worth seeing especially for history buffs like me. But apparently they have removed most of the valuable stuff like jewels. (Or this is the news conveyed to me by a relative). But the statue of veiled Rebecca, the musical clock and the double figured wooden statue with Mephistopheles and the image of Margaretta in the mirror was really good. I am a museum geek. I have loved Mysore palace and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in the past. But I know that this may not be very interesting to people who dont really care much for History.

Next up was the Charminar. I really wished somebody would paint it with Apex Ultima. I mean when all other countries can maintain their landmarks so well why cant we?? Apparently this is a UNESCO world heritage site.And its not like we dont have the money. It would cost only a few crores compared to the thousands of crores being scammed in nationwide scams! People just dont care anymore or what? Or is it that we want to portray ourselves continuously as a third world country?

The Birla Mandir was a much better site with all the marble. And of course it has one of the best views of this hilly city. Wish I could have stayed for more than an hour over there but we had a wedding reception to attend the same evening.

The next whole day was spent at Ramoji Film City. We had a funny tour guide, who cracked his jokes with the most serious expression on his face. Maybe he was made to mug a script by-heart? Anyways this has been spread over a sprawling 2500 acres. Supposedly the largest film city in the world.Lots to walk. The movie making and stunt shows were good. Food was horrible and overpriced.I dont think I would want to go back there again just for this one reason.And we werent lucky enough to witness a live shooting.

The last day was spent visiting relatives. And finally in the evening we went to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to return to Dubai. This was by far the best airport I have been to in India. It definitely was of international standards. And even Jet Airways runs much better flights to and from Hyderabad compared to the lousy flights they normally send to Chennai. All in all it was a pleasant trip. And my next destination-> yup gotta be Bombay a.k.a Mumbai.

One shop to love!

2011-10-31T12:33:00.000+04:00

So my mom called me up Saturday morning with bad news. The shop I had been going to for the last eight years to buy salwar kameez closed down. She tried enquiring around if he had shifted but nobody at Alsa Mall had any idea where the shopkeeper left. We had the landline telephone number which is not working anymore. So there! One more shutdown of a location I used to frequently visit. First it was the Woodlands drive in hotel , then the beauty parlour and now this. While the hotel was shutdown for a garden being built in its place. The other two was mainly because of bad business.

Just a week back my boss was talking to his colleague about the MBA student who had not paid his fees yet. Apparently the guy was the son of a small grocery store owner. And basically due to poor business the boy could not afford the fee any longer.

Running a shop is no joke. Even if it is a small one. In fact I believe its harder if you have a very small shop. You not only have competition from the smaller shops nearby, but huge gigantic hypermarkets can easily weigh you down in a jiffy. So in what way can you set your shop apart? Good customer service! But I have always felt the staff at Lulu and Carrefour more friendlier than the people in smaller shops. Could it be because of low wages? I really dont know.

But all the same I still feel sorry for the owners of small grocery stores especially in major cities.

Are these gadgets really necessary?

2011-10-11T14:23:00.000+04:00

So Steve Jobs passed away last week. Zillions of people mourned over his death. People whom he never really knew. But seriously, if you could take a look at all the three famous products from the Apple in the last decade, they were all gadgets that we could easily do without. And basically they were stuff meant for just show off.

Let's start with the ipod. There are so many lesser known mp3 players which are much more user friendly than the ipod. Then came the iphone with its oh so many add-ons for social networking. It just increased the number of useless status updates in my Facebook page. Because people bought this phone paying so much that they had to let the whole world know that they were using it. And then they started using it for all features except for making a phone call (which is what a cellphone was invented to do in the first place)! After that came the ipad. Now we have laptops, desktops and practically all internet browsing tools now on the phone itself, so why one more six-inch tablet PC whose functionality could be easily replicated by all the afore mentioned devices?

So people land up spending money on stuff that they dont really need to begin with and made the company bigger and richer. I have survived ten years without purchasing any of their products. And I am sure that if I can survive without this for so many years, then so will other people.

Bad Customer Service?

2011-10-05T13:29:00.000+04:00

Many a time I have felt that I have been discriminated against just because I am an Indian. The most recent incident occurred when I went into the Splash retail outlet in one of Dubai's malls. I had picked up a few clothes which were on sale and had proceeded to the billing counter. First the lady standing at the counter I chose left the counter at that very moment.I waited thinking she will be back soon. She just disappeared. The guy standing at the next billing counter was busy with another customer for a while. We were the only two customers at the billing counter by the way.

Another lady from a different nationality walked into the shop and this guy at the counter instructs one of the sales girls to attend to her!! Hey there was no special attention given to me when I was shopping? And how does this guy assume who will shop for more money or what if that woman walks out of there buying nothing at all. I waited five more minutes and then I left the clothes on the counter and walked out of the shop. No sorry , no calling me back, nothing! Its almost as if these people were trained to not care! What an insult. And who should we complain to about such insults? There wasnt even a manager on duty!!And this is not just a one-off occurrence here, in fact ir happens here more than in any other place I know.

Plight of Watching TV..........

2011-10-04T10:34:00.000+04:00

Last week the news channels in India were agog with the news of Sachin Tendulkar moving into a new home. Apparently it cost him 39 crores in Indian rupees to buy it and almost as much in renovating it. So we are talking about a Rs 75 crore plus home! Well he is my favorite player , but all the same 75 crores for a house was a bit too much for me to digest. I mean 5 crores , 6 crores is also normal but 75?
Is it really required? And what would be the yearly cost of maintaining all that?
The Indian media is slowly going the British and the American way. All those guys ever used to talk about were the boooorrrring Beckhams. Hopefully they will not get into Sachin and Anjali's hairstyle and clothes!!!!Already they are behind Sakshi Dhoni's style of dressing. God alone knows what's next. Its like people dont care about meaningful news anymore.
One of my favorite channels on TV is a German channel called DW TV. The programs are divided such that one hour in German is followed by one hour in English. As I dont understand German I watch only the English programs. But the way these programs are taken with very little irritating advertisements in between is a marvel. And the content itself is so much better and clear to understand that I dont think any one of the Indian channels are even qualified to compete with them. Even if Indian media dont follow the same pattern, cant they atleast take meaningful topics? Such as advancements in research for instance.
And probably the most boring and yet nasty type of program is the Big Boss. This was an unnecessary program that we borrowed from the west. Just because Shilpa Shetty went and wept on the program 5 years ago and got herself a millionaire husband, doesnt mean that everybody is that lucky or that ordinary people have the time and the energy to waste on it.And what culture does it promote anyway? Of intolerance??? I just cant believe the junk we have to watch on TV these days. High time I get rid of the idiot box and just go back to the good old radio minus the RJ's of course.

Train trip - GVR to TCR

2011-09-07T15:13:00.000+04:00

Since its introduction in the year 1994 this has been a memorable train journey for me. I am talking about this short train journey between Trichur and Guruvayur in Kerala, India. This is a journey that I undertake almost every year without exception

Its 35 to 40 mins of pure lush greenery. Right after starting from the Gurvayur Station and the train moves a bit, we see the level cross from where we pray for one last time looking towards the East Nada of the Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple(of course we cant really see the temple from the level cross but still we try to crane our necks as if we can).

But thereafter the greenery along the route transports you to your own imaginary world and then you forget all your worries and problems till you reach your destination. Of course thereafter in my case I have to catch a train to Chennai and then a flight to Dubai. But for that half an hour you dont think about city life or work or anything and just try to store these images somewhere in your brain.

This is one of the few things that has remained the same in my life. Even the train ticket is priced at less than one dirham! Sigh , I wish I didnt have to slog it out here in the Gulf.

Career Change

2011-09-07T15:02:00.000+04:00

We spend a good portion of our life working and it's important to make sure that what we do is meaningful and fufilling. Regardless of your current job, take time to mull over whether what you're doing is what you want to be doing. If not, consider how to take another career path. You never know where you might end up!

The above paragraph and umpteen other articles that I have read in books and internet articles have not helped my career much. I am still back to square one. I was a not-so-bad computer science engineer.
Although I hated the job I was still respected in a society which churns out God knows how many software engineers every year. But I am still lacking one important factor essential to every person's career i.e LUCK.

I know I have mentioned this before, but seriously I need this factor more than anything else now.This must be something running in my family. I mean my dad worked under a boss for more than 20 years.

My dad had been a qualified chartered accountant , cost accountant and company secretary. The boss was only a cost accountant.My dad retired 5 years ago, the boss who was almost seven years older still survives in the company!

From this example I have understood that it is not a lack of qualifications that held him back. And if anything he has worked a lot harder than I ever did in my whole life. So what was missing , of course it is LUCK.

There are countless examples that I can give of people who didnt deserve the positions or salary they held but still had them because of this extraordinary luck factor.Being in the right place at the right time is a sentence that really carries a lot of weight in today's scenario.

My first team leader in an IT company had told me years ago to always do what is it that you want to do. But familial constraints(had to relocate after marriage) , environmental constraints(limited scope for IT professionals) and host of other reasons mean that I really cannot do what I really really want to do.

Add to that is the fact that all people are selfish as a rule. And this includes even your friends. Other than your parents nobody in this life wants to you to get ahead. They might sympathise or empathise with you but they will never help you to get ahead in life.

Annual Vacations

2011-09-01T10:50:00.000+04:00

My Annual Vacations are mostly an ordeal. Its a shuttle between the place I was brought up i.e. Chennai and the place I was born i.e. Kerala. Needless to say I hate vacations, but it is a neccessary evil that I have to do at least once every year if not more. My BP shoots up higher there than my normal working days in Dubai. Because there the tensions range from why so and so commented on me this way starting from you have grown so fat to when are you giving us good news and why did you change the job line from IT!!! Like they really cared a damn about me. They just had to ask questions that hurt me. The kind of questions that bring an expression on my face that is quite similar to that lady's in the nappy ad where she sees her baby boy sitting in a pool of his urine(I think it was huggies, not so sure though) when they are playing hide and seek.

Anyways I know now that I will never be able to get into the marketing department of any company, because I have lived for five years with the most stubborn customer one has ever come across i.e my husband. I tried my level best in convincing him in going to a place other than India for a vacation this time. He happily did not cave in saying he didnt have the money. But oh yes, he had the money to turn up for a golden jubilee alumni event which did not feature any of his classmates and that too for just 3 days!! Oh ya I am not a good talker and I can never be a lawyer either cos I just dont know how to argue with this man let alone argue with another lawyer in front of a judge.

Anyway coming back to the annual vacation , I have realised rather painfully that amongst my relatives people returning from the Gulf have lower value than those coming from the US and the UK. In fact some people are wondering how come I travel once every three months to India. Isnt it recession time? Well for starters the flight is only 3 and a half hours and the ticket prices are much cheaper than travelling to US and UK. And about getting holidays , we get the same amount of holidays except that unlike the US , UK NRIs we dont travel anywhere else except to India. And we dont take days off for hiking , trekking, rock climbing etc. Our only form of entertainment are the huge malls and the cinemas. And if do you dont earn much you dont spend much in these shops anyway!

I am quite fed up of this whole vacation commotion. From now on even if I dont travel to exotic foreign locales I will be travelling to hill stations like Ooty or Kodai as they bring me a lot of calm which I just dont get anywhere else.

Just dance!!

2011-07-11T10:17:00.000+04:00

My entire weekend was in front of the TV this time. I have watched Just Dance in three languages namely Hindi , Tamil and Malayalam. Believe me when I say that the tamil and malayalam versions of this program were hilarious. Rather than dubbing the program they should have just shown the subtitles in those respective languages. But no they dont do that. They make Farah and Vaibhavi speak in Malayalam and Tamil instead. But while even that was watchable, the worst part was the fake accent they gave to the contestants who had auditioned in London. It reminded one of the ab trimmer exercises in teleshopping where they have foreigners speak in tamil and malayalam.
Speaking of the program itself, while watching it you are aware that there is immense talent in India. But then again most of them were doing locking, crumping , piping , whatever whatever. And everybody seems to have a lot of knowledge about them, But what about our bharatanatyam or our folk dances. A few dancers attempted kathak, lavni and odissi but they were a mere handful. And most of them hopeless. And since when did Michael Jackson become a dance form? With all due respect to the singer, I think its high time we stop encouraging his clones.
Most of these dancers dont have one primary element required of a dancer and that is called grace! Not one of them was graceful in the way they danced. Its like they would jump into acrobatics anytime , so why not call the program dance ka circus like comedy circus. And of the final 21 people who made it only about 5 or 6 could be called really good when you compare them with dancers who came on Dance India Dance. I dont think we should call them best dancers in the world anyways. Hopefully there would be better episodes in the coming weeks as the program seems to be banking only on Hrithik Roshan's charms as of now and some melodrama here and there with contestants crying et al.

Tharoor on Kerala!

2011-07-06T10:32:00.000+04:00

A couple of years ago, I was invited to address the Trivandrum Management Association on the subject “energizing Kerala”. I found that odd, because the only place in the world where Keralites seem to need energizing is Kerala. Look around the planet, and you see Keralites everywhere, working extremely hard, from menial jobs in the Gulf to professorships in the States, displaying their entrepreneurial energies and achieving remarkable successes. So what is it that holds them back here, in their home state? Is it resources, policies, attitudes, politics? All of the above?

It’s always been a curious paradox that Keralites put in long hours in places like the Gulf, where they have earned a reputation for being hard-working and utterly reliable, while at home they are seen as indolent and strike-prone. Surely the same people couldn’t be so different in two different places? And yet they are – for one simple reason: the politicized environment at home. It’s a reputation that has come to haunt Kerala. Several people told me the story of how BMW had been persuaded to install a car-manufacturing plant in the state, thanks to generous concessions by the UDF government. But the very day the BMW executives arrived in Kerala to sign the deal, they were greeted by a “bandh”: the State had shut down over some marginal political issue, cars were being blocked on the streets, shops were closed by a hartal. It had nothing to do with BMW or with foreign investment, but the executives beat a hasty retreat. The plant was set up
in Tamil Nadu.

The irony is that Kerala has got some essential things right. One famous study has established some astonishing parallels between the United States and the state of Kerala. The life expectancy of a male American is 72, that of a male Keralite 70. The literacy rate in the United States is 95%; in Kerala it is 99%. The birth rate in the US is 16 per thousand; in Kerala it is 18 per thousand, but it is falling faster. The gender ratio in the United States is 1050 females to 1000 males; in Kerala it is 1040 to 1000, and that in a country where neglect of female children has dropped the Indian national ratio to 930 women for 1000 men. Death rates are also comparable, as are the number of hospital beds per 100,000 population and the number of newspapers per 10,000 population (where Kerala is ahead of the US). The major difference is that the annual per capita income in Kerala is around $300 to $350, whereas in the US it is $22,500, about seventy times as much.

Kerala has, in short, all the demographic indicators commonly associated with "developed" countries, at a small fraction of the cost. Its success is a reflection of what, in my book India: From Midnight to the Millennium (Malayalam: “Ardha Ratri Muthal Nootande”), I have called the "Malayali miracle": a state that has practised openness and tolerance from time immemorial; which has made religious and ethnic diversity a part of its daily life rather than a source of division; which has overcome caste discrimination and class oppression through education, land reforms, and political democracy; which has given its working men and women greater rights and a higher minimum wage than anywhere else in India; and which has honoured its women and enabled them to lead productive, fulfilling and empowered lives.

And yet, despite all these strengths, it’s difficult to deny that Kerala has failed to move from its agrarian past into meaningful industrialization, principally because it has acquired a less than positive reputation as a place to invest. “Keralites are far too conscious of their rights and not enough of their duties,” one expatriate Malayali businessman told me. “It’s impossible to get any work done by a Keralite labour force – and then there are those unions!” He sighed. “Every time we persuade an industrialist to invest in Kerala, it ends badly.” Citing the examples of the Gwalior Rayons plant in Mavoor, the Premier Tyre factory in Kalamassery and the Apollo Tyres plant in Chalakudi, my friend shook his head. “I am a Malayali,” he declared, “but I would not advise anyone to invest in Kerala.”

This is what needs to change if we are not to languish in the margins of India’s development success story. The challenge remains. When he was kind enough to launch my book, The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone, (Malayalam: “Puthu Yugum, Puthu India”), our Chief Minister chided me for my book’s criticism of hartals, saying that it was through such popular struggles that the people of Kerala had advanced. But even if that were true, the advances of yesterday have already happened; the advances of tomorrow require work, not hartals.

The fact is that we cannot afford to remain dependent on remittances from abroad for 20% of our state’s income because we have such an inhospitable environment at home. We cannot languish in last place in the World Bank’s 2009 “Doing Business in India” report, because it takes 210 days to obtain approvals and permits in Kochi against 80 days in Hyderabad. We cannot live with unusably narrow roads because we lack the courage to explain to residents why they must be widened in the interests of all. We cannot have one of the lowest rankings (lower than Orissa) in per capita information technology exports. We cannot be a state that our best minds and most skilled workers seek to flee because opportunities for remunerative work are stifled by opportunistic politics.

Most of this newspaper’s readers would be familiar with the story of the sinking of the ocean-liner Titanic in the early years of the last century, or at least have seen the film. For almost a hundred years till now, it was believed that the sinking of the Titanic on her maiden voyage from Southampton in England to New York in America was caused by the ship moving too fast and the crew failing to see the iceberg before it was too late. But now a new book, authored by a descendant of one of the officers of the ship, says that it was not an accident caused by speed, but by a steering blunder. It seems that the ship had plenty of time to miss the iceberg but the helmsman actually panicked and turned the ship the wrong way, and by the time the error was corrected, it was too late and the ship's side was fatally holed by the iceberg. The error occurred because at the time, seafaring was undergoing an enormous upheaval as a result of the conversion from sail to steam ships. The change meant there were two different steering systems and different commands attached to them. When the First Officer spotted the iceberg two miles away, his order was misinterpreted by the QuarterMaster, who turned the ship left instead of right.

In a sense, Kerala’s development failure has been like the story of the Titanic. As with the confusion caused by the new era where sail ships were being replaced by steamships, today those who rule us appear unsettled by the global changes which have moved the economic system far beyond their old paradigms and theories. By opposing computers and mobile phones, blocking land acquisition for development work, and impeding economic reforms, they have steered the ship of State left instead of right. If we don’t steer it back urgently, we are heading into the iceberg.

The fact is that there is nothing wrong with the ship -- Kerala, its people, its resources or its potential. But we have to move with the times and not be left behind where other states are moving forward by steering in the right direction. Reliance on NRI remittances will not solve the basic problem, since remittance money is essentially personal savings and spent on conspicuous consumption, including purchase of land and the construction of dwellings. Kerala has to attract the normal type of investment funds which are being put to use by the rest of the country. This will only happen if we are hospitable to investors.

This does not mean betraying our workers, but finding them work. It does not mean giving up our values, but adding value to our economy. It does not mean placing profit above people, but rather, using profits to benefit the people.

We are seeing the beginnings of a counter-narrative. The Cochin Shipyard recently succeeded in building huge Trader class ships for a Bermuda company, ahead of deadline. Shipbuilding is a highly labour-intensive industry; some 30 percent of the input is human labour, which is what makes it ideal for us. The workers at Cochin Shipyard – unionized to a man – have demonstrated that labour remains India’s greatest asset, even in Kerala. It does not have to be, as investors have long feared, a liability.

A visit to Trivandrum’s pioneering Technopark confirms that even Kerala’s past failures at attracting and retaining heavy industry are now working in the state’s favour. CEO after CEO told me in glowing terms of their satisfaction with the work environment in Kerala, the quality of the local engineering graduates, and the beauty of the lush and tranquil surroundings. Indeed, One Technopark firm told me of having bid for a contract with a Houston-based company which had drawn up a short-list of Indian service providers and placed the Trivandrum-based company last. The American executives making the final decision flew down to India to inspect the six shortlisted Indian firms. After three harrowing days ploughing through the traffic congestion and pollution of Bombay, Bangalore, and Delhi, they arrived in Trivandrum, checked into the Leela at Kovalam beach, sipped a drink by the seaside at sunset -- and voted unanimously to give the contract to the Kerala firm. “If we have to visit India from time to time to see how our contract is doing,” the chief said, “we’d rather visit Kerala than any other place in India.”

We can and must build on this. Kerala needs to improve its creaking infrastructure, improve its services sector, boost its IT exports, and take advantage of its existing potential to become a knowledge economy. If a Hyderabad company like Portal Player can design the iPod to be manufactured in China for sale in the US, the next world-beating invention can come from Keralite brains in Kerala. This will call for more than just investments from NRKs. It will mean private sector players from abroad and elsewhere in India deciding that investment in Kerala will pay for them. This will, above all, need a change of mindset.

This is why I pursued the opportunity of bringing an IPL team to Kerala. I was convinced that the only antidote to the hidebound statist mentality that has produced such stagnation in Kerala would be the infusion of a venture that is so 21st century in its conception and execution – not just boosting the prospects of our cricketers, but igniting the imaginations of our young people and opening new vistas for businesses, as well as promoting a new surge of “cricket-related tourism” in our state. That investors from Gujarat and Maharashtra were persuaded to team up to bring their venture to Kerala is proof that we too can attract outsiders to invest in our future.

Similarly, to be a knowledge economy we have to open our mental horizons to the world, rather than remaining embedded in the sterile dogmas of shopworn and discredited ideologies. This is why I persuaded the organizers of the world-famous Hay Festival of Literature to bring their Festival not just to India but specifically to the capital of Kerala. The extraordinary enthusiasm with which Hay was received by 3000 attendees in Thiruvananthapuram reflects the hunger of our educated young Keralites to be part of today’s world rather than handmaidens of yesterday’s. Kerala can be India’s intellectual centre, a distinction now abdicated by Bengal after three decades of Marxist rule.

In the same spirit, I have pushed national and international firms to come to the Trivandrum Technopark, the oldest in the country and yet the least global in terms of its composition. HCL has acceded to myrequest and Oracle is actively considering our pitch. Not even the Left disputes that IT is perhaps the most important area for Kerala’s future growth and development; yet, despite the availability of educated young people, relatively low operational costs and a congenial working environment, Kerala has failed to break into the “Big League” because of our failure to attract the major global companies like IBM, Intel or Oracle to set up shop in our state.

But we should also realize that a knowledge economy will not employ all Keralites. We need to improve our agriculture too – particularly cereal, vegetable and fruit production, including for export. And we have to be able to develop industry beyond construction of houses for Gulf Malayalis!

We have already proved that we are capable of innovative change. Our late “Leader”, K. Karunakaran, took the bold step, in the teeth of Leftist opposition, to initiate public-private partnership in 1994 in the construction of Cochin International Airport (CIAL) at Nedumbassery, a model of development only emulated a decade later in the rest of India. This is why I have formally proposed that CIAL be renamed for him – not only to honour him but also to inspire admiration for his innovativeness and courage, qualities that Kerala so direly needs.

I believe that the Kerala that will succeed is one open to the contention of ideas and interests within it, unafraid of the prowess or the products of the outside world, wedded to the democratic pluralism that is our civilization’s greatest strength, and determined to liberate and fulfill the creative energies of its people. Such a Kerala is possible if we change our attitudes and work with determination to fulfil it. God’s Own Country no longer deserves the business reputation of being the devil’s playground.

Happiness peaks in old age?

2011-06-07T15:17:00.000+04:00

Recently read this interesting article in Bhavan's Journal. Its about people being happiest after they turn 80. Their lives are easier because they have taken care of everything by then, their children are looking after them. The proverbial rat race is over. You have more time for family and friends. No more politics to play (except for the ageing politicians in India of course). But otherwise life is generally the best in your 80's.

I dont think I will live that long but I agree with the being happier part. Despite all her worries my grandmother is definitely happier than I am. I am all of 28 years old. I lost my dream job thanks to the recession and some other reasons. I have been trying since then to claw my way back into the job with no success. I dont have any kids of my own, though kids of other people somehow magically seem to get along with me. I am not getting any richer. I dont have anything new to celebrate about, I am trying my level best to lose weight and going back to my old self. No success there none whatsoever.

I just wish I had something new to look forward to now. Like last year I had finished my PGDIB, took my Driving license.The year before I learnt swimming. I need a new challenge now. Otherwise I am going to become moody and depressed again.

The business called Education

2011-05-30T10:02:00.000+04:00

Now there is a furore over Jairam Ramesh's remarks of IIT's being glorified. I have to agree with this statement though. Not because I never got admission into IIT considering I didnt clear the cutoff or that I happened to be from a caste that does not get any reservation benefits but simply because I have come across many mediocre people in my life who have also been to IIT.

I have often wondered how these mediocres made it there considering that IIT's have a really tough entrance exam. Maybe its because they just paid more attention than I did at the IIT coaching centres. Or maybe because I spent only one year preparing for the entrance test whereas they did that for four years starting from 9th standard? Whatever it is , it does not speak of a high quality education!

Nowadays there are so many other engineering colleges with as good if not better infrasturcture than IIT's, but somehow in India and abroad the brand name of IIT is bigger than all these other engineering colleges that its impossible for people from such second tier engineering colleges to get good breaks in their careers even if they are talented and more importantly hard-working.

But leaving IIT aside , think of the numerous B-schools mushrooming in and around the country. Now an MBA degre is like the yesteryear BA degree!. It has lost value. And anybody and everybody who passes out of the MBA course wants to be a Manager even with zero or little experience. So if all become managers who is going to do the actual work?? Many of these students are not even fit to be employed but they join as managers and make life miserable for the non-MBA engineers. And seriously most of the engineers in India are already underpaid and they make their foray into fields that have nothing to do with the subjects they studied.

The whole system of education in India needs a rethink and if people at the centre are realising it and trying to make a difference then maybe everybody should pitch it with their ideas to make education more effective in future, rather than play the usual blame game.

Frustrated about going nowhere....

2011-04-19T17:24:00.000+04:00

Facebook sometimes drives me crazy. I was a software engineer hailing from a state in India which churns out about 1 lakh such software engineers every year. And almost all of them got a chance to go to my dream destination which is the United States, while I sit around pessimistic about my future in Dubai! I dont post my updates on FB anymore. It just drives me nuts. I have no achievements so to speak , no exotic locations that I have ever travelled to and the one or two trips I took with my husband turned out to be nightmares, that I have decided not to repeat that mistake again and I shall do all the travelling sitting at home watching Highway on my Plate, Sanchaaram , Travelogue and all those programs on exotic locations in Discovery channel and National Geogrpahic. Let's face it I am not going to be able to travel to all these places in this lifetime and that is a bitter truth that I have got to accept at one point of time in my life. All I can think of now is to concentrate on my writing career cos nothing else is going to help me from drowning in this endless ocean of sorrow.

Best of Luck!

2011-04-18T13:29:00.000+04:00

How often we have heard the words "Best of Luck" from our wellwishers? I never thought much about the importance of this word until recently. I used to think it was just an obligatory statement that people made when they knew you are about to take an exam or in case of Dubai , a driving test. But I have realised that nothing in life is more important than luck. There are so many instances of people whom I have studied with or somehow been acquainted with who have marched ahead of me in life because of a windfall. And really a windfall it is, some professions just tend to pay you more than a crazy software engineering job. But it is not enough if you have got what it takes , you have to have that extra luck factor in life. It not only applies to professional life but also personal life. How many divorces and breakups we here of everyday. Why, there are so many people I know who are single because they werent luck enough to meet the right one! You have got to have luck to have the right circle of friends and even relatives. We take many risks in life. Unless there is luck which goes in your favor, the risk might become too costly. I am hoping and waiting for a windfall to turn my life around, God I really think I deserve it now as I have been through this unlucky spell for the last 10 years of my life. It aint no joke anymore!

Double meanings.......

2011-04-03T14:39:00.000+04:00

If there is anybody I know in my life who always wants to find a double meaning for every sentence uttered by any other person and who decides to get hurt by it , it is my husband. Honestly if there were an award instituted for such behaviour he would win it hands down. I mean which other Indian couple in this world would have fought after India wins the world cup?? Well, we did.

And that I guess is why now the world cup is so memorable for me. For all the wrong reasons that is. Now I kinda half wish they hadnt wont it.

I remember a saying by Emerson, which goes something like this.."I cannot hear what you say, because what you are shouts loudly in my ears". And this is precisely what went on on Saturday. I have just had enough of this attitude that I am now ready to call it quits!!

When the sun sets....

2011-03-28T13:23:00.000+04:00

The last few weeks have been equally hectic and thought provoking for me. My folks came to Dubai after a lot of cajoling. They stayed for all but two weeks, and were generally not interested in going anywhere because of the great deal of walking involved. And well buying anything here is expensive. The only thing free is the air or rather the air-conditioner! Everything else is charged. To the extent that even relationships with people come at a heavy price. When my aunt recently became a widow, she requested her children two living abroad, and one in India in a different city to stay for some time, none of them could stay. Not that they could be blamed. They had all become successful after they left their hometown , after all what could they expect by coming back to the hometown which gave them nothing to begin with anyway. So my aunt had to finally settle for the maidservant who had to be paid a hefty sum and who had to be treated like a queen. I guess I am going to land up in the same state after the age of 50 when I probably wont be able to work anymore. Except in my case I would most probably be a divorcee with no kids. I am beginning to think that maybe I should now spend my savings for a retirement home more than anything else. I would probably get more understanding from strangers than relatives and friends. This has almost always been the case with me. I wish they would start an old age home here in Dubai, as I dont really have any intention of going to India. But yes, then comes the question of affordability. So if there philanthropists planning to start an old age home , please think of starting one in Ooty or Kodaikanal. I would love to spend my old age there!!! The times I spent there were the best days of my life.......

Qualified professional!

2011-02-15T17:20:00.000+04:00

I have had enough of this place ! Every day I think why I chose to work in this place when I got the feeling that I was not suited here almost the minute that I joined here. Improvising the quality of anything or anybody for that matter is not easy. My salary is less, I am pretty sure I will get no promotion and I totally lack the motivation to continue working. All I can do is to curse my fate for coming to Dubai and ruining my whole life by coming here. When you apply for a job which you have all qualifications for you are not even given a telephone call. On the other hand when you apply for a job with which have no relation to you, you are scheduled for interviews. Makes me wonder about the quality of all the HR professionals in this city. Do they even read the resumes here?

Corruption in 21st Century India

2011-01-04T11:01:00.001+04:00

If 2008 was the year of the recession then the year 2010 is now being hailed as the “year of scams” in India. Although the start of most of the scams this year can be traced back to two or three years ago most of them have come into light in 2010. It all started with the Indian Premier League and has now ended in the mother of all scams the “2G Spectrum” which incurred a loss of Rs 1,76,000 crores to the Indian exchequer . Wedged in between these were the stories behind the Adarsh housing scheme and the Common Wealth Games. The only difference between the corruption in the 20th century India and in the 21st century India is that earlier the amount used to be of the order of only a few crores, now it runs into a few hundreds or even thousands of crores. The 20th century did not see so many news channels or the rise of the power of the media as in the 21st, yet our politicians continue to loot the Indian treasure in broad daylight. Frankly speaking this makes politics a lucrative career for the generation of today. What other career in this world can earn a person so much money inasmuch as two-three years? (Maybe film stars but even they take 10-15 years before they are acknowledged as superstars and demand that kind of money!) Some students of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad recently decided to launch a helpline on corruption to curb the menace. But implementing such a helpline requires a lot of support from law-enforcing officials. The irony here is that most law-enforcing officials themselves are either forced to work for the corrupt politicians or are paid to work for them. In either case, they can’t stop politicians from the mass looting that they have now been used to for years. In her recently concluded visit to the UAE in 2010, the President of India, Ms.Pratibha Devisingh Patil interacted with students at various Indian colleges in UAE. Her message to the students was significant. Though they are all NRI’s they should keep in mind the values that India stood for. She emphasized on Mahatma Gandhi’s two principles, that of truth and non-violence. But sadly the spate of incidents in the last decade shows that truth is definitely a principle that most politicians in India haven’t heard of! Not a single politician today can even be closely compared to the Mahatma. No examples from today’s current generation of politicians can be shown as a role model to college/school students. So how do we expect the students to suddenly adopt principles of truth and non-violence when all they see on TV are news of Scams and violence such as murder and rape? At least if the perpetrators of all these crimes were punished it might instill the fear factor in them, but very rarely have politicians been punished for their crimes. Corruption has to be killed at the roots. Perhaps the education system in India has to lay as much emphasis on moral education as much as it does on basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills. All criminals irrespective of their stature have to be punished, or else there will come a time when the people of India will lose complete faith in the law-enforcing bodies.

The year coming to an end

2010-12-28T17:53:00.000+04:00

Finally this year is coming to an end. Got to say its been more peaceful than last year. Last year this time I was fretting on what would happen to someone in my family and of course what was going to happen to me. While I achieved nothing this year I had some challenges to go on with. I started a new job and that too a different one. I realized that I am better than most people when it comes to work. And I still am a good writer. Even if not an award winning one.

Since I am now left alone with no one to interfere in my life I am much better and almost back to the person I used to be seven years ago. Things might have been wonderful for me had I not got into the software profession so many years ago. How was I to know what lay ahead of me?

But all said and done I have gotten older. I am stuck with dead weight that never seems to leave me. No matter how sporty I become I cant lose all the flab I have gained because of my depression.

I don't have any resolutions as yet. I am not good at keeping any. I just hope and pray to God that 2011 will be as good as 2010 and not worse that's all.

The best day of my life!

2010-10-24T14:01:00.000+04:00

So, the title of this post is slightly exaggerated. But it definitely was one of the best days of my life yesterday. Borders at the Mirdiff city centre had a sale and we were getting books for AED 10. Some of the books were made of recycled paper I guess. But some of the hard-backed editions were original albeit a bit old. But a sale of this kind almost never happens in Dubai. So I had to make the most of it. And I picked up close to 20 books costing 10 dirhams a piece. And some costing more of course. Some really rare ones at that too. And what's more the Sharjah book fair is about to start this week and maybe I will get good books there as well. Although my husband is a bit fed up of me and my reading now. Its the only hobby I have and I dont want to lose that as well.

@Random

2010-10-14T16:31:00.000+04:00

Saina Nehwal won the badminton gold today getting India the 2nd place in CWG, for once India has excelled in things other than cricket.Second , India won a test series yesterday, with the introduction of a rank newcomer Pujara higher up the order becoming one of MS Dhoni's successful strategies.
There is no dearth of Indian athletes today. In almost all forms of sport. And the seniors or the veterans seem to be taking the right attitude in promoting them. I have got a new-found respect for Sachin Tendulkar today. I know I always admired him. But even more so now with so many talented players getting into the foray, he is still holding his own and how well he is doing it.
Some time back , when one of my cousins scored a better mark than me in his board exams I felt jealous. Up until then I held the record. But now when I look at Sachin and think, I dont think I set any great example to any of my junior cousins to follow.
I always wanted to become great, but now that's the last thing I am. And now I think this dream of mine might always remain a dream. I am not just able to come to terms with this fact.
Not one dream of mine has been realised till now. Sachin realised many and still has one dream of winning the World cup for India. Something that never happened despite having great team lineups. I dont even know what the equivalent of such a world cup is for me.
I dont have an aim , a target. A target that I want to achieve by say 2012. Is it because I was born a girl? I am still wasting my time doing rubbish work.
The worst thing is I dont even identify myself with any of the members in my family anymore.I simply cant get along with them. I was an epitome of patience 5 years ago. Now that's the last thing I am. I can talk to them, but I dont agree with any one of their views. The US of A was my dream destination. I guess even though I deny that verbally , on some levels it is still the type of place I want to settle in. Cos I simply hate people meddling with my life. A huge amount of success in life comes from family support, a thing I never had either before my marriage or after. I only had rules and examples to follow always. I am a wastrel of a person because I dont know how to cook. (This tops the list by the way, all my mother ever asks me is what did you make and eat today, and she spends 10 bucks a min just to ask me just that).

I have to admit Dubai has been a good escapade for me from my family. I might have even fallen in love with this place if it hadnt scr---d my career. But then again its not the fault of this city, its the fault of the Indians living in it. The greedy people in every company I have worked here is an Indian. If God gave me a chance I would want to live my life starting from the beginning in Dubai. It is a place that taught me a lot more than my hometown Chennai ever did.

Swami Vivekananda's saying

2010-10-13T10:14:00.000+04:00

Take up one idea, make that one idea your life, think it, dream of it, live on that idea... be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.

Have I lost IT?

2010-10-12T15:12:00.000+04:00

After nearly one and a half years away from the IT industry , today I think I am missing it. Reading today about the necessary skills that should be acquired by the IT professional made me feel low. I didnt have nine out of the eleven required skills mentioned there. Much worse I havent even heard of a couple of technologies mentioned there. Its true that I was not born a software engineer and I always dreamt of getting out of programming. But now I feel I should have atleast stayed on in the Industry even as a secretary or a receptionist maybe. Atleast I would'nt have totally lost my knowhow of the field if I had been working in the IT department of a company. I dont really know if I am doing the right thing these days. Most of the time is being wasted on Facebook, God alone knows what I get out of it.
On the brighter side, Kaun Banega Crorepati has started. I remember the first time the show started ten years back. I was still a fresher in engineering college. Although I dreaded studying there, there was still this element of fun. Of not having any responsibilities yet. Cos' grown up life totally S---s. So atleast one of my hobbies i.e quizzing can be restarted. I have also started enjoying the Weakest Link and the MasterMind Quiz on BBC entertainment. Maybe I should get back on track with my reading habit as well now.

Memories of Madras

2010-09-08T10:00:00.001+04:00

Just got back from Madras 4 days ago. Already missing the place. Hence loved this article in the Hindu: http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/society/article619323.ece?homepage=true

Another vacation to dread.

2010-07-21T12:17:00.000+04:00

There is this scene in “All about Steve” where Sandra Bullock goes to a school and talks about her career as a cruciverbalist (Basically a person creating crosswords). And the kids at school starting firing questions at her. How she is able to make a living? Can she pay her mortgages etc? Finally she replies saying that she lives with her parents. They mock at her because she is staying with her parents. Now in America such a thing as living with your parents is looked down upon and old parents are normally left to fend for themselves. But in India till now we are left with this obligation to look after our parents. I like my parents. But to be honest they are very set in their ways and now having lived apart for four years I prefer living alone.

I have started dreading going on vacation to India because I don’t know how I am going to bridge the gap between them and my husband and I land up getting shouted at by both. This increases my Blood pressure and spoils my very idea of a relaxing vacation. It is better to stay back at Dubai despite the harsh climate because here at least I can do what I want without having to answer prying questions by too many people. I am American in some of my ways although I have never really been to America. I hate comparisons which actually my parents don’t do much of, but my in-laws are expert at it. But at least in the US you might find some like-minded folks, back home in India you wouldn’t. At least not in my lousy home-state. Of course people living in Chennai where I grew up are far better and more understanding than I could ever ask them to be. For the first time in my life I am dreading this vacation and I am hoping this won’t be as bad as I am imagining it to be.

A good one

2010-07-20T12:26:00.000+04:00

It is uncanny that most often those who have an opinion on your life don’t matter and those who do matter, rarely do.

I got my license...

2010-07-15T15:43:00.000+04:00

My diet stopped in 2 days flat. But then I had no time to grieve about it. Because the next day I got my license when I least expected it. Phew a license on a second attempt in Dubai is like a big achievement (of course there are the rare first attempt people). Finally I can hit the road with a well-deserved license.

I wish I could do something about my job. Somehow my career is now going nowhere. I should have known that it was flawed right from the beginning. But I still had hopes. Now that all the hopes have dwindled I have effectively stopped thinking about my career. I dread going to India because I dont know how to explain to them about the job I am doing. As a matter of fact I am not really sure what I am doing. Is this called a career?

Not to mention all other embarassing questions coming my way. I am wishing for the first time in my life that I dont have to go to India for a vacation. I am actually thinking of ways to get out of this trip once and for all.

And what the hell is happening to my English. I used to write well. And now I am doubting every sentence and every word I write. Is this the effect that a boss who is quirky on English has on you!!

Diets and me... Day 1

2010-07-11T15:39:00.000+04:00

My biggest problem and the battle I have been involved in for years has been the battle of the bulge. Let's face it I am a thorough foodie. I love food in all forms (except for the bittergourd or karela). I myself dont really relish cooking, but when I do I manage to empty my plate of the food no matter how good or bad it is. All of a sudden when I passed through the salad section of the Lulu hypermarket yesterday, I picked up the fruit salad and decided on eating it for dinner. Reached home and saw the other food stuff we bought from the restaurant, and I decided to eat that instead. This morning when I woke up the guilt struck me. I always felt offended when somebody called me fat, but why couldnt I take that insult as a challenge in order to diet!

So I have decided to change, atleast temporarily. Since morning I have surved on one piece of pineapple, half a glass strawberry milk, and the fruit salad purchased from Lulu yesterday. So far so good. No headaches and no tummy aches. I am planning to drink some soup at night. Let me see how far I can carry this diet and more importantly how much weight I loose as a result. As for the leftover cake I am gonna have it thrown away , if in case it tempts me too much. I will surely lose some money as a result but the benefit of hearing finally that you lost weight far outweighs the cost of that cake.....sigh! The things we do to look good.

Drowsiness.........

2010-07-08T14:27:00.001+04:00

One month of Football, and its not even a sport I am interested in! I have hardly slept properly in the last 1 month. My whole body is in this feverish wake almost as if I have some deadly disease or something when I know that all I am is a little tired. I just dont feel like exercising even though I know I should be exercising. I want to have a diary, I just havent found a decent one.....grrrr. Why am I like this nowadays. Nothing appeals to me anymore no dresses, no food, no people......sigh. I want to change myself but I am not able to. And I cant believe I am wasting half my time and life in reading stupid Facebook status messages, other's walls, watching photo after photo and yet not do any of these things on my own. Heck I dont even have a decent profile pic because of fear that somebody may comment God, look at yourself you are now twice the size you were ten years ago. Yep, I am twice the size I was 10 years ago and I am definitely not happy about it, and yet I have done nothing to improve that situation of mine. Today for the first time in months or even years maybe somebody says I have lost weight. I am still not motivated to making that " Wow , you have lost a lot of weight"... GOD, please give me some inspiration!

How films influence our view point!

2010-06-21T10:12:00.000+04:00

Sometime ago I had written about the water shortage in Chennai and how I had hardly faced any in that city. What was most amazing was the number of people who had never been to Madras seemed to know about acute water shortage and I who had lived there for 23 years didnt!. Irony isnt it. Recently saw a couple of Malayalam films on TV, Mukunda etta Sumithra Vilikunnu and one more not so heard of movie where the main highlight is this endless queue of pink, yellow, green and myriad color pots behind the lorry. Ok ...gotcha now I get the source of information for all these people, it is the movies!. Ever wonder how much it influences our thought process of a place! Now I do, I definitely do. But before we make a viewpoint about it, the least we could do is to actually check with people who have suffered this severe shortage. The next time we form an opinion about people or places, let's take into consideration atleast a second viewpoint from people with firsthand experience.

Another day has gone..I am still all alone

2010-06-08T10:02:00.000+04:00

Another b'day has gone past. Several emails and facebook messages later I am still clueless as to what I am doing with my life. I have no aim, no dream or aspirations. I still havent done anything to enhance my writing skills. I am trying to run a house yet I am miserably failing in it. I badly need a break and go back to India, but I am not getting it. I cannot throw this job away and run away because for once people actually think I am good at this! Which was definitely not how I was perceived in my IT job. But I still feel so wretched, why!! Why is this happening to me alone?? ...............................................

At the crossroads .......

2010-04-01T14:45:00.000+04:00

Every once in a while you reach a situation or a point in life where you are confused about some of the choices that lie ahead of you. I am right now in a job that is not too demanding, but at the same time has little or no future. On the other hand, a job related to my degree beckons me. But with the same old story of coding, testing, bug-fixing and never ending new-releases which anyway dont excite me anymore. But I am a computer science engineer. How can I forget that. 4 years of painful learning with a high fee at a private engineering college. And it is still the highest degree I posess.
I was offered a job yesterday in a PR firm for doing what I like doing the most which is writing. But quite frankly speaking, I am scared of taking it up. Why ..... There are many reasons for this. I am not sure I can start a career all over again. Primarily because I am not getting any younger with every passing day. I might have taken it up 4 years ago when I first came to Dubai, but now having lost a job once has made me lose some of my old confidence. Similarly, everyone around me including people younger to me seem to have accomplished more than I have and this is not helping my ego in any way. I hate it when "12th pass" kids are getting jobs faster than a well qualified engineer like me. Not that I hate the kids. But I am left to wonder, is there no value in my engineering degree for which I spent about Rs. 3 Lakhs at the end of 4 years. Of course it was my Dad's money. But it was a fairly big amount for him back then. And it was not because I was a bad student. A combination of illness and laziness before the engineering entrance exam and the bad luck of being born into an "upper caste" both became my undoing. (Ya it is bad luck nowadays if you are not an SC/ST or any other minority).
On the other hand, the fact that I even got selected for a content writer post has given me some confidence in my writing skills. Atleast there's one thing that I am atleast marginally good at. Phew , I have identified one skill of mine. For a long while I thought I didnt have any. But coming back to the topic, which job should I go to now? I am not good at managing people, that is something I have come to understand after 6 years of corporate life. So any job concerning managing people, especially ones who are older or of the same age will not help me. I am too nice to people to get back at them. But I tend to remember the details of bad things done to me even if they are very petty things.
Or should I stay on in the same job, finish my post-graduation and then Phd. And then start to teach? The business of education can bring in a lot of money if you know the right way to go about it. But I am not sure I am the best person to go about it the right way.
And about back to Information Technology, phew that would take me a lifetime for even a small promotion there. So I dont even want to get started about the troubles involved. But atleast we will have a better designation and the most important aspect : better salary!!

Now which road should I choose??????????

Water, the elixir of life

2010-03-24T10:18:00.000+04:00

Phew, last 3 days have seen a spate of articles about water conservation with Mar 22nd being World Water Conservation Day and all. Everybody underestimates the value of water. I remember one of my relatives who went to Chennai more than 30 years ago (or maybe even before that) remarking as if even now there is no water in Chennai and as a result people have a bath only once in a week, and there are still people defecating on the road. I wanted to shout at him at that point of time. I was literally born and brought up in that city. Of course he was fully aware of that. And I (touch wood) never faced any water problem in the 23 years that I spent there. Yes , part of it because we lived in a water-rich suburb called Thiruvanmiyur. But also in part because of rain water harvesting being taken up very seriously in this city. Even today the well that was dug at my home more than 20 years ago hasn't dried up!. A few years back there was very little water in this same well.
Now this relative hails from the state that is abundant in rain, literature, culture, scenic beauty etc called Kerala. The irony of his statment now is that many districts in Kerala have a serious water shortage issue, and many housewives went on a strike for this just last week! Now I should ask the same guy what he has to say about this. At least, in Chennai they reacted to the water shortage situation in time, because they were always aware of the lack of rain in TamilNadu. But in Kerala , they had enough water from rains, yet didnt know how to save it. So guess who has the last laugh here? It is not enough to say something for the heck of hurting others, substantiate it with good examples! And if you cannot do your bit to save water on this planet then dont talk about others and their lack of it.

Thought for the day:
I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about. Oscar Wilde.

Thought for the day.

2010-03-23T10:54:00.001+04:00

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
ALVIN TOFFLER, American Writer and Futurist.

Metroplus

2010-03-23T10:50:00.000+04:00

I have been reading the metroplus section of The Hindu for many years now. Even though I shifted from Chennai to Dubai nearly 4 years ago, I still make it a point to read this paper online wherever I am. These 2 articles I read today were really good. And it really lifted my spirits:
http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/03/23/stories/2010032350170500.htm http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/03/23/stories/2010032350160500.htm

Blah Blah Blah.......Part 1

2010-03-11T15:24:00.001+04:00

I don't want to start another blog post with the same sentence that its been a while since I blogged. Somehow in the mundane humdrum that my life is I don't do much blogging. I have lost the will that I had. The enthusiasm to somehow move forward. A total lack of direction, and a constant question that nags constantly What Next? Why on earth did I ever leave the comfortable existence of mine in Chennai. So Dubai is a world class city. But not all world class cities are meant for everyone. And definitely not for people like me for whom less is better. When you go into a ahopping mall you are left with this feeling, ok if you purchase this dress it will look good on you, people will take note etc. But do they really? Of course a faux pas will be noticed really quickly. But a normal dress is almost never seen. Likewise unless you throw your weight around nobody notices, but once you act unbearably everyone sits up and takes note.

Another interesting thought I read in a campus journal about how guys make better teams and work together than girls. I agree with this to a large extent. From my experience this is indeed true. Very rarely do your girlfriends stick up for you and give good advice. But the minute you are close friends with a guy it is perceived as something else altogether. What kind of a world is this?

A wake-up call!

2010-02-14T10:25:00.000+04:00

Every once in a while, an event happens that jolts you out of your dream and the castles you build in the air. And one such event is death. You never know when it can happen. When it will strike. How young or how old you will be when you die. But it is something that keeps us grounded. The only thing that you can do is to pray to God to keep you alive to do atleast the one thing which you always dearly wanted to do. Since we dont know how long we would live on this earth. Let us not waste time in putting away things which we are so passionate about. I have decided the one thing I love the most in my life are my books. I love reading them. I love the world behind them. I want to be a part of them. I will be a writer. Even if its an ambition that sounds lame to most people. It's what I am going to be. I don't want to be one of those people who lived with many regrets in their life. I am going to take charge of my life from now on.

Fiction writing.............

2010-01-16T18:56:00.000+04:00

Wow, I totally dig this piece I found recently in a blog that I follow:

ON BECOMING A NOVELIST

If you go to dental school you will take a state exam when you finish and, upon passing, you will be given a license to practice dentistry. In order to take the test, you must have first submitted to a rigorous course of study, done thousands of hours of supervised work in people's mouths, taken hundreds of exams, and paid a lot of money. When you're finished, you will be called "Doctor," and your cup will runneth over with drilling, filling, and billing. If you do good gold crowns, play soft music in the waiting room, have a receptionist with a sympathetic smile and a soothing voice, you may even become rich.

In the course of your studies you will have been transformed from an ordinary citizen into a Doctor of Dental Surgery. You will even begin to think of yourself as something more than an ordinary citizen. Someone will ask you who you are and you will say, "Sam Smoot, Doctor of Dental Surgery."

For novel writing, unlike dentistry, there is no course of study you can pursue and, when finished, say "I'm a novelist." You can get an M.F.A. in creative writing, or a Ph.D. in the modern novel, but that won't make you a bona fide novelist. To be a novelist, you have to get published.

Being an unpublished novelist has about as much social acceptability as being a shopping bag lady. Should the word get out about you, your friends will snicker. Your neighbors will whisper about you. Your Uncle Albert will try to talk you into becoming a chiropractor. Your Aunt Bethilda will take you aside and lecture you on the grim realities and responsibilities of adulthood. Your creditors will break out in hives. Your mother will be sympathetic, but late at night her eyes will flood with tears as she tries to figure out where she went wrong.

It's a sad fact of life, but to be an honest-to-goodness novelist you must have that honor conferred on you by a publisher. But remember this: each and every bird is first an egg, and each and every published novelist is first an unpublished novelist - even the great ones, Ernest Hemingway, Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, and James Joyce included.

There are several strategies for avoiding the stigma attached to proclaiming yourself a would-be novelist. One is to tell people you are a writer, but not to admit that what you're writing is fiction. Suppose you're writing a murder mystery in which the victim is a prostitute and the murderer is a college professor. You can tell everyone you're writing a book about sexual mores and morbidity in academia. That sounds like a good subject for a nonfiction book. Your friends will be impressed. It's okay to be a nonfiction writer because it's assumed that nonfiction writers are hard-nosed practical people who take life seriously. Besides, it is popularly believed - possibly with some justification - that anyone who can spell well can write a nonfiction book, so no one will doubt that your project has merit.

Another way to camouflage your novel-writing pursuits is to enroll in an English Literature degree program someplace and take only snap courses. As long as it looks as if you're working for a degree no one will ask what you're doing locked in your study all day and half the night. If they ask why you're banging away so hard on your typewriter, tell them you're writing a thesis. Everyone knows that's a sensible thing to do.

Some novelists at the beginning of their careers go completely underground. These "closet" novelists tell no one. They hide their manuscripts behind the refrigerator. They write in longhand so no one will hear the clacking of typewriter keys. Nobody knows the closet novelist even reads novels, let alone wites them. Their spouses may think they are keeping a lover in the basement or garage, or wherever it is they "do it."

Any of these methods will work. The alternative, the "John Wayne Solution," is a bit tougher. The John Wayne Solution is this: grit your teeth, rock back on your heels, stick your thumbs in your belt, and just say it - I'm writing a novel, nad if you so much as smirk I'll punch your lights out, pilgrim.

You get the idea.

Funny People

2009-08-22T09:18:00.000+04:00

Royal Bank of Scotland offered us free tickets to a movie on Fridays. While the last two were good. The one we saw yesterday was hopeless. Its called Funny People. IS THIS COMEDY??? I wanted to hang myself for seeing this movie. Not one joke worth laughing at. Seemed all of them were competing for "who speaks the most abusive language"award, ladies included. We walked out halfway through the film.

Seriously now my respective for Malayalam film directors and comedians have doubled. They are simply the best in comedy and maybe Hollywood could take a cue from them rather than making such silly films.

Interesting read

2009-08-14T09:50:00.001+04:00

A very interesting and thought provoking article sent by one of my friends:

hhttp://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article12545.htmlttp://

Definitely worth reading.

New Relationships....

2009-08-06T18:15:00.000+04:00

Why is it that new relationships freak me out? I dont know. I have had 3 jobs and each time I went into the new one I was so scared of meeting unfamiliar faces. Now I am scared of the new member coming into the family. Maybe I was never comfortable with any one person for long enough. I always have thought if I had made a different set of friends like the ones I have now when I was back at my hometown.

On the brighter side , my second slogan this year has won me a prize. A much coveted Friends DVD for a friendship day competition. Maybe I should concentrate more on slogans.

Chennai - Hop On Hop Off Tour

2009-08-05T19:40:00.000+04:00

Recently we went on the Chennai Hop On Hop Off tour. It was the first of its kind that I was undertaking in India. There are basically 2 routes. One into the city of Chennai and one on the ECR. The ECR route was the one we chose. The stops included the Thiruvithanthai temple , Dakshina Chitra, MGM , Mayajaal, Crocodile Bank , Muttukadu boating house and Mahabalipuram. Ok I have messed up the order, but the idea is that it covers all these places which are major hotspots along the ECR. And there are certain discounts at these places also. Like for instance the Muttukadu boat ride is available free with these tickets. The bus tour has been organized by TTDC and costs around Rs 190 for the ECR route(after introductory discounts, dunno if its still there). I am told the city route comes to around Rs 250. The buses are new and air-conditioned. So the ride is enjoyable. There is a guide on board every bus.The only deterrent that day was the weather as it was the end of June and a good 40 degrees celsius of summer heat.

If it hadnt been for that everything else was perfect that day. I am hoping that this tour lasts for long, as the buses were mostly empty. But then we had traveled on a weekday. I dont know how the situation is on the weekends. Maybe it will find more takers in the so-called winter season of December-January. So here's wishing it all the best.

Girls of Riyadh , Mediocre but arrogant etc

2009-07-24T14:59:00.000+04:00

Resignation and a long vacation has not done much good for me on the financial side but am reading lots of books these days a bit too much for my own liking , but its a variegated list.

Girls of Riyadh by Raja Alsanea
Mediocre but arrogant by Abhijit Bhaduri
Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
The associate by John Grisham
Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer

Hope to review some of them in my next post.

What Next?

2009-06-19T09:09:00.000+04:00

The job's gone. Money's gone. Life is at a complete standstill. What can I do now? I am completely helpless.I dont have anyone to turn to now. I am all alone in this world. Life hasnt even started properly, but I want it to end quickly.

Probably my state of mind is not uncommon in the cases of quite a few people given the times we live. Atleast that's what I read in a recent article in the week magazine. The confusion prevailing in the lives of many people in their 20's and 30's. In the 90's we were in a hurry to grow up. But now we want to turn back time . Return to childhood. Hoping life wasnt so complicated. Hoping that our parents were young again and taking care of us rather than we taking care of them.

There is no such thing as unrequited love. Earlier people stayed on in marriages because of bad names in society, children's upbringing etc. But now that is not the case anymore. Divorce is rampant nowadays. Who cares about morality anymore. Spend as much money and live life to the fullest in the short span of time that's the motto it seems nowadays. How long can life go on like this.

I really hope I am able to come across a messiah of sorts in the near future.

Saying good bye to what was once a dream job….

2009-04-29T18:17:00.000+04:00

Recession, recession everywhere…….while it has always been bad enough that I was working on temporary contract positions all throughout my stint in Dubai; I was hoping that at least this one will click but even that was not meant to be. Thanks to this recession. What is going to happen now?They have put a freeze on permanent positions , and I being the risk taker that I am went ahead went ahead , applied for a lesser known company and got through. Am I doing the right thing by leaving my current employer which obviously in everybody else’s eyes is the best you can get in UAE?The problem is the boredom that sets into me inevitably after one year on any job. I am not suited for these desk jobs and I don’t know how many times I will repeat the same story before finally getting completely tired of doing the same thing over and over again.What is my dream job……..I really don’t know now. I wish I could go meet a career counsellor but Dubai doesn’t really have too many options without paying good money for that as well.Here the whiter the skin the better I suppose. Last 3 years I went through this traffic nightmare from Sharjah to Dubai starting at 5.30 am daily from my home. I had to wake up at 4.45 am for this. Something I have not even done for my 12th board exams.And I guess it’s not just the job alone, life itself here has become very lonely, I didn’t have any friends or relatives here. It’s not enough to work with the best company here if you cannot bring your dear ones here. Every time I head back home I get the same questions, when are your parents coming here.
How long can I keep avoiding these questions ..............

Gone are the days!

2009-03-29T18:42:00.000+04:00

Another good forward:

Gone are the days!!!

When
The school reopened in June,
And we settled in our new desks and
benches!
When we queued up in book depot,
And got our new books and notes!
When we wanted two Sundays and no Mondays, Yet managed to line up daily for the morning prayers.
We learnt writing with slates and pencils, and
Progressed To fountain pens and ball pens and then Micro tips!
When we began drawing with crayons and evolved to
Color pencils and finally sketch pens!
When we started calculating
first with tables and then with
Clarke's tables and advanced to
Calculators and computers!
When we chased one another in the
corridors in Intervals, and returned to the classrooms
Drenched in sweat!
When we had lunch in classrooms, corridors,
Playgrounds,
under the trees and even in cycle sheds!
When all the colors in the world,
Decorated the campus on the Second Saturdays!
When a single P.T. period in the week's Time Table,
Was awaited more eagerly than the monsoons!
When cricket was played with writing pads as bats,
And Neckties and socks rolled into balls!
When few played
"kabadi" and "Kho-Kho" in scorching sun,
While others simply played
"book cricket" in the
Confines of classroom!
Of fights but no conspiracies,
Of Competitions but seldom jealousy!
When we used to
watch Live Cricket telecast,
In the opposite house in Intervals and Lunch breaks!
When few rushed at 3:45 to
"Conquer" window seats in our School bus!
While few others had "Big Fun", "peppermint" ,
"kulfi", " milk ice !" and "sharbat !" at 4 o Clock!
Gone are the days
Of Sports Day,
and the annual School Day ,
And the one-month long
preparations for them.
Gone are the days
Of the stressful Quarterly,
Half Yearly and Annual Exams, And the most
enjoyed holidays after them!
Gone are the days
Of tenth and twelfth standards, when
We Spent almost the whole year writing revision tests!
We learnt,
We enjoyed,
We played,
We won,
We lost,
We laughed,
We cried,
We fought,
We thought.
With so much fun in them, so many friends,
So much experience, all this and more!
Gone are the days
When we used
to talk for hours with our friends!
Now we don't have time to say a 'Hi'!
Gone are the days
When we played games on the road!
Now we
Code on the road with laptop!
Gone are the days
When we saw stars
Shining at Night!
Now we see stars when our code doesn't
Work!
Gone are the days
When we sat to chat with Friends on grounds!
Now we chat in chat rooms.....!
Gone are the days
Where we
studied just to pass!
Now we study to save our job!
Gone are the days
Where we had no money in our pockets and still fun filled on our hearts!! (this is what is still remembered very much)
Now we have the ATM as well as credit card but with an empty heart!!
Gone are the days
Where we shouted on the road!
Now we don't shout even at home
Gone are the days
Where we got lectures from all!
Now we give lectures to all... like the one I'm doing now....!!
Gone are the days
But not the memories, which will be
Lingering in our hearts for ever and ever and
Ever and ever and ever ......
Gone are the Days.... But still there are lot more Days to come in our Life!!
NO MATTER HOW BUSY YOU ARE ......ENJOY UR LIFE..... ,

Sitagita contest

2009-03-12T18:22:00.000+04:00

These were my entries for the sitagita blog contest:

http://womensblogs.sitagita.com/BlogView.Asp?BId=906

Blogging is Therapeutic

While on this topic, I would like to give a brief introduction about blogs in general. A blog or "web log" is like a personal diary. An online journal where you can write whatever you feel like. It doesn't have an intended audience in most cases. It can include even photos, videos, links to other articles etc. You can set preferences as to whether your blog can be read by the public or only select friends. Blogs are normally listed in the reverse chronological order with the latest entry on top. You can categorize them according to different subjects as well. There are blogs on how to write, how to cook, techie blogs, health subjects. Anything, you name it you got it. Now, back to the topic: Is a blog therapeutic? Yes, I agree with that. Why? I can say from my own experience , that on the days when I used to feel bad, or tired from a hectic work day where nothing really went right , writing about something relieved a lot of tension from my mind, as I was focusing my mind on something else for a change. I must have started writing from a pretty young age. Earlier I used to scribble on bits and pieces of paper or old school notebooks, because nobody really presented a diary to me back then. Although I participated in quite a few creative writing competitions in school and college, I never really won anything. Well the fact is, I am no poet. I just try to write good English. A blog was a change for me. I wasn't competing with anyone for once, but at =he same time I became happy after I wrote something. I was expressing my opinion without having to really shout or make gestures to get noticed. And even if somebody disagreed, I didn't really care, because a blog =s not a debate. I always wanted to be a journalist or a writer. Somehow I got stuck with the software engineering profession instead. But one thing that amazes me is that many of the good blogs I have ever come across are the ones written by software engineers! Of course no offense meant to the people from other professions, maybe the reason is that the software engineers are technologically savvy and hence tend to embrace blogs more quickly than others. Basically anybody who has got a computer with internet connection, a good grasp of the language (could be any language) and ideas can be a blogger. It relieves the stress of daily life. And for a while you are transported to a different world altogether. Sometimes even when your personal life is in disarray and you constantly feel like you are down in the dumps, writing about it takes some weight off your shoulders. I guess that's why personal diaries came about. In this case, getting advice or sympathy from people who care about you helps avoiding a state of depression. Help might come from unlikely quarters. Writing can help you to get back on track in life. To conclude, writing has had a therapeutic effect on me. And blogging which I discovered about 4 years ago has helped improve both my language and writing skills, apart form the fact that I learnt a lot from reading other blogs by people both ordinary and famous.

http://womensblogs.sitagita.com/BlogView.Asp?BId=954

Friendships - Do We Have Time for Them Today?

The answer to the above question for me would be yes and no. As I write this blog, I am reminded of something that happened to me very recently. A couple of days back when I opened my gmail inbox I saw a message stating that one of my friends had tagged me in a photo on facebook. I immediately logged into my facebook account and sure enough there was an old Class-2 photograph of mine comprising of a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds (quite a number were toothless) looking back at me from this friend's album. And there I was sitting in the front row smiling very eagerly and happy just to be seated right next to my then "best friend". The picture which was both comical and cute reminded of a bygone era of my school days when life was less complicated. What happened to all those kids in the photograph? If I had been from my mother's generation then I would have probably said "I don't know". But living in the technology era, I can safely say what happened to most of them in the photograph, where they are and what they do. Most of them are there either in my orkut or my facebook network. But I haven't met most of them in ages! So can I really refer to them as friends? Can I just pick up the phone and call them up like as if we had just met each other the other day! The answer is no. Most of them either live in different parts of the country or in other countries. My situation is not entirely different from my mother's. The only difference being that she probably does not know where all the Sita's and Gita's of her class landed up, whereas I do! But I am not really better off than her in any sense. While I am always glad I met those people in my past life. Friends in my current situation are the people at my workplace, people who travel with me daily to the office and the people who stay nearby my place whom we go out with occasionally. During my brief stint in Dubai I have come across people who have helped me in different levels without really expecting anything back in return. They are not necessarily well off or people who have all the time in the world for me. But they are folks who have kept some of their invaluable time aside especially for me. Like the colleague at my workplace who makes it a point to share all the sweetmeats he gets from others. The ex-colleague who went out of his way to drop me off at the Dubai International Airport in an emergency situation when my husband was out of town. Trivial though these may seem to some people, these kind gestures from time to time have rekindled my faith in mankind as a whole and have helped me to maintain friendships. We have to make time for long lasting friendships. Cause without it people will just remain as mere acquaintances and not friends. We all lead a hectic lifestyle juggling home and work. But one day we will retire and all this will come to an end. By then our children will be caught up in the proverbial rat race like we used to in our younger days. If we take time out to treat some of these people we see everyday kindly, then maybe there will be many more people on our Orkut or Facebook networks who will be more than just mere acquaintances and whom we can turn to in our darkest times. Or atleast some people with whom we could play an occasional game of cards... What say!!!

http://womensblogs.sitagita.com/BlogView.Asp?BId=811

Chennai Then And Now

The history of Madras dates back to the year 1639 when a piece of land, where Fort. St. George stands today, was transacted by the East India Company. Near the fort other settlements came up and over the centuries the city has evolved into the Chennai of today. The effect of the British settlement is evident in many monumental structures in this beautiful city. Also this city boasts of some of the oldest and amongst the best educational institutions in the country today. The most noted among them being MCC, The Presidency College, and Loyola College among a host of others. Many prominent personalities have studied in these colleges. Today, probably the engineering colleges in this city may outnumber the Arts and Science Institutions. It also would not be fair if we do not mention the 2 most famous engineering institutions IIT Madras and the Anna University. These institutions are the dream destinations of many an aspiring engineering student. These colleges played an important factor in making Chennai a viable IT destination. The software industry which has now become the pride of Chennai has evolved at a very rapid pace over the last 10 years. At the end of the 80's and early 90's most people were aware of only the big 3 of TCS, Infosys and Wipro. But today hundreds of software companies' large, medium and small have mushroomed in nooks and corners of this city. It is hard to keep count of them, much less remember all their names. The IT revolution changed the look of the city. It introduced 6 lane highways of world class standards. Tall glass buildings, well-manicured lawns, landscaped gardens and lighted fountains have taken over the old look of the city. A booming real estate sector has brought out skyscrapers in all shapes boasting of superb amenities found in the west. Not to mention the ever-changing shopping scenario which previously boasted of all Saravana's and Nalli's. Now they have Giordano and Bossini among several other foreign brands. No description of Chennai would be complete without a description of its rich heritage and culture. It has been a home to many famous carnatic music maestros and classical dancers. It has a season in the month of December dedicated only to music and dance. Today even the theatre has gained momentum as the people are more and more open to new ideas. It is by and large a peaceful city with many famous religious places to visit, be it the Kapaleeswarar temple or the Santhome Cathedral or the Thousand Lights mosque. Chennai is a place where the old world charm meets the new world. I started living here when it was still called Madras. From then till now after having visited many other cities, I still feel is the best place I have ever lived in.

Tips from Robin Sharma

2009-03-09T17:51:00.001+04:00

The following tips were given by Robin Sharma at the recently concluded Emirates Airlines International Festival of Literature:

Read inspirational books, great autobiographies, go on the Internet and get good information in your mind.
Eat good food, because you become what you eat.
Listen to great music
Protect your environment and your thinking
Savor the simple, but don't give up your nice things
Take care of your health
Think about your legacy, the influence in the world around you.

Madras Oldies and Indian Bloggers

2009-03-09T17:40:00.000+04:00

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/02/25/stories/2009022550380100.htm - Old timers on Madras , there seems to be regular interviews of them these days in Metro plus. How I miss reading that paper now.

Top Indian bloggers address list: http://www.labnol.org/india-blogs/indian-bloggers.html

Lightning in Dubai,UAE pics

2009-03-09T17:22:00.000+04:00

These are some pics I received as an email forward. I dont know who took these pics but they are really fantastic.

Another bad day!

2009-02-17T19:47:00.001+04:00

The amount of traffic today between Sharjah and Dubai was unbelievable. It took me 2 and a half hours to reach my office which is about 10km away. I shudder to think of the nightmare for people who would have traveled further than that. Who cares about the people working here anyway? There is a global recession here but all the people here drive expensive 4-wheel drives. And most of them have only 1 person seated in the vehicle. Why cant office colleagues car pool and go to the office.The traffic has worsened since the recession started thanks to construction work/metro projects on all the major roads. All the people were in some sort of a frenzy here. I think most of them have gone mad. Question is when is this going to end? Rents have all started coming down. But there doesnt seem to be any sure signs of a mass exodus from Dubai.

Dubai and Recession

2009-02-17T19:41:00.000+04:00

http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=40797

Two interesting articles....

2009-02-16T20:25:00.000+04:00

These are 2 very interesting articles I read on the internet recently

http://www.rediff.com/money/2009/feb/06satyam-employee-writes-from-the-heart.htm

http://specials.rediff.com/money/2009/feb/09slide5-the-end-of-the-gulf-dream.htm

White Tiger- By Aravind Adiga

2009-02-02T12:14:00.000+04:00

After reading the White Tiger and watching Slumdog Millionaire, I really felt as if I was born and brought up in a 3rd world country. As is the case with the 2 previous booker prize winning books that I have read namely the The God of Small Things and The Inheritance of Loss this too was a disappointment. And I have decided not to pick up any more books just because they won the booker prize. What is the criteria based on which books are shortlisted for the booker I wonder? Adiga's White Tiger has no great storyline none whatsoever, it is just the story of another villager making it big in the city. And the usual city-slickers being bad stuff. I have seen "N" number of bollywood, kollywood and tollywood films on the same theme. Frankly why read one more book like this.Are everyone staying in cities bad?? Admitted that there is a caste system which is an unnecessary evil for India. But there are many using this caste system to their own advantage for education , jobs etc etc. Why do we still write about the caste of a person in this country?Its high time all this stops.And its high time we stop glorifying the booker prize.

Gemini!

2009-02-02T11:58:00.000+04:00

Sun in Gemini
Like the inconstant moon, your mind is constantly on the move--inquisitive, precocious, restless and changing. Versatility is your mainstay, and you can do many things at once. You have a need to communicate on all levels, whether it be through speaking, writing, broadcasting or sign language. Your logical, rational mind works quickly, and has great potential--especially when it works through some media.
You most likely enjoy talking on the telephone, whether initiating a conversation or responding. Your youthful, lively personality is like a magnet, and people of all walks of life are drawn to you. Your worst fault is that your many interests could make you lean towards superficiality. This could also lead to never finishing projects once started. You can curb these traits by focusing in on your skills, and choosing only a few areas in which to become an expert.
Your winsome ways make you the natural salespeople of the zodiac; you could sell anything to anyone, anytime. You could work almost anywhere--department stores, advertising, commercial sales, business. Your need for communication also makes you gifted in teaching, writing, or reporting; notice all of these are not desk jobs and they do not involve routine. In addition, you excel in anything to do with diversity, which can be public or behind the scenes. You could also make a good counselor since one side of your split "twin" personalites is always listening. Other possible career choices for you include acting, politics, researching, or being a librarian.
You can be very shrewd and cunning, and your chief fear in life is boredom. Because you are a twin--the first dual sign of the zodiac--you can either be at war with your self, or achieve a high state of harmony, like the yin-yang. You represent the split between the divine and the human in all of us, and your biggest achievement is finding a way to harmonize that split. If it is weak, you could be like a whimsical butterfly, flitting from one situation to another. If controlled, you grow incredibly by your many varied experiences, which add depth to your person--even wisdom.
Though you are not known for your concentration or persistence, you are very versatile and adaptable, making you a natural social creature. You need to move around and mingle. Your mind is your greatest asset, and anyone wanting to reach you should do it through logic or reasoning. You enjoy your freedom, and it is difficult to pin you down. You have a tendency to dramatize things, to "think big" then not carry through, to let your imagination get the better of you. If you do not master both of your split persons, you could become neurotic. Also, because Gemini rules the nervous system, they are more prone to nervous breakdowns than other signs in the zodiac.
Your quick mind, unfortunately, can be many times preoccupied with #1 (yourself). The solution to a happy life is to think about others and try to be of service to them. Spread yourself out, but not too thin; use your new ideas to help others. Venture out from curiosity, but use your intellectual mind to understand the world and the relationships between people, places and objects. This could help you in your communication, and really make you an asset in your chosen career.
You may have a dark side, which is changeable and moody. This is when your mind and your heart disagree, when the twins are at war with themselves. Like Geminis Bob Dylan, Marilyn Monroe, and Judy Garland, you may sing lonely ballads or be prone to depression. Often, Geminis leave the family to seek a larger world.
A Gemini woman seems to be all over the place. She can talk, and talk, and talk--on any number of topics. Though her knowledge is mostly superficial, if she has a passion for it, it can be deep. She excels in communication, is frequently flirtatious and flighty. Her restlessness makes her reluctant to commit easily, so a potential mate may have to play the waiting game before she'll settle down. Wait until she makes peace with herself, has sown some wild oats. Remember she's a late bloomer.
Gemini men, you are quick, witty, enigmatic. You keep constantly changing, like a kaleidoscope--just when women have you figured out, you do something completely different. Women should appeal to his intellect if they want to woo him, and remember that he is like two people inhabiting one body: one person is attentive, the other could care less. Ultimately, he needs to know he is appreciated on all fronts. A strong woman can help him fit the two pieces of his personality together.
Geminis can get along socially with just about anyone. They feel most at home with other air signs, particularly Aquarians, who also have quick minds, but they can also get along with their polar opposites, Sagittarius. In romance, Geminis love with their minds first. They thrive on mental stimulation, and many times they will seek friendship first before love. Though they are fickle, once their hearts are won they love deeply. A potential Gemini mate should always remember to seduce the mind first.
You enjoy spending money on things you love. Because you are split, your money habits depend on which "twin" dominates--the spendthrift or the spender. In terms of religion, your restlessness precludes you from being faithful to one denomination--you tend to sample different ones. As an air sign, you enjoy the abstract world of concepts and open-ended plans--and you could debate endlessly the validity or existence of God, or your philosophy of ethics. Committing to one, however, proves difficult until you find one you can completely believe in.
Your love of words and language also makes you a strong storyteller. You may be the best joke teller at the party, or you may write poetry. Whatever the case, you enjoy experimenting with ideas and expressing opinions just to be provocative. In some cases, content is not as important as contact; your need to express is more important than what you say. Because you are filled with imagination, you are the eternal pre-adolescent, a Peter Pan who never grows up, or takes a long time. You are often a late bloomer, and present yourself as overconfident to hide your youthful insecurities.
You must ward against talking too much, which prevents you from doing things or finishing projects. Although you are charming, you need to get the job done. Your challenge is to try to stick with things, instead of giving in to your short attention span. Stay with relationships and jobs, unless they seem doomed to failure. You have many gifts; your challenge is to figure out the best way to express your talents.

Madras Musings

2009-01-30T12:50:00.001+04:00

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/01/28/stories/2009012850050100.htm

Letter to the Editor of 7days

2009-01-30T12:40:00.000+04:00

7DAYS.ae Claiming ‘Slumdog’ Wednesday 28 Jan, 2009

I totally agree with the reader Jayakrishna about his views on ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. While Danny Boyle’s depiction of poverty is not totally incorrect, there are several scenes in the film which was toofar-fetched. The scene where the boy Jamal jumps from the makeshift“toilet” was un! called for. And both the real life hosts of the TV show‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ namely Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan were very courteous towards the contestants and treated each of them with the same amount of respect no matter which part of society they were from. Unlike the protagonist played by Anil Kapoor in the film. Even if this film were to bag all the Oscars it has been nominated for. We as Indians should not rejoice about them. On the occasion of our Republic Day, we should take a vow to improve our country and remove poverty so that no more movies romanticising our poverty should be made.

Measuring Success

2009-01-23T14:45:00.000+04:00

How Do You Measure Success?By Shawn Driscoll

One of the places I often start with a new client is to have them answer this question: "At this stage of my life/career/business success is?"
By starting with a clear definition of what success looks like for them, we have a compass by which to measure their success.
But recently, I've started to notice an interesting pattern. Many of my clients, colleagues, and friends (and yes, even yours truly!) go after certain goals for one set of reasons, but then later measure their success against a completely different set of reasons or standards.
Here's an example of what I mean:
One of my clients had set a goal of increasing the visibility of her business by getting lots of PR. So, she set about doing the things that would get her media interviews and lots of visibility. And it worked like gangbusters! In less than 90 days she had been featured in several prominent national newspapers, radio shows and even television.
And yet, she came to a coaching call declaring the visibility plan a failure. Curious, I asked her how she saw this as a failure when she was being featured everywhere and had become an in demand expert to the media. She shot back "Well, I'm not making much more money than I was before all this media attention."
Aha! A new standard of measuring success was sneaking in. She initially said her goal was "to get lots of visibility"and she got exactly what she asked for. But now she was realizing she had a "secondary goal" to increase her revenue. The problem was that she hadn't actually put a plan in place to convert all the media attention into revenue because she never stated that goal. She was missing a step in her process because she hadn't clearly defined how she would measure success. Once we fixed that issue, and she made just a couple of small changes to her focus that she had a system for turning the attention into business, she brought in several new clients and had a week of record revenues.
That's the power of really having a clear definition of success, and then taking simple, straightforward actions to achieve it.
Another great example happens quite often with my executive career clients. They usually come to me after having taken a job that was their "dream job" and yet they are feeling frustrated, dissatisfied and discouraged.
Turns out, they went after the job because of the title, salary and prestige of the position-which they got. But now they are measuring success in the role against things like work/life balance, love of the work itself, the people they work with, and the challenge. It's those things that aren't measuring up and they feel like they've failed. But the truth is, they just weren't totally clear on what success for them was . Once they understand how they really measure success, they can easily get their career back on track.
So my point is this: be really clear about how you are measuring success in your life, and make sure the actions you take are toward that complete picture.
And if you find yourself frustrated or dissatisfied with where you are - look back and see what you set out to accomplish in the first place. My best bet is that you have accomplished what you set out to accomplish, but now you are measuring it against different standards of success. So, it's probably time to upgrade your 'success standards' and get them in alignment with what matters most, now.
Take a few minutes right now and answer this question, "At this stage of my life/career/business success is?"
Here's to your success!
About the Author: Career Success Coach Shawn Driscoll, of Succeed Coaching & Development is a certified coach, speaker and the author of "The Ultimate Guide to Landing Your Ideal Job". As an expert on career transition and the art of reinventing yourself she can teach you how to take control of your career and create your ideal work-life.

Forward about being a Hindu!!

2009-01-23T14:43:00.000+04:00

WHY I AM A HINDU-A MUST READ for Hindus

Four years ago, I was flying from JFK NY Airport to SFO to attend a meeting at Monterey , CA An American girl was sitting on the right side, near window seat. It indeed was a long journey - it would take nearly seven hours. I was surprised to see the young girl reading a Bible unusual of young Americans. After some time she smiled and we had few acquaintances talk.I told her that I am from India
Then suddenly the girl asked: 'What's your faith?' 'What?' I didn't understand the question.
'I mean, what's your religion? Are you a Christian? Or a Muslim?'
'No!' I replied, 'I am neither Christian nor Muslim'. Apparently she appeared shocked to listen to that. 'Then who are you?' 'I am a Hindu', I said.
She looked at me as if she was seeing a caged animal. She could not understand what I was talking about.
A common man in Europe or US knows about Christianity and Islam, as they are the leading religions of the world today. But a Hindu, what?
I explained to her - I am born to a Hindu father and Hindu mother. Therefore, I am a Hindu by birth.
'Who is your prophet?' she asked.
'We don't have a prophet,' I replied.
'What's your Holy Book?'
'We don't have a single Holy Book, but we have hundreds and thousands of philosophical and sacred scriptures,' I replied.
'Oh, come on at least tell me who is your God?'
'What do you mean by that?'
'Like we have Jesus and Muslims have Allah - don't you have a God?'
I thought for a moment. Muslims and Christians believe one God (Male God) who created the world and takes an interest in the humans who inhabit it. Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief.
According to her (or anybody who doesn't know about Hinduism), a religion needs to have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. The mind is so conditioned and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion that anything else is not acceptable. I understood her perception and concept about faith. You can't compare Hinduism with any of the present leading religions where you have to believe in one concept of god.
I tried to explain to her: 'You can believe in one god and he can be a Hindu. You may believe in multiple deities and still you can be a Hindu. What's more - you may not believe in god at all, still you can be a Hindu. An atheist can also be a Hindu.'
This sounded very crazy to her. She couldn't imagine a religion so unorganized, still surviving for thousands of years, even after onslaught from foreign forces.
'I don't understand but it seems very interesting. Are you religious?' What can I tell to this American girl?
I said: 'I do not go to temple regularly. I do not make any regular rituals. I have learned some of the rituals in my younger days. I still enjoy doing it sometimes..'
'Enjoy? Are you not afraid of God?'
'God is a friend. No- I am not afraid of God. Nobody has made any compulsions on me to perform these rituals regularly.'
She thought for a while and then asked: 'Have you ever thought of converting to any other religion?'
'Why should I? Even if I challenge some of the rituals and faith in Hinduism, nobody can convert me from Hinduism. Because, being a Hindu allows me to think independently and objectively, without conditioning. I remain as a Hindu never by force, but choice.' I told her that Hinduism is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. It is not a religion like Christianity or Islam because it is not founded by any one person or does not have an organized controlling body like the Church or the Order, I added. There is no institution or authority..
'So, you don't believe in God?' she wanted everything in black and white.
'I didn't say that. I do not discard the divine reality. Our scripture, or Sruthis or Smrithis - Vedas and Upanishads or the Gita - say God might be there or he might not be there. But we pray to that supreme abstract authority (Para Brahma) that is the creator of this universe.'
'Why can't you believe in one personal God?'
'We have a concept - abstract - not a personal god. The concept or notion of a personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, telling us irrational stories through few men whom he sends as messengers, demanding us to worship him or punish us, does not make sense. I don't think that God is as silly as an autocratic emperor who wants others to respect him or fear him.' I told her that such notions are just fancies of less educated human imagination and fallacies, adding that generally ethnic religious practitioners in Hinduism believe in personal gods. The entry level Hinduism has over-whelming superstitions too. The philosophical side of Hinduism negates all superstitions.
'Good that you agree God might exist. You told that you pray. What is your prayer then?'
'Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,'
'Funny,' she laughed, 'What does it mean?'
'May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. Om Peace, Peace, Peace.'
'Hmm ..very interesting. I want to learn more about this religion. It is so democratic, broad-minded and free' she exclaimed.
'The fact is Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for the individual and by the individual with its roots in the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita. It is all about an individual approaching a personal God in an individual way according to his temperament and inner evolution - it is as simple as that.'
'How does anybody convert to Hinduism?'
'Nobody can convert you to Hinduism, because it is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. Everything is acceptable in Hinduism because there is no single authority or organization either to accept it or to reject it or to oppose it on behalf of Hinduism.'
I told her - if you look for meaning in life, don't look for it in religions; don't go from one cult to another or from one guru to the next.
For a real seeker, I told her, the Bible itself gives guidelines when it says ' Kingdom of God is within you.' I reminded her of Christ's teaching about the love that we have for each other. That is where you can find the meaning of life.
Loving each and every creation of the God is absolute and real. 'Isavasyam idam sarvam' Isam (the God) is present (inhabits) here everywhere - nothing exists separate from the God, because God is present everywhere. Respect every living being and non-living things as God. That's what Hinduism teaches you.
Hinduism is referred to as Sanathana Dharma, the eternal faith. It is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life. The most important aspect of Hinduism is being truthful to oneself. Hinduism has no monopoly on ideas.- It is open to all. Hindus believe in one God (not a personal one) expressed in different forms. For them, God is timeless and formless entity.
Ancestors of today's Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic laws and these truths are opened to anyone who seeks them. But there is a section of Hindus who are either superstitious or turned fanatic to make this an organized religion like others. The British coin the word 'Hindu' and considered it as a religion.
I said: 'Religions have become an MLM (multi-level- marketing) industry that has been trying to expand the market share by conversion. The biggest business in today's world is Spirituality. Hinduism is no exception'
I am a Hindu primarily because it professes Non-violence - 'Ahimsa Paramo Dharma' - Non violence is the highest duty. I am a Hindu because it doesn't conditions my mind with any faith system. A man/ woman who change 's his/her birth religion to another religion is a fake and does not value his/her morals, culture and values in life. Hinduism was the first religion originated. Be proud of your religion and be proud of who you are. Om Namo shiva……………

Books , books and more books.

2009-01-20T19:56:00.000+04:00

It's been a while since I posted anything meaningful on blogger. Well reason being that I was on holiday in December. And January has been really hectic with new projects , parties et al.

Apart from that for the first time in many years I have read 3 books in 2 months time. This is really an achievement for a time constrained person like me. The books are : The Immigrant by Manju Kapur, Married but Available by Abhijit Bhaduri and Grandmother's Tale by R.K.Narayan. Admitted that the last one was rather a small book but I consider all this an achievement nevertheless.

Of the lot the book I liked the most was Married but Available by Abhijit Bhaduri. Of course with due respect to R.K.Narayan who still remains my most favorite author till date. Its just that MBA(Married but Available) dealt with so many real life issues and yet had a good feel about it. And unlike most NRI authors it was not degrading India for a change.I liked the way he brought in simple management principles into the story and gave it a different perspective. I hope to read more of this author(unfortunately havent been able to spot his other book Mediocre but Arrogant).

I am yet to read the White Tiger by Aravind Adiga which is adorning my bookshelf currently. But I am sure I should finish that in another one week if I maintain this momentum with my books. Will try to review that ASAP.

Food for thought!!

2009-01-19T20:24:00.000+04:00

When discussing about the ongoing war, I realised the lesson I learnt from playing the game of Risk. I quit the game early on primarily because I didn’t want to be attacked nor did I want to attack. While with the others it was only a question of winning. Even in real life people are only bothered about winning and they will trample whatever is on the way to achieving it. The final result of the game ? Nobody won! As is the case in real life nobody wins! But some people lost the lives of their loved ones.

Shut down of Woodlands drive in.

2008-11-23T19:49:00.001+04:00

This is another memory gone from my life forever...............

http://specials.rediff.com/news/2008/apr/23slid1.htm

All time favourites

2008-11-23T19:46:00.000+04:00

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bryan-adams-everything-i-do-voted-greates.../386795/

The past, present or future:

2008-11-20T18:56:00.001+04:00

Our past kind of decided our present, just like our present is going to determine the future. This sounds like a silly statement to make. But I havent copied this from somewhere for once. But I am sure somebody might have something similar like this written before.

Emerson once put it, "What you are shouts so loudly in my ears that I cannot hear what you say." There cant have been a more truer statement than this. Very often I have felt this especially while talking to someone close.

While conversing with this person there were so many thoughts coming to my head that I didnt pay attention to the conversation and as usual we landed up squabbling.

Actions bother him , words bother him , small small or trivial things are irking him, how can we continue this relationship? As it is, it was a forced one. I havent slept for a record 3 nights in a row thanks to him.

What are you reading these days

2008-11-16T18:50:00.000+04:00

Found this interesting article in the Times of India. : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Columnists/G_Das_What_are_you_reading/articleshow/3718261.cmsBut I dont know why this has been categorized under Men and Ideas, dont women also read?? Anyways I completely agree with Gurcharan Das and pray that a library like this would be spring up in Dubai. Its bad enough to leave for work at 5.15 am in the morning and to be in horrendous traffic for 2 hours. So why not make use of the time constructively.

Interesting thought on marriage

2008-11-10T19:23:00.000+04:00

A colleague of mine started off an interesting debate today. Is it possible to compromise on something like marriage and still be happy? An interesting person I met during my tenure at my 1st job, said that he married for the sake of his parents. Now the parents are happy, but he isnt. He wants out but they dont allow him to. Is there an end to his misery.

Arent most of us in India sailing in the same boat. We have this concept of arranged marriage.We have a 101 things to clear beside just liking the guy or girl. Religion, status, caste, money, position and finally the 'horrorscope' which anyway can never predict the doom of a marriage all play a key role. So how can one get into an arranged marriage without a compromise? Oldies just say it will work fine. How will it work fine? When will it work fine, after either one is dead? Hmm I still have a long way to go in figuring out the ways life works!!!

A thousand splendid suns - Khalid Hosseini

2008-11-10T19:13:00.000+04:00

I finished reading this book about a month back. Due to general laziness I didn’t write the heartfelt review that I badly wanted to write at that time. But this is one of the books that had a great impact on me. I read it in a single sitting on the 7 hours flight from London to Dubai with only interruptions for having food in between. I swear this is the second time (First was Tuesday’s with Morrie by Mitch Albom) I am crying after reading a book. What struck me the most was the helplessness of people? Mainly women suffering from aftermath of mindless wars which are the result of the “so called” mind games of politicians worldwide. The story is based in Afghanistan. It is difficult not to cry for the character that is Mariam. We feel angry when she is 15 and forcefully married to a 47 year old. She didn’t have a legitimate father. She never had a proper education. She was beaten up by this useless husband. She was forced look after his second wife and kids. In the end she is executed by stoning. How many people are there like this in Afghanistan? What do such people have to look forward to in a life like this? Is there anything to smile about with such a life? And finally what did I get by reading such a disturbing story? Well the answer to the last is that I felt grateful to God for my life. Even though it is in turmoil right now, it is nothing when compared to women in nations like Afghanistan

In my heart I was only thankful to God that I was brought up in India. And no matter what problems I have faced so far. It will never be of such intensity. At least my childhood was never this disturbing. Long live India, Long Live the city of Chennai.

Emerson quotes

2008-11-04T16:36:00.000+04:00

To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affecion of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to leave the world a better place whether by a child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition, to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - this is to have succeeded.

Why we choose careers that dont make us happy - Continuation.

2008-11-03T18:54:00.000+04:00

Consequent to my marriage 2 years ago , I moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Now here I had to face a different environment altogether. Here none of the big conglomerates take you directly on their payrolls in their Information Technology department. They take you on as a software consultant. Now unlike western countries where consultants are paid more than the regular staff, here in Dubai a consultant is quite the straight opposite.You have to toil on an average of 3 years to get onto the direct payrolls of any company here and even then you are not guaranteed the post of a Senior Software Engineer, which is normally given to a person with 3 years experience in India. Most probably you will be placed on par with the fresh engineering college graduates from BITS Pilani Dubai (basically children of filthy rich gulf expats) and the like.All the perks of a permanent job including accomodation and bonus eludes you and you will be made to wonder why you ever came here in the 1st place. And as if all this werent enough most of the expatriates (me included) live in a place called Sharjah which is just about 10kms from Dubai but takes about 2-3 hours to reach one way!!Why do we stay here? Because Dubai is ill-affordable to Consultants like us. So a bad job coupled with terrible transportation killed the remaining little interest that I already had in working in an IT company in Dubai. So why am I stil here, to kill time, make money and get as de-motivated as possible.I dont know whether I had any aim in my career at all.Why not just call this all off and quit?That definitely is better thing to do............(To be concluded)

Boredom and Loneliness

2008-10-17T13:36:00.000+04:00

I came across this saying in one of my friend’s blog posts: There is a certain point in your life, when you are bored of ambition and achievement, even if you haven’t achieved anything. May be I have understood the difference between dreaming and achieving. The difference is work, which is the boring part. Glory is achieved through pure hard work, which makes the whole premise of glory boring.
In any case, contentment with what I am and what I have done till now is a quality which arises due to boredom, lack of enthusiasm to achieve anything.
I suffer from an inspiration syndrome. I want something to be life altering or I would have nothing to do with it. The first minute I sense boredom with my passion, passion ceases and boredom takes over. “

This aptly describes my current situation. Boredom and loneliness are my 2 best friends now, despite living in a world well conected by mobiles, orkuts , facebooks et al.

Career Guide

2008-08-18T17:41:00.000+04:00

I got this message when I had joined my 1st job.........

Rule 1: Be sure you are happy and excited about your job.

It is extremely important that you find a job that you feel happy and excited about. This will be the foundation for your job performance, satisfaction, and leadership. If you are doing something that you enjoy, you have a positive effect on those you work with, and the results of your efforts benefit the organization and your career. On the other hand, an unhappy worker tends to produce low-quality results and have a negative impact on the team, with little hope of career advancement.

Rule 2: Be a recognized expert in a particular field.

Establish yourself as an expert in a field and gain recognition for this expertise. Your reputation will grow, and people will come to you for help. The more people you network with, the more you will share and broaden your knowledge. The core expertise you started with will expand its boundaries into many related areas, and recognition of your achievements will follow suit. The people you help become your best advocates, which can lead to good opportunities both within and outside of your organization.

Rule 3: Expand your work beyond your responsibility.

It is not enough to do your assigned job well. Good companies get many outstanding people who do their jobs well. You need to take the initiative to go beyond your assignment, like you would get extra credit in school. Look beyond the task at hand and find ways to have a greater impact than what was expected of you. Those who are in a position to evaluate you will be impressed and will want to reward you. Don’t be afraid to use creative ideas to improve your job and the jobs of those around you. If you want to be considered for promotion, you need to demonstrate that you can perform at the next level before you even get there.

Rule 4: Help others succeed and be part of a team.

Helping others is one of the best ways to go beyond your own job responsibility. By helping others, you not only strengthen your own skills, but you also gain friends and grow a network of valuable contacts. When you help other individuals on your team, then you help the whole team be more successful. If you are perceived by others as being helpful and team-oriented, they will want to work with you, to have you on their team, and to recommend you for career opportunities.

Rule 5: Be sure your results align with organization goals, meet schedules with high quality and within budget.

Try to get on projects that have a high priority and substantial business impact. One way of learning which projects are important is to find out the projected savings and earnings, and to assess whether the project is an integral part of the company’s future direction. A practical way of telling which projects fit this description is to notice where your management is placing their emphasis and attention. But whatever project you are on, be sure your deliverables meet or exceed objectives, are on schedule, and stay within budget. However, keep in mind that your good efforts may not be valued or rewarded unless they are part of the organization’s business strategy.

Rule 6: Be clear about your goals.

Success is different for each person. Each of us has to define for ourselves what success means in our lives. If you don’t know what you want, then you cannot really channel your efforts and steer your career toward your goals. If you want advancement in your work, then you need to make a plan and execute it, while communicating your goals to your managers and any other people you may be in a position to help you. Remember that you are the owner of your goals, and you must be the champion of your future.

Rule 7: Be cautious about trying to change a difficult environment.

When we find ourselves with non-supportive management or non-strategic projects, we are tempted to analyze the situation to find a way to improve it. While this is appropriate problem-solving behavior, if you find yourself in the situation for an extended period of time, you need to realize that moving to another position may be the best answer for you. Differences in managerial style or personality conflicts can be detrimental to your career. Do everything you can to work collaboratively with a difficult manager, but realize that it may be beyond your ability to positively change the environment. Rather, look for a more supportive environment where you can excel. At one point in my career, I had a non-supportive manager, and despite my best efforts over the course of several years, I could not improve our working relationship. I transferred to another organization where my abilities and good performance were quickly recognized.

Rule 8: Find a mentor and a supportive environment.

Mentoring in general is a positive and proactive way of transferring knowledge and experience. There are two phases to mentoring. The initial phase is when you first join an organization and you need to learn the ropes to be productive in your job. The second phase of mentoring comes after you have established your expertise, when you are attracting managers who need your skills and want to leverage them. At this point you should take the initiative to seek these managers as mentors. The likelihood of successful mentoring in this case is strong, since these managers already appreciate and value your capabilities, and they will be supportive and act as your advocate. The first phase of mentoring is beneficial because you can learn the ropes faster and gain confidence more quickly than if you try to observe everything by yourself. The second phase of mentoring is beneficial because you join a network of people who can teach you a lot and sponsor you for positions of greater responsibility and visibility within the organization. Also, don’t neglect to seek out subordinates and mentor them so that you can pass on your knowledge and experience.

Rule 9: Work for several managers and study their styles.

People have different styles for communicating and managing. Observe the styles of successful managers, and identify the qualities that contribute to their effectiveness. Learn about these qualities and try to adopt them into your own way of doing things. Study various managers’ styles, and find a few whose styles are compatible with yours. Try to work for some of these managers, because when you work for someone whose style is compatible with yours, it is easier to learn from them and work collaboratively to reach organizational goals.

Rule 10: Show leadership qualities and communicate results effectively.

If you want to be recognized as a leader, you need to demonstrate your leadership abilities by fostering good relationships and a team spirit among peers, upper management, subordinates, and customers; understanding the business and driving technical excellence and innovation, which leads to important new opportunities; managing conflict, drawing out and identifying critical issues in personal interactions, and negotiating resolutions; instilling a feeling of respect in others by showing integrity and a sincere interest in people; exhibiting excellent listening skills and a willingness to be open to suggestion; attracting and motivating good people, and helping to make them outstanding.

Make your presentations simple, focused, and to-the-point. Communicate results that are clearly aligned with business objectives and have high business value impact. Emphasize how you achieved high-quality results while delivering on schedule and within budget. Be sure to include specific qualitative information about your achievement, such as business impact (savings or revenue), use of leading-edge technologies, managing teams across organizational boundaries to meet very aggressive commitments, and taking charge of new or struggling projects to make them successful.

Rule 11: Be aware that you are being evaluated every day.

Try to do your best at all times, knowing that your participation is evaluated every day. Each person that works with you will form an opinion about your effectiveness, capabilities, and expertise. This is especially true of your superiors, who will judge your performance every time they have contact with you. These opinions will affect your performance evaluations and any management decisions made when career opportunities arise.

Rule 12: See yourself through the eyes of others.

Become aware of the value systems and objectives of those you work with, especially the leadership in your business. Try to see yourself through their eyes so that you can align your efforts with their priorities and identify the contributions that are supportive of their objectives. With this increased understanding and awareness, you can improve your performance by focussing on high priority business initiatives, enhancing your working relationship with your manager, and effectively communicating the impact of your contributions.

Rule 13: Be patient – time spent at current level may be important.

Don’t be too eager to advance to the next level; you may not be ready yet to perform effectively at that level. There are certain skills to learn at each level that will help you be effective at the next level. If you are promoted too soon, you may perform only marginally in your new position, and your evaluation will reflect that level of performance. It may be difficult or even impossible to overcome that initial impression. On the other hand, when you are ready to be promoted, you are most likely to quickly be successful in your new position, and create a favorable initial impression of your abilities.

Rule 14: You can not control everything.

You can plan your career, be dedicated, and deliver on commitments with high business value. However, there are circumstances beyond your control that may cause you disappointment. At these times it doesn’t help to look back and fret about what should have happened. Keep looking to the present and future, and focus on things you have some control over. Continue to make your best effort toward achieving your goals, and keep learning from your experiences.

Rule 15: Don’t overlook the role of luck.

Many times an achievement results from being in the right place at the right time, which involves some degree of luck. Many of us are equally deserving of advancement, but the role of luck may be a factor in who actually gets ahead. To make luck work for you, be alert and capture opportunities for being at the right place, at the right time. Following Rules 1 through 14 above will enhance your ability to realize these opportunities.

Why we choose careers that don’t make us happy - Part 1

2008-08-11T19:51:00.000+04:00

Human behaviour is influenced by our perception of the world and other people and events in it.When we look back on some of the choices we have made,there is always this feeling of what might have been.What if we had gone to a different college. What if we had not taken up that 1st job.

About me, I chose(or rather my parents) to study computer science and engineering on the year Y2k.Not that this is a bad choice for many. But it simply was the wrong choice for a person like me.I struggled through this course for 4 years. Programming lab exams were always a nightmare. I had been a pretty good student all throughout school. Now I was "average".Whatever that means.

But as luck would have it, I still got through a campus interview and landed my first job as an application developer(read programmer) at a medium-sized company.But here the matter got worse. From being average I went down to below average.....:-(

That year I wrote several competitive exams CAT,GRE, SCJP for programmer certification.I flunked the 1st and last and got a decent score in GRE.But my parents decided not to spend 15-20 lakhs and send me to US.They decided it was better off to get me married and registered my name on KeralaMatrimony instead. ....To be continued

Food for thought

2008-08-05T20:12:00.000+04:00

Recently received the following message as a forward from one of my friends:

New Exam pattern in India (Revised):

1. General students - Answer ALL questions.

2. OBC - WRITE ANY one question!

3. SC - ONLY READ questions!!!!

4. ST - THANKS FOR COMING........

AND

5. GUJJARS & JATS - THANKS FOR ALLOWING OTHERS TO ATTEND THE EXAMINATION .. !!

CHEERS TO RESERVATION......

Same day came across the below article as well:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Now_IITs_face_shortage_of_students_/articleshow/3319507.cms
Its high time the government realise that real talent has got nothing to do with the caste or upbringinf of a person it is something inherent. Not giving an opportunity to real talent to grow will result in a loss to this nation.

Wake up atleast now..........

Quotes on Time Management

2008-08-05T20:07:00.000+04:00

"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." - William Penn

"Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week." -Charles Richards

"Time = life; therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life."- Alan Lakein
"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you." -Carl Sandburg
"A man who dares to waste one hour of life has not discovered the value of life." - Charles Darwin

"Make use of time, let not advantage slip" -William Shakespeare

"Those who make the worse use of their time are the first to complain of its shortness." - Jean De La Bruyere

"Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year - and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!" -Anthony Robbins

"If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got." -Lee Iacocca

"Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions"John Randolph

"Until you value yourself, you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it." - M. Scott Peck

"Your greatest resource is your time." - Brian Tracy

"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot." - Michael Altshuler

"Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can’t afford to lose" -Thomas Edison
"Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else." - Peter F. Drucker
"You will never “find” time for anything. If you want time, you must make it." -Charles Bruxton
"What may be done at any time will be done at no time." - Scottish Proverb

Reading: A dying hobby?

2008-07-13T21:01:00.000+04:00

Reading is a habit that evolves from childhood. In the age of television, reading books is not as important as it once was. People can learn as much by watching TV as they can by reading books. Before the advent of the erstwhile cable TV. There were only 2 channels in India then, DD National and DD metro. Kids back then didn’t have too many distractions. Computers and Internet had not yet descended on the masses as they have today. Reading was a habit inculcated by many in their childhood. There was a lot of fun in discussing about Nancy Drew, Famous five, and Secret seven. Today after a full day at school, tuitions and then babysitters. Viewing any channel from NDTV to ESPN to even FTV the children have no time to discuss what’s in rather than discuss the intricacies of a book.

With the advent of so many channels, especially news channels in the foray we get up to date news and all information from TV itself, so what is the point in reading one might ask. Well, reading is like a hobby that one has to cultivate from an early age in life. It helps improve one’s thought process and also improves the person’s grasp of a language.

Nowadays nobody wants to learn any language thoroughly. You can grasp the language that you use for speaking directly from listening to radio or watching TV. But in order to catch the grammatical nitty-gritty’s of a language, one must sit back and read magazines and books with a good amount of concentration.

Let’s start by weighing the advantages of possessing good reading habits. For starters, it improves our speed of reading which is vital to many students as most competitive exams are for a span of 3 hours and having a really good speed of reading helps us like more than anything else.

Being a voracious reader another thing I have felt is that reading stretched one’s imagination. And reading inspires you to think like the author and try to guess what comes next in the novel.

Another aspect of reading is vocabulary improvement. We come across many words which we do not use in our day-to-day life in books. Having a good vocabulary is always an added advantage.

Reading as a hobby should never die. In this age of eBooks we rarely see people sitting and reading except for while traveling long hours in a bus or train.

Dubai Woes

2008-06-02T20:24:00.000+04:00

Dubai and Sharjah are definitely amongst the top ten worst planned cities of the world. While most people living outside of Dubai are unaware of this.It's high time the administrative bodies of these cities note the fact and make some changes about this.

Each city or Emirate as it is known here is ruled by a different ruler. And between them there is no unity or harmony, and who suffers because of this? Ya no points for guessing.....the middle class as always.

Well you might ask who is middle class here. While there is no clear line of demarcation, it practically refers to the entire working expatriate population minus the priveleged Europeans, Americans and the other white-skinned races. While the former makes up about 90% of the population, there is nothing done to ease their misery in these cities and if anything something new is added to their cup of woes everyday.

Yesterday practically everyone took 2-3 hours to reach offices from their homeS(We are talking of a distance of 10-15 kms here). There will soon be tolls on all major highways very soon. As if all this is not enough , they will be introducing VAT (value added tax). Rents are extremely high, there is no good public transport facility.It was already a nightmare to live here, now how on earth do we survive? Is anybody from the municipality even listening.We continue to crib endlessly. And they continue to turn a deaf ear to our pleas consistently.

The Unaccustomed Earth - A review

2008-05-31T20:53:00.000+04:00

While Jhumpa Lahiri is definitely one of the best writers of her generation, she has 1 drawback. And that is, she knows very little about India other than Bengal. And this is what the 3rd novel also highlights like its 2 predecessors. All her female characters sport large bindis are round faced, and wear cotton sarees and put vermilion on their hair partitions. The Bengali men are even more boring stereotypes. Her attention to detail is commendable but I wish she had more knowledge about India other than the ‘dirty Kolkata’.

That there’s more to life here other than the main protagonist’s relative’s death and funerals is not known to the author. If she wants to attract more readers from the Indian sub continent she had better extend her reach beyond Bengal. Well we can’t expect much more from NRI’s like Jhumpa who come to India once in a Blue moon. But atl least she has got the talent to write meaningful stuff about India. Then why not use that and not write these repetitive type of stories.

Loneliness.. continued.

2008-05-30T21:36:00.000+04:00

The day started with reading "The 3 mistakes of my life" to watching an "Inconvenient truth" and "What women want". Like I said you sometimes value the loneliness and for me this is one of those times. But I am enjoying it now. After a long time I finished a novel of fiction in 3 days flat, despite hectic work days. But even though I didn’t like the One night at a call center, I still picked up the 3rd book of Chetan Bhagat. This one begs to differ from the earlier 2 books and I think it is by far the best of his works. So that 100 bucks spent on this book was well worth it. The other thing I did was to watch a movie or rather 2 movies, The inconvenient truth.It forces us to think a lot, but what can we do to change this world anyway.

I liked the saying in the film:

What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just aint so.

Well , that just about winds up half of the weekend. Let's see what we can do tommorrow.

What I like about Chennai - a Woman's Perspective

2008-05-28T20:22:00.000+04:00

Chennai could be defined as a city where the old world charm meets the new world. This being the city that I was born and brought up in, will always remain close to my heart.

Chennai is a metropolitan city located on the South East coast of India, and it was an important port city while India was being ruled by the British Raaj. Hence there is a bit of British influence in the architecture in some parts. That coupled with the glass framed modern buildings of the IT companies is what I mentioned as the place where the old meets new. While these modern structures are the signs of growth of the city, the old buildings are the remnants of history and a bygone era.

Chennai boasts of a large number of good educational institutes which were started long ago by different Christian missionary groups. Most notable among these institutes include Loyola College, MCC and the Presidency College among others. Apart from these it boasts of a number of Engineering Colleges situated in and around the city catering to the ever demanding IT industry.

Chennai is amongst the safest cities in India especially for women. But for a few untoward eve-teasing cases, it is by and large a place where crimes committed against the women are less as compared to other places in India. But of course with changing culture this aspect of safety is also changing. But nevertheless I do feel safe even if I am traveling alone in this city in the evenings.

Political pressures are there, but this doesn’t affect the masses as much as it would in other metropolitans. Crime rates are maintained a moderate levels. And (touch wood) terrorist attacks are yet to strike this city and that itself is a big boon.

Another charming feature of this place is the temples. The most notable among them is perhaps the Kapaleeswarar Temple in Mylapore. Apart from this famous temple there is the Marundeeswarar Temple at Thiruvanmiyur, Hanuman temple at Nanganallur, Sai Baba temple among a host of others (there is at least a small temple on practically every street in Chennai). On a festival day the crowds thronging to these temples are indeed a sight to behold.

Chennai is also home to the second largest beach in the world, the Marina Beach. Apart from this there is the Elliot’s Beach at Besant Nagar (School goers and college goers hang-outs), Thiruvanmiyur Beach and so on which basically dots the eastern coastal areas.

An essay on Chennai is not complete without mentioning the rich cultural heritage that exists here. You want to witness the culture in its entire element? Come to Chennai in December during the Music and Dance Festival. It is a must - see experience and the climate is also at its best during this period. Oh yes most people joke that Chennai has only three climes namely hot, hotter and hottest. While I don’t disagree with that drawback, I still canvas that one should come to this place in the month of December.

On an ending note, I wish this city would continue its growth and development in the same manner it has been doing all these years. And hope that it would be one of the best and most livable cities in India over time.

Loneliness is always looking for a friend

2008-05-28T20:16:00.000+04:00

Loneliness, a topic that I almost always come back to at some point of time or the other. It has been a part of me from since I can remember. I have been left out in the family, in a circle of friends, in a job! There are times I hated it, there are also times I valued it. These days even more so. But what is also heartening for me is that there are staggering statistics nowadays about the number of lonely people in this world. So I am not alone. Well, this comes as a surprise as we are now living in a world which has so many ways for us to connect. So why the loneliness?

What is loneliness? It is a frame of mind that occurs in every person at some point in time in life. But in some people even more so than others.

Spend your life as if there’s going to be no other. And watch the good moments multiply like never before. This is a sound advice to all those lonely people like me out there.

Why or how does one person become lonely? Sometimes we impose loneliness upon ourselves, sometimes it just comes and sticks with us. Like the Westlife song title. ……Loneliness knows me by name. Is there any cure for loneliness? I am still searching for one. For I would be the biggest benefactor of a such a cure if any.

Almost Single

2008-05-27T21:28:00.000+04:00

Indian authors ………

I don’t quite know why I picked up this book(Almost Single by Advaita Kala) from the Odyssey Bookshop when I went to Chennai in Nov 2007. But I just felt like picking it up on reading the story on the cover. The story inside lived up to the expectations I had on reading the cover. I am sure if my Mom or Dad had read it, they would never have liked it. But this is what refers to the mindset that a modern day working woman who is single or even otherwise might have.

I truly agree with some of the observations made by the author. And some incidents are rather thought provoking. Like the matrimony site for example, these things are absolutely true all throughout India whether it is South, North, East or West.

With young Indian authors like Chetan Bhagat, Advaita Kala and Tushar Raheja arriving on the circuit, Indian writing in English has become really much better and relates more to our contemporary living more than anything else. Hope more and more authors come up in the Indian writing line.

Sachin

2008-01-05T20:13:00.000+04:00

This is an article I like about Sachin : http://www.7days.ae/en/2007/03/28/sport-letters-25.html .

The content is as follows:

This is in response to some of the disheartening mails that came from the so-called Indian cricket fans maligning Sachin Tendulkar in 7DAYS on Sunday March 25th 2007.Recently when India won the series against West Indies and Sri Lanka the whole nation was agog with celebrations and suddenly India was touted as the top contenders to win the 2007 World Cup. Sachin Tendulkar Man of the Series in the series against West Indies. Do you think we would have made it to the 2003 World Cup finals without him?It was mainly his effort that made India a force to reckoned with.Why is he being blamed after all the effort this time?What happened to the other greats in the team?A World Cup should a collective team effort and not something won by a one-man army. Australia has proven this time and again. Why can't we learn a lesson from them?Why blame one person for the failure of 11 people?If you ask me, Sachin shouldn't play for India at all.He should play for a more grateful nation that remembers his talented game. What if Sachin had been an Australian, India would have stopped playing International Cricket at least 10 years ago!! Whatever wins India have had over the last 10 years have been only because of him.In the last two World Cups he was the top scorer, and in the World Cup 2003 he was the man of the series.How quickly people forget all this!I think 7DAYS shouldn't entertain this kind of negative publicity against a great player like Sachin.Always remember India will never have a batsman like Sachin ever again. And his retirement would only sound a death knell to the Indian cricket team.

Friends - Another good forward!

2007-09-28T15:38:00.001+04:00

In kindergarten your idea of a good friend was the person who let you have the red crayon when all that was left was the ugly black one.
In first grade your idea of a good friend was the person who went to the bathroom with you and held your hand as you walked through the scary halls.
In second grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you stand up to the class bully.
In third grade your idea of a good friend was the person who shared their lunch with you when you forgot yours on the bus.
In fourth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who was willing to switch square dancing partners in gym so you wouldn't have to be stuck do-si-do-ing with Nasty Nick or Smelly Susan.
In fifth grade your idea of a friend was the person who saved a seat on the back of the bus for you.
In sixth grade your idea of a friend was the person who went up to Nick or Susan, your new crush, and asked them to dance with you, so that if they said no you wouldn't have to be embarrassed.
In seventh grade your idea of a friend was the person who let you copy the social studies homework from the night before that you had.
In eighth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you pack up your stuffed animals and old baseball but didn't laugh at you when you finished and broke out into tears.
In ninth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who would go to a party thrown by a senior so you wouldn't wind up being the only freshman there.
In tenth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who changed their schedule so you would have someone to sit with at lunch.
In eleventh grade your idea of a good friend was the person who gave you rides in their new car, convinced your parents that you shouldn't be grounded, consoled you when you broke up with Nick or Susan, and found you a date to the prom.
In twelfth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you pick out a college/university, assured you that you would get into that college/university, helped you deal with your parents who were having a hard time adjusting to the idea of letting you go...
At graduation your idea of a good friend was the person who was crying on the inside but managed the biggest smile one could give as they congratulated you.
The summer after twelfth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you clean up the bottles from that party, helped you sneak out of the house when you just couldn't deal with your parents, assured you that now that you and Nick or you and Susan were back together, you could make it through anything, helped you pack up for university and just silently hugged you as you looked through blurry eyes at 18 years of memories you were leaving behind, and finally on those last days of childhood, went out of their way to give you reassurance that you would make it in college as well as you had these past 18 years, and most importantly sent you off to college knowing you were loved.
Now, your idea of a good friend is still the person who gives you the better of the two choices, holds your hand when you're scared, helps you fight off those who try to take advantage of you, thinks of you at times when you are not there, reminds you of what you have forgotten, helps you put the past behind you but understands when you need to hold on to it a little longer, stays with you so that you have confidence, goes out of their way to make time for you, helps you clear up your mistakes, helps you deal with pressure from others, smiles for you when they are sad, helps you become a better person, and most importantly loves you!

Good Movies in the past.

2007-09-28T15:03:00.000+04:00

One of the best blogs I have seen in recent times is this: from nariyal chutney on Malayalam films of the nineties. Please do take time off to ponder on this topic. It does make for good reading and pondering. Mr.Nariyal Chutney hats off to you for such a good blog. And hope you continue to write more like this.

For One More Day - Mitch Albom - A must read.

2007-09-04T13:21:00.000+04:00

"Mitch Albom mesmerized readers around the world with his number one New York Times bestsellers, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie. Now he returns with a beautiful, haunting novel about the family we love and the chances we miss.
For One More Day is the story of a mother and a son, and a relationship that covers a lifetime and beyond. It explores the question: What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one?

As a child, Charley “Chick” Benetto was told by his father, “You can be a mama’s boy or a daddy’s boy, but you can’t be both.” So he chooses his father, only to see the man disappear when Charley is on the verge of adolescence.

Decades later, Charley is a broken man. His life has been crumbled by alcohol and regret. He loses his job. He leaves his family. He hits bottom after discovering his only daughter has shut him out of her wedding. And he decides to take his own life.

He makes a midnight ride to his small hometown, with plans to do himself in. But upon failing even to do that, he staggers back to his old house, only to make an astonishing discovery. His mother -- who died eight years earlier -- is still living there, and welcomes him home as if nothing ever happened."

I am sure the above paragraphs could get a person interested enough and compel him/her to read this book. And that's precisely what I did when I saw this book with a friend of mine. I could hardly wait till she finished reading and passed on the book to me. And true to what was written on the cover the story was engrossing enough, that I found it difficult to put it down.
I have often felt what it would be like to go back to your past and modify it.Of course it is impossible, but what if we got a magic wand that could help us do it. A la Harry Potter! He was able to view a day in his life when his parents were still alive.(I am sorry if folks reading this do not know of Harry Potter!).But ya how would it be? Like Robert Frost says:-

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. "

I often wonder , what if I had taken the other road(made another choice). This book makes you reminisicice , look back with its subtle nuances. Most people can identify with this author.

But of course,if you are not a person who reads such sentimental stuff, better give it a miss. This is only meant for those who like to look back on life every once in a while.

Heights of Joblessness

2007-09-04T10:27:00.000+04:00

As usual I have reached office by 8.00 a.m. Again I don't have any work to do. How on earth should I while away time till 4.00 p.m.? When you sit for 3 whole days in a row with nothing particular to do, you only get negative thoughts in your head. There is a saying; an idle mind is a devil's workshop. I am determined not to make my mind a devil's workshop so I have decided to do what I know best to do, i.e., write! In a way it's good that they have invented the concept of blogs. You can take out your anger on nobody in particular without the risk of creating a fracas. So this time I am writing 3 best tips on how to while away time when you are idle, without doing something malicious like gossiping.

First of all, (this part applies to all those who have internet connection in their office) browse through all the newspaper websites. Since I am Indian and residing in the gulf, I go through the following sites: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ and www.gulfnews.com . You can spend about half an hour reading each of these. Next there is http://www.rediff.com . Here you get all kinds of articles ranging from stupid questions to really knowledgeable articles on any topic under the sun. Another option is to try and find some good blog sites. You will surprised to know there are quite a lot of people in this world who are just as jobless as you are , and some of them are quite creative and write pretty well. And the best part is you can remain anonymous when you go through their sites or when you reply to them.

If you do not have an internet connection, now this is a really sorry situation. What you can do best in such situations, save all the forwarded messages that you can get from friends (most people get a lot of them these days) from time to time. When you are idle read them all! This would be a good time for introspection, and some factors of your life could improve who knows! Another way is to get some downloaded e-books (pdfs) and read them. Surely somebody who has the internet connection can download and give them to you.

Last but not the least, try to find somebody as idle as you are and go for a break. There is nothing quite like an intellectual conversation especially when you are down in the dumps and you feel that you are totally useless. You might learn something from these conversations. It could be anything starting from your work to diverse cultural backgrounds to sports and politics (stay away from office politics though, cause even walls have ears and you might draw some flak,and that's something you didnt bargain for).

And if you dont find somebody like that and the afore mentioned 2 tips are also not possible because you have your boss looking over your shoulder or snoopy colleagues who are waiting for a chance to ridicule your importance because of your joblessness then God help you, just like I am hoping he will help me today!!

Waste of time!

2007-08-25T13:14:00.001+04:00

I saw the movie ‘Hey baby’ last nite. Such a silly movie if there ever was one. But since I haven’t watched much of this slapstick comedy especially in Hindi, I am sure there have been worse ones. I thought that “Bhagam Bhag” was the biggest disaster I have seen in recent times. But ‘Hey baby’ makes even that movie look like an Oscar Winning product.

It has an ageing Akshay Kumar playing a Casanova!! Please it’s a little difficult to believe that all women fall for this guy, just like that without any rhyme or reason. Fardeen and Ritesh are his buddies. All 3 are basically jobless (Akshay gets fired from his job as a discotheque manager, Fardeen is supposed to be a bookie, And Ritesh a guy who dresses like a mascot at parties). But these jobless guys stay in a pretty good apartment. Really wonder if it is possible to get such apartments for jobless folks in Australia!! And all three keep chasing women, until one fine day a baby is abandoned outside their door. What follows after that is complete mayhem which is sometimes funny, but mostly dragging.

It is already a remake of an English film titled "3 men and a baby." But alas this one fails to live up to even being a good copy of the original. Wish I had spent the money wasted on the ticket(25 AED (275 Indian Rupees)in Sharjah) on buying a decent book and sitting at home. Anyway this flick ought to come out on TV in a couple of months.

Poetic Resignation

2007-08-25T09:32:00.000+04:00

Now the below forward I got last week is what I call true Creativity!!. And this reflects the mindset of most people in almost all great Software Companies!Maybe I shall write a review of this poem in my next blog, what say!!

The name is good, the brand is big
But the work I do is that of a pig
The work or the brand; what is my way?
I don't know if I should stay.
To work, they have set their own way
Nobody will care to hear what I say
My will be NULL, they wont change their way
I don't know if I should stay.
The project is in a critical stage
But to do good work, this is the age
This dilemma is killing me day by day
I don't know if I should stay.
The money is good, the place is great
But the development is at a very small rate
Should I go for the work, or wait for pay
I don't know if I should stay!
The managers don't know what they talk
The team doesn't know where they walk
That's a bad situation, what say?
I don't know if I should stay.
I can go to any other place
But what if I get the same disgrace
I can't keep switching day by day I don't know if I should stay.
The -ves are more, the +ves are less
Then why have this unnecessary mess
No more will I walk their way, It's all done, I won't stay.
Thanks & Regards Employee

BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS

2007-08-25T09:28:00.000+04:00

This is another one among the countless forwards I have got ever since I became a software programmer, but who knows when some people are bored with work, maybe they will read this. Some things mentioned here really are quite useful.

BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS:

1. No Breakfast
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level.
This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing
brain degeneration.
2. Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in
mental power.
3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.
4. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients
causingmalnutrition and may interfere with brain development.
5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling
polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing
about a decrease in brain efficiency.
6. Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will
accelerate the death of brain cells.
7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon
dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain
damaging effects.
8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in
effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.
9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain
stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.
10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The main causes of liver damage are:
1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.
2. Not urinating in the morning.
3. Too much eating.
4. Skipping breakfast.
5. Consuming too much medication.
6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring , and
artificial sweetener.
7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking
oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like
olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if
the body is very fit.
8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver.
Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should
be finished in one sitting, do not store.
We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have
to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good
eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to
absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to "schedule."

Because :
Evening at 9 - 11 PM : is the time for eliminating unnecessary/toxic
chemicals (detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes).
This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music.
If during this time a housewife is still in an unrelaxed state such as
washing the dishes or monitoring children doing their homework, this
will have a negative impact on health.
Evening at 11pm - 1 am : is the detoxification process in the liver,
and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state.
Early morning 1 - 3 am : detoxification process in the gall, also
ideally done in a deep sleep state.
Early morning 3 - 5 am : detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there
will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time.
Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract,
there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with
toxin removal process.
Morning 5 - 7am : detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.
Morning 7 - 9 am : absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you
should be having breakfast at this time.Breakfast should be earlier,
before 6:30 am , for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30 am is
very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip
breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to
eat breakfast late until 9 - 10 am rather than no meal at all.
Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of
removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am
is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a
good sleep and don't sleep late.

DO TAKE CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH.................
AND PASS THIS TO ALL WHOM YOU CARE FOR .....................

About Creative Writing- 1

2007-08-25T09:12:00.000+04:00

Creative Writing is an art by itself. In the past I have had the opportunities to participate in quite a few creative writing competitions both in school and college. I have never won any competitions, but the satisfaction of participating in it, as well as comparing yourself with the Winners, gave me a good idea of where I was going wrong.

Time passed and as life dragged on , I forgot what it was to write creatively such that you grab the readers attention and sustain it for a longer period of time.

Now I have decided to write atleast something from my own perspective on things around me.The ability to find a good subject that sustains readers interest is eluding me now. So I have decided to write on everything that I find interesting for now.

I read this in an essay emailed to me long ago, I couldnt have agreed more with the author on this aspect:"While perceiving the theme is important for any form of writing, the ability to pen down the thoughts with excellent written communication skills is of equal importance. The secret to mastering this art is no overnight affair but requires tremendous toiling - which would include voracious reading and continuous writing habits. The more you read - and whatever you read from any discipline of study enlarges your imagination from a wider spectrum."

I read a lot of books, so I have decided that I shall start my creative writing sessions by writing my own reviews for all favourite books(that is quite a large number). This should keep me occupied for some time!!

My First Blog

2007-06-03T19:27:00.000+04:00

Atlast I am making my first step into the world of bloggers. To start with I shall give a brief description about me. I am among those confused souls in life who basically went into IT because everybody around me thought it was the best thing to do and have regretted it ever since.

Given a choice , I would have become an English schoolteacher. But of course the remuneration for such a profession would have been 1/3rd of my current salary. That, and the fact that these days people only talk about their ever-increasing salaries in the IT profession and onsite opportunities have forced me to stick to this profession though I really hate it.

I am a java programmer(Now , now I know there are tens of thousands of Java programmers in this world). But I happen to be among them even though I dont like it.I am a voracious reader, and I started reading novels since the age of 7. I do dream of being a good writer some day. But for the time being I have put that hope on the back burner.

Apart from reading I love listening to music. All type of music that too! My kind of ideal life would be to curl up on the sofa listening to music and reading the books I love all the time. But since they dont pay for doing this I have to do some Java programming daily in order to sustain myself in this world.

I am basically a lazy person, too lazy for my own liking.I take things easily and this has led me in to many troubles from time to time. I am not a very ambitious person. I used to be. But these days I have just given up hope, as nothing works the way I want it to.

I dont have too many friends, why ? well I dont have a correct answer for that. Not that I dont like socialising. But from my childhood my parents have taught me to be weary of friends , so as a result I dont really trust anybody quickly. And thus I maintain my distance from people even if they really mean well.

Why did I name this blog as return-2-innocence? Well I first heard or rather saw the video of the song Return to innocence by Enigma on MTV, and somehow the theme, and the title of this song brought many connotations to my mind. Why not go back to those good old days where life was rid of all this violence and strife that people face on a daily basis?

I have only one recurring dream. Of returning to my childhood home in Chennai, Tamilnadu , India and suddenly all those people I was close to in my childhood are present there in order to welcome me.Like all my other dreams I know that this also wont happen, but heck whats wrong in dreaming??