Wanderer

Lesson for the day

2009-03-13T14:54:00.001+05:30

How not to decide on gift: Let five women brainstorm :o

Lesson for the day

2009-03-09T12:02:00.000+05:30

If you see your boss happy for no apparent reason, dont ask him "hey you look very happy today, is there any gud news???"...

its likely to put him on guard and make him wear his serious / bossy hat again

bored...

2008-11-29T17:25:00.000+05:30

Indian Bindra wins men's 10m air rifle gold...

2008-08-11T10:30:00.001+05:30

Gold medal in olympics, a first in my lifetime...unbeleivable

The high cost of low price

2008-07-24T22:54:00.002+05:30

Today I had one more of the know-all socialist with a conscience types trying to convince me that government subsidies are good and the fact government is or trying to shield the consumers from rising oil and commodities prices is infact good. Hmm...I can understand where he is coming from, all through our lives we have been educated that government is good and it can solve all our problems. All we need to do is look to the government and abra ka dabra all our problems vanish. If only it were that simple.

What people fail to understand is the cost of subsidizing oil is the unending power cuts faced by households all over the country, non stop traffic jams faced by motorists, overcrowded public transport systems, reduced spending on research and development of newer and cleaner technologies. Because the money spent in subsidizing oil would otherwise have been spent on power plants, roads, public transport and research.

While protecting the poorest of the poor from price volatility in the short term is a good idea, in the long run subsidies do more harm than good. If an educated white collar worker in a city does not get this trade off how will the aam admi get it, the biggest challenge before the political class and media is how to communicate this trade off to the people?

Sangam Cinemas: Poised to fill the void in Chennai theater scene

2008-07-19T23:04:00.003+05:30

In the past 2 years when I was away studying outside, chennai has made rapid strides. The modern retail boom has caught up, the quality and variety of restaurants, cafes, pubs and other hangout places have grown dramatically. Hell! even the number of radio stations has increased with one even playing english music sometimes, much to my pleasant surprise. The interesting thing is these changes are not restricted to South Madras where the IT boom is centered but also to central madras and to some extent north madras regions. While the retail outlets, restaurants, hangout joints and even services like high end beauty parlors have spread all over the city access to quality movie theaters in central and north madras has not improved. Sathyam, Mayajaal and City Center remain the only options for the young educated while collar workers in the age group of 25-35 when it comes to English movies.
Ega and Abirami have tried screening English movies in the past but have failed to attract sufficient audience. This is not surprising considering the poor infrastructure these theaters have. Is there a market for another quality English movie theater in Central and North madras? are you kidding me with areas like Annanagar, Chetpet, Kipauk, Kellys, Purasaiwakkam the region is packed with middle and upperclass households with large disposable incomes. With no quality offering nearby all of them now endup at Sathyam cinemas every week...with the kind of supply demand mismatch especially in the weekends and traffic problems all of them would readily switch to other options near to their homes if given an option.
In this context Sangam cinemas can easily become the preferred choice for this audience and consequently move up the value chain as it has many things going for it

1) Located at the Poonamallee High Road Kilpauk
2) Easily accessible in terms of road connectivity
3) Good infrastructure (ambiance, parking, sound, etc etc)
4) Has started to play English movies regularly

However IMO to succeed in moving up the valuechain it will have to take a few steps

Make sure that the guy who picks up the telephone knows english...if you want to attract a cosmopolitan crowd then we need to communicate with him in the global language
Employ more security staff in case the some people disturb the audience while the movie is playing
Improve the Cafe in terms of variety
Price the tickets higher (for heavens sake we dont want friggin whistling and hooting during a power packed dialog or a touching romantic scene)...
Increase the number of shows during weekends

Sangam has a lot of potential...I hope it becomes the next sathyam of chennai....Gook luck

Free Ringtones

2008-02-05T17:43:00.000+05:30

Have won a free ringtone in a lays packet. Have no use for it so am posting the coupon number for some one to benefit.

SMS CCCN09 for Nokia/Samsung mobiles and CCCP09 for other mobiles to 9972040000.

Have fun ;)

Baggage from the past

2007-12-12T22:23:00.000+05:30

Its ironical that the elected representative of the students of the leading B School's (at least IIM-A and XLRI) in the country is called General Secretary.

Others who use the title include...

* The official title of the de-facto leader of the Soviet Union was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin is known to be the first to elevate the position from the former meaning to the latter. For a time the position was known as the First Secretary. See List of leaders of the Soviet Union for other bearers of these titles.

* The term General Secretary often refers to the Secretary-General of an organization such as the Secretary-General of the United Nations or Secretary-General of the League of Nations. Also called the Executive Secretary in the case of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

* The General Secretary (or First Secretary) may also be the title used by the head of a political party or group. This meaning is often associated with communist organizations. However, in some Communist parties such as the Communist Party of China under Mao Zedong, the highest position was that of Party Chairman though in other Communist parties this was a titular position.

* The General Secretary may also be the head of a trade union, particularly in the United Kingdom or another association such as a federation of agriculture or farmer's union or a co-operative.

* The General Secretary may also be the head of a Church or a Church Organization, such as a National Council of Churches or the World Council of Churches.

I mean it was cool during Indira's time but its time to move on. Lets call him CEO, what say?

Free Downloads at Rs 6 :o

2007-12-04T18:07:00.001+05:30

Have been receiving lots of spam SMS's from Reliance smart of late. Check the latest one

FREE Download
Ringtone,
Dedicate Songs
from New
Releases Taare
Zameen Par,
Rama Rama Kya
Hai Dramaa and
more in Movie
Review
Section.Dial
563006
@ Rs 6/Min

Thanks, but no thanks...
I do not want Free Downloads at Rs 6...
Really I'm serious

ps: Is there any way I can make them shut the spam off???

Global Warming: Fact or Fiction?

2007-12-04T13:21:00.000+05:30

With the new Australian prime minister ratifying the Kyoto protocol the knives are drawn over global warming debate. This assumes increased significance before the US presidential elections as it remains the last country yet to sign the dotted line. Consequently the debate has exploded with both side trying to present evidence to support their case

Yale Global

As evidence of climate change is increasingly accepted, the need to counter the phenomenon becomes more pressing. The Kyoto Protocol has been in effect since early 2005, and yet less than 800 million out of the world’s 6.6 billion people live in countries that have agreed to reduce emissions. Since then, carbon emissions continue to climb and deforestation has intensified. Without the support of the most populous nations, China and India, as well as the largest economy of the US, no international effort can sufficiently fight climate change. As the world discusses post-Kyoto plans in Bali, the focus will be on prescribing methods to prevent further climate change, by lowering emissions, as well as helping the places already battling climate change to adapt.

CapMag

Little noted during all the headlines concerning Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize was the fact that it was shared with the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Among skeptical scientists I know, the emails were flying. Several had served as part of the vast array of scientists whose opinions on the various IPCC draft reports were requested and then ignored.

A lot of these expert reviewers are among the 2,000 scientists that the IPCC and Al Gore are always citing as being part of the “consensus” on global warming. The problem for both is that many really, really, really disagree that any planet-threatening global warming is occurring.

One of them is Dr. Vincent Gray, a New Zealand-based climate scientist who has been a part of the reviewing process since the IPCC came into being. He is one of those scientists who will not and cannot be shut up despite the din of the IPCC propaganda.

American Chronicle

As global warming causes temperatures to rise in the oceans, glaciers and icecaps are melting more rapidly. One particular ice shelf in Antarctica, the northern section of the Larson B shelf, collapsed in recent years. Scientists got a rude awakening when they realized how fast the ice shelf could disintegrate.

The polar ice cap is disappearing at an astonishing rate as well. It is dissolving at 9% per decade. This aspect of global warming is a definite cause for alarm. In the last 40-50 years, the thickness of ice in the Arctic has decreased by 40%. The ice that is present on earth is beneficial to maintain the delicate balance of the environment.

Wm. Robert Johnston

A common public perception is that global warming will accelerate the melting of polar ice sheets, causing sea level to rise. A common scientific position is that the volume of grounded Antarctic ice is slowly growing, and will damp future sea-level rise. At present, studies supporting recent shrinkage or growth depend on limited measurements that are subject to high temporal and regional variability, and it is too early to say how the Antarctic ice sheet will behave in a warmer world

Whom do I believe?

Bookmarking made easy: Google notebook

2007-11-25T22:03:00.000+05:30

Google has done it yet again :), Some companies always manage to surprise you when you least expect it, google is one such company. Of late I have taken to reading stuff online a lot. So much so that nowadays I spend close to 5 hrs a day doing just that. The problem with that is keeping track of the stuff you like with the many interesting things that you keep stumbling across all the time. Till date I was using del.icio.us to help manage information that I like, Not elegant but simple and powerful I thought. However its popup windows were a little irritating. It also could not handle images or text that form parts of web pages or handle links that google search throws up. I should never have looked beyond google it seems

Today I discovered the power of
Google Notebooks
Google Bookmarks
Google Toolbar
which when combined with Google Reader, Google Desktop and ofcourse Google Search deliver the best browsing experience I've ever had. Google rocks :d

Dates...

2007-11-01T21:23:00.000+05:30

I soooo wish this were true in India...

Obviously, boys no longer have to call girls on Wednesday for a Saturday date. Now, college boys seeking weekend hookups send girls "U busy?" text messages at 2 or 3 a.m., and girls routinely rouse themselves and go, according to Ms. Stepp's research. Many girls spend the next day clutching their cellphones, waiting in vain for the boy to call.

[link]
All hail the western culture

Quotas: Alternatives to government intervention

2007-10-30T12:19:00.000+05:30

USA law firms and students have taken an interesting approach to resolve the painful and divisive issue of diversity and opportunity in their industry. The students grade them on the level of workforce diversity and publish the report card. Then it is up to the student community and the clients to decide if they wanted to do business with a particular firm.

The students have ambitious plans, including asking elite schools to restrict recruiting by firms at the bottom of their rankings. They also plan to send the rankings to the general counsels of the Fortune 500 companies with the suggestion that they be used in selecting lawyers.

“Firms that want the best students will be forced to respond to the market pressures that we’re creating,” said Andrew Bruck, a law student at Stanford and a leader of the project.

In a globalized world where there is international concern about caste based discrimination such report cards might be exactly what the doctor would prescribe to Indian industry.

Sarko takes a cue from Modi

2007-10-29T22:01:00.000+05:30

French president Sarkozy walked out of the CBS interview when the interviewer broached on uncomfortable questions regarding his personal life...

Looks like he has taken cue from our own Narendra Modi...

Free Blowjobs :o;

2007-10-28T15:03:00.000+05:30

Check this Ad out...

Affirmative Action does not work

2007-10-27T10:18:00.000+05:30

A study published in the Stanford Law Review concludes that Affirmative action has not worked in US

More pointedly, from the Fox news link

Known as the ‘mismatch’ effect, Sander claims students who are unprepared and whose academic credentials are below the median are admitted to law schools they are unqualified to attend. If those same students instead were to go to less elite or competitive schools, more would graduate, pass the bar and become lawyers.

from the original paper

blacks are the victims of law school programs of affirmative action, not the beneficiaries. The programs set blacks up for failure in school, aggravate attrition rates, turn the bar exam into a major hurdle, disadvantage most blacks in the job market, and depress the overall production of black lawyers. Whites, in contrast, arguably benefit from preferences in a number of ways. Whites have higher grades because blacks and other affirmative action beneficiaries fill most of the lower ranks; whites are the most obvious beneficiaries of the diversity produced by affirmative action programs; it is even plausible to argue that bar passage rates are kept high to avoid embarrassingly high failure rates by minority exam-takers.

Maximising the consumer surplus

2007-10-21T12:12:00.000+05:30

An interesting pricing model...

Radiohead gave up its music for free and asked for donations, whatever fans deemed reasonable, in return. What the band got was an average of $8 per album sold, bringing estimates of profit to about $10 million. Not too shabby for one week. The number of albums sold in the past week exceeded the launch week sales of its three previous albums combined.

While the concept has been used before in service sectors like Cafes and Restaurants before, it would be surprising if this mechanism remains sustainable for an impersonal channel like online music downloads.

Beauty vs. Business

2007-10-21T11:37:00.000+05:30

What a classy and honest exchange...:o

THIS APPEARED ON CRAIG’S LIST

What am I doing wrong?

Okay, I’m tired of beating around the bush. I’m a beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I’m articulate and classy.
I’m not from New York . I’m looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don’t think I’m overreaching at all.

Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around 200 - 250. But that’s where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won’t get me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she’s not as pretty as I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level?

Here are my questions specifically:

- Where do you single rich men hang out? Give me specifics- bars, restaurants, gyms

-What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you won’t hurt my feelings

-Is there an age range I should be targeting (I’m 25)?

- Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the upper east side so plain? I’ve seen really ‘plain jane’ boring types who have nothing to offer married to incredibly wealthy guys. I’ve seen drop dead gorgeous girls in singles bars in the east village. What’s the story there?

- Jobs I should look out for? Everyone knows - lawyer, investment banker, doctor. How much do those guys really make? And where do they hang out? Where do the hedge fund guys hang out?

- How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am looking for MARRIAGE ONLY

Please hold your insults - I’m putting myself out there in an honest way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I’m being up front about it. I wouldn’t be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn’t able to match them - in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a nice home and hearth.

it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 432279810

THE ANSWER
Dear Pers-431649184:

I read your posting with great interest and have thought meaningfully about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament.
Firstly, I’m not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who fits your bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here’s how I see it.

Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a crappy business deal. Here’s why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I bring my money. Fine, simple. But here’s the rub, your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity…in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won’t be getting any more beautiful!

So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation accelerates! Let me explain, you’re 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!

So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy and hold…hence the rub…marriage. It doesn’t make good business sense to “buy you” (which is what you’re asking) so I’d rather lease. In case you think I’m being cruel, I would say the following. If my money were to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It’s as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.

Separately, I was taught early in my career about efficient markets. So, I wonder why a girl as “articulate, classy and spectacularly beautiful”
as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy. I find it hard to believe that if you are as gorgeous as you say you are that the $500K hasn’t found you, if not only for a tryout.

By the way, you could always find a way to make your own money and then we wouldn’t need to have this difficult conversation.

With all that said, I must say you’re going about it the right way.
Classic “pump and dump.”
I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of lease, let me know.

PS: as an aside the postings have provoked concerns about e-mail propriety and political correctness here

Philosophy of flattery and stupidity

2007-10-11T22:39:00.000+05:30

Often the most profound observations are made during the most meaningless conversations. Today was one such day...

On the way back to the hostel with Tikku we noticed a flirt giving some codswallop to two females that went along these line

Guy:Its so much fun when you are around. After you left we were so bored yaa.
Girls: Giggle-Giggle now we are together only no.?
Guy: Guffaw!!!....blah-blah (perhaps already thinking about whom to target next)

Dazed by what I had just heard, I turned around and made a remark that in hindsight was slightly sexist...

How come the flirts so sure that the girls are stupid enough to buy such tripe?

Tikku being tikku made me realise my folly immediately with this gem

Stupid are those who are stupid. Stupid are those who think stupid are not stupid

WTF?

2007-10-10T22:19:00.000+05:30

Are you one of those MBA students with work-ex? Ever wondered if you made the right choice in leaving that plush job in IT to join the B-School of your dreams??? The roi calculator from NITIE should help you decide :d

Motor Insurance: Thieving in the name of theft

2007-09-25T14:44:00.000+05:30

Auto Insurance companies, The General Insurance Council and the Transport ministry are jointly working on introduction of a specific rule that will make installation of anti-theft devices in motor vehicles and two-wheelers compulsory. The proposed legislation would be applicable for all vehicle owners, both existing and new <link>.

General Insurance Council the representative body of non-life insurers, both public and private sector has tried to justify this move by saying

"Theft is turning out to be a menace for car insurers as well as owners. General insurers lose Rs 1,000 crore every year. As much as 15% of all motor vehicles claims are for theft. Claims paid every year for theft is collected from vehicle owners in the form of increased premium. In the process customers lose. This is a risk-mitigation measure for benefit of owners"

Theft it seems is rampant and plagues the Insurance industry

According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) as many as 66,000 two-wheelers and 14,000 cars were stolen in 2005. Highest incidences of theft were reported in Delhi, followed by Mumbai and Bangalore both for two-wheelers and passenger cars.
blockquote>

And what more the Insurance companies promise that customers would benefit from immediate savings

“Currently, insurers offer a flat discount of Rs 400 if anti-theft devices are installed. This may rise to about 10% of premiums paid after the general insurance industry is detariffed,”

The auto industry is lobbying for the rule to be first introduced for the two wheelers and then extended to other vehicles

Speaking to ET, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) director-general Dilip Chenoy said, “For starters, the government may introduce the rule for two-wheelers from April 2008. Rules for four-wheelers will be issued subsequently.”

A win-win for all parties involved right. But hey wait...Only on closer inspection can one realize that motor owners are the only ones who don't benefit from this proposal.

The two wheeler population in India is around 1, 48, 00,000 and legally, no motor vehicle is allowed to be driven on the road without valid insurance. Hence, it is obligatory to get the vehicle insured.

On an average a two wheeler owner pays around Rs 600 as Insurance premium. By introducing this law the consumer saves Rs 60 per annum on premium charges. Even assuming a long life span of 10 years for the vehicle and that the premium wont decrease over the years due to depreciation the Present value of the savings works out to around Rs 270 (at 8% interest rate). Against this the vehicle owner has to shell out a minimum of around Rs 1000 to install these devices according to the figures released by the General Insurance Council.

There are 148 lakh two weeler vehicle owners in India. Assuming that on a average the loss incurred by a owner on thief is Rs 25,000 which is on a higher side considering the fact that most vehicles stolen are old and people tend to under value their vehicles in order to reduce premium the overall loss to the consumer is almost Rs 900 crores

(65,800 (lost vehicles) * 25 000 (claim)) - (1,48,00,000 (total number of vehicles) * (1 000 (device cost) - 270 (premium saved))) = (-) Rs 915,90,00,000 (Price payed by the vehicle owner)

The Insurance industry would save money by the reduced number of claims every year, Assuming that the vehicle thefts reduce by atleast 66% (which is not unreasonable as the Insurance companies were already offering an discount of Rs 400 out of Rs 600 for vehicles installing these devices) they save around Rs 20 Crores

((2 / 3) (reduced thefts) * 65 800 * 25 000) - (148,00,000 * 60 (reduced premium)) = Rs 20,86,66,667

And finally the Auto Industry makes a cool Rs 1500 Crore profit plus the extra bucks in all new vehicles sold

Same Issue different attitudes

2007-09-21T16:02:00.000+05:30

Recently I posted about how the reactionaries always make a lot of noise when ever there is any capitalist style development. Macao like Goa happened to be a Portuguese colony, In an effort to promote tourism and all round development China has not hesitated to lavish casino licenses....

By promoting the development of Macao as a Vegas-style destination -- complete with stage shows, resort hotels, shopping, conventions and other pastimes, along with gaming in brightly lit venues -- the government is transforming Macao from a place with a seedy, gangster-infested past into an international-standard destination. Las Vegas itself underwent a similar transformation: 40 years ago, it was known for corruption and gangsterism, but today it is seen as an attraction suitable for all kinds of travelers, including families.

Simon Long once wrote in The Economist, "If this is a race, India has already been lapped" Like in all other sectors if China races far ahead of us here also do not wonder why...

NYTImes decides to go free, Yipee!!!

2007-09-20T16:43:00.000+05:30

The Hindu's opinion section introduced me to Paul Krugman's Op-Eds on NyTimes...Ever since I've been frustrated by the inability to read many of his articles because NYTimes required paid subscription for Online access. All that has now changed in the Google and search engine era with NYTimes deciding that free triumphs fee with regards to growth potential.

The Times said the project had met expectations, drawing 227,000 paying subscribers — out of 787,000 over all — and generating about $10 million a year in revenue.
“But our projections for growth on that paid subscriber base were low, compared to the growth of online advertising,” said Vivian L. Schiller, senior vice president and general manager of the site, NYTimes.com.

Interestingly Music and TV labels have also started moving in the same direction

let the simpletons be just that...simpletons

2007-09-14T08:37:00.000+05:30

Yesterday DesiPundit linked to Anil's lament that “the Government of Goa is pushing the State in the direction of Las Vegas, the Casino ‘Capital’ of the world“. The post makes 3 arguments against the proposed project.

1. fishing community who oppose the Casinos on the river, fearful as much of the culture seeping offshore and laying waste the youth

2. the environmental damage that river dredging to accommodate Casino vessels will inflict on their livelihood.

3. tourism should merely limit itself to facilitating transportation and basic accommodation of visitors without either changing or altering the identity of the local populace or mortgaging their livelihood to commercial interests of a few
One would have taught that it was fairly obvious that any service offering from Hotel Leela would cater to the classes and not the masses but no...

Thankfully he later goes on to negate point one himself by stating that

There is growing opposition from the local populace to the dredging of the river Sal to accommodate a Casino vessel floated by Hotel Leela to cater to well-heeled tourists and attract more of the same.

Then comes the globe argument that can be used to stymie any modern project "environment". Is it not possible that while Dredging may impact the aquatic ecosystem but proper attention to mitigation and construction procedures may result in the beneficial effects of dredging outweighing the negative effects, the economic benefits in this case?

Finally the most hypocritical of all arguments...

content in the belief that like forgotten memories from long ago it will dwell in the recesses of time that has moved on, leaving untouched a piece of geography out of deference to the wishes of its inhabitants who, down the ages, sustained the land in as much as they drew sustenance from it, giving it character while deriving their own identity from it, that is until now.

that of protecting the identity of the locals, romanticizing of backwardness and encouraging them to remain the simpletons that they are unaware of the progress outside while we ourselves enjoy the fruits of modernization...

cant help noticing the similarities with this satirical piece from the onion

In The Know: Is Our Wealth Hurting Africaâ��s Feelings?

Will we never move forward???

2007-09-13T23:17:00.000+05:30

The International Herald Tribune carried an article titled Why Indians fight modernization. It talks about the anachronistic socialist mindset behind the opposition to projects like Reliance's modern retail and the now stalled 123 nuclear agreement. In a form of explanation to this weird behavior the author has this to say

Many Indians - and not just in Marxist-ruled West Bengal - see entrepreneurs as the modern incarnations of the zamindars - landowners and rent collectors who exploited the peasantry in British times. Many regard multinational corporations as new versions of the British East India Company, which came to India to trade and stayed to rule. That situation leaves the state as the small man's only protector.

I believe that the cause lies else where. With the fall of the soviet union and the destruction of the communist block we saw leadership change all over the Eastern block...we also saw leadership change in China and countries like Britain and Germany where a new crop of young leaders like Jiang and Blair took over the reigns and then ushered in an era of reforms and progress.

However all this while India was caught in a partial time wrap where external factors forced us half heartedly into the path of Globalization and Modernization, while we were still stuck with the old guard at the top be it Vajpayee or Karat or Manmohan...It is this dichotomy of old leadership and new ideas that is holding us back...Will we have to wait for the current crop to die before we can move forward? This report makes me feel cynical.

High Tech Warfare

2007-09-12T10:06:00.000+05:30

THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN recounts this absolutely hilarious anecdote while opining on more serious matters such as China, Iraq and America

Listening to him, my mind drifted back to Iraq, where I was two weeks ago and where I heard a U.S. officer in Baghdad tell this story:
His unit was on a patrol in a Sunni neighborhood when it got hit by an I.E.D. Fortunately, the bomb exploded too soon and no one was hurt. His men jumped out and followed the detonation wire, which led 1,500 feet into the neighborhood. A U.S. Black Hawk helicopter was in the area and alerted the U.S. soldiers that a man was fleeing the scene on a bicycle. The soldiers asked the Black Hawk for help, and it swooped down and used its rotor blades to blow the insurgent off his bicycle, with a giant “whoosh,” and the U.S. soldiers captured him.
That image of a $6 million high-tech U.S. helicopter with a highly trained pilot blowing an insurgent off his bicycle captures the absurdity of our situation in Iraq. The great Lebanese historian Kamal Salibi said it best: “Great powers should never get involved in the politics of small tribes.”

Upper castes in India a "market-dominant minority"?

2006-12-30T06:52:00.000+05:30

I wonder if the upper castes in India would fit the bill of "market-dominant minority" as defined by Yale Law School professor Amy Chua? In her book she argues that democracy and globalisation is

a principal, aggravating cause of group hatred and ethnic violence throughout the non-Western world

She goes on to warn of 3 kinds of violence that can be unleashed

The first is a backlash against markets, targeting the market-dominant minority's wealth. The second is a backlash against democracy by forces favorable to the market-dominant minority. The third is violence, sometimes genocidal, directed against the market-dominant minority itself.

I guess the current debate on reservations essentially boils down to the righteousness of the first form of violence...while the 2nd form of violence has more or less been reversed or countered
What scares me now is that with even the left leaning so called liberal intellectia deserting the uppercaste minority when will the 3rd form of violence start in the right earnest...
more pointedly she observes

democracy leads to the emergence of manipulative politicians and demagogues who find that the best way to get votes is by scapegoating the minorities

"Ballot boxes brought Hitler to power in Germany, Mugabe to power in Zimbabwe, Milosevic to power in Serbia -- and could well bring the likes of Osama bin Laden to power in Saudi Arabia."

Am I being paranoid?

Air India? Oh Yeah!!!!

2006-11-27T08:15:00.000+05:30

I am...

2006-11-22T17:30:00.000+05:30

Which Lord of the Rings character and personality problem are you?

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A dreary reminder

2006-11-18T16:22:00.000+05:30

Just last week one could not have felt any thing but cheerful in XLRI...Better than expected grades in term one (esp as junta was expecting nothing but the rock bottom),An unprecedented summer placements, wetnites and alumni homecoming...It seemed that even midterms could not have spoilt the jolly mood in campus...then this happened. Its like the night before a storm...There is grave silence all around me and It is hard to put into words what I am feeling right now :(...Alas such tragedies serve as a dreary reminder as to how most things we celebrate are trivial.

Now back to business

2006-11-15T15:22:00.000+05:30

What seemed to be 2 weeks of calm and bliss before and during SIP, the brutal truth of being a student in a B-School is sinking in. All of a sudden (trust me, I never saw it coming) I am in the midst of 4 midterms, one presentation and two assignments all lined up for this week. And how do I respond.... wtf watch a movie, play AOE...In all probability term 2 is gonna end up as a disaster. Ok I better start practicing those weird QT-2 problems now...

XL excels in summers too!

2006-11-14T17:04:00.000+05:30

One of the first things one realizes on joining a B School is that at the end of the day the thing that matters the most is placements...In this regard XLRI has truly excelled in its summer placements process this year. The overall quality of placements have better than everyone but A, B and C...even there I suspect our domestic placements are comparable with lots of the top companies visiting only IIM A,B,C & XL (L too most of the times) or offering differential profiles and salaries. Its the international placements where we lack sorely...placecomm has promised to improve things, hopefully we improve in this area soon

ps: back to posting after a long time...
pps: will be interning in P&G CBD

Blogs I like -Part 1: A HR manager

2006-05-22T14:33:00.000+05:30

There are blogs and then there are blogs, on one hand we get to read recycled editorials, opinions and prejudices on the other hand we get to read insightful, funny, and refreshingly new perspectives…

The blogs I like the most are those that are funny, creative (with original poetry, pictures/paintings) or those that let me connect with the person or his work and lets me understand his though flow and process. I may not agree with them but I try and understand them, I like to read practical day to day stuff, how and what so and so did under such and such circumstances. I believe it is from this last category of blogs that I can learn the most…Finding them is not easy always One day I hope to take this blog to those levels (A long way to go yet), till then you will have to be satisfied with reading one such blog (That of an HR manager) http://corporatepapillon.blogspot.com/

My Japanese Name Is...

2006-05-22T09:49:00.000+05:30

Your Japanese Name Is...

Hibiki Nomiya

What's your Japanese Name?

How izzzzz it?????????

A new force rises

2006-05-12T06:16:00.000+05:30

The Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam led by captain Vijayakant has garnered 8.33 per cent votes. The Captain himself has won. Looks like Lok Pavitrana has flattered to decieve, But I don't have the numbers yet...more updates later

When the clock strikes 8 A.M today...

2006-05-11T06:03:00.000+05:30

The whole of Tamil Nadu is awaiting the results with bated breath. This election could potentially be construed as a referendum on Mandal 2. Going by the exit polls though I hope it's not...

Update: As feared the DMK has won albeit with a lower than expected margin

There was a time...

2006-04-28T16:55:00.000+05:30

There was a time,
when all your dad's office problems, mom's emotional troubles, brother's guarded secrets and most of your innermost thoughts were know to every one in the family
There was a time,
when you could disappear from the face of the earth, from all except your family

There was a time,
when the whole family used to gather round the table every week at a set time, to attend the STD call

There was a time,
when to talk to your friend, you first had to talk to him mom and explain what a student hating *%$&*# the math teacher was, and while he may have got 20 out of 100 and you only got -5 (and vice versa)
There was a time,
when you could call your girl friend or enemy, just to hear their sweet voice or hear their screams.

There was a time,
when you returned home, you had to go to your grand ma and talk to her for some time in the selfish hope the she had some thing important to share with you, like the calls u got
There was a time,
when you used to remember at least 40 numbers by heart
There was a time,
when every one had only land lines
There was a time,
when I was happy...

Then came mobile phones

sigh! When I lost my first one I wished I never had to buy a mobile phone again, but life moves on... need to get one soon

Extreme exploitation

2006-04-18T22:08:00.000+05:30

A poor soul apply's for leave...Our manager say's no problem, take leave but make it up by working on holidays (Wow...what about the time when u absconded for 2 weeks, did you you make up for that sir?)

The poor soul looks scandalously at the manager... But all he does is meekly agree to the terms set forth

When I witnessed this I prayed to god, if at all I ever became a manager... give me a bit more heart

Is that too much to ask I wonder?

Cutie pie or Gorrila

2006-04-18T07:54:00.000+05:30

Most ppl say he is as cute as a pomeranian, I say he looks like a gorrila (evil). This is my bro, you decide...

ps: He is gonna hate me for publishing this pic :)

My appointment with destiny

2006-03-28T06:06:00.000+05:30

3rd time lucky they say and I couldn't agree more. After 1 year of hard work (before my 1st attempt) and 3 attempts finally I am gonna join XL Batch of 2006-2008. Boy it feels great. Patience is certainly a virtue :)

I guess now the purpose of this blog has passed. What next?, A couple of posts with self professed gyan on how to crack CAT/XAT and GD/PI. After that I have not decided on what will happen 2 this blog. I may continue post from XL, or I may be soo overwhelmed with acads that I have no time :(. But one thing is sure it was a great experience blogging, Hope I continue

A picture is worth 1000 words

2006-02-25T09:29:00.000+05:30

One can go on rambling about how secular India is all day and make zero impact. The fact is most Indians are secular even without knowing it. Take for e.g. this picture that I stumbled across while browsing through some college days photos. Does not really stand out until you realise that the name of the person on left (with tilak on his forehead) is Abdul. Some thing that will not be accepted in any islamic society in the world other than India. Peace & Unity mantras for Vision 2020

Why grammar counts

2006-02-07T14:43:00.000+05:30

Jeremy Clarkson says

“But if I came home and said to my wife that I wanted a beverage, or asked her to pass the condiments, she’d punch me.”

Alas if it be the only such occasion all men would be happy, a great article definitely worth reading. May even motivate you to try and improve your grammar and spelling like me (not myself :) )

Karnataka politics: Dharam Singh blame your brethren in Goa...

2006-01-30T07:01:00.000+05:30

For it was they who started this game of subverting people's mandate. And the what about the people? The usual who carez :)

RMK Alumini forum

2006-01-21T10:05:00.000+05:30

In case you are a RMK alumini and have not heard about the forum yet you can sign up here http://alumini.rmkec.ac.in/forum/index.php. Will be interesting to see if this initiative is successful or if it just fizzles out

Movie Review Aathi: (Tamil)

2006-01-18T20:42:00.000+05:30

Sister problemnaa thirupaatchi paaru;
Mother problemna sivakasi paaru;
Brother problemna bagavadhi paaru;
On the spot saaganuma aathiya paaru

Top 5 blogging parlance’s

2006-01-17T06:01:00.000+05:30

Having frequented quite a few blogs , I am quite stuck but how each blog is unique yet the same. For example let us look at the common words o jargons used in blogs. These are generally the in cool words the one in every 3 blogs have for e.g. Musings or Reflections seem to be extremely popular with amateur bloggers. Every one seems to think of him to be a great thinker whose thoughts on what is happening in the world (or at least his world) is a good thing to record. No more comments on that, while a few of them are actually good like http://theindian.blogspot.com/ (sadly very short lived) and http://www.cyd.liu.se/~kamva881/blogs/musings/ others are well… ordinary.

Then we have the Blogs with Travails. Every blogger seems to be a victim. Victims of a dilbert like boss, uncouth neighbor, dumb fellow student, brain dead colleague or even innocent bystanders. Most of the times it is likely it is the so-called perpetrator who is the victim, some times these postings have well… an iota of truth. Like the common social stereotypes and to make matters better mostly these posts are hilarious. This post is particularly funny http://sidin.blogspot.com/2004/05/travails-of-single-south-indian-men-of.html

Resolutions: if you want poof that most bloggers have nothing better to do than blogging then look for postings with their New year Resolutions. OK this only a seasonal phenomenon but still I cant believe how common it is. If are like me, One of those who has better things to do than read others resolutions read this post on resolutions by Mike http://midnightmare.blogspot.com/2005/12/of-b-schoolers-and-new-year.html

Finally the most tragic usage of them all, one that I almost always regret reading except on those rare occasions when I actually wait for it…Break or Hiatus. This always means the end and acts as the obituary for the blog. There are far to many of these and I don’t keep bookmarks of such blogs but if there is one blog I will do anything to be resumed it is the blog by the anonymous TCS blogger with just 2 posts, My fingers are working and Turkish tea. I try and get the links but its kinda difficult. The blog was called weird!!!.

2 May be less but its more than 1

2006-01-07T18:40:00.000+05:30

Some time back I had link a post complaining that Chennai was a City of 2 tales here, but now after spending 3 months in San Antonio, I've decided that 2 is better than 1 any day :)

Top 5 websites any Java developer should hang out often

2006-01-06T12:43:00.000+05:30

As I look back to 2005 it has been a year, which I've spent mostly programming in Java with some success. So let me make a small exception to my unsaid rule on no technical posts and post some thing technical just this once

As a java developer for over one and half years let me catalog my favorite web sites. Please feel free to add things that you feel deserve the top ratings

Java Ranch http://www.javaranch.com/ The most friendly community. The best place for beginners to start

Sun Java forums http://forum.java.sun.com/index.jspa If you post a query here there a very good chance that you'll get an answer

Javalobby http://www.javalobby.org/ The best place to get to know the latest trends or hype in the java world

JavaWorld http://www.javaworld.com/ Not updated often any more but it has a large archive of tips and articles that I find very useful

IBM developerworks Java technology http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/java/ A lot of tutorials and articles that really help you. The sections on JSP,Servlets and XML are especially good

I'm Back

2006-01-01T21:03:00.000+05:30

After a long break I’m back to the blogsphere.

With a lot of interesting anecdotes from my recent trip to US I hope I'll keep the readers interested

Signing off for now

-Rajagopal

Logical Inability == Bakra

2005-09-05T14:13:00.000+05:30

Today I received an SMS from a friend which went like this

Please help me. I have misplaced my cell phone

And don’t know where to look for it.

Please give a missed call so that I can find it.

It’s very urgent please do it soon

With out thinking for a second I proved what a fool I was by calling the *$&*$&*$&. thinking I’ll have to wait for at least 9-10 rings before the &%&^%*& finds his cell

Alas Instead the next second I got to hear &*$*^$** guffawing on the other end

Moron how can I send an SMS if I did not have my cell

How indeed? So the next time any of you receive such sms let this be a lesson

Ps: Only goes on to show good percentile in LR section does not quite reflect on logical ability or inability rather

Trust the lost virtue:

2005-08-14T17:13:00.000+05:30

Change is the only constant in this world they say and naturally human behavior and values are no exceptions. Yet one expects these changes to take time and be gradual. One change that has quickly unraveled itself before my eyes very quickly is the lost of trust. Nobody seems to trust any one who is a stranger. I am not able to park bike with the keys on it walk to a side store and ask for directions without looking back 10 times to see if the bike was stolen or give any one a lift in the night without thinking that he may be a bandit or worse he may be a guy carrying a AIDS infected needle ready to insert into my back
The last idea came from a chain mail I received from a so called friend. Other mails include infected needles in theatre seats, transparent mirrors with video cams in hotel bathrooms, fake ATM machines , drugs in your drinks while partying etc etc.

I mean some of these could have happened once in the history of mankind but should these affect the way we live. Extending the argument (The connection may not be obvious) a bit further the Good Samaritan act is good isn’t it sad that it has to be dejure and not defacto.

2's not enough

2005-08-01T16:42:00.000+05:30

Anil has put into words what I have long felt. Chennai needs more places to hang out....many more.

Harry Potter and the half blood prince, finished reading

2005-07-22T19:00:00.000+05:30

Phew!,

I never fail to surprise my self. In 2 days I have finished reading the whole book. Its no mean feat considering I read most of the book from a Ebook in my spare time at office (yah I am having a lot of that nowadays).

The book starts differently and no consideration is given to first time reader's unlike the previous versions. After a promising start it goods into a deep slumber with Harry winning all quditch matches, having all the luck in the world, enjoying potions classes and of course having all the girls drooling over him. All this crap comes mingled with equally boring melodrama involving Ron, Hermoine and Hagrid.

We see flashes of brilliance in the scenes where Harry takes private classes with Dumbeldore (Hint: These are less of classes than setting a stage for the next book), but feeling all this is contrived never leaves you.

Finally in the end the story comes to a screeching halt leaving a feeling similar to 100 storied building collapsing. Boy it was a big let down a book that leaves even more questions unanswered. One thing is for sure it is going to be a painful wait for the last book for the faithful.

AIM.COM Yet another free email site

2005-07-07T15:12:00.000+05:30

AIM (I guess it's the acronym for AOL Instant Messenger) the latest to offer free e-mail service. I registered for the service yesterday at http://www.aim.com/. First things first the look and feel is cool and it offers 2 GB of inbox size that beats all other e-mail service save Google's Gmail.

Why did I register?

1. Its new, the curiosity factor

2. My Hotmail account was too small at 2 MB and practically unusable. When I attempted to contact Hotmail and make them see reason I got this reply

I understand your need to have a larger storage space.

As indicated in the recent communication you received, your account (rajagopal83m@hotmail.com) is scheduled for upgrade within the next few months. Although we would like to be able to upgrade you now, we are unfortunately unable to do so. With over 200 million customers worldwide, this upgrade is taking some time. We do apologize that we have not been able to upgrade you at this point in time as we continue to work on the storage rollout.

MSN remains committed to ensuring all customers worldwide are increasingly satisfied with Hotmail, as it is the world's most popular free Web-based e-mail service. Upgrading storage is just one feature we are working on to improve the service. Additional features have included providing all free customers worldwide with free anti-virus scanning and cleaning protection, and adding free access to MSN Calendar.

You are valuable at MSN and we look forward to providing you with consistent and effective service. If you have any inquiries, please do not hesitate to write back.

Sincerely,

Rachel V.
MSN Hotmail Technical Support

Ok that?s it Hotmail at this age of competition that wont do, I?m looking elsewhere.

3.Yahoo mail : The look and feel sucks and I get lot's of spam

4. Rediff mail : Its used for some subscription and its hard to keep track of mails in there

5. Gmail: Its good but 1 mail id is not sufficient and it does not work with Firefox. I occasionally use fire fox.

So that?s it I needed another account. I could have got one more from any of the existing service provider but Reason no 1 made me go with AIM.

Impressions

1. Look and feel is cool

2. It claims to prevent spam lets see.

3. Its got English spelt wrong in this page http://www.aim.com/international.adp?aolp= and that to under UK (I know it's a bit rich coming from me but every dog has its day :) )

4. The sweepstakes contest is valid for only US citizens. Then why did you send that mail to me (:angry). You guys took my country name when I registered.

Conclution:

Go sign up for an account today.

I am making this post via email again. My last post from Hotmail sucked lets see how AIM performs

Check Out the new free AIM(R) Mail -- 2 GB of storage and industry-leading spam and email virus protection.

Get your own free AIM(R) Mail account and become eligible to win daily prizes, ending July 30, 2005. One lucky grand prize winner will even drive away with a 2005 MINI(R) Cooper S. Learn more.

Reflections What I want?

2005-07-04T13:06:00.000+05:30

Ah! long time since I blogged. That�s mainly because work was getting hectic
or so I thought. But that was then and now things are back to normal. Plenty
of time to write a load of crap, met up with some o�l timers, Mohan and
Pranesh yesterday. Well imagine calling guys with whom you went to college
just last year old timers. Somehow that�s the feeling I got. Work has
changed me a lot, in a sense I like to think I am more mature and
responsible than I was a year back. It has meant that I am no longer the
same care free child I was a year back. In that sense my mates then are old
timers now. Those were the days but now I have moved on and am in no doubt
that they have moved on too. The change is starker in Pranesh�s case. On
some issues I hardly recognize him any more. I am afraid whether this change
is for real or is there an element of youthful naivety that makes him
exaggerate and boast or is it that he has really moved on so much in a span
of 6-7 months. That said on the whole the core Pranesh i.e. Pranesh my
friend remains the same, am thankful for that and am proud to have a friend
like him, though in some respects he has outgrown me or left me behind so to
say.

Mohan too has changed but these changes are not so dramatic and can say that
he is moving along at my pace. In that sense I am more comfortable with the
new Mohan. He is now living away from his family in Bangalore. That�s a
first for him; this has brought a good change in him. He is no longer as shy
as he used to be and of course he was always the most responsible and mature
among the three of us and continues to be so. I wonder if it would do me
more good if I try living in a mansion for a month or two just to get the
feel of the real world may be that�s exactly what I need.

Am a bit confused on what I am and what I need to be. I guess its time for
me to reflect and spend more time on how to shape my future. I guess I can�t
continue to let my life drift the way I have let it for the past 9 months.
Let me see what goal I am able to zero in on that can sustain my interest
long enough to work for and achieve. I hope this blog to be a witness to my
pledges and the force that will bind me to work hard for them.

Life needs to change soon

Sunil Dutt dies

2005-05-25T14:22:00.000+05:30

Veteran actor, Congress M.P. and Union minister Sunil Dutt has died. While congress loses a star politician his death could come at no better time for the change color Sanjay Nirupam. Ironically Nirupam is likely to contest for the vacancy caused by his demise.

May his soul rest in peace

J.J wins the by-elections but what does it augur for the general elections next year?

2005-05-21T20:39:00.000+05:30

AIADMK under the stewardship of J.Jayalalitha has won the crucial by elections in both Kancheepuram and Gummidipoondi. After the severe drubbing received in the last lok-shaba elections defeats in these by elections would have sent the morale of the party workers to a tailspin. Defeats here would have put paid to all hopes of a turn around before the next year’s assembly elections.

But inspite of all the spin put out by the Secular-Mafia alliance and sympathetic media (about money muscle power) the victory was not surprising because.

1. The seats were traditional strong holds of AIADMK.
2. The incumbents were the kin of the deceased MLA’s and had the sympathy factor working for them
3. Historically By- elections tend to favor ruling party.
4. The minority vote is almost nonexistent in these constituencies.
5. The government has had a few achievements in water management (Veeranam Pojcet), security (Veerapan) and a people friendly budget.
6. Minorities are not a big factor and were placated by the arrest of the Kanchi seer.

However the by-elections were after all by-elections and one could expect the DPA alliance to redouble its efforts to win power in the next years elections. And the factor going in for them would be

1. Anti incumbency
2. Blind backing from minorities
3. Central government support
4. And sheer alliance arithmetic of a seven party alliance versus one party.

What J.J must be counting on must be

1. Support among women
2. Internal squabbles among opposition alliance members
3. Failing health of M.Karunanidhi (no acceptable successor, one son is accused of murder and is in jail and the other has a reputation of being a rowdy during his youth)

Though J.J has won the battle for now, war looms ahead.

Gut feeling J.J is mighty but DPA(7 party alliance) is mightier.

Is it time to decommission Judicial Commissions

2005-05-16T06:52:00.000+05:30

The Justice Phukans investigation report raised a lot of hue and cry before it all died down. I am sure that Justice Phukan did not change the conclusion of the report for a trifle such as free holiday. It must have been some thing like “OK I head this commission and I need to make a trip to many places why not mix work with holiday and take my family along in a nice plane, After all I have the power to do so now”, nothing more serious than that. The Tehelka Investigation commission has been jinxed right from the start, when Justice Venkatswami was forced to resign over the scandal raised on his appointement as the chairman of the Authority on Advance Rulings of Excise and Customs on the advice of the then chief justice of India. He resigned both the posts. Now Phukans report has been rejected by the government which is now going to appoint a new CBI investigation. The government may have taken the decisions in good faith albeit they were not good judgement, but their effects on judicial commissions have been profound.

Till now there is no proof that Defense procurement is bested by corruption, after all that is how the whole saga had begun, but surely some politicians (I say “All”) were not above taking money. But that is the job of the police and courts. Instead we now have the entire system of Judicial Investigative commission falling apart.

Any one wants a commission to investigate that?

Flashback: A busy few weeks

2005-04-17T19:32:00.000+05:30

Phew! a long time since I last posted any thing. Assuredly it has got nothing to do with lack of topics to write on, quite the contrary but last few days have been quite busy. There has not been a single task, which occupied my mind but bit and pieces of many activities, which have kept me busy. First it was a trip to Ooty then some work for a project which I was not supposed to be working on and of course work in my own project. Then there were books to read and servlet tutorials to finish and Cricket matches to watch. The last activity was the most painful India lost the match for the fourth consecutive time and subsequently gifted the series to arch rivals Pakistan (Arch rivals they are atleast in cricket what ever the diplomats may want us to believe).

Apart from these I had to go out with old friends coming to chennai after a year and then there was my cousin passing out from IIM-B and now moving to an I-Bank in Bombay. So when we planned to meet somewhere I realized what a boring place chennai was. We had to chose between movies and movies and movies, wow that’s exciting. Before the die-hard chennaites start gunning for me let me add this yes we have gr8 beaches but in this hot summer that does not sound nearly half as hot. And then there are these coffee shops but some how I don’t feel comfortable there, may be because I always find it hard to pronounce “cappuccinos” or some thing like that correctly and I always drink my coffee’s very quickly. I am learning as I have no choice some times but the people whom I am talking about are equally out of home at coffee shops. Then there are the pool shops but we don’t know nor desire to play snooker not do we have deep pockets to pay for bowling.

So now we have to watch movies which would not sound half as despondent as it does now had the quality of Hindi and Tamil movies been but a little better. What did we see “Black”, “Taka dimi tam” and “Lucky”. Luckily I did not have to endure any more. All I can say is the first does not deserve a Oscar entry from India the second was supposed to be a comedy but only for those who laughed at us when they heard that we watched such a movie. Lastly what’s the use of watching a Salman Khan movie if he will not bare his chest be it in the icy cold settings of St Petersburg (all the more better for the fans I guess).

One interesting incident, scene Abhirami Theater, 3 of us were discussing what movie to watch but the choice was basically between “Taka dimi dam” and “Murder”. Two of us were extremely wary about watching the former as rumours about it had reached our ears but no one we knew directly had to endure it. But the third friend was adamant about it when we questioned him further we discovered the reason. Just the day before he had vetoed his brothers move to watch the later movie saying that he would complain to his mom saying that it was a “BAD movie” south Indians would know what a disaster that would be. And that was our bane any one heard of the Tamil saying, “Tan venai tanai sudum” a loose translation goes as “What you sow so you reap”. Just remember when I vetoed my brother watching “Masti” some time back in Mumbai, did that without realizing my own peril in taking moral high ground I guess.

So that’s how it went, although there is a lot to write about each of these events I may not write much about them unless ofcouse nothing else interesting happens in the coming days. Hope to write more in the next couple of days, really hope I do.

Ps: In case you are wondering how my hits counter is suddenly running @ break neck speed google camila charles.

PPs: Only silver lining in the cricket series was that Gangully was finally dropped albeit some help from ICC.

Very Very Special Lakshman no longer Special it seems

2005-03-26T19:16:00.000+05:30

I have to admit I have not seen much of the ongoing Indo-Pak test series. However in-between here and there I have managed to catch a session here and a session there. Also most mornings I have watched 15-30 min of highlights. Not that I am enthused by the series as I normally would have been, may be its got something to do with the sweltering heat Chennai is reeling under now cricket is something I would rather avoid.

Today after watching the hilarious movie ‘Meet the Fockers’ at Sathyam theatre I was home evening just in time to catch VVS Lakshman batting with maturity and class to steer India from a precarious situation to a situation where we can at least dare to hope. Once again the classy, wristy Hyderabadi gave a solid performance to ensure in this case ‘All is not lost’. The day rightly belonged to Mr Violent Shewag who is showing signs of becoming a batsman who redefines the way the game is played in the same sense Viv Richards did in the 1980’s, but without VVS Lakshman chances were that we would have cut a sorry figure. And he is not yet finished and who knows he may go on to make a century but neither this nor the pathetic solitary single scored by Captain Stupid Ganguly has caused me to type this.

After the match in the ‘Fourth Umpire’ program in DD (ya don’t raise your eyebrows, there are still a few homes left witch solely depend on terrestrial antennas and DD for all their TV) viewer after viewer called up the program and called for both Stupid Ganguly and VVS Lakshman to be axed from the team. Even the normally sane Mohinder Amarnath seemed to think that consistent under performers like Yuvraj Singh should be given a chance. While the calls to axe Ganguly sound reasonable and correct I could not believe what I was hearing about Lakshman. He has scored consistently and is an important and experienced hand in the lineup. Just a year ago he was hailed as ‘Very Very Special’ not any more it seems. It just makes me wonder if the same people would have blurted out this foolishness if VVS Lakshman also indulged in buffoonery like jumping like monkeys on field and barking like dogs in silly advertisements instead of the gentlemanly demeanor with which he carries himself. It makes him stand out. Or does it have something to do with the fact that he is not from North Indian states like Punjab or UP from where Yuvrag and Kaif hail from. Indeed it kind of amazes me how such players like Robin Singh and Balaji always had to struggle to make it to the national team in contrast to the countless lesser players making grade from the North.

Such talk should be dismissed as nonsense it is and the selectors would do well to consider Lakshman as a possible replacement for Ganguly as the Captain. I say this because Lakshman is a guy who can think, has the experience and probably the only guy not saddled by numerous advertisement contracts. Indeed when ever we go on a tour to any place many of our stalwarts seem more concerned with Avert shooting than the matches. Also with an age in early 30’s he can give that position stability it needs without the threat of retirement. As to the menacing crows crowing for his dismissal I have this to say ‘Think if the paper tigers you talk of as replacements would be able to perform in the same level and constancy as VVS Lakshman in overseas tours more specifically against world beaters Australia’.

PS: With the crowds now booing Ganguly after his dismissal one wonders how much longer can the selectors retain him in the side. Indeed it may do him more good if they relieve him of this miserable run by dropping him from the Test side.

Of Fried Ice-cream and Empty stomach

2005-03-17T20:39:00.000+05:30

Today we went out for a team lunch on the occasion of 2 of our senior members (3-5 years exp) leaving to New Zealand. No-no don’t jump to conclusions we have not found a client for the solutions we are building, they are being shifted out of our team for a client project, that too directly onsite lucky them. But I am not going to elaborate more on why, what or where they are going to now. Coming to our lunch it was decided that of the 11 of us the 9 lets say not so lucky ones who where going to stay back and work in the internal project where to treat the 2 lucky ones who where going to NZ. Sounds counter intuitive doesn’t it? But there is always a catch, as they say there is no free lunch when they come back they have to treat us all and of course when 2 people treat 9 it costs more. So keeping this in mind I decided to join the party (unwisely I must add, one of them will surely keep his word, but the other I doubt), destination Cascade a Chinese restaurant near our office at Nungambakam, Chennai. All assembled at 1-15 PM we ordered a few soups, fried rice and noodles and a few starters a combination of Veg & Non Veg. Food was Ok-Ok sort not bad but not exceptional too. Overall I felt that the place was overpriced for the quality of food considering the other Chinese places I’ve been to.

Now the food was very costly, evidently as we, I mean the 9 of us were to shell out the money we where very generous in sharing ”1 by 3 plain soup”, “2 by 5 veg fried rice”,… was the kind of orders we placed and the 2 lucky guys grudgingly complied with our wishes. Now that we had finished our main course normally we would have walked out of the place but my tummy was not even “1 by 2 full” and I guess others where also feeling the same. We decided to stay in for the deserts part also. I must admit here that after my trip to Bangalore this weekend where I gorged myself on Ice creams & Cold coffees & sodas my throat was not exactly in the best of shapes. But what to do “Yeh tummy mange more” I decided to go for it, “What the heck worst of worst I might loose my voice for two days, and escape from answering uncomfortable questions at work place.”

Here the strangest thing happened, in the deserts menu there was a “Fried Ice cream”. Now many of you readers might have come across this, but this was a novel term for me. Fried Ice creams, “Don’t kid me” I thought, how can you fry Ice creams now if you fry a Ice cream there would no Ice cream only burnt foul smelling milk forget Ice you wont even have cream left. Now a normal person would have logically ordered something else, but not me even before I realized the words poured out of my mouth “One Fried Ice cream for me please”. Every one including the waiter was astonished by my recklessness. After some time one by one the items stated rolling in, sweet lime followed by pineapple juice and then watermelon juice and fruit salad ice-cream and many more. All this while there was a jovial kind of talk around the table with people in the mood to laugh at PJ’s encouraging more and more PJ’s. But my mind was occupied on “Fried Ice cream”, how will it look, feel and more importantly taste. Every 4-5 seconds I stretched my neck to see if the mysterious “Fried Ice cream” was on the way. Now one by one 3-4 of people who had got their deserts early and promptly finished early joined me in awaiting this now enigmatic novelty called “Fried Ice cream”. Eventually the talk steered towards “Fried Ice cream”. The consensus was the it was a part of a evil plan hatched by the management of the hotel to let people treat (read punish) their worst enemies, a sort of niche market for the hotel. After a excruciating wait for about 15 minutes which seemed to me like hour’s finally a waiter came out with a plate containing 6 grayish colored balls I knew this had to be “Fried Ice cream” not because of my superb deductive and reasoning skills but because all others had received what they had ordered and mine was the only order left.

Coming to how did the “Fried Ice cream” look and taste, true to its title it was hot outside I mean fried, but it was not ice cream it was a sort of shell inside which there was vanilla ice cream. There were 6 neat and small such balls with nuts. As one would expect in such scenarios where 11 people have lunch together 4 disappeared even before I could have a close look at them. Before you have one be warned, just put the whole pieces in your mouth don’t try to split it, because the ice cream will spill out leaving a mess. 2 bright people found this out to their dismay and out amusement when they tried to share one. Coming to its taste the shell was like, for want of better term I will use a Tamil expression “Mavu illenna khuyu” or say rubber with salt (not direct translation). The ice-cream was of vanilla flavor and tasted good especially with the nuts. Overall it was not a disaster as I expected and others hoped but not some thing I will have again in a hurry nor treat my enemy with considering it costs Rs. 90.

Ps: Ended the lunch Rs 275 down and tummy only 2 by 3 full, it has filled my appetite for more self sponsored team lunches. But free lunch is a different matter altogether.

PPs: Tummy was full by 6.3 PM, My friend Gautham is back from Trivanrum after TCS training and he treated me, Free Lunch hehe. By the way I forgot that it was his birthday yesterday not suprising considering I dont remember ne one's birthday. ne way Belated HBD:) enjoy madi........., Hope u net the gals who are coming to your place tommorow.

Shakti Kapoor Banned from bollywood

2005-03-16T20:42:00.000+05:30

After being caught on TV asking for sexual favors from a under cover journalist posing as a aspiring actress,Shakti Kapoor was banned from acting. I say it is undemocratic. Has he done any thing illegal, did he try to force himself on her or did he apply any sort of pressure or black mail. Well what he did may be unscrupulous and unprofessional but definitely not illegal or unprecedented. In fact had he tried to take advantage of a gullible village girl then things might have been different. Infact he was frank and to the point, you fulfill my desire and I will help you fulfill yours. I personally feel the issue is being blown out of propotion. Ironically I can recollect a movie featuring rekha an big B and pran where this side of the show biz is explored, don't remember the name now. If this were such a Taboo then why was that movie not banned. Maybe the ban has more to do with the people he exposed than the favor he asked for.

Just to put things in perspective take two examples

1. Bill Clinton Monica Lewensky affair, Immoral yes, Did Lewensky get any favor, of course she got lucrative posting in far east, Illegal no, Result despite much hue and cry nothing Clinton was not impeached.

2. Harry Stonecipher ex CEO Boeing taking favor from a colleague, Immoral yes, Did the female get any thing in return Likely, Illegal yes it was explicitly forbidden as per company charter. Result He was sacked

Now I leave it you to judge Shakti Kapoor keeping in mind that he merely suggested and didn't do it.

The way I see it the media like a vulture waiting to peck and tear a person about to die sensed a opportunity to get Shakti Kapoor. Its a pity I have not come across one article questioning the either the other Big wigs nor the under cover journalist.

Ps: I am not a big fan of his, but one must admit he was a talented guy and had more to offer to the movie goers. When will we learn to separate movie life with real life, the fact is they are very tightly coupled for the interests of both actors and audience.

Thala Rajni Strikes back

2005-03-11T07:31:00.000+05:30

After one controversy after another and BABA being a big flop there were question marks over thala Rajini's neumero uno position in the hearts and minds of Tamil people. Looks like he was written off by some people early.

Good news guys reading this review looks like, Chandramukhi may indeed bring back the glory days.

Am going to buy the cassette today. last year after buying Baba cassette I gave it to class mate Hari Menon an never asked for it to be returned, because in spite of all the hype found most of the songs (with a few exceptions) sucked.

Applied for a new Job

2005-03-09T22:49:00.000+05:30

Before you jump to conclutions let me clarify "No I am not planning to leave HCL, atleast rigth now".

Well after much procastination finally I have applied for a new Job at sourceforge.net as a Developer for a opensource project JarInspector. At least I will have the feeling of contributing some thing back to the free sofware group who have helped me learn so much in the past few days. I dont know if my application will be accepted but lets wait and see. If not I will have to look for another Job opening. :smile

Also had an appreciation mail from a guy from Infosys for helping him out in using an opensource project Mandarax.

From: Rahul Dolas [mailto:Rahul_Dolas AT infosys.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 5:48 PM
To: Rajagopal.M, ISDC Chennai
Subject: RE: [Mandarax-user] problem regarding the ordering of the knowledgebase

Bravo Rajgopal!

That was really a great piece of code.

I have just executed the code and got the desired results!

I also went through it's implementation, that was really a great logic!

Regards,
Rahul

felt good and has motivated me to help out others more, may be will look at solving a Bug in Mandarax project soon if I get time. will see how things work out very soon will this spark of an idea peter out or will it lead to a raging fire........

How I am forced to tie my shoe laces frequently

2005-03-05T18:57:00.000+05:30

Before you start wondering what a silly, trivial and weird topic to write about let me give some background information. This activity is neither caused due to problems in my shoe nor is it caused because I am less gifted in this most noble art. Actually most of the time I just feign to be immersed in this most important activity when I am actually ducking for cover when some of the great mind's that surround me make some "Intellectually challenging statement's". Yes you guessed it right I normally tie my laces (or at least act as though I am) when I am plagued by this uncontrollable urge to laugh out.

This Friday has been yet another typical day @ office where I am forced to tie laces more than once.

Scene 1: Tea-Time, Cafeteria Floor 6, Me, Mr. Grr, Lady 1, Lady 2. I could have revealed the real name of Mr. Grr, but for the fact that he happens to be my good friend and that he does not exhibit these Brain Waves very often. Now Mr. Grr as usual slipped into his role of enlightening (would personally call it boring, entertaining at it’s best) the ladies of the various event’s lined up on the social circuit about which of course he knows a lot. It was then that he gave out this Gem, “Because I have to attend some *** event, I am going to take a Holiday on Saturday,……….” Well I dint wait to hear out what he went on to say next as I was busy tying my lace. For those of you who are wondering what is so funny about this, well Saturday happens to be a holiday @ HCL-T (taking a holiday on a holiday sound's cool) add to this the fact that I have been to office on many a Sat and have never seen Mr. Grr there, now I guess you will know why I had to tie my lace. It is strange the effect the ladies seem to have on people like Grr, however it is even more queer as to how these gem’s of gyan just bounce off them with seemingly no effect. Is it simply that they are dumb or are they acting dumb? I don’t have the answer but would surely like to hear one.

Scene 2: Meeting Time, Telecom Room, Me, Mr. Big Boss, Mr. X., Mrs. Y. Here Mr. Big Boss (No he’s not my boss, but at that meeting his role was tantamount to it) is spitting out Gyan at a rapid fire rate. Within 5 min I had had lost handle on what was being said and how it would affect me (what reusable component they would ask me to build). I noticed that Mr. X was scribbling away some notes in his notepad furiously matching the pace at which Mr. Big Boss was talking (if that was humanly possible). Also Mrs. Y’s (quite a senior person unlike Mr. X and Me) face was screwed up in deep concentration with her hand under the chin, nodding away vigorously at every thing Mr. Big Boss had to say. I was feeling ashamed as to why I am not able to grasp what was happening around me, I simply could not make head and tail of what was being said. Just when I was alarmed that I may drowse away and fall off the chair, I managed to turn my heavy head and have a peek into what Mr. X was writing in his notepad. Can you guess what was being written? Mr. X happened to be signing his name page after page on the precious office stationery (So much for save the tree’s campaign) even as Mr. Big Boss was firing his gyan at us satisfied that Mr. X was making enough sense out of it to take notes. I just about managed bite my tongue and purse my lips with a Herculean effort and managed to sway my head (which incidentally was now starting feel a bit light) to the other direction towards Mrs.Y . It was then that I realized that she looked like a cross between deep concentration, thought and understanding because she was trying desperately to control that desire to yawn. However at that moment she failed in her attempts and raised her hand helplessly to cover her mouth even as she surrendered to this most satisfying and at the same time embarrassing of all human desires. As you would have guessed by now I had to duck under the table at this point and tie my lace for a full 5 minutes before I got up again, much to the suprise of Mr. Big Boss (What could be more imp than hearing him out?)

Scene 3: Award ceremony @ Cafeteria, Me and some 200 odd employees. The award ceremony was taking place to felicitate the 40 odd HCL-T employees who had completed their domain certifications for the Insurance industry, some 20 of them were away on various onsite assignments. To honor these hard working and deserving people we had one “KH” VP research Gartner (name not given to protect identity). We were supposed to be enlightened with some gyan on trends in IT and Insurance sectors and some benefit’s of domain certifications by her (a euphemism for a long & boring speech). Thankfully Mr. Life Saver made this big goof and enraged our chief guest (or so I guess, It’s only my theory) so much that she ended her address with 3 lines only (very very short considering the fact that speeches consumed more than 45 min of the ceremony time before and after her speech). Coming to the goof it was simple indeed so simple that I guess only we Indian’s can manage it. When Mr. Life Saver came to the point when he had to address “KH” he was put into a dilemma was it Ms. Or Mrs. , Indeed a very important distinction where one had to exercise caution as the lady in question could be easily offended. After pausing for a few uncomfortable seconds Mr. Life Saver evidently confused found a simple solution. Let’s call her “Mr. KH” as there is no distinction in Mr. between married and unmarried is there? Bravo! What an ingenious solution to a seemingly tough choice. Only I guess “KH” was not so amused. And what did I do at this point? Tie my lace of course, only this time I could see quite a handful of heads move down in the same direction as mine.

By now you must have realized how important and unavoidable function the, acts of tying shoelaces are and appreciate the set of background events that finally culminate into this act. So the next time you see a person tying his lace at the middle of a meeting for some inexplicable reason you will know what it is for wont you?

PS: I still dont know if it is Ms KH or Mrs KH

PPS: Mr. Grr I gather did not apply for the holiday on the intranet as he initially intended.

Mr Subro

2005-03-03T21:15:00.000+05:30

Mr Subro. u r God. so brave, so creative an so straigth forward way to put u r point across. Kudos may u r name be added to Funny , Candid & Creative IT men Hall of fame

Latest SDLC @ IT services companies

2005-03-03T20:45:00.000+05:30

After long deliberation's with a lot of member's of Solution group's, COE's (Center Of Excellence), Technology Group's & simple plain o'l Bench ppl, I have come to the conclution that the following four point's form the NEW SDLC @ the so called big IT services companies.

Requirement Definition
1· We r going to get this project ...(We have just started preparing proposals)

High Level Design
2· Please familiarize urself with tool X. Project Y may come anytime (Its been a week since proposal was sent and v r waiting to hear from the client).

Low Level Design
3· In addition to tool X also familiarize urself with tool Y and this will be a parallel activity (Signs indicate that the Client is least interested in u)

Construction/Coding
4· Now that u have learnt the tools lets build some reusable components that would help us save time and cost in future projects (Dream of getting a project remains a dream.Project goes to company Z)

Some of you may disagree if you do I woul love to hear what you have to say

PS: The inspiration for this post comes from a E-Mail from my friend whom I would like to call Mr. scientist & also Mr. Subro

More about Mr. Subro in my next Post or Picture

CAT and its effects on my life

2005-02-19T22:05:00.000+05:30

I have been frequenting many sites in the desi MBA and MBA aspirant’s blogsphere. One such Blog that I visited today was that of Harry’s (Prashant). I had visited his blog once,long long ago when he stoked contoversy due to a post on PG about his visit to Bombay to attend SPJain interview last year, just to find out more about him. As has been my habit I went through some of his old posts. I was quite started to read some of his posts in the build up to CAT. Almost all his post’s seemed to reflect my state of mind both before CAT, after CAT and more importantly after the GD/PI results were declared. Only for the few glorious days between declaration of scores and those of GD/PI short list I was euphoric. Reading his blog has certainly made me think of what was, what is and what should be.

I have given CAT 3 times now (including the leaked CAT) and each time I have failed to give a winning performance. When I look back I realize how much I have given up for, this so far fruitless endeavor. When I started out to prepare for CAT in the year 2003 there were 3 of us, close friends who seriously started out on a journey which all of us knew would be very arduous. Then there were these not so serious guy’s who also took CAT (Gaurav my classmate deserves special mention here, as many times he helped me with study materials and moral support). Eventually as we devoted our body, mind and soul to CAT preparation, we started to lose sight of other aspects of life. Engineering became a low priority, all that mattered then was to clear the papers, eventually nothing else mattered but CAT. We became fanatical in our worship of CAT, it was CAT this and CAT that and nothing else mattered. After spending almost one year completely immersed in CAT, when at least I sacrificed not a insignificant part of social life and potential close friendship with peers engaged in other pursuits than CAT, one of us made it to XLRI, while it was a disaster for the other. I was stranded in the middle or so I thought with around 95%.

What followed was mad and depressing scramble to find a JOB us. Fortunately this phase did not stretch too long for me and soon enough I landed up with 5 software jobs offers (I-GATE, IQL (IQ-Ludorum), CTS, HCL-T and TCS) and one marketing job (Indiamart.com). Eventually I joined HCL-T for reasons I am not very sure or convinced even now. Probably the fact that it paid the most and was reputed not to layoff employees was the most important factor. My other friend was not so fortunate and after some trying times he made it to TCS and is now a satisfied employee there. But it was absolutely clear to him that CAT was a closed chapter and he never gave a third CAT. Sadly that was not the case with me and I continued with my journey towards that elusive goal which is also my ambition. My third encounter with CAT was better than the first two and I managed to score 98.48. Only to discover, much to my horror that it was not enough to get a IIM or MDI or NITIE call. I also did not apply to SP-JAIN.

CAT has left me devastated. Now when I look back how much I have given up in this journey to get into a B-School and am continuing to give up, I can’t help wondering was it all worth it. I have wrecked my close relationships with college mates with too much emphasis on CAT. Even now whenever I talk to them inevitably the conversation steers towards CAT. My office colleagues are going on a trip to Ooty on 18th while I must stay back to prepare for the XIM-B interview. Much of my time I spend working and finding out about the work done by my company, reading magazines like Business world, Business India, Time etc in the hope that it helps me in my XLRI and CET(JBMIS) interview’s while others are busy flirting with girls or pursits which are more fun. Shouldn’t I to be with them, enjoying the lighter moments of life. Should I not be watching the latest Ajit movie Ji or some other Vijaikant movie, which they seem to enjoy so much rather than reading a management book Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt that I am now. Why is it that their lives and goals seem so distant with my life and goals. I feel increasing like a weirdo and loner and more importantly a loser. Neither did I crack CAT nor have I made moves towards a significant breakthrough in my career.

When I think about all this anxiety sets into my mind. What is it that I want? In fact at a deeper and higher level who am I? Currently these are the questions that are gnawing my mind. If I don’t make it this year these need to be urgently answered. For now I will be cautiously optimistic, but if the worst comes to past then I need to take control and do not a small amount of introspection on what I want. Will one more year of serious CAT preparation be worth it? Lets hope it never comes to pass.

A Fool’s what a Fool does!

2005-02-16T22:59:00.000+05:30

The past couple of days have been a complete disaster for me where much to my dismay I have been performing one foolish act followed by another. By publicly admonishing myself I hope to drill down some sense into what seems to be an impenetrably thick skull I have.
Lets start with scene one, last Monday I had yet another inconspicuous shave; so what could go so wrong in this seemingly regular activity one may ask? Well here I have to confess that in the past I had senselessly been thrifty with the use of shaving lotion and after shave (Foolish act No 1) leading to a lot of what I choose to describe a minutest puss boils (due my ignorance). It took three such occurrences (don’t ask me why so long I only have my own a** to kick) to make the connection and take corrective steps, in addition I also stated using a bit of dettol on my face and like magic it started to work. Not only that it seemed to me then that it also had some positive effect on the acme I had (How wrong I was). Encouraged by this deduction (which would later unfold as a disaster) I allowed myself to be flattered as a one above the so-called dermatologist’s (Foolish act No 2) and subsequently applied quite lavish quantities of Dettol on my face after shaving (Foolish act no 3). Not stopping with this I went on to add not little after-shave over and above the dettol already applied.

By now I guess you should have some got inkling on what followed (on Tuesday)? Well my skin started to react quite badly with the dettol and after-shave and what more, here I hazard to postulate that it (my poor skin) died and formed patches of black layers all over my face. Now this was frightening, with what face would I attend the upcoming B school interviews? Completely psyched I could not sleep properly. Add to all this the fact that my brother (Devil would be more apt) Sriram very uncharitably (and imprecisely) taunted that I looked like an Orc from the Lord of the Rings movie. All I could do was to curse myself for having bought the CD so that he could watch the movie (Foolish act no 4).

Thankfully by the next morning the worst was behind me (or so I thought) and the dead patches were peeling off. Beneath them the skin was fresh and even better than what it was earlier. In a state of exuberance and almost inebriated state I started to peel off the remaining black patches eager to get back at the little devil (Foolish act no 5). Here I learnt a lesson on the virtue of patience, it transpired that I had been hasty and acted prematurely on some patches and pulled them out even before they were fully healed. One such spot was slightly to the right of my lip. It was what to say burning a bit reddish and over all not a big deal would have healed in a day or two. But alas that was not to be, in my ridiculously incompetent, deluded, insane mind some how a preposterous idea took root. Don’t even bother to think how I could think of such things, it beats me. What did I do I applied dettol again on the spot, yes you read it right dettol (the root cause that stated it all) again (Foolish act no 6). No prizes for guessing the end result, the moment I made contact a burning sensation took over and a black mark took its place. Reddish black would be more accurate.

With this nasty feeling of irrevocable damage do I went to office today morning. Now this reddish black mark was so conspicuous that every body who knew me or had even a slightest of acquaintance with me (Now I had quite a few of those) almost automatically spit out that question which started to haunt me the whole day where ever I went. What happened to my face? Now I felt here that the true story was too complicated and sounded too foolish, (which is true). So what did I do? Invented a equally moronic story (Told them that the after-shave I use caused a reaction (Foolish act no 7). Now what I dint anticipate here was the barrage of question’s that followed. What after-shave? Where did you buy it? Why did it happen? When? How? Jeez give me a break. But no to cover up one lie I had to invent many more. Now I could not answer the what question with out my conscience accusing me of slander against a brand. So I told them that the after-shave was a counterfeit (I could not tell them a cheap local brand, as it may lead to a conclusion that I was cheap). Then followed the where question, here I managed to wrrigle myself out by answering "vituku pakatla local kada machi! " ="A local shop near my house brother". One would expect that they would leave things as such there and proceed with their work but no (leading me to conclude that work is scanty if at all any). At this point many would educate me about the existence of a consumer court. How to file a case, where to file. Lecture to me about the need for consumer awareness. Narrate anecdotes of how people spent just Rs 10,000 and earned compensation of 1,00,000. Some even went on to offer help in finding a suitable lawyer. And when I finally convinced them that I was not planning to file a case in consumer court (much to their dismay) they finally were kind enough to enlighten me about the various after-shaves in the market and gave testimonials about the effectiveness of many of these. Only then was I let to part, all too often to be intercepted by another person and I had to endure another round of well intentioned but annoying questioning and advice. Note here I cannot change my original story to the truth as that would lead to inconsistencies which I thought was even more dangerous than lying as it may lead to a further bout of explanations for which I had no appetite.

Finally with my tail between my legs I left office early today (had the misfortune of being spotted by a manager, darn! Why don’t I have any luck), went to the skin doctor got a cream and some reassurance that things would be sorted out in a week on its own, if not he would prescribe a steroid or some other cream.

Now completely gassed as bhavan’s school buddies would describe my state and no one to share my feelings (thanks to the bright idea of lying in office) I write this post. Hope I recover and recuperate from the horrific time (I call this the Fool syndrome) I’ve had in the past 3 days. Already I feel sleepy so am off to bed hopefully tomorrow brings better news.

Gmail Invites

2005-02-14T06:39:00.000+05:30

Well I when logged onto my Gmail account today I was pleasantly surprised to find 50 Invites left. So if any of you souls want a gmail Invite please leave your Name and email as a comment and I shall send you an Invite cheers :)

India, Pakistan and the vexed Issue of Kashmir

2005-02-13T20:55:00.000+05:30

Today I was planning to analyze the results of some of the leading IT companies and try to get the wind of the future direction of the IT offshoring sector in general. Instead accidentally I came across a website with opinions on the vexed issue of the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. When I initially read the admittedly well written article I just could not digest some of the thoughts penned in the article. Later however doubts about my own opinions crept into my mind. So I have decided to write what went through my mind during and after reading the article, deciding to defer my earlier plans by a couple of days. So coming back to the actual contents of the article I assume that most people living across the Line Of Control would have been educated to think along the same lines, just as we the Indians are educated on the issue in one way. Any was as I was reading the article it was becoming clear to me that the author was trying to give the impression that India was the aggressor and bully which was using overwhelming military force to cling on to its annexed territory of Kashmir. That the Kashmiries were yearning to join Pakistan. That Pakistan was the just party- trying to empower the Kashmiries and give voice too their aspirations by way of its support to a plesbicite. Naturally as an Indian, a person whose knowledge of the issue is entirely derived from CBSE history textbooks and the routine one sided reporting by the Indian media, initially my attitude towards the article was belligerent. Some of which is reflected in the comment I made on it spontaneously with out thinking about the issue objectively. Even so immediately after making the comment I regretted making it. On second thought’s the article was very objective and was not trying to paint a picture about one side or other infact I guess it was a sincere attempt to bring out the facts about the issue. Ok probably the comments regarding Nehru and Lady Mountbatten, That about the Indian sides perceived delaying tactics on kashmir talks was not entirely accurate, atleast from an non pakistani perspective. It is also understandable that a normal common pakistani man can never come to terms, or accept the fact I stress the fact that his government did Indeed at some point of time aid and abet terrorists. However for most part it trotted along the path, which both the governments would rather not hear about, their vested interests in keeping the issue simmering. Probably I was too harsh in my judgement.

The thing that is really plaguing my mind after reading it, (I don’t know why the thought did not occur to me before) is it possible that we are holding kashmiries against their wills within India? Why is it that we are reluctant to have a plesbicite? If the answer to the former question is yes then I am ashamed of the leaders who have done such grave injustice to the people of Kashmir, the same logic applies to the pakistani leaders if they are at fault. Any way I guess as the Indians get more educated through the web and more assertive as they prosper I guess they will have the guts to try and find answers to these were important questions, till such time I hope the talks and the cease-fire holds and proceeds in a positive manner.

The Iran, Pakistan and India gas pipeline is a step in the right direction I hope that we have the courage to take many such steps.

Royal Hypocrisy- Price Charles to mary Camila Parker Bowles

2005-02-10T22:00:00.000+05:30

Its been announced that Prince Charles Heir to the throne of England is to marry Camila Parker Bowles his lover. So what ? you may ask. Its their personal decision and we have no right to question it. Ofcourse yes but for the old fasioned Church law which says that if either partners were divorced( Which both of them are) and if their relationship had exsisted before the divorce (which both have admitted) which would lead one to beleive that the relasionship was the cause of divorce, then they cannot be married in the Church. Now the problem is if and when Charles becomes King he would automatically become Head of Church so much for Church laws.

But that is not which provoked me into posting this, It was the endorsement by Arch Bishop of Kantebury which really pushed me into writing this. One law for commoners one for royalty aint that hypocrisy ?

IIT results out

2005-02-09T06:10:00.000+05:30

It has been a mixed day as the iit's have come out with their shortlist for GD/PI
Got through IIT-KGP(VGSOM) but was eliminated by IIT-D. The iit-d result has been suprising considering the fact that last time the had given out calls to people with ranks up to 900. this time I think the cutoff rank has been around 500

Security concerns for Pak at Ahmedabad-Real Politick

2005-02-08T08:39:00.000+05:30

A delegation from Pakistan had come to India to inspect the security arrangements on the eve of the Indo-Pak Cricket series. In its report it has asked the Indian cricket board to shift the venue of a test match Ahmedabad outside the state of Gujarat. Gujarat the last bastion of the Hindu nationalist BJP, scene of the ghastly and systematic murder of Moslems in the aftermath of the Godra riots. Then are the concerns of the Pak deligation are just? Yes as moslems the Pak team and the Pak cricketing fans may not be comfortable to play on land where their berthen were so mercilessly butchered, they could be fearfull. I guess their sensitivities must be respected.

However often in matters such, as these not every thing is black and white. One must remember that just a few months ago Indians refused to play in Karachi. Also the CM of Gujarat had taunted the Pak president as “Miya Musharaf “ during his vicious election campaign. So security may not be the real reason as I cannot imagine any one attacking the pak team. The delegation may have had more of Real Politick in their mind when they gave their report.

CAT 2K5 Aspirants- Good News

2005-02-07T06:58:00.000+05:30

The IIM's have deided to increase their intake and atleast IIM-B has decided to raise its intake for PGP courses. 2K5 aspirants now we need to redouble our efforts to make it into iim's

for more details abt the increase in its intake
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=64218

2005-02-07T06:52:00.000+05:30

Maruthu Pranesh and Me

2005-02-07T06:50:00.000+05:30

Me in pranesh's house

Presence of mind

2005-02-06T19:09:00.000+05:30

Well now that most of the major B-School results are out (with the exception of JBIMS) its that time of the year when you abruptly remember how tough it is to prepare for GD and PI. Suddenly bawl out to who ever would listen to you "clearing the entrance test was a piece of cake and the real test was in clearing the interviews". Now heart of heart we all know that its a load of junk and that both the stages are equally tough. Any way I was going through some of the experiences of students who have had the privelage to attend the dreaded GD/PI already. Occasionally you come across a out of ordinary performance. On such experience that teaches us the importance of Presence of mind.

posted from the link
http://himalayanwind.blogdrive.com/archive/10.html

During my encounters with various people whom I accost with demands for Interview tips, I sometimes come across incredible stories of taking risks and getting returns. I met one such survivor two days ago.

This guy had been called for the FMS (Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi Univ) interview, which also consists of an extempore speech (All of you know, I believe, that the pronunciation of ex-tempore is eks-tem-p-uh-ree. I learnt this only on this occasion.) The FMS people are notorious for giving quirky extempore topics, which may range from anywhere across economics, geography & history. I know of topics like 'Jallianwala Bagh' and 'The Fire is Raging' being given. So you can never be sure what you may be saddled with.

Now, this guy was given the topic, 'Gupta Empire'. He stood there dumbfounded for around 10 seconds, at last deciding that he'll never recall enough information to last the one minute which is the minimum required time for the extempore. So, with a brilliant flash of insight, he began, "The Gupta Empire was started in 1980 by .... and it is yet to reach its zenith ..." and so on. He was selected.

His name is Sumit Gupta.

XAT- Exceeding Expectations

2005-02-01T20:56:00.000+05:30

Quantitative and Analytical Ability
28 45.65 95.04
Verbal and Logical Ability
43.58 67.45 98.81
General Awareness
27.63 40.29 96.11
Total
33.71 73.15 99.42

So the last of the exams(XAT) that I had taken for B-School admissions, for this academic year has declared its results, and like wine which gets better with time my examination performance has continued to show a marked rise. I may be sounding like a show off but boy 99.42%ile, gosh thats great by my standards and to say that it exceeded my wildest dreams will not be that far off the mark. For the record XIMB results were also declared today and obviously got trough. probably the only thing that has dampened my happiness was that my friend(name intentionaly not revealed) got 97.5 and still did not make it to ximb becoz of a poor 76.5% in GK. I am able to understand the frustration becoz of similar experiances in cat where I missed IIM calls by a wisker due to low quants scores(89.3) inspite of decent overall performance(98.5). Its unlikely he will get call from XLRI but who knows lets keep our fingers crossed.

Mother Terasa a Monster????????????????

2005-01-30T19:38:00.001+05:30

Stumbled across this on the net and boy is this not shocking?
got the link from http://skuvce.blogspot.com

original article from http://are.berkeley.edu/~atanu/Teresa/hitchens_interview.html

"... to the poor she preached resignation and obedience"
Interview of Christopher Hitchens

[ I was furious with rage when the I. K. Gujral government gave Teresa a state funeral. She has done more damage to India than many other invaders.
Hitchens is probably one of the greatest polemicist alive today. And he delights in his iconoclastic battles whether against Teresa or Clinton.]

CONTROVERSY
"Her work on earth was a large net minus..."
As the Vatican moves towards formally canonising Mother Teresa, British author Christopher Hitchens lashes out at the late missionary, insisting she did more harm than good. In an exclusive interview with Janaki B. Kremmer, he talks about what he will say if called upon as a hostile witness by the Vatican.

Excerpts:

You oppose beatification per se or only Mother Teresa's?

I think beatification and sanctification are both ridiculous concepts. I regard the Roman Church as a human agency that takes upon itself the task of deciding which of us is divine and which not. The whole process is ridiculous. It's just like the queen deciding whether someone is a knight or lord - the gesture is meaningless. Yet, there are occasions when someone is proposed for an honour - such as being made a lord or a duke or perhaps a saint, that one can still say "Come on, this person doesn't deserve to be honoured."
"Mother Teresa was in the service of the rich and the corrupt, and to the poor she preached resignation and obedience." You obviously mean this person whom you have called a religious fundamentalist, a political operative, a primitive sermoniser and an accomplice of worldly powers...
In the case of Mother Teresa, I think it's monstrous because she was all those things and more.

Was there anything that you did like about her?

Yes, her candour. She always advertised the fact that she was a fundamentalist. Although she accepted the Nobel for Peace, she never showed any interest in peace, nor did anything for it. She never pretended to be fighting poverty, but always maintained that her job was to rescue a soul for conversion. Her words on receiving the Nobel were alarmingly candid - she said the chief threat to world peace was abortion and contraception. An absolutely preposterous proposition startling her audience, but she wasn't being dishonest. She never really did much dissembling about her beliefs - that poverty was a gift from God, that the poor were lucky in their poverty. Though she kept saying this, she couldn't get anyone to believe her - if I run into a secular fan of hers and ask "Are you aware she thought poverty was a gift from God?", they'd look blank as if to say "surely that's not true, she spent her entire life feeding the hungry". And I say well, why do you think so? Can you name any case where she made any difference e.g. in famine relief? And they can't. Her view is considered extreme even within the Catholic church. In the Indian version of the Second Vatican Council - The Bombay Seminar, held for Indian faithfuls to discuss the Pope's proposals - she made a strong attack on the need for such a council, that there was no need for new thinking, only for more faith and work. This alarmed many in the church. She was represented as someone who selflessly worked for the poor, whereas her policies were explicitly designed to increase the chances of poverty on a large scale. So I have to say I admired her frankness.
"Sainthood would be an insult to the millions to whom she brought no relief but rather an additional burden."

Is your battle against Catholicism or Mother Teresa?

The battle is against religious credulity and reliance on faith instead of reason. In particular its fundamentalist version, which means the Catholic church will try, and where it’s strong enough will prevent access to contraception, abortion or divorce to even non-believers. This doctrine doesn’t preach only to its own faithful, but tries and legislates this on all citizens. So my attack is on the gullibility of the liberal in believing she was different, when she was only different in being more extreme than even the Pope who is now trying to canonise her.

Are you an agnostic?

No, I'm an atheist.

Are you just playing the Devil's advocate?

It's a matter of deep personal conviction. I think it's important to emancipate humanity not just from religion or the churches, but from habits of thought, obedience, faith, conformism and superstition involved in the human psyche, also among atheists. Journalistically, deciding to take a second look at Mother Teresa came out of the shock that my profession had refused to ever have that idea. Here was a woman who had almost 30 years of unopposed free publicity, all of it favourable. No one ever thought to have a look and see if she deserved it. And that's when I noticed things like her attachment to the Duvalier family in Haiti.

Has your book encouraged other sceptics to speak out?

Yes, I believe it's had that effect. I've had a number of letters from those who volunteered at her missions in America, Kenya or Calcutta and discovered the sort of idealism they expected was not in fact the purpose of the charity. They were joining a cult organisation dedicated to the dictates of one primitively minded woman. Many of them thought they were the only ones who'd had that experience and kept quiet. Many have gone public, as they did in my documentary. There is a woman in New York named Susan Shields. As a nun, she gave her entire life to it till she realised what she was involved in was partly a cult and, on her evidence, partly a racket. As far as I know, her evidence hasn't been controverted. They simply collected very large sums of money in a poor neighbourhood and sent it to a bank nobody knows where. There were no audits, you see, of the Missionaries of Charity. Given that she announces the number of convents she builds, we can be very sure where the money went - into the building of an order, not the alleviation of suffering.

So what's the answer?

There's only one certain way of abolishing poverty, it's not a sufficient condition but an important one, and that's the empowerment of women. If you can give women in a village in Bangladesh or Bolivia control over their reproductive systems - which means a bit of education and a bit of technology - that village will be transformed. But she preached exactly the opposite. If a poor woman has a limit to her fertility - that would be a matter of offense to Mother Teresa. She was a fanatic on these points. Her work on earth was a large net minus, more people are poor, destitute, ignorant and diseased because of her work. Then, there's the propaganda she gave to those who robbed and tortured the poor, such as the Duvaliers, from whom I now understand she also took money. I don't make the allegation. But there is that terrible man, her official biographer Navin Chawla. He wrote her obituary in Financial Times, where he launched an attack on me, saying I didn't understand that while she may have taken money from the Duvaliers, she used it for good purposes. That was one fascinating admission. He went on to say she'd said this to him. I hadn't alleged this because I couldn't prove it. But here, from her hagiographer, was confirmation that she took money from the Duvaliers. Now, people in Haiti are much poorer than the people in Calcutta. And the Duvaliers became rich stealing from them. Her claim that she used it to alleviate the lives of the poor has yet to be proven. She didn't submit to any audit. But, of the millions who've read endlessly recycled praise for her, not many read my book. Compared to the Niagra of praise they've heard of her, not many even know this question can be asked of her. My book sold, maybe, altogether 25,000 copies.
There are people who believe it doesn't matter what intellectuals write, the fact is she did some good.

Are you sure there are such people? Sunanda Dutta Ray writes from Calcutta that there are people who're fed up with having their city seen as a place for beggars. Certainly one motive they have for disliking her is the reputation she has given to a great city. All Bengalis like that are very pleased with the book. They resent the idea that Calcutta was simply a place where people sat on the pavement, hands outstretched. And would've been helpless but for a missionary coming over to wipe their brow - in fact it's been known that most of her work was done with the dying, who had no say in it. It's using the defenceless as an object of charity. If some say she did some good, they're obliged to say how. How is it that with the funds available to her, the mission in Calcutta is still so primitive?

How did you feel when she died?

It was extraordinary that she died in the same week as Princess Diana. I was then engaged in a critique of the Diana cult. It seemed remarkable that these two women who'd become colleagues in their last years should die at the same moment. I might add that Mother Teresa defended Diana's right to get divorced, showing how the church doles indulgences to the rich and preaches chastity to the poor. There was no more to mourn in her passing than there was in any other human being's passing - rather less actually. I hoped it would provide an occasion for reviewing her crimes against humanity. Rather, there was yet another avalanche of piety.

If allowed as a hostile witness, what will you say?

I'll be a hostile witness if the church genuinely solicits. I'm told the traditional office of the Devil's advocate no longer exists. A sort of self-policing mechanism has replaced it, whereby those who in their conscience feel they must object are allowed to do so. There used to be many more safeguards against fraud than there are in this case. I suspect shoddy motives...(that is), to do the canonisation before any questions can be raised, in time for the millennium and, if possible, in the present Pope's lifetime. But if we're told she did exemplary work for the poor, I'd argue she did so on behalf of those who stole from the poor and justified the means by which that theft took place. A Catholic would've to accuse her of bad faith, of not being as pious as she was advertised to be. But that wouldn't be my job. In a sense, I'd be speaking for those to whom the title of saint is still to be venerated if not affirmed. If it's for the poorest of the poor, then sainthood would be an insult to the millions to whom she brought no relief but an additional burden.

So she hurt more people than she helped?

Far more. By precept and by dogma, very many. She threw her entire weight against those who truly seek to alleviate suffering and behind those who positively sucked the blood of the oppressed. She was in the service of the rich and the corrupt, and to the poor she preached resignation and obedience. It's just as well for her there's no such thing as divine judgement.
The title of your book "The Missionary Position", many thought, was rather naughty.

What is obscene? I thought it was very clear that India was better off without the missionaries and colonists. It sounds archaic when people say that without the missionaries India wouldn't know what to do - the element of condescension is outrageous. Anyone who says that is committing an act of self-hatred. It (the title) is actually a perfect triple entendre: the book is about the politics of missionaries and the position of those who feel they can enlighten by divine warrant and presume to instruct the rest of us not just in morality but in day-to-day conduct. It was a title I couldn't not use.

IT cos. Q2 results, satisfactory or a warning?

2005-01-30T18:21:00.000+05:30

February has been an eventful month as far as the offshore IT services providing companies. The troika of the BIG 3 offshore companies TCS, Wipro, Infosys have all come out with their results and the results have been good. Also their smaller cousins HCL-T and Sathyam have also come out with results and on paper they also seem good. For obvious reasons I am not including the results of HCL’s group companies results HCL-Infosys (which incidentally had a great quarter) and NIIT while comparing HCL with other IT companies. The following link gives the overview of the results, and it does look rosy http://www.amrresearch.com/Content/View.asp?pmillid=17963
When I went through HCL-T’s result I came across this strange sounding ratio EBITA very often and wondered what it meant, googled it and what did I find? Earning Before Interest Taxes and Amortization. It turns out this is more commonly used to value a company which is subjected to take over. Then why is it that HCL is using this, than say net profit? That ordinary souls like me can understand is a question to be posed to the financial honchos sitting up there in HCL Sunnyvale, USA. But I just hope that its got nothing to do with the Rs 100 cr tax bill slapped by the IT department in India. Any way it was interesting comparing the results of the 3 leading companies.
Coming down to results.*
HCL-T TCS Infosys
Revenues
Amt 801.38 2691 1875.61
QoQ 2.5% n/a 7.22%
YoY 29.4% n/a 49.21%
Net Profit
Amt 121.91 713.31 497.31
QoQ -20.2% n/a 51.31%
YoY 46.7% n/a 11.37%
Profit/
100 Rs 15.21 26.5 26.51
Of revenue
*In Rs crores
Since TCS became a public company only last year YoY figures are not avilable. QoQ figures were also not available but I dint search to hard for it.
Dint have time to go through Wipro and Sathyam’s results but I guess it would be similar, Wipro more in the league of TCS and Infy and Sathyam more like HCL may be slightly better. I guess it points towards consolidation at the top where the big are getting bigger and the smaller cos. are stagnating.
HCL’s QoQ profits declining must be seen in the light that HCL-T has cash reserves are a mammoth $450 million and they receive a lot of income through investments and there have been some changes in that aspect i.e. other income. Also figurers in $ terms look better but don’t ask me why? Got to do some thing with exchange rates I guess.
So the trends seem to be mixed, Indeed and going forward I guess the tectonic plates under the IT cos. are moving and moving fast where will it lead us? Will the smaller cos. be elbowed out eventually? Only time will tell.
PS: 1. Going through the official results of the 3 cos. I found Infosys as the most transparent and open about the results, followed by HCL-T and then by TCS. Kudos to Infosys, probably its got to do with the time these companys have been publicly traded. My respect for Infosys has only increased because of this.
2. While HCL-T may look small compared to these companies HCL corporations consolidated revenue is 2 billion dollars or 9000 cr. Rs or around 2250 cr. Rs per quarter. Bigger than both Wipro and Infosys.

SOP-IIT-KGP

2005-01-27T07:39:00.000+05:30

my sop for iit-kgp was a lot harder to put it togeather than i imagined, the first para is far from satisfactory but this was the best i could get.

I am a Software Engineer working at HCL Technologies, Chennai having graduated with a BE (CSE) from Madras University. The college education helped me fine-tune my logical and analytical thinking process. My stint at HCL Technologies allowed me to hone these skills, apply them to real world problems and arrive at their logical solution.
I have always believed that in the 21st century, technology and management are inseparable. Managers need to understand the nuances of technology and how best to leverage it. My engineering background and my experience at HCL Technologies has laid a solid foundation in understanding the technological aspects of business.
It is however the managerial aspect of business that has always fascinated me. My ambition is to work at the macro level, taking up roles that affect directly the strategic business decisions of an organization. My current specialization as a computer science engineer alone is not sufficient to realize this ambition.
To leap frog from specialist to generalist, spanning business disciplines and industries one needs to be equipped with an holistic view of business, some powerful insights on the various functional areas of general management, and the ability to look at the big picture. A MBA education is the key to acquire these skills.
On a more personal level, as a person who looks forward to greater challenges, exploring new realms and having a flair for management, I feel that a management education will help me hone my existing talents and bring out other latent ones as well. Further I feel that a management degree will complement my innate desire for ‘Social change’.
My inter-personal skills and aptitude for teamwork coupled with my career goal, earmark management as the ideal career option for me. I sincerely believe that Vinod Gupta School of Management, one of the premier institutes with its world class faculty, infrastructure, industry linkages and students can provide me with the skills and knowledge required to fulfill my objectives.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE -IIT-D

2005-01-24T08:06:00.000+05:30

I am a Software Engineer working at HCL Technologies, Chennai having graduated with a BE (CSE) from Madras University.

My ambition is to work at the macro level, taking up roles that affect, directly, the strategic business decisions of an organization. My current specialization as a computer science engineer is not sufficient to realize this ambition.

To leap frog from specialist to generalist, spanning business disciplines and industries, one needs to be equipped with an holistic view of business, some powerful insights on the various functional areas of general management, and the ability to look at the big picture. A MBA education is the key to acquire these skills.

Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi – One of the premier institutes with its world class faculty, infrastructure and students can provide me with the skills and knowledge required to fulfill my objectives.

Ps:well to be honest i have picked parts of it from different sources but it basically sums up my purpose well, no time to get it proof read by some one but if you have comments please post them

Sania reached 3rd round so whats all the noise about?

2005-01-23T09:19:00.000+05:30

Some of the headlines after Sania reached the 3rd round read "Sania Mirza wins, makes history- The Times of India","BBC SPORT Tennis Indian woman makes tennis" , 'Sania Mania' grips India. Well she defeated some Cindy Watson and Petra Mandula who? Even as she "Stormed her way into the 3rd round" in the words of some. When I read all this my first reaction was "what in the hell, all this fuss about?" Ok! Accepted she was the first Indian woman to reach the 3rd round and that’s a gr8 thing. Ok she played the legendary Serina, who as expected steam rolled her 6-1 6-4, but to portray it as a epoch making event makes me hang my head in shame. Our sports men and women have performed soooooo well in recent past now seemingly trivial things like reaching 3rd round become history-making events and MANIA grips our ppl.
Looking at other sports we cant take heart from any of them either. Hockey has reached its nadir, we had to take a wild card to reach the champions trophy and the performance once we got there "The less said the better". Indian cricket team, the "Men in Blue" created history of sorts by losing a series to the Aussies for the first time in 33 years. After the All England championship win in 2000 Pulela Gopichand has vanished from the scene, and finally coming to the Olympics campaign, well what to say? We got one silver medal, as if that was not bad enough, to be tainted as drug cheats in weight lifting is simply disgusting.
This is where Theory of relativity comes in, when we see Sania’s performance through the prism of the over overall sports scenario we see a "History making event" don’t you think so? But is that some thing to be proud of? I sincerely hope not, we should never be satisfied by mediocrity other wise the next headlines may read "Yuvraj creates history, Becomes the batsman with most no of Ducks", "Ganguly says Yuvraj makes us proud".
To be fair to our sports men there has been a shining exception among all the mediocrity and that has been chess. Vishu has been the only silver lining among the dark void that our sports have given us. He had a great year in 2004 hope he carries his form ahead in 2005.

Disclaimer: My intention is not to deride the wonderful and partially successful run Sania enjoyed but rather remind people that reaching 3rd round is no great deal and instead look at ways and means to win the grand slam events.

Updated to congratulate Sania on her maiden WTA title at Hyderabad and hope that many such victories follow.

A promising weekend lying ahead

2005-01-20T07:09:00.001+05:30

Well finally things seem to be shaping up, and it seems to be a busy but satisfying week end for me.
This saturday there will be 2 firsts for me

1. I will go directly to MctM school and do some volunteering, to help organize the 48th Gita competition. The Egmore Sanskrit School is doing a great job organizing the event. More than 1000 competitors from all age groups will participate. Though I have been doing some behind the scene work like CD- copying, maintaining databases of volunteers , judges and participants, sending emails and taking print outs for last 3 years, I will go directly to the event for the first time. Hopefully the event is atleast as sucessfull as the previous years.

2. There is gong to be the chennai PG meet to decide on how to take forward an idea (To do some social service) that has been languishing for some time now. I would like to comend fellow PGite simon for giving the idea a new lease of life. After many false starts hopefully this time we set the ball rolling. The mumbai wallas and hyderabadis may have stolen the lead but better late than never. For more details on the initiative visit http://www.pagalguy.com/cat/viewtopic.php?t=3363&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=60

When is your Boss scolding you?

2005-01-17T08:27:00.000+05:30

Well this is a real life incident and to be honest it is my experience. It is for the uninitiated (Those like me who are fresh out of college and are working in the corporate environment for the first time), take note and beware if you ignore this warning it would be to your detriment.

Me: Excuse me, you wanted to meet me.
X: Sit down… Did you do some study about the product I had asked you to.
Me: No I had some probs accessing the net…
X: Dint I tell you to use some one else machine.
Me:…
X: See (Shows email from X’s boss) my boss is asking me if I had done some follow up on his earlier mail asking me to do some research on the product….. You have to understand, if big ppl tell you some thing you have to get back within a day or two.
Me: (Coolly pointed) Well that email (From big boss) is about some other product not relevant to me.
X: Oh…., I must be dreaming. I don’t know what happened….. I am sorry, " some times I may get a bit too harsh and scold you. You must not mind and become afraid of me"…… blah-blah
After this suddenly I was really afraid. Is this what you call scolding? You must understand that for a hardened veteran like me what happened never sounded like scolding, in fact it felt like an amicable discussion, but for the inadvertent mistake by X I would never have found out.
The crucial learning from this incident is that in a corporate environment the slightest hint of some thing being some how unsatisfactory is to be construed as severe criticism and the onus is on you to take corrective measure.
Hopefully after reading this you will know when your boss is actually scolding you.

Charles Graner conviction Justice or Coverup

2005-01-16T11:45:00.000+05:30

Specialist Charles Graner Jr was convicted by the millitary tribunal at Texas yesterday on charges of conspiracy, dereliction of duty, maltreatment of subordinates, aggravated assault and indecent acts. He is sentenced to 10 years in prison the highest sentence awarded in the ABU GARIB prisoner abuse scandal so far, so is this proof of american ideals of justice and liberty.....? I think not rather the entire thing is a sham to protet the higher ups, Donald the cruel Rumsfeid and Dick no brains Cheney. To say that Americans dint know about the wide spread abuses and atleast dint tacitly encourage such acts would be naive(and that is a understatement). These were not isolated acts by rouge elements in a highly disciplined army, but a planned strategy by neo conservatives for whom non westeners and non whites are like sheep and donkeys who dont deserve humane considerations.

Hopefully the US public wake up to the reality and 'Do the rigth thing' for which they are so famous for, by bringing pressure on neo cons to mend their ways(and kick rumsfeilds and cheneys out). Then the world will look to the American public with respect. Otherwise the rift will only continue to grow.

Swades- Movie Review

2005-01-12T06:24:00.000+05:30

As the name indicates this is another one of patriotic movies which seem to be the flavour of the day. After Lagan, Gadar, Hero, Refugee, Lakshya and many more movies, I was apprehensive about the merits in spending 3 hours in the theatre bombarded with jingoisms by some deluded protagonist(Lagan excluded). How wrong I was, not only were the dialogs low on rethoric the movie did not slip into the usual rethorical relm of 'India is the best, the rest are but a jest'. It was refreshing a movie that didnt potray the chiched and outdated view, 'pardes me paisa mil sakta hai, magar hamara sanskar nahi'. I was sick and tired of such cliches and wary when Swades threatened to go down that path, just then SRK sprang a suprise and told the truth plainly, 'Each country has its own culture and no one culture is good or bad and its ditasteful to be judgemental'. Also the lack of customary villian to bash , verbally chastice and significantly to grapple with to win the heroine, infused a breath of freash air to the movie. The songs went soft on ear drums at the same time fast paced setting the toes taping. The lack of mini skirts(de jure now a days in Bollywood) make swades stand out in sharp contrast with its contemparies Musafir, Aithraz and even Hungama. SRK gave a polished performance that it expected of him nowadays, Gayatri was too glamarous for a village girl albeit a educated one, though she tried hard her performance gave a feeling she had overdone it-real life personalities would never do it that way.

But Swades is after all a bollywood movie and to do justice to that fact it does have these un eartly moments. The building of a hydroelectric power generator scenes cannot and I stress cannot be digested by an engineer and the fact that my neighbor was a electrical engineer made matters worse. Also the scene where Ravana in the ramlilla play get a bow out of thin air sent my ribs tickling much to the discomfort some parsi views sitting around me.

All said and done taking the big picture into cognisance Swades is a must see for movie goersm especally those who are agast at the quality of most of other bollywod movies

Rating 7/10

XAT- Gut feeling,"Had a good day"

2005-01-10T22:32:00.000+05:30

Yesterday was a one of those good days where nothing went wrong, (days where every thing go rigth usually dont occur). Firstly reached the exam center in time even though, I took a a PTC Bus. Then the exam was not all that tough, though the GK section was, and after the exam had the feeling that I have given it my best shot so god willing will get a call from XLRI or atleast XIMB.

JMET Results out

2005-01-08T14:40:00.000+05:30

Finally the much awaited JMET results were declared on the 7th, as per my expectation there was a significant improvement in my performance, compared to last year. My All India Rank was 792 . Though I was expecting a AIR of < 500, will take 792 any day compared to the dismal 3200 last year. Though SJSOM(IIT-Bombay) is ruled out, I am pretty sure to receive a call from other IIT's (atleast going by last years trends). Will be applying to IIT-Delihi and VGSOM(IIT-KGP) and fervently hoping one of them clicks. Also will prob apply to IIT-Madras just to gain some exposure to GD/PI.

Tommorow is XAT and am desperate to crack it join that great B-School XLRI second to none but the IIM's. But taking into cognisance the amount of prep I have put up in the last few weeks I will be happy with a call from XIMB,

After XAT I will be able to focus on work a lot more as there is only TISS left and the exam is in June.

Still hoping agains hope that NITIE will call me, 98.5 in CAT certainly deserves 1 call................

am now going to sleep so that I will be fresh for tommorows XAT, at stella marris reporting time is 9 AM. after the exam am planning to watch Swadesh with Vinodh just to chill out and releive some stress

2005-01-06T06:35:00.000+05:30

Despair to new Hope the complete cycle traversed

2005-01-05T21:44:00.000+05:30

It is just amazing how resilient we human beings are, today morning I was feeling utterly worthless when it become obvious that I would not be getting a call from MDI but it is amazing how in a matter of just 8 hours things change. From that frightening thought of worthlessness to that of new hope all in a matter of 8 hours.

firstly my PM gave me hope that some of us could move on to client projects (guidewire and genre seem to be the most apparent ones but usaa could be the dark horse)at Jan end, while its not doom and gloom for others as they will be joining some eclipse group both of which sound interesting on paper atleast

then after scratching my brain for some time I was able to complete my task for the HAT project in 4 hours its amazing what a bit of challenge can do to your motivation levels

thirdly I have come to realize that being a engineer one cannot give give any excuse for low qa score already I have charted out plans for the next cat (hopefully I make it in jmet or xat but just in case......) probability and geometry will be the focus area, with atleast few hours preparation in the week ends I am sanguine about my prospects for next year especially with 1.5 years workex by then

next even though i feel that a MBA in a top 10 B school is part of my destiny I have realised that it is not the life or death question over which i waste my time brooding over what could have been, when tsunami affected people can move on in life and still look to the future with hope why cant I? and this changed my feelings decisively

but the thing that really made feel great about the day was that pranesh called me today after a long time. I dont even remember his last call must be months ago. Any way I felt as though suddenly there was ligth gushing into that long and dark tunnel that I was in and that brigthness brougth cheer to my heart..... Suddenly I could remember as though It was yesterday the time we spent preparing for cat sitting in the first row and in the middle of a lecture , reading story books(I still dont know if Uday ever got his Harry Potter Book V back which was confiscated by our HOD from pranesh), damaging college property by making paint balls(Iwould love to know if he still had those), copying assignments from Mohan but at the same time cursing him for having completed them in the first place, playing silly games like bingo,x-y,hang man etc . These things may sound silly and trivial but these small things are the ones which bring a genuine smile to your face. and uplift your sprit just hope that we stay in touch more often for I beleive we share a lot in common

so even as I write this post I feel a new lease of anticipation and buoyancy about life. Hopefully this mood can be sustained for some time to come

But the day did have its share of disappointments today I felt that another person whom I respected and felt was my friend (2nd to be precise) was trying to avoid me, though I feel I can guess the reason for it I clearly don't understand it, any way as with the first case I have taken mental notes and will oblige them and sever all personal rapport and links

Euphoria gives way to despair

2005-01-05T06:04:00.000+05:30

Yesterday MDI results were declared and even though I have not been able to check my result till now it is becoming increasingly clear (from others who have had their results confirmed from http://www.pagalguy.com/cat)that I will miss the call by a whisker(CAT Scores 98.48% DI-99-7%,VA-95.5 & QA-89.31% from ). What makes it frustrating is that people with lower overalls and only slightly higher quants have made it but that's what life is all about. After the CAT results were out in which I was able to boost my score from 94.5 to 98.5 I was on cloud nine so to say (thought that 98.xx was good for Nitie and Mdi with an outside chance of calls from iimk and iimi but it was not to be) but now it is clear that I will have to sit down and take stock of things and plan my future course of action. I had staked my carrer on CAT and given up offers from TCS and CTS for a boring job(to say the least) at HCL-T now I guess I have to pay the price. Yet I am not complaining It was my decision and I still stand by it.