Just returned back from my native village! Had a very nice time there - for the past 5 days!!
So much to share....so much to talk of.....but not now! I am too excited to write anything now - and also had a 10 hour car journey today - so just a bit tired - so just a snap-shot of the trip for now!
'Life is too good to be spent worrying' - This is the message for me from the trip! Nothing much to do there, left me with too much thinking (abt more positive things) and left me with mixed emotions.....away from a routine....away from work...close to people and nature.....real exciting stuff!
The past 5 days there has left me with a new dimension towards life! I seem to have discovered a few things which I was actually longing for! I am actually in a very confused state of mind now....but very excited and happy!
And should I mention about the rain! oooh....what a Journey I had on the 23rd when I started from here...again a 10 hour car journey...in the midst of huge rainfall.....I could hardly see anything in the road...oooohh....lifetime experience......so much to share...will do that very soon...and also a lot of pending work to be completed....so will not be able to spend much time here in the next 2 days or so...but will surely write of this trip within this week-end!
A few snaps made during the trip......hope you enjoy them!
Monday, November 28, 2005
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Oh God....
'Oh God....Give me the Power to change things which I can change, Strength to tolerate and accept things which I cannot change and The Wisdom to differentiate between the two'
I remember my Team Leader telling me this phrase and trying to explain me something during a tough day at work sometime back!!
I remember my Team Leader telling me this phrase and trying to explain me something during a tough day at work sometime back!!
Headlines
News headlines - 22 Nov 2005.
* Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and BJP outdo Lalu's RJD in Bihar Elections!
* Nitish kumar is the next Cheif Minister for Bihar, Lalu accepts defeat.
* Lalu's party RJD has lost an election significantly after 15 years.
* Nitish Kumar was Cheif Minister for Bihar for one week in the year 2000, but had to step down as he was not able to prove majority and Rabri Devi took over the post.
* Heavy rain in many parts of Tamilnadu including Chennai.
* As a result, the third one day international cricket match between India and South Africa that was supposed to take place in Chennai was called off.
* Rahul Dravid replaces Sourav Ganguly as captain for the Indian Test squad. Rahul is named the captian of the Indian squad for the upcoming three test series against Srilanka.
* The rest of the team for the test series and for the remaining two one dayers will be announced tommorow.
* Markets correct for the second consecutive day.
* BSE lost 75.77 points and closed the day at 8,534.97 whereas NSE lost 29.65 points and closed at 2,572.85.
Just wanted to post the day's happenings....just a few though..which I was following through the day.
* Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and BJP outdo Lalu's RJD in Bihar Elections!
* Nitish kumar is the next Cheif Minister for Bihar, Lalu accepts defeat.
* Lalu's party RJD has lost an election significantly after 15 years.
* Nitish Kumar was Cheif Minister for Bihar for one week in the year 2000, but had to step down as he was not able to prove majority and Rabri Devi took over the post.
* Heavy rain in many parts of Tamilnadu including Chennai.
* As a result, the third one day international cricket match between India and South Africa that was supposed to take place in Chennai was called off.
* Rahul Dravid replaces Sourav Ganguly as captain for the Indian Test squad. Rahul is named the captian of the Indian squad for the upcoming three test series against Srilanka.
* The rest of the team for the test series and for the remaining two one dayers will be announced tommorow.
* Markets correct for the second consecutive day.
* BSE lost 75.77 points and closed the day at 8,534.97 whereas NSE lost 29.65 points and closed at 2,572.85.
Just wanted to post the day's happenings....just a few though..which I was following through the day.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Kaveripoompattinam (alias Poompuhar)
These photographs were made in the year 1999, when myself and a couple of my friends were in Kaveripoompattinam (now known as Poompuhar) in Sirkazhi taluk, Nagapatinam district in Tamilnadu. Just happened to see these photographs in my album and thought of posting them here!!
Kaveripoompattinam has a Great Historical Importance! It was the Port Capital of the Chola Dynasty. Kaveripoompattinam has been mentioned and cited in various Temple Inscriptions and in ancient Tamil Literatures (Silapathigaram, Pattinapalai, Manimegalai are a few books that have mentions of Kaveripoompattinam).
It is said that the whole town of Kaveripoompattinam is under the sea now....might have been because of Tsunami long time back say historians...! Traders from Greece, Rome and Egypt had come here to Trade they add..
Reading more and more of this city is exciting me!! Actually I just thought of posting the photographs and maybe a small description....but...the history of this town is just compelling!!
Such a big and a very important town...went under the sea...no one knows when !!
.......it has happened generations before...centuries before....but...the very thought of such a rich history and the now left out fishing village leaves me with 'n' number of feelings that I am finding hard to express.....
Studies by historians show that poompuhar grew during the rule of Karikala Cholan, the second century chola king who established trade ties with various countries such as China, Arabia and the Roman empire!! Traces of brick buildings, water reservoirs and Roman coins have been found during undersea excavations!
But all that is left now are a few temples and the a fishing village!! There is a History sleeping under the sea over there now - and the archaelogists are working on to find the reality! The recent Tsunami has given a new dimension to the research!
A few sites for further reading on this town:
http://www.tamilnadutourism.org/places/citiestowns/Poompuhar.aspx?catid=c1&subcat1id=c1s1&subcat2id=c1s1s20
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/14/world/main667162.shtml
and ofcourse you can google or yahoo for more!!
Let's talk more of this and more later!
Friday, November 18, 2005
Good old Days - Anna Gem Science Park!!
...GOOD OLD DAYS...
Good old days – I seem to use this term time and again now…sometimes when I get some free time – I tend to go back in time and cherish those happy moments, and today is one such day.
The snaps above were made when we were in final year of our school. Just don’t find words to describe the happy days we spent there! It was an excellent mixture of people…and we blended together very well! I understand, for you, the above photos will be nothing more than just a group of people standing there posing – everyone have such photographs…but the real story behind the photos will be remembered forever by the people present in the occasion! These photos are just that for me – the two years we spent together reflected in a series of snaps!
The snaps above were made when we were in final year of our school. Just don’t find words to describe the happy days we spent there! It was an excellent mixture of people…and we blended together very well! I understand, for you, the above photos will be nothing more than just a group of people standing there posing – everyone have such photographs…but the real story behind the photos will be remembered forever by the people present in the occasion! These photos are just that for me – the two years we spent together reflected in a series of snaps!
Can't think of anything in particular to write! Sometimes when there is a lot to do - we prefer not doing that.....sometimes if there is a lot to say we stand dumbfounded...I am in such a situation now......too many things to talk of - but dont know where to start and what to say...
....just close your eyes and think of your best friends and the moments you spent with them in your school....your school uniform...your teachers and the subjects they taught you....your school canteen...school cricket team...assembly...exams...results....rainy days...school bus.........
and now I remember that forward I got.....I enjoyed it a lot....am putting it here...hope you would enjoy it too!!
Gone are the days
When the school reopened in June,
And we settled in our new desks and benches.
Gone are the days
When we queued up in book depot,
And got our new books and notes.
Gone are the days
When we wanted two Sundays and no Mondays,
yet Managed to line up daily for the morning prayers.
Gone are the days
We learnt writing with slates and pencils and
Progressed To fountain pens and ball pens and then Micro tips.
Gone are the days
We began drawing with crayons and evolved to
Colour pencils and finally sketch pens.
Gone are the days
We started calculating first with tables and then with
Clarke's tables and advanced to calculators and computers.
Gone are the days
When we chased one another in the corridors in
Intervals, and returned to the classrooms
Drenched in sweat.
Gone are the days
When we had lunch in classrooms, corridors,
Playgrounds, under the trees and even in cycle sheds.
Gone are the days
When all the colors in the world,
Decorated the campus on the Second Saturdays.
Gone are the days
When a single P.T. period in the week's Time Table,
Was awaited more eagerly than the monsoons.
Gone are the days
When cricket was played with writing pads as bats,
And Neckties and socks rolled into balls.
Gone are the days
When few played "kabadi" and "Kho-Kho" in scorching sun,
While many others played "book cricket" in the Confines of classroom.
Gone are the days
Of fights but no conspiracies, Of Competitions but seldom jealousy.
Gone are the days When we used to watch Live Cricket telecast,
In the opposite house in Intervals and Lunch breaks.
Gone are the days
When few rushed at 3:45 to "Conquer" window seats in our School bus.
Gone are the days
While we had "Big Fun", "pulippu muttai",
"gulfi ice", "seeval ice !" or "pepsi !" at 4o Clock.
Gone are the days
Of Sports Day, and the annual School Day ,
And the one-month long preparations for them.
Gone are the days
Of the stressful Quarterly, Half Yearly and Annual Exams,
And the most enjoyed holidays after them.
Gone are the days
Of tenth and twelfth standards,
when we Spent almost the whole year writing revision tests.
Gone are the days
we learnt, we enjoyed, we played, we won, we lost,
We laughed, we cried, we fought, we thought.
Gone are the days
With so much fun in them, so many friends,
So much experience, all this and more.
Gone are the days
when we used to talk for hours with our friends.
Now we don't have time to say a HI.
Gone are the days
when we played games on the road.
Now we code on the road with laptop.
Gone are the days
when we saw stars shining at night.
Now we see stars when our code doesn't work.
Gone are the days
when we sat to chat with friends on grounds.
Now we chat in chat rooms.....
Gone are the days
where we studied just to pass.
Now we study to save our job
Gone are the days
where we had no money in our pockets and fun filled on our hearts
Now we have the atm as well as credit card but with an empty heart
Gone are the days
where we shouted on the road.
Now we dont shout even at home
Gone are the days
But not the memories,
which will be Lingering in our hearts for ever and ever
Ever and ever and Ever .....
Let's cherish.....cherish the good old memories.....
memories for life!!
When the school reopened in June,
And we settled in our new desks and benches.
Gone are the days
When we queued up in book depot,
And got our new books and notes.
Gone are the days
When we wanted two Sundays and no Mondays,
yet Managed to line up daily for the morning prayers.
Gone are the days
We learnt writing with slates and pencils and
Progressed To fountain pens and ball pens and then Micro tips.
Gone are the days
We began drawing with crayons and evolved to
Colour pencils and finally sketch pens.
Gone are the days
We started calculating first with tables and then with
Clarke's tables and advanced to calculators and computers.
Gone are the days
When we chased one another in the corridors in
Intervals, and returned to the classrooms
Drenched in sweat.
Gone are the days
When we had lunch in classrooms, corridors,
Playgrounds, under the trees and even in cycle sheds.
Gone are the days
When all the colors in the world,
Decorated the campus on the Second Saturdays.
Gone are the days
When a single P.T. period in the week's Time Table,
Was awaited more eagerly than the monsoons.
Gone are the days
When cricket was played with writing pads as bats,
And Neckties and socks rolled into balls.
Gone are the days
When few played "kabadi" and "Kho-Kho" in scorching sun,
While many others played "book cricket" in the Confines of classroom.
Gone are the days
Of fights but no conspiracies, Of Competitions but seldom jealousy.
Gone are the days When we used to watch Live Cricket telecast,
In the opposite house in Intervals and Lunch breaks.
Gone are the days
When few rushed at 3:45 to "Conquer" window seats in our School bus.
Gone are the days
While we had "Big Fun", "pulippu muttai",
"gulfi ice", "seeval ice !" or "pepsi !" at 4o Clock.
Gone are the days
Of Sports Day, and the annual School Day ,
And the one-month long preparations for them.
Gone are the days
Of the stressful Quarterly, Half Yearly and Annual Exams,
And the most enjoyed holidays after them.
Gone are the days
Of tenth and twelfth standards,
when we Spent almost the whole year writing revision tests.
Gone are the days
we learnt, we enjoyed, we played, we won, we lost,
We laughed, we cried, we fought, we thought.
Gone are the days
With so much fun in them, so many friends,
So much experience, all this and more.
Gone are the days
when we used to talk for hours with our friends.
Now we don't have time to say a HI.
Gone are the days
when we played games on the road.
Now we code on the road with laptop.
Gone are the days
when we saw stars shining at night.
Now we see stars when our code doesn't work.
Gone are the days
when we sat to chat with friends on grounds.
Now we chat in chat rooms.....
Gone are the days
where we studied just to pass.
Now we study to save our job
Gone are the days
where we had no money in our pockets and fun filled on our hearts
Now we have the atm as well as credit card but with an empty heart
Gone are the days
where we shouted on the road.
Now we dont shout even at home
Gone are the days
But not the memories,
which will be Lingering in our hearts for ever and ever
Ever and ever and Ever .....
Let's cherish.....cherish the good old memories.....
memories for life!!
Promise!
" I don't want to be what you expect me to be and I am sure you will like me for what I am and expect me to be the same forever - I promise I will!! "
No - I did not pick it from anywhere - It's just a dialogue that my heroin utters to the hero - in my script ;-))
No - I did not pick it from anywhere - It's just a dialogue that my heroin utters to the hero - in my script ;-))
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Big Problems - Simple Solutions - Let's Think!!
'Great people don’t do different things but do things differently!!'
We people are caught up in a routine….we knowingly or un-knowingly have programmed our brain to think in a regular manner – That is actually a shame to our brain! The very purpose of brain is to think, taking all possibilities into consideration…but we have trained it so much that it works in a same manner even if it is struck without finding any solutions – it still tries to solve the issue or problem in a same manner – it refuses to rephrase it – or view it from other perspectives!! It has nothing to do with our brains though…we have trained it that way after all!!
I think it is here that achievers and ordinary people differ…..at least that’s what I feel! All the aptitude tests are meant for this purpose – to know if we can think from a different perspective…..but what we do is try practicing them and frame formulae and crack them….here we are not thinking but programming our brain to think in a particular way when it encounters a particular question – again the purpose is defeated…but anyway – we use aptitude tests here just for the purpose of filtering people ;-).
Talking of this reminds me of two instances I read somewhere. I am not too sure where, also I heard some prominent person speaking of these….don’t exactly know where. Anyway…I would like to share them here…they are actually very interesting! (Both these are MBA stuff…I mean practical problem solving examples in industry environment!!)
First let me talk of a costlier one! When scientists from USA were first planning to launch astronauts into Space they faced with this problem. They found that Pens wouldn’t work in space at zero gravity, as there will b problem in ink flowing down! But pens were inevitable….so they had to find some solution for this problem. So they formed a team of scientists researching on this topic and worked on finding a pen that would work there in space and so everywhere! And yes they did find a solution…a decade or so later. The amount they spent on this research was around a whooping $12 million!! But during the same period and even before this Russians were successful in sending their astronauts to space and they did not seem to suffer with this problem. What did they do about this problem -- ??
Any guesses – of course only if u did not know abt this incident before. They saw it from a different perspective….they used Pencils!! Yes – very simple indeed – but only once u know the answer!! This is the important point, we many a times fail to identify!
And the next one is also a very popular one – a case study on Japanese Management! This happened in one of the Japan’s biggest cosmetics companies. The problem was that, they received a complaint from a customer saying that he received an empty soap box (actually it should have contained a soap in it!!). Immediately the problem was isolated to the assembly line, which actually is responsible for this mistake to happen and a lot of effort went down in finding a solution for this problem! They were not able to find the particular reason for the problem….but they had to find a solution so that the same problem doesn’t occur again! The Engineers there worked very hard to find a solution for this problem and finally after a lot of time and effort they were able to devise an X-ray machine, which was able to do the job with proper inspection and stuff! Again like the previous case – it worked – they were successful in finding a solution – but after a lot of time and effort. And after reading the first example you would have definitely guessed there is a simpler but effective solution!
If you want to give your brain some fun….think if u can find a solution ;-)
But for those who don’t have the patience to think – this is the solution…and this came through an employee of a very small company…..he did not complicate himself with concepts of X-Rays and stuff but came out with this simple solution…..he bought an Industrial electric fan and used that instead of the X-ray machine! He pointed it to the assembly line and switched it ON…..and as each soap-box passes the fan, it simply blew out the empty box out of the line!! Simple!!
When I started to write on this topic of thinking from a different perspective – these were the ones that struck my mind immediately. So wanted to share them with you. Hope you enjoyed them….let’s try to think….let’s simplify things…..big problems do have simple solutions!!
We people are caught up in a routine….we knowingly or un-knowingly have programmed our brain to think in a regular manner – That is actually a shame to our brain! The very purpose of brain is to think, taking all possibilities into consideration…but we have trained it so much that it works in a same manner even if it is struck without finding any solutions – it still tries to solve the issue or problem in a same manner – it refuses to rephrase it – or view it from other perspectives!! It has nothing to do with our brains though…we have trained it that way after all!!
I think it is here that achievers and ordinary people differ…..at least that’s what I feel! All the aptitude tests are meant for this purpose – to know if we can think from a different perspective…..but what we do is try practicing them and frame formulae and crack them….here we are not thinking but programming our brain to think in a particular way when it encounters a particular question – again the purpose is defeated…but anyway – we use aptitude tests here just for the purpose of filtering people ;-).
Talking of this reminds me of two instances I read somewhere. I am not too sure where, also I heard some prominent person speaking of these….don’t exactly know where. Anyway…I would like to share them here…they are actually very interesting! (Both these are MBA stuff…I mean practical problem solving examples in industry environment!!)
First let me talk of a costlier one! When scientists from USA were first planning to launch astronauts into Space they faced with this problem. They found that Pens wouldn’t work in space at zero gravity, as there will b problem in ink flowing down! But pens were inevitable….so they had to find some solution for this problem. So they formed a team of scientists researching on this topic and worked on finding a pen that would work there in space and so everywhere! And yes they did find a solution…a decade or so later. The amount they spent on this research was around a whooping $12 million!! But during the same period and even before this Russians were successful in sending their astronauts to space and they did not seem to suffer with this problem. What did they do about this problem -- ??
Any guesses – of course only if u did not know abt this incident before. They saw it from a different perspective….they used Pencils!! Yes – very simple indeed – but only once u know the answer!! This is the important point, we many a times fail to identify!
And the next one is also a very popular one – a case study on Japanese Management! This happened in one of the Japan’s biggest cosmetics companies. The problem was that, they received a complaint from a customer saying that he received an empty soap box (actually it should have contained a soap in it!!). Immediately the problem was isolated to the assembly line, which actually is responsible for this mistake to happen and a lot of effort went down in finding a solution for this problem! They were not able to find the particular reason for the problem….but they had to find a solution so that the same problem doesn’t occur again! The Engineers there worked very hard to find a solution for this problem and finally after a lot of time and effort they were able to devise an X-ray machine, which was able to do the job with proper inspection and stuff! Again like the previous case – it worked – they were successful in finding a solution – but after a lot of time and effort. And after reading the first example you would have definitely guessed there is a simpler but effective solution!
If you want to give your brain some fun….think if u can find a solution ;-)
But for those who don’t have the patience to think – this is the solution…and this came through an employee of a very small company…..he did not complicate himself with concepts of X-Rays and stuff but came out with this simple solution…..he bought an Industrial electric fan and used that instead of the X-ray machine! He pointed it to the assembly line and switched it ON…..and as each soap-box passes the fan, it simply blew out the empty box out of the line!! Simple!!
When I started to write on this topic of thinking from a different perspective – these were the ones that struck my mind immediately. So wanted to share them with you. Hope you enjoyed them….let’s try to think….let’s simplify things…..big problems do have simple solutions!!
Smile pls!
'Sometimes it is very difficult to put a small smile in our face and say good-bye to our worries....but that's what life is all about!'
wow - isn't this great - read this somewhere while just browsing through the web.....thought of sharing this with u!
Keep Smiling :-)
wow - isn't this great - read this somewhere while just browsing through the web.....thought of sharing this with u!
Keep Smiling :-)
Chennai Film City!!
This snap reminds me of the good old days......good old days.....when we used to pick up a 'point and shoot' camera and run around the city making photographs....talking Cinema and doing nothing else!! Things have changed now - but not the memories...and ofcourse not the inclination towards photographs and cinema!This snap was made some 5 years back at the then 'Film City' in Taramani, Chennai (which is no more!).
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Anything Special??
I made this photo when I was wandering in the streets of South Bombay. Nothing really special about this photo, but I like it very much. Don't know the reason.....
Posted it here to know if you find anything interesting in this snap?? Please feel free to comment - if u have a point. Thanks.
Mood
Does this pic suggest the mood of the person who was wearing this just b4 this pic was taken?
PS: This spects belong to an upcoming celebrity (hey no - not me!).
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Will we ever meet again??
My KG pals from Sri Durga Matriculation School - Chrompet, that tuition teacher who presented me that long pencil with a cap when I was in I standard, Prasanna who lived in my neighbourhood when I lived in that hosur's housing board apartments, his sister who used to play with me then, that senior of mine (she was in III std when I was in II :-)) from my school, that next door friend of mine from the Housing board apartments, Sampath, Elango of St.Joseph's school and later Mary Magdalena, Hosur. Guru, Hari, Madhu, Narasimhan, Abiram and other friends who played cricket with me when I was 8 to 10 years old! (remember the
Parimalam school ground and the Tennis court ground just next to each other!!). GowriShankar & Muthuraman (remember Rukmani teachers tuition and the day we broke an auto's horn?!), Gunaseelan, Nedunchezhian, Chaitanya Kumar, Raghavendra, Aunagiri, Nagendran, Vijay, Ramachandran, Laxmi Singh, Kalpana, Keerthi, Uma miss, Chitra akka and many more from Mary Magdalena school, I missed Pushpa, Chandra Kala, Manjunath, Bhuvaneswari miss...., Jayaraj whose father was working in TTDC, hosur then, Ganesh Singh, Teja, the senior who used to say stories to keep us quite during the lunch periods (when I was in 4th std), Rajesh (we used to play cricket in the road - anna nagar, Hosur), Rukmani miss, Tamil miss Girija who encouraged me to write in Tamil at that age itself!, Dency Babitha, Vijay's brother (who had come from Bombay), Priya who was residing opposite my house....................
Parimalam school ground and the Tennis court ground just next to each other!!). GowriShankar & Muthuraman (remember Rukmani teachers tuition and the day we broke an auto's horn?!), Gunaseelan, Nedunchezhian, Chaitanya Kumar, Raghavendra, Aunagiri, Nagendran, Vijay, Ramachandran, Laxmi Singh, Kalpana, Keerthi, Uma miss, Chitra akka and many more from Mary Magdalena school, I missed Pushpa, Chandra Kala, Manjunath, Bhuvaneswari miss...., Jayaraj whose father was working in TTDC, hosur then, Ganesh Singh, Teja, the senior who used to say stories to keep us quite during the lunch periods (when I was in 4th std), Rajesh (we used to play cricket in the road - anna nagar, Hosur), Rukmani miss, Tamil miss Girija who encouraged me to write in Tamil at that age itself!, Dency Babitha, Vijay's brother (who had come from Bombay), Priya who was residing opposite my house....................
.........................my mind still has traces of you in it......still has your memories.......but will I ever meet you people again in my life?! Would like to know if any of you remember me as I do........everything would have changed.....almost everything.......haven't come to Hosur for the past 13 years....you people would have moved as I did.....maybe some of you are still in there - in the same place as u did b4......
but will we ever meet again - or will these memories stay with me just as memories for ever.....
Just wondering............miss those good old days........would love to meet atleast a few of you.......
.....
Blessed we are!
Read this somewhere - Thought it was very real - We are Blessed with so many things.....
Just take a look.....you will feel that for urself......
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness,you are more blessed than the million who won’t survive the week>>>
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 20 million people around the World>>>
If you can move around without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the World>>>
If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this World>>>
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the World’s wealthy>>>
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not>>>
If you can hold someone’s hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer God’s healing touch>>>
If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the World that cannot read anything at all>>>
You are so blessed in ways you may never even know>>>
Just take a look.....you will feel that for urself......
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness,you are more blessed than the million who won’t survive the week>>>
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 20 million people around the World>>>
If you can move around without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the World>>>
If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this World>>>
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the World’s wealthy>>>
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not>>>
If you can hold someone’s hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer God’s healing touch>>>
If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the World that cannot read anything at all>>>
You are so blessed in ways you may never even know>>>
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Candle Light - no not dinner!!
Should I say I am obsessed with this little candle and the light it emits?!
People Watching - interesting!!
Am writing after quite a long gap! Work sometimes seems to eat up half ur time and the rest of it - I was too lazy to talk!
HAPPY DIWALI to all of you who are reading this (if in case someone is!).
It's sometimes fun to do nothing :-) Today was just that for me! I had lost interest in crackers quite a few years ago....so what else on a Diwali day - definately nothing related to work.......so what else.....nothing!! Eat sweets.....watch TV (and that will b boring just in time) and wander here and there and thats it!
Missed to watch Ilayaraja's "Netru Indru Naalai" live!! And today got an opportunity to enjoy part of that (which was telecast in Jaya TV - inbetween a series of Advertisements!!)......oh again I told to myself - This guy is a genius!! What a great feeling to listen to good music!! Dont want to go into Ilayaraja now.....lemme write more of how this man has influenced my life through his music - sometime later!
And once it got over....again Tv started to look like a stupid box showing nothing interesting (that's my moods reflection!). So just took a small walk.....just watching little children enjoying Diwali. Bursting crackers and running around simply to just add some excitement and moving around with their small bicycles....its great to be a child - I felt to myself! Back home - what else - had Lunch!
Then I logged into Orkut just like that - I hadn't logged in for quite sometime.....and just started to browse through people's profiles(wildly - no order) just to know about them and nothing else! I mean - like people watching - it was interesting in a sense - to get to know how people really are....reading about people - see the people link through friends and knowing more about each person through their communities....and with a few interesting photos.....for the first time I felt the life within!! Spent quite sometime doing this and then thought of recording this in this blog!
I saw quite a few interesting characters (profiles) but did not want to send in a message to intimate them that or to send in an invite to know them better (using the word 'become friends' is being used so frequently in the net that it no more means what it says!!).
So finally spent some good time in Orkut.....getting to know quite a few people around me......but they will not know me.....I wonder what will happen if I meet someone - somewhere.....say for example if I get to meet a person whom I know through Orkut in Besant Nagar beach - and he/she doesn't know me.....that should be interesting (what say??)....and for a person like me - Orkut has actually given me some interesting plots (and characters) to weave in my story line around! ;-)
So - now going to my imaginary world - who knows - u might be a character too - in my dream world of script writing!!
HAPPY DIWALI to all of you who are reading this (if in case someone is!).
It's sometimes fun to do nothing :-) Today was just that for me! I had lost interest in crackers quite a few years ago....so what else on a Diwali day - definately nothing related to work.......so what else.....nothing!! Eat sweets.....watch TV (and that will b boring just in time) and wander here and there and thats it!
Missed to watch Ilayaraja's "Netru Indru Naalai" live!! And today got an opportunity to enjoy part of that (which was telecast in Jaya TV - inbetween a series of Advertisements!!)......oh again I told to myself - This guy is a genius!! What a great feeling to listen to good music!! Dont want to go into Ilayaraja now.....lemme write more of how this man has influenced my life through his music - sometime later!
And once it got over....again Tv started to look like a stupid box showing nothing interesting (that's my moods reflection!). So just took a small walk.....just watching little children enjoying Diwali. Bursting crackers and running around simply to just add some excitement and moving around with their small bicycles....its great to be a child - I felt to myself! Back home - what else - had Lunch!
Then I logged into Orkut just like that - I hadn't logged in for quite sometime.....and just started to browse through people's profiles(wildly - no order) just to know about them and nothing else! I mean - like people watching - it was interesting in a sense - to get to know how people really are....reading about people - see the people link through friends and knowing more about each person through their communities....and with a few interesting photos.....for the first time I felt the life within!! Spent quite sometime doing this and then thought of recording this in this blog!
I saw quite a few interesting characters (profiles) but did not want to send in a message to intimate them that or to send in an invite to know them better (using the word 'become friends' is being used so frequently in the net that it no more means what it says!!).
So finally spent some good time in Orkut.....getting to know quite a few people around me......but they will not know me.....I wonder what will happen if I meet someone - somewhere.....say for example if I get to meet a person whom I know through Orkut in Besant Nagar beach - and he/she doesn't know me.....that should be interesting (what say??)....and for a person like me - Orkut has actually given me some interesting plots (and characters) to weave in my story line around! ;-)
So - now going to my imaginary world - who knows - u might be a character too - in my dream world of script writing!!
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Ooty again....
Have posted a few more photos made in ooty....just thought of sharing a few photos with you and so this post......
Photos in a way are really great - they kindle your artistic sense and bring out the artist in you when you make the photo and have the magic of bringing the whole event in front of you when you see them even after years!!
As usual have a lot more to share - will be back with more later.....
Little important things....
'At the stroke of midnight, when the whole world has slept, we wake up into prosperity and freedom'
-Nehru has made a mistake in his sentence, because at midnight in India, people in New York are wide awake
Just happened to read this just now from a website, it came as a blow right in my head. I have heared and read this statement 'n' number of times, but it never struck me that there was a mistake in this statement. I am NOT an Anti-Nehru and am not willing to get into the history and all the stuff......but am worried that my mind hadn't got this simple fact.
Lot of self-analysis to be done....donno how many such mistakes my mind has missed.....this ofcourse doesn't have any relevence with my life - just that missed to find out a mistake - but how many decisions do we make based on things which we read - things we hear - things we see.....may my lil brain be a lil more active in interpreting 'correct' things out of the 'sources' from which we derive at 'decisions'
Are we missing out somewhere??
As I said before - Stock Market is one thing which I have started following quite closely off late. And beleive me the Indian Stock market is at its best now....all the indices scaling new peaks almost daily. No, I am not exaggerating at all.....the back-bone of this is ofcourse the GREAT INDIAN STORY. All the foreigners out there (from US, UK, Japan, Korea to now even Australia) beleive India to be the best place to put their money into and thus FII's (Foreign Institutional Investors) keep pouring their money into Indian companies. Why won't they?? When a country can show more than 7% GDP growth (which is Great) and the finance ministry is confident of continuing this for a longer term.....and companies in all the sectors are showing tremendous growth...why wont they pump in their money here - afterall they are going to get great returns from this!
First the Software Industry then the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) and now...the next industry in the pipeline to take off is the KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing). KPO is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 46% from $1.2 billion in 2003 to $17 billion in 2010. India is going to play a very important role in the development of the KPO. Ofcourse good news for us ...India is marching forward. (I dont want to fill in this column with statistics - may b I'll provide the links for all the data used here sometime soon).
And also the general lifestyle of the public has become great in the past few years. With the software companies coming in....all the restaurants and the pubs in the city are almost always HOUSE FULL! We have seen two revolutions silently happening - First the computers and now the mobile phones. Computer which was very rare just a few years back has become more a basic requirement these days...and to add to that lap tops are also catching up, in less than a year sale of lap tops would grow at a very high pace....say reports. Mobile Phones -- well I know there is no need for me to talk about that...we all know it...
Automobile Industry is doing great. Every foreign auto major wants to tap the market here - Ford, Hyundai, VW (I am not going to go into the VW problem - lets talk of it later), Chevrolet, Skoda.....and the list is endless and ofcourse many of you would be knowing the Rolls Royce' model Phantom's launch in July this year in India, 6 cars were booked on the very first day of launch and the cost of the car is around 3 Crores each!! Also the Indian auto companies are showing great sales numbers - yes India is a growing market for almost all commodities from Cars to Bikes to what not!
So are things finally getting good for India....when I read all the above reports I very much thought so! I was infact very much excited.....but not anymore.
But why not - you may ask. When we are boasting of all the above developments there is another section of people in our own country who have absolutely no connection with any of these developments!! Absolutely left out!!
It all started when I read an article in the Hindu - The Sensex, Sania and the Starvation. The article clearly underlines the inequality that is very clearly getting bigger and bigger. It just reminds me of the good old theory - The rich getting richer and richer and the poor getting poorer and poorer. Will you beleive 2,675 childern died of malnutrition in Maharashtra from April to July this year!! I don't want to go into the statistics - I prefer u reading from the article - http://www.hindu.com/mag/2005/09/18/stories/2005091800080300.htm.
And after I read this article I tried to look in to the real situation around me - just to confirm to myself that I was not getting biased reading the article, but I was shocked - I should say!! The number of homeless people.......no proper food...no proper clothing...and a set of people who have nothing else other than the above two. No I am trying to be cynical at all - just wanted to get a few things cleared for myself........ maybe once you try to go round the city during late hours...and you'll see a lot of families sleeping in the platforms - with absolutely no shelter......and time and again we do hear news of lorry killing people who were sleeping the platforms!! The case in the rural side is actually the one to watch....let me not go into that for now....
Has such a rapid development catered just a small portion of the people......I don't know, frankly - trying to find out the answer! Actually I am not trying to blame anyone........but just am not able to digest the In-equality which is very clearly visible!! I am sure people responsible would we watching these closely and hopefully working on these issues.....and now we remember those beggers who bug us time and again - don't we - oh yes - do they come under this category?? But anyway I have never supported and will never support those people who can work but just opt for begging!!
Just wanted to get a clear picture which is simple so that even people like us can understand the actual situation. So wanted to remove the jargon and present it in simple language......
* The United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index (HDI) is an Indicator in terms of Human Life expectancy, Income generation and literacy and is provided for countries across the world.
* For the year 2005, India has retained it's position at 127 out of 177 countries. (Srilanka being the only country in south asia ranked below 100)
* IMR and MMR are sensitive measures to determine a nation's health. (IMR being Infant Mortality Rate - Annual number of deaths of children under age 1 per 1000 live births and MMR being Maternal Mortality Death - Annual number of Maternal Deaths per 1000 live births)
* India's IMR is 63 per thousand live births. IMR's of countries like Srilanka(13 per thousand), China(30 per thousand), Nepal(61 per thousand) and Bangaladesh(46 per thousand) better than India
* India's MMR is 5.4 per thousand births. Countries like Srilanka (0.92 per thousand), Pakistan (5.0 per thousand) and Bangladesh(3.8 per thousand) have done well when compared to India.
Maybe you can get more details from the following link - http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/data/
I think this is just enough to get an outline of things.....I happened to read the reports of both sides....so just thought I would put them on here and leave you to think for yourself.....will write more on this later.....
so....would you mind going through the first few paragraphs again....and now the title - Are we missing something somewhere??
First the Software Industry then the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) and now...the next industry in the pipeline to take off is the KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing). KPO is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 46% from $1.2 billion in 2003 to $17 billion in 2010. India is going to play a very important role in the development of the KPO. Ofcourse good news for us ...India is marching forward. (I dont want to fill in this column with statistics - may b I'll provide the links for all the data used here sometime soon).
And also the general lifestyle of the public has become great in the past few years. With the software companies coming in....all the restaurants and the pubs in the city are almost always HOUSE FULL! We have seen two revolutions silently happening - First the computers and now the mobile phones. Computer which was very rare just a few years back has become more a basic requirement these days...and to add to that lap tops are also catching up, in less than a year sale of lap tops would grow at a very high pace....say reports. Mobile Phones -- well I know there is no need for me to talk about that...we all know it...
Automobile Industry is doing great. Every foreign auto major wants to tap the market here - Ford, Hyundai, VW (I am not going to go into the VW problem - lets talk of it later), Chevrolet, Skoda.....and the list is endless and ofcourse many of you would be knowing the Rolls Royce' model Phantom's launch in July this year in India, 6 cars were booked on the very first day of launch and the cost of the car is around 3 Crores each!! Also the Indian auto companies are showing great sales numbers - yes India is a growing market for almost all commodities from Cars to Bikes to what not!
So are things finally getting good for India....when I read all the above reports I very much thought so! I was infact very much excited.....but not anymore.
But why not - you may ask. When we are boasting of all the above developments there is another section of people in our own country who have absolutely no connection with any of these developments!! Absolutely left out!!
It all started when I read an article in the Hindu - The Sensex, Sania and the Starvation. The article clearly underlines the inequality that is very clearly getting bigger and bigger. It just reminds me of the good old theory - The rich getting richer and richer and the poor getting poorer and poorer. Will you beleive 2,675 childern died of malnutrition in Maharashtra from April to July this year!! I don't want to go into the statistics - I prefer u reading from the article - http://www.hindu.com/mag/2005/09/18/stories/2005091800080300.htm.
And after I read this article I tried to look in to the real situation around me - just to confirm to myself that I was not getting biased reading the article, but I was shocked - I should say!! The number of homeless people.......no proper food...no proper clothing...and a set of people who have nothing else other than the above two. No I am trying to be cynical at all - just wanted to get a few things cleared for myself........ maybe once you try to go round the city during late hours...and you'll see a lot of families sleeping in the platforms - with absolutely no shelter......and time and again we do hear news of lorry killing people who were sleeping the platforms!! The case in the rural side is actually the one to watch....let me not go into that for now....
Has such a rapid development catered just a small portion of the people......I don't know, frankly - trying to find out the answer! Actually I am not trying to blame anyone........but just am not able to digest the In-equality which is very clearly visible!! I am sure people responsible would we watching these closely and hopefully working on these issues.....and now we remember those beggers who bug us time and again - don't we - oh yes - do they come under this category?? But anyway I have never supported and will never support those people who can work but just opt for begging!!
Just wanted to get a clear picture which is simple so that even people like us can understand the actual situation. So wanted to remove the jargon and present it in simple language......
* The United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index (HDI) is an Indicator in terms of Human Life expectancy, Income generation and literacy and is provided for countries across the world.
* For the year 2005, India has retained it's position at 127 out of 177 countries. (Srilanka being the only country in south asia ranked below 100)
* IMR and MMR are sensitive measures to determine a nation's health. (IMR being Infant Mortality Rate - Annual number of deaths of children under age 1 per 1000 live births and MMR being Maternal Mortality Death - Annual number of Maternal Deaths per 1000 live births)
* India's IMR is 63 per thousand live births. IMR's of countries like Srilanka(13 per thousand), China(30 per thousand), Nepal(61 per thousand) and Bangaladesh(46 per thousand) better than India
* India's MMR is 5.4 per thousand births. Countries like Srilanka (0.92 per thousand), Pakistan (5.0 per thousand) and Bangladesh(3.8 per thousand) have done well when compared to India.
Maybe you can get more details from the following link - http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/data/
I think this is just enough to get an outline of things.....I happened to read the reports of both sides....so just thought I would put them on here and leave you to think for yourself.....will write more on this later.....
so....would you mind going through the first few paragraphs again....and now the title - Are we missing something somewhere??
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Convergence..
Does this convergence of trees at some distant point tell us something........don't know...just got a bit philosophical when was closely associated with nature......Vazhga Iyarkai - Vazhga Udagamandalam.Thursday, October 06, 2005
OOTY - A Beautiful place to be in!
OOTY also known as the Queen of hill stations is one of the best places to be in. I just loved this beautiful place. The climate, the greenery....and what not. A perfect place to go and spend some time off.
Let me save my experiences in ooty for some other time - just wanted to share a few pictures I made during the trip. Have a lot more to post but thought this would be enough for now. (~I think few photos look crumbled due to compression, just click on the image for clarity!~)
I wish I lived in any of the above houses.......I wish.....
Introduction...
Okey - Here we go. This is the second time I am starting to write a Blog. The first time I did - I stopped abruptly after my very first blog!!. And this time around - hope that doesn't happen again!
Let me introduce myself before I proceed any further. No I wont start saying like say - I am mechanical engineer - I am working for so and so company - No...I dont beleive in this kind of an introduction - that will be very formal to say the least. Should I say I am a very simple person with complex ideas - maybe yes. But unless u come very close to me you wont find the complexity. Okey let me try to keep things simple here!
I wanted to be a lot of things, the latest being a Travel Journalist or simply a Travel Videographer. I have always wanted to associate myself with cinema. Cinema has been my passion and it continues to be. But the current state of commercial cinema has kept me a
bit away from it. But yes - u cant seperate me from cinema - every happening around me becomes a scene and every person I meet become a character in my story, thats the way I've been and that's what has taught me a lot and thats what has kept me going. I've learnt a lot of things for the sake of cinema, indirectly though.
I am right now into Business here in Chennai and it is keeping me sort of busy but not like my friends who are into software ! They hardly come home !! Being in business has its list of advantages and dis-advantages. But I see many advantages to dis-advantages!! The most important thing I like about business is you got to answer no one else but you! If you are sincere for yourself and work hard with a vision you get the reward. The other thing that is keeping me busy nowadays is the Share Market. I am still a novice and am just learning the basics of the market but it's really interesting. I am sure its worth investing in the market - given that you are sensible and disciplined enough and not driven by greed.
I just want to write a lot of things.....but dont want to test your patience right away. I know this exactly is not what I wanted to write in my first blog.....but I dont want to correct it now....let it be how it is. This is just a starting of yet another journey and the first step has been kept. Hope I'll continue my journey here......
Let me introduce myself before I proceed any further. No I wont start saying like say - I am mechanical engineer - I am working for so and so company - No...I dont beleive in this kind of an introduction - that will be very formal to say the least. Should I say I am a very simple person with complex ideas - maybe yes. But unless u come very close to me you wont find the complexity. Okey let me try to keep things simple here!
I wanted to be a lot of things, the latest being a Travel Journalist or simply a Travel Videographer. I have always wanted to associate myself with cinema. Cinema has been my passion and it continues to be. But the current state of commercial cinema has kept me a
bit away from it. But yes - u cant seperate me from cinema - every happening around me becomes a scene and every person I meet become a character in my story, thats the way I've been and that's what has taught me a lot and thats what has kept me going. I've learnt a lot of things for the sake of cinema, indirectly though.
I am right now into Business here in Chennai and it is keeping me sort of busy but not like my friends who are into software ! They hardly come home !! Being in business has its list of advantages and dis-advantages. But I see many advantages to dis-advantages!! The most important thing I like about business is you got to answer no one else but you! If you are sincere for yourself and work hard with a vision you get the reward. The other thing that is keeping me busy nowadays is the Share Market. I am still a novice and am just learning the basics of the market but it's really interesting. I am sure its worth investing in the market - given that you are sensible and disciplined enough and not driven by greed.
I just want to write a lot of things.....but dont want to test your patience right away. I know this exactly is not what I wanted to write in my first blog.....but I dont want to correct it now....let it be how it is. This is just a starting of yet another journey and the first step has been kept. Hope I'll continue my journey here......
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)