2009 in Words

Copenhagen
Telengana
Austerity Drive
Elections '10
Advaniji (the to-be PM)
Twitter
Liberhan
Shashi Tharoor
Obama - The Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Slumdog Millionaire
AR Rahman and Resul Pookutty
26/11
Mayawati and the statues
Twitter (... again)
Kasab
Avatar

One a personal note - This was a big year for me with my son Neel joining me and my wife on Nov 25th.

TED Talk by Sunitha Krishnan

I thought I should share this with people who don't follow TED. Just watch this ...



Speechless! Standing ovation is just an acknowledgement, but what after that? Social Media is a great platform to address this. Make people aware of it. And here we have Twitter and other media being used to discuss non-sense.

We are no considerate. We are still not civilized. We are not compassionate.

My heart feels heavy ... :|

Happiness

On 25th November, at 10.10 am, I was sitting very anxious on the 3rd floor of Apollo Hospital. I had not received any news in last 40 minutes.

I couldn't take it long and I ran down to the 1st floor and tried get a peek to see if I can talk to some nurse. In a minute, a male nurse came out asking for Uma Nair's attendant and I raised my hand.

I was called in and then a doctor came and said, "It's a boy. He was born at 9.56 am and he has a birth mark on his right palm!".

I couldn't stop smiling. My son is here.

(Note: Mother and child doing well)

Pure and Stunning Talent

Again, it was a long break for me from blogging.

This time I come back with something stunning that I ran into on Facebook and finally dug out the actual thing from YouTube. When Britain's Got Talent and America's Got Talent topped charts and shot people like Susan Boyle to fame, Kseniya Simonova, the winner of Ukraine's Got Talent was probably unnoticed for a while till she came up with this performance. Her fingers work magic. I can't do stuff with pencil, paint and brush on paper, using sand and creating stories live on a back lit table with sand on it is beyond me.

Watch this video and if you are not moved, let me know.



If you are not able to see the video above, you can go to this here to watch her performance.

When I go back and think about people like Sanjaya Malakar making it big, it all looks like a joke that is not even funny.

Long Time

Its been a long break from blogging and I have been very infrequent on Facebook and Twitter as well. Thanks to the disaster recovery exercise I am doing on an underestimated project which was terribly understaffed.

I like the idea of them trusting me with the recovery exercise, but then, felt very depressed not being able to enjoy the small glimpse of monsoon that Hyderabad got. Added to this, going home just for sleeping was not making me feel any better. But few people working with me truned out to be good and that helped me make things better.

Situation is slowly improving ...

I think I said this before, but I say this again. Incompetence rules the world and the whole world actually is running because of few heroes and "free electrons".

Whatever be the field, "team work" is just theory if you don't have the right people.

Think Of The Chances

Just read a bizarre news:

... bullet from a gun that was accidentally dropped injured a Tampa woman sitting in a bathroom stall. Police said the bullet hit 53-year-old Janifer Bliss in the lower left leg. She was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Just think of the chances.

In India, people do "potty" in public places giving a feast to the eyes (especially the passengers of Indian Railways). No casualties reported till date even in the case of communal riots or gang wars.

India - "order amongst the chaos ..."

Solution To Our Energy Problems

A solution to our energy problems are found and I see a huge potential for this in India.

Recent study from Ohio University shows that urine is a clean energy source.

One molecule of urea, a major component of urine, contains four atoms of hydrogen bonded to two atoms of nitrogen. Stick a special nickel electrode into a pool of urine, apply an electrical current, and hydrogen gas is released

Now, this is some useful research being done and some serious output. The article says that we could end up having Hydrogen (read: Urine) powered cars and electronic devices in as soon as six months. 

VOILA! We are turning into walking energy sources and at any point, if your car runs out of fuel, the solution is right INSIDE you. Probably people can pee into their fuel tank instead of trying to find a bush to go behind or trying to find a urinal (which seldom happens). 

Now I think India can become a superpower!

But, I am just wondering how to manage the stinking smell from your car's fuel tank or errr ... from the iPod in your pocket which is going to be powered by urine!

On a serious note, do read the benefits of hydrogen-powered vehicles. With a huge livestock supply in India, I see a tremendous potential in generating energy by processing the animal waste and hopefully most people ( ... usually filthy in nature by urinating anywhere) will stop passing urine at public places and consider urine as a precious asset and put it to good use.

The Great American Airplance Toilet Experiment

(if you are not able to view it here, please use this link)

So what did we learn?

(via bitsandpieces)

Thought On Budget 2009-2010

It is great to see more funds for welfare and infrastructure in the Budget for 2009-2010. I-T exemption limit has been increased by Rs. 10,000. 

Considering that only close to 1% of Indian population pays taxes, the benefits for the salaried class who pays tax looks to be considerably less than what was anticipated. Interesting part is that this 1% population usually don't have much impact on the election results. 

Does it not sound like 1% is funding the entire machinery?

Dream Gadget For New Moms

Managing a crying new born is inevitably the biggest challenge that new moms face. And to their rescue comes "Why Cry Baby Analyzer".

Its advanced frequency analysis technology only needs 20 seconds to let you know why your child is screaming to the heavens. Whether your baby is Stressed, Sleepy, Annoyed, Bored or Hungry, this device will identify it on its LCD screen.

Now, that is one hell of a relief for just $99.99. I am getting one for my wife with our baby due in December. 

With so much advancement in technology, a much useful gadget for "man"kind would be one which detects why a woman is crying. One preferred feature added to the basic functionality is to find what it means when a woman says:

1. Fine

2. Nothing

But I guess the armageddon will happen by the time we find a gadget like that!

Thanks God! We Have Electronic Voting Machines

Atleast Election Commission don't have to put in their FAQ if you are allowed to eat the ballot or not!

What Will Change After Delhi HC Ruling On Sec 377?

Today, Delhi HC legalized gay sex between consenting adults.

In a breakthrough judgment, the Delhi High Court on Thursday legalised gay sex among consenting adults holding that the law making it a criminal offence violates fundamental rights

Note that, law that worked against gay sex has been "changed" to decriminalize such acts. #repeal377 was trending on Twitter, but the fact is that It has not been repealed and the law still hold non-consensual and non-vaginal sex as illegal.

How does the ruling change things?

My point of writing this post is different. Hundreds of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders took part in the Queer Pride 2009. The intention was to protest against discrimination and violence against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders and also to repeal Section 377 of IPC. While Delhi HC ruling is going to come as a relief from a legal perspective, I am not sure if things will change in the society. 

There are millions of homosexuals who have suppressed themselves and gone into a shell fearing the society. With the way things work in Indian society, HC rule will hardly have any effect on people's mindset. Yes, people who participated in the Queer Pride march were forthcoming and will feel certain level of relief, but the people who have suppressed themselves, I am afraid, will remain in the shell. 

A woman wearing some "bold" clothes anywhere in India or a woman stepping out of the house alone after 8.00 pm in Kerala stand a huge chance of inviting some harsh comments from own relatives or neighbors and even worse, get attention of the horny Indian men and resulting in eve-teasing or sexual harassment. Some of these reactions are unlawful and some are not. Much to the disliking of the "subject", typical reaction is - "don't wear "bold" clothes" or "don't step out of the house late in the evenings". Now that's society for you. Things are not going to be any different for homosexuals. 

Changes to the law is great, but the mindset of the society needs to change. Till then, their fight against discrimination and violence will continue ...

Dogs Are Taking Over

In a recent story, a dog ate a teenager's passport:

 

A Wisconsin teenager using a classic excuse for evading schoolwork missed a class trip to Peru despite his tale being true: The dog ate his passport. 

And in another one, a dog ate a 50 yr old ladies personal checks:

"Her dog got into her purse and ate all her personal checks." The 50-year-old woman reportedly told police she had no choice but to take money from her former husband's account.

 

In the UK, Dangerous Dog Act is getting updated with law to protect postmen from dog attacks.

The bill aims to extend the law to offer protection to workers such as postmen and women from being attacked by dogs on private property.

It does not stop here. After the beauty pageants for dogs (Barking Beauty Pageant), the baddies of the "Dog World" had a competition for themselves, where Pabst, a 4 year old boxer mix was crowned World's Ugliest Dog. 

They are demanding attention!

Things are getting even worse and this time in the search engine land. If I search for "search engine" on Google, "Dogpile Web Search"* gets listed above even Google on the first page!

Is this an indication that dogs are taking over the world? 

This post does not intend to harm the sentiments of dogs or dog lovers. No hate mails please.

*Dogpile Web Search has nothing to do with dogs and is just a mashup of search engines.

Traffic And Premature Birth

Very smart scientists, after research, have found that traffic is causing premature births.

As famous for its traffic jams as it is for Hollywood star power, the Los Angeles, Calif. area has another dirty little secret: Air pollution is sickening pregnant women who live near roadways, more than doubling their risk of a premature birth, according to a new study.

I just wonder that if this is the case, then 90% of the births in India would be premature. Forget about the air pollution levels - Unborn babies will push themselves out of the womb, flip the bird and walk away because of the abnormal noise levels from all the honking, gutters and foul smell from the overflowing drainage.

There Are Teachers, Then There Are Educators

According to a news report, a certain private school in Washington was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lip stick, they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.

Every night the maintenance man would remove them, and the next day the girls would put them back. Finally the principal decided that something had to be done….She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night (you can just imagine the yawns from the little princesses).

To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

There are teachers.... and then there are educators

(via)

Mayawati Case: Show Us The Power Of Judiciary ...

After a PIL was filed against Mayawati asking for a probe on crores of public money spent on statues of herself and Kanshi Ram, Ms. Mayawati came out with a statement that:

Memorials, parks and statues dedicated to eminent persons served as “lighthouse,” which provided inspiration to society for centuries

My eyes are still stuck at the word "eminent". This is way beyond narcissism. After reading this quote, my wife said - "Yeah! Inspiration to throw chappals".

I followed the story a bit and then I ran into a statement that she made in April:

"In his will, Kanshiramji stated that as 'Mayawati is my true follower, her statues shall also be installed', ...

Following Kanshiramji's will, my statues have been installed next to those of him at Bahujan Prerna Kendra in Lucknow and New Delhi, where his ashes are kept," ...

Quoting Kanshiram, Mayawati said memorials and statues of a person should be installed while he or she is alive. "That's why my statues have been installed in Lucknow and New Delhi,"

The concept of setting up a memorial for a person who is alive beats me ... that too by a person who was a teacher by profession before getting into active politics.

Now that SC has asked for explanation on the use of public money for statues, I really want to know what judiciary is going to do about this.

If it is about taking the statues down, just don't bother because the money is gone.
If it is about recovering the money that was spent on "inspirational" activities, then show us how.

New York Review: Thankfully Does Not Define "Mohabbat"

New York is a very watchable movie with decent performances from John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Ifran Khan and Katrina Kaif.

For a change (that too a huge one ...), Yash Raj films does not define love, commitment, parenting or any of those things. Usually, there is an overdose of "mohabbat", "pyaar", "shaadi ka pavithr bandhan", "dosti" and stuff, but New York was so much better with none of those cliched concepts being put to use. Moreover, it exposed the audience to a different side on 9/11 which is very less known.

With Mohabbatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai being greatest tortures of all times (... and then being termed as *larger than life*), New York is the most watchable movie from Yash Raj banner after DDLJ.

Transformers 2 Review: Bloody Long

The plus point of first movie in Transformer series was that it was short, funny and had amazing special effects.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the fallen, was "OK" with the special effects and more autobots and decepticons introduced in this movie. Watching it on IMAX screen was special with some scenes specially designed for IMAX screen.

That's about the good part. For the flip side is that the movie is bloody long. I felt that probably because I was forced to be glued to the chair for whole 2.5 hours without any breaks. Prasadz IMAX screen does not give you any breaks. I had to buy 2 popcorns before I got in.

Megan Fox was hot in the first movie, but it took me few scenes to recognize Megan Fox in Transformers 2. Thanks to her new lip job which I found bad. I think, with all the lip job, she was finding it very difficult to hold her lips sealed!!!

Back to the robots. There are too many Autobots introduced in the movie who have nothing to do except pass on some wacky comments or stunts and then die. This time they have a lady decepticon in human form (reminds me of Terminator) sent to seduce Sam. The movie got a little boring where Sam Whitwicky gets emotional with his parents, Bumblebee and Mikaela.

Micheal Bay tried to pull off larger than life stunts at heritage sites like the Pyramids of Egypt and Petra in Jordan which looked great on IMAX screen. Getting the robots to do stunts in a heritage site was a great idea instead of having everything done in a crowded city which usually is the trend. However, the cameras were kept too close to where the action was, which made the whole thing look shaky and started giving me a headache.

The movie, for me, was too long, over emotional, not so funny and was definitely not as good as the first part. But watching on an IMAX screen probably makes it an "OK to watch" movie.

Answers That Blow Your Mind

My brain just exploded ... Well, after seeing the Miss. South Carolina episode and the geography knowledge video, browser is too technical after all!

My Introduction To English Music

It started with my visit to my cousins place in 1992 when he was playing some songs with catchy beats. I had never heard those kind of beats ever before. The vocals started and I found it ok, mostly because I could not understand crap of what was being sung. Considering that I was used to Balarama (Malayam version) and Poombatta, it was hard for me to understand anything that was non-indian accent.

I pumped the volume up a bit and my parents came running. My father said, "What kind of music is this? This guy is singing with boiling water in his mouth ...". I lowered the volume and continued listening to the album and it kept me glued to my seat with the peppy beats.

I checked the cassette cover, it said "Thriller" by Micheal Jackson. I still can't believe that I heard the album 10 years after it was released. Thriller was the first English song I listened and my introduction to English music.

Today, the world woke up the news that MJ passed away. May his soul rest in peace ...

Are Indian Men Just Too Horny?

Rape of a 18 year old British girl in Himachal Pradesh by two cabbies (source). Gang rape of a college girl by two brothers (source) and friends. Another gang rape of a minor, but the 3 accused were lynched in Surat (source). As I write this post, Kashmir is burning over alleged rape and murder of two Muslim women.

All these in just last 2 weeks. I wrote about the shameful side of India in one of my previous posts also. This boils down to one question.

Before we even get to rape cases, I think there are some men who can strip women down just by the intensity at which they stare at women.

Are Indian men just too horny?

While speedy trial is being considered on a case by case basis, this does not assure justice to all the victims. Again, the slow paced judicial system is never going to instill any kind of fear in the minds of these horny men.

It gives out a feeling that the moral police think that all of this form part of Indian culture, else, being custodians of much treasured Indian culture, they would be taking care of this issue. Right?

I still think corporal punishment is the way to go.

God save us!

Doing What You Want?

Robert Scoble asks, "Who has the coolest job?". The answers ranged from Barack Obama to Jim Long, NBC's camera guy in the Whitehouse. One of the answers was a guy who is a massage therapist for fashion models.

If you ask me if I have the coolest job, my answer would be NO. Am I doing what I want to do? NO.

For me, coolest job is any job that you love doing. It could be a writer, cartoonist, teacher, actor, stunt director, programmer, entrepreneur, etc.

Amit Varma takes me to this venn diagram through his post:

(image courtesy whatconsumesme.com, indiauncut.com)

I have been thinking about this for a long while and struggling because I have been paid to do something that I do well, but this is not I want to do. I have not learned to say "NO" much either. The fact is that I have not been doing much in the "what we want to do" area.

I continue to think about it and I confess that my job is the coolest.

So are you doing what you want to do?

It Happens Not Only In India!

 

Many women taking the crowded train in Tokyo opt for women-only carriages during the rush hour to avoid gropers.

Now, for fear of being accused of groping, some are asking for carriages reserved for men as well.

I must admit that I was quite shocked when read that this can happen in a very forward city like Tokyo. If I have to think about the whole thing with India in perspective, the incidents in recent past (here, here and here) suggest that having men's or women's only train is going to solve the problem.

How about 3 feet law? (Women and men to keep a distance of 3ft in public places)

Of course, married people should carry marriage certificate if the couple want to stand closer.

How many souls did I just instigate????

Convenient Way To Get Free Lunch

(Source)

A jobless Taiwan man released from prison stole a box of cotton swabs just to get arrested again because he "could not forget the police department boxed lunches," officers and local media said Tuesday.

This guy was smart.

But if jobless people in India were to resort to this method, we will need to have a central prison of the size of two states to accommodate all of them.

Ajmal Kasab's Tears

The weeping incident took place after the prosecution produced the 'first' images of Kasab and his slain accomplice, Abu Ismail, in action at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), shot by the photo editor of a city tabloid, Sebastian D'Souza.

The news reported that Ajmal broke down in court after seeing the 26/11 photos.

Wasn't he bound to break down considering his friends were all killed in the attack? Or did he cry because he could have given posed better for the photos that are going to live on in the minds of all Indians?

Please let him meet John Abraham so that he gets some relief.

Reservation Or No Reservation

In 1997, my Engineering and Medical entrance results were announced and I got 825th rank for engineering in the state. With this rank, getting Electronics and Communications Engg. (ECE) or Computer Science (CS) at Govt. College of Engineering, Trivandrum (CET), the Engg. college that was rated best in the state at that time, was very difficult. But I know people who were ranked in 1000s and 2000s and got admission at CET for ECE/CS. Thanks to reservations for Socially & Economically Backward Castes (SEBC) and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/SCT).

One of my friends who got 2000+ rank, but belonged to "economically" and "socially" forward caste, was literally in tears cursing himself for not having prepared well enough to score better and end up in a good college. He had to work hard to earn his rank and probably much more than few others who scored lower and ended up in better colleges.

Now that I have delivered my case, the question that I have is why do we need reservations/quota system in India?

Reservations/quotas are in effect giving oppurtunities to unqualified candidates as opposed to qualified candidates. Moreover, most of these candidates who enter the system through reservation, in most cases, eventually end up not being able to benefit from the opportunity as much a qualified candidate would have. If they were qualified enough, they wouldn't need reservation in the first place.

In no way I am trying to say that people who get in through reservations are inferior or less capable. But, because of the quota system, most of these people are not ready to compete.

Creating quota system for SEBC/SC/ST for admissions to IIMs or even worse in private sector, is going to increasingly hamper the system.

Admission to educational institutions and Govt. jobs should be purely based on merit so that the end product is of good quality. There are people who belong economically backward class and inevitably need financial support for completing education. For this, financial subsidies in tuition fees and miscellaneous other charges can be implemented (in fact these subsidies are already in place).

Here is the distribution of castes/class (source):

Backward Caste - 36%
SC/ST - 28%
Forward Caste - 36%

Almost 64% of the population is eligible for quota system where as poor people from "forward caste" hardly get any social or economical benefit over people from economically forward backward caste.

By implementing quota system, we may just be slowing down the productivity and efficiency. Having the system purely on merit with financial subsidies for economically backward (any caste) is the way to go.

Any reservations?

Find Out Why You Are Putting On Weight

If you are puzzled as to why you are putting on weight, then you may want to cross check if you are married.

Yet another weird research just reveals that getting married or moving in with a partner will make you fat.

They were more likely to watch television together instead of going to the gym or playing a sport. Her research found that couples who lived together for more than two years – especially those who were married – were most likely to display similar obesity patterns and physical behaviours

Now, you probably know the reason. I am going to get a weighing machine and start monitoring my weight. 

And all husbands beware!!! Your wife may just hold the marriage responsible!!!

As for "live-in" guys, if you are looking for a reason for break-up, here it is!!!

:)

(via telegraph)

Should We Implement Corporal Punishment?

Read a disturbing news about a techie raping 15 yr old girl for two months.

A software professional from Mangalore was arrested on Thursday for confining and raping a minor girl for the past two months. The girl left her house following a petty quarrel with her parents and landed in the clutches of the software professional at Tirupati.

If we are to try this person in court, it will take minimum of 2 yrs to prosecute him. With people like Ajmal Kasab who went on a rampage on the streets of Mumbai (shown live on television), getting a fair trial, people are losing trust in the law and order system. In a judicial system like India, criminal case hearings run really long before the accused is convicted. Well, judiciary is also reportedly corrupt.

The only way I can think of to manage crime is to inflict fear in criminal's minds by imposing corporal punishment. An extreme measure typically used in Saudi Arabia, but very effective in controlling crime.  

Thoughts?

Getting Married In Zero G

We might have heard of weddings happening underwater and quite a few weird places. While couples are struggling to find a wedding hall in Kerala during wedding season, a couple in the US is planning their wedding in Zero Gravity.

When we started talking about marriage, Noah joked that we should have our wedding "in space".  Although most girls would take this to mean Noah didn't want to get married, Erin knew he was sincere, and that this was a serious request.  We decided marrying on the zero gravity plane would be a good compromise.

Their wedding rings will made of iron from meteorites.

The cost of this wedding is around $5,400 per person and there are 12 seats on the plane called Vomit Comet. We are talking about recession, layoffs, bailouts, crisis etc. and here we have money being spent on Zero gravity!!

There are 2 seats to up for sale and the couple is ready to sponsor half the cost per seat. 

Anyone interested? ...

(via discovery)

The Name Problem

I just got off from a call with Yatra.com. I had to call them just because I ran into some minor issues while doing it online.

Having a mallu (malayali) name is a nightmare sometimes. it took me full 10 minutes to make the customer service associate that my name is "Kannan Kartha"(K-a-n-n-a-n K-a-r-t-h-a). Now, I don't know if it has anything to do with my accent (though I think that I have done decent job of neutralizing my mallu accent) and by the time I completed spelling my name out, I was exhausted.

There are two issues with spelling out a name. First is that people just jump the gun thinking they can get spell it right when I know that they cannot. I remember an American addressing me as "Canon Karta" on email after we had a conversation over phone. This Yatra guy took down my name as "Kanan Kartka". Secondly, the use of "nn" and "th" is mostly there in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and not used to by people from other states especially from the north.

People find it hilarious how mallu names are derived, but believe me, any mallu can learn any language in the world. Be it tamil or mandarin.

As I continue to spell my name to each and every non-malayali I meet, I have also joined the group called "People Who Always Have To Spell Their Names For Other People" on Facebook. Check it out.

Story Of A Job Hopper

I received this one from one of my friends via email and I thought that this one will be a worthwhile post. (I don't know who the actual author is and this piece is not authored by me ...)

A tad long.. but too good.

"Some, rather most organizations reject his CV today because he has changed jobs frequently (10 in 14 years). My friend, the 'job hopper' (referred here as Mr. JH), does not mind it.... well he does not need to mind it at all. Having worked full-time with 10 employer companies in just 14 years gives Mr. JH the relaxing edge that most of the 'company loyal' employees are struggling for today. Today, Mr. JH too is laid off like some other 14-15 year experienced guys - the difference being the latter have just worked in 2-3 organizations in the same number of years. Here are the excerpts of an interview with Mr. JH:

Q: Why have you changed 10 jobs in 14 years?
A: To get financially sound and stable before getting laid off the second time.

Q: So you knew you would be laid off in the year 2009?
A: Well I was laid off first in the year 2002 due to the first global economic slowdown. I had not got a full-time job before January 2003 when the economy started looking up; so I had struggled for almost a year without job and with compromises.

Q: Which number of job was that?
A: That was my third job.

Q: So from Jan 2003 to Jan 2009, in 6 years, you have changed 8 jobs to make the count as 10 jobs in 14 years?
A: I had no other option. In my first 8 years of professional life, I had worked only for 2 organizations thinking that jobs are deserved after lot of hard work and one should stay with an employer company to justify the saying 'employer loyalty'. But I was an idiot.

Q: Why do you say so?
A: My salary in the first 8 years went up only marginally. I could not save enough and also, I had thought that I had a 'permanent' job, so I need not worry about 'what will I do if I lose my job'. I could never imagine losing a job because of economic slowdown and not because of my performance. That was January 2002.

Q: Can you brief on what happened between January 2003 and 2009.
A: Well, I had learnt my lessons of being 'company loyal' and not 'money earning and saving loyal'. But then you can save enough only when you earn enough. So I shifted my loyalty towards money making and saving - I changed 8 jobs in 6 years assuring all my interviewers about my stability.

Q: So you lied to your interviewers; you had already planned to change the job for which you were being interviewed on a particular day?
A: Yes, you can change jobs only when the market is up and companies are hiring. You tell me - can I get a job now because of the slowdown? No. So one should change jobs for higher salaries only when the market is up because that is the only time when companies hire and can afford the expected salaries.

Q: What have you gained by doing such things?
A: That's the question I was waiting for. In Jan 2003, I had a fixed salary (without variables) of say Rs. X p.a. In January 2009, my salary was 8X. So assuming my salary was Rs.3 lakh p.a. in Jan 2003, my last drawn salary in Jan 2009 was Rs.24 lakh p.a. (without variable). I never bothered about variable as I had no intention to stay for 1 year and go through the appraisal process to wait for the company to give me a hike.

Q: So you decided on your own hike?
A: Yes, in 2003, I could see the slowdown coming again in future like it had happened in 2001-02. Though I was not sure by when the next slowdown would come, I was pretty sure I wanted a 'debt-free' life before being laid off again. So I planned my hike targets on a yearly basis without waiting for the year to complete.

Q: So are you debt-free now?
A: Yes, I earned so much by virtue of job changes for money and spent so little that today I have a loan free 2 BR flat (1200 sq. feet) plus a loan free big car without bothering about any EMIs. I am laid off too but I do not complain at all. If I have laid off companies for money, it is OK if a company lays me off because of lack of money.

Q: Who is complaining?
A: All those guys who are not getting a job to pay their EMIs off are complaining. They had made fun of me saying I am a job hopper and do not have any company loyalty. Now I ask them what they gained by their company loyalty; they too are laid off like me and pass comments to me - why will you bother about us, you are already debt-free. They were still in the bracket of 12-14 lakh p.a. when they were laid off.

Q: What is your advice to professionals?
A: Like Narayan Murthy had said - love your job and not your company because you never know when your company will stop loving you. In the same lines, love yourself and your family needs more than the company's needs. Companies can keep coming and going; family will always remain the same. Make money for yourself first and simultaneously make money for the company, not the other way around.

Q: What is your biggest pain point with companies?
A: When a company does well, its CEO etc will address the entire company saying, 'well done guys, it is YOUR company, keep up the hard work, I am with you." But when the slowdown happens and the company does not do so well, the same CEO etc will say, "It is MY company and to save the company, I have to take tough decisions including asking people to go." So think about your financial stability first; when you get laid off, your kids will complain to you and not your boss."

Solution For UnHappy Employees

Who says employers are not concerned about employees? They are definitely doing there best to bring smile on each employees face!

(via email from @rkartha)

No Vote, No Opinion?

I did not vote!

Not because my name was not in the voter's list nor is it because I did not get the voter's ID card or because I had any other work. I was just not motivated enough!

I did read/hear/encounter people say that it is "our fundamental duty" and "vote is my right!". I have no debate on that. But I also see statements that say - "No vote, No opinion" (Even Jeffrey Archer is saying that)

I have quick questions to those who say "No vote, no opinion":

### We as citizens are supposed to abide by the law set by the constitution. How many of us follow the rules? No bribing, following traffic laws, following rules while constructing a house, paying tax without showing fake bills, no piracy etc....

### If you are really craving for chicken biriyani for dinner, but what is available for you is only "Pani Puri" or "curd rice", would you be happy having what is available? Same is the case with the contestants for Lok Sabha or Assembly in most constituencies. Please note that I am not saying all constituencies have got this issue. The tendency is to vote for who is less worse. But that is what we have been doing all the while, isn't it? Adjust to the chaos and be proud of how this democracy runs inspite of having ineligible and incapable people part of the Government just because we voted for the lesser evil.

### Let's assume that I want ABC party to win because I like their policies and they did really well in the past. But in my constituency, I have this contestant Mr. XYZ who is totally incompetent from ABC party and has criminal record or may be Mr. XYZ is not known to anyone at all. Who will you vote for?

### You support a XYZ-ABC alliance because you think EFG alliance is not in nation's interest. With that in mind, you vote for a candidate from ABC party. After the voting process is over, ABC leaves the alliance and joins EFG because ABC just want to get into power and EFG is more likely to be in power. Have you been fooled or not? What "thing" that you attain as part of exercising the "fundamental right" would you use to fight this problem?

### My wife's name was not on the voter's list. Do we mean to say that she does not get to voice her opinion? Kamal Hassan could not vote because his name was missing from the voter's list. He should not have an opinion about the machinery? Close to 45% of citizens from Pune and Mumbai could not vote because their names were missing. Do they not get to express their opinion?

### Citizens of India who are working abroad have no right to voice their opinion?

Don't get me wrong. I am not against voting. I think mandating voting is a good idea. But there is a lot that we need to do:

- Advocates of voting should follow other fundamental duties as well before talking about voting. Same is true with the contestants

- Community service be mandated for any person contesting elections so that there is visibility on what these contestants have done before citizens vote

- Any contestant with criminal records needs to be cleared by SC to fight elections, else barred from contesting

- Post poll alliances should be banned (this includes any alliance discussions after the poll and before the results)

- Each candidate should declare what they have done for the constituency they are fighting from

I have my own opinions about the machinery and I understand that others have their own. I will express mine at will and I will have my ears for other's.

Whether you agree with my opinion or not is a different question altogether.

... and whether I will agree with your opinions is based on if you make sense or not!

Democracy has turned into being just "by the people". When do we get to a state when it is "of the people" and "for the people"?

Literacy Vs Education

Yesterday, I was expecting a great start to the week. But it was not what happened. 

On my way to work, a biker banged on to my car causing yet another dent and scratch, that too, a not so good one. The bike almost went under my car and before I could even get out a have a look at the dent, the bike fellow pulled his bike and fled the scene. He did not have a helmet but fortunately for ME, his head did not come under my car. He did not even care to stop and apologize.

Just another day on Hyderabad roads filled up with careless and reckless drivers who don't care a rat's a** about how their driving impacts someone else's life. No, I am not just talking about those illiterates going on a bicycle trying to overtake your BMW. This is also the case with bunch of educated fools working in large corporates. I should not call educated, because if they were, this would not be the situation. I should call them just literates - people who can read and write (... and code?).

A couple of months back, a biker banged on to the back side of my car. He was a young guy, and had the courtesy of pulling over and apologizing. There was no serious damage to the car except for a mild scratch on the bumper. Right then I noticed that he was not wearing a helmet. I coughed up the courage and asked him a question which was outside the context of the situation. 

Me: "Why are you not wearing a helmet?"

Him: "Oh! that helmet rule is not there anymore ..."

Me: "Are you wearing it for the government or for yourself?"

It took me some courage to ask that question, but I don't know if he ever wore a helmet after that conversation.

By dictionary definition:

ed·u·cat·ed     [ej-oo-key-tid] 

–adjective

1. having undergone education: educated people.

2. characterized by or displaying qualities of culture and learning.

3. based on some information or experience

lit·er·ate     [lit-er-it] 

–adjective

1. able to read and write.

2. having or showing knowledge of literature, writing, etc.; literary; well-read 

You see the difference? 

- Parking in "No Parking" zone even if they see board

- Stopping right in the middle of the road to let passengers get down

- Jump off a moving bus which is slowing down at a signal in the middle of the road and then cursing the car driver who stops just before hitting them

- Driving slower than a bicycle on the fast lane (right most lane, if you didn't know) happily having conversation on mobile phone

- Wriggle through congested traffic trying to get ahead when a bunch fools like me are waiting for the traffic to clear

- Keeping the helmet between the legs (may be trying to protect his precious asset from the blowing wind) instead of wearing it and then wearing a sunglass making himself look worse than how Johny Lever would look

- Crossing the road without looking at the flowing traffic and commanding to stop by raising the hand as if he/she is straight away an incarnation of a Balakrishna or a Chiranjeevi

I can go on ... 

India has literacy of 61% which is pretty close to Andhra Pradesh's literacy rate. 

But, how about a education? 

Letter To Future Me

Ever wanted to write to your future self? One fine day, you wake up and see an email from your past, what will you feel?

Check out FutureMe!



I am in the process of compiling my first one ...

Reverse Gear?

Samajwadi Party released their party manifesto which promises action against English language and computers.

"The use of computers in offices is creating unemployment problems. Our party feels that if work can be done by a person using hands there is no need to deploy machines,"

... "Previous governments have promoted forward trading, share trading and mall culture. Any government formed with our support will either reduce or stop it completely,"

Interesting so far. India Inc. being put on reverse gear?

Oh wait, Mulayam Singh's son Akhilesh Yadav is promoting usage of internet to woo youth. Wonder what daddy Yadav has to say about this.

As far as Mr. Amar Singh is concerned, he is probably going to tell Big B to stop blogging!

8 x 10 Tasveer - A Soup

We ran to watch Nagesh Kukunoor's "8 x 10 Tasveer" with high expectations. After Bombay to Bangkok terribly disappointed the viewers and bombed at the Box Office, we expected Nagesh to mend his ways and churn out a good one with a superstar like Akshay Kumar.

The movie started off decently and then it completely lost its way. The concept was pretty good and but there was no execution to go with it. It looked as if Nagesh Kukunoor was trying to do a M Night Shyamalan, but he fell flat on his face attempting to become Mr. Shyamalan (... not that Shyamalan is creating great movies these days).

The movie is slightly influenced by Vantage Point, showing different perspectives of the same incident, but failing to keep the tempo up the way it was done in Vantage Point(2008). Each time Akshay Kumar stares at a photograph, he can choose to travel back in time (... into the photograph) to the moment when the snap was taken and be one of the characters in the photograph for a minute or so. He uses this power to investigate his dad's death.

Javed Jaffrey walks into the movie trying to get in a comic flavor and miserably fails trying to mock Adrian Monk (homicide detective with obsessive-compulsive disorder from the popular TV series "Monk") with a Hyderabadi accent.

Overall, a very forgettable movie. A decent storyline lost in translation. A decent plot that turned out to be an avial(not so tasty one)!

Will I recommend? YES, for kids, only for kids ...


(Image coutersy: IndiaFM)

Chowmahalla - Peace In The Midst Of Chaos

Over the long weekend, we went out to see Chowmahalla palace in the old city area of Hyderabad. The palace actually is a set of 4 palaces. I am posting few snaps that were taken. You may refer Wiki or Chowmahalla.com if you are interested in its history.

   

Chowmahalla is right next to Charminar in the midst of all the chaos. Charminar, however, will not be what it is without the chaos of the old city. Whereas, Chowmahalla which is hardly half a kilometer away from Charminar has utter silence and peace the moment you step in.

The 4 palaces are built back to back seperated by lawns. Wardrobe, crockery, arms and ammunition and vintage cars are put for display. The clothes and crockery will definitely be an attraction for women. The variety of swords and knives will amaze you.

 

Swiss Knife - Nizam style?

The Palace

Above all, a studio inside the palace offers to take your pictures in royal clothes and for just Rs. 100/-, they provide you a printout which has an antique feel to it. We took one and it is in our private collection. Don't miss it!

I want to see the place at night(Right now, it closes by 5.00 pm) and will wait for an opportunity.

Meanwhile check my Flickr Stream.

Bleed India

Just ran into an Bleed India website. 

The basic idea is to expose the Netas (Abhi-netas???) in our system who give a squat about the nation. Bleed India's approach with a pinch of sarcasm is innovative and they are becoming very popular. But if they keep sarcasm to a dilute level, their website may serve its purpose. They have launched this website as a parody to Times Of India's Lead India campaign. 

... So while the Times Of India tries to find new leaders for a new age (good luck gentlemen!), we focus instead on those who Bleed India; Masters of the Scam, Tigers of the Tightrope: Surely they deserve some acknowledgement of their genius - in staying above the law, beyond the law, in making it and in breaking it..wah! wah! Ladies and gentlemen…you have led us and yes you have bled us.

There are very relevant polls on this site which is based on satire. 

What is bigger threat to India? Valentines Day Or The Recession

Who has Bled India more? Moral Police Or Chor Police

Lead India website has a more concrete and serious presentation about criminals in our political system. "Say No To Criminals" exposes over 500 sitting MPs with the list of their pending criminal cases. 

While Lead India was a bold initiative, the winner of the first Lead India initiative, RK Mishra, joined BJP, which to me, did not sound like a great move. RK Mishra, will now be working with an established political party with over 29 MPs having criminal cases pending (refer NoCriminals.org too). I feel that his cause of joining politics has been diluted as he gets aligned to the ideologies of the party. It is not that I favor Congress or any other political party. India is a nation where party loyalty and policies are given paramount importance over the benefits of the nation (the nuclear deal as one example). 

Also, when we have candidates giving 10 crores for a ticket to fight elections, I seriously doubt if he/she will ever have "betterment of the nation" high on his/her agenda at any point. We will need leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru who will look at money with disdain. Indian administrative layer is bigger problem where elections or democracy may really not help, but I will keep that discussion for later. 

Will India continue bleeding even after the elections or are we in for some good governance? You tell me ...

And Here Comes The Flying Car

No more road trips?

Seen flying cars in movies? Here comes one for real.

"Terrafugia Transition" is first flying car and it passed the first flight test on March 5th, 2009.

It can fly up to 450 miles at 115 miles per hour.

"... two-seat, four-wheeled, carbon-fiber-composite aircraft, which can fly up to 450 miles at 115 miles per hour and is distinguished by folding wings that ratchet out of the way when it’s on the ground. That makes the craft just 80 inches wide, narrow enough to tool down the highway—where it can go up to 65 mph and get 30 miles to the gallon."

The video of the first test:



I want 500 meters stretch infront of my apartment so that I can take off this "car". I am going to write a letter to GHMC for leveling the road.

Should I Vote?

Congress-JMM alliance splits in Jharkhand over seats.

Congress facing infighting in Haryana.

Rift in SP as Jaya Prada renominated from Rampur.

Jayalalitha lures PMK as Congress hits roadblock in Tamil Nadu.

BJP struggles ahead of elections with seat sharing issue in Orissa with BJD.

CPM part ways with Congress and ready for any role in Third Front.

NCP-Congress drama goes on and
Pawar wants Maharashtrian to become PM.
... and many more that you may read in the news.

A myriad of political parties coming under 3 major umbrellas to fight an election with close to 700 million voters and a spending estimated at Rs. 10,000 crores ($2 billion) and we are not sure if we will get a clear end result.

Each and every party is interested in seats and getting into power. In fact, I have not heard any party issues their manifesto except CPM (Read here)

I feel that a large majority of population is not sure whom to vote for just because they neither know the history of the candidate nor what they have done in his/her previous tenure.

Should we explore negative voting?

This way, we vote. A negative vote!

Why Not To Fire People?

Nokia, IBM, SAP, Dell lays off.

TCS comtemplating lay offs.

Till March 18th, 310,714 lay offs (Source).

Prime driving factor is the economic downturn and hence there is a huge pressure to bring finances under control.

Does it really help?

No, I don't think so. The reason "usually" cited when an employee is fired is non-performance within his skill set which got him/her the job in the first place. The reasons do not connect really well and these people probably should not have been hired at all.

While enterprises heave a sigh of relief by laying people off, I think they may be in for bigger trouble by inducing an increased sense of insecurity into the people who survive the lay offs. It does not stop there. The insecurity results in stress at work, depression and health issues. The perception of the employees about the company changes for the worse and these are the people trusted with carrying the company forward.

A survey on layoff survivors reveal some interesting statistics:

1. 87% of surviving workers say they are less likely to recommend their organization as a good place to work
2. 64% of surviving workers say the productivity of their colleagues has also declined.
3. 81% of surviving workers say the service that customers receive has declined.
4. 77% of surviving workers say they see more errors and mistakes being made.
5. 61% of surviving workers say they believe their company’s future prospects are worse.

So here is what I have to say. Laying people off is the least effective way and pay cuts is a the way to go. The teams will be in place and employees will respect the management. The concern may be that these employees become vulnerable to competitive hires, but in this economic slump, who is hiring? With that in mind, when companies have an option either to cut 5% cost or layoff 5% of the employees, why would they even choose the latter? When the market picks up, enterprises holding on to the employees, will be in a better shape than ones who are frantically looking to hire new people to manage the demand generated by their new projects.

Another option is to have employees take vacation with the basic salary till they get new projects. This way they retain the talent and reduce recruitment activities, thereby reducing costs. If these people are shown the door, they are going to send in toxicity into the market which may hurt the brand. Believe me, "word of mouth" is very powerful and with tools likes Facebook and Twitter, information passes virally which can be detrimental to the brand itself.

While it may look like the right choice at the moment, enterprises need to evaluate the third angle which results in inflicting negativity in the employee base who may not be laid off. Also, they need to have a long term vision of where they want to be when the market starts picking up.

Here is an article which questions why CEOs resort to layoffs when such moves no longer seem boost any profits.

Again, I feel, holding on to your employees with paycuts is the best choice.

Working From Home

Let me say ... I love it. 

Working from home is not a new concept but in India, probably it is not encouraged. I am not talking about people who are into free lancing. This about those people who work for large enterprises and works along with a team to deliver services.

Now, why I love it?

1. Freedom: It lets me operate the way I want to and the pressure is far less compared to being nailed down to a ergonomic (or not so ergonomic) chair and the manager or team lead breathing down your neck.

2. More productive: Given the freedom and environment that I am most comfortable with, I get more work done than when I am in office. In fact, I log into start work earlier than what I would do when I am in office. Moreover, when I am at home, I somehow feel more responsible towards what needs to be delivered and does not feel that I am stretching myself. 

3. No distraction: Working from home is a bliss if you need long hours of concentration. It is next to impossible to get that level of concentration if you are in office where people bump into you and end up in casual conversations that you sometimes cannot escape and ultimately lose time.

4. Other benefits:

• No commute
• No traffic jams ( and no heart attacks)
• Save fuel
• No pollution
• Not stuck with canteen food (especially when Chinese Combo has banana and curd rice)

These were personal benefits. But, for corporates, there are huge benefits by promoting this culture.

1. Save on the infrastructure - Reduce investment in power, desk space, desktops, phones and other company utilities. Instead divert fraction of this investment to setup better servers and connectivity infrastructure (VPN, Bandwidth, 3G etc.)

2. People care - Employees benefit out of less travel (health, time and monitory benefit). The concerns of work-life balance by employees get addressed as they get to be at home and they feel responsible for their own time.

3. Business Continuity - For any incidents like 9/11, this kind of operation model always helps with such attacks never affecting the services because you don't station all you employees at one place. One recent incident was the snow fall in the UK where most of the services were disrupted. But there was one case where Silicon.com ensured business continuity by having people work from home.

Working from home has its own set of challenges which corporates may dig out. I am going to try an give some answers here for those challenges.

1. Collaboration & interacting with a team - While this may be one of the prime concerns, instant messaging (IM), VoIP and collaboration tools like Google Docs are always there as a solution to this. For the conference facilities across geographies, there are virtual platforms like SecondLife that can be tapped to reduce travel.

2. Monitoring the staff - Yes, this is a problem. Working from home culture is not going to start working just like that. Unified Communications Technology can be used to create monitoring mechanisms. Clear roles and responsibilities need to be defined for the employees who form a team and thereby creating accountability.

For people interested, here is a post about tips for working from home.

There are some things I miss when I work from home. The human interaction, all the gossips and office politics :). But then, there is Facebook, Twitter and IM for that (i know, not for human interaction). These not just things for personal use. Its high time business starts using these and avail the benefits.

C'mon, this is age of the internet.

Having said that, I have some work to finish before I go to office tomorrow.

Technology Going Weird

I am having hard time imagining where technology will be in the future.

Kazuhiro Taniguchi of Osaka University in Japan has invented a gadget that controls iPod with facial gestures.

A wink, a smile or a raised eyebrow could soon change the music on your iPod or start up the washing machine, thanks to a new Japanese gadget. The device looks like a normal set of headphones but is fitted with a set of infrared sensors that measure tiny movements inside the ear that result from different facial expressions.

This is just the start. We seen touch based controls and now have started seeing gesture based electronic controls (here). But, this one takes it a step further and personalizes the experience with high configurability. Instead of sticking your tongue out to change the track, you can configure to do it by smiling. (I am impressed!). And ...

"If it judges that you aren't smiling enough, it may play a cheerful song."

All those things that we used to see in Bond movies are turning into reality. 

My thought - One day our hands and legs may become vestigial organs ... 

Why I Am On Twitter?

Its been almost 2 months that I have been on Twitter and I already have tweeted 659 times.

Why am I on Twitter when I am already on Facebook and LinkedIn?

1. Twitter is instantaneous information - Any information that you want is on your finger tips. It is faster than text messaging. Use twitter search and you get information that YOU NEED probably faster than Google. There are user scripts also available for this.

2. It lets me focus on my areas of interest - While Facebook and LinkedIn are great Social Networking sites, accessing the information that I need is not an easy job. People who are on Twitter are so passionate that the information shared is valuable and authentic.

3. Great way to be listening to influencing people in Social Media - Twitter lets me "follow" people like Ron Tolido, Evan Williams, Robert Scoble, Tim Oreilly, Guy Kawasaki etc and organizations like Google, Capgemini, Yahoo and Accenture and be updated with what they have to say on a minute by minute basis. I get to learn a lot from people around, not just the guys mentioned about, but also around 125 people that I "follow" on Twitter.

4. Dynamically filter out information that I want at runtime - There are talks about Twitter search being a Google killer. Here is why. Google has indexed contents and any search will pull that information to the surface based on the relevance of the keyword. Twitter, at the same time, relies on what is being talked about the keyword and pulls out a repository of information which was posted even just 10 seconds back. Twitter Search is the way to go.

5. Twitter as a content aggregator - For me, twitter is much more flexible when compared to bookmarking sites and RSS readers. It gives me the option to interact with people whom I have never met (and are not in my "friends" circle). I can make conversations on a particular content with people where as RSS readers let you just aggregate the information and read it.

6. Spread out and be heard - Its said that people meet people through people. I would never even listen to 125 people in less than 2 months and that too people I have not met. For Facebook, LinkedIn and Orkut, the circle stays within the people I know. I am never heard outside the circle and neither do I get to hear from outside my circle. Twitter gives me an audience who are interested in what I talk about and the kind of information I share.

7. Its only 140 characters - You do it quick and short.

8. Multiple desktop clients - Makes it so easy to access twitter. Tweetdeck, AlertThingy and Twhirl to name a few. It helps you with consolidated information instead of having to click all around the web page.

Here is a small video on why and how to use Twitter on a personal level (Courtesy: CommonCraft):



I could give lot more reasons, but I will stick to just one and the last one:

8. Its a party. IT IS FUN!

Is This Right?

Supreme Court declined legal protection (from TOI) to 19 year old Ajith D for creating a community on Orkut where offensive comments were put in by anonymous users.

SC says:

"We cannot quash criminal proceedings. You are a computer student and you know how many people access internet portals. Hence, if someone files a criminal action on the basis of the content, then you will have to face the case. You have to go before the court and explain your conduct."

There is huge uproar against the ruling citing that this is against Freedom of Expression. I was of the same opinion to an extent till Sanjukta took a dig at me and convinced that online media is no different from print media.

While completely understand that libel, slander and defamation is not the way to go about it, I am not sure if verdict comes out as a very positive thing for the common man let alone the bloggers. There are political party leaders out there making inflammatory speech, instigating feelings that can disrupt communal harmony and case filed against them does not go anywhere but under the huge stack of case files that would be dug out in another 10 years. They roam around scot-free after getting bail within minutes of case being filed (and in quite a few cases, even before case is filed).

I quote what Sanjukta wrote on her post:

"This nation has more important issues to handle than to curb a handful of Bloggers freedom"

The context of this statement was different, but I want to put it other way round.

Yes there are bigger issues to be handled ...

There are cases of heinous crimes still lying out there not being touched. High profile corruption cases are still being heard. Discussions are still on to see how and when the terrorist who went ballistic on the streets of Mumbai on 26/11, should be tried and prosecuted. Court cases running for 13 years and then the accused is sentenced for 3 years jail.

There is frustration ... Huge amounts of it ...

It comes out as if law is applicable only to common man who cannot get diplomatic or legal defense easily. Displeasure and frustration sky rocketing because the real issues are not being addressed at the grass root level instead of wasting time on Ajith's case. Anti social and anti secular elements are roaming free.

Am I surprised by the reaction from Indian Blogosphere? - NO !!!

Am I hurting "public sentiment" right now? 

I DO NOT KNOW !

Disclaimer: I strongly oppose creation of hate communities and usage of abusive language on any media. For the same reason, I do not support what Ajith did.

Slumdog Glory and Indian Cinema

Aaah ... finally, it's over. Slumdog Millionaire has won 8 Oscars out of the 10 nominations.

For me, the proud moment for Indians was Resul Pookutty, Gulzar and AR Rahman winning the Oscars. Rahman for Original Music Score and along with Gulzar for Original Song. Resul for Sound Mixing.

Now that the Oscar is over, I am waiting to see when the Indian media will stop the whole hype about Slumdog Millionaire. When will Rajeev Masand stop dissecting the movie to death?

GreatBong writes in his post:

... Surely a movie/documentary made by non-Indians with India as the subject winning equates to India conquering the Oscars. Just like if the “March of the Penguins” would have swept the Academy Awards, it would have been a glorious achievement of Antarctica and a proud day for all penguins. ...

The media is out to tap whatever is possible to increase their TRP, and we have Congress party claiming the credit and talking about "good governance".

The movie was a win for Danny Boyle and a few Indians who were part of the movie. It is definitely not a win for Indian Cinema yet. Indian Cinema has a long way to go. We were able to demonstrate to an extent that we are technically capable and there is a lot of work that can be done in India at a lower price. (Outsourcing here too???) But, the driving force behind most of the movies in India is financial benefit more than creativity. This has resulted in a very slow evolution of movies from a technical and content point of view when compared to Hollywood.

I remember watching "Jumanji", "Independence Day" and "Twister" way back in 1996-1997, but I doubt if the Indian movie industry has the muscle to make a movie of that scale and technical excellence even now.

Feel proud of what Rahman, Resul and Gulzar achieved. Be happy that Mumbai (and India) is in the spotlight. But, grow up and innovate. Break out of the traditional shell and move forward, else there is no way, at any point, that we will match the caliber of Hollywood. Not just Hollywood, but British, French, Japanese or German Cinema.

Young World

Meghna is one of the youngest bloggers in the world. She is just 13 and ranked 9th in the world among young bloggers. Huge achievement at this age!

She aspires to be a writer and I truly respect her parents for letting her hang on to Internet and pursue her interest. I do not think parents of majority of kids would ever let them spend so much time on internet.

Academics has become of such prime importance that kids are forced just learn whatever is there in the syllabus and get good score (without which they cannot get into IIT or Medical College). The education system forces kids to overwork themselves without letting them have fun and learn science and history in a way that interests them. 

She writes in one of her posts:

"Shakespearean English and the Dozing Off!

The boring lines that Shakespeare wrote
The same way our teacher goes
The students are pretty much busy too
Holding one dropping head there, or two

Here she goes, not caring at all
Whether we listen
Or the dozing heads fall

The rhythmic snoring
With Portia roaring
Or Juliet calling out to Romeo
Yet students all drooling


Ah here goes, the verses he wrote
Oh why? Mr. Shakespeare?
Why trouble us both?

I can’t bear it any longer
So this poem stands in the memory of those
Who slept in heavenly bliss
Waiting for the bell to ring."

Such creativity for a 13 year old is stunning ...


There are a lot of "software engineers"
- Who do not even have an internet connection at home.
- Who do not even read anything else on the internet except for regional newspapers.
- Who do not even access internal systems of the company.

These people who are here to make money have zero passion for Internet or gathering knowledge through similar sources. They still call themselves software engineers with no sense or understanding what "engineer" means.

With "Internet illiterate" people making abnormal amount of money, I see great future for Meghna. I really would love to see parents of coming generation focusing on "education" and not academics. I want to see parents guiding kids in having fun and making them smart and not book worms.

Without this, we will be left with a generation which has no intellect. Quality work force which can build a nation will remain a dream ...