Chronicles Of Shadab

How did the great company become greater?

2010-07-27T15:37:00.001+05:30

The word “speculation” got high publicity after global recession that I started speculating things quite often. Don’t worry! Finance is excluded from my area of speculation. I think speculation can be added to the official list of hobbies. While jogging or sitting through a boring lecture I switch myself into speculating mode. During the world cup more than the spirit of football, octopus Paul interested me so much that my recent speculation was on Paul.

The most important thing on a B-school campus is “CV point”. The more you collect, the better placed you are. Recently some of the juniors got their resume (CV) reviewed from me while I was browsing magazines in library. I gave all the required gyaan. On the way back to room I saw a huge monitor lizard. In the dim light it looked like an octopus. Now you know the source of the following speculation.

Between the walls of the meeting room of “The Great Company” a group of HR managers, recruiters are discussing that it has become really difficult to select prospective candidates. One of the recruiter expressed anguish that B-schools and Engineering schools are increasing the intake year by year. Gone were those days where it was easy to screen the resumes which were few in number. Now there is such a demand-supply gap even on the campuses all the students apply for just two-three positions we can offer. Recruitment has become a very tedious task. I am resorting to heuristics such as age, gender, location and sometimes one or two words which are bold to filter CVs out of the big heap of them. All the other recruiters in the room supported the above argument. There was obvious helplessness evident on their faces.

The senior HR manager who is inspired by lateral thinking responded, “That’s simple! You are all worrying too much”. Let us order octopuses to do the job for you. Don’t you all know how octopus Paul decided the fate of the teams in the recent football world cup? Let the octopuses filter the CVs.

“The Great Company” became greater because it got exactly the candidates it needed. The octopus phenomenon spread across the country. Octopus farming saw a tremendous growth ,CAGR of approximately 700%.

The famous Placement coach Mr. Paul ( changed his name after octopus Paul) suggested to highlight points related to water, swimming, sports that got something to do with mighty of one’s legs like running etc. Now you know whom to impress from your CV point.

60 Days of Summers

2010-06-13T22:47:00.010+05:30

Before joining MBA I heard a lot about understanding business at the “grassroots” level. Grass and roots kept on ringing in my ears so much that grassroots fascinated me. Later watching Harsha Bhogle’s talk at IIMC I figured that I will try out a sales job at least as my summer project (summers) although I was interested in a consulting or a marketing profile. As I got busy with the course work this thought faded away slowly. When it actually came down to summer project recruitment process I was looking at consulting or marketing profiles only. As the old saying goes “Man proposes, but God disposes”. Let me twist it a bit “God listens only to your subconscious mind”. He listened to something that was in my subconscious, “Sales”. I ended up in a sales job for my summers.

I was told to report in Gurgaon soon after my term III final exams. I thought, “Great! I shall explore the professionalism of Delhites for which they are well known”. Soon after reporting in Gurgaon I was posted to Bihar for my field work. My friends and colleagues scared me with their half-cooked knowledge of Bihar. I kept my fingers crossed.

Five of us started for Patna by Magadh express. We got deluge of information about train journey to Bihar.We prepared ourselves mentally and convinced ourselves that our reserved seats were not ours and at any time we might be asked to vacate seats by gun-toting Mafia. Nothing of that sort happened except that the train was delayed by 8 hours. We were disappointed for the lack of anticipated “excitement” in our journey.

Our half-cooked knowledge suggested that Patna will be dark and won’t even look like a small town. We were astounded to find bright light around, lot of hoardings, crowd and so much of activity all over. Our driver dropped us near our guest house in kanti factory road close to rajendranagar terminal.

The owner of the guest house welcomed us and showed our rooms which were non-AC. We asked for an AC room as it was very hot there. We decided that we will stay there although it was costly so as to beat the heat at least for 1-2 days. After having a pleasant bath we went out looking for a dhaba for food. The most striking thing we observed is that there were no street lights and almost no night life in Patna. Before falling asleep, we had a nice discussion on the telecom industry, tariff plans etc as we were going to sell telecom services from the next day.

Two of us were sent to Ranchi. The Zonal Business Manager of Bihar gave me a 30 minute induction on sales in telecom and the situation in Bihar. It was not about the tricks of selling telecom services but more about grooming me to speak firmly with the retailers and distributors as if I was a very powerful person from the company. When I asked about the technical points on sales he told me that he didn’t have time for explaining them and suggested me to pick them up from the market. Then he assigned me some key result areas (tasks). According to those result areas, I was given a list of distributors to visit. I was supposed to cover the retailers under each distributor to explain the company’s products and promotions, to observe each and every aspect of sales and distribution and report if there is any issue and last but not the least motivate the retailer to sell the company’s products.

I had to change three autos to reach Daanapur (Distributor location).I went for the retailer visits sitting behind the sales person (aka FOS: Feet on Street) on his bike. I mugged up all about the tariff plans and schemes of my company and its competitors. I spoke to retailers with full authority as if I was in telecom business for years.

I used to learn some new point every day. The telecom industry is suffering from the margin-cut due to per second plans and some other issues related to licenses. In addition to this the companies in Bihar were on the spree of giving terrific trade promotions. To qualify themselves for the trade promotions the retailers did their own calculations and came up with mind-blowing schemes for the end-user. Some of them were free sim card, Rs.50 talk time for just Rs.10 and so on. This means that there will be no single price for a plan even in the outlets that are separated by a wall. This boiled down to the situation where the one who gives the best trade promotion emerge as the winner rather than the one who gives the best network service and tariff plans.

Daily I used to come back with all the dirt on my body. In sales, dirt is the true indicator that the sales persons are indeed doing their job. Our daily expenses were giving us a heart attack. We had to shift the room from AC to non-AC. Three of us were able to convince the owner to retain the AC room for an extra charge of just Rs.50. The discussion (should I call it negotiation?) that led to convincing the owner was funny. We did so much of emotional atyaachaar that he finally agreed. At one stage my friend told him that other hotels/guest houses were providing AC for an amount much lesser than what we were paying. The owner asked us to vacate and take those alternatives in a very serious tone. I asked him to calm down and in a very requesting tone told him to just think why we were insisting to stay in the same guest house although we had so many options nearer to the office. I myself answered my question saying that we trusted him, his service was very good. I told him that charging just Rs.50 /day more instead of Rs. 300 more will also work out for him. I reminded him that he doesn’t have any guests at that time and the power cut is for at least for 2-3 hours out of 7-8 hours of our stay in the room. We told him that in case he gets guests for AC room at the normal (actually high) prices we would shift back to non-AC room. We said that firmly as we were confident that his business was really sluggish.

On the weekends we used to visit different places in Patna like Gol ghar, Gandhi maidan, restaurants, theatres etc. There is also a pub in fraser road owned by Haryana hurricane Kapil dev. Being a teetotaller I had to order the mocktails but I loved them. Their menu contained exhaustive options for both veg and non-veg starters. There were no malls in Patna city. One mall was in pipeline and would be operational in a month or so. We visited two theatres mona and regent. Mona was like any multiplex in a metro but ticket price was around Rs.200. Regent reminded me of my childhood when I used to watch Chiranjeevi’s movies in my town with lot of noise and whistling around. We watched IronMan-2 in Hindi in regent theatre. Whenever Ironman outwits Vanko there was ear crackling applause in the theatre.

Through my visits to retailers and to different places in Patna I got an opportunity to interact with different people of Bihar. A person like me who was used to upper middle class life in a city like Hyderabad would feel guilty of extravagance although I am not prodigal. Majority of the people in Bihar don’t spend much although they can. They are very price-sensitive leading companies to promote their products as the cheapest of all.

People of Bihar are very expressive. One of my colleagues took surveys on the company’s brand image. He asked them a question and they gave lot of details with appropriate punch lines like “Jhoote mein Baata, Lohe mein Tata” in order to emphasise their ideas. Being from Bihar might be a reason for still moving still shaking Shekhar suman. Every Indian loves to hear speeches of none other than Laluji.

People of Bihar are very helpful. I read about the politics, corruption, mafia etc. in Bihar. Initially I was scared to death to speak to people and to add some serious tone in my voice whenever it was necessary. Slowly I realised that media rarely highlights common man. A common man is just like any other common man either he belongs to Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, New York, London. Once I was lost and couldn’t figure out the way back home. I asked a commuter for help. He came along with me all the way till the auto stand and got an auto for me back home for right fare. All the people I worked with were from Bihar. They were very helpful on the field. Initially I couldn’t handle an unhappy retailers. My colleagues guided me appropriately to dissipate their anger.

It was almost a month and a half in Bihar. Everything became routine. I found that there was nothing new to learn. With the suggestion of our alumnus who works for the same company, I told my mentor that I learnt almost everything about the business. I asked him to assign some new work to me. He gave a sarcastic smile emphasising "everything" in my sentence. The next day I got a call from him and an instruction to immediately start for the town named Nawada to participate in the launch exercise. This gave me an opportunity to explore rural Bihar in a bus that was tightly packed with people sitting on the seats, standing inside the bus and sitting on the top of the bus.

The launch experience was terrific. It was very hectic for those 10 days. We were very enthusiastic about launch and encouraged each other. Our enthusiasm diffused our fatigue and rejuvenated us. The critical part was to educate retailers why they should invest in our company rather than others? They needed someone from the company to spend time to explain each of their doubts. That’s where I came in. We launched the service grandly and reached the launch targets.

I came back to Gurgaon and gave an informal presentation on my field study with some recommendations for improvement. After presentation, I went to Hyderabad (Home) for a week to relax.

One day at home I reflected upon the past 60 days. What has these 60 days done to me? I should say they have brought "temporary culture change" in me. Now, I bargain even in a store that says fixed price. Shopping became my hobby. Whenever I go for shopping I am watchful about the prices and keen at observing the selling process. I became, shall I say, mentally flexible. Things were so much unstructured and uncertain during those 60 days that I developed the habit of generating multiple options for multiple scenarios. Last but not the least I was able to come out of the feeling that the hardest path is the only righteous path. In fact there will be at least two righteous paths in most of the situations. Don’t take one without exploring the other.

Almost “Acad Secy”

2010-04-10T16:23:00.000+05:30

I was sure that I won’t be getting into politics ever in my life. I was wrong! When in B-School you would never know what you will do. After joining B-School, I did many things which I never ever thought that I would be doing. One of them is contesting for the post of academic secretary.

At B-School you don’t learn avoiding risks because it is infeasible. You learn managing risks. The fundamental approach to manage risk is to anticipate it, and address it. Anticipating involves understanding the system you are handling and thinking of possible ways of going wrong in it. This is something similar to what software testers do, exploring the boundary cases, alternatives to break the system. Addressing is not a onetime exercise. It involves educating (regularly talking) all the stakeholders about the risks and use (for the lack of better word) them to manage the risk. This is exactly the job of academic secretary. The risks involved are related to the academics. Some of them are minimising danger grades, regularly talking to professors & students on various issues and last but not the least elective allocation (ensuring that all the students select the electives of their choice for the second year. This is the exercise that happens at the end of first year in more or less every B-school).

I was Class Representative (CR) of my section. Generally CRs are known as bakras (scapegoats) because they got to do all the mundane tasks for the class/section they represent. As usual, I delivered my responsibilities to the best of the satisfaction of my class mates and professors. To my surprise everyone liked me so much and called me “Super CR “ J

When the nominations for academic secretary were opened I didn’t care about it. Later my friends, section mates constantly compelled me to contest for the post. I gave a thought to it and decided to contest, for the sake of experience and of course a CV point :P.

I put the nomination. I did all the ground work required for the manifesto and campaign. I talked to senior academic secretary and understood the old elective allocation system and other major issues. I came up with a manifesto which (I should say) was average with no grand promises and radical systemic change. My plan was to first address the basic things like elective allocation, danger zones and ensure that there is STRONG communication channel between students and academic secretary. I always felt that 99% of the risks can be prevented if there is a proper communication channel.

After the display of manifesto to the student community the contestants are supposed to address the queries on their manifestos in an open forum. Before delivering the speech, there were lots of butterflies in my stomach. Once I started with my speech I don’t know from where I got the confidence I answered the questions posed by audience confidently. Some of the audience congratulated me for a good speech which gave me a lot of “feel good” sort of thing.

Ooh! The game started. I campaigned in almost all the hostels. I went door-to-door knocking, asking for votes. I was not aggressive, making statements like, “Dude! I know your vote is mine”. I tried to pitch myself based on my credentials talking about what are the duties of an academic secretary and how can I fulfil them! I attempted to create confidence in me ensuring that, “I am a sincere worker. You can get proof of it by asking anyone from my class how I performed my duties of CR. Please make a judicious decision in selecting your academic secretary”. Here there is a catch in my argument. I projected myself to be a good worker but also as the one who may not create magic. I adhered to the scope of the duties of academic secretary. I tried to manage the expectations conveying that something beyond this scope may not be really feasible.

The campaigning was a great networking experience. I knew only 70% of my batch. Now I know 95-98% of my batch. It doesn’t mean that the campaigning went on calm and smooth. Some of the students I met were really supportive. They welcomed me into their room, talked about many other issues. They showed a sense of trust in me. I was overwhelmed with joy at their simple indication of support. Some were neutral. I could make out nothing out of their response. May be they chose not to vote.

Now! It is the turn of the ones who took lot of my campaigning time. They are the ones who are very careful in doing anything including selecting their academic secretary. They screwed me up big time. They want me to change the entire educational system. They asked a lot of questions “Why is this like that? Why not like that? What the hell are you going to do about it?” Initially, I mumbled. I myself didn’t have answers for most of their questions. I calmed myself down and tried not to give “smart ass” answers. I said, “I don’t have much information about your questions but my plan is this”. To that I got response, “Dude! We are talking of survival and you are here giving us some crap”. I realized that this was going to end with both of us shouting at each other. So I tried to end the conversation saying, “Thanks for bringing this point out. I will make a note of this. As soon as I get elected I will come back to you. I hope you will give your 100% support in addressing these problems”. To this I got this surprising response, “You know XYZ. He is the real worker. He is the Mahatma. He is working for all these issues. He never wants to be a secretary to deliver his responsibility. Why can’t you do that? Why do you need to get elected to do this?” I was shocked! This guy was not willing to let me go. I desperately wanted to cut the conversation. I said,” I am here for campaigning as a potential candidate for secretary. Holding the post of secretary gives me autonomy to work on various issues although I have righteous intentions to straighten the system as a normal student. The issues you are talking about are critical, sensitive and generic whose spirit should not be spoiled by too many cooks working in isolation. The secretary has some duties. I am confident about performing them very well. Bringing radical changes is not something a secretary can do. No single person can do it. It needs a lot of planning and a dedicated team to work. I won’t promise that I can bring all these changes. As an academic secretary I can work in mobilizing a team under the leadership of your XYZ. Thank you. Convey my regards to XYZ. Bye.”

Thus my campaigning saga ended. Thanks to all those who helped me in my campaigning. I completed it to the best of my satisfaction.

The D-day arrived! Initially, the voting turn-out was poor but later the numbers increased. There was finally a decent turn-out of numbers. The very same day we gave farewell party to our seniors. I was enjoying the fare-well party. My senior got a call saying that I lost by a single vote. She conveyed the message in a positive tone saying, “Guys! Shadab became almost acad secy”. I felt surprised, oh shit and lot more. My friends tried to console me although I was not very disappointed. I thought that I will give a decent fight to my competitors but I never thought that I will be so close to the winning line. How does it matter? “Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander!”

Mugging

2010-02-27T11:57:00.006+05:30

Mugging might have a different meaning in North America but in “Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow” (in fact across IIMs) it means:

Mugging = (Reading + Memorizing – Understanding)

B-schools have such a rigorous curriculum with some boring subjects (my perception) that mugging becomes inevitable to complete the course with in the stipulated time. Many a times I heard comments from senior executives from industry that B-school students are getting deeper and deeper into “Analysis Paralysis”. We do so much of analysis, somewhere down the line we miss the point why are we doing what are we doing? This may be the result of over-mugging.

So, shall we say a BIG NO to Mugging? In one of the lectures of Human Resource Management Prof. Himanshu Rai said, “Mugging is not bad”. He gave a very nice example of a doctor. Suppose that he is a big time muggu. So in the above equation Understanding = 0. However the doctor can give the medicine instantaneously as he remembers most of the things. On the contrary let us take an example of a doctor who hates being muggu. So in the above equation Memorizing =0. This doctor needs to refer books every now and then to prescribe a medicine. Obviously, a patient will trust the first doctor.

So there is nothing black and white. If people call you a muggu, say proudly, “Yes I am a muggu”.I think that one needs to strike the OMP (Optimal Mugging Point).What is that? IT DEPENDS .

What is Management all about?

2010-02-27T10:50:00.004+05:30

A two word answer "(Right) Decision Making”.

I will give one of my experiences to illustrate the idea of decision making. In one of my exams in the course "Operations Management" a section of the question paper contained multiple choice questions.

For one of the questions none of the choices is answer. I wasted my time on it trying to fit one of the answers. After realising that I spent a lot of time I convinced myself that option(d) is the nearest and marked it. When I checked the evaluated paper I got zero marks for the question. I asked the professor. He told that none of the choices is answer. Then I said "(Yippee) Give me the marks”. He replied back, “Why, because you marked some option? You are not studying management to make some decision. You got to take right decision. When none of the options available is the right answer you should not go for any option. Learn to make appropriate decisions. This is the penalty for not making right decision”.

My education taught me many concepts, frameworks and models. It never taught me,” Understanding the problem and addressing it”. I always loaded my gun with all those concepts, frameworks and models. Let us call them bullets. Whenever I found a problem I shot at it continuously with a hope that one or the other bullet might hit. I hope that I unlearn this by the end of my MBA course.

There is nothing like “Yes and No” or “No right answer, No wrong answer”. I don’t buy this school of thought. For any problem there is one solution. It might be that you haven’t yet identified that one solution.

Why waste so many bullets? Take time to aim the target and hit it with the right bullet!

GLOBE

2009-09-23T16:51:00.008+05:30

'GLOBE’, this 5 letter word became the mostly used word in the last 3 months of my life. After I joined MBA I came to know the real meaning of this word.

As part of the informal induction with seniors we were told to make a presentation on the topic “Did the chicken cross the road? “. We made India a chicken and tried to show off all the knowledge gained during the preparation for GD/PI round of selection into B-school by relating the road with all the hurdles that our country faced and crossed during all these years. We were not even 5 minutes into the presentation seniors shouted back “Stop the GLOBE and get lost”.

GLOBE! What is it? It is something where the speaker speaks anything and everything under the sky without evaluating the use of what he/she is speaking. I became very much conscious of this word whenever I speak or propose a solution to a problem. I ask myself “Am I globing?” If the answer is yes I try to unglobe the globe.

Now the question is, “Is GLOBE good? “ Let us try to evaluate it using non-GLOBE.

Suppose a manager says “The project is interesting, tough, challenging and blah blah” crap like that. Will the team ever understand the scope of the project except a bunch of nice adjectives?Obviously ” No”. The manager GLOBEd and I believe that it is not good. The manager instead should say,” The project demands 1000 man-hours, requires automation of accounting module and is reviewed frequently by the customer”. I think the second one makes much better sense to the team and it motivates it to work in a right direction. The simple observation is to substantiate whatever you say with solid facts and numbers at least in business scenario like above with out losing objectivity (sounded like Ayn Rand :)

I participated in a competition that requires the teams to come up with a practical solution to address child labour. Initially we pulled out statistics, wrote lot of globe like create website, create awareness etc. We proofread it and realized that we are talking something very trivial which everyone knows. Then we started to analyze the problem, analyzing stakeholders and hit upon a solution which generates income from a viable cottage industry run by parents of the children.

Let me share my resume preparation process. The most important document for a B-school student is resume. My first-cut preparation was absolute globe. I wrote points like helped client, manager applauded, interested in writing so on. Not that I have nothing to write but I didn’t know separating globe and presenting non-globe. Take the above points helped client (How?) , manager applauded (why? Is it because you ran marathon or Is it specific to your work?) and interested in writing (what? Do you write Shakespeare?). Taking care of “Globe vs Non-globe” helped me to carve a resume which is much better than my first-cut one though both of them doesn’t have much difference in the underlying meaning of the sentences.

Pondering more on this concept I feel that all those thick, huge books that I encountered (I won’t say that I read) all through my life should have contained 80% globe and 20% non-globe. The skill is to read non-globe and save lot of time from reading globe.

If everyone who contributes to information or who generates information understands the globe, non-globe thingy may be the world will be saved from information overload. Unfortunately we are all so used to globe and the so-called experts consider information to be meaningless if it doesn’t contain globe.

Does that mean GLOBE is bad? Not really. Think of this situation, a patient is dying. What should a doctor tell to the patient? I think that he should speak globe instead of giving him hard facts only to reduce his/her confidence levels.

So it is not black and white. We tend to use globe especially under stressed, time-constraint situations. At times it makes sense even though we don’t evaluate it consciously, like the one in the case of a dying patient.

My opinion , " Use GLOBE when required but ensure that the other person doesn't understand it :P". A practical advice to GLOBEing : Start the answer to any question you don't know with "IT DEPENDS"."It depends" makes the other person to pause and think.Use that time to prepare unbreakable GLOBE.

By the way Thanks for reading GLOBE

Watch out this funny video made by my classmates on GLOBE

Tundey ke Fundey

2009-08-22T09:23:00.002+05:30

It's April 10 , 2009. I came to know I got admission into IIML. I shared the happy news with my near and dear. Can you guess their response to this news?

You might think why is this fellow asking sitters? or Is he out of his mind because of stimulation - response analysis of Organizational Behaviour. After these questions run in your mind finally you may answer my question that they would have responded with obvious "Congratulations!".

Friends! the answer is NO. Let me explain the process. I said I got into I..I..M. Stop! till here it was fine.They were waiting for me to complete the word. Then I completed with Lucknow.They forgot the first three letters and started off with history,heritage blah blah of Lucknow.More importantly everyone left me mouth-watering about "Tunde Kebaab".For uninitiated, it's a very famous delicacy of Lucknow city.

The way they explained was wow! simple fantabulous ( searched oxford dictionary for this word :). Read on!

"Shadab! it is soooooo soft soooooo good. The moment you keep it in your mouth it dissolves. The experience you get while it dissolves is unearthly. It is not KFC that is Finger lickin good but it is Tundey ke Kebaab".

People talked to me so much about it that I started thinking about Tundey ke Kebaab rather than the institute, campus life which new admission should think about.The D-Day arrived. I landed in Lucknow on June 22. I looked around for Tundey ke Kebaab. I couldn't find, as it was early in the morning.

IIML is a microcosm of our country. You can find various personality types here. Don't worry I won't get into Type-A , Type-B of Organizational Behaviour. I found people similarly motivated by Tunde ke Kabaab. One fine day we embarked on the "Mission Tundey ke Kebaab". We went to Sahara Gunj. We should have gone to Hazarat Gunj. We found a joint selling Tundey ke Kabaab.

My friend shouted "Wow! Tundey ".I said "Chal re Mundey!".We ordered 3 plates for us. We waited keenly to have our first glimpse of "THE Kebaab". Much to our surprise it looked like cutlet. We thought "Tundey ke Kebaab" is a kebaab that doesn't look like a kebaab.Then I put it in my mouth and tried to experience all that unearthly experience.I am not sure about the unearthly experience but I would have tasted earthly experience with my back landing on the earth as someone pulled the chair on which I was about to sit.

Man! Tundey let us down. It was not that extraordinary. It tasted like cutlet. My mom makes much much better cutlets. Wait! we are optimists. We never lose hope. I said "OK! don't worry. We got kebabs from the wrong place.Next time we will do market analysis of kebab and go to the right place where we can get THAT unearthly experience".

Some one who knows easier access to Tundey. Pls pour in your comments that will help the new comers to Lucknow like me.

My First Day at Campus

2009-06-24T19:07:00.003+05:30

Landed in the place where I dreamt to be for the last 2 years. IIML the place that I longed to belong. Now I am part of this great community.

The Campus :-

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It is huge and beautiful.At the entrance gate one can find the statues of great national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and a scene of Mahabharatha depicting Krishna riding the chariot of Arjun.They mean that IIML's mission is to transform its students into leaders with a pedagogy that is interactive professors taking the role of Krishna and we taking the role of Arjun.

We are expecting a swimming pool andm ore facilities in the next two months.There will be loads of fun as ours is a silver jubilee batch of IIML.

The induction program is very well planned placing emphasis on ethics and social responsiobility. Coming to the pedagogy again Dr.Devi Singh explained that the professors provide us a model/framework.It is upto us how are we going to use it with our own commonsense and wisdom.I think this is the fun part of instruction where in we learn from each other , learn appreciating others ideas and emerge as independent individuals.

Prof.ArchanaShukla and Swamiji talked on Indian ethos , values and culture raising relevant questions like ambition vs conscience , short term vs long term and end vs means.

In the ice breaking session Prof.Das gupta gave the following map to choose specialisations:-

LIFE ---> CAREERS ---> COMPANIES(INDUSTRY) ---> SKILL SETS ---> SPECIALISATIONS

At the end of the day we had alumni talk by Mr.Vineet Chauhan , President of IIML alumni association, Global business manager JP Morgan.This was the best session of the day.He explained what it takes to be a star ? identifying various parameters cancelling the irrelevant oness and boiling down to four elements FOCUS, IIML , OVER & BEYOND , SOFT SKILLS.

In the night we had an ice breaking session with seniors . This was the most interesting and fun part of the day. I came to know inherent talents in my class mates .I am really privileged to be a part of such bright , multi faceted people.Looking forward to learn a lot from these guys.

The City :-

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I ventured out of the campus with my father to catch a glimpse of the city.I travelled in bus , seven-seater/three wheeler, rickshaw(tri-cycle) to do Ganjing ( courtesy : Kanishka .It is visiting Hazarat Ganj).

I found Lucknow indeed a city of Nawabs ,very very slow.I may be wrong but being from Hyderabad where in a place like Hazarat Ganj will be teeming with people rushing fast.We visited some of the cloth shops and got into a restaurant to taste the much talked about BIRIYANI. Yes this is great much better than Hyderabadi Biriyani.Eating Biriyani listening to Gazals was pleasant and great.

kitCAT - A Short Story

2009-05-26T14:42:00.003+05:30

Detective Somerset and Mills are running after John Doe. Mills is in problem. John Doe is about to kill him. Will he kill him or spare him? PHEW... power cut. Oh! This has to happen at this moment. I am getting bored in this darkness. Let me bore you with my story.

I am Stalin Moosa. My mother is a Russian and my father, an Indian. Don’t expect much ,my diversity stops here. I did my entire schooling, college and everything else from Hyderabad. After my engineering I was confused on what to do? Then the MBA thing struck upon me because most of my friends were planning to do it. I gave this exam called CAT and got into one of those Temples of Management Education, IIM. As per joining formalities I got to get a fitness certificate and an X-ray report from a civil surgeon. So I decided to go to Govt. Hospital the next day.

What happened! When can we expect the light back? It is raining cats and dogs. DHOOOM... my window pane broke oh! This looks like a serious storm. I locked the windows and retired to bed.
“200 Rs.”, the auto driver demanded. Common it will cost you not more than 100 to go to the Govt. Hospital. No sir it is in the old city. So what! I moved ahead and got an auto which agreed to drop me as per the meter fare.

Oh! Yesterday there was a huge storm. Most of the roads are blocked by fallen trees. There is space enough for an auto to go. The climate is pleasant. The cool breeze, the dim light wow! I am feeling like going to Ooty. It is a nice ride. I offered 10 Rs. more than the meter fare.
I stepped down the auto. I found a sudden drift in the environment. Lot of noise, ambulances, diseased people, and people met with accidents, message on AIDS control all around on the walls, mentally sick mysterious person sitting in the corner, and patients coughing, vomiting etc., Looking at such surroundings, my heart started to bleed as usual. The defence mechanism, may be a mental valve, that I developed lately shut that bleeding down. Seeing lot of pain around me, poverty, ill health so on.. I used to get too emotional and even cry. My papa consoled me and trained me to develop some kind of mental valve which opens / closes. Opens, if I can do something about it and Closes, if I cannot do anything about it. Most of the times it closes i.e., simply shut that bleeding down and ignore the things around. I hope I get a chance when it opens.

The hospital is a very large premises. It is a palace of one of the Nizams of Hyderabad. Unfortunately, very badly maintained, spits on the walls, lots of used cotton lying everywhere on the floor , stray dogs moving around and so on. My task is to find a civil surgeon. I caught hold of a nurse, she suggested me to look at Medical Wards. I started from medical ward 1 and received cold hand in the first two ones. In the third one the doc was kind enough to help me BUT ... he has this issue. He is a professor of Medical College attached to the hospital. He treats every one as his student. His every sentence ends with a stupid or useless fellow. To the best of my memory I remember that he spoke at least 30 sentences. Now you know with how many ‘stupids’ I was blessed with. He asked me to take the X-ray and come back to him.

Who is the architect of this palace? I think people might have spent one-third or even half of their life finding how to go from one place to the other! On the way to lab I came across some medical wards which are really horrible. Unclaimed bodies , about to be moved to mortuary and their associated smell. Oh God! Why did you make us just to kill after a beautiful life ? In some other wards I found young docs swiftly moving with their mentor, examining patients, giving them solace. Hats off! You are living a life worth living for. Of course, they have their own priorities and dreams. I hope they don’t overlook the service motive of their job when they reach the pinnacle and inscribe every word of the Hippocrates oath on their heart.

Am I in a laboratory or a cinema theatre to catch the latest release of MegaStar’s movie. The X-ray theatre is teeming with patients. Forget about privacy, Will they take the X-ray properly? Since it is chest X-ray they made me strip my shirt, stand erect, embrace a rod. Looked like I am about to do pole dance and all the audiences are eagerly waiting for me to start the stellar performance. He asked me to collect the report later.

I found part of a queue running for a length of 1 Km. at the entrance of report collection centre. My optimism convinced me that this is not my queue. So I went inside in anticipation of joining some other smaller queue. With in no time, I found out that it is my queue. People in the queue literally threw me out for violating the queue rules. I said to myself “Mera Bharat Mahaan!” and stood at the end of the queue. Looks like I will reach the entrance of the centre after 50 min and the counter after another 50 min. The queue is moving very slowly. Suddenly it started to oscillate. I tried to find out why is it oscillating?

Since it is a long journey to the counter some old people are squatting on the floor. When they got bored sitting on the floor they stand again. So when they stand the queue contracts and when they squat the queue expands. Hurray! I am almost there, only three people in front of me. Oh my God! What is that counter guy doing? There is no computer. That is Ok. They gave some serial no. to identify the X-ray but I think somewhere in this long process the serial numbers were lost. So when a person gives his receipt he reads the part X-rayed and tries to do image match with his eyes. What a sophisticated search! Google ! Where are you? Take this man. Suppose the receipt says right hand he takes out all the hand X-rays, try to filter them on right hands, and now comes the interesting part. He asks the man about the details of his X-ray. Wow! what a feedback mechanism statistically awesome balancing precision and recall. That poor man mumbles something. Now he uses probability. When there are multiple matches he randomly picks up one and hand it over to the man. It’s my turn. I helped him in searching fast. I shouted(out of excitement) “Chest PA view” .After all this fight he says Man! There is not even one chest X-ray. Oh! He got zero sample space problem. I was pissed off. I started quarrelling with him. People behind me are yelling for delaying their turn. As I told I am an optimist. I thanked God for rescuing me from becoming a victim of probability. I decided to visit some reputed diagnostic centre to get MY and MY OWN chest’s X-ray.

The surgeon blessed me with some more stupids and completed the formalities. Finally I relaxed munching a kitkat chocolate, watching why John Doe did all that he did?

Is making home so easy?

2008-05-19T04:33:00.006+05:30

I used to think so.All through these days I thought that Father is the head of the family and he is the one who works the hardest for the family.One reason might be I am male and sympathize with fellow male :) .But a keen observation of day-to-day house-hold activities proved me wrong.It is not only the father but the home-maker also plays an equally important role.I am not getting into man vs woman business because a home-maker may be a man or a woman .I will just talk about my observations from the point of view of the home-maker of my home i.e., my mom.This may open the eyes of many others like me :).

For a long time I have been avoiding my duties as a member of my family.I nicely covered my laziness with "Male Ego" that says, " A man is a manager, HE is supposed to supervise and not actually work :) ".So I used to appreciate the interior decoration done by my sister,praise the
delicious food cooked by my mom.My mom used to feel elated because of my poetic appreciations.Slowly she realized that I am actually contributing to nothing in action.She decided to teach me a lesson.She went on cooking the vegetables/items that I don't like day after day.I used to cry Oh mom! I work so hard(?) at the office and after coming home what do I get? (karela)BITTER GOURD!She coolly replied My dear! I can only cook what I have in the kitchen inventory.I have been requesting you for a while to get some vegetables from market ! You paid a deaf ear to me.So bear the punishment.You know tommorow I am going to cook cauliflower because I have that in my inventory. I told OK momma, what a strategy!I guess IIM's can give a case study on this which says How to manage smart( like me :) ) people ?So I decided that it is better to do Ghar Seva first and then the Samaj Seva.The president of my home's constitution none other than my mom created a set of Fundamental duties of the citizen 'Shadab':-
(1)Ensuring that the needs of kitchen are full-filled.
(2)Ensuring that any repair in Electrical/Electronic appliances is fixed
with in 24 hours.
(3)Ensuring that all the bills are paid before deadline.
(4)Ensuring that the drinking water is filtered and filled in bottles.

Just four!Even I thought that's all.But believe me, "Ensuring that you fulfill your duties daily is going to be really tough".When I started to dispatch my duties I came to know oh! my God house-hold work is tougher than cracking civil services.I started appreciating my mom in the true sense.I realised that she is indeed the Master of our House as it is shown on TV (Women's day and so on).So HatsOff! to all home-makers.You are GREAT.My mom works for 7 days and atleast 10 hours a day so that all others in the family are happy.Drawing the inspiration from my mom I started my new role "The Citizen" no "The Responsible Citizen".

I used to be responsible and contribute towards house-hold activities till the time I reached X standard.Later I ,no, the entire society thought I entered into a VERY crucial phase of my life SSC/+1/+2 so on .So I got a sabatical from my responsibilities towards house-hold activities.I remembered the prices of various goods during my schooling.With these "price-memories" I entered a market with a big list prepared by my mom.I went to tomato walla and asked tomatoes for Rs5/a KG.He gave a weird look and simply told "Aage Badho"(Move-On).Then I read the rate list which said tomatoes Rs20/KG.I asked him when did the price change from Rs5 to Rs20?He said "Aapke bachpan mein"(in your childhood).Suddenly my economics lessons flashed into my mind oh! it is inflation.Later I went to the mutton shop.I over heard my dad saying that KG(1 Kilogram) chicken is Rs80 two days ago.So I thought KG mutton should be Rs100 atmost and also felt proud of my common-sense.I handed Rs.100 to the butcher.He stopped me and told "Baaki paise"(Where is the rest of the money?).I told "Isn't that all?"Thank God I escaped from being made into "khyma" (small pieces) paying him the correct price i.e., Rs240/KG.OK! I decided to first ask the price for the same item in atleast two shops and then buy the best deal.Thank God! this strategy worked.I was done with the test and then returned home.

After coming home mom checked the carry bag and cross verified the items with the list.Yippey! I didnt miss any of the items in the list.But ,But!Now the real test started.The quality of the items and the price of the items!She told tomatoes are not so good.I should have tried in a different shop.Also the Rs 20 could have been negotiated to Rs16 which I didn't.The brinjal is so so.I could have been done better and finally she told the mutton is good!Saving grace!Thank you muttonwallah although you scared me!I got a rating of 3 out of 5.Hey thats a very good rating for
a beginner.But believe me! I started learning .In a month's time I was able to understand a good tomato from a bad ,a good brinjal from a bad, a good quality mutton from a bad and also I was able to get at right price.

I started discharging my duties well.In the process I got an opportunity to observe what does my mom do for almost the entire day in home?Her activities included cleaning the house, washing clothes,cooking,procuring the things that I missed to get and so on...As we all know there are two ways to do any thing the right way and the wrong way.If we do in the wrong way the above activities can be easily done.For ex:-If you need vegetables you can go to any retail outlet and get B-grade ones.If you want to do it in the right way go to the rythubazar (market) and get them.Believe me! there is hell lot of difference in the taste of the vegetables got from the two places. Rythubazar certainly tastes good but it comes at the cost of strain and pain.Now if you take the activity of cleaning house you can take the broom and simply whirl around.After that walking on the floor of the house leaves your feet black because it collects all the dust :) But if you gonna do it in the right way it involves taking broom to every nook and cranny of the house and then cleaning the floor with the wet cloth.Now let us talk about my favorite part cooking , if you cook with out any care you may be the source of the diseases in the house.To cook healthy food one needs to take lot of care right from cleaning the ingredients of cooking, the proportion of ingredients used in the cooking, to the way the food is served.My mom always do it in right way.I appreciate her dedication and she will continue to do so forever irrespective of age.I decided to co-operate her forever in her ordeal.

So I advice all my readers ,take care of your Home Maker.They are the one who are diligently working for you.

Finally the answer to my question "It is not all that easy" ...

Mera Number Kab Aayegaa !

2008-03-09T22:21:00.012+05:30

Apart from the heat, this summer is loaded with marriages.If you tell some one " I Know What You Did This Summer " he'll probably say "I got married".

"Suresh weds Veni (Feb 23 , 2008)" ,this is the first marriage in the series of marriages that I attended and will attend.I started at 9:30 p.m. on Friday night to catch the Ongole bus from Central Bus Stand (CBS) at 10:30 pm. I boarded a city bus to reach CBS.I guess that the driver got sudden pangs of hunger . He jumped out of the bus to have some thing to eat.He enjoyed the food for 15 minutes.After a little hassle between the conductor and passengers for the delay we headed slowly towards CBS .Definitely the food disturbed the driver's tummy, a metro express was moving dead slowly.Thank God! I reached CBS at 10:29 pm. I felt a lot of change.Any bus can stop anywhere.This is nothing short of a treasure hunt.I ran around the bus stand but ongole bus is no where to be seen.Oh! my God I missed the bus.
Bloody phone says disconnected from the network.Barriers break when people speak but boy! there must be network to speak.The so-called APSRTC enquiry booth told that the bus 'might' have already left.I thought I would wait for some time and then leave.Luckily I saw Vikram coming towards me.At that time he looked like an angel to me.He escorted me to the bus.Wow! I was meeting my friends after approximately seven years. Shravan,Satish,Vikram,Ravindra and Sudhakar were there. They welcomed me warmly.Satish looked busy with some 'important' phone call.Shravan was trying to find who was on the other side of phone.Ravindra said that I haven't changed a bit but he changed a lot.Vikram looked manly like a tollywood star.Sudha looked as if he were there to sleep :).

Next day all of us assembled at suresh's house in the afternoon.I found Anil a.k.a party and BabuRao sir also.Anil was as usual tall and cool.Babu Rao sir looked relaxed and charged to
play football with all of us with his funny sarcastic jokes.We were all supposed to start at 1:00 pm to the bride's place but we started at 3:30.Poor Vasu! was waiting some where in the mid-way to bride's place, to pick him up from 2:00 pm onwards.He looked like philosopher with a small belly.We munched guavas brought by vasu. We talked about the intermediate education past and present.BabuRao sir added lot of insights to the discussion.Ravindra talked about his project which is really cool.He showed his engineering college which was on the way.We got bored but to our delight there was a girl in the group.You know boys! We wanted to show-case our skills to impress her.Vikram was already in charge helping her in preparing a gift for Suresh. Anil and I started pulling Vikram's legs.Afterwards we took the charge of impressing the
girl with our 'unique' skill of pseudo-palmistry(p-p).I hope I didn't offend anyone with my p-p.Oh! still there is a long way to go .Ate guavas,laughed to BabuRao sir's jokes, teased Vikram,impressed(I think so :) ) girl what else to do ?Satish took the charge with his intuitive puzzles.Actually puzzles are indeed intuitive but Anil proved them the are silly and useless.I think satish will think twice before posing puzzles if party is present.

Thank God! we reached.Three musketeers(Baaru,Hari, and Rama a.k.a Quest ) were waiting for us.Baaru didn't change looked cute and funny as usual.Hari looked like a small boy doing his intermediate.Rama looked excited.As he belongs to my company I met him in between.The bride's party welcomed us with cooldrinks and snacks.We got refreshed with a cool bath.Some snaps were taken in the dressing room but all of them are not meant for family viewing.I also met with Lucy ,a mutual friend of Suresh and mine at St.Xaviers school.He changed a lot.Now he is working for a noble cause of spreading health awareness in the villages.Suresh dressed up in a beautiful suit.He looked like a chief executive of Infy.He got busy with his wedding process and we got busy with eating process.After a long time I got a chance to savour traditional AndhraFood - Fried Mirchi, Pappad, Curry , Pakoda, Sambar ummm.

After a heavy dinner we arranged ourselves in a circle.Baaru was the cynosure of the circle.He speaks we laugh that was the protocol.We reminisced about our intermediate days especially sanskrit sir and Baaru,uday bhanu sir and vasu,english sir,chinna srinu sir,pedda srinu sir,s-kiibed (eamcet subbarao sir),veyyavay-pettavay(mehta sir).We clicked lot of photos.Time just flew away in our conversation.The entire marriage party returned after mid-night. Anil,Baaru,Hari,Rama,Vasu and I got down at Vijayawada. All others were sleeping.We bade good-bye and happy married life to Suresh and got down.

In Vijayawada we spent some time in lodge room.Baaru left for his home.Vasu left for his aunt's house.Anil left to chirala.Hari,Rama and I returned to Hyderabad by Satavahana express.Hari explained life in a metro(mumbai).Time passed slowly and we reached Hyderabad.Hari headed to Mumbai.Rama left to Miyapur and I returned home.I slept for the entire half-day.My dreams were full of my intermediate days, my cycle,tuitions at BabuRao sir's house,subject discussions with satish and vasu,cricket matches in hari's house so on and so forth.

We dispersed so quickly that we didn't even bade good-bye to each other but I am very happy that we could meet after so many days.Guys! who is getting married next?(Mera number toh abhi nahin aayegaa!) I want to have one more meet-up.

First Aid

2008-01-20T14:51:00.001+05:30

I attended a Training on Handling of Emergency Accidents & First Aid.Once again kudos to my company for helding this session.

I thought it will be a traditional one but to my surprise I was proved wrong.Dr.Mahesh Joshi from Apollo made it a worth-to-attend training.He is tall and full of life.His confidence and authority is itself a kind of first-aid to the patient.Congratulations to the doctor and his team.

I will mention the details in direct speech for ease of understanding.The doctor started with :

Hello Every one!Let us look at statistics.How many accidents/year occur in India?
Audience shouted variety of numbers ranging from 4000 to 4 lakhs.
What a value we have given to lives poor people met with accidents 4000 to 4 L !! (with an ironical tone).It is not your fault.It is the unfortunate scenario of our poor infrastructure.In any mishap prevention is better than cure but we are not always so lucky.Ok it is actually 1L.Do you know that India is the diabetes capital of the world?18 crore Indians are Diabetes-Prone.Do you know that the people of the Hyderabad are the sweetest (1 out of 8 people are suffering from diabetes)?Do you know that 2500 Indians die per year due to BP(BloodPressure)?

So there is high probability of finding people or your own parents or relatives suffering.What can you do so that you donot repent "If I would have done that "?First of all Don't Panic.Don't hurt yourselves.Call emergency helplines 108 or 1066 and then start first aid.How to give first aid ?Don't worry we will discuss.If there is some one else on the scene delegate them the task.I hope you guys are well equipped with "managerial" skills.How do you delegate the task?Call 108 tell them that person is unconscious at Gachibowli (with proper land marks) thats all and then you start doing the first aid.

Now let us dwell into first aid.What is first aid? It is the care given before emergency medical help arrives that can change morbidity or mortality.If done correctly it will decrease morbidity or mortality or else it will certainly increase.So do first-aid only if you know correctly but please do not further harm.

Let me tell you a funny instance happened at Numaish (exhibition).
I was handling a similar session.I wanted to know how does audience attend to a person suffering with fits.I was in the audience and suddenly started doing convulsions.Some of them were scared and ran away.But some responsible citizens started doing so-called first-aid.There were twenty of them surrounding me.They were making me (a fits patient) breathless.Twenty advices wer coming out.They debated among themselves and finally started acting (Thank God! they started doing some thing let us see what they did).Do you see my broken teeth?One of them took out his car keys and inserted into my mouth.In the process poor me's tooth was broken.Another one pour a bucket of water on me.Another one sacrificed his pav bhaji's onion to place them on my forehead.Two of them started thumping my ribs violently.Even today I feel the pain (My God!).Some of them took out their socks , chappal what not! I was afraid and stopped the drama.

Isn't it funny?If it were a real patient it would have been a torture for him rather than first-aid.Let us know about first-aid in case of some general accidents.
(1)Choking
(2)Sudden Collapse
(3)Fits
(4)Bleeds
(5)Sprains/Factures
(6)Dog/Snake Bite
(7)Chest Pain (Heart Attack)
(8)Electric Shock
(9)Paralysis

How many lifelines are there in KBC?Audience shouted 3,4 ...Ok but there are only 2 life lines for a human being.(1)Airway (2) Spine.First aid must ensure that they are fine.

With this thumb-rule let us start with these accidents one by one.

(1)Choking :-
It is speechless,breathless condition caused due to a foreign-body obstructing wind-pipe.
Obviously you cannot ask him questions as he cannot speak.Also donot give him water or tea.
(i)First of all let him know that you are doing first-aid.Make him believe you.
(ii)You can take help of his cough-reflex.Make him stand .
(iii)Go behind him place one of your leg in between his two legs.This will help you to balance his weight and save your spine if he suddenly becomes unconscious.
(iv)Now clasp your arms from behind around his abdomin above his navel.
(v)Give a blow so that it comes out due to his cough reflex or he becomes unconscious.
(vi)If he becomes unconscious using your leg's support lay him down and do the same blows till some medical help is arrived.

In case of babies cough-reflex is not well developed.Giving back-blows between shoulder blades with our hurting the baby helps.

(2)Sudden Collapse :-
It can occur due to variety of reasons.One that occurs due to cardiac arrest is discussed later.Here it occurs due to stress,low blood-sugar levels,low BP and so on.
(i)Oxygen and Blood-Supply should be maintained.Donot pour a bucket of water on his face as shown in Bollywood movies.
To maintain the supply of oxygen and blood
(i)Lay down the patient
(ii)Elevate his legs.If you don't have anything else to do :) you can hold his/her legs or raise his/her an support them against a chair or a wall.Why Elevate ?You are taking the advantage of gravity.By elevating you are letting blood & oxygen flow freely to and fro between heart and various parts of the body.
(iii)Please don't feed him with tea or coffee .It is another side-effect of Bollywood movies.

(3)Fits (Convulsions/Epilepsy):-
Let us understand them.Our brain has an electric circuit.It gets disturbed at times due to various reasons.This leads to repeated contractions in the circuit which causes convulsions.It is a scary sight but don't fear.The patient is already suffering.He is going to do nothing to you.It is your job to prevent secondary losses to him.
In this situtation his tongue falls back and closes one lifeline i.e., airway.
(i)As mentioned in "Sudden Collapse" case lay him down but in a lateral position.This is to avoid the tongue from falling back.
(ii)The patient needs immediate medical attention.As aforementioned you might have already called for medical help.

One quick tip :- Lateral position is known as recovery position when a patient is unconscious.

(4)Bleeds :-
What happens when a person bleeds?People gather around and make variety of hissing sounds as if someone has thrown water on a hot pan.Instead ,re-assure the person.
(i)Irrigate the wound but don't use your saliva or dust as shown in the movies.
(ii)Do pressure Compression.Take a cloth press on the injure part for 5-10 minutes with out break.This helps in the formation of the clot.Do not apply high pressure in such a way that it cuts the blood flow to the entire organ below the wound.
(iii)Applying Ice helps because it reduces temperature and quickens clot formation.
Bleeding from Nose :-
I generally happens in summer or due to high BP.
(i)Put the patient in 45degree posture but do not let him lay down as usual.
(ii)Do pressure compression on nose.If you are busy take cotton place it on nose then put a clip(the one you use for drying clothes) on the cotton.
(iii)Leave it for some time.

(iv)As usual the medical help might reach by this time.

(5)Sprains/Fractures :-
High Heels! Wonderful Stairs ! ooh! aah! ouch!

Sprains occur due to unfamiliar surface or insufficient lighting.They are injuries which occur to ligaments because of sudden overstretching. whereas in the case of fracture a bone is broken into pieces.Extreme pain is the main symptom of fracture.

For these use RICE principle : R(Rest)I(Ice)C(Compression)E(Elevation)
(i)Do not move the injured site.Generally people tend to move and twist and do all sorts of experiments on the injured site.Please avoid doing that.It will intensify the problem.

(ii)In the case of fracture do not use sling to support.Use your other hand or a card board(available in market) to support.Sling may aggravate the problem.What happens in the case of fracture?Your bone is broken say part1 and part2 and gap between the parts.The sling tends to settle in the gap and thus increasing the gap which is the only thing we do not want to happen.

(iii)If you feel that it is a fracture,insist on an X-ray even if the doctor claims that it is not a fracture.

(6)Dog/Snake Bite :-
Quick Statistics: Rabies(caused due to virus) is 100% mortal barring very few exceptions.Again India ranks first in it.A 17yr brilliant student in AP died because of rabies.
Dog Bite:
To attend to the patient make sure that the dog is not around.Then :-
(i)Clean the wound effectively with running soap water for 15-20 minutes.
(ii)Cover it with a cloth
(iii)Take the patient to a hospital with good facility.The hospital must contain Rabies Immunoglobin.The student mentioned above died because of not taking to a hospital with a good facility.The student was given TT and was sent.Poor boy! he suffered a brutal death.
(iv)Knowing whether the dog is vaccinated or not helps in the further treatment.

Note :- Rabies vaccine is not the only answer to Rabies because vaccine is nothing but milder version of virus.Lot of clinical care is required.

Snake Bite:
AS mentioned above make sure that the snake is not around.Although 90% of the snakes are non-poisonous it is safe to assume that the snake is poisonous.
As shown in movies Snake - Bite cannot kill so rapidly .It takes time for the poison to mix with blood and finally collapse the heart.We take advantage of this time to save the patient.
(i)Do not touch the wound with bare hands
(ii)Do not cut the affected part.It may cause gangrene.
(iii)Clean the wound .Immobilise the injured part using a cloth so that blood does not flow freely.
(iv)Every minute is important . Rush the patient to a hospital that is likely to contain polyvalent anti-venom .

In case of scorpion bite/bee stings also clean the wound and rush the patient to the hospital.

(7)Chest Pain (Heart Attack) :-
Heart attack may occur in variety of forms
(a)Chest Pain
(b)Shooting Pain in Shoulders
(c)Left Jaw Pain
(d)Acidity
and so on so forth.

Let me tell you an example of a bank executive who died because of neglecting the symptoms.His spouse applied amrutanjan on his chest all the night.Infact it enraged his problem.The next morning he died in his office.

What I want to say is You,me and most of the employees in India belong to the blessed citizens of the country i.e., they have Health Insurance Policy.So please get ECG done immediately . Go for treatment with out any delay.

Let us understand cardiac arrest.The heart does not beat and breathing ceases, which starves the body of oxygen. Brain damage is likely if cardiac arrest lasts for more than 5 minutes, and death is likely if cardiac arrest lasts for more than 10 minutes.

How can we help a person suffering from cardiac arrest?
(i)Act immediately.
(ii)If the person is conscious ,give him aspirin or sorbitrate5mg.Do not Let him exert.Call for immdediate help.
(iii)If the person is unconscious (in fact if you feel that the person is unconscious),
Ask loudly, "Are you OK?" "Are you OK?" .If there is no response Place two fingers on one or other side of the person's voice box in their throat to feel if they have a carotid pulse.
(iv)If the patient has a pulse but is not breathing it could be because of suffocation? Feel inside the mouth with a finger to see if there is anything blocking it or the windpipe and remove any food or other objects. Provided that dentures are not broken, it is better not to remove them.Call for help immediately,and provide resuscitation (discussed below) until the patient begins to breathe or the ambulance arrives.

If there is no breathing or pulse, the patient has had a cardiac arrest.

(v)If possible, raise the legs up to allow more blood to flow towards the heart.Immediately place the palm of your hand flat on the patient's chest just over the lower part of the sternum (breast bone) and press your hand in a pumping motion once or twice by using the other hand. This may make the heart beat again.

(vi)If these actions do not restore a pulse or if the subject doesn't begin to breathe again:
Use an automated external defibrillator (AED),a device that can start the heart beating again if available.The device is easy to use.Shamshabad airport is supposed to be installed with AED's around.
(vii)If the person has not resumed breathing or an AED is not available cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should be started.CPR combines artificial respiration (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, rescue breathing), which supplies oxygen to the lungs, with chest compressions, which circulate oxygen to the brain and other vital organs by forcing blood out of the heart.CPR needs practice Refer this .

(8) Electric Shocks/Burns :
Ensure Scene safety.Shut off Electric supply.In case of burns use water.Get immediate mental attention.

(9)Paralysis :
Symptoms (i)Facial Droop (ii) Unable to Speak (iii)Cannot stretch both the arms one of them sways.
It needs immediate medical attention with good facility.

Ok friends.I will close . Happy Living.Let us all practice CPR.

Madman's Tips on making a radical career shift

2008-01-10T20:39:00.001+05:30

Do you want a radical shift in your career?Readon..

Taare Zameen Par

2007-12-24T12:01:00.001+05:30

After a hiatus, I watched two movies that left me wistful.They are Happy Days and Taare Zameen Par. This post is meant for the second one.

The caption of the movie "Every Child is special" is captivating.Unfortunately few identify their speciality.Thats a different issue.I want to post about it once I identify my speciality :).The picture influenced me a lot as I observed MR(Mentally Retarded) children closely at PAWMENCAP.

TZP revolves around eight-year-old boy Ishaan Nandkishore Awasthi (Darsheel Safari) . He is always interested in creative , artful things rather than boring things ;-) like language,math ( Yeah, I know that Math is interesting if it is taught by people like ShakuntalaDevi). Unfortunately his parents do not identify his problem. Every one thinks that he is dumb, duffer , idiot and what not. His father thinks that he is a incorrigible child and sends him off to a boarding school to straighten his behaviour. Poor man doesn't know the problem of the child let alone the solution.

Ishan is attached to his mom. He misses his home , his doting brother , his loving mom , his disciplinarian father.I think the song that is pictured at this situation left everyone
the theatre very tearful.The lyrics of the first few lines are :

"Main kabhi batlaata nahin
Par andhere se darta hoon main Maa!
Yu toh main dikhlaata nahin
Teri parwaah karta hoon main Maa!
Tujhe sab hain pataa hain na Maa!
Tijhe sab hain pataa..... meri Maa! "
--HatsOff to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Prasoon Joshi for making such a beautiful song.

Same story punishment,absent-mindedness and so on repeats with the boy even in the boarding school. One day a new art teacher starts taking classes.He also works withTulips school for MR children.Who is he? None other than Ram Shankar Nikumb ( Aamir Khan) . His style of instruction is quite different . It trickles imaginative thinking in the children. By that time Ishaan was totally frustrated and diffident . He refuses to do even the things he is good at.

Nikumb finds that the boy is dyslexic.That's why the boy always felt that the alphabets are dancing and was not able to read and write properly. He visits his home and is startled by seeing his contemplative drawings.He pleads his parents and the principal to keep encouraging the boy and starts working on him. He quotes examples of Einstein , Leonardo da Vinci who faced similar problems to build his self-confidence. He employs innovative methods to solve his tripleR(Reading,wRiting and ARithmetic) problem.Thanks to the efforts of his teacher , slowly the boy shows progress .

Nikumb organizes a drawing competition open for students and also teachers.The boy wins the first prize and Nikumb wins the second.The year book of the school contains these pictures on the front and the back covers respectively. The movie ends with the summer holidays :)

Every child faces such problems may not be similar or may be as intense as michell in BLACK movie.Lucky are those who find Nikumbs or Sahays(BLACK) .Here I would like to mention
a page in my memory book.Till IInd standard I was dull and recluse.I used to go to school along with a worker in my father's office.The teacher complained to him that it is waste of his energy in briging me to school as I am hopeless.I was used to be punished almost regularly ;-).It was actually affecting my self-confidence.I was shy and was becoming more and more shy.My mom was broken.She immediately went to school to resolve the issue.All the teachers flooded my mom with all possible complaints.My mother (as all mothers) is very much confident about her son.She addressed the concerns of each teacher one by one. A teacher complained that I dont
read when ever I was asked to do so. I used to drag the patience of the teacher by refusing to read.My mother asked me to do so.To the surprise of every one , I did it perfectly fine.Every teacher was awe struck. I did what I never did :-) This issue was taken to the notice of even the principal.From that day onwards I was famous in the school.

In reality it is rare to find teachers like Nikumb or Sahay who are so much dedicated. So parents must take that role like my mom or who else will help the poor child?

Hope By Ms.SunitaTati

2007-10-25T18:24:00.002+05:30

Talk by Ms.Sunita Tati , head (operations) Radio Mirchi is yet another feather in Koshish's (my company's CSR group) cap.Do you want to know what is meant by living life king size?No need to rush for your Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary ,just read on this post.

I feel privileged to attend the inspirational talk by Ms.Sunita.It is not just a talk but the narration of the fight of a winner against the most malignant enemy of human-being i.e., the cancer cell.

Sunita was born and brought-up in Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh). She was passionate about movies right from her childhood.She used to bunk classes to catch Chiranjeevi's latest release.She developed a crush for Venkatesh after watching his movie "Swarna Kamalam".She used to go to school watching the movie posters on the walls and desired to become a film maker. She frequently dreamt of writing her autobiography which says on the last page that she made lot of movies and won an Oscar.But her family immigrated to America.This brought an imbalance to her life-style.No Chiranjeevi! No movie posters on the walls! Being a lover of the telugu language she experienced a huge culture shock.

Slowly she recovered from it and joined the rat race. She kept her dreams aside, accepting whatever came along her way. She did an MBA in marketing and joined Eastman Kodak. Her life was cool with a kewl job. Suddenly one day she realized that she has no reason to wake up. She questioned “Is that all enough? Am I following my dreams?" She decided to chase her dreams and enrolled herself into a film school. At the school, she befriended now successful directors like Nagesh Kukunoor and Shekhar Kammula.

After completing the course she came back to India. She got an opportunity to work with Suresh Productions (renowned Telugu movie production house). Initially she used to do any task assigned to her, however insignificant it may be. She knew that only those insignificant tasks can lead to her dream job of directing a movie. Her hard work blossomed and she made movies like Jayam Manadera, NeekuNenu NaakuNuvvu, Nuvvuleka Nenulenu etc., with Suresh productions. Not all of them were hits. She says it is important that a movie script should be acceptable to the target viewers. One of her movies had a scene in which the heroine slaps the hero; this was not well received by the audience. She took failures as stepping stones and kept moving ahead.

She was at the peak of her career. One day while taking bath she felt a lump under her arm. She consulted a doctor. The doctor (whom she calls ‘an angel’) suggested that it was not so serious but she had to wait in the hospital for one or two days. She obliged the doctor although she felt that it was ridiculous as the doctor herself told that there was nothing serious about it. Later, the doctor revealed to her utter dismay that she was suffering from Cancer. She was then in the third stage of cancer. The first question came to her mind was Why me? But she accepted the fate and decided to fight it. She never wanted to write in the last page of her autobiography that Sunita died of Cancer.She always wanted to write that Sunita made lots and lots of movies and won oscars.

She did her own research.Let me write a bit about What I understood of cancer from her talk and from the site of NCI.Cancer is not just one disease but many diseases. There are more than 100 different types of cancer. The main categories of cancer include: Carcinoma ,Sarcoma,Leukemia(Sunita was affected by this category),Lymphoma and myeloma,Central nervous system cancers.All cancers begin in cells.These cells grow and divide in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells.But sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumor(the lump she observed).Not all tumors are cancerous.Unfortunately sunita's tumor was cancerous one.Cancer is diagnosed using biopsy.Once diagnosed the cancer stage can be known.William Stewart Halsted (father of American surgery) proposed the model of cancer progression.According to it tumors grow locally(at the primary source i.e., the part of the body in which the cancer started ;first two stages),then spread to the lymph nodes(third stage,sunita was diagnosed at this stage),then to the rest of the body(final stage,here chances of survival are almost nill).Coming to the treatment there are methods like surgery,Chemotherapy etc.,But they cannot guarantee success.What proved helpful is indomitable determination of the patient and selfless service of the patient's relations in addition to the above treatment methods.I know 4-5 cases where these two magical tools helped.Of course it's easier said than done.

Let me elaborate a little on Chemotherapy.Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with drugs ("anticancer drugs") that can destroy cancer cells (source:Wikipedia).Chemo kills , not just cancer cells but any cell even healthy cells that come in its way.Damage to healthy cells may cause side effects.These include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, decreased blood cell counts, hair loss, mouth sores,pain,lack of proper emotional reaction,infertility in the case of women etc.,Sunita says that she didn't have goosebumps since four years even after recovery.

She underwent the rigorous treatment.She lost her hair,eyebrows.At times she used to crawl to the bathroom.Still she continued working on her movie.Her schedule typically included chemo in the morning,film-making in the evening.I don't know how she managed.Hats off to her.Her work,well wishers around her,writings of Jiddu Krishnamurthy and Jasmine flowers were the inspirational elements for her during the bad period.She fought bravely.She made it.She won the war against her malicious enemy.

After getting recovered she introspected herself.She reviewed all her years of life.Before coming to movies she struggled to live.After coming to movies she was following her dream.Some where amidst her aspirations she feels that the 'I' is neglected.She lost 18 kgs in 2 months.She neglected taking it as a positive sign.But it was an indication of the enemy growing inside her.She says that Cancer is the last stage the soul resorts to, in its effort to make one listen to it.She dragged the soul to the last stage for which she suffered.She humbly requests everyone not to reflect that 'I'.She suggested an exercise,"As soon as you wake up from the bed,Go stand infront of the mirror and say to yourselves I LOVE YOU".

Her advice to everyone, "Love yourselves.Take care of your health.Your ambitions and aspirations will also be taken care by themselves."

She worked with TV9.She designed the famous show "9PM with Raviprakash".Now she is the head (operations) of Radiomirchi, SouthIndia .Being a strong believer of God she feels that she is God's gift to her dad.Her dad proudly agrees it.

My fundamental value is also the same although I dont practice "I LOVE YOU" exercise.I believe that happiness is panacea.It is I who must choose to be happy.

Where there is a will there is a way!

2007-07-15T21:04:00.001+05:30

I was actively participating in Koshish (Corporate Social Responsibility initiative) of my company.To be frank I was not passionate about social service.I became a member just because I got some free time.As part of it I was associated with PAWMENCAP (Parents Association for the Welfare of Mentally Handicapped Persons).If interested to know more about the organization please visit my Y!geocities tentatively.We are planning to create separate domain for it.

My sister decided to donate some part of her salary for getting a job. I suggested her this organization. We visited it today. The person behind this organization Mr.MushtaqAli talked to us.The conversation with this man made me feel that, "I am doing nothing compared to the work these people are doing".I read their reports,ads etc., while preparing the website but I was not moved much.After talking to some of the MR (Mentally Retarded) students on the day of website inauguration I moved a little.But today after talking to this man I really felt for these people.

This organization contains 175 students and 36 teachers.It concentrates on MR people of different age groups.The teachers are trained by National institute for mentally handicapped (NIMH).Some of them have been struggling for these people for the past 17 years.They deserve standing ovation.

The problem is that an MR person cannot coordinate various parts of his body as normal people do.These people are not MAD.Madness is a kind of sickness but MR is a disability.They need patient and rigorous training (similar to the training given by prof.Sahay to Michell in the movie BLACK).That is why I appreciate the teachers.

In the past, parents used to feel shame of having such children.In remote places these people were locked in a room forever.Thanks to the organizations like PAWMENCAP, now parents realized that they can be trained and their behaviour can be modified.

The training methods are amazing.They put the person to various tests like asking them to clean themselves(brushing etc.,), fetching eggs from the shop so on.They cannot adapt themselves to a small change in their surrounding environment because their mind gets disturbed a lot when the environment changes.So they need lot of training on the minutest of the activities which might seem ridiculous to normal people.For ex:- Brushing teeth involves (1)Identifying brush (He/She should be able to identify whether he/she is using the right object for the job of brushing.) (2)Hold the brush. (3)Place it on teeth. (4)Move it to and fro ....By now you might have understood the way in which they need the training.This organization also conducts training to the parents and the siblings of these people as they play very important role in their life.Mr.Ali says that they can do only 50% rest depends on the parents and siblings as the person spends most of his time at home( a different environment for him/her from the school).

Thanks to God!PAWMENCAP is reaping the fruits of their efforts but with a great difficulty.They trained these people in candle making,notebook making,service-offering,house-hold activities like cooking (especially for girls etc.,Some of them are earning because of the skills they developed here.Mr.Ali narrated some of his experiences.He says that focus should be on service-offering jobs as making products involves marketing.Marketing is naturally followed by competition.In this competitive environment who would go for the candles prepared by this people?So they shifted their focus to service-oriented training like ironing,stamping/sorting (postoffice) etc.,

One of the experiences is as follows -->Two MR persons were trained for two years to stamp and sort out letters based on the place of destination.They were trained so well ,specially in different environments,that they can do the job with 0% error.Unfortunately the superintendent of the postoffice refused to admit them.On insisting him ,he put them to test.He was taken aback to their work.But he employed them for just Rs15/- a day.The PM from the head office saw these boys.He was surprised at their work.He reprimanded the superintendent and offered Rs75/- per day which is normal payscale.There are many such experiences.

Mr.Ali has got a vision for his work.He thought How Long?One thing is for sure these people can never be made normal.No medicine is invented till now.Who will take care of them after their parents?For that he thought of a corpus fund which is some 10 crores.The monthly interest proceeds of this fund will support this people, infact their new project called Saans a Respite Care Center for Mentally Challenged Persons.

They have been trying a lot.They almost lost the hopes.Then a door opened!Mr.Ali consulted a person who is expert in getting funds for such organisations.He coolly said 10 crores is not a big deal.You people got 18 years relentless effort which is invaluable.So let us build upon it.Get 32AC You are done. 32AC, it is a section under under which you will get 100% income tax exemption.Bases upon their worth they will certainly get it.If they approach a philantrophist ( a VC in business terms) , they can certainly get the fund.There is one such successful story in Jalgaon(Maharashtra)where the old-age home got the fund that it didnt even imagine.

This conversation changed my perspective.Never lose hope! Where there is a will there is a way.

White Revolution

2007-05-24T20:20:00.001+05:30

My father is into dairy industry.He rendered his services to Andhra Pradesh Dairy Development Co-operative Federation (APDDCF) for nearly 30 years and he is now working with a different dairy.He worked/working on various aspects of dairy industry like organizing co-operatives of Milk Producers at village and district levels,providing essential inputs to enhance milk production, feed and fodder production, cross breeding programs, veterinary aid, development programs to provide effective management skills to the milk producers to help them manage their own Co-operatives,monitoring dairy infrastructure,quality and on-time delivery of milk.I always admire his job profile much because of the way co-operative unions talk about him and his dedicated work inspite of all red-tapism.He is a strong supporter of the dairy cooperative movement, and says that helping dairy farmers gives immense job satisfaction.

90% of the human resources in IT industry work effectively with tea and coffee breaks.Being a part of this industry I am thankful to my father and Dairy industry in general.

My direct experiences with my father's day-to-day professional activities,disgraceful resignation of Mr.Verghese Kurien,recent controversy on state government take the management of eight co-operative dairies in the State ignoring the liberal co-operatives law - Mutually Aided Co-operative Societies Act 1995 (Macs Act) stirred my interest to explore this beautiful Win/Win business model of co-operatives.

During 1960s India was one of the largest dairy importing, in the world.India's policy makers took stock of the situation and established NDDB (The National Dairy Development Board) with the mission of making dairying a means to a better future for millions of grassroots milk producers and also embarked upon Operation Flood, an initiative to create white flood of milk through out India.Here I should not forget to acknowledge Mr.Verghese Kurien (Milkman of India).He engineered the WhiteRevolution in India.The milk cooperatives under Operation Flood follow the Anand Pattern of co-operatives, which was pioneered by Dr Kurien when he was General Manager of the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Limited, Anand.Subsequently many state dairy development projects had been undertaken.

The business model adopted in these programmes is co-operative system.In this model the business is owned, operated, and controlled by the dairy farmers who help themselves.The milk packets that we consume daily come from the udders of the animals(buffalows) owned by these farmers. Members finance the cooperative and share in profits it earns in proportion to the volume of milk they market through the cooperative.Nearly 2-3 crores of dairy farmers belong to around 1 Lakh dairy co-operatives.These co-operatives sell their product to one of the hundreds of co-operative unions which, in turn ,are supported by co-operative milk marketing federations.This is known as three-tier co-operative structure ((1)milk societies (2)milk unions (3)milk federations).Unlike in a company where one man has as many votes as the number of shares he holds,in a cooperative organisation one man has only one vote.But the new marketing scheme proposed by the NDDB appears to provide that the newly set up marketing companies (`subsidiary' companies that come under NDDB's marketing organisation registered under the Companies Act as permitted by the NDDB Act)will issue to the dairy cooperatives 49 per cent of their shares in return for the surrender of the sole marketing rights for their products in perpetuity. This creates a potentially dangerous risk to the cooperatives and constitutes a departure from fundamental 'cooperative principles'.This is one of the resons for the renouncement of Verghese Kurien.If implemented properly by-passing middlemen co-operative system is win/win situation for producer and consumer.The new model may also succeed if it gives importance to this point.

In 1991 changes in the Milk and Milk Products Order (MMPO) liberalized the dairy industry.Many private sector dairy plants were set up.Now , big conglomerates are into the dairy industry.Thus the dairy industry shined brighter and brighter starting from deficits.States have developed popular dairy brands such as Amul (from Gujarat), Vijaya (from Andhra Pradesh), Verka (from Punjab), Saras (from Rajasthan), Nandini (from Karnataka), Milma (from Kerala) and Gokul (from Maharashtra).

Still trade-balance (Exports - Imports) of our dairy industry is not upto the mark when compared to our competitors like China.The root-causal analysis of this problem uncovers that the yields/animal is one-fifth to that compared to our foreign competitors who are ready to foray into our market under WTO regulations.Most of the farmers being illiterate or semi-literate fail to handle their animals properly .This result in poor-health of these animals and unhygeinic conditions.Thus Indian milk is becoming unsuitable for exports.

Technology is getting pervasive these days.I just questioned my self ???
(1)Can we find solution to these problems?
(2)Can we help milk co-operatives become more efficient and productive in cost-effective manner? for ex:-The demand and supply dynamics of dairy industry is highly adhoc.The production of milk varies seasonally and daily for obvious biological reasons.At the same time the demand for milk also vary from day to day and from season to season.Can we develop a decision-making support system that helps in co-ordinating the amount of milk supplied and the volume of the milk demanded?
(3)Can we reduce the delay incurred in milk transport thus reducing spoilage?
(4)Can we increase the transparency , accountability in the entire process (milk societies --> milk unions --> milk federations)?
(5)Can we increase the trust in the co-operative process?Can we improve sales and distribution process?
(6)Can we produce an ease-to-use system in local languages for illiterate farmers who can adopt to it with little education?I am not talking converting illiterate farmers to 100% literate.At least they should be taught how-to-use and how-to-read information on screen.

With these and many questions in mind I searched for whats going on?Being a die-hard fan of InformationTechnology I searched with a lot of hope.Yes! IT rocks.Many people are trying to solve problems at grass-root level.Who says that India is not Shining?I am very much inspired by Sristi.I hope that I will also contribute to grass-root level problems soon.These people are trying to solve the exact problems under discussion through Internet-based information and communication technology (ICT).

I hope that one day AndhraPradesh will become the butter capital of the world!

The economy's next two decades

2007-04-29T16:29:00.004+05:30

If you want to do something for yourself read this!

WHAT DO the next two decades hold for India? `Feel good' seems to be the current answer. However, why should recent success translate into permanently higher rates of growth of output in the future? Are there structural reasons to believe that India is indeed on a permanently higher growth path?There is a good underlying reasons for expecting India's output to grow at close to 7 per cent a year, which implies a per capita output growth of about 5.5 per cent a year. At this rate, the income of the average Indian would increase eight-fold over a 40-year period compared with the four-fold increase that current growth rates would deliver.

This optimistic forecast is based on three key features of the Indian economy: productivity, demographics, and institutions.

(1)Productivity
A key aspect of India's recent performance has been the high contribution of productivity — about 60 per cent — to overall growth, a performance that has only been surpassed by China. Recent productivity performance can be expected to continue in the future, and even accelerate, because of the improved prospects for reforms. There is a greater sense than in the past that reforms are delivering tangible results, with the telecommunications revolution being perhaps the best example of benefits flowing to a large cross-section of the population.

(2)Demographics
Over the next 20 years, India's dependency rate will decline sharply as its labour force grows faster than population. Declining dependency can be expected to raise domestic savings rates by up to 12-15 percentage points. Provided the opportunities for the private sector continue to expand, increased savings can finance more rapid capital accumulation, contributing to an acceleration in output.

(3)Quality of Institutions (India's underrated strength)
Experience around the world increasingly points to the importance of institutions that affect the rule of law and protection of property rights and opportunities for participation as a key determinant of long-run development.But India is far from reaping the benefits of its institutional quality. India's per capita income should be about 4-5 times what it currently is. In other words, India, having done the really hard work of building good economic and political institutions failed until the 1980s, to take advantage of it. Contrast this, for example, with China which has grown extremely rapidly in the last quarter century, but which faces the inordinate challenge of large-scale institutional transformation.

But will India's institutions hold up in the future? Three encouraging trends can be discerned. First and foremost, there has been a sharp rise in transparency: public institutions have been exposed to the glare of public scrutiny thanks to the explosion in the quantity and quality of the media. From Godhra to Tehelka, it seems that not much can elude the prying eyes of the press or television. While the accountability of public officials and institutions may not have increased commensurate with the increase in transparency, the disconnect between the two can only narrow in the long run.

Second, a vibrantly assertive civil society, becoming one of the new and key meta-institutions, has been one of the positive developments in the last few decades. Indian civil society has taken on at least two roles: a direct one, in delivering development outcomes and indirect one by striving to hold public institutions accountable.

Third, policy liberalisation will progressively erode the license-quota-permit raj as a source of corruption and patronage that has had such a corrosive effect on public institutions.

What then are the downside risks to this optimistic outlook? One disturbing trend in the last two decades of rapid growth has been the growing disparity in economic performance between states. States that were rich in 1980 have grown faster than States that were poor, accentuating existing inequalities. Peninsular India has been growing more rapidly than the hinterland BIMARU states.

While the disparity between States is a cause for concern it is also the consequence of a very powerful positive dynamic in India: namely, the competition among States to improve institutions and policies — a kind of "race to the top" — as a means of attracting increased amounts of foreign and domestic capital. For these reasons, it is possible that the divergence is self-limiting — States left behind will be under pressure to follow the demonstration effect of the more successful states.

Perhaps a more worrying disparity is between skill levels, with new technologies creating large wedges between a small proportion of highly-skilled (typically urban) people and a vast majority of less-skilled (typically rural). Certain metropolises are already witnessing the phenomenon of islands of dollar-salaried populations embarrassingly embedded in a sea of ordinariness or even poverty. Managing this disparity will be one of the major challenges for India in the years ahead. Success in this effort will depend to a large extent on what we(the authors mentioned below) referred to earlier as the joker in the pack — the progress that India will make in improving basic education.

The Nobel winner, Amartya Sen, has drawn attention to the disappointing post-Independence performance of the Indian state in delivering education, reflected in very slow improvements in literacy rates. While the supply of educational services by the state was inadequate, Prof. Sen raised the puzzle as to why there was not greater demand for education and hence greater pressure on the state to meet this demand. One answer to this puzzle is that the private returns to literacy and basic education must have been low.

This state of affairs may be changing now. There is evidence that the increasing opportunities that are spurring economic growth — related to the IT-explosion — contribute to raising these returns, leading to a greater demand for educational services — public and private — and hence in educational outcomes. Anecdotal evidence for this comes from the mushrooming of English-language schools in backward States such as Bihar and the agricultural hinterland of Punjab. To be sure, increased demand will relate in the first instance to the acquisition of specific skills (such as fluency in English and computer proficiency). Over time, however, this demand could percolate down the hierarchy of skill, improving basic educational outcomes. But this is more hope than firm prediction, and on realizing this hope will hinge how fast and broad-based will be India's future economic growth.

So what lessons do we learn for the future from studying India's recent economic history? It seems more clear now that economic development results from the interaction of growth triggers with the right fundamentals that allow the triggers to be exploited. In the conventional view of the Indian development process, there was a long and dark period — the period of controls and import substitution — followed by the burst of sunlight and reforms since 1991. The boom in the IT-sector first awakened observers to the fact that the dark age was not all dark, that important cumulative elements (the fundamentals) were being built up that yielded rewards with a lag, and that these fundamentals were as important as the triggers that sparked the IT boom. In this case, the fundamentals were the pools of skilled human capital built through the technology, management, and research institutes — a sort of import substitution effort in skilled human capital development — that were integral to the Nehruvian vision.

Nevertheless, the Nehruvian economic legacy went beyond the technical institutions: it consisted of the meta-institutions of democracy, rule of law, free press, and technocratic bureaucracy that recent research shows are crucial to economic development. To be sure, these meta-institutions have been buffeted and weakened by the vicissitudes of vested interests, time, and politics. Since the 1980s, the shackles on the private sector have been slowly removed, and the appropriate triggers are now in place. The house that Nehru and others painstakingly built before and immediately after Independence, wobbles and all, is now well poised to seize the newly-created opportunities.

Source : Excerpts from The Hindu
Source Writers : Dani Rodrik & Arvind Subramanian

The economy's last two decades

2007-04-29T16:29:00.003+05:30

Growth of percapita GDP between 1980 and 2000 doubled compared with the period 1960-80 -- an increase that seems to have been the result of a survey in productivity.

Why? ( two views )

(1) Exceptional nature of the fiscal policy stance in 1980s which temporarily ignited growth but received its deserved come-uppance in the crisis of 1991.

(2) Role of liberalisation (it includes easing access to foreign technology, foreign capital goods, and foreign exchange, lowering tax rates, easing licensing etc.,).
The congress' traditionally hostile attitude to the private sector was the constraint on economic growth, the slight lifting of which around 1980 stimulated the animal spirits of the business and industrial class.
Because of foreign competition the reforms in the 1980s were not pro-competition but pro-business i.e., they served to boost the profits of the existing businesses with out facilitating the entry of new participants.
for ex:- Allowing a single foreign firm, suzuki to enter the domestic car market under exisiting conditions of limited external liberalization is very different from opening the domestic car market to all foreign producers, which is the normal liberalization strategy , and the approach adopted in 1990s.

Source : The Hindu
Source Writers : Dani Rodrik & Arvind Subramanian

Union Finance Ministry

2007-04-29T16:28:00.002+05:30

The Union Finance Ministry of India comprises of four departments:

* Department of Economic Affairs
* Department of Expenditure
* Department of Revenue
* Department of Disinvestments

I posted this because I didnt know about this before :)

Europe's New Experiment

2007-04-29T16:24:00.001+05:30

The expansion of EU under the leadership of France and Germany is a positive movement.It marks the symbollic end of the cold war and can eventually lead to the creation of a powerful new Europe i.e., a strong voice of global peace and counterweight to the sole superpower and a friend of developing world.

Source : The Hindu

Representation of Peoples' Act

2007-04-29T15:02:00.001+05:30

THE CRIMINALISATION OF politics and the politicisation of crime is a theme that has been endlessly debated in India, yet no effective practical solution is in sight.The Representation of the People Act, 1951, Section 8 provides for disqualification of persons on conviction for specified offences like capturing booths,terrorise voters etc., — and not on the basis of arrest or the registration and processing of a criminal case.These provisions can be misused by a high-handed political leader or party in government to get suppliant police officers to foist criminal cases on political adversaries.But amendments have to be brought to "Representation of Peoples' Act" although it has some negative sides.

Source : The Hindu

Privatisation of Water

2007-04-29T14:39:00.002+05:30

Converting water to a commercial good to be sold for profit invites disaster.Most of all for poor people whose already pathetic access to water will shrink swiftly.

Source : The Hindu

FDI

2007-04-29T14:34:00.006+05:30

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is defined as "investment made to acquire lasting interest in enterprises operating outside of the economy of the investor."The FDI relationship, consists of a parent enterprise and a foreign affiliate which together form a transnational corporation (TNC). In order to qualify as FDI the investment must afford the parent enterprise control over its foreign affiliate. The UN defines control in this case as owning 10% or more of the ordinary shares or voting power of an incorporated firm or its equivalent for an unincorporated firm.

Types of FDI:
(1)Greenfield investment
(2)Mergers and Acquisitions
(3)Horizontal Foreign Direct Investment
(4)Vertical Foreign Direct Investment

Types of FDI based on the motives of the investing firm:
(1)Resource Seeking
(2)Market Seeking
(3)Efficiency Seeking

FDI inflows, mostly in the form of acquisitions, can cause concerns in host countries

Even the most advanced economies wear blinkers as far as FDI is concerned. At another level, issues of security can never be wished away in countries such as India.

For countries such as India, FDI is considered a superior form of investment to, say, portfolio flows, although it is the latter type, coming under the broad category of foreign institutional investors (FII), that has underpinned the stock markets' phenomenal rise. It is also well known that the country's external account is critically dependent on these capital flows to bridge the widening current account deficit.

FII flows are, however, less stable than FDI. Besides, FDI is supposed to bring in technology and better management practices and generate employment in the recipient country.

These assumptions may prove wrong in many cases.It is naïve to think that FDI's come in only to set up large, greenfield ventures. A greater proportion of total FDI flows is in the form of mergers and acquisitions (M&As). In a globalising world, this is only to be expected. But M&As often involve change in ownership, result in hostile takeovers and more generally strain existing regulations in many countries. Besides, technology has made it possible for funds to flow instantaneously across national borders.The reality is that there are sectoral caps in India for FDI.These may not have economic logic.

Case Studies::
On March 9(2006), DP World, an entity owned by the UAE Government and engaged in the management of ports worldwide, decided to sell its stakes in six American ports rather than face growing political opposition within the U.S. The company had acquired the rights to manage those ports following its earlier takeover of P & O, a major British shipping and port management company.

As long as P&O was managing those ports nobody raised any concerns over security or for that matter over anything else. Even the Dubai company's takeover of P&O had hardly created any ripples. But substitute British ownership and management with Arab control and you have a huge problem. The U.S. Congress was poised to legislate against the deal and although the U.S. President had argued in favour of DP World, the company decided to divest rather than confront the politicians.

The DP World episode has other messages too. Thanks largely to M&As, ownership of companies is constantly changing. Governments have very little say on deals that take place in some other country but impact their national interests. A large majority of cross-border M&As involving American companies originate from western democracies and are seldom subject to a similar degree of scrutiny. There has been of course a glaring display of double standards.

Apart from the obvious one of U.S. politicians opposing a deal simply because the new owner is from the Arab world (even if from a friendly country) there is the other matter of being selective: it is well known that the U.S. cannot do without the huge investments other countries including cash rich Arab countries are making everyday.

Lakshmi Mittal's bid for Arcelor, Europe's biggest steel maker, has met with opposition, not entirely for economic reasons. Top political leaders of France and Luxembourg are mobilising opposition to the deal citing economic patriotism. The real reason is the supposed "lack of a cultural fit" between the takeover target and the would-be acquirer.

Last summer, a Chinese oil company CNOOC was thwarted in its bid to buy Unocal, an American petroleum company that had put itself on the auction block. Despite the better terms offered by the Chinese company, Unocal was pressured by American politicians and others to accept an inferior bid from the local Chevron. Here again, a fear of letting strategic energy assets get into foreign, more specifically Chinese, hands had weighed with the politicians.

Right now in India, security concerns have been raised over the sale of a 10 per cent equity stake in the telecom joint venture Hutchison-Essar by the holding company Hutchison-Telecom International. The buyer, an Egyptian company Orascom, has a large presence in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Security issues ought to dominate FDI policies especially if sensitive sectors such as telecom are involved. However, policies once framed must be made transparent.

Source : The Hindu ,Wikipedia
Source Writer :: C. R. L. NARASIMHAN

Energy Sources : Alternatives

2007-04-29T14:34:00.003+05:30

Even the maximising of biomass,wind power and oceanic energy, which are the only known significant renewable energy sources, will meet only a small percentage of the world's energy needs. Reducing energy consumption a break through in nuclear waste disposal methods are the only possible solutions for the energy crisis.

Vakiba wrote useful series of posts on energy .
Source : The Hindu

Farmers' Suicides

2007-04-29T14:33:00.004+05:30

One of the many reasons is Farmers are commiting suicide because they are unable to carry the burden of debt.The corrupt local revenue inspectors are adding to their agony.

Source : The Hindu

Journey to the end of the Earth

2007-04-29T14:33:00.003+05:30

Six hundred and fifty million years ago, a giant amalgamated southern supercontinent — Gondwana — did indeed exist, centred roughly around present-day Antarctica. Things were quite different then: humans hadn't arrived on the global scene, and the climate was much warmer, hosting a huge variety of flora and fauna. For 500 million years Gondwana thrived, but around the time when the dinosaurs were wiped out and the age of the mammals got under way, the landmass was forced to separate into countries, shaping the globe much as we know it today.

Human civilisations have been around for a paltry 12,000 years — barely a few seconds on the geological clock. In that short amount of time, we've managed to create quite a ruckus, etching our dominance over Nature with our villages, towns, cities, megacities. The rapid increase of human populations has left us battling with other species for limited resources, and the unmitigated burning of fossil fuels has now created a blanket of carbon dioxide around the world, which is slowly but surely increasing the average global temperature.

These facts provoke us to think Will the Antarctic ice sheet melt entirely?Will the Gulf stream ocean current be disrupted? and finally Will it be the end of the world as we know it?

Antarctica is a crucial element in this debate, because of her simple eco-system and lack of bio-diversity.Little changes in the environment can have big repercussions.

Source : The Hindu

Capital Account Convertibility

2007-04-29T14:32:00.004+05:30

Capital Account Convertibility or CAC is a fiscal policy that centers around the ability to conduct transactions of local financial assets into foreign financial assets freely and at pre-set, fixed market rates.Then local merchants can easily conduct transnational business without needing foreign currency exhanges to handle small transactions.

Full Rupee Convertibility can be divided into two (1)Full currency convertibility (2)A fully open capital account.

Currency Convertibility refers to the absence of any restriction on the holding of foreign currencies by residents and of the national currency by foreigners, and on free conversion between currencies.It does not preclude restrictions on the type and quantity of non-currency assets that residents can hold abroad or foreigners can hold in the country.
An Open Capital Account on the other hand is the absence of restrictions on non-currency asset holding is the absence of restrictions on non-currency asset holding and can exist with out free conversion of the currency.

The issue of India going in for full convertibility is discouraged by Professor Joseph Stiglitz.The economy is booming and needs to be properly managed. Or else, the economy runs the risk of getting overheated. However, many problems are yet to be overcome. For instance, the over dependence on fossil fuels. The service sector is driving the economy.

Source : The Hindu

Jeans for prayers

2007-04-29T14:32:00.003+05:30

A new line of jeans,AlQuds,designed by a small company in northern Italy , caters to Muslims' seeking to stay comfortable while they pray.

Source : The Hindu

Freedom Of Thought

2007-04-29T14:31:00.001+05:30

On March 28, 2007 Brown won the copyright infringement case filed against him by The Holy Bloood,Holy Grail authors for taking some of their ideas , reasearching them,playing with them and turning them into a novel.Those ideas include Jesus did not die on the cross, but had a child with Mary Magdalene.Like so many expats, they moved to France, and their descendants became Merovingian kings in the Dark Ages. The heirs of Jesus survive to this day, feared by the Vatican and protected by an enigmatic institution, the Priory of Sion.

If he weren't won , free thought may be stifled in the name of protecting ideas.

My related post

Source : The Hindu

Nuclear power and the mirage of energy security

2007-04-29T14:30:00.004+05:30

There is a perception that the deal with the US will throw open access to nuclear technologies hitherto denied to India.It might well do that.But that alone is no reason to believe India can quickly add substantial nuclear power capacity and achieve energy security.

Source : The Hindu

On Hegemony & India

2007-04-29T14:30:00.003+05:30

India needs to be a super-empowerer of the less powerful, both countries and peoples and not a super-power in the shade of bigger one.

Source : The Hindu

Howard Roark , Architect

2007-04-25T21:48:00.001+05:30

My philosophy,in essence,is the concept of man as a heroic being,with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life,with productive achievement as his noblest activity,and reason as his only absolute. --Ayn Rand.

The Fountainhead by AynRand is a wonderful piece of work that instigates the reader to introspect himself.I was bedazzled after reading the book.Howard Roark is an ideal person.Having the total idealogies of Roark in a single person is uncommon.Personally I admire Roark more than anyone else although he is a fictional being.According to him right is right every where.I learnt a big lesson from him, DOING ANYTHING IN THE RIGHT WAY IS THE EASIEST WAY.

Periodically I recite the speech given by Howard Roark in the court trial after exploding Corlandt homes.Excerpts from the speech.

"Your Honor,I shall call no witnesses.This will be my testimony and my summation."

"
Thousands of years ago, the first man discovered how to make fire.He was considered an evildoer who had dealt with a demonmankind dreaded.But thereafter men had fire to keep them warm,to cook their food,to light their caves.Centuries later,the first man invented the wheel.He was considered a transgressor who ventured into forbidden territory.But thereafter, men could travel past any horizon.Thus mankinds glory began with the one who paid for his courage.Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision.They fought,they suffered and they paid.But they won.
No creator was prompted by a desire to serve his fellow beings.His truth was his only motive.
Man cannot survive except through his mind.He comes on earth unarmed.His brain is his only weapon.But the mind is an attribute of an individual.There is no such thing as a collective brain.We can divide a meal among many men.We cannot digest it in a collective stomach.
Nothing is given to man on earth.Everything he needs has to be produced.And here man faces his basic alternative: he can survive in only one of two ways - by the independent work of his own mind(creator) or as a parasite(second-hander) fed by the minds of others.
The creator's concern is the conquest of the nature.The parasite's concern is the conquest of men.
The basic need of the creator is independence.The reasoning mind cannot work under anyform of compulsion.To a creator all relations with men are secondary.
The basic need of the second hander is to secure his ties with men in order to be fed.He preaches altruism which demands that man live for others and place others above self.
No man can live for another.One cannot give that which has not been created.Creation comes before distribution.Men have been taught that it is a virtue to stand together.But the creator is a man who stands alone.What man is and makes of himself;not what he has or hasn't done for others.There is no substitute for personal dignity.Every creative job is ahieved under the guidance of a single individual thought.

Now you know why I dynamited Corlandt."

The video of the above speech is here

Humorous Cross-Cultural Advertising Gaffes!

2007-04-23T20:33:00.001+05:30

(1)When Kentucky Fried Chicken entered the Chinese market,to their horror they discovered that their slogan "finger lickin' good" came out as "eat your fingers off"

(2)Chinese translation also proved difficult for Coke, which took two tries to get it right.They first tried "Ke-Kou-ke-la" because when pronounced it sounded roughly like Coca-Cola.It wasn't until after thousands of signs had been printed that they discovered that the phrase means "bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect.Second time around things worked out much better.After researching 40,000 Chinese characters,Coke came up with "ko-kou-ko-le" which translates roughly to the much more appropriate "happiness in the mouth".

(3)Things were not much easier for Coke's arch-rival Pepsi.When they entered the Chinese market a few years ago, the translation of their slogan "Pepsi Brings you Back to Life" was a little more literal than intended.In Chinese,the slogan meant, "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave".

(4)But it's not just in Asian markets that soft drinks makers have problems. In Italy, a campaign for "Schweppes Tonic Water" translated the name into the much less thirst quenching "Schweppes Toilet Water"

(5)The American slogan for Salem cigarettes,"Salem - Feeling Free," got translated in the Japanese market into "When smoking Salem,you feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty."

(6)Things weren't any better for Ford when they intorduced the Pinto in Brazil.After watching sales go nowhere, the company learned that "Pinto" is Brazilian slang for "tiny male genitals." Ford pried the nameplates off all of the cars and substituted them with "Corcel," which means horse.

(7)Sometimes it's one word of a slogan that changes the whole meaning.When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." However the company mistakenly thought the Spanish word "embrazar" meant embarrass.Instead the ads said "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."

(8)Coors put its slogan,"Turn It Loose," into Spanish,where it was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea."

(9)The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico.It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read "Are you lactating?"

(10)Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux"

(11)Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron,into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure.

(12)An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit instead of "I Saw the Pope"(el Papa),the shirts read "I Saw the Potato"(la papa)

(13)When Braniff translated a slogan touting its upholstery,"Fly in Leather," it came out in Spanish as "Fly Naked."

(14)General Motors had a perplexing problem when they introduced the Chevy Nova in South America.Despite their best efforts,they weren't selling many cars.They finally realized that in Spanish,"nova" means "it won't go".Sales improved dramatically after the car was renamed "Caribe."

Source :- Training Sessions

Systems Thinking!

2007-04-20T22:14:00.001+05:30

Problems! Problems! How to solve them?Most of the time we adopt short cut by focusing on its symptom.This wont give the long-lasting results.What we need to do is "Address Fundamental Causes".SystemsThinking is a tool to do that.It helps us to focus on solution rather than the problem.It instructs on viewing the problem holistically.Then there will be less scope to miss essential elements of the problem.
It is increasingly being used to tackle a wide variety of subjects in fields such as computing, engineering, epidemiology, information science, health, manufacture, management, and the environment.

Let us see the following case studies -->
(1)Transform Education :: This case study addresses the problem of information explosion.I am also a victim of this problem.Daily my inbox is inundated by thousands of mails,Google Search does a fantastic job in giving the required information but what I get is information islands this list goes on and on.
Coming to our case study the authors suggests that "As the amount of information increases exponentially, our educational system can no longer focus primarily on memorizing a core body of knowledge. There is no way any single individual can master all of the information available. Rather, our schools must help children become skillful manipulators, synthesizers and creators of knowledge.And since we are now entering an era of global communication and collaboration, we need professionals who can work on teams to solve complex problems. Society no longer relies primarily on factory workers, but on life long learners who can think critically, solve problems and work collaboratively. These are the skills of tomorrow's "knowledge workers" (Drucker, 1994). Since, industrial age schools were not designed with this goal in mind, we need entirely new concepts in learning and teaching—rather than more efficient industrial age schools." The traditional solutions say that examination system is to be changed,teachers are to be changed blah! blah! but focusing on information dissemination all these chestnuts look like side-effects of the actual problem.To get to the bottom of this problem please refer this

(2)Vanilla Ice Cream :: This is the case study discussed in systems thinking training session in my company.A customer writes to General Motors saying that he is in the habit of having icecream as dessert after dinner each night.Whenever he buys a vanilla ,the car just wont start.For any other flavour choclate,strawberry etc., the problem never occured.GM sent an engineer to look at this problem.The engineer observed the problem and was puzzled to know that the car hates vanilla!Being a system thinker he didn't let go any information like average speed of the drive,distance,duration of the drive,time of the day,weather,type of fuel,time spent in the parlour that is relevant to the problem in some manner.
Voila! he got the clue.The problem is vapour lock! not the vanilla!
When ever the man ordered vanilla , he is out of the parlour sooner than when he ordered any other flavour.This is because vanilla being a popular flavour it is placed handily for quick customer response.So in the case of other flavours the engine got sufficient time to cool down whereas vanilla is not allowing it to cool down for the vapour lock to dissipate.

Let us start applying system thinking to the small problems around us,then slowly to somewhat bigger ones and then suddenly we will be applying it to hot problems of this world .Ofcourse we will certainly find the correct,long-lasting solution.

Intellectual Property Rights

2007-04-18T21:18:00.001+05:30

Definitions ::

In law, intellectual property (IP) is an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attach to certain names, written and recorded media, and inventions.

Copyright is a set of exclusive rights regulating the use of a particular expression of an idea or information. At its most general, it is literally "the right to copy" an original creation. In most cases, these rights are of limited duration. The symbol for copyright is ©.

Ownership Of Copyright ::

The first author of the work is designated as the owner of the copyright.In case of employment,until unless the contract of employment spells contrary, the copyright vests with the employer.

Protection Of Copyright ::

Copyright protection begins when the work of is created and fixed in a tangible form whether registered or not.Thus to claim protection, you do not need registration.However , registering is safe so as to leave no room for doubt that one is the creator of a work.

It is desirable to display a notice that says © XYZ ,India,2007 for the purpose of criminal prosecution against an infringer.The duration of protection is statutorily determined in all countries.In India it is life of the author + 60 years.

Infringement Of Copyright ::

Infringement means unauthorised use of a copyrighted work standing in the name of another person.Thuse even loading a copy of the work in computer's RAM,having a pirated software,violating licences will amount to infringement.

Source: Wikipedia,My company's magazine

Gulliver's Travels

2007-04-17T23:28:00.001+05:30

We used to have Gulliver's Travels as non-detailed section in VI standard English curriculum.At that time I read it with out much analysis,imagining myself embarked upon an odyssey.Now,I got hold of Gulliver's travels a little more detailed version from a book exhibition.The motivation was an RC which I encountered during my CAT preparation.I dont know the source ,but it analysed Gulliver's Travels beautifully.

Gulliver’s Travels is about an Englishman Lemuel Gulliver, trained as a surgeon who sets out to the series of voyages when his business fails. Gulliver narrates the amazing worlds he visits.

Lilliput --> Soon afer marriage Gulliver makes a voyage to south seas.A violent storm strikes the ship.Gulliver swims to a shore and sleeps soundly.When he wakes up he finds himself bound by several slender ropes.Gulliver is shocked to find tiny creatures moving around his body.Gulliver is fed and taken to their capital city,Mildendo.Gulliver is called as man-mountain.Educated men teaches him their language.He is granted freedom on certain conditions.He prevents an invasion from an enemy kingdom Blefuscu.The enemity arose oon a silly matter of how to crack the eggs?Some of the courtiers plans a conspiracy to kill him.He escapes to Blefuscu where he fixes a boat he finds and sails back to his home.

In this episode gulliver is like a superman.The reader naturally feels proud of himself , the normal human being.

Brobdingnag --> After returning home Gulliver spends two months with his family.But his desire to travel didnt allow him to stay any longer.A great storm hits the ship and lands Gulliver in the land of gaints.A farmer discovers.He treats him like a doll,earns money by exhibiting him in various towns.Only the farmers daughter Glumdalclitch is kind to him.Eventually he sells Gulliver to the queen.Glumdalclitch is appointer as his care-taker.He faces several adventures which sound ridiculous to read.Many times ordinary flaws of Brobdingnagians costed dearly to Gulliver.Once he is carried by monkey,he had to fight with wasps,mosquitoes which are far far stronger than him.Brobdingnagians, even the king knows nothing about politics.He felt happy for being atleast more knowledgeable than them.He accompanied the king and the queen to distant frontiers.Here his appartment( a box provided for Gulliver) is taken by an eagle and dropped into the sea.Luckily he finds a ship sailing to England and returns home.

This episode describes man as the weakest creature on the earth.Here Gulliver had to fight for his life for silly reasons.

Laputa --> Gulliver sets sail again.This time he is attacked by pirates and ends up in Laputa.It's a floating land and land below is known as Balnibarbi.None of them appeared curious about anything except for mathematics and music.They naver enjoyed a minutes peace and always talked about sun's health.He visits Glubbdubdrib, island of sorcerers or magicians where he meets the spirits of Alexander the Great,Julius Caesar and Brutus.Then he sails to Luggnagg where he is struck with incredible delight to see Struldbrugs or immortals.But he is shocked to know that Struldbrugs are the most cursed.Besided the usual problems with extreme age they have an additional foulness that cannot be described.His desire for never-ending life was greatly lessened.Finally he bids farewell to the king and returns England through Japan.

In this episode Gulliver finds that there are creatures who dare to explore the realms of understanding that a human being never did.He personifies a perfect man who is a bundle of desires.Seeing Struldbrugs ,with out thinking of consequences he wanted to be one.Later he was awed.

Houyhnhnms --> Some how Gulliver was not well blend in his community.So he again sets out as the captain ofa ship.His men plot against him and set him on shore in an unknown land.This land is ruled by Houyhnhnms, rational-thinking horses.They are served by Yahoos, brutish humanlike creatures.Initially Gulliver was thought to be a Yahoo! But his rational thinking got him special status.Gulliver also admired Houyhnhnms a lot.But some of the Houyhnhnms worried that this man can educate Yahoos! to revolt.So he was forced to leave them.He finds a Portuguese ship and returns England.But he finds all the human beings as Yahoos! because of their narrow mindedness, and many more short comings.He develops a special respect for horses because of Houyhnhnms.

Paradoxically , Gulliver concludes his narrative claiming that the lands he has visited belong to England, as her colonies, even though he questions the whole idea of colonialism.

This final episode depicts man more of a Yahoo! than a Houyhnhnm.The conclusion portrays man's thirst for power.

Crossing the Chasm

2007-04-15T10:36:00.001+05:30

The book "Crossing the Chasm and Inside the Tornado by Geoffrey A. Moore" focuses on marketing and selling high-tech products to mainstream customers.

According to Moore the landscape of technology adoption life cycle is as follows ::

Source
From the book's preface -->
"Our (high-tech) marketing ventures, despite normally promising starts, drift off course in puzzling ways, eventually causing unexpected and unnerving gaps in sales revenues, and sooner or later leading management to undertake some desperate remedy... The point of greatest peril in the development of a high-tech market lies in making the transition from an early market dominated by a few visionary customers to a mainstream market dominated by a large block of customers who are predominantly pragmatists in orientation. The gap between these two markets, heretofore ignored, is in fact so significant as to warrant being called a chasm, and crossing this chasm must be the primary focus of any long-term high-tech marketing plan. A successful crossing is how high-tech fortunes are made; failure in the attempt is how they are lost."

Here the author gave a nice framework for marketing a high-tech product.We can cross the chasm if we are abe to give right solution to a right problem at the right time.You can appreciate this if you see the following famous picture.I would call it irony of software development.

A Software Development Life Cycle involves
(1)Requirements(+feasibility+time-to-Deliver+Complexity) Analysis -->(2)Design-->(3)Development-->(4)Testing(at every phase+test the compatibility with Requirements)-->(5)Marketing (deployment)-->(6)Maintenance

Marketing depends on his ascendants as well as descendants in the above cycle.I feel that (1)Requirements Analysis determines marketing a lot.My stint as an IT professional made me realise that 99% of the projects fail due to lack proper requirement analysis.I remember a game we played in a softskills training program.Hundred people are asked to sit in a haphazard manner.
The instructor mumbles 2-3 sentences to some one in this maze.He/She should pass on the message to his/her neighbour.Then the neighbour to his/her.Like this the chain reaction continues.But surprisingly it produced such a rippling effect that if the instructor says something about "Rama killed Ravana" the outcome was about "Arjuna killed Karna".Thank God atleast the outcome is also a fact in this case.But many a times it will be wierd.

I guess that this is what happening in the very first stage of SDLC.Why is this happening?May be weak soft-skills.But this discussion is more relevant to what effect does it produce?Marketing failures.According to Philip Kotler "Human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants through exchange processes".So when we are not clear about needs and wants how can we market the product.Once we cross this chasm we can adopt Moore's framework for business leverage.

Comments Welcome!

Typography

2007-04-14T18:58:00.001+05:30

A written word can be dressed up basically in two kinds of fonts.
(1)Serif Fonts :Each of these words has structural details at the end of every stroke.
(2)Sans Serif Fonts :The edges of these words are smooth and contains no details.

While reading printed matter in news paper,magazines and books we prefer serif fonts.That is because the eye doesn't read individual words but scan over blocks of text.But it hates the shape that serif fonts form on a computer screen.So various sans serif fonts for electronic text came into existence, like Helvetica (owned by Linotype),Arial (owned by M$),Georgia etc.,

Vist this for 20 best license-free official-fonts.

Negative Calorie Foods

2007-04-14T18:49:00.001+05:30

I never knew that even eating food can help in weight loss! How?
Source : TOI

For ex : A piece of cake consisiting of 400 calories may only require 150 cals to digest, resulting in a net gain of 250 cals, which is added to our body fat.On the other hand an apple or orange containing 50 cals may require approximately 150 cals to digest resulting in a net loss of 100 cals from our body fat.The more you eat the more you lose weight!

List of Negative Cal Foods -->

Fruits:: ----- Vegetables::
Apples ----- Beetroot
Lemon ------ Broccoci
Mango -------Cabbage
Lime -------Carrot
Orange ------ Cauliflower
Pappaya ----- Cuccumber
Peach ---------Garlic
Pineapple ----- Greenbeans
Raspberry ----- Lettuce
Strawberry ---- Radishes
Tangerine ------Spinach
Watermelon ----Tomato

So inorder to have long-term weight loss, consume negative cal foods uncooked as part of a balanced low cal diet with exercise.

Indian IT Professional’s Role

2007-04-12T21:28:00.001+05:30

Dr Deepak B Phatak ,Subrao Nilekani Chair Professor,Kanwal Rekhi School of Information Technology,IIT Bombay gave the following talk in IIIT,Hyderabad on Tuesday, 9 September 2003.

The talk is highly inspiring.I noted down key points from the talk.While cleaning my cupboard I got those papers.I am posting them here for the benefit of myself and readers.

What is Information Technology?
Technology that permits Capture, Validation, Storage, Retrieval, Analysis, Dissemination and Archival of Information.IT reduces friction to flow of information, improves transparency and increases accountability.MODERN INFO. TECH. Can Access Information at Any time and at Any Place.

Components Of IT Deployment->
(1)Hardware
(2)System Software
(3)Application Software
(4)Network
(5)Bandwidth
(6)Infrastructure
(7)People and Processes

(Application) Software Crisis-->
Changes in Functionality is a Perpetual Requirement.So Design for Change, Integration.

Some Important Technologies -->
(1)Distributed Objects
ex:J2EE Architecture, JDBC, …
(2)Messaging Middleware
(3)Internet Technologies
ex:HTML, XML, Browsers
(4)Data Bases, Mining, …
(5)Network Traffic Management
ex:Routing, Security (IDS), …
(6)Embedded Systems
ex:Smart Cards, Net Appliances, …

Indian IT Penetration -->
Technology Penetration in a Society is Measured in Terms of the Extent of its Deployment
First 500 Million IT Users came from the Developed World
Next 500 Million IT Users Should be From Asia/Africa (India 100M)

Building Affordable Solutions-->
(1)Use Thin Client / Thick Server
Server Centric Computing
(2)Use Internet Technologies
Browser Based Front-ends
(3)Use Open Source Technologies
Contribute, Build and Deploy

Some Thoughts on OSS-->
(1)The IPR Spectrum:

Free Open Semi-Open Protected
Software Source APIs Products
(Stallman) (Windows,Oracle etc.,)

(2)Developers Do Not Generally Develop Applications on OSS
Fear of Unacceptability
Lack of Trained Staff
(3)Users Not Enthusiastic
Fear of Non-Support
Performance Issues

(4)KReSIT(Kanwal Rekhi School Of IT (1998)) AT IIT BOMBAY is trying to build affordable solutions.
Check this

The IT Professional Pyramid-->

Characteristics of IT Professional -->
(1)Knowledge And Skills
(2)Personality With An Inquisitive Mind
(3)Value System
(4)Vision

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS -->
(1)Last Text Book You Read?
Not Prescribed In The Syllabus
(2)Last Research Journal You Read?
Not Connected With Your Field
(3)Last Book You Purchased?
(4)Last Time You Did Any Unforced Writing?

Personality-->
ARE YOU
(1)Curious About Everything ?
(2)Disbeliever in Knowledge Compartmentalization?
(3)Willing to Work Hard & Not Give up?
(4)Willing to Make Mistakes & Learn?
(5)Polite But Forthright?

VALUE SYSTEM -->
DO YOU BELIEVE IN
(1)Professional Achievement Being More Important Than Material Wealth
Commitment to a Cause
(2)A Disciplined And Rigorous Approach
(3)The Traditional Indian Debts
(4)Having Principles In Life

VISION -->
In Ten Years From Now
(1)What Would You Be?
(2)What Will Happen To Your Institution, Town & State ?
(3)Where Will Your Nation Be?
(4)What will Happen to Human Society?
(5)What Do You Propose To Do About All These?

If you wish to make a Difference -->
(1)Make Learning a Regular Habit
Not just Reading, but Thinking!
(2)Treat Ethics as Important
Even if you see several dishonest people succeeding, Sustained Societal Prosperity is NOT possible without Trust.
(3)Learn and Develop Leadership
Leaders are not only borne, but they can be Created
(4)Learn Negotiating Skills
(5)Respect Deadlines
(6)Learn Time Management
(7)Believe and build Teamwork
(8)Lot of Give and Take
(9)Be Trustworthy
What you say Must be Solid
What you Commit must be dependable
(10)Keep Larger Picture in Mind
Believe in Yourself
But do face Hard Realities

THE “INDIAN” IT Professional -->
(1)Believes That He or She Can Make it BIG Here In India
Using Domain Knowledge, IT, Very Hard Focused Work and Perseverance
Tremendous Confidence In Oneself
(2)Pride in Indian Achievements, Together with Genuine Respect for Knowledge & Progress Elsewhere.Read this
(3)Is a Die-Hard Optimist

Concluding Remarks-->
Struggle Comes out of Hunger
Hard Work Comes out of Struggle
Success Comes out of Hard Work
--Poet Srirangam Srinivasa

AN UNSOLICITED ADVICE -->
Get Out of “Colonial Mindset”,
The World Is Yours to Make a Mark on.

In Our Move Towards Becoming a Developed Nation, To Provide An Honorable And Comfortable Life To Indians, and to Live as Equals
Create IPR Through Focused R&D and help in Wealth Generation.

IceBreaker

2007-04-11T22:24:00.001+05:30

I joined Toastmasters club of my company.The club is very active.We are actually working along the lines of Toastmasters International.We are also the members of Toastmasters International.Many other corporates take guidance from us.

Initially I tried my hand with impromptus( on the fly topics).Then I gave my first speech.Toastmasters club call it IceBreaker.Here you got to speak about your self.So next 50 lines(just 50 because I am supposed to speak only for 8 minutes) is about myself.If intersted go on know me.

Hi every one,

I am shadab.I am working with ....

I was born in Nellore,AP.I did my kindergarten in Nellore itself.Our servant used to take me to school daily on his bicycle.Some of the times I used to direct the cycle's handle.May be thats the reason why I learnt bicycle faster than my peers.But I was crazy about jeeps (my dad used to have one).One day I started the jeep on my own .The sound blasted the blood pressure levels of my parents.In the next moment I found myself in my mother's hands.

We shifted to Ongole.I did my entire schoooling there.I made good friends who are in touch even now.I participated in elocution,essay writing ,quiz competitions and also won prizes .During my V standard an English teacher(he used to teach social) visited our school.It is the first time we saw live white skin.As usual every one was excited as if some Mother Teresa or President of India visited our school.My teacher introduced me as one of the good students of the class.(Not boasting my teacher considered so).I used to hate geography, particulary reading about the minerals found in Europe sucks.So I asked him whether their students study about India/sub-continent.Arrogantly he said very little/possibly 4-5 pages.Innocently I told "Mam this is unfair we are wasting a whole year/200 pages on their country ".

In my upper primary school I became ardent fan of cricket.In the spirit of tendulkar ,Once my shot hit the forehead of my classmate .Till he got right I suffered lot more than him.After that in the spirit of rahul dravid I never tried to hit the ball hard even when it is needed.Its the 1995 world cup.India lost badly to Srilanka in the semifinals.After that I too lost my interest badly in cricket.

Because of the competition from private schools the missionaries also started grinding (chakki-peeso) business.So I had to fight with my head-mistress to participate in extra-curricular activities.One fine day,my friend and I got selected for Gemini Quiz (Telugu channel).I prepared for it like hell.Till then I was more of like reading what is necessary but I started reading all interesting things.Our effort was not futile we stood 2nd in coastal region.With this my head mistress realized and slightly changed her attitude.

After school I started preparation for IIT-JEE.I forgot every thing even speaking.I never went to a college(nominally I joined a local college).So I was not able to make many friends.I was infatuated by IIT.I prepared like hell.I am very very much thankful to my parents.They supported me when I was alone with out any help trying to find moment of Inertia of a rotating ball hit by a cue.I was not able to make it.Irony is I prepared as if I am preparing for an Msc(physics) entrance test not JEE.I forgot that there is a subject called CHEMISTRY.But I had a good CHEMISTRY with IIIT Hyderabad.

I cherish my life@IIIT the most.I met many kind of people.Some are extremely intelligent some are extremely geekish some are extremely proactive.Nice professors who are there to help you personally as well as subject-wise.Initially I struggled a lot to catch up with the pace of IIIT.I made lot of good friends.Since I was at hostel for the first time I realized the value of friendship.

I got crazy about Robots during my 3rd year.I studied a lot about them.Now I feel it is all due to Terminator-3 :-).My FinalYearProject was also multi agent simulated robosocer.We got selected in the international 3D robosoccer challenge from India.
My professor wanted me to work on the subject further but I realised that there are many practical problems around me which doesn't need robots but a normal human brain like mine infact like all of us.

I was very much confused in my final year thinking what next?So I attended the campus placements because that is the option left after all the options are over.I was very much reluctant with the process because of our placement officer.So just tried to get out of it taking whatever comes first.Unfortunately I faced some bitter experiences as my process of getting out of the process delayed due to my getting rejected in the written test itself.My reluctance was also a reason.However,luckily I made it to ....(my company)

I enjoyed my InitialLearningProgram, particularly weekend trips.Again I got a good bunch of friends.I was also awarded 5000/- cash prize for my performance in software engineering.

After ILP I worked in ports domain.There I learnt a lot working with the clients although some times I had a clash with one.The hierarchy is that there are two teams (a)client side (b)my company's side.I came under client side and my company's side partially.My module was stable because of the hard work of my seniors.But it is highly sensitive some silly change in some other module may affect mine.So I got some thing to do. I used to finish the work early ,ask for more from my immediate superior (client side) .He was happy with me.Most of the times I used to have no work.So I used to read a lot Movies to Philosophy.But the Teamlead(client side) had an objection that I read on internet.Once or twice I told him nothing is pending on my side and I am ready to take more work.I did a good job(I consider so).I made a report of the work done and used to show him.Still he is not happy.Some how he wants to pull my leg.

Once I was onsite in Mundra port of Gujarat.He got a chance.It so happened that ....
Clients used to get Coke racks from the hotel.We were alighting the bus then he called me and told "Hey get those racks to the workplace".I was very much angry.I dont know his intention but I felt bad because of my past experiences.But what can I do? Client is the Boss.At the same time I cannot hurt my self-esteem.So I immediately took some books in the hands of my friend beside me into mine and told him "Sorry I am not free."

Thank God now I changed the project.Now I am working on an integration problem.A one stand-by point for all Bio-informaticians,scientists.Very good team above all the best boss.

What Next?I dont know
But surely the best that suits me.Till now God has been very much fair with me.I wanted some thing but he gave the best that suits me.

But,I want to have a consultancy firm of my own or atleast work for a consulting firm because problems motivate me.I feel that they are the very source of human existence.

Thanks a lot for listening to me with patience...

My tryst with Kurus

2007-04-11T21:53:00.002+05:30

Kurus are Kauravas and Pandavas.I bought the book The Mahabharatha A Child's View by Samhita Arni from the book exhibition held at my company.Surprisingly I always find many children books in book exhibition organised by my company's library.May be these books are considered as stress busters.

The book starts with santanu the ancestor of Kurus.The writer is good at all the famous epics.The reason for her to write a child view on Mahabharatha is because it is so evil.

The family tree of kurus is like this:-
Santanu+Ganga-->Bhishma
Santanu+Satyavathi-->Chitragada,Vichitraveerya
Parashara+Satyavathi-->Vyasa-->Dhritarashtra,Pandu,Vidura
Dhritarashtra+Gandhari-->100 Kauravas
Pandu+Kunthi-->Yudhishtira,Bhima,Arjuna ; Pandu+Madri-->Nakula,Sahadeva
Arjuna+Subhadra-->Abhimanyu
Abhimanyu+Uttara-->Parikshit (the last kuru)

Other Associates :-
Sura -->Vasudeva,Surya(Sun)
Vasudeva+Devaki-->Balarama,Krishna,Subhadra
Surya+Kunthi-->Karna
Draupada-->Shikhandin,Dhrishtadyumna,Draupadi

The attrractive aspect of Mahabharatha is it's elements are very much interlinked for ex:- Concept of Astras,Death of Karna,Bhishma...

It is an embodiment of human feelings.Like

(1)Thirst for Power ,Egoism--> The reason for the great war.

(2)Jealousy --> Arjuna ,Ekalavya's story.

(3)Sacrifice --> Ekalavya giving Guru Dakshina,Karna's great deeds.

(4)Wisdom --> Lord Krishna mentoring Arjuna,Bhishma.

(5)Friendship -->Karna,Duryodhana.

(6)Above all, Stupidity --> Einstein said "There are two infinite things.One is Universe the other is man's stupidity.I am not sure about the former."
Dharmaraja continues playing the game anf finally brings problems to pandavas and Draupadi.Dhritarashtra allows his son to carry on all stupid deeds like a big stupid.
Above all Although every one knows that war only results in disturbance and imbalance it occured just because of sheer stupidity.

Did man overcome his stupidity after reading Mahabharata?
A big NO.If so, there wouldn't have been Gujarat riots,Mumbai train blasts,Hyderabad twin blasts, world wars,9/11 's ,mayhem in Iraq ....an endless list.

and many more...

One Host - N Guests - A party

2006-10-14T08:51:00.001+05:30

A brief Intro :- Host -> Asif , Guests -> the rest(including me)

Oct 11th is Asif's birth-day.It was decided that he has to give the party at Terrace Bay near Somajiguda.The restaurant was on the fifth floor of the building.The lift made me recall SPEED-I movie's action scene.

As soon as I entered the restaurant , I thought "Aaj Asif ki phatnewaali hain" , the atmosphere is rich and luxurious.The restaurant is bounded by a glass pane.The city looked fabulous from the height.I never knew the view.

Non-drinkers (Reddy & Myself) ordered soup.The soup is super.The cost also.Satti ordered a mug of beer.After taking a sip he decided that he is happy with his photography.Raju ordered signature(whisky brand).He prepared a 1% solution of wine and 7-up.But he acted as if it is 100% wine solution.He exhibited his "Stalin" spirit by giving a sip of this solution to "three" others.Chaitanya ordered Scotch.I found the seven colors of the rainbow in his glass.

Poor Asif was just seeing guys enjoying the drinks and soup.Then came starters.They were OK.After that we ordered Nans and curry.They are not bad.

Asif realized that it is his birthday party and he must enjoy ordering what he likes.He decided that he must have a cigaret.He ordered for one but didnt get any even after a long time.Now Raju took this as opportunity and wanted to show every one that he is indeed drunk.He shouted at the bartender to get the cigs with in the next minute for his esteemed host.

We too had a dose of "Gandhigiri".M.K.Hemanth shared his love to our guest by just satisfying himself with water,cabbage leaves,carrot sticks etc.,Then came biryani.Not bad.Finally desserts.

We started projecting the bill.The highest value projected is less than 3000/-.Asif was very happy because his upper limit was 3000/-.Then the manager placed the bill before him.Jubiliant Asif turned pale.It is 6000/-.

The DRT(Disaster Recovery Team, here Raju &Co. ) took its charge.It converted some guests into hosts.Poor Asif calmed down.For the time being DRT funded the gap in the bill.Hopefully by the next birthday of Asif this bill will be settled.

At the end we all had a cheerful experience and some nice pics to store in our memory folders(courtesy: Attili Satti)

Koshish

2006-09-04T10:59:00.001+05:30

I joined Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) group started under the leader ship of Anita (HR Department)of my company some 5-6 months back.Whenever I have free time I try to participate in the events organized by this group.The amount of self-satisfaction given by such activities cannot be described in words.Even if you become CEO of the Fortune No1 company you wont get that much of self-satisfaction.Some of the activities in which I participated are:-

(1)I AM WITH PAWMENCAP

PAWMENCAP=Parent’s Association For The Welfare Of Mentally Handicapped Persons
This organization have various projects like
(1)Mayukha :- Early Intervention and Pre-Schooling Centre ,
(2)Manokrushi :- Special Education & Training and Rehabilitation Centre ,
(3)Manochetna :-Vocational Training and Sheltered Work-Shop,
(4)Saans :- Respite Care Centre

As part of the program "I am with PAWMENCAP" ,we invited the mentally handicapped children to our company campus.Amazing thing is the right hemisphere of their brain is perfect.They cannot speak well but they can identify melodies,they can do creative things.They make notebooks,candles,phenol etc., just like anyone else.We organized stalls to sell the items made by them in our campus.I bought note-books and candles.Some of the associates organised their own stalls in between theirs not to single them out.Our idea is to streamline their sales that their efforts bear fruits for them.I talked to some of them Rahmat ,Pinky etc.,I felt bad for them.I thought why God was unjust towards them?But later the same guys performed on the stage.Absolutely I, or for that matter most of the normal guys cannot do like that.The expressions shown by the girl performing "Varsham"(telugu movie) song is amazing.
They lack many basic facilities.They need a paper-cutting machine to make notebooks.They need support from all of us."MY HUMBLE REQUEST FOR THOSE WHO READ THIS POST ,PLEASE TRY TO CONTRIBUTE FOR THE WELL-BEING OF THE KIDS" .However we are in the process of sensitizing PAWMENCAP, by creating a web-site for them.
Their Address::
#10-3-15/2/1, MCH Colony, Humayun Nagar,Hyderabad - 500 028
Tel:: 23536902,55782815 Fax:: 040-55782816

(2)TRAFFIC UN-JAM

As Part Of our CSR week we have taken up the job of creating traffic awareness among people.We concentrated the junction at the Hitech city and and the junction in front of our company.For a week we have spent on roads for 3-4 hours a day chanellising the traffic.The basic problem is most of us dont know correct rules.So we violate them.We educated people how to circle around the junction?When there is a circle at the junction one has to circle around it to make a turn but generally the human tendency is to take short cut.This creates lot of mess at the junctions.At the Hitech-city havoc is created by autoes.We ensured that auto-guys dont stop where ever they like.There should be reserved space for autoes.No one uses the free-left efficiently.This is because the vehicles that want to go towards right come towards left and in the process of crossing to move towards right they create mess.The vehicles who wants to move towards left/right should decide firmly use the turn indicator and make an effort to move towards the side of their choice at least 1 km before the gap in the median.
We tried to address such basic and minimum issues.Believe me! with in 2-3 days there is free flow of vehicles and pedestrians.We were congratulated by ACP traffic.
Many guys from other companies congratulated me in person and asked me more about our CSR activities.The best compliment we got is traffic polices talking among them-selves "Hey! We do the same job daily but such a free-flow is never seen".
Related Post Is the Solution Workable

I am very thankful to Koshish team for giving me this opportunity.

Pigeons

2006-05-09T17:43:00.001+05:30

Last week I went home.I saw a pigeon shouting in the curtilage of my home.There was deep sorrow in its cry.I asked my mother Why is it crying?She reminded me of the pigeon and its eggs during my previous visit.My mother's feelings for the pigeon and its family touched me.Although she is not an ornithologist the way she watched the pigeons is astonishing.Here is the tale of our guest from the discussions with my mother.

Before this visit, when I went home I saw the pigeon hatching its two white eggs in an empty pot.Empty I mean it has no plants but filled with soil.The mother pigeon is brilliant.It selected the pot because it is in shade due to all the plants surrounding it.Dont imagine a big garden.Its a small area where there are some nine to ten pots of plants.After selecting the place it created the bed to lay the eggs and subsequently hatch them.It untangled the twigs of our broom.With them it built the foundation and compound wall of the nest.Then it collected cotton pieces found here and there,threads,fibres etc., to cover the twigs.All this for the comfort of its young babies.Architectural skills are not pertained to man alone but also to the pigeons.All of a sudden it layed the eggs and started hatching them.During this time the male one guarded the mother and eggs against any enemies.

The pigeon meddled with the things around.It grimed the place around with its droppings.Our house maid was frustrated.Next day she came up with a plan of handing over the pigeons to the local pigeon-catcher.For this my mother was annoyed.She explained to her that its sin to separate a mother from her babies.From then onwards our house maid also bore the pigeons with patience.She even took care so that the hatching process is not disturbed.Watching the pigeons became one of the daily chores for my mother.The pigeons became a part of the conversation of my mother and our maid.

My mother has to move around the place for watering the plants and moving the pots around so that plants get proper sunlight.Then the mother pigeon flew into the air out of fear.From the air itself it ensured that no harm is done to babies/eggs.Anyhow my mother took extreme care that the nest and the eggs are not disturbed.To ascertain that the hatching process is not disturbed my mother reduced the frequency of watering the plants.

After 17-18 days the eggs were hatched.Two cute pigeon babies emerged from the eggs.Now the mother fulfilled her second phase of responsibility i.e., feeding the new born.
It gets the food suitable for the babies holding it in its beak.The way in which it feeds its babies is astounding.The sounds made by the mother will stir emotions in your heart.This act similar to the way in which my mom used to nourish me.The sounds are similar to the stories that my mother used to say when I was a toddler to make me consume the food.

Slowly the babies developed wings.One of them was strong the other one was a bit weak.The stronger one flew away one day.Then the mother searched a lot for it.But it couldn't found it.Finally it gave up and took care of the other one as usual.It carried on the rites getting food,feeding it with utmost love.All of a sudden the other one also disappeared.

The mother was anxious about her kids.It cried with sorrow.It searched around.My mother and even the house-maid were upset seeing this.The pigeon cried a lot but in vain.The babies are not going to return.They became strong,developed wings depending on mothers nourishment.Now they left their mother alone.It used to come to the place where the nest was there and cry throught out the day for about a week.Thats why the pigeon was crying.

Our parents dote on us.They struggle,sacrifice their small desires for us to make us successful in our life.Once we get the wings we should carry our parents,our well-wishers who were with us in the process of our developing wings along with us to the heights we reach.

V for Vendetta

2006-05-02T11:53:00.001+05:30

I watched this movie 2 weeks ago.The dialogues are impressive.Here I am giving a sample dialogue ,introduction of V(Hugo Weaving) to Evey Hammond(Natalie Portman).

V: Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.
Evey Hammond: Are you like a crazy person?

Try translating V's dialogue to a common man's English.
With the help of word-web and my understanding of the movie I tried translating this to a common man's English :) Please go through my translation and correct any errors.

God! Give me R.S.

2006-04-10T15:20:00.001+05:30

R.S. is not a girl.If it were a girl I would have been in IMAX catching the latest release with her , but not here writing this post :( .Now, what is R.S ?It's abbreviated form of Real Stubbornness.

I heard innocent mothers boasting that their boy is stubborn.They feel that If he wants to do some thing no one on the earth can stop him even the force of friction :).He is stubborn to watch SRK's latest release on day one or to propose the girl next door.But when it comes to the Real Thing is he stubborn?A typical telugu movie hero is portrayed as this kind of stubborn boy.

What is this Real Thing?I feel that it is the one which helps you to grow and help others to grow along with you.It can be like mastering a technology,getting your dream job,service (as mentioned in my previous post) and so on.I know this is purely relative notion, so please free to comment me on this aspect.

In my case, first of all let me make myself clear.My mother never boasted of my stubbornness.She is very much aware of my weaknesses and strengths.Whether someone talks about your stubbornness or not, I feel that stubbornness is an innate quality.Where and When you use it is what really matters! I will exemplify my argument with some of my own incidents.

Yesterday I decided to do two mutually exclusive things.One is watching the movie V for Vendetta and the other start reading word-lists(I dont know when I am going to start this).My office work was completed by 5:30 PM.I proved my stubbornness by watching the movie.(It's a different issue that the movie is good and I learnt some new words from the dialogues :) ).I dont really consider this stubbornness as stubbornness at all because it is exhibited by any Tom,Dick and Harry.

Suitable helmet locks are not yet made for Honda Unicorn.Seeing the lock fit with long screws on my friends Unicorn I decided to have the lock for my bike on the back-side only.But the mechanic I caught hold of told that its impossible and some how convinced me that it will hurt my side lights and blah blah.So I agreed to have it on the bike's leg guard.Thi created hell lot of problem.The lock slides along the rod,the locked helmet occupies my leg-room.

Again on fine day I searched for a better mechanic.The old lock was fixed so strongly that it has to be cut.I bought a new lock and long screws and got it fixed on the bike's back side.This transition costed me 300 bucks.I would have saved this amount if I would have exhibited the same stubbornness that I did in watching V.

So I decide to be stubborn in real things also.Here I want to make myself clear.I am not talking about imaginary things like reading all AynRand works in a singe day for an uninitiated reader.

I dont know how many loop-holes are present in my argument.Please free to comment on it.

A Paradigm Shift

2006-04-07T16:20:00.001+05:30

One evening a scholar was addressing the participants
on the concept of work culture. One of the
participants asked the following question :
"I am a senior manager of Materials Department and I
joined an organization 25 years ago as an Engineer Trainee and over the last
25 years I have gone through every experience in the
organization.
During the initial part of my career, the job was very
challenging and interesting.
However, all those exciting days are gone since I do
not find my job any more interesting because there is
nothing new in my job. I am now feeling
bored because I am doing a routine job.
However, Sir, I am living in the same house for over
forty years, I am the son for the same parents for
over forty five years, I am the father for the
same children for the past ten years and the husband
for the same lady for the past twenty years !( the
toughest job!)
In these personal roles I do not feel bored Please
tell me why I am bored of the routine in the office
and not in the house?"
The response from Scholar was very interesting and
convincing. He asked the executive the question:
"Please tell me for whom does your Mother cook ?"
The executive replied that obviously the mother cooks
for others.
Then the Scholar said that the mother "Serves" others
and because of this service mindedness, she is not
feeling tired or bored. But in an office, we
"Work" and not "Serve". Anything we consider, as
service will not make us feel bored. That is
difference between Serving and Working.
He asked the executive to consider his work as service
and not merely a work !! This was a very interesting
analysis!! Whenever you put a larger
context around your work and see a broader meaning for
your work, you will take interest in your work and it
will make a very big difference in your
internal energy.

Attitude Matters !!!

If you think you are working for the organization you
will get frustrated.
If you feel you are doing a service and getting some
service charges you will feel happy.
After all -doing what you like is freedom but liking
what you do is happiness!

Source :- Mail Forwards

Tax Funda

2006-03-28T09:38:00.001+05:30

This is the logic given by my friend pradeep(Bolero)on how the income taxing system works.

There were 10 men who went out for dinner. The bill for all 10 came to
Rs 100. They decided to split and pay their bill exactly the way we
pay our taxes. The first four men - the poorest - paid nothing; the
fifth paid Re 1, the sixth paid Rs 3, the seventh Rs 7, the eighth Rs
12, the ninth Rs 18., and the tenth man - the richest - paid Rs 59.

The 10 men continued to eat everyday in this restaurant and seemed
quite happy with the arrangement. Until one day, the restaurant owner
threw them a curve! (in tax language a "tax cut"). "Since you are all
such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your
daily meal by Rs 20." So now dinner for the 10 cost only Rs 80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So
the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But
what about the other six, the paying customers? How could they divide
Rs 20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share"?

The six paying men calculated that Rs 20 divided by six is Rs 3.33.
But if they subtracted that from each of their share of the bill, then
the fifth man and the sixth man would end up being PAID to eat their
meal! So the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to
reduce each man's bill in rough proportion to their share, and he
proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so the fifth man paid nothing (100 per cent saving), the sixth
pitched in Rs 2, the seventh paid Rs 5, the eighth paid Rs 9, the
ninth paid Rs 12, leaving the tenth man with a bill of Rs 52 instead
of his earlier Rs 59. Each of the six was better off than before. And
the first four continued to eat for free.

But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their
savings. "I only got a rupee out of the Rs 20," declared the sixth
man, but he got Rs 7!" pointing to the tenth. "Yeah, that's right,"
exclaimed the fifth man, "I only saved a rupee, too. It's unfair that
he got seven times more than me!"

That's true! shouted the seventh man, "why should he get Rs 7 back
when I got only Rs 2? The wealthy get all the breaks!" "Wait a
minute," yelled the first four non-paying men in unison, "We didn't
get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The 9 men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night he
didn't show up for dinner, so the 9 sat down and ate without him. But
when it was time to pay the bill, they discovered, what was very
important. They were FIFTY-TWO Rupees short of paying the bill!

And that, dear friends and law-makers, is how the tax system works.
The people who pay the highest taxes would quite obviously get the
most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for
being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore.
Where would that leave the rest?

Simple story and Straight forward logic

The dark face of IT/ITES salaries

2006-03-21T18:27:00.001+05:30

This is from the point of view of the young employees in IT/ITES sectors.

"IT sector pays high salaries in India-so I want to become an IT professional",I am coming across this statement very often now-a-days.I am not trying to point that it is wrong.I may also say the same if I am not an IT professional.

The highest salary paid in IIIT-Hyderabad campus is Rs.8.4 Lakh per annum for a BTech graduate.A BTech graduate from other disciplines is paid a maximum of 1.5 Lakh per annum in their respective sectors.This is a large gap(6:1 ratio).So almost all graduates are shifting to IT by acquiring the required skills from coaching institutes .

The brutal murder of 24-year-old Pratibha Srikanth Murthy, who worked at the HP GlobalSoft call center has made me think , How many potential Entrepreneurs,Researchers,IAS/IPS/IFS officers,Chartered Accountants,Bank managers,Lawyers,Judges,writers,....... are taking up the call center jobs,because they need money? Working in the night,sleeping in the day is against biological clock but many youngsters are used to it.What I feel is youngsters must think BIG.

Coming to the work done in IT sector.90% of it is not up to the standard, but people are satisfied with their work because of big bucks.It is upto the youngsters to show the world that India is not only capable of support work of a company but also core and fundamental work.This will happen when India Inc. comes up with a revolutionary startup like Google.I am happy to know that effort is put in this direction.I also want to be part of it.This include barcamps,Technology Business Incubation units are opened in IITs and some of the other schools.They encourage the students to establish startups to carry out work in fundamental areas.Kritikal solutions,Kanwal Rekhi School of Information and Technology, are some of them.I hope many more institutes work towards such initiatives.Indian government must back them up.

Although IT sector pays high salaries compared to other sectors.The hype is so much that a lay man started considering IT employee as an ambani or a Tata.Also companies in service sector doesn't pay so much particularly for a fresher.Instead of the average salary metric ,the maximum salary metric is more advertised.This may be the cause of hype.Take places like Miyapur,Kondapur and Madhapur in Hyderabad (may be the same with IT boom cities) .This is the belt that surround the IT companies.The standards of living in these places is double compared to other areas Why?Simply because the support landlords,house-maids,food joints think that software people swim in the money like Scrooge Mc Duck of Ducktales.One will faint easily looking at the prices in the menu of any road-side restaurant in these areas.So my room-mate and I am cleaning the house by ourselves,washing clothes and are planning to cook.

May be I overeacted when our landlord increased the rent by a high amount all of a sudden and looked as if it is his right to do so because we are earning sooo much according to him

My Dad's Gift AP 09 BB 6324

2006-03-14T12:00:00.001+05:30

At last "my" problem of commuting from one place to another is solved.My pappa(father) gifted me a bike.It's grey metallic Honda Unicorn.I tried out both Bajaj pulsar and Unicorn.Then finalised Unicorn because it is of my type :-).I was happy for buying one of the best bikes in the market.But at the same time I am confused and panic because I was a no-vice driver.This is the first-ever bike in my life.I was used to Bajaj Scooter only.That too in Ongole(my home-town) where the traffic is not even one-hundredth of Hyderabad.
Seeing my poor condition my dad decided to give me a driving hands-on tutorial by instructing me siting on the back-seat.Does it sound strange(Bike-Driving Tutorials!!!)?My fathere is my alchemist(Paulo Coelho).I was weak at geometry in high-school especially I used to feel hell-like to draw incircle.My father learned the method from me and taught me the easiest approach to do the job.Ths fact is he is from Biology background(Masters in Vet Sciences).
My classes started and went on for five hours.
Hour 1: My father told me to first get acquainted with changing gears.Its critical to use the right gear at the right time.I practised the process for a few minutes keeping the bike still i.e., first gear down then neutral then second so on fifth.Then we slowly rode off to a petrol bunk.He told me to get the tank filled,check the fuel guauge.It is a good habit to keep track of mileage given by the bike.My bike is giving 50-55 mileage.
Hour 2,3: He told me to drove to Ameerpet.Ameerpet road is the busiest in Hyderabad.I was totally shaken at the sight of the traffic.Irony is I never got an opportunity to feel the real heat of traffic as I was always packed inside the city bus when ever I traveled to Ameerpet. He told me not to get confused.Just maintain proper balance of the vehicle holding on to clutch and brakes.Then slowly move on when ever you get an opportunity.Don’t hurry and at the same time don’t relax.Following his instructions I tried moving in the gully and successfully got out of the maze.I felt as if I got a Olympic gold medal.
Hour 3,4: My father was going to Sholapur on some official work.So we drove off to Secunderabad Railway Station.At one instant in our journey the traffic signal was about to go red.I was confused whether to move on or wait.He asked me to increase the speed a bit and carefully cross the road before the signal goes red.But I was confused.I was going slowly on fourth gear.The bike stalled exactly at the junction.Then the signal went red for my side and green for the other.I was sweating seeing the vehicle stream rushing towards me.The traffic police was shouting at us.Then My father told me to calm down,use the electric start, and immediately get out of junction.I followed the instructions and got out of ‘chakravyuha’ .Funny thing is I was doing all sort of things that delay my efforts to get out of the confusion.I was switching on lights changing gears what not but not at all using the electric start mechanism.
Hour 5: This hour is review of the show put on by me in the past four hours.As he always did, my father encouraged me and praised me that I picked up driving in the busy traffic faster than he did.I was worrying about the signal incident.He said “It’s all common.But take care of your driving and driving of others on the road.Others because not only the mistakes done by you but by others on the road can cost you.There is no hurry.Don’t travel at high speeds.While speeding up or speeding down estimate the movement of the other vehicles on the road.What ever you give an indication to others on the road that you are speeding up or down through indicators.In case of speeding up if you cannot estimate better continue with your speed.In case of speeding down give an indication to the vehicles behind you before slowing down.Above all be careful and always wear your helmet.Again there is no hurry.Be calm and cool while driving.”

After that I returned to my room safely.I had a smooth ride.

Now I am comfortable with my driving even in the busiest of the busiest roads.All this is because of the confidence given by my father.I got my bike registered and its number is …(you guess?).

Happy Biking!!

The Bald Man's Comb

2006-02-09T16:49:00.002+05:30

A Story on how to manage your career & your expectations by R. Gopalakrishnan

There is a Thai saying that experience is a comb which Nature gives to man after he is bald. As I grow bald, I would like to share my comb with your people, about their career ahead.

1. Seek out grassroots level experience
I studied Physics and Engineering at University. A few months before graduation, I appeared for an HLL interview for Computer Traineeship. When asked whether I would consider Marketing instead of Computers, I responded negatively : an engineer to visit grocery shops to sell Dalda or Lifebuoy? Gosh, no way. After I joined the Company and a couple of comfortable weeks in the swanky Head Office, I was given a train ticket to go to Nasik. Would I please meet Mr. Kelkar to whom I would be attached for the next two months? He would teach me to work as a salesman in his territory, which included staying in Kopargaon and Pimpalgaon among other small towns.

I was most upset. In a town called Ozhar, I was moving around from shop to shop with a bullock cart full of products and a salesman's folder in my hand. Imagine my embarrassment when an IIT friend appeared in front of me in Ozhar, believe it or not! and exclaimed, "Gopal, I thought you joined as a Management Trainee in Computers". I could have died a thousand deaths. After this leveling experience, I was less embarrassed to work as a Despatch Clerk in the Company Depot and an Invoice Clerk in the Accounts Department. Several years later, I realised the value of such grassroots level experience. It is fantastic. I would advise young people to seek out nail-dirtying, collar-soiling, shoe-wearing tasks. That is how you learn about organizations, about the true nature of work, and the dignity of the many, many tasks that go into building great enterprises.

2. Deserve before you desire
At one stage, I was appointed as the Brand Manager for Lifebuoy and Pears soap, the company's most popular-priced and most premium soaps. And what was a Brand Manager? "A mini-businessman, responsible for the production, sales and profits of the brand, accountable for its long-term growth, etc., etc. I had read those statements, I believed them and here I was, at 27, "in charge of everything". But very soon, I found I could not move a pin without checking with my seniors. One evening, after turning the Facit machine handle through various calculations, I sat in front of the Marketing Director. I expressed my frustration and gently asked whether I could not be given total charge. He smiled benignly and said, "The perception and reality are both right. You will get total charge when you know more about the brand than anyone else in this company about its formulation, the raw materials, the production costs, the consumer's perception, the distribution and so on. How long do you think that it will take?"

"Maybe, ten years", I replied, "and I don't expect to be the Lifebuoy and Pears Brand Manager for so long"! And then suddenly, the lesson was clear. I was desiring total control, long before I deserved it. This happens to us all the time - in terms of responsibilities, in terms of postings and promotions, it happens all the time that there is a gap between our perception of what we deserve and the reality of what we get.
It helps to deserve before we desire.

3 Play to win but win with fairness
Life is competitive and of course, you play to win. But think about the balance. Will you do anything, to win? Perhaps not. Think deeply about how and where you draw the line. Each person draws it differently, and in doing so, it helps to think about values. Winning without values provides dubious fulfillment. The leaders who have contributed the most are the ones with a set of universal values ¡V Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King for example. Napoleon inspired a ragged, mutinous and half-starved army to fight and seize power. This brought him name and fame for twenty years. But all the while, he was driven forward by a selfish and evil ambition, and not in pursuit of a great ideal. He finally fell because of his selfish ambition.

I am fond of referring to the Pierre de Coubertin Fair Play Trophy. It was instituted in 1964 by the founder of the modern Olympic Games and here are two examples of winners.
- A Hungarian tennis player who pleaded with the umpire to give his opponent some more time to recover from a cramp.
- A British kayak team who were trailing the Danish kayak team. They then stopped to help the Danish team whose boat was stuck. The Danes went on to beat the British by one second in a three hour event!

What wonderful examples of sportsmanship! Play to Win, but with Fairness.

4 Enjoy whatever you do
Sir Thomas Lipton is credited with the statement, "There is no greater fun than hard work". You usually excel in fields, which you truly enjoy. Ask any person what it is that interferes with his enjoyment of existence. He will say, "The struggle for life". What he probably means is the struggle for success. Unless a person has learnt what to do with success after getting it, the very achievement of it must lead him to unhappiness.
Aristotle wrote, "Humans seek happiness as an end in itself, not as a means to something else". But if you think about it, we should not work for happiness. We should work as happy people. In organisational life, people get busy doing something to be happy. The more you try to be happy, the more unhappy you can get. Your work and career is all about your reaching your full potential. Working at one's full potential, whether it is the office boy or the Chairman, leads to enjoyment and fulfillment.

A last point about enjoyment. Keep a sense of humour about yourself. Too many people are in danger of taking themselves far too seriously. As General Joe Stilwell is reported to have said, "Keep smiling. The higher the monkey climbs, the more you can see of his backside".

5 Be Passionate about your health
Of course, as you get older, you would have a slight paunch, greying of hair or loss of it and so on. But it is in the first 5 - 7 years after the working career begins that the greatest neglect of youthful health occurs. Sportsmen stop playing sports, non drinkers drink alcohol, light smokers smoke more, active people sit on chairs, starving inmates of hostels eat rich food in good hotels and so on. These are the years to watch. Do not, I repeat do not, convince yourself that you are too busy, or that you do not have access to facilities, or worst of all, that you do this to relieve the stresses of a professional career.

A professional career is indeed very stressful. There is only one person who can help you to cope with the tension, avoid the doctor's scalpel, and to feel good each morning - and that is yourself. God has given us as good a health as He has, a bit like a credit balance in the bank. Grow it, maintain it, but do not allow its value destruction. The penalty is very high in later years.

6 Direction is more important than distance
Every golfer tries to drive the ball to a very long distance. In the process, all sorts of mistakes occur because the game involves the masterly co-ordination of several movements simultaneously. The golf coach always advises that direction is more important than distance. So it is with life.

Despite one¡¦s best attempts, there will be ups and downs. It is relationships and friendships that enable a person to navigate the choppy waters that the ship of life will encounter. When I was young, there was a memorable film by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart and Dona Reed, and named IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. It is about a man who is about to commit suicide because he thinks he is a failure. An angel is sent to rescue him. The bottomline of the film is that "No Man is a Failure Who Has Friends".

Conclusion
My generation will never be twenty again, but when you are older, you can and should be different from my generation. Ours is a great and wonderful country, and realising her true potential in the global arena depends ever so much on the quality and persistence of our young people. Good luck in your journey, my young friends, and God be with you and our beloved Nation.

These are the personal view of Mr. R. Gopalakrishnan, Director( now chairman!) - Tata Sons

For more read this

Will my dream come true?

2006-01-06T18:21:00.001+05:30

I dream of a day when I will be able to commute from Madhapur to Secunderabad seated comfortably in a city bus.It would be wonderful if I can reach secunderabad in 45 min.This is a luxurious dream for a Hyderabadi.

Currently during peak hours travelling is a night-mare.After waiting for a long time you have to travel standing until unless you get into the bus at its originating point.You cannot even comfortably stand.In a circle of radius 1 metre around you there will be 4 or 5 people.Imagine the horrible scenario for your self.The bus will move like a bullock-cart because of heavy traffic.If you own a vehicle you wont have to undergo this arduous journey but the delay will be the same.
The cause of the problem is less number of city buses combined with narrow(relative term) roads.Realizing this Municipal Corporation Of Hyderabad is continuously widening the roads.I dont know when will this process comes to an end?

The solutions like constructing fly-overs,widening roads have a physical limitation.At some point of time we cannot widen roads even by an inch.

I think the effective solution is increasing number of city buses and reducing the number of private vehicles on the road.Please note that I am not at all against automobile industry.In our situation we have to make some compromises to meet the goals of all atleast partially (I'm not sure but I think that Nash's game theory (remember the blonde in Beautiful mind) is applicable here).
The number of private vehicles are increasing day-by-day.Easy vehicle loans and the perception of vehicles as a basic need have contributed to this increase.A car that provides space for 4-5 people carries only 1 or 2 people.This wastage of space leads to a feeling that roads are narrow.Government should make policies that discourage people from using personal 4-wheelers on weekdays.At the same time the number of city buses should also be increased.If I am not wrong this is similar to bin packing problem.

Although my solution is vague please comment on it and feel free to post your own solutions so that we can bring it to the notice of the concerned authorities.

IIM grads who gave up India Inc.

2006-01-06T10:21:00.001+05:30

AHMEDABAD: Think about an Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad alumnus and you conjure up the image of a corporate warrior engaged in boardroom battles.

That's till you meet people like Bhushan Punani, director of city-based Blind People's Association, or social entrepreneur Vijay Mahajan.

"Money offers pseudo comfort which never attracted me," says Punani. And Mahajan wishes that "more IIM-A alumni would move away from the beaten path".

The latest issue of IIM-A's inhouse magazine 'Alumnus' features 20 IIM-A alumni who took the road less travelled. These "intrepid souls", says the magazine, put their cause above themselves by promoting livelihood for the poor, supporting the visually challenged, contributing to performing arts, sports, eco-restoration etc.

It features the likes of Pavan Kapoor (1985 batch) who made a career in the Indian Foreign Service. "It is particularly satisfying when we are able to defend our nation's interests against others," he writes....

Kapoor's job involves negotiation on behalf of the Indian government in specific WTO committees. Then there is the more famous Harsha Bhogle who lived out of his wife and batchmate Anita's income before making it big in the world of cricket.

"It is important to realise," says Punani, "that the concept of management is relevant to any activity which concerns people and money."

It was while working on dairy development in Punjab, that Punani decided to pursue an alternative career and has established a leading disability development organisation.

There are a few odd students who do think differently. Vardan Kabra (2004 batch) made headlines when he chucked an offer from P&G and started Fountainhead Education Foundation.

But what about status and money? Kabra is candid, "At times, I do wonder whether I have made the wrong choice but that's a temporary phase."...

Punani's words probably reflect the overall sentiments of many others of his kind, "My batchmates earn tonnes, while I earn pennies; most people have sleepless nights, I go to sleep content."

There are some unconventional souls in the present batch too, like Gaurav Dagaonkar, a guitarist and vocalist who wants to start a music company. This soon-to-be IIM-A grad calls money "a by-product of talent.

Source:- Rediff News

I am proud to work with Tata Group

2006-01-06T10:17:00.001+05:30

This article on Tatas inspires every one to do their part for the society.It is written by Suhel Seth,CEO, Equua Redcell.

I visited Jamshedpur over the weekend to see for myself an India that is
fast disappearing despite all the wolf-cries of people like
Narayanamurthy and his ilk. It is one thing to talk and quite another to
do and I am delighted to tell you that Ratan Tata has kept alive the
legacy of perhaps Indias finest industrialist J.N. Tata. Something that
some people doubted when Ratan took over the House of the Tatas but in
hindsight, the best thing to have happened to the Tatas is
unquestionably Ratan. I was amazed to see the extent of corporate
philanthropy and this is no exaggeration.

For the breed that talks about corporate social responsibility and talks
about the role of corporate India, a visit to Jamshedpur is a must. Go
there and see the amount of money they pump into keeping the town going;
see the smiling faces of workers in a region known for industrial
unrest; see the standard of living in a city that is almost isolated
from the mess in the rest of the country.

This is not meant to be a puff piece. I have nothing to do with Tata
Steel,but I strongly believe the message of hope and the message of
goodness that they are spreading is worth sharing. The fact that you do
have companies in India which look at workers as human beings and who do
not blow their software trumpet of having changed lives. In fact, I
asked Mr Muthurman, the managing director, as to why he was so quiet
about all they had done and all he could offer in return was a smile
wrapped in humility, which said it all. They have done so much more
since I last visited Jamshedpur, which was in 1992. The town has
obviously got busier but the values thankfully haven't changed. The food
is still as amazing as it always was and I gorged, as I would normally
do. I visited the plant and the last time I did that was with Russi
Mody.

But the plant this time was gleaming and far from what it used to be.
Greener and cleaner and a tribute to environment management. You could
have been in the mountains. Such was the quality of air I inhaled! There
was no belching smoke; no tired faces and so many more women workers,
even on the shop floor. This is true gender equality and not the kind
that is often espoused at seminars organised by angry activists. I met
so many old friends. Most of them have aged but not grown old. There was
a spring in the air which came from a certain calmness which has always
been the hallmark of Jamshedpur and something I savoured for a full two
days in between receiving messages of how boring and decrepit the
Lacklustre Fashion Weak was.

It is at times such as this that our city lives seem so meaningless.
Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata had created an edifice that is today a robust
company and it is not about profits and about valuation. It is not about
who becomes a millionaire and who doesnt'. It is about getting the job
done with dignity and respect keeping the age-old values intact and this
is what I learnt.

I jokingly asked someone as to whether they ever thought of joining an
Infosys or a Wipro and pat came the reply: "We are not interested in
becoming crorepatis but in making others crorepatis."

Which is exactly what the Tatas have done for years in and around
Jamshedpur. Very few people know that Jamshedpur has been selected as a
UN Global Compact City, edging out the other nominee from India,
Bangalore.
Selected because of the quality of life, because of the conditions of
sanitation and roads and welfare. If this is not a tribute to industrial
India, then what is? Today, Indian needs several Jamshedpurs but it also
needs this Jamshedpur to be given its fair due, its recognition. I am
tired of campus visits being publicised to the Infosys and the Wipros of
the world. Modern India is being built in Jamshedpur as we speak. An
India built on the strength of core convictions and nothing was more
apparent about that than the experiment with truth and reality that Tata
Steel is conducting at Pipla.

Forty-eight tribal girls (yes, tribal girls who these corrupt and evil
politicians only talk about but do nothing for) are being educated
through a residential program over nine months. I went to visit them and
I spoke to them in a language that they have just learnt: Bengali. Eight
weeks ago, they could only speak in Sainthali, their local dialect. But
today, they are brimming with a confidence that will bring tears to your
eyes. It did to mine.

One of them has just been selected to represent Jharkand in the state
archery competition. They have their own womens football team and whats
more they are now fond of education. It is a passion and not a burden.
This was possible because I guess people like Ratan Tata and Muthurman
havent sold their souls to some business management drivel, which tells
us that we must only do business and nothing else. The fact that not one
Tata executive has been touched by the Naxalites in that area talks
about the social respect that the Tatas have earned.

The Tatas do not need this piece to be praised and lauded. My intent is
to share the larger picture that we so often miss in the haze of the
slime and sleaze that politics imparts. My submission to those who use
phrases such as "feel-good" and "India Shining" is first visit
Jamshedpur to understand what it all means. See Tata Steel in action to
know what companies can do if they wish to. And what corporate India
needs to do. Murli Manohar Joshi would be better off seeing what Tata
Steel has done by creating the Xavier Institute of Tribal Education
rather than by proffering excuses for the imbroglio in the IIMs. This is
where the Advanis and Vajpayees need to pay homage. Not to all the Sai
Babas and the Hugging saints that they are so busy with. India is
changing inspite of them and they need to realise that.

I couldn't have spent a more humane and wonderful weekend. Jamshedpur is
an eye-opener and a role model, which should be made mandatory for
replication. I saw corporate India actually participate in basic
nation-building, for when these tribal girls go back to their villages,
they will return with knowledge that will truly be life-altering.

Corporate India can do it but most of the time is willing to shy away.
For those corporate leaders who are happier winning awards and being
interviewed on their choice of clothes, my advise is visit Tata Steel,
spend some days at Jamshedpur and see a nation's transformation. That is
true service and true nationalism.

Tata Steel will celebrate 100 years of existence in 2007. It won't be
just a milestone in this company's history. It will be a milestone, to
my mind of corporate transparency and generosity in this country. It is
indeed fitting that Ratan Tata today heads a group which has people who
are committed to nation-building than just building inflluence and
power. JRD must be smiling wherever he is. And so must Jamsetji
Nusserwanji. These people today, have literally climbed every last blue
mountain. And continue to do so with vigour and passion.

Thank god for the TATA s

Yeh Dil Maange More

2005-12-19T18:35:00.004+05:30

On the eve of Apras' BirthDay, his previous BirthDay celebration ringed my memory bells.It was celebrated in Pondicherry as we were all on a vacation. Gradually I recalled series of events and finally stopped at Sikkim which is the most memorable trip till date. At the end I was left with loads of nostalgia .With a small reunion I was able to overcome the feeling.Thanks to Thunder for arranging the reunion.

The days of Sikkim pictured into my dreams with nice resolution and clarity.So I thought of penning them down before they lose their clarity.Here I described our trip in phases numbering each of them.Read on and visit Sikkim which makes India Incredible.

(1)Falaknuma:
All of us boarded Falaknuma express in the evening of April 26, 2005 at Secunderabad station.In the journey we had stunning experiences with eunuchs.The most interesting and exciting was the recovery of 100/- from the eunuch who snatched it from pondy. We reached Sealdah station the next day.We spent torturous night in the waiting room with out food.Next morning we boarded Kanchenjunga express and reached NewJalPaiguri in the evening.From there we went uphill to Gangtok by Sumo(the only mode of transport in Ghats).Sumo journey comprised of Eric and Aara vomiting all along the way .We reached Gangtok which is 7000ft above sea level and checked into hotel shreyas. This hotel was suggested by the guy who arranged for Sumo.The constraint was the package includes food also.This was the mistake we committed.

(2) Gangtok:
We visited Tashiview point, Hanuman Tok,Cable Car etc locally. In the evening we watched the movie "Kaal" in Denzong cinema palace.The next day we faced running water problem in the hotel.This delayed our plan to Nathula Pass by 2 hours.

(3) Snow:
The first sight of snow thrilled us a lot.Unfortunately we couldn't go to Nathula Pass and stopped at Changu Lake due to landslides.There we played with snow,wrote our names on snow plates and captured them into photos.We had a long discussion with soldiers from Gorkha Batallion.

(4)My Bad Days:
After playing a lot we walked uphill to have chowmein (noodles).Bole,Karteek and some others came up by Yak.In the return journey I had severe stomach ache.Rest of my buddies supported me a lot.Sireesh,Karteek,Aara, and Nalli took me to hospital after reaching Gangtok.Even in that pain the first thought that came to my mind after reaching hospital was, “Wow! The nurse is awesome”.The doctor gave me two injections and some tablets.I was relieved of the pain the next day.

(5) Yumthang:
Next day we started for Yumthang again in a Sumo.Although it is 100 Km from Gangtok the journey took 8-9 hours due to ghat road.We halted at Lachung for the night.Eric and I suffered from fever all through the day and the next day.So we were not even able to get down sumo to have a look at flowers in Yumthang.After lunch luckily I became active and indulged myself in the hobby of teasing sireesh and karteek.

(6)Hassle:
We had an argument with the hotel guy because of water problem.He was responsible for missing Nathula Pass a must see for every one who visits Sikkim.After lots of quarrel which involved even the local police, we shifted to hotel Mandala.In Mandala, Kasak, Sireesh and I stayed in a room.I should not forget Kasak with whom I had lot of conversation all through the tour.He gave me lot of support when I was ill in those gruelling journeys through Ghats,Landslides etc.

(7)Southern Spice:
Pondy and Bole found a good restaurant called Quick Byte.There I ate dosa and felt as strong as super-man.East or West Andhra is the best for an Andhra guy.When ever you go out of AP(south) Southern Spice is THE THING you long for.We visited some more places like Sandruptse,Tea Gardens, Monastries etc., and started down hill to NewJalpaiguri.

(8)White-Water Rafting:
With out this our trip would have been incomplete. It was adventurous in the rapids.The guide was very active and friendly.He electrified the environment by making all of us shout “Yo Baby!” and "Guntalakadi Gula Gula" :-) when ever we were in turbulent rapids.

(9)Salaam Namaste BRO:
We reached safely to NewJalpaiguri.Thank God! Ghat journey came to an end.The roads were built by Border Roads Organisation (BRO). A simple thought that came to me was "It was such a pain just to travel on ghats. How much pain would BRO have been endured for building ghat roads ensuring all the safety norms?"Moreover, whenever there were landslides BRO came to our rescue. This is like that mango story where the tourists enjoyed the efforts of BRO.

(10) Home Sweet Home:
We returned home from Kolkatta again by Falaknuma.In the journey we celebrated farewell to the class of 2005, IIIT Hyderabad.I felt very sad because we were together happy, helping, caring for each other for the entire four years.I don’t know when will we all meet again?At the same time I was happy for reaching home after so many days and so many new experiences.

So Friends ,Shall we go to Sikkim once more because Yeh Dil Maange More!

How Credit Card Works?

2005-12-15T18:10:00.001+05:30

Ravi Shankar(Nalli) became credit card addict now-a-days.He got 3 credit cards and applied for 6 more.Please dont talk about any credit card offer before him.The very next day he will come with that card.Logic Nalli says its for status or free-shopping ...He has many convincing terms to make you a creditcard freak.

I was wondering shall I go for a credit card?But I had absolutely nill knowledge about it.Today I got a mail from one of my friends that cleared most of my basic doubts.Hope it also clears your doubts.

This is a small conversation on how really the Credit card process works.

Priya: I want to buy a Sony digital camera costing Rs.20,000, but I don’t have any cash right now.

Raj: Why don’t you use your ICICI Bank credit card? Never heard them say ‘Hum Hain Na’

Priya: I am quite skeptic about using these cards. I pay using the card, get a bill after 30 days and pay after another 20 days. This is a maximum of 50 days interest free loan. Why does any bank do it?

If I borrow Rs.20,000 on personal loan at 11%.
Interest to be paid for 50 days = Rs. 20,000 * 11% * (50/365) = Rs. 301.40.

Here the bank is giving me a loan without interest when I use the credit card. Something is wrong somewhere!

Raj: Well, let me tell you how it works when you use your card to pay for the camera.
You present your ICICI Bank credit card , a VISA card.
Sony World swipes your card on a machine provided by Citibank. Lets call Citibank, the acquirer bank and the process of Sony World swiping the card on that machine, requesting authorization .
Citibank communicates with the card issuer, ICICI Bank through VISA Network to check if the card is valid and has the required credit limit.
ICICI Bank reviews and approves / declines which is communicated back to Sony World.
You sign a receipt called Sales Draft given by Citibank. This is the obligation on your part to pay the money to ICICI Bank. Data on this receipt can be captured electronically and transmitted.

At the end of day or at the end of some period Sony World chooses:
Sony World submits the receipt you signed to Citibank who pays Sony World the money. Sony World pays Citibank a fee called Merchant Discount . Let us say this is 6% of the sale value = 6% * 20,000 = Rs. 1200
Citibank sends the receipt electronically to a Visa data center which in turn sends it to ICICI Bank.
ICICI Bank transfers the money to a settlement bank which in turn transfers the funds to Citibank.
Citibank pays ICICI Bank an Interchange Fee of 4% of the sale value = 4% * 20,000 = Rs. 800
20 to 50 days later ICICI Bank gets the money from you, and you don’t pay the interest!!

Priya: Interesting! So Sony World pays more than the interest that I should have paid for the loan that I take. I, as a cardholder have the following benefits

1. Convenience of not having to carry cash.
2. Credit availability, free of interest.

However what benefits does Sony World get for paying so much money, Isn’t it more profitable for them to take cash? They can save as much as Rs.1200.

Raj: Certainly. Some retail outlets offer you discounts if you pay by cash, don’t they?

However when you don’t count the money that you are spending, you tend to buy more! Cards encourage this is called impulse purchase .

If you did not have access to credit, you would not have bought the camera this month, or may be not any time soon either. By accepting cards, the merchant is actually extending you credit at the risk of the card issuer. He pays money to the banks to carry that risk.

Priya: So ICICI Bank uses this money to pay back to us when they announce 5% cash back. They insist that the Sales draft that I sign at the retailer should also be from ICICI Bank. This means they are saving on the Interchange Fee and also pay me a part of the Merchant Discount that they get.

Raj: Exactly! If you have noticed, ICICI Bank gives you the cash back in the next credit card statement. They keep the cash back money for a maximum of 60 days before passing on a part to you. This accrues them interest too.

Say if ICICI Bank earns an interest of 6% per annum for the cash they carry, they get Rs.1000 * 6% * (60/365) = Rs. 10

That is not huge, but money nevertheless. And when you consider that almost everyone in this city shops with a credit card these days, it is a big sum.

Priya: And that also explains why banks tie up with petrol pumps, like ICICI Bank has tied up with HPCL and I could re-fuel there without having to pay the fuel surcharge of 2.5%. The card issuer and the acquiring bank is the same and that saves interchange fees.

Raj: Good! You seem to have figured out how it all works! Let me summarize:

Priya: Sooper! Toh ab shopping chalein?? Lets not miss the Namma Bengaluru Shopping Festival!

All the numbers used to explain concepts in this article must be treated only as an example. Merchant Discounts may vary from bank to bank. Interchange Fee is regulated by VISA and MasterCard.
This article is contributed by Madhusudan N Sunkara . A vitality Hire from IIM Ahmedabad, Madhusudan comes in with over 2 years of experience telecom. Madhusudan has previously worked with Hughes Software Systems . He joined IGSI in May 2005 and is currently working as a Business Analyst in the Global Function Point Delivery Center at FSS.

So What do you think now?Will you go for credit card and become a shopping free?

Time Killers

2005-12-14T17:50:00.001+05:30

Now a days I am playing lot of Sudoku.I plan to do some thing but suddenly I start cracking a sudoku with timer .I am not great sudokuer and am not going to participate in international competitions.The impact is that my time is flying with out my notice.

I should say that one of the reasons for this is not having much to do at office :) . I am not saying that playing sudoku is bad but obsession is bad and slowly started to control relating it with DP's advice on how to control playing excessive Quake.In fact he submitted a report on this in his SystemsThinking project.

The gist of his advice is "We are lazy.Create as many obstacles as possible that you are never in a mood to take so much pain to carry on your obsession.May be this sounds idealistic but it works for normal obsession levels"

Software patents – Obstacles to software development

2005-12-07T15:08:00.001+05:30

Software Patents are patents that cover software ideas, ideas which you would use in developing software. That is what makes them a dangerous obstacle to all software development.
An Overview:
Intellectual property laws confer a bundle of exclusive rights in relation to the particular form or manner in which ideas or information are expressed or manifested, and not in relation to the ideas or concepts themselves.
Copyright may subsist in creative and artistic works (eg. books, movies, music, paintings, photographs and software), giving a copyright holder the exclusive right to control reproduction or adaptation of such works for a certain period of time.
A Patent may be granted in relation to a new and useful invention , giving the patent holder an exclusive right to commercially exploit the invention for a certain period of time (typically 20 years from the filing date of a patent application).
A TradeMark is a distinctive sign which is used to distinguish the products or services of one business from those of another business.
Patents, trademarks and designs fall into a particular subset of intellectual property known as industrial property.
Like other forms of property, intellectual property (or rather the exclusive rights which subsist in the IP) can be transferred (with or without consideration) or licenced to third parties. In some jurisdictions it may also be possible to use intellectual property as security for a loan.
Copyrights/Patents:
Copyrights cover the details of expression of a work. Copyrights don't cover any ideas. Patents only cover ideas and the use of ideas. Copyrights happen automatically. Patents are issued by a patent office in response to an application. Patents cost a lot of money. It takes typically some years for the application to get considered, even though patent offices do an extremely sloppy job of considering. Copyrights last tremendously long. In some cases they can last as long as 150 years, where patents last 20 years, which is long enough that you can outlive them but still quite long by a timescale of a field such as software.Copyrights cover Copying.There can be defense to any accusation of copyright infringement.But such defence becomes irrelevant even though your idea is your own.
Patents are a kind of time-consuming lottery:
Like lotteries only a tiny fraction of patents actually bring any benefit to those who hold the patents.The first thing you are going to do after you have had an idea of what kind of program you are going to write is to deal with the patent system is find out what patents may cover the program you want to write. This is impossible because there are hundreds of thousands of patents and they are written in torturous legal jargon.So the scientific development for which ideas are building blocks just stall.From the patent holders point of view legal costs and patent maintenance costs will explode.
So they are three approaches that you can try:
Depending upon the situation we can apply one of these approaches.
(1) Avoiding the patent
Some times we can get around with out the patented feature in the software.Some times the idea that's patented will be so broad and basic that it basically rules out an entire field.
(2) Licensing the patent
The second possibility instead of avoiding the patent is to get a licence of the patent.But the patent holder has to offer it.You should be able to pay the price for that patent.For ex: Let us take Big B IBM.It has around 30000 patents.Suppose you(small company) hold a patent.What it does is make you cross-license?If you deny it will create some link between your patent and their existing patent.Then fears you of law-suit.Instead of all this hullabaloo you will cross-licence because its profit for both of you.Thus this cross-licensing has become a business.
(3) Overturning the patent in court
US patent office is so foolish that it accepts patents covering already existing ideas (non-patented),patents that are similar to existing patents(especially in the case of software because ideas are unlike objects which are easy to distinguish),patents that are obvious (to any one except US patent office :) ).The benefit of this loophole is if you can find solid prior art you can overturn the patent but the price involved will not be feasible.

Software field is based on incremental innovation.If it were one patent-one product, then these patents wouldn't obstruct the development of products.But when one product corresponds to many different ideas combined, it becomes very likely your new product is going to be patented by somebody else already.

As of now India rejects Software Patents.It's clear that they are not at all a good idea for a developing country like us.Refer Link

For clarity on patents in Indian context

Some questions I have?
(1)
The patent laws are different for different countries.One can patent an idea that is in USPO(US Patent Office), in EUPO (European Union Patent Office) of course if patent harmonization(common International patent laws) is done the scenario will be different.
Now Let us take the example of Public Key Encryption it's patent stalled the the development in the field of public key encryption itelf for 20 years.If a person in India gets the same idea and he creates a product based on it.Will that product be accepted Internationally?or Wont it be accepted in US only as there is a registered patent in USPO?
(2)
Now let us take the scenario of various service companies in India.While design we borrow ideas that are patents filed in USPO and use them specific to the domain.Since the development is in India its OK.If the client for whom the company developed the product is American can the patent holder sue the client?
(3)
Open Office guys did reverse engineering and found the way that open office supports MS Office docs.Will this be considered as patent infringement?

Source:-Talk given by Richard Stallman at University of Cambridge.

What Do SoftwareDevelopers Need to Know about Business?

2005-11-29T19:32:00.001+05:30

Computer science people believe that "business stuff" is a cake walk for a computer science graduate.This is purely ignorance.That's why most of us neglect software engineering course in our curriculum.
There's a real need for the average software developer to understand and appreciate the economic context in which their company operates.Other wise we tend to operate in fog.We have to understand senior management's decisions which seems illogical to us.Based on my discussions with people in software industry I cannot assure that 100% of the software developers are happy with their work.So we cannot stay in our world of Java forever.We have to come out of this shell and have a global picture of ours in the company and the industry.

A few principles that can help put management decisions into a clearer context:-
(1)An investment is simply an investment:
Many professions require a certain amount of detachment from events.For ex:A professional has to be like a doctor explained by Dr. J.Asthana in MunnaBhai MBBS movie who treats a patient as a body with some abnormality thats it.Similarly investment.Some times the project we work will be changed drastically because of management decisions (will tell my own example when I meet you).At times we as developers are expected to do rework.So we should not get attached to the project or our code.This is business not a Phd thesis.
(2)Tomorrow’s dollar is worth (far) less than today’s:
Most business people think in terms of risk-adjusted present value. As a result, long-term initiatives with even moderately uncertain payoffs quickly lose their attractiveness. This is especially true when other investment opportunities exist
(3)Capital budgeting:
Its a criterion for project selection.It is based on calculating ROI(Return On Investment).

In order to understand the above concepts a software developer has to know marketing, financial, and legal aspects of the software industry.These are not the things which can be picked up easily on the job.One has to attend training sessions regarding pricing strategies, basic macroeconomic concepts, capital budgeting issues, and intellectual property.Once we get a clear picture of where we stand in the industry we can emerge as entrepreneurs with ideas that click in this industry like Google.We can be in a situation to provide employment for job seekers.

Source :- Editorial of IEEE software magazine written by Warren Harrison

Making your learning an adventure in exploration

2005-11-24T15:07:00.003+05:30

Learning without thought is labor lost -- Confucius

One has to think critically to make their learning a joy.
Critical thinking studies a subject or problem with open-mindedness.
Approach any problem with open mind:
(1)Define your destination, what you want to learn
(2)Think about what you already know about the subject
(3)What resources are available to you, and what is your timeline?
Gather information
(4)Ask questions (very important)
(5)Organize what you have collected into patterns to understand the connections
(6)Ask questions (again!)
(7)Think in terms of how you would demonstrate your learning
Once you have open mind set (7 steps mentioned above):
(1)Demonstrate Knowledge
(2)Comprehend/Understand
(3)Use your learning;apply it
(4)Analyze
(5)Synthesize
(6)Evaluate and Explain Why? (To ask questions well you must be able to face as many questions as possible)

For more information refer Critical Thinking

Garam Masala

2005-11-22T14:17:00.001+05:30

This sunday I relived my college days.Pondy,Aara and K babu came to our room.We saw TV till evening recollecting foolish deeds done when in IIIT.The center of attraction is Vishnu sorry Vaishu.It's the name given by his colleague (guess who?).We had biriyani in Hyderabad House.We watched Garam Masala in Hitech.
Then pondy and Karteek came to our house for the night.We talked IIIT trivia till 2AM.
Best of them include :-
(1)The way I got the name Jimmy,doggy
(2)KarteekBabu's GK who told that Capital of Russia is "Mexico"
(3)Sireesh's multiple EOF dilemma cracked by vishnu
(4)Again Sireesh's GK who told that a normal year has 366 days
(5)Amazing explanation of F1 Racing given by jaya,aara and booo to DP
and many many more ....(censored:)
Being software professionals we thought that we should give the jokes (PJ's) a certification .That is JMM(on the same lines as CMM).JMM stands for Jamdu(Durga Prasad Jammula) Maturity Model or Jokes Maturity Model.Why DP? If DP laughs it means the joke is a real PJ .Depending upon a joke's standard it's given JMM levels 1-5.
For ex:Let us take Sreejith's Pathetic Jokes(PJs).What happens if SHAKILA is passed through SHAKTI(Machine Translation system in IIIT)?We get ILA because SHAKTI means "SHAK ni TI" (read in Telugu).So it removes SHAK from SHAKILA and gives ILA.Such jokes are given JMM level 5 coz they are so technical.

I hope that we have atleast one such reunion per month and come up with more JMM level 5 jokes.

Heart Touching Stories

2005-11-18T18:21:00.001+05:30

*********** STORY 1 ************

A girl and a boy were on a motorcycle, speeding through the night.
They loved each other a lot.....
Girl:"slow down a little.. I'm scared.."
Boy: "No, it's so fun.."
Girl: "please..it's so scary.."
Boy: "Then say that you love me.."
Girl: "Fine..I love you..can you slow down now?"
Boy: "Give me a big hug.."
The girl gave him a big hug.
Girl: "Now can you slow down?"
Boy: "Can you take off my helmet and put it on? It's uncomfortable
and it's bothering me while i ride."

The next day, there was a story in the newspaper. A motorcycle had
crashed into a building because its brakes were broken. There were two
people on the motorcycle, of which one died, and the other had survived...The guy
knew that the brakes were broken. He didn't want to let the girl know,
because he knew that the girl would have gotten scared. Instead, he was told
the last time that she loved him,got a hug from her, put his helmet on her
so that she can live, and die himself...

Once in a while, Right in the middle of an ordinary life, Love
gives us a fairy tale...

Message "Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing
those you hold well"

*************************** Story 2 ***************************

Nurse: "It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 am,
when an elderly gentleman, in his 80's, presented to have sutures
(stitches) removed from
his thumb.

He stated that he was in a hurry as he had an
appointment at 9:00 am. I
(nurse) took his vital signs and had him take a seat,
knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him.

I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I
was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam
it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed
supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in
conversation. Asked him if he had a doctor's appointment this morning
somewhere else, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he
needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she
had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer Disease.

As we talked, and I finished dressing his wound, I
asked if she would be worried if he was a bit late. He replied that she no
longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him. "And you are still
going every morning, even
though she doesn't know who you are?" He smiled as he
patted my hand and said. "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she
is."

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps
on my arm, and
thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life."

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love
is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

Good friends are like stars...You don't always see
them, but you always know they're there

*************************** STORY 3 ************************

The passengers on the bus watched sympathetically as the attractive
young woman with the white cane made her way carefully up the
steps. She paid the driver and, using her hands to feel the
location of the seats, walked down the aisle and found the seat
he'd told her was empty. Then she's settled in, placed her
briefcase on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.

It had been a year since Susan became blind. Due to a medical
misdiagnosis she had been rendered sightless, and she was suddenly
thrown into a world of darkness, anger, frustration and self-pity.
'How could this have happened to me?' she would plead, her heart
knotted with anger. But no matter how much she cried or ranted or
prayed, she knew the painful truth, her sight was never going to
return. A cloud of depression hung over Susan's once optimistic
spirit. All she had to cling to was her husband Mark.

Mark was an Air Force officer and he loved Susan with all his
heart. When she first lost her sight, he watched her sink into
despair and was determined to help his wife gain the strength she
needed to become independent again.

Finally, Susan felt ready to return to her job, but how would she
get there? She used to take the bus, but was now too frightened to
get around the city by herself. Mark volunteered to drive her to
work each day, even though they worked at opposite ends of the
city. At first, this comforted Susan and fulfilled Mark's need to
protect his sightless wife who was so insecure about performing the
slightest task. Soon, however Mark realized that this arrangement
wasn't working - it was hectic, and costly.

Susan is going to have to start taking the bus again, he admitted
to himself. But just the thought of mentioning it to her made him
cringe. She was still so fragile, so angry. How would she react?
Just as Mark predicted, Susan was horrified at the idea of taking
the bus again. "I'm blind!" she responded bitterly. "How am I
supposed to know where I'm going? I feel like you're abandoning
me."

Mark's heart broke but he knew what had to be done. He promised
Susan that each day he would ride the bus with her until she got
the hang of it.

And that is exactly what happened. For two solid weeks, Mark,
military uniform and all, accompanied Susan to and from work each
day. He taught her how to rely on her other senses to determine
where she was and how to adapt to her new environment. He helped
her befriend the bus drivers who could watch out for her, and save
her a seat. Each morning they made the journey together, and Mark
would take a cab back to his office.

Although this routine was even more costly and exhausting than the
previous one, Mark knew it was only a matter of time before Susan
would be able to ride the bus on her own. Finally, Susan decided
that she was ready to try the trip on her own. Monday morning
arrived, and before she left, she threw her arms around Mark, her
temporary bus riding companion, her husband, and her best friend.
Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude for his loyalty, his
patience, his love. She said good-bye, and for the first time, they
went their separate ways. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday....
Each day on her own went perfectly, and Susan had never felt
better.

On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work as usual. As she was
paying for her fare to exit the bus, the driver said, "Boy, I sure
envy you." Susan wasn't sure if the driver was speaking to her or
not. After all, who on earth would ever envy a blind woman who had
struggled just to find the courage to live for the past year? "Why
do you envy me?"

The driver responded, "It must feel so good to be taken care of and
protected like you are." Susan had no idea what the driver was
talking about, "What do you mean?" The driver said, "You know,
every morning for the past week, a fine looking gentleman in a
military uniform has been standing across the corner watching you
when you get off the bus. He makes sure you cross the street safely
and he watches you until you enter your office building. Then he
blows you a kiss, gives you a little salute and walks away. You are
one lucky lady."

Tears of happiness poured down Susan's cheeks. For although she
couldn't see him, she had always felt Mark's presence. She was
blessed, so blessed, for he had given her a gift more powerful than
sight, a gift she didn't need to see to believe - the gift of love
that can bring light where there had been darkness.

"You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is
beautiful because you love her..."

So if you love someone be faithful to that person.

***************************STORY 4************************

From the very beginning, girl's family objected strongly on her
dating this guy, saying that it has got to do with family
background, & that the girl will have to suffer for the rest of her life if she
were to be with him.

Due to family's pressure, the couple quarrelled very often. Though
the girl loved the guy deeply, she always asked him: "How deep isyour
love for me?" As the guy is not good with his words, this often caused
the girl to be very upset. With that & the family's pressure, the girl
often vents her anger on him. As for him, he only endured it in
silence.

After a couple of years, the guy finally graduated & decided to
further his studies overseas. Before leaving, he proposed to the
girl:

"I'm not very good with words. But all I know is that I love you.
If you allow me, I will take care of you for the rest of my life. As
for your family, I'll try my best to talk them round. Will you marry
me?" The girl agreed, & with the guy's determination, the family finally
gave in & agreed to let them get married. So before he left, they
got engaged. The girl went out to the working society, whereas the guy
was overseas, continuing his studies. They sent their love through
emails & phone calls. Though it was hard, but both never thought of giving
up.

One day, while the girl was on her way to work, she was knocked
down by a car that lost control. when she woke up, she saw her parents
beside her bed. She realized that she was badly injured. Seeing her
mum crying, she wanted to comfort her. But she realized that all
that could come out of her mouth was just a sigh. she had lost her
voice....

The doctor says that the impact on her brain has caused her to lose
her voice. Listening to her parents' comfort, but with nothing
coming out from her, she broke down. During the stay in hospital, besides
silence cry,..it's still just silence cry that accompanied her.
Upon reaching home, everything seems to be the same. Except for the
ringing tone of the phone. Which pierced into her heart everytime it rang.
She does not wish to let the guy know & not wanting to be a burden to
him, she wrote a letter to him saying that she does not wish to wait any
longer.

With that, she sent the ring back to him. In return, the guy sent
millions & millions of reply, countless of phonecalls,.. all the
girl could do, besides crying, is still crying.... The parents decided
to move away, hoping that she could eventually forget everything & be
happy.

With a new environment, the girl learns sign language & started a
new life. Telling herself everyday that she must forget the guy. One
day, her friend came & told her that he's back. She asked her friend not
to let him know what happened to her. Since then, there wasn't anymore
news of him.

A year has passed & her friend came with an envelope, containing a
invitation card for the guy's wedding. The girl was shattered. When
she open the letter, she saw her name in it instead. When she was
about to ask her friend what's going on, she saw the guy standing
in front of her.

He used sign language to tell her "I've spent a year to learn sign
language. Just to let you know that I've not forgotten our promise.
Let me have the chance to be your voice. I Love You." With that, he
slipped the ring back into her finger. The girl finally smiled.

Treat every relationship as if it's the last one, then you'll know
how to Give. Treat every moment as is it's the last day, then you'll
know how to treasure.

Treasure what you have right now, or else you will
regret one day...

************************ STORY 5 **************************

After 21 years of marriage, I discovered a new way of keeping alive
the spark of love. A little while ago I had started to go out with
another woman. It was really my wife's idea.

"I know that you love her," she said one day, taking me by
surprise. "But I love YOU," I protested.

"I know, but you also love her."The other woman that my wife wanted
me to visit was my mother, who has been a widow for 19 years, but
the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible
to visit her only occasionally. That night I called to invite her
to go out for dinner and a movie. "What's wrong, are you well?" she
asked. My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late
night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.

"I thought that it would be pleasant to pass some time with you," I
responded.

"Just the two of us."

She thought about it for a moment then said "I would like that very
much."

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit
nervous.

When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be
nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on.

She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn
to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face
that was as radiant as an angel's.

"I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they
were impressed," she said, as she got into the car. "They can't
wait to hear about our meeting". We went to a restaurant that,
although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. my mother took my arm
as if she were the First Lady.

After we sat down, I had to read the menu to her. Her eyes could
only read large print. Half way through the entree, I lifted my
eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me.

A nostalgic smile was on her lips. "It was I who used t o have to
read the menu when you were small," she said.

"Then it's time for you to relax and let me return the favor," I
responded.

During the dinner we had an agreeable conversation, nothing
extraordinary - but catching up on recent events of each others lives. We talked so
much that we missed the movie.

As we arrived at her house later, she said "I'll go out with you
again, but only if you let me invite you". I agreed.

"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home. "Very
nice. Much more so than I could have imagined," I answered.

A few days later my mother died of a massive heart attack. It
happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for
her.

Some time later I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant
receipt from the same place mother and I had dined.

An attached note said: "I paid this bill in advance. I was almost
sure that I couldn't be there but, nevertheless, I paid for two
plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night
meant to me. I love you."

At that moment I understood the importance of saying, in time: "I
LOVE YOU" and giving our loved ones the time that they deserve.

Nothing in life is more important than God and your family and
friends.

Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put
off til "some other time".

Someone once said "I've learned that, regardless of your
relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone
from your life.

I think this is true with your in-laws, grandchildren, sisters,
brothers and your friends. Anyone that means something to you-you
should spend time with them and let them know how much they mean to you as often as you can.

*********** STORY 6 ************

On the last day before Christmas, I hurried to go to the
supermarket to buy the remaining of the gift I didn't manage to buy
earlier.When I saw all the people there, I started to complain to myself,"It is
going to take forever here and I still have so many other places to go.
Christmas really is getting more and more annoying every year. How I
wish I could just lie down, go to sleep and only wake up after it..."
Nonetheless, I made my way to the toy section, and there I started to
curse the prices, wondering if after all kids really play with such expensive
toys.While looking in the toy section, I noticed a small boy of about 5 years
old, pressing a doll against his chest.He kept on touching the hair of the doll and looked so sad. I
wondered who was this doll for. Then the little boy turned to the old
woman next to him, "Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?"
The old lady replied, "You know that you don't have enough money to buy
this doll, my dear." Then she asked him to stay here for 5 minutes while she went to look
around. She left quickly. The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.
Finally, I started to walk toward him and I asked him who did he want to
give this doll to."It is the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for this
Christmas. She was so sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her."
I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus will bring it to her,
after all, and not to worry.But he replied to me sadly. "No, Santa Claus can not bring it to her
where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mother so that she can give it
to her when she goes there." His eyes were so sad while saying this. "My
sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mummy will also go to
see God very soon, so I thought that she could bring the doll with her to
give it to my sister." My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said, "I
told daddy to tell mummy not to go yet. I asked him to wait until I come back
from the supermarket." Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing.He then
told me, "I also want mummy to take this photo with her so that she will
not forget me." I love my mummy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me
but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister."
Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.
I quickly reached for my wallet and took a few notes and said to the
boy, "What if we checked again, just in case if you have enough money?"
"Ok," he said. "I hope that I have enough." I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started! to
count it. There was enough for the doll, and even some spare money. The little
boy said, "Thank you God for giving me enough money."
Then he looked at me and added, "I asked yesterday before I slept for
God to make sure I have enough money to buy this doll so that mummy can give
it to my sister. He heard me." "I also wanted to have enough money to buy a
white rose for my mummy, but I didn't dare to ask God too much. But He
gave me enough to buy the doll and the white rose." "You know, my mummy loves
white rose." A few minutes later, the old lady came again and I left with my trolley.
I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I
couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.
Then I remembered a local newspaper article 2 days ago, which
mentioned of a drunk man in a truck who hit a car where there was one
young lady and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother
was left in a c! ritical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the
plug on the life-assisting machine, because the young lady would not be able
to get out of the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?
Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the
newspaper that the young lady had passed away.
I couldn't stop myself and went to buy a bunch of white roses and I went
to the mortuary where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to
see and make last wish before burial.
She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand
with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.
I left the place crying, feeling that my life had been changed forever.
The love that this little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to
that day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk man
had taken all this away from him.
So Take time to appreciate what you have now.

By reading these stories I feel that its all the matter of sparing time.

Dedicate time to work:
it's the price of success.

Dedicate time to think:
it's the fountain of power.

Dedicate time to enjoy:
it's the secret of youth.

Dedicate time to love and be loved:
it's the source of joy and satisfaction.

Dedicate time to laugh:
it mitigates the stress

Oracle of Omaha's Career Advice

2005-11-16T19:04:00.003+05:30

The students of Tuck school of Business at Dartmouth flew to Omaha, Nebraska for a two-hour Q&A session with legendary investor Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.

One of the questions is:

Q: What is your career advice?
A: If you want to make a lot of money go to Wall Street. More importantly though, do what you would do for free, having passion for what you do is the most important thing. I love what I do; I'm not even that busy. I got a total of five phone calls all day yesterday and one of them was a wrong number. Ms. B from NFM had passion, that's why she was successful. A few months ago I was talking to another MBA student, a very talented man, about 30 years old from a great school with a great resume. I asked him what he wanted to do for his career, and he replied that he wanted to go into a particular field, but thought he should work for McKinsey for a few years first to add to his resume. To me that's like saving sex for your old age. It makes no sense.

And the central themes that spun through their discussion with Mr. Buffet are:
1. "Having passion for what you do is the most important thing."
2. "Stay within your circle of competence."
--Clearly much of Mr. Buffett's success has stemmed from his disciplined focus on investing in businesses that he understands and avoiding those that he doesn't. He counseled them to ask questions constantly and never assume that we have achieved "expert" status in anything.
3. "There's still time for you to choose your own path; tell the truth and be independent."
--One of Mr. Buffett's central messages was that success is dependent upon elective qualities, not something anyone is born with. He reminded them that each one of them get to choose whether or not we're dependable, honest, and compassionate.
4. "There's no free lunch."
--With most things in life, those who work harder and think more clearly are ultimately rewarded. If you're willing to roll the dice on a business or life decision, then you should be willing to accept a wider range of outcomes, including failure.
5. "The meaning of life is to do everything you can to make sure the people you care about love you back."

These golden words are really motivating for any one who is in the serious pursue of his dreams.

KYONKI -- Its Sallu Bhai

2005-11-16T14:11:00.001+05:30

This is the review of Kyonki movie written by my friend Raju read it n enjoy the review cos you cannot enjoy the movie.
Note that this is written in Tenglish (Telugu+English)...

**Review Start **

Name: KYON KI
Caption: its fate
Key Word: 36

story: oka mental hospital, andhulo tanvi(kareena) doctor, tanvi father kalnal aa hospital ki chief. 1. Oka musali pichidi untundi with number 36. pichi nayami pothundi, tanvi entho premaga chusukuntundi aameni. kaani pichi nayami poyaka aa musali asalu tanvi ni pattinchukodu...kyon ki - its fate. 2. Oka pichadu Anand(salman khan), aa hospital lo cherathadu, number 36. tanvi modhatlo salman meedha konchem harsh ga untadi( because of musali pichidi). tharavatha bane chusukuntundi. alaane love kooda chesesthadi.....kyo ki - its fate 3. Anand ki pichi nayami pothundi, they both want to marry. kaani kalnal ki nachadu. anthe anand ki brain operation chesesthadu. so vaadiki no sparsha, nothing. bathiki unna shavam laga thayari pothadu...kyon ki - its fate. 4. inko pichi doctor sunil bayya, anand ante chala istam. so anand ni ala chudadam istam leka champestadu...kyon ki- its fate. 5. ee vishayam vinna tanvi, pichidi pothundi. ade hospital lo parient la join avuthundi, number 36.....kyon ki- its fate.
idhantha oka view lo, ika anand pichivaadu endhukipothadu?
maya(rimmi sen anukuntanu) ni love chesthadu. aa ammai nun(church, father...) kavalanukuntundi, so anand ante istam unna piki cheppadhu. some how, idiot lo raviteja laga chesi, maya ni oppisthadu. kaani maya chala kangaru paduthundi, veedu nijamgane chanipothademo ani. ippudu iddaru love lo unnaru. maya rendu saarlu anand ni fool chesthundi, horse riding raadhu ani okasaari nerpinchamani, car driving raadhu ani cheppi nerpinchamani aduguthundi. kaani andhulo maya expert. moodava saari thanaki swimming raadhu ani chepthundi. kaani anand, eesari fool kakudadhu ani alochinchi maya ni swimming pool vesesi vellipothadu. kaasepu tharavatha chuse sariki may ahcani pothundi. ( Chinnappudu nanna puli story type) ala anand pichi vaadu aipothadu. 75% cinema mental hospital lone.
idhi story.... idhi chudadam maa fate, chadavatam mee fate.dhaniki evaru badhyulu kaaru......... ok then untanu bye. have a nice time.........

AReview
by Raju

** Review End **