Confessions Of A Self Styled Hypocrite

Commercialization of Grief !

2011-07-17T22:23:00.002+04:00

It was very disheartening to hear about yet another terrorist attack in our financial capital Mumbai. The long reprieve from such attacks was short-lived atlas. The media was very fast in taking up the issue and started their usual rhetoric of assumptions, allegations, counter allegations etc. The usual cast of actors was playing their role well in the pre-set stage, grief anger and vengeance was encapsulated and sold to the masses. Scroll down text presuming to be authentic and update news played with our nerves.

Then they started their usual interviews of the witnesses, busy policeman eager to present their version of the story etc. It doesn’t stop there they loiter around the crime scene and make investigation a cumbersome process for the police. There was a convention agreed upon between the media and the security forces after the diabolic 26/11 attacks that media will not tread into the crime scene and destroy evidence or act as mouth pieces of the terrorist by publicising and exaggerating the crime. But all these was thrown into the wind and you see earnest anchors trespassing into the crime scene. We are already at the disadvantaged position with our lack of credible information sources and out-d

dated machinery and the invisibility of the enemy; this over reach of the media further worsens our scope of investigation.

Grief like any other human emotion is avery personal one. The media by exploiting it for their requirement is doing a crime against humanity. By encapsulating grief into 30 second clips they are commercializing grief and we end up as mute spectators to their tamasha. With every attack they follow the same procedure like they have a Standard operating procedure (SOP) to be followed under such circumstances. Like they have to look for gruesome bloody scenes to show in the screen, like they have to find an aggravated common man angry at the system, to show the victims of earlier attacks and reminding their loved ones about their loss. Loss of a loved one cannot be justified and replicated under any circumstances, why do they have to reminded about their loss and exposing their grief unnecessarily.

I’m whole heartedly grieving for the death of the blast victims and the lives destroyed and injuries survived by the 100's of its victims, but are we giving an undue prominence for terrorist attacks and deaths caused by it, in the same week we have had a devastating Train accident (which is assumed to be resulted by an IED explosion) and another wedding party accident at alevel crossing which killed a score of people. The death in both these cases were substantially more and the damage more gruesome and devastating.

Terrorist attacks are not a normal day to day event in our country unlike for our neighbour Pakistan, Like Rahul Gandhi said we have been able to thwart 99 % of the attacks but unfortunately one escapes our vigilance. You can’t tell this to someone who has lost a loved one, their loss cannot be offset with all the political gyan and intellectual analysis seen in the media. But it is true we have been able to control the menace of regular attacks to alarge extend. It was not long ago when we had regular attacks in every nook and corner of the country and resembled a war zone, listed in the red zone of no travel in the diplomatic circle.

Our media has got a special attraction towards portraying terrorist attacks, the business of selling organised grief to the masses. We have to also agree that the masses are a big consumer for grief, look at the headlines of newspapers for last one month or news bulletins in tv you will be surprised to see the extend of bad news (packaged grief, anger and pain) present in them. It is interesting to know that there is a term to describe this feeling: Schadenfreude Pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune. More people die every day dude to preventable causes, more infants are aborted, more unborn girl child are maimed every day in our country, but that doesn't sell like grief packaged as bomb attacks.

Meanwhile our political leaders have started their usual ploy of blaming pakistan and concluding role of banned outfits in the attack. The congress alleges that since the home ministry of the state is under the control of NCP it could not act in advance (rubbish), the opposition alleging the timidity of the central government, the coalition partners expressing their helplessness. In the midst of all these capsule grievance sharing statement send by world leaders arrive regularly, like it means anything to the victims or will help in fighting this menace.

It was interesting to see how the social medial i.e facebook and twitter reacted and constructively helped the victims and survivors. Within not time The mumbai attack was trending on twitter (though no idea how such things can trend !) and information for contacting police and helpline numbers to locate victims were being shared. And it was for the first time that a spreadsheet listing people who are willing to help, donate blood, provide transportation, provide accommodation food for the victims and stranded were being shared in the social media. Unlike their peers in the mass media, social media has matured to avoid rumor's like Kasabs birthday and aggravating the masses. lets hope that this trend continues and the social media plays a constructive role in the future also.

I know the thought process is hay wire in this post; it’s mainly due to the anger and grief towards our indifference.

There is nothing social about Social Networking anymore !

2011-07-13T10:33:00.001+04:00

I have realized that if i keep writing about women empowerment and inclusive growth most of my friends will empower themselves to include me in the non-inclusive list (block list) very soon. And to be frank i am not so much in favour of these topics either. So i have decided to write something on a lighter note.

When i got back to Facebook after the self-imposed exile of six months, i realized nothing has changed. For starters i had to run through all the friend requests i had ignored off late. Sort out my friends, add my acquaintances to the friends list, add more people because you have common friends with them. Facebook has become paranoid about increasing my friend list it keeps suggesting friends with 1/2/3//10 common friends, i came across someone with whom i had a hundred common friends yet had no clue who it is.

All the silly game requests remains for a change all the farmers have left and new urban settlers have started popping their heads. Nothing has changed with respect to status updates and video link sharing. It’s funny to see someone sharing their anger and pain on their updates and people queuing up to Like it. I wish Facebook could include Unlike button or even an option of Disgusting which could be the only response to some posts.

I just realised i have 450 + people on my friend list and it’s a big number when i hardly know many of them. This list includes my school mates, college mates, colleagues of earlier jobs, teachers, uncles, aunts, sisters, cousins, neighbours, people whom i have no clue about etc. It’s a big puddle of senseless relationships. And i start to think when i put up something, who all are going to read this, what will they think about me. And being the quintessential hypocrite i fear to shed the masks i wear in different occasions and venues. Iam sure my long lost schoolmate who has migrated to north America and my friendly neighbour who idles away his time will have nothing in common, they don’t get the same jokes, neither do they comprehend the same languages.

Then there is the part where some idiotic friend with an old grudge will upload an old photograph in which i might have resembled a Precambrian primitive and start commenting about how stupid i looked then (nothing much has changed till now though) and the people i work with in front of whom i act polished and put up a fake accent catches me on the wrong foot. Iam sure iam not the only one who have had weird photos uploaded and teased about. Then there are the set of friends who pass comments and share thoughts in the local language which is as good as Greek or Latin or worse for some of my other friends, which makes me the translator in waiting. It is hard to convince my Hindi speaking friend about what my friend talks about (the salt mango tree syndrome).

Facebook developers have to urgently do something to segregate friends into as many possible sets to maintain the divide. Maybe something like an additional tab provision in new generation browsers that will cascade the friend list into different segments. So that my manager need not know that iam looking for ideas to give reasons to bunk office, or my family need not know about the secret road trip plan. If this continues there will be nothing social about social networking anymore.

And add to this the problem of envying friends holidaying in exotic locales, with their inverted photographs. It’s actually annoying to see that when you are slogging your ass you see your idiotic batch mate sun bathing and idling away. Add to all this new websites soliciting your presence in their new unique network, it’s like the snobbish hero in all his new movie interviews brags about the story being different and ends upto be the same stale dish.

In-spite of all this there is nothing as addictive or compulsive as social networking, a good friend put it up well, Facebook is like a fridge you keep opening to see if there is any new goodies. I have decided to take another exit from social networking maybe soon, but this is for sure, ill really miss all the senseless hype and action.

Women's Reservation, An Illusion !

2011-06-22T21:13:00.002+04:00

To all the people who were hopeful that we will have a constitutional provision to improve the position of women in our democracy, things are looking a bit gloomy for now. When the Women's reservation bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha amid trans-party cooperation, Sonia Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj and Brinda Karat coming together to get justice for womanhood, there was light at the end of the tunnel. Women have never had such dominating presence in the echelons of power with a President, Opposition Leader, the Guiding force behind the ruling party and more from the weaker sex. With maverick politicians like Mulayam Singh and Laloo Prasad out in the open protesting the bill in its original form and recommending watering down amendments, the bill looks a distant dream.

The history of women's reservation dates back to the Panchayati Raj Act of 1992 which provides for 33% reservation in local self governance. Then the Deva Gowda Govt in 1996 proposed women’s reservation in a similar form, which was followed by another ambitious attempt by IK Gujaral which was all stalled at its birth. The women’s reservation bill proposes to provide reservation of 33 % in the parliament, state legislature and local bodies. The reserved seats for women will be rotated in every two terms and the SC/ST reservation will mandate 33 % reservation for women within its fold. The proposal is only for a pilot period of 15 years.

Why do we need women’s reservation? The arguments for and against are various but one aspect that can be quiet compelling is our relative performance with regard to gender empowerment. You will be surprised to here that women in India is far behind their equals in Pakistan and Bangladesh and is ahead of only countries like Yemen and Saudi Arabia. We consider ourselves modern when the representation of women in the parliament, in higher education, in the corporate sector is abysmal. The number of women who die during pregnancy and girls who do not complete schooling is alarming.

So is reservation a panacea to all the ills that the women in the country is suffering from, not likely but it could be a good start. Better representation will pave way for more sensible law making, more empowerment and more development to the country. But there are inherent flaws in the current proposal which is ambiguous in terms of reservation for women from backward classes; it will lead to proxy candidates in the form of politician’s kith and kin contesting. The proposal to rotate seats after two terms will not let to develop a relationship between the candidate and the constituency. The fate of the pilot period could be similar to the 10 year threshold kept for SC/ST reservation which continues even today.

Another alternative to the cumbersome Women’s reservation bill is to bring changes in the people representation act making it compulsory of political parties to field 33% percentage of its candidate, women to maintain the party’s registration. There has to be some amendments to the structure of the houses as the current strength of 545 members in the parliament is based on the 1971 population which is actually half of the current population. More representation will let us yield more people which will to certain extend thwart the opposition put forward by the dissidents. The opposition is mainly arising out of fear of loosing sitting seats and lack of future opportunities to contest.

Let’s further look at the case of

Pakistan

, they have reserved 60 seats for women in the 360-member National Assembly and 17 in the 100-member Senate with a view to empower women. According to a report, 42 percent of private member bills, 27 percent of questions and 24 percent of resolutions in parliament came from women parliamentarians. If this can happen in the socially medieval (as perceived by most of us) so what’s stopping us from taking the plunge.

Like someone said if all the countries in the world were ruled by women, we wouldn't have any war, just a bunch of countries who don't speak to each other. It might lead to an end of the boisterous cacophony and all the drama prevalent in our parliament.

A Crisis of Democracy

2011-06-16T14:27:00.000+04:00

"Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.

Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another ruler with trumpetings again.

Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.

Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation."

— Khalil Gibran

Looking at the events unfolding we are either lucky to be witnesses to a revolution initiated by the civil society to rout out corruption from the society or spectators to the breakdown of established norms of democracy. Its true its high time we have to clean up our society or atleast do damage control to what ails us. The advent of corruption in the society and amount of money stashed away is baffling, but the question is, is this how we deal with it.

What is a civil society here ? A group of responsible citizens taking initiatives to guide and pressurise our democratically elected to implement regulations for effectively controlling the evils that ails our society. But who is this civil society, iam not doubtful about the credentials of these individual in their area of expertise, be it rural upliftment, policing, adjudication or yogic expressions. But what gives these people the right to talk on behalf of a billion souls, were they elected, nominated, decided by lottery or divinely assigned these duties. Iam aware of the history of earlier attempts to implement an ombudsman model Lokpal machinery emulating Scandinavian nations. How government after government presented watered down versions towards the end of their term to eyewash the society and claiming their helplessness with this regard blaming the opposition and parliament at large.

Iam neither supportive of this government, which resembles a confluence of parties neither with a clearly cut out agenda or the ability to implement effective policies. UPA 1 was a different story, it was instrumental in bringing out the fabled MNREGA, RTI acts. If you look at what UPA 2 has done in last two years, you will be reminded more about its scandalous corruption cases, Manmohan Sings helplessness and the NAC's ineffectiveness in promoting the food security bill or the communal violence bill, dilly-dallying between the PMO and Team Sonia. It was two years of rule when the judiciary has encroached into the ambit of the legislature, when judges have washed their hands of earlier allegations.

If we let the cicil society to guide policy making tomorrow we will have to expect more colourful characters entering Jantar Mantar ( The showroom of democracy ) and demanding for absurd regulations. Satyagraha has been commercialised with Air-conditioned tents and packaged drinking water, desecrating the precincts of places like Rajghat. Where are we heading when crores are spend on organising protests questioning black money, these peolple have to answer the source and justify its spending before they are made guardians of the society. And the past history of some of them and measures like thrashing to deaddict from alcoholism is questionable. When a member of the so called civil society calls for capital punishment for economic offences and proposes to assemble armed cadre to fight corruption, we have to be alarmed. Are we heading towards anarchy ?

What if tomorrow a mullah or sadhu or the khap , with a massive following demands for abolition western apparels and english speaking , what if someone demands for banning Facebook or something else, should we be pressurised to their tactics. We need responsible parliamentarians, in-depth analysis and smart policy making to fight social evils. Lets create fool proof financial systems, identity and banking services for the billion plus, give exemplary punishments to the defaulters. Its true this is not happening, but this recourse is not its alternative.

Let the government be truly reprsentaitive of the majority ( not the existing 10-15 %) let there be a change in this first past the post electoral system to more inclusive methods. Lets have a provision to abstain from not selecting the presented candidates ( negative voting), tomorrow political parties will be careful in selecting candidates to put forward to you. Lets reduce taxes and charges on land transaction, give tax concessions to people to bring back the hidden money. The money pumped back will create more investments and improve the infrastructure and trickle down to the masses. Let asset disclosure be mandatory and regular, filing returns be made a national exercise. Lets effectively shift election funding into the public domain, corporate and private financing will be controlled. We do have along way to go lets not be misguided by anyone.

New Milestone in Corruption

2011-06-16T13:16:00.002+04:00

Milestone is a very positive term, used when man landed on moon, when the genome code was unraveled. But when the concept of corruption is being revamped with such radical corrections, i couldn’t find a better word. We have truly emerged in all the global indicators of progress including corruption .

The biggest scam as far as i know was the Madoff Ponzi Scheme which proved him guilty of misappropriation of 17 Billion $.If the current accusation of 1.7 Lakh Crores in lost revenue( Approx 38 Billion $) is to be believed then we would have overshoot the current record by double. This is something the Chinese would take some time to beat. We are becoming unbeatable in the infamous segment of Corruption, Population Explosion, Poverty etc.

The basic aspect of Indian Jurisprudence is to consider the accused as not guilty until proven otherwise. So we have to give the benefit of the doubt to The Telecom Minister. The Minister states that the telecom licenses for 2G and 3G has been given at a lower price to increase penetration of telecom services and make the service affordable to everyone. But the confusing aspect is on why guidelines as provided by the department of telecom were not followed.

The crux of the issue can be summed up as follows ( Copied from NDTV, Verbatim)

2G licenses issued in the year 2008 at 2001 Prices
Telecom Minister insisted on “First come first served “ policy
9 companies were given licenses for nearly 10,800 Crore
Some firms sold partial stakes for much higher rates
CAG: Govt lost between 1.4 to 1.76 lakh crore
CAG: Raja ignored advice of Law, Finance Ministries

In the nitty gritties of coalition politics it becomes very difficult to implement and adapt fool proof review mechanism. DMK which is a major ally of UPA 2 with a grand contribution of 18 MP’s, it is diffiult to displease them. The Status of the minister as a Dalit also adds to the problem, since he claims the whole issue as a dalit targeted act. And the party’s official stand which vindicates the minister from any wrong doing makes it a harder task for the Congress led coalition to act. It won’t be as easy as the way it dealt with Mr. Chavan and Kalmadi.

The coming days will unravel the complexities involved, will the minister be sacked, will there be an investigation which brings out the truth etc. The larger implication out here is not on the future of the minister’s career, but the widespread social apathy and the lackadaisical attitude existing among the people. I recently overheard a young lady calling her father a fool, as he did not take bribes. The new generation aspiring for a public sector career is considering corruption as a means to correct the public-private pay scale difference. Its like a fringe benefit that makes the job more lucrative. If you don’t have ideals in your youth, the future is looking much bleaker than ever.

Corruption has become institutionalized and a normal characteristic like hunger, fear, courage etc. I think the government can give us some reprieve by listing standard rates and charges (under the table) for all relevant activities. At least this could stop the additional charges ( over and above the current) levied by some opportunistic officers.

So where do we go from here, deeper, slimier, dirtier or do we see an end to this, only time will tell. But one thing i can guarantee, the scams will get bigger, the people will get more indifferent and the already disturbing polarity will increase.

Post Script

When i wrote this, The minister had not resigned, so when i woke up today and found him to have resigned and to be replaced by another member of DMK. Same wine in a different bottle or labeling. SO lets see what happens now.

The Messiah The Message, The Cronies and Their Conspiracy !!

2011-06-16T13:14:00.000+04:00

The topic is too complicated to write on, but its too tempting not to write too. The whole world is talking about him, the messenger with the message, the initiator of the first world war on cyberspace. The implications of Julian Assange's leak on foreign diplomacy is still unfurling, with Russia even recommending him for a Nobel Prize hehee He is the boy who called the emperor naked and facing the consequences for it. From Extradition threats to hit squad intimidation, from being labelled as the Information Terrorist to a fatwa from the western intelligenzia.

For a change US has to heed to the policies of China in terms of internet control, the same leaders who preached about Online liberty and how Internet should be left on its own is eating its own words. The trend is very disturbing, US forcing Amazon, Paypal, Mastercard etc to act as per its wills can give us a sample picture of the future free world. The good thing is that there is an entire army of cyber guerrillas taking revenge on the Messenger, they have already disrupted Mastercard, Swiss Govt portal etc. The modus operandi is very discreet, they even have them denoted as Anonymous, leaves no trace and leaves the victim perplexed.

The greater question in this whole episode is the future of internet freedom and the liberty of investigative journalism. How what we write, what we read and what we see can be subjected to propagandists scalpels. If things go like this very soon US and China will come into a mutual agreement to rout out the crusaders. On a lighter note the whole episode has a bond movie imitating life aspect to it. Global powers fighting for sensitive material hacked by an International spy storing it in nuclear proof bunkers, add to it a trans national chase, disgruntled bond babes filing rape cases hehe. So much like a movie with more humor added to it, calling Putin and Mededev as Batman and Robin and more hehehe

On the national front the Media is on a bad foot, renowned TV presenters and journalists accused of being agents of a vicious corporate lobbyist. The whole Nina Radia tape leak was a shocker, bringing to light variants of highly esteemed public figures. I read the whole episode with disbelief and a pinch of pain, because it has questioned my faith in these people. It was evident earlier too, but the level of involvement between the media corporates and the politicians in rigging cabinet posts, setting agendas for news content and tilting opinion of us the public was in a bad taste. Whatever reasons they can give on the pretext of cultivating contacts or nuisances of investigative journalism, it is unacceptable. When we listen to their version of the news we expect it to be independent, unbiased and above all not to be selling us a pre-packed junk meal.

On the other hand a personal conversation will never have the finesse of a media statement or a planned debate, A tapped conversation of any of us can be construed in a particular tone to demean a persons image. I want to believe the same in case of Mr. Tata. i have too much respect on his integrity to doubt his intent. Hope in the nd everything turns out well.

Addendum

I know the post is a bit long, but couldn't control my fury and interest on these news.

I will be disappearing from the social networking scene as the year ends. I know it is a good news for all the people suffering from the indignation of reading my posts. But let me assure you the hiatus will not be too long. Hoping to write a farewell before the month ends. Thanks to all my readers for their evaluations, criticism, comments and above all the experience of social networking

No Resolution But some Re-solutions !!

2011-06-16T13:06:00.005+04:00

Its the time of the year when we usually make up the resolutions, that we expect to fullfill in the coming year. Its the time when we look at last years promises aand its shortfalls and end up expecting a better year to come I have decided to differ this year,not that i have no resolutions left , its just that this year deserves better. Not promises for time to come, not repentance for a year gone or expectations for the future.

The arm chair reformer and social observer in me has decided to go a mile ahead. I have decided to chart out some possible solutions/recommendations for some of the problems perturbing me for sometime. I know many of you will close this page if you know what is to come, pondering about the relevance of this content. Iam not trying to be a disgruntled idealist who is venting out his frustrations on the apathy in the society. What Iam going to share is basic things, some of which are already in practice but needs some changes. So these are inspired solutions which can be easily implemented. I cannot promise it can change a lot but it will be a good step forward.

This information is already available and accessible to the general public but rarely scrutinized or published dude to the kind of muck it will expose. I had the chance to run through an annual report posted by Mr. Shashi Tharoor for one year of his role as an MP to Thiruvanthauram ( The original diplomatic prodigy, apparently the report he wrote on Indian foreign policy for his post graduation in his early 20's was used as study material for the Indian IFS officers for last three decades, pure genius) The report was very comprehensive, every initiative taken, every penny spend in the last one year. It also had a special mention that he spend his entire allocation (a rarity). Such reports should be made mandatory, should be published debated and discussed. What gets measured gets improved. It will help us to identify our shortfalls and provide solutions. It is a simple proposition, no rocket science, just an RTI made mandatory and evaluated.

Mandatory Annual Report for Member of Parliaments and other Houes of representative

Call Back- This is system where an elected representative can be withdrawn if his performance is not up to the mark or meet minimum standards. This is being practiced in matured democracies like Switzerland (Direct Democracy). In order to avoid frivolous and vexatious initiatives, a minimum representation of 40-50 % of the electoral of the constituency should express their opinion through a referendum. This will make our representatives more accountable and responsible, rather than waste their time on unnecessary activities. The parties will yield better candidates in the future too.

Mandatory Asset Disclosure Annually

Since the majority of corruption is visible from the pubic sector, all citizens enlisting in government employment should disclose their assets and also all tangible assets belonging to spouses, close relative etc. This should be a compulsory procedure and and repeated every year, any windfall gains or additional incomes should be updated. A watered down version is already in practice but should be made mandatory and fool proof. The people who cheat the system are not from outer space a fool proof system can ensure transparency. I wouldn't deny the aspect of Binami transactions, but to a large extend it will become difficult to hide.

Have some more suggestions in my mind, but due to time, constraints and considering the festivities around, dont want to bore you a lot. So till then let me bid adieu. Hope to write a sequel to it if the response is good.

OK on a more Jovial Note, Resolutions for 2011

I hope run a Marathon (Yes A full Marathon)

I plan to read more and more and more

Hopefully talk lesser ( silence is truly golden)

Write more (hopefully better)

Thats too much for now

168 Hours Bygone

2010-11-10T10:40:00.004+04:00

Yes the title is inspired by Danny Boyle's 127 hours. It was an eventful week indeed with the second most powerful mans visit ( not 1st any more as its taken by Hu Jintao Chinese President ), spate of resignations, dismissals etc.

He came, He saw and HE definitely conquered the imagination of a nation for an entire week. The media did an exhaustive coverage beginning from the touch down to the movement he left Indian soil. It was followed with the usual bickering on Michelle's clothes, shopping basket, the food they ate, the comments they made and what not. Everybody got their share of the limelight from the school kids to the Bollywood, to the Indian Industry's Big wigs. Amir Khan was complimented on the roles he played, on how they danced to one of his popular tunes, the president was complimented on the equine beauties at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

The speech given at the Parliament was a master piece in itself, he made it a point to touch all our weaknesses, we wanted to be praised and he gave it in truck loads. Gandhi, Ambedkar, Tagore, Zero, Pakistan's animosity, Our aspirations for the UNSC seat, Our ambition as a global Power. It came with the usual attempts to speak Hindi, dollops of praises for our social welfare schemes, our democracy's vibrancy. It almost felt like we have emerged over night ( from emerging), like nothing is impossible for us as a nation.

Lets keep aside all the superficial multifaceted PR stunts. What are the larger implications for India ? For this we have to see Obama as a wounded Lion, loosing legitimacy at his home ground, feeling the heat of a resurgent Dragon at its door step, need for financial stimulus, his need for job generation in the domestic market and above all the need to resurrect the fading image of America as the legitimate super power. Obama is a smart politician and a smarter statesman. He has given us so many promises but nothing as a concrete contribution to the country. A promise on support to UNSC seat, which is useless with a unanimous support from the other big 4, condemning Pakistan is of no value unless they act on his words, and as he mentioned the role of an emerged power comes with more responsibility ( sounded so much like copied from spider man heheh ).

His suggestion that we have to condemn bankrupt military rules like the one in Myanmar is a double edged sword, we have cultivated Myanmar as an ally with lot of effort and investment and if we condemn them they will side with China increasing our trouble in the north east. This is when america is known for its backing to many infamous demagogic rulers like Saddam Hussain ( during his ethnic cleansing time). I do not support The junta in any way, but a more diplomatic intervention to restore democracy would be in the interest of India.

Let us not succumb to the hegemonic overtures of America and distance our geo politically strategic ally. We do need an American backing to stand up to the Dragon's might, we need them for more acceptability among our eastern peers. He came here for the money and he has got more than what he expected, billions of dollars of orders in military, aviation, power generation etc. We have got nothing but a sense of well being and bucket loads of compliments.

Post Script

UPA's initiative to sack Kalmadi and remove Ashok Chavan was a welcome effort but as the big fish Mr. A Raja ( who has apparently cost the exchequer 1.76 lakh crore !!! in lost revenue) who is equally condemned by the CAG, the supreme court and his colleagues is still in power. the action looks just like a eyewash to distract us from the reality.

Ramblings !!

2010-10-27T09:53:00.004+04:00

I have lot of things in mind to write, but yet undecided about this perturbing thoughts. Should i call it ramblings of a hypocrite, concern of a citizen or still indifference to the indifference of the majority ?

Paul the octopus is no more with us, now we don't have the psychic prowess of an amphibian to guide us in the future. He could have helped in the impending crisis in Karnataka, the upheaval in Kashmir or even on how much money was misappropriated at the CWG.

I have always felt pride about my years spent in the IT hub of India, the pleasant, beautiful Bangalore. Been proud to say that i studied in Bangalore, proud about the integrity of business leaders like Narayanmurthy and Azim Premji, always associated the state with positive things. But now off late things have been going bad in fact worse than ever. The political scenario in the state has been going from bad to worse, rivaling the hooligans in UP and Bihar. The corruption has redefined the idea of corruption. the politicians have touched a new low where you cant trust anybody. The question is does the people in Karnataka deserve such a leadership, can we leave the future of Bangalore in the hands of these so called leaders. The IT capital definitely deserves better.

Now something that disturbs me more is the looming case of sedition against Arundathi Roy. One of the most fundamental aspect to the Indian democracy is our freedom to speech and the freedom of expression. This freedom entitles an individual the right to speak his/her mind even if the notion is not palpable to the majority. Voltaire said it so rightly and this is something we have to abide by now "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it"

the majority who criticize her have not read a single word written by her. Her opinions are based on facts and figures, conclusions come from the result of lot of exposure travelling and experience. Why do people have to always go with the media version. Try to form an informed opinion based on personal observations. Don't let the idiot box guide your thoughts. If you can be told what you can see and read then it follows that you can be told what to think and say !!.

The majority need not be always right, the thundering applause may not be always just it might silence the truth but not forever. We need people like A Roy forming our civil society, giving an alternative opinion or we will have to witness the arrogance of the ruling class. Unquestionable power is very dangerous too. History can give us good lessons on that.

I know just like my thoughts the post too is disoriented, just venting out my fury at the world. Reminds me of another Voltaire quote " common sense is not so common " . I will end this post with one of my favorite quote

"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget." — Arundhati Roy

How i Lost it, Keep Loosing it and More !!

2010-10-05T19:48:00.002+04:00

I have been pondering for long on whether to write this post, will i sound preposterously arrogant, as an obsessive narcissist or worse will i sound like yet another among the endless true stories published by the billion dollar weight loss industry. Then i thought about the pros, cons, implications, impact on my so called virtual image hehehe and finally decided ,heck i dont give a damn what u think about this. A decisive factor, was a friendly advice given by a good friend, when u have the opportunity to flaunt or boast dont miss it, because they rarely do come. So no more bull shit, here it is, How i lost 20 Kg in 4 Months ?

Disclaimer
Its odd to start a post with disclaimers, but then

This post will not end with a hyperlink to a dummy site asking you for your credit card details to get the magic ingredient.
I have not engaged in any invasive surgeries or used the assistance of weight loss drugs.
Iam not, and i reiterate iam not, going to put up before and after photos hehe
I do not intend to sound arrogant or snobbish, if i do it was truly unintentional

Weight loss is something close to most of us, either we are fat, we have friends who are obscenely fat, relatives, family members, iam very sure everyone of you have someone close to you who is suffering from this problem. The issue is more serious than we think, it is one of the major reasons for most of the health issues surrounding. I go to an extreme extend by believing that, there is a big conspiracy theory, involving, the fast food industry, the health care industry and the weight loss industry, its their bread, butter, butter chicken and more.

My fascination and battle with weight loss is pretty old, for some of you who have been reading my blog, i keep mentioning it in my new year resolutions year after year. I had reached a point where my weight was my identity, my strength and my weakness. I have tried to loose it before, failed, retried, failed again. It was a vicious cirlce, a new diet, a new exercise regime, a new surrender and more weight to add on.

I used to boast to people that see the day i really truly decide to loose this, i will loose it. Even though it was a half hearted challenge, somewhere deep inside i believed i could do it ( clique). I started by reading blogs, searching on google " how to loose weight", "couch to 5K" etc. Then came across the book 'Don't lose your mind, lose your weight' by Rujuta Diwekar ( not endorsing her), it busted a lot of myths on weight loss, gave a more rational, realistic look at it. Try reading it, could help you.

Then just like in the movies and books one fine day i decided, Ok thats it this has to end here. Precisely first week of June 2010 ( i know i sound like Subodh in dil Chahtha hai hehehe ). I joined a gym, took a 3 month package ( have had terrible experiences with 1 Year Membership), treading the path carefully and rationally. Told my instructor about my plan, he had this sly sarcastic smile, one more bakra this month heheh.

I have done only few things, but i have done it consistently, very religiously and put all my heart and soul into it. I started using the treadmill, and the cross trainer, starting slowly and increased the levels consistently. I have not used any other machines, no ab crunchers, no dumbbells etc. I did the stair climbing exercise ( we had a 10 step stairs, leading to the exit, did 10 reps up and down on it everyday), did the jumping exercise ( yes the one we used to do early mornings in school PT, started with 3 sets of 30 and progressed to sets of 100 ). This is it nothing more nothing less, i did this everyday 6 days a week for 4 months, yes iam 100 % sure i havent missed a day. On the treadmill and cross trainer i progressed to do a combined 6 Km per day by the third month.

So you might be assuming, i did nothing about my obsessive eating disorders, no weight loss is complete without controlling, reshaping your diet. For all the people who know how badly food is my weakness, how some of us get up in the morning and ponder about the days dinner plan heheh. How food has become a hobby, a stress buster, a celebratory event, a get together agenda and more. Many of us have eaten what an average man eats in 2 life times, we would have eaten enough chicken to be listed as a Hitler, responsible for mass genocide among the chicken world. I have done it all, the quintessential carnivore, have eaten multiple types of meat in the same sitting, gulped it down with sugary aerated drinks, finished the deal with a hot molten chocolate and more. We have eaten as a competition challenging who'll eat more ( i remember maxing a KFC unlimited meal to the extend that the waiter was apprehensive to come towards our side) ( have been cruelly denied the umpteenth helping in the so called unlimited Buffets)

So what did i do about it, i reshaped my attitude, outlook towards food, i changed it from gluttony to subsistence, from bloating myself to immobility to eating enough to survive. Realised the fact that even if the food is free, my body is mine heheh. Changed my attitude fro " Living to eat to Eating to live" i know it sounds absurd and unrealistic, but i realised if i go like this i will have to stop doing this some day, why not today ? For the first two months i shifted to a minimal non veg (if any only in curries, tandoori etc, no oil fried), completes abstinence from all aerated drinks, chocolates, needless snacks etc. All of a sudden i had a deep void in my life, so much more extra time hehe. I realised how a spend a good part of my day on food ( eating, thinking, planning, criticising, praising, advising, recommending and more). After the second month when i started seeing progress i allowed myself complimentary treats of occasional Pepsi, or a bar of chocolate,an ice cream etc.

Now i eat only if i have to eat, if i see a tempting spread i remind myself " i have seen it all, i have eaten it all, whats the fun in it, i have eaten enough for couple of life times". I dont clear out the plates and dishes sympathising about wasted food ( better option order or take helpings more judiciously). If i have eaten more during lunch, i skip the dinner with just a juice, fruits or salad. If i foresee an impending showdown for dinner i eat less the other meals. Another useful tip that has helped me is drinking 2 glasses of water before and after the meal, will fill up your stomach faster, another one i haven't mastered but has a lasting impact is eating dinner before 7 try it, really helps ( will feel difficult for the first few days).

Above all these meticulous actions, your heart and spirit plays an important role, i quote from the alchemist " If you really desire something with all your heart, the whole world will conspire with you to get it" believe this, its not a clique, its not something you should neglect. Think about it every moment, I will loose it, i will loose all this flab, this belly ( CPWD-continuous pregnancy without delivery, for guys only heheeh). Think about all the moments you have been ridiculed, been teased, been left out, been told that we dont have your size. Pick out a set of the best insults you have experienced, relish it, relive it, it helps, it is a big motivating force. Think about all those good clothes you want to fit into, how you want to flaunt the stylish leather belt hidden under your belly hehehe.

Loosing weight is more than loosing weight, its about regaining confidence, about reshaping your image. Its about more life, more time, more of everything. I know the post is a bit too long from my usual ones, given a choice i could write a book on it. I have actually lost 22 kg ( wont mention before and after weights), lost almost 6 inches (15 cms) of my trouser size, shifted from XXL to L in shirt size.

You dont need branded weight loss clinics or expensive drugs or invasive bariatric surgery or liposuction to loose weight. Its there in you you just have to find it, its your attitude. My journey is not over yet, it never will be too, i plan to loose another 6-7 kgs more, hope i succeed. Even if i gain back to my previous self, this will remain as a testimony to my journey to weight loss.
Do comment, do read, do share it with others to whom it might help, do tag and tell them how someone you know did it. ( my success has actually influenced people to start afresh in their war against the bulge). I was even planning on what i will write in a post if i succeeded,Do write to me if you need to know more.

Common Wealth Games: Playing Games with Common Man's Wealth !

2010-08-30T16:23:00.004+04:00

Corruption has become a part of our lives, we have started accepting it as a necessity like food and shelter. The latest scam to be unearthed is the one to deal with the upcoming common wealth games, everyone has accepted that the process was corrupt, the only argument is to ascertain the amount. Speculations vary from 40,000 Crore to 100,000 Crore + , the peculiar thing is that every new scam has the ability to out do the previous one, we forgive and forget the previous hungama like it was nothing compared to the latest one.

Chetan Bhagat in his recent column in a popular newspaper aptly compared an Indian citizen to a battered wife who is expected to hide her bruises and praise her husband ( in this case the games organisers). Look at all the recent scams, The Spectrum Scam, The CWG Scam, The Arunachal PDS Scam, The Sukna Land Scam etc. the list can go on and on. We have become mute spectators to a game played with our money and where we always end up the loser's.

Another aspect to the whole CWG issue is that whether we need such a sporting extravaganza in dire times of fiscal prudence, when more than half our populace is going to the bed with an empty stomach. It is just a tamasha organised for the Middle class by the organisers which is yet another opportunity for them to steal money. In the name of the Games a major part of the capital has been dug up and disfigured which doesn't looks like to be fixed any time soon.

Lets get our priorities right why do we need such colossal events when we haven't even made an effort to develop world class athletes ( 1 or 2 medals in an Olympics from a Billion Plus cannot be considered) . Let us emulate China in this case, they had boycotted from international sporting events for decades till they developed world class athletes. And what about all our deficiencies in the development front lets get those fixed first before such circuses.

We have started accepting corruption as a structural fault like some cheap Chinese watch which will stop working, or a loaf of bread that will expire in few days. If money is involved corruption has to be there too. It is our mistake to expect otherwise, we don't expect men with integrity exist or even if they do they are a paradox in the society. From the police constable on the road to the our sacrosanct judiciary, everyone is alleged of corruption.

Even our cinema has stopped depicting straightforward heroes, the new hero is the one who is able to manipulate the system to his favour, not one who challenges it. Recently came across a Telugu Movie called " Leader" which was different from the stereotypical ones (take alook at it ).
So what will happen to the games, we will have to wait and watch. But a statement made by Mani SHankar Iyer could give you a hint of the things to come " India is the only country where you find an international airport is build for 9,000 Crores and you find the ceiling leaking" .
One thing is sure and predictable we will have bigger scams and more hullaboo, we are definitely being regularly entertained what if it is at our own cost ?

Do We Need the Civilian Nuclear Deal ?

2010-08-24T16:57:00.005+04:00

What is the big fuss about the civil nuclear agreement and the nuclear liability bill. Do we really need this with such a huge risk of possible nuclear accidents and shortage of nuclear fuel. The sad thing is that we badly need this deal at any cost or we will be in big trouble in 2-3 decades.

In a country that is growing to be an economic super power, competing with world powers in technology and services, electricity is as important as water or the air we breath. Lets not forget about the burgeoning middle class and the farm sector dependent on pump wells. There re states in our country having 18-20 hours of power cut, or its easier to say 4-6 hours of availability.

Quick Facts

Current Power Generation - 165,000 MW

Current source of Energy- Thermal (coal) 70 %, Hydro- 15 % , Others - 15 %

Total Potential of Hydro - 145000 MW

Estimated life span of Coal Reserves - 30 years ( as per Geological survey)

Projected energy Requirement (2030-31) - 800,000 MW

We have been able to generate only 165,000 MW in the last sixty years and that too heavily depending on the thermal power plants which is running on depleting source of fuel. At this rate we will be able to generate thermal energy only for the next three decades. So the government is telling us we need the nuclear deal but what it is not telling us is the power vacuum that we are going to experience in a few decades.

In order to ensure our energy security and a shift from the undependable thermal power production we need the international technology and support in the nuclear power sector. If we start now we can have a healthy shift in our power structure by 2050 !!. That doesn't mean we have to blindly accept any clause that jeopardize our population. We do not want to experience multiple Bhopal fiasco's anymore.

Clubbed with this is our inefficiency in processing and distribution, we have an abysmal 30% pilferage of power unheard of anywhere else in the world. And to add to the mess, the opportunistic politician who promises to give free power to farmers once he wins. The logical question is How can you give something free that you do not get for free. Along with the nuclear power generation what we need more is effective power distribution and a disciplined approach to power consumption.

Pax Indica - The Resurgence of An Economic Might

2010-08-04T15:03:00.002+04:00

It might sound like a folk lore now when we hear about India's glorious past and in particular the economic might it commanded over the world. It is believed that in early 18th century and 17th century India accounted for nearly 35% of the world GDP much more than the substantial 16% America accounts for today. Volumes have been written about our wealth and some historical travelers compared it to the legendary eldorado.

From our glorious past we were subjected to a sequence of incomparable exploitation. When our wealth, pride and glory was systematically eroded and fed to the colonial masters. The colonial rule acted as a sponge draining all our wealth from the Ganga and depositing on the banks of Thames. We had centuries of exploitative regimes which plundered us and left us in abject poverty. An imperial dominant fought wars and expanded colonies world over with our wealth.

The first four decades of our independence was subjected to a controlled regime of economic socialism, when our erstwhile rulers were drawn to the glamour of pro USSR economic models of developments. We improvised by gifting the world with the five year plan model of planned controlled development. We concentrated so much on heavy industries, big dams etc. and left out vital needs like infrastructure, inclusive growth strategies eradicating poverty, unemployment etc.

When our economy was on the verge of collapse due to trade imbalances, short lived unplanned economic endeavors, we were forced to open up our economy under the legendary stewardship of Mr. Manmohan Singh. The irony is that the socialist china had opened it's market to foreign players two decades prior to us, for them the colour of the cat was not important, only whether it catches the mouse made sense.

the last two decades of economic independence ( i would call 1991 was our economic independence from an authoritative state control) have shown wonders in our country. Unlike the other doom mongers ridiculing all things associated with new economic policy, i would call it as a big step forward. the progress that we have made in major social indicators like poverty, literacy, IMR, MMR etc have been majorly influenced by this open up.

The last 2 years have been the most glorious so far in our economic history. When the world economies tumbled like a house of play cards, we stood our ground and graciously grew at a remarkably robust 7 % averagely. When the economic superpowers were shocked with the onslaught of never ending economic crisis, we were comfortably advocating and implementing ground breaking welfare policies like NREGA, Right to food bill etc.

The British are rightly justified in discontinuing the yearly economic assistance provided to us on the ground that a country embarking on ultra modern space missions and touted as the largest consumer of weaponry no longer needs assistance. I consider this as a gesture of acceptance. on rising to the global platform of economic super powers.

To add more glory to our prominence our supremo is being respected world over for his economic acumen, his fiscal prudence and above all the grace with which he handles himself. An amusing anecdote mentions an international journalist comparing his knowledge on economics with the rest of the leaders combined at the G20 and still he would outsmart them by far. And recently when Obama mentioned that " when Manmohan sing Speaks the whole world listens" it was a moment of pride for the entire nation.

Our mighty corporate behemoths comparable in power and size to any global giants have been on a shopping spree off late. Acquiring whatever was on sale, i would call is a case of reverse imperialism. Ironically our historical exploiter the English East India Company was recently acquired by an Indian. The popular attitude among our corporates has been, "name your price we will buy it " for some time now.

Economic crisis can have such adverse affects that countries like Britain resorting to extreme acts of diplomatic sycophancy to improve bilateral relationships. What else would you call the recent visit of a British premier. I think we have to get used to this adulation, this constant recognition as a shrewd and prudent economic power house.

And finally with a new global symbol to our national currency to enter the elite club of Dollar, Pound, Euro and Yen. We have given a face to our might, a voice to our hopes and an identity to the billion dreams in our nation.

Tc

addendum: i know it was too much in favor of the brighter side of life ignoring all that is wrong in our country, next post will be dedicated to the darker side of the story.

Cutting off Hands / Honour killing What is happening ?

2010-07-11T16:44:00.011+04:00

Before its too late to comment, before it becomes too common to notice, and before we become too indifferent to this gruesome brutality let me voice my views. First i thought why should i even bother to comment on whats happening, but what hppens if all of us keep quiet ? what happens if no one is bothered ? EDdmund bruke the Noted statesman once said " All that is necessary for triumph of evil is for good man to do nothing " , this wouldn't sound more apt any other day. Iam not advocating my righteousness out here, iam bringing your attention to the lawlessness in the society.

The news of the public amputation of the professors hand was a shocker, how can this be happening in our state where there is a relatively higher sense of morality than any other place in India. I agree to the fact that the protaganist out here had committed a grevious crime by hurting the sentiments of a religions pious followers, but the concerned authority had acted very appropriately and criminal investigations was proceeding against him. No justification can be given to the assailants for doing such a henious act, we have a very commendable system of jurisprudence present in our country, we do not live in a jungle, here in this modern society what prevails is principles of natural justice.

By the acts of the sparingly few fanatics the whole community is getting condemned . The only silver lining out here is the solidarity with which the civilised community reacted by standing strongly against it. The majority still has its conscience intact.Fanaticsm or violence under the banner of any organised ideology should not be tolerated under any circumstances.

We dont want to be talibanised or dictated on morality. Its not only the extremism down south that is disturbing. The exessive morality imposed on the name of honour is quite appalling. Whose honour are you protecting by slaughtering your loved ones and in front of whom ? The judgements of these pseudo self righteous guardians of social moral sounds quiet amusing. And the fact that there are people adhering to such archaic senseless laws and customs even today is even more surprising .

Out of pure curiosity i had delved into the history of this controversy, in ancient India where discrete polygamy was widely practised and villagers went out for trade and commerce into far off villages for months together, there was a risk of cross sibling nuptials taking place. The father could be absent to stop such a disastrous thing to happen, so a law was adopted by the dominant banning intra village marriages. Another version says that it was brought out to limit the dilution of lineage and even to avoid pilferage of community wealth into outsiders hands. These circumstances are irrelevant today.

We had outrageous social customs like sati and child marriage practised in India even till the begining of the last century. It was a socailly accepted practise and highly in practise in many parts, but it was not right and our policy makers had the audacity to abolish it from our society, today we are daunted by a similiar evil. Have you ever wondered why men were not forced to jumb into the pyre of his wife upon her death, because as usual the customs were evolved by the dominant oppressive patriarchy.

It feels like we are deteriorating as human beings day by day, enforcing jungle justice in day to day lives. More than the cruelty of this miniscule minority, it is the acquiescence of the majority to such practices that is disturbing. How many hands will be amputated, how many innocent youth will be lynched to death before the society will wake up. Lets hope that we will not fall pray to their evil plot and live long enough to see a just and tolerant society.

Do Women Really get turned on by Axe Effect ?

2010-06-30T16:06:00.003+04:00

Prior Script

Ages have passed since i have posted something on this portal, yes iam alive and kicking, yes i still look forward to blogging and yes definitely expect your honest reviews on it.

Off late i have been bugges by all the deodrant advertisemnts portrayng women as someone who runs behind fragrance and subjected to unlimited versions of lustful beings turned out to an outright raunchy mode on being exposed to certain peculiar smells. The versions have become so monotonous and predictive that everytime a model opens a deodrant bottle to spray you can expect women coming through the roof, door, walls and god knows where else, or undressing to continous bouts of spraying.

It was quite amusing initially and actually compelling to see the pied piper version of axe effect with an entire town of women following suit to his odour. It was also ok when they came up with multiple versions but quite amusing versions and i felt the choclate boy was also interesting . But it is not ok to see every tom dick and harry emulating their concept on and on and on without making any considerablealterations to the theme and even the basic structure. Cant people come up with any original idea in this regard.

From here we go to the original story " Do women really get tuned on by the axe effect ?" . I feel for all those millions of mislead consumers expecting to get a wink or smile from the girl sitting next to him on exposing his perfumed armpits. This is against the rationality of human conscience we are not living an utopic world where lust can be turned on with a switch. Rather studies have proven that women are attracted to pheromones given out by mans glands are attractive in nature to women.

No iam not advocating all men to quit deodrants, it will definitely be a more difficult world to live then. But wake up to the reality dont be so gullible that any PR team can take advantage of your basic instincts. And women for a change i think you can stop protesting on all the gender discriminations and question the pathetic portrayl of women in deodrant advertisements. You can do better than running behind men like he is the last man alive. Raise your voices against being comodified to the extend of a foot massager or a sauna belt you are more than that to humanity.

I know there are people who dont agree with me on this, people who think why do you give a damn? people who think as long as they show super sexy models in skinpy clothes and women ready to flaunt their clevages on a flick of a coin whats bothering me. Whats bothering me isan entire generation growing up with false ludicrous assumbtions of reality, on turning out to be gullible idiots worsening the extend of consumerism.

Do comment your views on this , if any or else create one make a stand.

I Me Myself

2010-03-21T21:43:00.002+04:00

I look myself in a mirror
Unmoved careless he stands
He stands in the midst of all this chaos
Like he doesn’t give a damn

There in the midst of maddening crowd
I stand, i stand lost and confused
The whole world is moving ahead
And yet i stand even without care

The days dawn to dusk as usual
As usual they are again ordinary
Iam living a life without a change
It looks like any other ordinary life

Tomorrow it’s yet another day like today
And when it’s over i will still be the same
My agony my pain will still have its pang
And when it’s over ill still crib about the same

I will still hope for a better day tomorrow
For every mundane day that passes by me
I will still hope for better days and nights
Coz i can hope only till when it’s all the same

-acp

Kerala Consumed 2 Billion $ of Alcohol in 2009 !!!

2010-02-02T21:11:00.004+04:00

Yes it is true the people of kerala has consumed 2 Billion Dollars or more of alcohol in 2009. This is a staggering achievement by any means. We should pat ourselves in the back for arriving at such an interesting figure. The official sales by the beverages corporation ( State Supplier? organised Sector ) put the sales at 4500 crores and this does not include the major chunk of supply by the unorganised sector which includes hotels, restaurants, Bar's, the toddy shops, the arrack shops, military quota hehehe and more. if you consider these outlets it could contribute to nothing less than double the sales of the organised sector, for a comfortable analysis lets give them an equal share so the total sales can amount to 9-10,000 crores.

If you go in detail about the figure, the population, the demographic breakup and all the figure can be quiet revealing. Out of the 30 million population of the state more than half are women ( the only state in the country to have a favorable social indicator) so we have roughly 15 million men ( not that all women are teetotaller) and if you look at children below 15 and men above 65 ( assuming they consume less or totally abstain from it) lets assume them to be 3 million. So lets assume out of this around 5 million people are alcoholic or at least consume on social occasion. So the 2 billion worth of alcohol is consumed by 5 million people .

That gives us a figure of 400 $ worth of alcohol consumption i.e. per capita consumption of alcohol at 400$. This you should consider in a state with per capita income less than 300 $. This is really alarming to say the least. In terms of our ranking we stand first in the country in terms of alcohol consumption even beating the party manic Punjabis. We have clearly outdone everyone by far now.

Alcohol consumption has become a necessity for most of the customers like a social addiction that cannot be stalled. There is an anecdote of how a great leader was suggested by his advisory to ban smoking and drinking in his country and after great thought the leader asked him " if you can find me another activity that generates as much revenue for the state, i will immediately oblige to your wish ". SO it has become more of a necessary evil for the state to sustain its developmental activities. For some states like Punjab 1/3 of its revenue is collected from alcohol sales.

It has become a necessity for the youth to consume, to belong to a certain group, peer pressure etc. In certain group it has become difficult to disclose you don't drink rather than the other way around. People have started assuming and taking for granted such habits in us. The social stigma that was associated to drinking earlier in conservative communities like Muslims have started shifting. We have started recognizing the fact that someone cannot be considered alcoholic if he consumes on selective social occasions.

This has become a social epidemic to say the least ( i know some of you will be grinning now hehehe) and something has to be definitely done to contain this or we will end up like Yemen addicted to qat leaves which has lead to an idle population and a looming water crisis. We have to organize community awareness programs and do social advertising campaigns curtailing the enigma attached with alcohol consumption.

tc

How We Look Different From Our Photos !!!

2010-01-27T09:58:00.007+04:00

Iam sure iam not the first one notice this, many of you might have had this odd feeling too. I was inspired to do this post by seeing an original photo of Ambedkar on the latest Outlook edition. The photo looks so different from the popular representation in hoardings and paintings. In them he looks more like Mamooty (southern Super star), may be because he has made an attempt to portray him in a movie.

This kept me thinking and i started researching on various other popular figures, the results are truly shocking a majority have been altered to form an entirely different image. Don't take my comments on face value, try looking through images 50 years before and the ones circulating now.I think this has a lot to do with the emergence of photo shop editing, beautification relevant now. Are we so conceited to hide our real faces or has the fair and lovely bug caught up on this front too.

Iam not talking about the political figures alone here, try looking at the image you have put as profile pictures on Facebook/Orkut/ and the countless other social networking sites. This cannot be tried by people who have put Shahrukh/ Salman/ Hrithik/ John Abraham etc as display images iam pretty sure they will find no resemblances at all heheh. You will be shocked to find that the best possible images pasted will have only 50-75 % resemblance to your real self. And if it is a bad hair day the chances are even remote.

Recently one of my cousin was asked to give his own photo from a government office because the one given by him (whitened/ spot less/ fault less) image had no resemblance to him heheheh. Most of our images specially the good ones will be at least 2-3 year old, before the additional pounds crept on, before the love handles started bulging heheh.

Who are we trying to fool here, What are we trying to prove here ? Iam not looking at my best today but 1 1/2 year ago i was definitely good looking hehhe. Lets accept it we dont look as good as we expect we are, we are not as smart as we think are and yes the fat guy sitting opposite to you is definitely thinner than you. And the seemingly bald guy across the street has more hair than you hehehehe.Iam sure there wont be changes in photos any time soon. We are as hypocritical as we can be, if Susan Boyle can make a difference we should definitely give reality a shot.

P.S
I look better than my photos, the smile is for real and extra pounds have been added virtually to give a more mature look hehhehehe

Why i Hate Social Networking yet bother to Annoy You !!!

2010-01-12T16:17:00.005+04:00

Here i am shifting between my home pages on face book and orkut, deciding whether the display photo looks as good as i thought it would when i first placed it there. brooding on whether this virtual social networking is getting boring by the day, the alerts that prompted me to eagerly visit these sites have started to become annoying. whats on my mind deserves to stay in my mind, not to be shouted to a bunch of friends who are as jobless as you are.

The photo updates have started becoming typecast, its either a marriage, a recent trip or sometimes scanned images of old escapades. And the endless games which gives you high IQ ratings if it ever was true you wouldn't be sitting and blabbing on. Its as silly as it can to be to be farming virtually bothered about the non existent black sheep that has entered your non existent field. And then we have the fortune cookies and random questions which can make your day ahead more confusing than it already is.

Take your time to browse through your friend list once in a while and look at all the guilt driven acceptances you have had to make, of people who you rarely know, of some who have common friends, some with cheesy display images. If you seriously reconsider you friend list every other year, you will have to remove a quarter of it. And in the midst of all this orkut is trying to be emulate features on facebook, suggesting people you might know just because you have common friends, your neighborhoods are across the street and evn because your birthdays might come on the same day hehehe.

And of the endless new sites trying to get a share of you wasted time, some offering you hug, a pinch and even a slap. Friends unknowingly requesting you earnestly to join this new freebies. Describing their satisfaction and the endless freebies on offer.

I am yet to decide whether to join Twitter, to be bothered by one more set of user name and passwords. I know its the popular thing to be tweeting now, when iam unable to keep up with blogging how can i do justice to micro blogging. Even Shashi Tharoor is in trouble tweeting , so where do we mere mortals stand a chance. I think iam technically handicapped, i cannot configure the GPRS on my phone, yet to come into terms with 3G and unable to handle basic WIFI settings. Is it virtually aceptable to accept these handicaps, will i be sidelined for more aware and able browsers.

So as usual i have done justice to my confusion my hypocrisy. I have bothered you with my gyan, of which you would have been better if not bothered to read this. So why do i keep visiting the so called social networking sites, I Dont Have an Option !!! hehehe

tc

Of All The Things I Have Lost

2009-12-29T18:59:00.001+04:00

Of all the things that i have lost
Its hope that is what i miss the most

Of all the lies i have told you
Its the ones about me i repent

Of all the people i miss
Its you that was dearest to me

Of all the sunrises i have missed
Its the ones i have slept through i regret

Of all the opportunities i have left
Its the life changing ones i shouldn’t have

May be I have
Lost, lied, missed and left

But yet iam here

And iam happy to be alive

Why God's Own Country wont be affected by Recession !!!!

2009-12-12T20:13:00.001+04:00

For those of you who are not aware of the sobriquet Gods own Country, this is the fancy name given to the south Indian State of Kerala for its mind blowing greenery and natural beauty. By demographic, social and ethical indicators this state can be compared to any of the leading European or Western nations. The state has a population of 31 million and land area of 15,000 Sq. Miles. This gives you a brief idea about our destination and chief protagonist.

Now coming to the more important aspect of the topic why god's own country will not be affected by recession. Now iam in a dilemma on the context of the post, should i grind the hidden economist in me and explain the phenomena with some financial indicators and situational analysis or should i try to be candy about the normal practices in the state.

This is a place that works on its own terms which has evolved its own type of economy called the "Kerala Model". The state has had 80 days of harthal in the first six months of last year and generally it is a mood of lax and absence. The industry is generally dominated by agriculture, tourism and fishing in the order of importance. Then there is the most important, silent and turnover intensive segment of real estate. In the real estate market price for the property depends upon various invisible factors which doesn't justify the cost benefit ratio and value of investment.

Another important characteristic and unique aspect for "Kerala model" is the number of non residents from the state (approx. 2.5 million). They are spread mainly across the oil rich sheikdoms specialising in various types of jobs from cafeteria owners to CEO's of billion dollar companies .

As a whole the state receives around 240 Billion INR every year through overseas remittance . This is far more than the states expenditure during the same period. So the kerala economy does not depend on manufacturing, service sector or outsourcing. These are the main sectors which will be affected by the recession. The driving sector of the economy like agriculture will get a boost in this era when primary segments will be boosted, promoted and highly in demand. So on one side the major industry is getting an unexpected boom and inward remittance is far higher than ever thanks to the highly favourable exchange rates.

It is not that jobless gulf dependant malayalees are bothered about recession or job losses. When you have dinars, riyals, dollars and dirhams flowing in and basic services are highly over priced people are not bothered about any global phenomenas. An average hartalee spends only 6-8 hours of working with amble gaps and rest hours. With 5 working days and weekend ceremonies like marriages, receptions, parties etc. etc. people are a happy lot.

The conclusion of this wandering post is that when there is no production why will there be recession. When you already are jobless you cannot risk loosing it. The same hartalees when they become non residents are ready to work 12-15 hour shifts without breaks and holidays. So it is not the inherent characteristic of the average malayalee, it has got something to do with the environment, attitude and political system. The irony is that when the whole world is concerned with layoffs and production cuts Kerala has welcomed the new year with aharthal on the 1st of January.

P.S Sorry for wandering from our topic, it was unintentional, expecting comments and reviews.

ANY RESEMBLANCE OF CHARACTERS OR SITUATIONS IN THE POST TO ANYONE ALIVE OR DEAD IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL. IF ANYTHING SAID OR MEANT IN THE POST HURTS ANY ONES BELIEFS OR FEELINGS IT IS PURELY UNINTENTIONAL AND APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE.

Addendum

This post has been posted on this blog on a previous date and it is being brought back taking into consideration its relevance today and my mounting lethargy which keeps me away from regular blogging.

Ramblings

2009-11-29T20:20:00.002+04:00

The idea of posting in a more organised way has been impending for couple of weeks. The inspirations required for posting new articles have been a lot but the discipline to do that has been nil.

It has been one whole year of blogging as of 15th of November, one whole year of rambling, one year of digesting all this crap. Would like to thank my co authors who have been influenced by occasional bouts of enthusiasm and confused ideas. Thanks to all the search engines who have misled browsers to this portal, all browsers who have taken the effort to spend some time on this site.

It is almost one year since i have posted a testimony of commitments known as resolutions and again it has been an year of failed promises, lost friends, new acquaintances and a whole new perspective towards life.

One year since a set of hooligans had the audacity to attack our national symbols of wealth, prosperity and unity. One year of gratitude to our resilience, unity and our strength to survive, fight and stand up to all the injustice done against us. Hope no bloody new kasabs have the courage to set foot on our mother land again .

One year of facebook, of my courage to stay away from farmville, of orkut trying to improvising competitors features. One year of staying away from twitter and all the new crazy invites that turn up and crowd my inbox. I think things will never change all the annoying people failed promises and endless dreams will remain.

I have led one more year of confused life, have kept up my promise of being the quintessential hypocrite, of accepting all the fallacies of life. Before you people pull your hair and start screaming, let me stop.

tc

Micro Finance for The Indifferent !

2009-10-30T11:18:00.006+04:00

Yes the economic bug has smitten me again. The last time i have written something in this genre had to do with the downfall of neo petroleum economies. And as usual the prediction has gone wrong and the oil rich kingdoms are back to their comfort zones. So why should you take me seriously with this regard ?

Banking is a daily necessity like the air we breath or the food we eat. You could beg to differ and i can keep on arguing on my opinion. But the fact is that it is one think that has been influencing our actions, decisions and even our destiny. So changes in the banking system can evidently bring about changes in our lives.

I have been reading the biography of the Nobel Prize winner Mr. Muhammed Yunus, and i have got an entirely new perspective towards persistence and social entrepreneurship. For the uninitiated he is the father of Micro Finance. He has showed with evident results that we can change the social structure of bonded labour and the destitute through credit. ( the book is a must read, will write a review once iam done through it)

So what is Micro Finance, in a layman's word or through the eyes of the Mango People it can be defined as institutional credit of small amounts without physical collateral and collected back in small negligible installments (Daily, Weekly etc.). It is an anti thesis to conventional banking, where minute loans are detested with the argument that the proposition wont even cover the documentation cost involved, Where you have to prove that you are rich enough to not need a loan to avail the facility you need and Where the reality of the society is totally neglected to service the so called socially and economical advanced class.

This is the true form of banking the society needs, to make a difference to the social structure yet remain profitable and financially viable. The process of raising a loan is a more emotional task than the cumbersome paper works. In the grameen model the proposer has to form a group of five people who act as mutual guarantees instead of the collateral model and the group ha to prove their credit worthiness step by step to ensure that the entire team is eligible for the credit.

The grameen people has been instrumental in elevating poverty, social stigma, improving living conditions and even empowering its customers. Another matter of difference is that the majority of customers of the grameen model are women. This is because women are better to lend (yes) because of their credibility, social conscience and responsible nature.

So what can we learn from the model the poor can be trusted than rich industrialist faking non favorable conditions for defaulting humongous amounts of money. The recovery rate is 98 % compared to some disturbing statistics provided by banks established to promote industry, agriculture and society. We need more Muhammed Yunus in the world to alleviate poverty, bring about social change.

Addendum

In new developments the opportunistic entrepreneurs have evolved micro finance into more commercial models manipulating the need of the people. They sell anything under the sun through the micro finance model, some are good like offering the rural folks with drip irrigation systems, solar lanterns etc. But some have gone one step ahead and disguised to form a new avatar of money lenders promoting materialistic behaviour in the unexplored rural market.

Where Are We Going ?

2009-10-28T11:45:00.004+04:00

Now i know why not many people are consistent in their motives, why it is not always easy to do the easy things. I have come to accept the reality that life is predictable, there are no shortcuts to happiness and above all the easiest and most basic things are the most difficult ones. Don't ask me about the circumstances that has led to such a conclusion.

When i read the book Alchemist for the first time , i wondered what is so special about following your dreams, doesn't everyone already do that, isn't that the purpose of our life. But now i have come to realise that complacency is as much an illusion as any other feeling of self content. We do loose hope, we do compromise, we can even fail and leave behind what was once the only purpose of our lives.

The greatest mystery of life is not how we can succeed but how we can hold our nerves together in times of great stress. How not to step over to the other side can be more demanding than how to remain focused on our dreams.

I know all these sounds crappy but sometimes we sit, we ponder and come up with strange conclusions. Its just that iam going through one of those stages of confusion, when everything puts you in a dilemma, even the fundemental questions of life. What is the purpose of a life ? what is our role ? How we can make a difference ? How not to be forgotten ?

So if you are as enlightened as me, ask yourself these questions, if you are luckier than me in finding an answer do share them with me.

Dasvidaniya

On Rain, Rainy Days and More !!

2009-10-16T10:38:00.004+04:00

The most memorable memories of my motherland has a lot to do with rain, the drizzle, the downpour, the gloomy sky and the intoxicating smell of soil.Like the latest tourism departments promotion, rain is an experience , something to cherish for a long time. Unfortunately the past month monsoon has been on a reluctant mode. The sky has been frowning, acting moody yet denying the much awaited rain.

In my memories related to the school days one of the most memorable one is riding the bicycle through a winding road wearing a rain coat yet drenched in water. I remember a school holiday when the main bridge connecting our town was flooded by a heavy rain. The joy was not in the holiday or the free time but in seeing the bridge flooded, the pillars and the road immersed like a jigsaw puzzle visible here and there.

The same river bed had been left barren in the major part of last decade like a football ground or a plot assigned for sale by real estate agents. Unexpectedly the river flooded once and an opportunistic photographer utilized the snap and sold it with the caption " the dream view of Bharathapuzha"

Another interesting memory is switching our football game into a match of rugby when it rained and the ground became slippery and muddy. The main motive of the game is to slide thought the slippery grass and enjoy the unexpected free falls. One of these days a good friend was tagged as "Faker" (not as in fraud) but someone good at faking movements and tackling. Rugby was an opportunity to get even with your rivals and annoying peers, all you had to do was pass the ball to him while playing and inititate a pile up over him. He is sure to suffer sufficient pain and definitely remember you for a long time.

There are some really mesmerising things to do in a good rainy season. Walk barefoot through the muddy floor, sip a cup of hot tea in the balcony or open veranda with the rain drizzling on your face forced by the wind. Drive with the windows open playing soft music like abnajaa by Euphoria, Pall by KK or the likes of these, drive aimlessly (not recklessly which iam famous for).

Go to the beach and sit on its shores staring aimlessly at the glory and limitless fury the sea holds in its belly. Walk through a paddy field and cross the brooks bare foot across it. Try to get the huge circular palm leaves cap used by the farmers and stand in a heavy down pour, it is a wonderful experience.

Travel in a train sitting on the side doors with the wind blowing a rain drizzling on your face ( be safe and alert). A time to renew friendships, to write poetry (sentences ending with rhyming words written in paragraphs hehe). To huddle in cozy sofa and watch a tear jerker or a cheesy romantic flick. To sleep without knowing whether its day or night listening to the tinkering, splashing, humming sound of the wind and rain. Wake up in a haze and again sleep like there is no tomorrow.The best food to have in the rain spicy hot pani puri or in the home front try apna meen mulakittath and appam a culinary marvel.

"rain like there is no tomorrow, like its going to flood away our lives, let it wash away all our pain and sorrow, let it rain for a better tomorrow "

P.S. This is not a fresh post and the timing is unlikely too, this has been posted elsewhere earlier. The idea of putting it up here has lot to do with the absence of a new post and my increasing lethargy towards writing something new.

chao

How 11 Indians Pulled off The Impossible !! A Book Review:

2009-09-22T18:38:00.004+04:00

Haven't written any review on books so far, this book has been too compelling and the need to write one is very much evident. Some basic Details:

Book: Making Breakthrough Innovations Happen

Author: Porus Munshi

Genre: Business/Innovation/Entrepreneurship

Having read some reviews about the book in some of the regular business magazines, i was too anxious to get the copy. I can give you a brief idea about the content, its about 11 Indians who did the impossible with the same existing resources that we crib about, with the same people whom we call unchangeable etc.

Few of the Case studies which really caught my fancy are

1) Transformation of Surat from the filthiest city into the second cleanest town within two years, reducing the number of malaria deaths from 20,000 t0 0 in just twenty months, a case of miracle urban transformation.

2) Trichy Police implementing Indianised community policing and reducing crime rates by an astounding 60 % and managing a city of 3 million people with 260 constables, a case study on how the police can manage community with friendliness rather than force.

3) How titan beat the Swiss in their on Field of expertise by developing the thinnest watch Titan Edge.

The rest are about ITC, CavinKare Su-kam etc. The book has good flow to it bringing out interesting details and how the same can be used by us in ordinary situation. This is a must read for The few us who still believe we can change, we can make things happen and that nothing is impossible as such.

Do read it, its a must read for anyone who believes in the Indian Superpower of the future.

You are a Mallu If ?

2009-09-19T11:13:00.002+04:00

Putting together some of the common traits bringing together the mallu brotherhood. We might ignore, deny and even get furious about some of these, but forgive me guys truth can be really painful at times. So lets get the list started, if i offend anyone it was truly intentional hehehe, if you got to add more to it please feel free,

Your favorite film star is above 50 and his BMI will be mostly above 25 (over weighed)

Your idea about haute courte could be a glowing white lungi with an eye tingling red shirt.

You are unemployed but lives happily on the stipend send by your uncle who is either in Dubai or Saudi Arabia

Or you are running a home stay on your cousins property who is settled in USA.

You are ready to work 20 hours without a break yet raise the flags if you are asked to work 8 proper hours at home.

You cook all your food with coconut oil and use some of it as a gel supplement on your hair.

You are working in Bangalore, Hyderabad or Chennai and crib about the layman's inefficiency when at home .

If your off road is better than on road even if it is supposed to be tarred pakka roads.

You have just returned from your Diploma course in UK and unwilling to remove the white shoes, shirt inside the t-shirt and above all the fake accent.

Your idea of erotica is on the plumbier side and size zero is an abomination of humanity.

You have a relative or friend in some god forgotten place which people even find it difficult to place on a map.

At your wedding the bride is wearing a ton of gold (or imitation) and the food served is enough to feed an entire town

People laugh at you for your pronunciation yet find your lexicon and vocabulary unmatchable.

You are highly opinionated and find it easy to quote statements and statistics in a flash. (even if they are wrong)

Your mom doesn't know what is vegetarian, she thinks its a variety of fish she can deep fry in coconut oil. (mostly)

You don't mind voting and bringing to power either of the two non performing parties every five years.

The land at the centre of your town is worth more than its weight in gold ( he hehehe)

You are ready to raise the flag in no time if you think the injustice is on you.

Iam running short of ideas, i know iam not even half there and we can be really complicated if you look at it this way. This a post meant to be purely on the lighter side. Like they write before a movie " all characters and situations are fictional, if it resembles reality its truly coincidental ". Please comment and add to this, looking forward to your ideas.

Endless Dreams, Countless Aspirations !!

2009-09-02T12:50:00.004+04:00

I guess i have to start with the statutory explanation on why i have been off from the already rare blogging scene. This time i have no explanations no theories and even short of new excuses, i have been lazy, constantly procrastinating and lack the initiative to post the countless drafts online. If i had been a writer i would call this phase a writers block (stop grinning).

I have been traveling on and off for the last few weeks some on pretext of job, some looking for peace and redemption. What have i attained, nothing in particular but a sense of serene existence. At least in some front things are looking good, i have been able to complete some really compelling non fiction writings. Off late have been developing an affinity towards travelogues detailing adventurous journeys and eye opening conversations. Off the very few people who are compelled by nagging facebook and orkut alerts don't visit these pages for weekly escapades of a wannabee blogger. So whats disturbing me off late, whats the hypocrite in me concerned about.

62 years of independence and where do we stand, what is our testimony to time bygone. I know iam 2 weeks late to make the post look relevant and appropriate, why shout louder and be absorbed in the crowd when you have a chance to howl alone ( i was trying to convince you on my late post). Where have we reached, is the title of being the largest democracy self serving. Can we still call it democracy when the ruling party has just polled 10% of the total votes in the mangled system called coalition governments. Can we still be called democratic when family politics and sycophantic hero worship rule the national front and to a larger extend in some state fronts. Are we secure and safe when we have Maoist uprising in considerable parts of the country.

Its true that the leadership at the helm are experienced with admirable credentials and considerable track records. But don't you think we have reached no where in our path to being a self sustaining developed economy. ( not getting into macro economics) Look at our infrastructure, does it really take so much to have good roads and clean drinking water.
Cant we get it right at least once, remove the gluttonous middle men and do a quality work something which will stand the test of time. Some of our best bridges and remote roads date from the imperial era, even if their intentions were to plunder their means to it were uncorrupted.
We champion NREGA when it should have been implemented 50 years ago in a socialistic ideology dominant government(better late than never)

If you have been noticing how we have been dealing with a terrorist caught on tape brandishing automatic weapons and killing some of our most respected officers, we will understand the need to have a social awakening. No iam not criticizing our last beacon of hope the Judiciary, but isnt it too much to take a year to declare justice for a crime so disturbing questioning our pride. I cant come to terms with people who profess this as an act of civilized justice, it is already so evident about the crime and its perpetrators lets not delay justice anymore. Our press branded it as our 9/11 and yet is this how we deal with something that shook our nations integrity.

I know we have a robustly growing economy in the midst of global meltdown, that our scientists are scheduling a moon trip and the west look at as the elephant rising from a slumber ready to take on the Chinese dragon. We have to do more act faster and implement quicker to win this race, lets not be daunted by the distance and enjoy every moment of this journey.

Jai Hind

Fall of Neo Petroleum Economies

2009-07-03T17:53:00.006+04:00

Every civilization has gone through its peaks and falls, most of the oldest civilizations have become extinct after reaching their pinnacle. Like the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Harappa, Incas, Mayas etc. We have had empires spread over the world reduced to rumbles and ashes. Rulers with control over half the world reduced to unpronounceable names in history books. So where do they go wrong, some lost it all to the power of nature, some lost it to irresponsible incompetent heirs and some even fell to incomprehensible superstitions. But in the flat world it is either the end of world or economic downtroddeness, there cannot be any end to this civilization unless we have a nuclear holocaust or a apocalyptic meteorite attack like the one in Armageddon.

How do economies fall from grace, from their superior wealth and higher standard of living? We have had the mystic Indian Subcontinent which at a time contributed to around 20 % of world GDP reduced to now when we hold just 1%. The Japanese economy in its real estate boom of 90’s had a land value of 4 times equal to the land price of USA. Tokyo city was compared equal in land price to the whole of USA, from there it went bust and millions of people lost billions of dollars and led to the closure of thousands of business houses. The Asian tigers like Taiwan, Korea and Malaysia had their share in the late 90 are when the roller coaster ride controlled by USA lost control and the whole economy fell to its feet.

Now is the time for the neo rich Arab economies gone prosperous by the black gold called crude. It leads to a class of People made rich overnight with least of their effort and maximum external involvement. This lead to irresponsible spending and unavoidable external control on vital national resources. People who have minimal knowledge on how to operate and exploit their natural resources. But fortunately over the years through immense exploitation and unprofitable mutual deal the local populous and a set of technically educated Diaspora of Asian Origin they have gained control of what is left. In the time of their prosperity they have made limited spending on social Infrastructure and communal development leading to the growth of an incompetent new generation. Add to this the rise of extremist Islamic ideology promoting violence and hatred; they are moving into a vulnerable scenario. The easily earned money is spend on gas guzzling SUV’s, over priced foreign acquisitions in non complimentary sectors and companies, unnecessary luxury products etc.

There are basic forces of economy which rule all basic economical activity like demand and supply. If demand exceeds supply, a commodities need and price will rise and vice versa. These basic forces were denied corrective action in time of dire need and this has lead to the fall of certain gulf countries. When land was available in abundance, it was reclaimed from sea in the pretext of providing sea front living. Artificial islands in size bigger than Hongkong and Manhattan were built to attract foreign investors, high risers touching the sky and senseless architectural designs given funding and life to create the ultimate city. There is an old saying which goes like this “slow and steady wins the race” but they were into an anomaly of both with senseless pace and unregulated consistency.

Unless something really happens and the dream is broken everybody fails to notice the warning signals, the unfavourable external debt equity ratio, unrealistic pricing compared to the demand supply ratio. When will we learn to control our growth and regulate sensibly, when will there be a sound mechanism to direct a viable development. From this crisis we have understood that capitalism is not the best possible solution for equitable economic growth, it is not a perfect scenario. I am not a leftist promoting more government involvement and socialistic policies.

The fall of the oil economies is short lived since as long as the middle class is rising and the need for petroleum products is on the rise, they will revive and live another day to commit the same mistakes. The china’s and India’s of the world will provide consistent demand for their natural resources to compete in this new world.

Misselling to The Layman

2009-06-23T10:39:00.003+04:00

The existence of the word misselling is a contradiction, some say it means selling something by describing the wrong attributes, and others say the word doesn’t even exist. So let’s start by defining misselling, i would personally define it as falsely convincing a potential customer about non existent features or by hiding negative side effects.

This post is not an intellectual attempt on dissecting the cons of organized advertising and marketing. There are certain things that we notice everyday yet fail to question. Doctors selling steroids as eco-friendly, healthy medicines. Water filter companies selling inefficient filters with the so called quality certifications which supplements the bad performance. The examples can go on and on.

The reason for writing this post is that, i saw someone wearing the latest collection of a popular men’s wear brand. The dress looked superb on the bollywood hero and even had a touch of class to it, but the same apparel on the layman looked downright ugly. Iam pretty sure this poor guy would have fallen for the ad campaign featuring the dress as a breakthrough, This should also be classified as misselling, these advertisements should come with statutory warnings like the "COSTUME ON DISPLAY LOOKS GOOD ONLY FOR CERTAIN BODY SHAPES AND SKIN COLORS"

These warnings should be legally enforced on all apparels, cosmetics, energy drinks etc. The layman should not be confused between drama, glamour and the actual use of the product. The advertising industry should have the guts to market the product with ordinary man stressing on their product quality rather than the brand ambasssadors financial well being. Only when the product feautures gets highlighted and stands out of the brand endorsers shadow misselling can be stopped.

Atleast only then will i see adults trying to look young in bush shirts made for teenagers. Advertising has become a medium motivated by sex and glamour. What does a scantly clad rusiian women got to do with bathroom sanitaries, it is another thing to use her for a lingerie ad. And the latest trend in advertsing is by exploiting the innocent feautres of a child, it is so evident in telecom, banking, insurance and anything that needs a hidden agenda to sell.

The hypocracy of speculative stock aarket products is so evident in their advertisements where the part with the kid and women is slow and sweet and the part where they say "Mutual funds are subject to market risks........" rushed through like a lightning. Lets open our eyes and see this dram for its true colour and shade.

Unfortunately iam in a very sarcastic and argumentative mood, forgive my prejudice and leftist arguments.

chao

On Blogging, Life and Thereafter !!

2009-06-18T22:45:00.005+04:00

Back to blogging after a long period of absence. Reasons for blogging are many, starving for creative ideas, infective lethargy all around, transitional activities the list can go endless. Moral of the story is that, iam back to blogging with renewed vigor and passion (taking into assumption that some people were reading it occasionally and the content doesn't irritate them to the extend i assume)

So expect more senseless ramblings and meaningless sentences in this new avatar. Expect to read more India centric thoughts, where the author will be looking forward to dissect the existing practices, un evident observations. Looking forward to write on first hand travel experiences in the subcontinent, providing a layman’s view on exploring India. As usual you are welcome to comment, advise, and criticize on any of these posts.

So hurray to more blogging, more life and even more blogging!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Getting back at the Capitalists !!!!!!

2009-06-04T14:49:00.008+04:00

The classification of first world, second world and third world is going to be in an upheaval once the economic meltdown comes to an end. The pride and prestige of modern economies like popular brands, latest technologies and smart brain power will be flowing into the growing economies of India, China and Brazil.

It is quite evident that we are witnessing phenomena of reverse imperialism taking place world over. The old world industrial masters and their expensive toys are in disarray and turmoil. It is not surprising when world over the industrial giants are shrinking and very few economies can boast about single digit growth rates, International brands and giants are up for sale.

So coming back to our topic of reverse imperialism, we are finally able to get back at the hundreds of years financial oppression and looting. We are able to stake our claims at their Kohinoor’s of wealth, we have been able to acquire giants like Jaguar and Land Rover, China is in the process of buying Hummer, what next. World over there is a stigma towards Chinese and to some extend even Indian Products. They were considered to be of lower quality and low on the trend index, now this condescending attitude will have to stop.

If the meltdown continues at this rate for few more years, I won’t be surprised to find a Brazilian Ferrari or an Indian Airbus. So where do we go from here, will India become the next global manufacturing hub adding to its profile of a cheap outsourcing destination. And when we are growing and they are shrinking will we be able to get ahead in the market size indexes.

The questions are many and yet we have very few answers, but the one definite outcome is a leveling of snobbish attitudes among the so called developed nations. This phenomenon was a necessity to level the human ego and start a new era of equal opportunities. The WTO should play a more constructive role in the new era and stop policing from mountain tops. We have to accept the fact that capitalism is not all picture perfect and better than the so called evil socialists. We should work towards a more adoptive economic system where the capitalists and socialists have an equal role to play.

When our local small scale industries were quashed by cheaper imports and self employed craftsman were left helpless, the globalization effect didn’t look evil to the capitalist masters. But when the incomparable manufacturing cost and cheap technical skills of our rising economies left hordes of people jobless in the developed world globalization has become evil perpetrators in their demise.

Iam not against the enterprising nature of humanity or the opportunistic ideas evolving world over, but there has to be constructive regulations in every society and the absence of it can lead to very dangerous scenarios. We are at a juncture where we should be responsible enough to mend our established norms and practices. Banking sector should not be lured by gains from ill mannered, short term instruments. They should be ethical enough to disclose all hidden terms and conditions rather than keep the customers in the dark. Lets hope for a brighter tomorrow a new day a new hope.

adios

Some Things You Always Notice

2009-04-09T01:55:00.004+04:00

Sometimes things just happen, It might be out of coincidence, maybe a mere probability of an event happening or even could be out of pure luck too.These event could be day to day happening, or memorable incidents in life or anything for that matter of fact. Some of these are

In a traffic jam the next lane always keeps moving faster than the one you are in.

In a public washroom the person ahead of you always takes more time to wash his hands than you think

The photograph in documents like passport, licence etc. are always your worst ones.

The longer the memory the details get more exaggerated and more unrealistic.

School life/ college life gets more dearer farer from the last year of college.

You always score well in your first game of bowling/snooker.

You always for sure get late to that important meeting which turns out good in the end.

The person whom you least expect to help turns out to be the saviour in the end.

The obscure politician in the middle of a demeaning character attack always turns out to be the winner in the end

The dumb stupid underdog of today mostly end up as the winner of tomorrow

Opinion polls never get it right and still they make so much fuss all over the next year.

The movie with the most hyped trailers and launch pads mostly end up as disasters on screen.

North Korea and Laloo always gets away with all the crap they say, however controversial they are.

You always get up early on weekend's when you are really looking forward to sleep.

The killer deal you got at the discount store is always more expensive than your best friends option.

When the hype sets in and the success becomes evident even the most ardent critic becomes an admirer.

When you want advice people will flood you with options and no body takes your opinion seriously in the best of the times.

In a blog the least interesting post according to the author always become peopular among the readers.

In blogging when you ask for comments nobody obliges and when you want their silence they become the loudest.

When you feel you have lost weight some looser always laughs at you and when you have put on weight the same guy thinks you have lost it.

There are more to these unusual things, i hope i have done Justice to some of them at least, if you feel anything is to be included, please add on.

adios

The Whimpering Women

2009-04-03T03:55:00.002+04:00

The relative who died was just an acquaintance and the visit was just customary. The bereavement and crying siblings had an emotionally distressing effect on me. Why are people born if they have to die some day ? I guess there are larger Truth n the mysteries of life unknown to mankind.

As usual like every time I come from a dead relatives or friends house, I kept wondering how it would be when my time came, who will be there crying for me, will my sons who are abroad able to make it to my burial in time? Why should I have such depressing thoughts when my health is fine. Even the blood test I took today morning had a satisfactory result. The doctor was kind enough to compliment me on my health and how it was better than many of my peers who were on the other side of fifty.

It was already midnight when the news of death came and I was sure I wont be back home for another two or three hours. On the way back I decided to walk from the main road through the paddy field, it was a good decision to take the torch. He would have dropped me to my home if I insisted, but it was already too late and I had already given him enough trouble.
Th junction looked empty and no one would guess how this was a bustling centre a few hours back. The only street light on the road side was flickering and created a eery feeling to the centre.

The car sped away and the red back light vanished around the corner. All of a sudden I felt lonely, not scared, what should I be scared of. I knew the town like the back of my hands, I had spend a good deal of my adult life in these streets and wandering through these now closed shops. I crossed the road and entered the gully that lead to the paddy field. How could everyone sleep so silently, except fro the wind gushing through the trees and leaves everything else was so quiet.

The torch was new, a gift from my youngest son who went abroad recently. The light was strong enough not like the old red torch which was only good for its antiquity. The path that lead down to the paddy field was slippery , I had to be really careful to avoid a fall.

The paddy field looked really beautiful in the half moon lit sky. The rectangular paddy field were surrounded by tall and narrow earth embankments for stopping water seepage and acted as borders of property. As long as I remember these pathways were as narrow and full of weeds, it would have been like this from the very day they were formed.

Our ancient palatial home was a good 15 minutes walk from the main road and it took longer in the night because of the uncertainties involved. Five minutes down the path near the ancient temple and the banyan tree along it, I passed with little faster steps.
It’s just psychological I thought, how can people come up with such spooky stories based on places like these. I tried my best not to recollect the stories said about these places and kept walking. At first it sounded like the wind passing through a crack of wood, then it got louder and clearer.

Yes it was the sound of a weeping women, it was coming from right behind me. It felt like someone was standing at my arms length and weeping into my ears, getting louder by the second. It is true in these instances intuition and inhibitions overcome logic. The adrenaline started pumping and a odd feeling strated building up in my stomach, can it be true, is my mind making me feel this, who can be weeping at this time of the night in the deserted field.
The time was running short, I had to decide something, if I turn back and see something scary that will be my end, I will die of shock.

If I don’t turn I can stay away from what was waiting for me behind. I gathered myself and started running the weeping sound followed me and it was followed by an eery silence. The kind of silence that follows a loud bang or an uncertain noise. The weeping sound turned into whimpers followed b y timely sobs.I kept running for my life , the torch fell from my hand in the panic and all that was left was me, the moonlight and the creepy sound. I don’t know how long the sound followed me, but luckily I made it home through the darkness and horror.

I must have fainted and when I woke up everyone looked worried, the anxiety and fear was evident in their eyes. I couldn't’t gather the words, the mumbling and jabbering made little sense to people around me.In occasional bouts of consciousness I knew that I was bed ridden for a good whole week. The gossip mongers had the time of their life describing the incident in the minutest of details. One thing I didn’t do after that incident was to walk alone through the fields after midnight.

AN ATTEMPT ON FICTION, PLEASE COMMENT

A Movie That Was Never Made

2009-04-02T01:54:00.008+04:00

Yes i have been hit by the movie bug and unfortunately i have decided to write yet another post on movies. To be precise movies that were never made on real life stories. It was by accident that i came across the movie called " The man who knew infinity" based on Ramanujan's life. A man who lived for only 32 years and rewrote laws of mathematics in such a short span of time.

This kept me wondering, have the movie industry prodigies covered everything that could have been ever made. Its true we are able to see a lot of new genre fiction and quality work over the years, Something that really amazed me was the picturisation of "Curious Case of Benjamin Button". Fortunately i have some really good movie buff friends who ensure that quality movies are made available as and when it releases.

Over the last few months, thanks to the increasing spare time available, i have been able to watch some really good movies from international legends like "Citizen Kane" to all time classics like Life is Beautiful, 12 Angry men, Cinema Paridaso and more. Some of you might find these movies to be an achievements of an amateur movie buff, but iam really taking an effort to increase my knowledge in this arena.

No this post is not to brag about my fetish for long forgotten Black and white movies, its about some real life incidents or stories that were never made into movies. There might be several reasons to this, lack of commercial viability, lack of importance or it could even be that the movies were made and i never came across them. If the last one is the case please forgive my ignorance and consider it as yet another blabbering of a wannabe blogger.

The first case which i believe should have been given immortal life through the reels of a movie is a true story adaptation of an ordinary citizen of Hiroshima/Nagasaki's perspective and experience of the only ever nuclear bombing done. Now that evil axis is no more relevant and Japanese people are concentrating more on Technology and development this story is something that should be told.

If Pearl Harbour based on the American oppression could have made such a good plot, undoubtedly Hiroshima can have a lot to tell. It is not the first time a foreign perspective movie was made with foreign actors and made it big in Hollywood, look at the movie "Letters from Iwo Jima". The movie could portray the suffering, trauma and horror of a nuclear attack. It could act as a precedent to any Lunatic tyrant to stop firing the next nuclear arsenal.

I know it will have to show the mighty super power in a negative angle, but history has proven again and again that decision taken by a powerful leader with the interest of the greater common good has not always been just. Lets not get into a proverbial debate on good and evil. What we are looking here is the possibility of bringing justice to all the infinite suffering experienced by ordinary citizen's in Hiroshima. If any of you remember the brief description of the effect of nuclear bombing in our history text books, you could recall the words used there. The eyes melting into the sockets, the skin becoming one with the flesh and the endless brutality and deformations left behind.

For a commercial viability lets bring in a love story and a chance meeting on the D day and the unfortunate survival of a lover (yes inspired by titanic). I do not mean any disrespect to any of the survivors or to the kith and kin of the perished ones. Let this movie be a beacon of hope for the future and stop more injustice from happening. I know the story is too big and practically non feasible to be made into a 2 hour commercial potboiler. The happening's of the day are too cruel and unjust to be encapsulated into a documentary either. But let there be some effort to revive the nuclear holocaust.

P.S please comment on the possibilty of such a movie and other stories that could have made it to the reel. This post is by no means a trifbute to my political inclinations, this is a post on inhuman history and the injustice that followed.

Humor in South Indian Movies

2009-04-01T00:50:00.002+04:00

I was looking forward to April 1st to write something related to the day or an article to fool the readers. But unfortunately i have not been able to come up with any practical joke so far. So as an act of support to the day iam posting a link i cam across the web, check it out very interesting http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/

I have opted to write something very close to my heart, humor in south Indian Movies. I have noticed one thing about differences in south India movies and the magnanimous Bollywood. Humour is a very important part and forms a major content for Kollywood, Mollywood, Tollywood and any other industry that could end with more wood. Many of the more popular stars are really good in humor even if some of them couldn't even make it to the studio compound with their looks.

It is a common practise among the level headed youth in the south to go on and on about some scene in a particular movie. Even the mention of some comedians can bring hysterical responses in many of us. We can go on and on about a seemingly irrelevant scene in an obscure movie just for the sake of the humor. There are people who worship Jagdish, Pappu, Vadivelu, Gounder mani and Vivek for their humor (if you don't know the names, they are comedians in south Indian Movies).

The relevance of humor can be amplified by noticing the number of comedy shows playing 2 minute clips of comedy in different movies. Of late Mollywood has been blessed with its on channel on Humor with continuous telecast of clips and scenes. It has become a routine for an average south Indian to spend an hour or two in the evening on comedy shows to unwind and distress. The impact is really good that it has brought tranquility and peace into so many households. These are some of the few shows families can watch together and relate with each other as well.

The comedy in Tamil is very socially relevant and questions lot of malpractices and superstitions in the society. The pun is so direct and embarrassing that it brings out reforms and changes peoples attitude. Movies are doing more than any other media for social reform and societal development. Even if movies are promoting, crime, smoking and unnecessary luxuries its getting it right with humor for a change.

The quality of humor in the Malayalam movies have been deteriorating over the years and humor is mainly sex oriented or snobbish in nature. But the golden era of 80's and 90's were too good to forget, even the new generation can relate to the humor in those movies. But there are exceptions here too, some people are taking utmost effort to revive the genre. I wont be surprised if one or two generation ahead of mine can relate and laugh at the humor in old movies.

Do you think humor was better a decade ago or now ?

Adios, happy April fools day

Dubai The city of Dreams

2009-03-31T01:10:00.006+04:00

Going through my previous posts, one common thing i have noticed is that i have never given enough justice to Dubai the city where i reside. The Eldorado of South Indian Expatriates, where people come with a hope in their heart to make it big some day. The Dubai where Laborers working for frugal wages and white collar jobs offering exuberant salaries live along the same city.

The city has a charm of its own, the freedom and culture unfounded anywhere in the region. Ability to find affordable lifestyle to extreme Luxury and lavishness. As a member of the Malabari diaspora i feel home here more than anywhere else. If Kerala was allowed to offer a new number plate Dubai would be KL 99 followed by the car number. Its a fact that you can find more Indians in UAE than the National community of Arabs.

Dubai is unique in its own ways, as a transit point for all major destinations in the world, this is the place where you have to be if you want to globe trot occasionally. The cuisines on offer will make any foodie relish the prospect of visiting Dubai and cant ignore the monstrous malls and endless brands on offer.

This is the city that has taught me so many things in such a short span of time. The value of time, friends, relationships and above all the ability to dream big. All the luxuries on display will drive you to work harder and harder to get the irresistible comforts of life. Dubai makes you believe in the possibilities and look at things as what they ought to be not what as they are.

Over the years like every other burgeoning metropolis Dubai has been compating the evils of growth like traffic, inflation and continuous growth pressures. The city has been doing the best it can cope up with the the growing population and its perils, better roads, an ambitious Metro project, modern public transport and the most important one good policing.

This is one place where you can have faith in the justice system and be envious about the way the police treat civilians (our forces should learn something from them). It is a city where women can feel safe enough to roam the streets at midnight without company. The best thing you can learn from the people out here are their modesty and humility in treating people.

No iam not acting like a sycophant cozying up to his object of adoration. Like every other place it has its own short comings too, but when the pros outweighs the cons then a new hope arises there, a model to adopt and a plan to marvel.

I thought it will be good to look at the glass half full for a change, to hope, to nurture, to dream and above all to believe in a better tomorrow.

Salame

What happens if you Dump the Idiot Box ?

2009-03-29T21:39:00.005+04:00

I often wonder when we call the TV an idiot box, is it because it makes an idiot out of us ? or Whether the Idiot in the Phrase is the box itself ? or let me guess is it all those soaps, serials, game shows and noisy news channels the Idiots. As a TV addict myself i know how influensive it can be in the daily routine, all the wasted time, the late night sleeping, the sleepy mornings and above all an information confusion build up over the time. I believe its the most deviating and procrastination inducing device invented by men ever.

So out of curiosity and experimentation one fine day i decided to shelve the TV for some time. YES to remove the TV and disconnect the cable for good for now. The idea has bought a lot of protests, criticism and sympathy (towards someone who is loosing his mind). But painstakingly i stood by my decision and its already two months without it now. I accept the fact that the emptiness was scary initially, all the hubbub, chatter and chaos was missing out of my life.

The ideas behind this action was to spend more time reading, hopefully write more and even to achieve a clear opinion on current affairs outside the normal perceptions. The experiment has been successful in a way, i have already completed a couple of books in the absence of our villain. But the writing part has been lagging behind. I guess God has been answering some of your prayers off late hehehe.

So what do i feel after two months of TVless living? mixed feelings of reclusiveness and boredom. I have started realising to the true extend how much time i have been wasting on TV and how it has become an intrinsic part of day to day living. Its true that absence makes the heart fonder, for a change i miss the confusion and chatter, the documentaries, the talent shows and even some of the tear jerky serials. The most i miss now is the election news, the infighting, the ever changing political scenery and new partnesrships formed by the hour.

Without TV i have discovered more web portals in the last two months than my entire internethood. I have started depending on written content, reading hidden meanings in still photographs and even patient enough to buffer videos one by one. Personal Advice: its worth trying, you might sound more informed than the others as you take the effort to gather news from all other sources and you wont be confused from all those endless perspective from umpteen news channels.

One thing is for sure, you can see that i am really confused and i cant even differentiate between my major arguments out here. Its been a week from my last post and the frequency of posting has come down from one every day to mentally exerting to write one in a week. So whats keeping me busy from writing; absolutely nothing, its pure lethargy and my all time ally procrastination that's slowing me down. I can also include lack of ideas, lack of thought worthy news or even recession to blame. Hope to improve on my writing and post more.
tc

Dream Readers Nightmare

2009-03-21T01:28:00.000+04:00

Away for a week without any posts, don't blame me, iam out of ideas and there isn't any news inspiring enough to write about. So i have decided to go into more personal and ordinary aspects of life. To write about everyday happenings, that does not look interesting to any of us.
I happen to be a good dreamer, not the visionary kind, but a fortunate one with the ones in between long naps and short slumbers. I have had really strange dreams and happen to remember many of them. It is said that dreams are the results of failed hopes and aspirations, visualisations of what could have been or what things could end up to be.

I have had dreams involving famous personalities, businessmen, politicians, writers etc. I tend to discuss them with my unfortunate friends and hence i tend to retain some memory of what little i remember. Of having important one to one meeting with Industrial heavy weights, on giving sensitive political advices to upcoming political leaders. And then i wake up with the feeling of having conquered the world. I have had my share of strange meaningless dreams too, waking up shaken and bewildered out of a nightmare.

If any of you have read about dreams and dreaming you would have come across a phenomena called lucid dreaming, a dream where you can take control of your surroundings. I believe i have had one or two lucid dreams too, where i flew like superman and rescued damsels in distress. The only problem with this fascination with dreams is that you tend to sleep more. Because you can dream only when you sleep, and you try to perfect and improve the visions.

Another regular dream i have is of people running behind me hehehe, i don't know why, it always involves a chase scene with me escaping narrowly. I hope one day science grows up to the challenge and devices ways to record dreams and influence dreaming in a positive therapeutical way. And then there are these erotic dreams with beautiful damsels all over me and unfortunately they dont happen often and i remember very little of them too. hehehe

Eventually i will dream of blogging and writing interesting posts which are read by thousands of eager readers awaiting my every word. hehehhe this looks most likely to happen in my dream only so let it remain so. If anyone can suggest topics that will be really great.

tc

Of Elections, Coalitions, Alliances, and Breakups

2009-03-14T18:58:00.005+04:00

The great Indian elections is around the corner again and the usual drama, mania's, campaign promises etc that follows with it too. Every time an election comes we anticipate, we hope, we pray and as usual most of us become indifferent to what happens and who gets selected to rule us for the next 5 years. Which next alliance under what new 3 letter phrase with which all new best friends will done the cap of the neta and govern our hopes and aspirations.

Something peculiar that i have been noticing off late is very disturbing to our democratic value. The youth of the nation or at least the presumed ones around me have become indifferent to whats happening in the political front. This might be an odd observation in a rather peculiar set of callous and dejected generation. The feeling that comes with the helplessness and disgust towards a badly managed phenomena. Most of them are unaware of the proceedings, the candidates, the partnerships and even the existence of one.

You cant blame them either, you will be too if friends turn foe's overnight, if 10 year old partners revel in verbal accusations and alien self styled rich industrialists turn leaders overnight. When the common man climbing up the political ladder step by step becomes irrelevant and unwelcome in decisive meetings. When promises are never kept and alliances are meant to be broken this is what will happen.

So what do we do? should we stand and watch, keep nagging about their ineptitude and inefficiencies and tilt our hands with helplessness. This reminds me of one of the most inspiring social initiative advertisement in the recent years, the Tata tea, jago India campaign promoting involvement and initiative. The advertisement was really awakening and portrayed the actual behaviour of the indifferent youth. One thing that can liven up your hope is to watch Mani Ratnam's Yuva and see how the new generation can do something about the political drama.

The only thing we can do to change the situation is to get involved with what you detest and do something about it. But again, who has the time, who is bothered or above all why should we shed out of our comfort zones. The future docent look all grim too, even if we have to blame the dynasty syndrome there is an injection of youth or relative young leaders springing up through out the country. Lets hope tomorrow will be good and many of us will get ourselves involved with chaos of politics.

P.S Running short of ideas, coming into the conclusion that boredom is apart of recession and beginning the path to indifference and helplessness. If anyone has any suggestions on topics for a new post do comment and rate my inconsistency.

adios

What's The Time ?

2009-03-10T18:51:00.006+04:00

In ordinary situations this seems to be a very easy question to answer, all you have to do is glance at your wrist watch and proclaim the visible result. But what will you do if you have different time settings in different time display devices. I have at least 9 different places i can look to determine time, no iam not exaggerating the situation and all have entirely diiferent time displayed.

My wrist watch time is 10 minutes fast from the presumed actual time, then the laptop displays the time 45 minutes away from reality (yes 45 minutes, dont ask me why 45), the car LED watch is slow by 10 minutes, then there are clocks displaying 4 different time zones (India, Taiwan, China, USA) in the office. It doesn't stop there either there is another watch in my cabin showing time 15 minutes away and then finally there is the ubiquitous cell phone which has become self sufficient displaying any time that its artificial intelligence assumes suitable for the moment hehehe. Finally there is this watch in my room stuck at 10: 10, i removed the battery one fine day unable to suffer further irritation from the sound of seconds ticking away.

Now why do i have such different time settings living in one time zone all the time. The reasons where very convincing at that point of time, inspired by inspirational speakers on the benefit of setting time ahead of reality, i fell for their techniques. There are other reasons too, the time in the car is at that juncture because however i meddle with the controls he never surrenders to my whims.

This can be a very confusing situation, i have lost control of time now and to be frank am truly unaware of actual time any moment. It has mixed results too, i reach early where iam meant to be late and reach late where my punctuality would have been a merit. Some day very soon i will have to take the effort to bring the situation into order, otherwise i will be beaten up by people who value their time.

P.S I had a friend who told us this story where the villain of the plot the mosquito fly's into his kitchen and he the saviour chasing it out. As the story progresses he chases the mosquito from his four door CFC free refrigerator to the 6 pan cooker with grill cabin and goes on to his automatic dishwasher. He takes a plunge to catch the mosquito as it kisses the 42" LCD tv in the kitchen and finally the mosqito unconquerably fly's out. The story was meant to portray his affluence and financial superiority. Hehehe.
Likewise this post by no means was written to show that i have an intelligent mobile phone, my own Korean car, an ageing laptop, my own miniscule cabin and more hehehhe. If anyone felt so it was truly unintentional hehehe.

tc

On Scam's, Fraud's, Prankster's, Trickster's and more

2009-03-09T06:23:00.002+04:00

Running out of ideas to write is not a very interesting, situation. I think it has got something to do with the latest news, surprisingly theres nothing interesting happening around. Most of us are depressed, tensed and recession stricken and it doesn't look like getting better any time soon. Some of you might have noticed the depression and pessimism in some of my posts lately, so i have finally decided to shed the gloomy feel and be a beacon of hope heheheh. A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn.

Ok back to the theme of the post. This has high significance now as every other day a new scam comes to light, some small and some really huge. This post is not about corporate malpractices and billions siphoned off in secret Swiss accounts, it’s about my personal experiences with them. My earliest experience with a trickster can be dated back to 8th standard, when i was attracted to this glass juggler multiplying your investment with every right bet in a Mela. Yes the kind of juggler whom Abishek Bachan puts out of business in Guru, unfortunately the movie hadn't released then, and i didn't know the tricks of the trade (i don't know even now) and lost everything i had in hand lol.

The phrase that experience makes us more cautious is very true. I have fortunately stayed out of trouble from then and have developed a knack in spotting tricksters. I have come across my share of scams and online frauds in this short span of time. I have had African Generals asking assistance for transferring millions of dollars, widowers pleading aid for recovering her husband’s wealth deposited in some hidden bank accounts. I have had a mail written by the late Palestine leader’s wife asking assistance for recovering billions of dollars. People have contacted me for clearing billion dollar TT's hehehe and asked assistance for toppling military government’s hehehe.

The system of bulk mailing has become so effective and iam sure many of you would have come across lots of crap like this. I have had lottery results declaring me as the winner for million pound gambles which i have not even applied for. What do these people think, i might look dumb but iam not really that dumb hehehhe. They might be having some minuscule rate of success otherwise they would have stopped it long time back. Some debt driven, depressed or dumb browser might fall for that at some point of time, expecting a quick gain and overnight riches.

Now there is a new type of scam, the online representative for an African country's budgetary organisation identifies your area of business and sends enquiries for your products in huge quantities. Portraying their credentials, calling you up for follow up and explaining their contacts within the department to execute the order. When you give them an offer confused about the quantity, scared about the logistics of such a deal, they will keep you waiting for a week or two. Then one fine day you will get the purchase order, no negotiations, no haggling on prices, no references straight out confirmation.

When you are star struck and shocked on the outcome, usually orders amounting to millions of dollars. Then the next step of the deal, a very soft spoken middle man calls up and asks you to send samples of your product to a given address and $ 2,000 to 10,000 based on the product and scale. This amount will be for getting some expert certification from the country's quality boards. The psychology is that it’s ok to give a few thousand dollars for getting the multi million dollar order hehhehe. If you unluckily send the amount that’s the last you hear from them, all your million dollar dreams down the drain. It’s really amazing how people comes up with new ideas to dupe people and every time someone puts their head on the table.

The scams have gone to such an extend that even if some anonymous person genuinely sends us a good news we wont trust him. Blame it on the society, now we can’t even trust good news hehehe.

We Dont Negiotiate with Altruistic Cranks !!

2009-03-06T05:33:00.007+04:00

If you have been observing the Gandhi artefact's auction developments, this is my personal comments on the already worsening state of affairs. For those of you who are not tuned to the issue, an independent collector Mr. James Otis has put up some personal belonging’s of Gandhi's for auction at the prestigious Antiquorum Auctioneers. A photograph reveals the articles as: a battered brown sandals, given to a British army officer in 1931; a simple metal bowl on a plate; a typical gandhi syle old glasses ; and a rather mundane pocket watch.

He has been juggling his decisions on continuing the sale with various bargains, opinions and inane ballyhoo’s.He is creating hype by negotiating with the Indian government and occasionally proposing to halt the auction. Our Recession stricken ministry, scared of any bad moves with an impending election has already given an offer to stall the sale. But unfortunately our man Mr. Otis has found the amount too less to even disclose it.

Then he has put up a suggestion where he is ready to give it for free if the Indian government assures to spend 5 % of our GDP on the poor (as per the latest figures around $ 55-60 Billion). Later he has come up with one more condition which entails our poor government to spend more money on health care than it spends on defense activities.

The recommendations are reasonable from the perspective of Mr. Otis. I think this has got something to do with the slum dog millionaire syndrome, where the whole country looks like a slum and everyone a daily struggler. But what is going through his mind while proposing such ridiculously unreasonable recommendations. Yes we accept the fact that we have 27% of the world, s hungry and 45 % below the poverty line. It’s true that 2/3 of our people don’t have proper sanitation and proper drinking water, but by any reasonable justifications this is not how things are done here.

Mr. Otis we are the one among the very few economies capable of expecting an 8 % growth rate and a comparatively stable and democratically successful country. What if luckily some Indian digging through his attic comes across some token of historical importance or patriotic compulsion for the Americans? And this man becomes eccentric enough to propose US withdrawal from Iraq or Unilateral support for Palestinian cause. How would you react?

Just because we don’t have an aggressively coercive foreign policy, it doesn't mean that you can ridicule our national icons and question our internal policies and beliefs. Let’s make one thing clear first we don’t need budgetary guidance from altruistic philanthropist's any more.

As per the latest developments our Man Friday in cases of protecting national pride from capitalist evil men, Mr. Vijay Mallya has won the items by making the highest bid of $ 1.8 Million. He had saved us earlier in the case of Tipu Sultans Sword too. We shall have our day very soon and we will put up the statue of liberty for auction and ask the US government to spend 10 % of their GDP on promoting bollywood in the Americas hehehe

A Short History on Bygone 50 Posts

2009-03-05T06:16:00.004+04:00

Yes it is true that we have been able to complete 50 rather uneventful posts ranging from cooking instructions on mushroom omlette with cheese to boring posts on tyre changing ordeals. We have written on everyday events like marriage's and birthdays, advised on cost saving ideas for recession to suggestions on cheap weekends. Unfortunately you have been exposed to some of my radio active poetry and even a shot at a failed attempt on fiction. We have bored you with unintelligible things like economic theories and explaining financial practices and initially when we were really out of ideas justified with straight out plagiarism from works of literature and interesting chain mails.

We thank all the readers of (1+2 (yes that’s me checking the blog in the morning, afternoon and again in the evening heheheh)) our blog. Thank you for patiently going through our rather absurd thoughts and conclusions. We thank all the people who took effort in giving us a piece of their mind by commenting and reviewing the posts.

If it doesn't really bother you and if the time you spent browsing on the net is more than the time you spend working (characteristic's of a recession hit business), then comment on your favourite post if any and suggestions to improve our musings. To all my readers from Latin America and Australia (just kidding), you can comment in Latin i will take the effort to translate and comprehend your thoughts heheeh.

As a 50 post special, i have come up with a new scheme, no we don't offer discounts on properties and sell outdated electronic goods. WE WILL WRITE ON ANY 5 SELECTED TOPICS THAT YOU COME UP WITH, HOWEVER COMPLICATED, CONTROVERSIAL, OR TO AN EXTEND PERSONAL IT GETS. Please don't ask me about how i helped AR rahman to get the Oscars (heheheh) or don't even provoke me to write a travelogue on my adventurous Latin American road trips hehehe. Be descent and creative we will try our best too.

All those anonymous readers please, (yes some people are really reading this crap) take the effort and initiative to post comments. This is to check whether all those people concerned with my writing and earnestly promoting it are really reading it before their personal comments are thrown at me. If you have really noticed, i have included this follower application titled “Unfortunate Victims" in the blog, i know its asking too much, please, pretty pleaseeeee SOMEBODY PLEASE JOIN THE LIST heheheh.

P.S. Iam optimistic for a change, don't depress me this time, please take the effort, in the name of all the suicidal minutes you took reading this blag, express yourselves.

Who will remember you ?

2009-03-04T05:34:00.002+04:00

To answer this, let’s first check whom all do we remember. No, this is no test of memory to ridicule your inefficiency. Take it easy just give it a shot, just try to remember who all you recall from this short life.

Do you remember your sweet class teacher from kindergarten, the kindest ayah who did so much for you when you were a child, the long lost best friends you had in school, your first crush, the day you got beaten for not bringing the signed marks card, the tensed day before your 10th standard exam, how you felt doomsday was approaching when the calendars tore away to the result announcement day. Try to remember the first day you realised science was not your piece of cake in 11th or the day you finally studied without sleepless nights for your 12th board exams. How you proclaimed yourself freedom walking out of the school gates on your last day of exam. The first day in college, the oddity of finding yourself in a strange crowd without friends and acquaintances, the day you were made part of a bigger group, which made your existence and college life relevant. The first true love, the first argument, the first breakup, the list can go on and on.

This was the easy part you might be able to score 60-80 % in the above questionnaire and it gets more difficult now. What do you remember abut each of these life changing occasions? How vague our memories are, how we promised ourselves not to forget about any of these perfect moments. So basically like our choices, preferences and conclusions our memory is short lived too. It’s like these breads which come with the expiry dates; each of our memory and memories of us in other people comes with expiry dates.

On any given day i don't remember even who iam (hehehhe) remembering others are way out of my league. How we forget the name of a friend when he is out of sight for a year or two. It’s astounding when you could recall his birthday and the days to it in the past. You forget the moments you shared, the hilarious thinks you did together, how you missed his/her presence when the absence was short.

So basically, we are nothing but a small term memory, the people who are influenced by you are very few, maybe your parents, your spouse or the current close friends. If you give it a head count you will be lucky if you can complete your index finger on one hand to the other. We are so conceited by our prominence, our arrogance and even our existence. When we forget to remember our irrelevance, our plausibility and above all our fragility. The mighty arrogant self proclaimed VIP becomes a nose watering, wheezing disturbance with a minor cold or flu.

How we think we are everything, the self reassurance of our own temporary importance. How many people do you remember from the past, leave the great political leaders, the romantic poets or some of the greatest stalwarts of the industry? We don't even remember many of them, me the self confessed Forbes and fortunes list freak don't know the richest person even in the sixties; forget a time span before that.

So many irrelevant people like us die every day, a silent uneventful life concluded without any prominence and here we are running behind all that doesn't matter, the temporary pleasures of life. Try looking at the crowd with an aerial view, so many people running to so many irrelevant things, things which might look important at that point of time. It looks so funny if you think about all the running around we do, the deadly deadlines, the unattainable targets and in the end of the day all you need is some peace of mind and happiness. One day not so late we all will be replaced; a newspaper column might announce our demise. Like we always do, someone else might give it a glance and forget our names before he turns to the next page, the irrelevant fool who though he had it all.

So wake up to the fact that we are nothing but a small speck of grain in the desert ready to blow away and replaceable by yet another irrelevant minuscule presence. Remember that no body will remember you more than you remember any body you have forgotten, don't run behind the rat, it will never stop its chase and you are the only one who will retire from it.

Have the guts to walk out of this race and start fresh, influence peoples life in a good way, help the downtrodden, relieve poverty, educate the poor, i know it sounds very unrealistic. But it is these people who have lived longer than their average memory in the lives of people he/she influenced, the change they brought forward, and the lives they improved.

Remember
To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget." — Arundhati Roy

We Are Not Humans Any More !!

2009-03-03T20:43:00.004+04:00

How can we be humans with all this cruelty, prejudice, hatred and above all the indifference, the feeling that as long as we are not affected it’s OK? It really amazes me to see all the inhuman brutality by humans on other humans; it makes me wonder whether this is the same kid with the sparkling eye's and the innocent smile.

How can he grow up to be so indifferent, to inflict so much pain, to kill without a blink of an eye, where did we go wrong. Is it the careless upbringing, the biased society or the huge difference in financial wealth. We can blame the criminal politics, the systematic religious vote banking, and the conceited caste system.

It really baffles me how men can kill a fellow human being for such simple things like a traffic brawl to a property border dispute. How religion which is supposed to bring discipline, unity, promote kindness is misinterpreted to take lives. We have to surrender to the universal conclusion that all religions are good by principle but it is the follower who takes advantage, who misinterprets and comes into his own selfish conclusions. Have you heard of any religion preaching ethnic cleansing or any society impartially subjugating a sect, caste or creed.

Humans have killed more humans than tobacco, reckless driving, coronary diseases, malignant cancers and hungry stomachs combined. And we sit in front of our LCD screens, flickering picture tube screens, tilting computer screens and criticize and advocate breast cancer campaigns, anti tobacco advertisements and promote safe driving. Before all this we have to educate humans, nurture kindness not policing, not screening and not even useless debating. We have to promote compassion, explain empathy and bring up universal love.

We don't want radical preachers telling us whom to hate, whom to subjugate, whom to rent our properties, where to teach our children and even what to think. Let us wake up to the realities of life, the stark naked authenticity's of everyday living. Let us not be stopped by the sanctimonious grin of the better followers, and the derogating comments of the true believers. Wake up people, let us live us humans for a change.

Will We be Ever Happy?

2009-03-01T15:44:00.005+04:00

What is happiness, this like the question who am I is very flexible and vague. What makes you happy one day doesn't even bother you another day. Have you ever thought about it, being happy is something everyone aims at and never achieves. Some chart happiness through money, others through love, some through loneliness and even some through pain.

We have always been unhappy from the time you remember as far as you can. No iam not being pessimistic, at every point of time we have felt unhappy and believed a moment before that was bliss. When we were in school unhappiness came in the form of class tests, rude teachers, brawling bullies and continuous classes. The when the schools were over you look back and say “wow it was so great, the classes were so fun, no tension at alll bindaaaz."

Then the adventurous, loafing around college era started, when the HOD was a terror, attendance was always in short, you never got enough sleep, always short of money and missed school life like never before. You just want to be from all these and start earning on your own. Once its over you look back and cherish bunking classes, snacks at the canteen, the happening birthday parties, the occasionally adventurous night life and even you feel bad about missing your enigmatic teachers. Hehehhe Even today i delivered this line " oh college life what a life it was macha"

Then finally after getting a job and receiving the first salary, you feel independent but never content. This is something we should be taught from an early life, to be content with what we have, never compare and conclude on silly materialistic possessions. Then the job becomes monotonous, it becomes boring, you feel burdened and what not, the vanishing elixir called happiness is not even there. Then your next aim is for a better job, a higher position a bigger designation the list is unending and the money never becomes sufficient. Then when you get a better job then you want to settle down, marry start a family the next hunt for happiness begins there.

This never ends then your aim is for a child, then more, better job, Child's education, children's marriage bigger house, wealth and the list keeps going. You always feel that you were happy on an earlier day (like i always feel i was thinner hehehhe) it’s a vicious circle. The one fine day you are diagnosed with surpluses and deficiencies in your blood, your pump house is blocked and need repairs, your legs are weaker and can’t walk like before, the list can be as creative as it can get.

This is the synopsis of most of our lives, in search of happiness and contentment we keep dragging ourselves in the rat race. No this is not meant to be the half empty glass post. What iam trying to say here is that happiness is not in achieving landmark goals and ticking away the to do lists. It is in the small small moments in life, the ones which might not even last a minute but leaves you happy for a long while. The feel of gushing wind in you hair when driving along lonely road (not possible in Dubai) with you favourite music playing along. The funny smile of a child gazing through window of a car struck in traffic. The bakraas and prangs that you play on your friends, the delicious snacks that you savor with a blink of an eye. The list can get more and more cheesy and ridiculous.

Find happiness in the least expected places, look optimistic even when the whole world is crumbling, stay positive when the biggest companies are dying and be happy every moment. Do what your heart says, you might not have this moment tomorrow, you might not be this fortunate next week. Take the long walks you always wanted to, call up those long lost friends, shuffle through the old album and laugh at your self (my favorite).

P.S I know this post sounds very weird, just wait and see what i have to write next, its a complete paradigm shift.

What is NEWS ?

2009-02-28T23:55:00.002+04:00

What is news, when there are 215 news channels and 97 more news channels in various levels of approval, this becomes a very interesting question. All these many TV journos, reporters and camera men vying for anything that's sounds spooky, interesting, disastrous, scandalous or even mundane. They are just looking for anything that can make the TRP graph climb upwards.

In this hunt for news ethics, empathy and compassion becomes irrelevant. The rat race becomes so stressful that some of them create their own news to keep up the pace. They create their own masala and mix it on anything they think can make some heads turn.

Like one of my good friend said if you switch to Aaj Tak it will look like the world is going to end and there is so much crime and corruption all around. And then you come outside life was as it was slow, steady and uneventful as usual. They are responsible for lot of panic and hysteria on many normal circumstances. i think someone should reeducate them on what is news and whats not. Like today there was too much buzz on this situation where the SDM (for the uninitiated the Oscar winning Slum Dog Millionaire) child stars father slapped him for not giving an interview. And all of a sudden you see people discussing it with panels and calling in experts ranging from child psychologists to forensic doctors to human rights activists to get expert reviews. Last heard someone approached Sreeshanth for a comparative analysis with the slap he got and how he would react in such a situation lol.

I know how difficult it can be to find news when me the obsessive blogger with 2+1 readers are finding it difficult to find topics to write on. But there should be some self respect on giving publicity for the unnecessary. It wont be late before these people start placing control centers in each localities for identifying ordinary things that can be made into an issue any time.

I don't deny the fact that they have been doing an excellent job off late reporting on issues of national and international significance. i really appreciate on the minute to minute update on the Mumbai attack and the way they have handled the Oscarmania.

Iam pretty sure many of you would have felt the irrelevance of some flash news or some major cover story that was broadcasted recently. I dont expect any of you to comment but if you do it could be interesting lol.

P.S The word news was derived by joining the first letter of north,east,west and south.

Generation Gap a New Perspective

2009-02-24T23:31:00.005+04:00

This thought has been lingering in my mind for quite some time, especially when you hear things like "When i was of your age i used to study under the street lights" "I had only two pairs of clothes when i was in school" "i used to walk 5 Kms to school everyday". It’s true some of them might sound really exaggerated and impossible for us to practise today.

The main emphases of these conversations are to let you know that you are so lucky to have all these materialistic possessions and to avoid day to day struggles. These are generally followed by statements like “These youth of today have no manners, respect, and value for money or any inappropriate character suitable to the situation"

I know iam at the other end of being youth and my appearance may not look youthful lol at most but even then iam lectured regularly by strangers and family alike like mentioned earlier. Being on the other side of youth I and my friends have these regular discussions like "My brother, Cousine etc. Don't have any value for money, they don't have any responsibility, he doesn't spend any time studying" (look who's talking). This is a vicious circle and at some point of time every generation has felt superior to the later ones in terms of character, discipline and fashion (yes i don't find the new generation dressing cool and classy)

There was a funny incident when my cousine in blore got a surprise visit from my self righteous uncles and had been fortunate to get a class on why he should not ride a rickshaw to college which is 2 Km away citing their struggle in youth. But this young man was smart enough to ask them why they are not walking to places like their fathers and uncles used to. (It might not sound funny unless you know of this legendary walk made by my great grandfathers for distances ranging from 50-100 km taking weeks and months together) .

So practices, discipline and characters tend to adopt as and when necessary. I had planned to write about what i or my generation preachers would be telling my children and grand children in these situations. It might sound something like " you know when i was of your age i did not have Wimax connection for browsing" or "you are lucky enough to have an iphone in 2 std when i got my first mobile after degree" or " i didn't even have an original branded watch and i used to wear fake Montblanc's heheheh (yes its fake) " or some o us might be preposterous enough to lie that " when i was of your age i used to walk to school 5 kms everyday" heheheh.

But i guess as we say necessity is the mother of all inventions we might come up with some really compassionate and empathetic examples to guarantee discipline when the need arises.

P.S This dosen't give any of my mischievous and adventurous cousins, brothers and younger friends reason to ridicule my lectures and shrug it of as advices of a self styled hypocrite. :)

Now What !!

2009-02-24T02:24:00.003+04:00

Now that Slum dog has maxed the Oscars and we have got out share of the pie, what next. We also saw our national prodigy performing live for the crème de la crème of Hollywood and being acknowledged for that.

I know it will be followed by all the domestic recognitions and praises “we always knew you would make it “, “Resul is such a talented and handsome guy” “India has truly gone international now”. We will have the ardent AR Rahman fans chanting “AR Rahman Ki JAI” and saying things like if Ar Rahman didn’t get it this time I would have taken my life lol. Like all proud Indians iam happy for our achievements and recognition.

But did we need an English Director and an English Adaptation of an Indian story to recognize our talents. Iam pretty sure many of you were unaware of Mr. Pookutty a day before and would have gone hysteric if any one would criticize you on your ignorance with this regard. We are a set of people waiting for someone to tell us whom we should respect, whom to ignore and even whom to follow. Iam pretty sure there wil be an exodus of youth to study Musical Mixing and other similar courses from now. Mr. Resuls Alumni will have an increase in applications, recommendations and recognition after this.

But we have to remember one thing Slum Dog is only as Indian as a McDonald's veggie burger or as English as Chicken Butter masala (food always can make good examples). Like the potato, masala and workers, the cast, crew and score is Indian. But the recognition, revenue and acceptance is foreign. Yes the revenue is important as it has already crossed the $ 100 million mark and the adopted casts from the slums have got pittance compared to that.

I know it celebrates the optimistic nature of Indian slum dwellers and the slum dog name is meant to be a synonym for underdog but it really hurts to know that what we couldn't’t do in many years has been achieved by the director in a year. It is not that the story of the movie will bring any reprieve to the slum dwellers and make the producers philanthropic enough to donate a part of the money to rebuild torn lives.

I won’t be surprised if this movie will revive an affinity towards Indian culture and we will have to look foreward to Hollywood heavy weights starring in Indian remakes and originals. What if Sholay is remade with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise with Angelina Jolie playing the female cast and the movie is renamed to Shaolin (can attract Chinese viewers too) lol.

I would love to see Will Smith playing SRK in a DDLJ remake with Salma Hayek (the rain dance will be something I look forward to heheheh). Even we can see mythological and historical Indian characters coming to life in Hollywood studios, what about one more remake on Asoka's life or maybe even a new Bhagath Singh (Not meant to hurt antibody's patriotic feelings).

One thing iam sure is that the flash back wont have Brad Pitts younger version jumping into shit holes lol and hopefully we wont have to see them experimenting with Anu malik for a change in perspective lol.

P.S I hope Resul wont come down to Gods own country and start appearing in Mattress and Sandal advertisements hehehe

Our Man @ Oscar Mr. Pookutty ! !

2009-02-22T23:14:00.007+04:00

I have always advocated the superiority of Malayalees (aka malabaris) in many creative fields including, art, literature and movie direction. My theory is looking more promising than ever as Mr. Resul Pookutty is being nominated for the much awaited Oscars. Hopefully by the time you read this post we will know whether he has made it or not.

I know many of you cant digest a malabari winning an Oscar and that too the first among any Indian to win it. Mr. pookutty a Bsc graduate hailing from Vilakupara, about 50 km from the Kerala capital did his specialisation in sync sound recording or on-location recording from the prestigious FTII, Pune. Mr. Resul has had a very unceremonious career for the last 13 years doing many films which didn't even see commercial success.

Resul, 36, the youngest of eight children has been nominated for the best sound design for the highly debated Slum Dog Millionnaire at the 81st Academy Awards Ceremony. He has already proven his mettle for the same score at BAFTA the Britsh Oscars.

When the whole country is fascinated by the Nomination for AR Rahman we have forgotten this underdog. It is not that i have anything against the Musical genius from the south, it has been quashed by the aggressive sycophancy exhibited by other Better Fans. The extend of admiration goes from detailed analysis of background music to making a mockery of it by singing along with it lol. I believe Mr. Resul Pookutty and i have this in common,about changing his name but ignored due to the effort involved lol.

So lets whole heartily wish that Resul is lucky enough to hoist the black,ugly, naked statue. And this prayer goes to our own genius Mr. Rahman.

Adios

Tyre Changing: An Ordeal

2009-02-20T23:17:00.002+04:00

The day I always dreaded came today without any notice and warning. If the fear of tyre changing had a name it will be called tyrophobia (can’t come up with anything else). As usual my loathing towards anything involving manual labour and physical effort is legendary. It can go into the extend of not taking the initiative in regular exercise to not cutting toe nails because it involves bending, crouching and picking up the after effects.

My worst nightmare came true when we earnestly went out after a long sweet slumber for driving to the nearest restaurant (main hobby) for lunch. I have to make a confession at this point, I have been relatively late in honing my driving skills and getting a certified licence to drive. As far as I remember I was illiterate in this basic skill as late as my degree final year (yes I went to college tooo…). I was the pillion rider and front seat critic for many of my unfortunate friends. There are some really hilarious stories involving knocking down water pumbs to endangering human lives in the pursuit of this skill.
Sorry for drifting from the content, ok I cam out to see that the tyres were as flat as my abs (lol) and there was no chance of moving the vehicle. We compromised our eatery joint and had something meagre taking into consideration the impending exercise. I opened sections of my car boot which I never knew existed and was happy to find that all the weapons involved like jacky (I don’t know the spelling and spell check was of no help), spanner, screw drivers and above all a spare tyre.

We got into action as soon as possible, set the jacky and started turning the lever to start the levitation process. It felt good initially but the cranky lever has this unusual way of falling of the jacky after every few rotations. I had to slouch on the road and continue my effort despite of the interruptions, the car started lifting of the floor and our first step felt successful. We looked at each other like the battle was half won unknown to the later ordeal.

The Nut for removing the tyres is concealed with some cover which is clipped into the wheels like they were never apart. This cover was so difficult to remove and we had to involve additional services of a coin, ball point pen, screw driver and lot of patience. This took us agood 10 minuted and we where already loosing patience. The exposed nut bolt gave us so much relief and we waited no longer to start the next process.
The Nut bolt were so tight that despite of my weight on the spanner (which is literally heavy enough to stumble any body) I literally jumped on it and to comfort me my friend who is a serious competitor to my physical excess also tried his best. I think the tyre took sympathy on us and strted undoing with cacking noises. By the time we removed all the four nuts we had digested what we had for lunch. Removing was the major part and replacing the tyre was not so laborious.
One lesson learned from this is that iam really bad with basic things like this and needs lot of improvement, Machines are invented for a reason and that is called laziness cultivation. As a precautionary measure I have checked all the other tyres for fault and fixed the faulty one with immediate effect.

P.S The credit for a successful tyre change goes to my friend who is also a popular tyre reseller and a serial entrepreneur with lot of grandiose dreams. Tyrophobia is fear of cheese, unlike my assumptions. If I was the only one left in the world and a tyre punchered, I would rather walk than take all the effort lol.

Memories Of What I Remember & Why ?

2009-02-19T19:27:00.002+04:00

I have forgotten twice on what I had planned to write on and hence opted Memory, Memories and the tricks it play on us. It is very strange if you think of what u remember and what u tend to forget. Whose name we successfully relate with faces and whose we fail to recollect.
I have always been fascinated by the way our brain works in storing these data. We remember something that happened 10 years ago yet don’t know about what dress we wore last week. It is like a selective amnesia, but the only difference is that we don’t have control on what to keep and what not to.
What is the oldest memory you have, do you remember the class teacher you had in kindergarten or the annoying boy/girl who sat next to you in 2nd Std. I don’t, remember anything so old, is it just me or a common phenomena.
We all have this Ghajini syndrome but the only difference is that the time may wary (5 Minutes) shorter or longer and we also don’t have private jets and Kalpana on our side lol. Have you had this feeling when you hear the occasional humming of an old song or an odd smell reminding of you some past events? In our school (aka pvs) in 8th /9th and 10th standard we had this warden who played this same cassette in luud speakers every day at 5:00 Am to wake us up (yes i was spoiled by comfort and useless rituals). It was from an AR Rahman block buster called Sapnay (Minsarakanavu) and even now when I hear that song on radio I get this yawning and sleepy sleepy feeling out of the blue.
But a fading memory is a boon in disguise, what if you remembered everything that has happened to you both good and bad. What if you can’t get over a brawl, argument at home, guilt etc? We are made like this for a reason may be the art of forgetting meant us some relief on forgetting what we had to forget. I couldn’t dare think of a situation where you can forget the loss of a dear one, a true friend, a spouse. We have solutions for forgetting day to day events like reminders, to do lists, wake up calls etc. Some of us got so dependant on these that you might not be surprised to find people putting reminders for natures call hehehe.
So if this post turns out to be really boring, I wish the systematic amnesia works out faster in making you remember that I had written crap like this ever.

Namashkar

Marriageable Age, a Necessary Argument !!!

2009-02-18T00:13:00.003+04:00

The biggest advantage of a blog is that it gives you the freedom to opt the topic you consider important and socially enlightening.

There are several reasons why i have chosen this topic for discussion and these arguments are something many of my peers under pressure can accept to. The topic has its on benefits and short falls like the fact that iam/ iam not married from the reader’s perspective, reassuring some on their early decision, ridiculing others and yet coming into a consensus on what can be the ideal solution.

Like always before starting this topic i googled to find out the statutory age for marriage world over. You will be surprised to find that India along with China and Singapore have the minimum age set at 21 and 18 (21 & 20 for China) for Male and Female, which is considered to be relatively late compared to European, American and MENA region. Check out this link and you will be surprised to find that the minimum age for marriage in much pro development demography's criticizing our occasionally illegal child marriages are far below us. Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriageable_age But there is a relief news to all those youngsters who cant wait to get married and start over, the Indian law commission has presented a recommendation for bringing down marriageable age for both male and female to 18.

Now personal insight into this highly debatable topic will look very emotional and empathetic to many of you. It gets really irritating when everyone you have grown up with guys and gals are rushing to get married like dooms day is approaching in the horizon (some people call this peer pressure). And when your decision to delay the nuptial ceremony makes you look like a looser and some consider it as a curtain to shield my ability to find an appropriate match.

What does marriage mean to me? I won’t dramatize the concept with statements like meeting of hearts, actualising what was decided in heavens or plagiarize any famous dialogue from bollywood tear jerkers. Neither can it be as defined by dictionaries as the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce). It is a mutual agreement to tolerate each others tantrums and fallacies until a period it becomes too unbearable to continue. I know it sounds too scientific and intelligenzia type, but that is what i have brought it down to.

So what is my recommendation? Since i have crossed the mandatory marriageable age by a considerable time (no i won’t give figures to work out an age) i have to make a suggestion that will make me in a safe position for some more years. I would consider 28 as a reasonable age at which an individual can be worldly wise (hopefully) to accept the responsibilities involved in an espousal contract. Now you can at least understand that iam couple of years short of the deadline. And for females i would recommend 24 to be an ideal age taking into consideration various maternal, materialistic and spiritual reasons into consideration.

Everyone has personal landmarks to achieve before committing like financial independence, identifying an appropriate life partner, waiting for the mesmerising love at first sight and yet some grandiose ones like visiting five continents. The one who commented on such an exhaustive plan called up the next day to inform about his impending wedding next week. He consoled himself by running across the atlas looking at each continent with utmost dedication. I wont expose my to do list this time because one of you may question me on it later.

I have personal reasons like an anxious cousine threatening to overtake me in the vicious circle if i dont comply sooner or later, this put together with central department argument on delaying my chance till the waiting list gets cleared up. Iam not surrendering my ego and beleifs in front of any impending threats.

P.S. The conclusions i have arrived at have not been influenced by any past experiences like the greeting card fiasco or my escapade involving a helmet chase scene. It is true that i have had limited success with romance and running aound trees and i blame it on lack of availability of resources (both physical and materialistic) and opportunities to meet ideal candidaites.

Adios

Me, My Friends, Google and Our Stories

2009-02-17T00:20:00.009+04:00

I know the title is kinda odd, like we started the site with Larry and Brin. It is meant to look cool, so if u dont find it that way read it back wards, just kiddin.

No i am not going to write about how google has changed my life and the impact of googling on generation next. iam actually tembted to write some economics, figures and percentages trying to let you now that i have read the book " The Google Story". I will spare you all this time, iam trying to downsize my intellectual image (if any existed) to a more candid one.

I will confess myself, like many of you i belong to the PGG (profusive googler club) googling for anything that i see, read, doubt etc. including myself when i come across in the mirror. I know many of you would have done this and unfortnately i come across all these pakistani cricket players, personalities, page 3 heroes etc. when i type in my name expecting to find something good written about me by some secret admirer. Luckily like some of my friends i dont see hen breeds and genus of ducks, when prompted. A small note in between, i have always wanted to change my name, everytime i convice myself i find some good reason to keep it, like not having to get new passports, liscence, credit cards (not like they have anything left in it) etc.

If google comes up with a list of all its funny, whacky and strange search terms, it will surely be a best seller ( atleast ill buy to check whether i have made it). Try searching anything you like, anything you want to ask or any doubt that lingers in your mind, google never lets you down, they always come up with some answer, like "why am i hugry after eating two burgers and 2 large fries ?" lol . Check it out to find what comes out. I have developed this new search hobby wherin i image search for names, feelings, places, terms etc. you will be surprised to find very funny images for some words. Search your name and you will be happy to know that there are other more unfortunate, ugly and hopeless people other than you alive. I know you have searched images for attractive body parts and famous hour glassers, this will just be a different experience. Dont switch off the moderate safe seacrh than you may be surprised to find celebrities (yes exactly what you are thinking) you share names with.

If you pattern a persons google search, you can know what he is thinking, what he is planning and above all what he is ignorant about. I have had this friend who very innocently searched for (keralarailway.com) when asked to book a railway ticket back home and came up with a conclusion that railway dosent have a site. Google is also promoting ignorance in this way.

There will be some real whacky searches done out there, if you have any persona stories, do write in. Iam feeling sleepy and i didnt find any suitable results when i lookd for " How not to sleep when you are writing something boring?"

Salame

Why Valentines Day Should be Banned ?

2009-02-13T00:47:00.008+04:00

Before you come into any conclusion please read the whole post and try to understand my justifications and reasons. No i don't belong to any sword flashing Sena inclined on moral cleansing and my half grown beard does not indicate my membership to any Taliban style organisations. Before understanding the argument do not subjugate freedom of opinion even if it is against the common notion held by a generation fascinated by live in relationships and one night flicks.

There are various premises to my argument on prohibiting the v day ranging from logical, argumentative and some suggestive. I don’t know when this valentines day which is a commemoration of St. Valentines love notes he wrote to the jailors daughter started to be interpreted as an occasion to present your new proposal to a damsel or bachelor, renew the missing content of love in the marital contract or restart your search for an unfounded love. There are various explanations to the celebration of V day on Feb 14th every year; i will give you a brief insight on some of them. Some sources say it was a pagan (a group of people believing in religions before Islam, Christianity and Judaism) celebration where men stripped naked, grabbed goat- or dog-skin whips, and spanked young maidens in hopes of increasing their fertility.

According to another popular story, in the third century A.D. Roman Emperor Claudius II, seeking to bolster his army, forbade young men to marry. Valentine, it is said, flouted the ban, performing marriages in secret, for his defiance, valentine was executed in a.d. 270—on February 14. And yet another story goes like this, when st. Valentine was arrested for defying the brutal emperors orders he had many visitors and admirers supporting his act and cause including the jailors daughter, with whom he spoke a lot and passed letters with the sign “from your valentine”. This tradition has promoted it as a day to exchange notes of love and affection to your dear and near ones.

Now what reasons do I have to suggest its abolishment, as an intellectual friend puts it this is a tradition revived by global greeting card manufacturers like Hallmark and Archies to boost their sales and make some windfall gains? This looks like a logical explanation when you look at the benefits, even as the economy is going on a break less roller coaster valentines day sales are expected to generate retail sales of 14.7 $ billion in US alone. So it looks like a large scale propaganda to make money and sell some old unsold cards.

We are from a nation who has so much of love stories in history to adopt as a day and yet we are again trying to ape western culture, which you should understand is inferior to us in this context. We have had a science dedicated to the art of love making thousands of years before the first greeting card or inflated red colour balloon's were invented. We should get inspired from the characters and chapters in our history like Shajahan and Mumtaz, where the grief struck emperor on his loving wives death erected a mausoleum of immense beauty and unheard scale to proclaim his unending love for her. This is a story which has its signature still visible in the form of one of the seven wonders in the world. We could adopt the mythological love story of Shakuntala and Dushyanta for our inspiration to commemorate the day of love. We have an option to opt for the love of mythological love story of Shri Krishna and Radha. If you want a fresh perspective let us choose the love story of prince Salim and Anarkali, the options are unlimited more apt and realistic. All these options have been selected in a positive perspective to celebrate the history of true love.

On a more serious note special days to celebrate love is a cliché evolved in the lines of other celebratory days like anniversary, memorial etc. Any body who has a true love for someone do not need the justification and support of a day to express it, he/she has a whole life time of opportunity left to them for this. These special days are for loveless lovers, husbands, and wives etc to renew their contract of love and to be reminded about their affection and express some truth into it.

If I had an option I could celebrate love on any given day or time, I wouldn’t need or for a matter of fact any true romantic wont need a balloon or a card to express their gratitude and affection. So don’t go by this grandiose marketing plan and express true love any time anywhere, nothing can stop you.

P.S my suggestion to ban V day has got nothing to do with my failure to get a date nor does it have anything to do with my previous mishaps and failed proposals hehehehe. This is purely a suggestive post and any greeting card seller or chocolate shop owner is unhappy about my views, it is purely unintentional. :) :) lol

-Au Revoir

Why Indian Rupee is Falling Against US Dollar when the US Economy is in a Mess ?

2009-02-07T18:15:00.006+04:00

I hope at least some of you would have been curious about this topic at some point of time. The whole world is screaming about US economies inefficiencies and evident deficiencies and yet our currency is falling further down against it. And to make the confusion worse we are one among the few markets touted to grow at a healthy rate of 6-7% in 2009 and hence we should have the better side of the bargain. We have a strong domestic demand and have immense potential of growth in all the industries considering the under penetrated market left in the country. So this question drove the researcher in me to analyze the situation and bring it down to the layman understanding.

I know it is a boring topic and will do utmost justice to make it look as interesting as possible. So initially i will put forward some of the basic factors affecting currency valuation

Balance of trade - the difference between the total import and export in the country,Demand for the Currency,Interest rates, Investments in stock markets, Interference from Central bank and Financial Authorities, Political Stability, Economic growth rate, Crude Oil prices etc.

S, o where are we going wrong to get our currency devalued, to analyse this we have to consider the various political and economic situations. The economic meltdown has led to fall in demand and consumption world over resulting in falling imports, exports and demand projections. To emphasize on the impact of meltdown consider the basic indicator of crude oil prices. The crude has fell from an all time high of 150 $ in mid 2008 to a drastic low of 35 $.

So lets come back to our main point, when the crude oil prices fell so much, the currency in which it has been traded world over has got an instant demand and hence the circulation of the currency has widened. Another reason can be that due to the economic meltdown a lot of institutional investors like banks and insurance companies from USA has withdrawn their investment from our stock markets approximately 9 $ billion against the inflow of 2 $ billion so this has led to a negative balance of fund influx. And due to the withdrawal of financial investments from the market the demand for our our currency has also reduced to a large extend.

Adding to the financial factor we have impending elections, brutal terrorist attack, a hostile neighbour and a falling stock indices has created a instable image in the world market. This is compared to the baston of hope and expectations which has risen under the brand name Obama in our comparative market. They have also influxed a total of +1 trillion into the economy as a bailout package which has created further currency circulation. This amount is almost equal to our annual GDP and can further affect our currency negatively.

As a conclusion i will pointout that a falling currency rate can be a boon in disguise because it will help the cause of our struggling exporters by making Indian products cheaper in the world market and hence attractive. The undervalued currency strategy has been followed by economies like japan and China to boost their trade over the years. So we don't have to fret about this at least and believe that everything is for our economies benefit.

tc.

Our Endeavour with Swedish Breakfast

2009-02-06T13:02:00.004+04:00

The success behind a successful weekend start with a sumptuous early morning breakfast and a gracious afternoon nap. But when you sleep at 4 AM after a night full of discussions, arguments and movies it becomes really difficult to get up early for the strategic meal. As usual today wasn't different we stumbled from our bed at 10: 45 Am and looked perplexed like being kicked out of a magnificent dream.

We argued for another 15 minutes on the ideal late morning breakfast and upon the revelation that Ikea has reduced its breakfast rate to 4 Dhs we didn't think further. As the breakfast is served only till 11: 30 we dressed up, brushed our teeth's and rushed to the location.

Reaching there we found two counters one with a crowded premier show feel and another relatively deserted one, we opted for the later only to find out shortly that it was meant for lunch. So all the people waiting on the other Que was for our planned breakfast and eventually we became too late for the deal.

We were not ready to give up so out of our necessity we stumbled upon ready made plates of Swedish breakfast "eureka" we didnt think twice and hurried to the counter. When the bar code detector beeped the dishes turned out to be 19 and not 7 as we had seen (first tragedy) so three plates of Swedish breakfast put us back by 57 dhs against the planned 12 dhs (4 X 3). We gathered our nerves and the little self respect left with us and payed up the exhorted bill that was presented to us.

We managed to find an empty table to sit for the three of us in the middle of all the hustle and bustle. We looked both happy and sad at the same time, happy for making it to the breakfast after all the struggle and sad for paying the princely sum for an unknown breakfast.

I was the first one to notice that the dish contained raw slices of fish, uncooked prawns and more slices of fresh salmon. It also included a couple of meat balls, bread with cheese slices, little bit of jam and and some mayonnaise decorated with vegetables and leaves. The dish as a whole was designed very pleasingly to attract any wayward eyes.We started tasting each item separately and had enough of it after the first few bites, it was a disaster to the core, the hurry, the exaggerated rates and finally the exotic tasteless taste.

We looked at each other with our bewildered faces like being pushed out of a running plane without parachutes.Left the whole thing on the table and walked out of the food court like being robbed in the daylight out of our last penny. We learned a big lessonout of this special experience, don't take what you don't know about, you don't know everything like you think you know, if things can go wrong it will and finally everything that is set into a beautiful plate will not be a culinary marvel.

To conclude i am still hungry and have that odd taste lingering in my mouth waiting to come out any time without any notice. Hopefully i will recover from this and nurse my tastebuds back to health in no time.

Namashkar

Luck By Chance, a Review

2009-02-04T01:49:00.006+04:00

First things First, i have never written a review for any movie prior to this and this is officially my first shot at it. If there are any wrong terminology or indigestible sentences, blame it on my inexperience.

The movie is Directed by debutant director Zoya Akhtar casting Farhan Akhtar and Konkana sen in the lead roles. So basically it is yet another power packed performance from the Akhtar family, increasing their clout in the industry by the day. It is a relatively short movie spread over 121 minutes.

The movie is unique in its own way criticizing and ridiculing the Bollywood industry on its family casting culture and occasionally punning at leading industry bigwigs. The lead actor has yet again proved that he has got more talent than the industry can handle and the heroine has kept up her power packed performance. It is a movie that has a pleasant flow and doesn't bore you at any point of time. It has a unique mix of a feel good movie crossed with ample emotions a smear of romance and a lot of real life situations.

Apart from the lead actors Rishi kapoor, Hrithik Roshan and Sanjay kapoor has done utmost justice to their roles. Watch out for the cocktail of guest appearances ranging from Amir, King Khan, Small B, John, Kareena, Rani, Akshay, Diya Mirza in real life roles. The not to miss scene is the guest appearence of King Khan and like his answer to the feeling of being the ruling king, my response for the movie is same INSANE, yes insanely good. It is a must watch movie for all Farhan Akhtar fans and a great motivator for going through struggling times.

I don't know how to put stars, but if i had an option i would give 4 stars out of 5. If any of you find the movie boring, your ticket money will be refunded (Joking), please send your complete contact details.

10 Interesting List's that should be Compiled

2009-02-03T00:51:00.008+04:00

We are so preoccupied with making lists every day and even more efficient in ensuring that we don't fulfill half the items in them . We have To Do lists, Wish list, Shopping list, exam schedule list, to read lists, to watch lists, to listen lists it can go on and on and on.

Like the value of Pi this is something that can go on and on and yet be unique in its own way. I have had my set of list's and personal adventures with them. Now i have come up with a list of 10 interesting lists that someone should take effort and compile, some are worth trying, some are to be ignored and some are still worth being listed (iam confused) .

There are so many types of lists and there are sites dedicated to listing only lists likehttp://www.oddee.com/ (great blog, must visit). you will be really amazed to find the number of different types of lists

1. 10 Poorest People in the world

Everyone is so obsessed with richness and extravagance and we have eventually ignored the majority class who are generally poor. Iam a self obsessed Forbes and Fortune browser looking for rise and fall of business moguls and royal inheritors. We should really find out who are the poorest people in the world, it will be easer than identifying the rich because the pauper wont have cross holding business structures and fluctuating currencies and stock indices to consider.

2. 10 Things Not to Do
This is something we should practice and perfect for our own sake. We all are familiar with the daily to do lists, but this will be an antonym to our usual cause. I could probably add all those stupid mistakes i keep repeating day after day like dont spill food on my clothes, don't over eat (heheheh) Dont write bullshit. This could really help a lot of us.

3. 10 Movies not to Watch

I have a list of to watch movies every month and i somehow make sure that i cover at least half of it, and as such i go and watch these bullshit movies exaggerated by catchy trailers and start studded promotional campaigns. If i had a choice i will come up with a list of movies not to watch and get people to read this. It could avoid a lot of despair and financial loss which looks like an interesting prospect now.

4. 10 most Happiest People.

This is something a creative journalist should work on and do justice to. I know happiness is a relative feeling which is experienced differently by different people. But it could be useful to learn the secrets of happiness from the leaders in the field. I know this is not a right time to take a census on happiness and might be a difficult task to complete but the prospect of seeing the happiest people are far more motivating.

5. 10 Numbers that can win you a lottery

I know the whole idea sounds absurd, but as per the science of statistics and probability if you look back over any kind of history there are going to be little clumps of irrational occurrences and relationships between events, numbers, characters etc. So if somebody can analyse the wining number for Lexus Raffle draw over the years, iam sure we can come up with the highest probable numbers. Sounds Interesting !!

6. 10 situation when you should keep quiet

This will be more useful than any other lists you have come across ever. If we knew when to speak and when not to, it could really make a difference in most of our relationships, personal, work related etc. This is just a hypothetical option because what we say now might be right right now and wrong some other time (what ?), what i mean to say is that if we can device a complex algorithm based on behavioral tendencies and develop this list, it could possibly avert the next world war or on a day to day basis, you will be smart enough to keep quiet when your girlfriend/wife asks "Do i look fat in this Dress ? "

7. 10 types of Fat Free Junk food.

This is a personal favorite from the junk food fan in me. Why do we have to always blame the poor fast food owners on making high calorie food items concentrating purely on our health benefits. Already it has become so confusing on what to eat and what not to (like i care), whats good for you whats not, what contains carbohydrates and what contains fats. This list will lay all the lists into further more confusion and will give a guilt free reason to gulp on all those sugary drinks. One piece of request to the compilers, please include Black forest pastry and Crispy Creme Donuts to it.

8. 10 Companies who recrited during the Recession.

I think i have been jinxed with the word recession, i cant sleep without putting this word somewhere in my article. When the whole world is discussing layoffs and profit lossess, it will be agood idea to come up with a list of companies who have recruited maximum number of people in this financial turmoil. We could feel good atleast for a while if we knew atleast someone is recruiting.

9. 10 ways not to waste time.

This is dedicated to all the people who spend their valuable time browsing all the possible sites and data on the net during office hours. I know most of us are jobless and we have an easy victim to blame now, recession but that dosent give us the luxury to waste our preious time. so we should come up with a list on how not to waste time which is yet again a waste of time (actually i have run out of ideas, so adding some crap to finish the list)

10. 10 Blogs not to read

This will be a relief for some of you. No my blog wont be listed here because i am taking all the efforts to keep the topics intersting and different from the other . This will be a wake up call for me everyday, to stay away from the list and come up with new interesting things.

Adios

My Obsession with Comments

2009-02-02T00:13:00.003+04:00

Why am i so obsessed with seeing comments from readers, is it reassure myself that iam not the only jobless one reading my own blabbering. The only benefit of me checking the comment section of each post again and again is increasing the number of visitors to the blog. But that justification has also been stuffed into the dustbin after one of my geeky computer expert friend explained that one IP will be counted only once in a day.

So why am i looking forward to comments and reviews, i need to be reassured that iam not wasting too much of time worthlessly, interested in getting expert reviews and comments that might help me improve and correct. Basically it could give me a reason to write on and on. So many of you would be thinking thank God if we don't comment this looser will stop this, no it might slow me but nothing can stop me from posting my thoughts and ramblings. I don't care about the content of the comment, disheartening, criticizing, motivating, ridiculing or about the spelling and grammar involved. As long as it has got to do something with the post or its content, i will be happy.

I have read about this street artist who writes a story in a minute about any topic you give him, like that iam interested to write about any topic you give me, it will surely help me avoid a lot of thinking job which iam evidently not good at. So hopefully now atleast some of you will start commenting.

Childhood Ambitions !!!!

2009-02-01T00:45:00.004+04:00

This is a rather out of context topic to write on by an amateur blogger specialising in misery and stupid financial advices. Why write on childhood ambitions, is it because i don't have one now or is it because the earlier one's sounds more realistic. This will be a topic many (if google analytics is to be trusted) of you will be able to relate to and empathize on, that early admiration for a wayward skill or sparkling eyes for an exotic profession.

We have changed so much from our bubbling schooldays and grown into these calculated, cynical, sarcastic, hopeless adults specialising in unnecessary skills and useless habits. Some ambitions are funny, some are spiritual, some were creative and still some made it to their goals.

The innocence of childhood made everything look possible and simple, easy to reach, achievable. Everything was possible from world peace to time travel. Like my favourite author and motivational speaker Robin Sharma said " What will the child that once you were think about the adult you have now become ?" the words look simple enough but will keep you pondering on.

If you take a popularity contest i think pilot would top the rank, like many of you mine was too to have that stylish pilots uniform, walking away with pretty stewardess into those cockpits with a zillion controls. But when i grew up the career planner in me found the sector less career growth oriented and the glamour was short lived(actually i was bad in science and my eye sight is not good enough to ride a bicycle heheh). I had a cousin who wanted to be a bullock cart driver because he found the circulating wheels incredible added to the freedom of travelling anywhere. That looks like a realistic career now looking at the investment and availability.

A friend wanted to be a KSRTC (Kerala State Road Transport Company) driver commanding huge buses through uncharted routes. He found the swaying of the bus an art needed to be practiced and made a talent. Now looking at the unquestioned dominance on the road and inpropotional responsibility the career looks lucrative enough to start fresh.

Movies have played a big role in shaping ambitions, like Mr. India would have inspired many of you to be that MAD scientist inventing incredible gizmo's bringing down evil villains. In our land we have had these mind blowing dialogue bashing cops and bureaucrats bringing ministers and villains down to their knees with jaw breaking vocabulary. We have all wanted to be that police commissioner or that District collector threatening chief minsters and humiliating central ministers (looked so real and possible hehehe).

Some of you out there would have had more different and creative ambition's in childhood which would make my plans dwarf like. But our only option to know these are if you share them, so do put in your views and ideas.

Money Saving Ideas for Recession

2009-01-30T00:58:00.007+04:00

Over the past 6 months the most commonly used word from Iceland to Australia and the most searched word overtaking Paris Hilton, Obama and Osama is none other than RECESSION. Everyone is obsessed and opinionated on basic concepts like Unemployment to complex theories like economic cycles. Personal opinions with exaggerated figures and mind blowing statistics are the order of the day.

Some people take it to the next level by advising on recession friendly business ideas and dissecting theories floated by world renowned economists. Adding to the confusion and expert ism i have come up with my own list of money saving ideas for recession.

Self Washing

wash your own clothes for a change, mess up yourself with all the detergents and foamy soaps, operating washing machines and fiddling with heavy iron boxes. This cost saving activity has an added benefit of fat burning, you can burn an average of 200 calories. this practice can save you 200-250 dhs per month.

Self Cooking

This is a very adventurous idea and can be advised only for the strong hearted survivors. You will have to cope with eating burned rice and spoiled curries till you gain expertise on cooking edible food. The added benefit for this practice will be the empathy and gratitude you develop towards your Mom for cooking all those delicious meals. Cooking can be a very good hobby for foodaholics (like me and my friends) who have the knack for appreciating good food. Here you can save anything from 400-1,000 dhs depending upon your choice of eateries.

Self Car Washing

I know it is very nice and relaxing to go through the automatic car wash assembly lines, the sprinkling water, gushing foam and thrusting air, it is a beautiful experience. All ardent car lovers will agree with me on this, it is a great feel to wash your own car, its like nursing your own baby, caressing its contours and brushing away minuscule dirt marks, you become one with the car (i know iam over doing it). This belongs to the first category of fat burning with higher chances of calorie destruction (upto 400 Calories) and a cost saving of 100 Dhs. per month.

VOIP Calling

For the dummies on Internet calling VOIP stands for voice over Internet protocol and is the economical version of calling through the net to phones abroad and back home. This method of calling is highly economical if you are ready to forgo the temporary glitches and echoing pleasantries. If you are married or engaged and cant bear the grief of distance then this is a perfect way to blabber sweet nothingness over hours and hours. The average saving can be from 500-2500 depending upon your purpose and duration of flirting. VOIP calling is not legal in UAE and we do not promote using VOIP there .

This might be small individually, but if you can implement all of these you can save a n average 2000-2500 Dhs. per month. This is not rocket science and advanced molecular physics, you don't need a passing blogger's direction to identify this, but the secret is in implementing it. like they say the smallest action is far more powerful than the biggest dream.

Why do I Procrastinate ?

2009-01-21T01:01:00.005+04:00

This is a very interesting topic and something very close to my heart. I have finally found something iam really good at "procrastination" ( delaying things), iam so good that i have started this post from last 3 weeks and finally took so much effort to reach your screens. This will be a good post to start with for the new year, when we are looking forward to the future with gloom and despair.

some believe that this has been the biggest factor which has held back humanity from progress and success. I dont know about humanity, but for me it has really played some role, its not that i have not progressed or succeeded (if you consider the progress in weight gain and my success in gluttony). If i had not delayed those early morning jogs or bin ch diet plans, i would have been something else. If i had not delayed my PG plans i would have been a graduate by now (not that it would make a difference in anything). If i had not delayed my post on procrastination, you would have been spared this blabbering, the possibilities are immense.

But iam someone who believes in the theory that everything happens for a reason, that includes my habits and beliefs too. If iam delaying things i think it has had it benefits too at times. But i think it is basically human in nature to delay things, because if everyone did what they said or thought then we will be leaving in a different world. Don't consider this post as something that i have written to drive some sense or intellectually dissect, but as my passing fancy for a usual habit.

So now to make a difference i take the oath against the evil P, with one hand on my chest and the other stuffing the last lonely cookie into my mouth. I £%$£$£ promise myself that i will not procrastinate any more, what ever it is. This oath includes posting on the blog atleast once in a week and trying not to be as boring as this time. As i have taken my first step towards reviving the blog, i expect my readers (1+2) to promise that they will comment on my posts, however silly that maybe and i wont mind if it is more stupid than my useless chatter. This does not promote commenting on any advertisements, for which iam happy to browse myself. Chao

New Year Resolutions

2008-12-31T00:36:00.003+04:00

What is so special with new years that we redraw our old plans, reflect on failed goals, chart riskier routes. Is it the revival of hopes and expectations from yet another wasted year (vice verse) or is it just the awakening to passing time. however you put it we always come with a new or a set of new resolutions every year, expecting to full fill the grand plans with a pinch of pessimism in the deepest corners of our minds. Then eventually the pinch mounts and mounts to cloud the goals. So what are these resolutions ? plans to improve on something, plans to remove some habits, plans to acquire some other, materialistic goals,targeting spiritual awakening what and what not.

But this year will be unlike any other, the gloomy financial conditions, continuing international conflicts, first black president in office, alarming rates of global warming, falling crude prices, loosing jobs, in short it looks more grim than merry. But i believe there's nothing like a bad year or a good year it is all in the mind a good idea is always in demand however bad the economy is.
Now back to me and my resolutions, if you haven't made any dont do it, this is for people fascinated with to do lists and living on reminder alarms. I have never made any resolution till now but since i have had 25 new year's without resolutions why not try one with them.

I have still not decided on the number of resolutions will it be 5, 7,10 or unlimited with a clause to add a resolution every other day. As the pinch still tells me iam not gonna achieve even one why not have many, then when i go down on them i will have many excuses tooo. finally i have decided on five which looks like a strong number to bid on.

Loose weight- as long as i have existed i have had this war with the weighing scale which has always been a loosing battle. Every year i put on more and more weight and the bloody step stool with zig zag running numerals always thrust the sword through my heart. now it feels like my weight was ok that year, it was not too bad the other year and it kept on changing. 2008 has been the year of 50 year old bollywood stars trimming down to 6,8, 10 (10 is reserved for Sanjay Dutt) pack abs and putting all the youngsters into a workout frenzy. if you don't feel like reducing now you will have to wait for Boman Iranis dozen pack abs. So i take the oath of reducing my weight before the year 2009 ends (since blog archives ae not easy to access i hop you will forget it by the time i put on more weight)

The second goal for 2009 would be to learn a new language, atleast tit bits or useful words like please, sorry, thank you, etc. the choice of language is not decided yet since i am planning on taking the effort it might as well be Spanish, it has got a special touche to it. so dont be surprised if my next new year post is mixed with Spanish jargon's. This goal looks more realistic because i f iam asked to choose between double burger with cheese and few five letter words in Spanish you know who will win.

Now that i have lost some weight and acquired a new language my next step would be intellectual and possibly a little bit spiritual. I plan to read at least 20 new books in 2009, i have made up my list, i wont bore you with the details. this looks like a more realistic goal given my taste for boring books and unlimited time spend on them. the problem with reading books like writing blogs is the lack of initiative (AKA laziness). So i will be more smart and knowledgeable by the next year end.

The eternal quest for true meaning of life, finding the elixir of life called love can be an interesting entry to the list. Since the marriage season has already started and iam getting cornered by the day, i have to give some thought on the possibility of getting married sooner or later. So the choice is between the fulfilling the family tradition of finding my own choice or accepting the age old practice of arranged marriage. My choice would be to wait for another year as 2009 doesn't add up to a good fadic number and we already have so many gloomy news to await, then why add one more. But if i have to surrender the struggle to give up wont be very evident and earnest. Hopefully i wont have the chance to add a prefix to some poor girls name this year.

One thing iam earnestly looking forward to do in 2009 is to do a sky dive. Ever since a dear friend has completed this task this year and he has started starting his conversation with phrases like "when i was in the aeroplane ready to jump" when i landed after the free fall " i have made up my mind to do it this year. But there are more things than resolution that stops me from jumping out of a sky diving plane like my lightness (antonym).

So now you know that iam above the mandatory weight for sky divers. So first i will reduce my weight, then learn a new language, read some interesting books, escape all marriage proposals and jump out of a plane expecting the parachute to open in time. But even if it doesn't open i will have the benefit of dying in a different way (optimistic to the last heart beat) and it will look good on the tomb stone Born December 6th 1982, Died jumbling out of a plane from 4 kms in the sky.

Hope

2008-12-11T10:15:00.003+04:00

The magnanimity of hope strangle's us all to its bosom,
Gasping for life we struggle every other moment.
Waiting for a long awaited sign of relief,
We all struggle to the last breath in our soul.

He comes though never and ever, even now,
The vanishing faith of the hopeful lays barren.
And the dream, the hope, and the illusion you may call,
All remains just as any other delusion called life.

He tempts you with his imminent signs and shiver everyday,
You lay awake for a better day yet again betrayed.
The reprieve, so short lived like an early morning dream,
Looked so real and close yet never near to bear true.

He plays games with your senses and emotions,
You yield like a child ignited by the strange new toy.
The element of surprise still alive and woken by hope,
Still thinks the day of relief has arrived at last.

He scoff’s and sneer‘s at your unending efforts,
Like you were never meant to be happy ever again.
Till you loose your hope and all that was keeping you alive,
And fall beyond the depth of faith you can fathom .

You may call him hope today and faith some day later,
You may live with just him as your guardian angel till the end.
He may come to you maybe not today or later,
Yet you breath every breath in his name forever.

Dirt Cheap Ideas for Weekend's

2008-12-07T02:37:00.014+04:00

With a global recession playing full house and a depression that might be around the corner, money spend should be some money well spend. To all the millionaires and luxury freaks snubbed by the insignificance of the amounts mentioned, it will be a great idea to spend less money for a change. Everyone is looking at optimizing, leveraging and cost cutting in professional lives and we are not far from implementing this in our personal lives too. Like one of my great friend says "Maximum Enjoyment with Minimum Investment", so without further ado

1. Spend a day at the dubai library (not advisable to anyone who gets a migraine when near a book) spotted at various locations but never bothered to enter, free reading, cheap Internet browsing (only AED 3/Hour). You can go through all those expensive magazines like Fortune, Forbes, Newsweek, National Geographic etc. for free. Another surprise is that a five year membership with unlimited Internet access only costs 215 dhs and borrowing charges are free till 14 days (it can't get cheaper than this).

2. Watch a movie at the Plaza in Bur Dubai, the last place to watch a movie forOnly 20 Dhs, no they dont play old movies and yes they do have wide cushioned seats. The best thing about this place is its location, set between the bustling crowd of Meena Bazar on one side and the Creek abra riding commuters on the other, crowded but very interesting.

3. Take the abra ( a small wooden boat charting people from one side of the creek to other) from Sabka to Burdubai, costs only 1 Dhs per ride lasting10-12 Min's per ride. There is a great eatery galley (a small street) which serves hot samosas, kachories and spicy chilly fries (5 Dhs, Full Stomach), gulp it down with a fresh lemon juice (3 Dhs) and take a stroll on the walkways along the abra. This is a short term course on Dubai history, this is where it all started, the tallest tower, the biggest island what and what not. Ride an abra back or walk through the secluded Shindagha walk way under the creek.

4. Walk into the historical Iranian Market in Al Ras and bargain with (you don't have to buy) the smart and cunning traders out there, it is a great learning experience and a beginners exercise on the basics of negotiation. Don't be mistaken by the size of their shops or the state of their clothes, most of these shops ship a container or two in a day (see it to believe it). There is a secluded juice shop on the creek side near the gold souq abra which serves great refreshments at really cheap prices. Try out the Iranian falooda (very different and tasty) (only AED 5) and the most mind boggling Lassi (only AED 3) for quenching your thirst.

5. Park your car (for a Change) and Walk into Ghubaiba or Gold Souq Bus Station and board a random bus and travel to its last stop (try out the new fancy double Decker bus or the trailer Bus). Make it more interesting by buying some snacks and drinks for the journey, when you are travelling without any time constraints and deadly deadline's it can be very enjoyable. The round trip, parking charges, refreshments will cost you nothing more than 15 dhs for spending a minimum of 3 hrs. This idea might sound really absurd and silly but believe me you will feel really relaxed and revived after a journey like this, travelling without knowing the destination and unaffected by time constraints.

I know there are lot of you who don't agree with any of these, whose idea of a weekend is galaxies away, but it can be a great experience to live as a simpleton for a day or two. There might be some very interesting ideas out there, please let me know about them.

Birthday's and Memories

2008-12-06T23:13:00.001+04:00

The title might sound too cheesy, but i will try to make it as interesting as possible. The relevance of the topic is that i have passed the iconic 25 years mark and entered the 26th year of existence as on 6th December (this is a high value secret as i cant keep acting like the self proclaimed intellectual). I could have made the previous sentence simple by putting it like " iam celebrating my 26th birthday" but that will be very untrue because iam not celebrating it at all, what is so good about celebrating a passing year, an added number to your toll, absolutely nothing.

This is all about my memories (good, bad, funny, slimy, beaten up) associated with birthdays till now, includes only what i remember and luckily for you guys i remember very little. I will try to follow a chronological order and forgive me if the facts gets mixed up.

My earliest memory (What i remember now could change with my improving or deteriorating remembrance skills) of a birthday could date back to 1992 when the babri masjid was demolished in India, from then on my Bday has been declared a black day (very inspiring). I still remember my uncle rushing home hearing the 144 crpc imposed (i didn't know it then).

Then i remember taking sweets to my school at home and scolded as it was not legal as per the school laws. (so far bad memories). I guess this was in 7th standard.

From Eighth standard onwards i had become a part of the boisterous hostel crowd where birthdays are meant to be celebrated vehemently, violently and even forcefully. Birthdays were the day of reckoning when you will be beaten up for all your wrong move, it was a tradition to punch the birthday boy as many times as his age on his arms, this was supposed to be an act of reminding the passing years. But this was highly misused and misinterpreted, this was the day when scores were settled, revenge taken for getting beaten up on your birthdays or for anything which you thought was not just. I still remember those blue black marks and the aching pain in the arm. It was not all horror, the cake cuttings were a big attraction, the taste of the cake was not the cause like you guessed it was all the cake throwing, smearing cream on the face and hair, stuffing cake into the mouth etc. This was the routine till 12th with varying shades of blue black marks and messed up hair and clothes. I was exempted sometime thanks to the black day connection, we had bandhs and holidays to save me.

Then came the college era where we were on our own. self assessment, self control and the worse self destruction. College birthdays were the best it always involved lot of fun and frolic. The birthday boy will be woken up at 12 in the midnight, beaten up till the safe limit, a bucket of preplanned filth and crap which could include expired pickles, prestored curry, sampar, rotten eggs and more mixed to form a very slimy and smelly liquid, this will be poured on the birthday boys head to body (if you don't vomit with this you are an alien). Then he will be kept at a distance and target practised with eggs, it can be very painful as it hits your head and it could even bounce off without breaking the number of eggs depends on your luck, friends bank balances and popularity. I got belted with 50 eggs which was not the record as i had organised a target practise of 150 eggs on a strategic friend. You will always be given a good gift or gifts by the rascals. I had devised a revenge technique which involves hugging all the throwers with your filth covered, egg smeared body ( very effective and highly revengous)

After the college got over the importance of birthdays have been diminishing over the years, lesser parties, smaller cakes (if any) , smaller crowd etc. I remember the anticipation in getting birthday wish calls at midnight, birthday songs and all and now even when the clock stuck 1:00 i have not got a call yet and i am least bothered about it too. The only good thing is that Orkut reminds some people to put in an empty scrap wish which reduces the lonely feeling.

The way it is going i can understand how you can surprise people with birthday parties as i am pretty sure i will be forgetting my birthday within a year or two.

P.S All images used are purely for illustrative purposes, sorry for any inconveniences caused.

Mobile Phone's and Amnesia

2008-12-04T03:41:00.005+04:00

The consequences of a lost phone or a crashed PDA is far greater than the financial distress or the sim card replacement procedures. We have become so depended to a mobile phone that it has become a necessity for day to day living. We have all our contacts, bank details, emails, Birthday's, Anniversaries, Appointments what and what not.

Try this exercise, write down the contact numbers of your 5 nearest family members and 10 friends without looking into the contacts, write down the birthdays of 5 of your closest friends. As i have found out the success rate is close to 40 % for my answers and i don't think it will be any better for yours. We have become so dependant on these gizmo's that one day if the machines raise a war against us, the first thing we will loose is our ability to contact others, network, foundation of human relationships.

We become so paranoid when we misplace a phone, become so stressed up when the software crashes. Something common in our nightmare is getting stranded in a deserted island without our mobile phones, it cant get worse than this. Before it gets really late we should do something about this memory handicap, some practical ideas are

Try entering the number to dial before searching the contact to make a call

Cross reference storage technique (i just made it up now) exchange names and numbers so that you will have to learn matching names and numbers.

Forget your girlfriends or wife's birthday, wedding anniversary, they will make sure you will remember it next time (high success rate)

Improvise Usual memory techniques like visualising something to remember the content, try visualising the consequences of loosing a number or a date like getting beaten up, loosing a contract, missing an interview etc.

This is a very apt time to write this article as my phone has crashed, SIM damaged and going thought the ordeal of identifying voices, matching accents and names, recovering phone data etc. Moral of the story is that we should get less dependant on these gizmo's and use some natural high powered brain memory.

The cry of a Victim

2008-12-02T15:56:00.004+04:00

The merciless killing, the endless deaths,
Where is this heading and who is doing all the final calls.
When will this brutality end, when will the innocence stop being crucified,
When will the gun shots and bomb blasts stop their scary roars?

I did not do you any harm to be killed so brutally,
I dont even know your name or the place you come from.
Someone might be waiting for me didn’t you know,
Where will you hide all this anger and curses thrust on you?

I could have been someone you dearly loved ,
Your mother, father or lovely wife, don’t you recognize me ?
I could have been your unborn son or the brother you lost,
Or still someone who loved the world and the life to live.

Where will you bury all this curses, the anger and despair?
Will you be able to sleep a night without a single nightmare?
Even hell will forbid your entry, coz your sin is too much to punish,
You will suffer forever for this inhuman torture and gore.

I had a dream to follow and a destiny to fullfill,
You cut short my path with a stray bullet and a fierce sharpnel.
You broke my castle which was still in the air, the dream that never was,
You killed a thousand dreams and a million hopes with yet another empty blast.

I died a merciless death, a miserable way to die for any mortal,
What did I do to deserve this ruthless revenge my slayer.
I didn’t even know your name or the color of your flag,
I was just there by destiny when you wielded your cruel plan.

A Journey of Terror

2008-12-02T15:31:00.004+04:00

The pool of blood all around, the deafening cry's and pleas,
Through an aimless path i ran, where death might be waiting.
The slimy smelly blood and the stench of fear all around,
From head to toe soaked in my own sweat and unknown blood.

Where am I going through here, is it safe to do that yet,
There in the far I hear yet another shot, someone lost his soul.
He will comeback here with his guns and grenades,
I might be next, don’t wait keep running for the exit.

There he is asking me for help, soaked in blood and thirsty,
I look for a drop of water but there was nothing but blood.
The deafening blast sounded so near I shivered in fear,
But even then I was spared and someone died to my despair.

Picked up the cell to make a call, maybe my last,
Dialled home to let them know iam safe.
Even then I had bullets and blasts in the backdrop,
My safety didn’t sound very convincing neither to them nor me.

The cry on the other side neither helped me reach anywhere,
I was baffled by the enormity of my trouble, made my hope bleaker.
I still kept running like I had never done in my life aimless and hopeless,
I was hoping against hope that I would make it out alive.

But destiny was against me as usual, my hopeless stars betrayed,
There he was waiting in the corner pounded on me with all his bullets.
Death was iminent, this time my number came atlast too,
The phone kept ringing unknown to my cruel destiny.

Picked up the call with all my strength and blood soaked hands,
This time like the bullet and pain the blood was too mine.
Fumbled with some words to say goodbye to my dear ones,
But my slayer sprayed a bullet again and cut short my call with a cruel bang.

I could still hear all the cries, the whimpering wails on the other side,
I had lost my battle for survival, now it was sure my time had come.
My brothers I have lost my life for nothing, a fallen broken dream,
You have to wakeup and fight this evil till its end for me and our home country.

An Ordeal Called Driving License

2008-11-30T19:20:00.003+04:00

This is a very personal topic for many of you, a journey with lot of memmories, an test of faith and skill. It is a night mare for every new resident in the emirate, the long wait, the unending classes, the stress of loosing a test, the wait for the next test etc. Those who got it first pride it like an achievement, those who are in the process recalls the nightmares, very few are lucky enough to be not bothered by it.

Some make it in the first test, some make it in three, others are still trying even after 10 tests. It has become an expensive affair too, the blessed ones are lucky to finish it with 1K, others have spend 3K and the cursed on who have crossed the 10 test mark are heard of spending 8-10K. it looks so silly to have to spend this much on a license.

But this is actually a control mechanism to limit traffic in the emirate, because every license is a car or maybe even two. So the number of license is directly propotional to the number of cars on the road. But it becomes a very stressful experience making every move and action doubtful.

So many people have learned so many additional skills from the experience like
Basic arabic language (left, right, u turn, stop, change lane etc.)
The value of time
The skill of patience and persistence.
Competative spirit etc.

Since iam a survivor (first test license holder), i have made it a habit to enquire about others count and emphasize on my superiority, which is upto scrutiny as i have applied under the automatic section (ladies license).

Last heard it is going to get tougher and more exclusive as it has been declared a luxury prohibiting close to a 100 Different professions from taking a license. So the drivers are going to be amore exclusive class with superior skills like driving, parking, overtaking etc and a day might come when a driver gets paid more than other professions.

Personal experiences and winning techniques are invited for prospective license test takers knowledge.

A Nameless World

2008-11-26T16:10:00.003+04:00

It is not often that you stumble upon some thing silly and when you think about them they don't remain silly any more. Yesterday as i was filling up a very irritating questionnaire i came across these options in the name section, SURNAME, FIRST NAME, GIVEN NAMES, LAST NAME etc. doesn't this sound very familiar, yes it is also there in the passport next to your unidentifiable, old photo(which always turns out to be your worst one too).

Why do we need so many names and what are the difference between them, as far as i know we all have only one name, which we are popularly known by. The name confusion doesn't end here also, there are more type of name than these like pet name, good name, bad name, AKA (known as), scientific name (doesn't concern us hopefully), code name etc.

Like Shakespeare said in Juliet:"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet." But i am not with him here what if Himesh Reshamiya and Shah Rukh Khan had their name exchanged. How would it be to hear "hey look at himesh's six pack ab, he is so handsome wow " impossible we cant even imagine that.(apologies to all those HR fans mesmerized by his nasal code skills). Example 2 what if Dhoni was called Shreeshanth and vice versa would he have ever made it to the captaincy, don't think so. So conclusively name has a big role to play in a persons success.

So back to where we began definitions of the various names (i am sure many of you are a confused lot like me)

Surname- The name of the family to which a person belongs. In the so-called Western Civilization the surname appears last; in Asian cultures the surname usually appears first.

First Name- The name chosen for a person by his or her parents.

Given Name- A given name is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name (surname).

Last Name- A family name or last name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs.

The more you look into it, the more confusing it can be, we are lucky that we have to use them only for questionnaire's and forms.

Introducing a Guest Blogger

2008-11-24T15:05:00.000+04:00

The secret is finally out, no it is not me who is writing all the content on the blog, that is if you consider all the copied articles and inspired ideas i hardly write at all. We have a new author whose aim in life is to change the world (that's after he makes his first billion).

He has a knack with devising new theories, raising controversial political statements and questioning the norms of the society. So if you come across any disheartening material on the blog, he is the one to blame.

A consultant by profession, self proclaimed intellectual (something we share) and a risk taker in all means of life. If any one of you have experienced Cheeky Chandu on Krithika's show in 101.6 ( for all non Dubaiwallas 101.6 is a popular Indian Radio frequency in the emirate and Krithika is a highly popular RJ for the morning show and Cheeky Chandu is her cynical, satirical and truly hilarious guest speaker), he will be the Cheeky Chandu for our blog.

Like they say before a movie starts "All character's in this blog are fictional and any resemblance to any one dead or alive is purely coincidental and we do not mean any harm to any one"

So next time you see a post check the author at the bottom before cursing the person and his strange ideas.

P.S The title of the blog has been creatively copied from one of his original ideas

Cow Economics

2008-11-22T17:45:00.000+04:00

Something that I came across on the Chain Mail,

SOCIALISM:You have 2 cows and you give one to your neighbour.

COMMUNISM:You have 2 cows; the Government takes both and gives you some milk.

NAZISM (Hitler's philosophy):You have 2 cows. The Government takes both and shoots you on the head.

AMERICAN CORPORATION:You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyze why the cow dropped dead.

FRENCH CORPORATION:You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.

BRITISH CORPORATION:You have two cows. Both are mad.

LEBANESE SYSTEM:You have two cows. One is owned by Syria and the other is controlled by the government.

EGYPTIAN SYSTEM:You have two cows. Both vote for Mubarak.

DUBAI SYSTEM:You have two cows. You create a website for them and advertise them in all magazines. You create a ' Cow City ' or ' Milk Village ' for them. You sell off their milk before the cows have even been milked to both legit and shady investors who hope to re -sell the non-existent milk for a 100% profit in two years time. You bring Tiger Woods to milk the cow first to attract media attention.

SHARJAH SYSTEM:You have two cows. You sell them to an investor in Dubai . The cows get stuck in traffic between Sharjah to Dubai and die.

ABUDHABI SYSTEM:You have two cows. So what? We have Oil!

Abraham Lincoln's Letter to His Son's Teacher

2008-11-22T17:20:00.000+04:00

"He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just and are not true. But teach him if you can, the wonder of books. But also give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hillside.

In school & life, teach him it is far more honorable to fall than to cheat.....

Teach to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him he is wrong.

Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone getting on the bandwagon...

Teach him to listen to all men; but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth, and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him, if you can, how to laugh when he is sad... Teach him there is no shame in tears.

Teach him to scoff at cynics and to be beware of too much sweetness.. Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to highest bidders, but never to put a price on his heart and soul. Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob.. and stand and fight if thinks he is right.

Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him, because only the test of fire makes fine steel. Let him have the courage to be impatient.. Let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will have faith in humankind.

This is a big order, but see what you can do. . He is such a fine little fellow my son!

- Abraham Lincoln

If By Rudyard Kipling

2008-11-22T17:08:00.000+04:00

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you

But make allowance for their doubting too,

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,

If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to,broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much,

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

Global Recession for Dummies

2008-11-20T16:12:00.000+04:00

The most popular topic of discussion list has been topped by global recession for the last few weeks in every known social circles. We have been bombarded with technical terms like recession, sub prime crisis, Repo Rate, CRR, which sounds very confusing and threatening. To add to the confusion, share market crashes world over, highly fluctuating currency rates, unending downsizing reports, mammoth banks closing shop, countries begging for funding, crude oil rates plummeting (that sounds good in last three months the price has come down from 148$ to 52 $ today). So where did things go wrong, why did one fine morning things started going out of control and as far as i know this is just the tip of an ice berg which will last for another year or two. So with my simple understanding let me put the crisis into simple points in the order of occurrence

Markets are steady and strong, banks are doing fine, people are happy.

Banks decide it is OK to lend money to any one who applies (high risk customers) so people started buying properties, credit card funded extravaganza, big cars etc.

This excess liquidity (money) started funding a shopping extravaganza, people went on shopping sprees buying over priced unnecessary products.

This promoted manufacturing in Asian economies like China, India, Japan etc. New manufacturers entered the race targeting the newly created demand.

The US banks have a provision for refinancing a property loan as and when the property prices increase, so the high risk customers started re financing property to pay installments on home loans and credit cards to stay away from trouble.

This is when the basic market forces came into action, when anything is supplied to market more than the requirement, its demand falls and hence property prices started falling, thereby halting the refinancing frenzy.

High risk customers started defaulting installments and banks started showing losses in their books, when the bank recalls the property to settle the loan it fetches far less prices than the loan amount.

Banks starts to panic and approaches the all seeing insurance giants for assistance, they analyze that the crisis is too big to handle with their cash reserves, so they start to fall apart.

More and more people starts defaulting installments, and this makes the situation worse.

The honeymoon is over people start to realize that they don't have all
that money to spend on unnecessary things and hence demand falls.

When the demand falls, production gets cut down, people start loosing jobs
this will create havoc in the manufacturing hubs.

Now when the bank is already in a crisis they stop or reduce drastically the
issuance of loans and credit cards.

If loans are not issued people cant buy necessities like vehicles and homes again.

When vehicle and home sales go down, steel consumption goes down, hence steel output is also slashed.

This in turn effects the crude oil prices which keeps going down even after the production cuts.

This creates a scene of economic tsunami which starts effecting everything on its way. But the good part is any body who has liquid cash or easily cash able assets (gold, silver etc.) this is the time to invest when you can buy cheap really cheap and a piece of advice if you do invest don't watch the markets for another 1 year it might fluctuate more and more.

Some Interesting Websites to Download Free Podcasts

2008-11-19T13:17:00.000+04:00

Iam not going to bore you with unintelligable introductions lets get to the point straight, most of these websites are educational, some are fiction, some are current affairs etc.

This is a site containing all the weekend lectures on entreuprunership held at stanford, absolutely free, high quality and a great collection http://edcorner.stanford.edu/podcasts.html
This is a website with classic books podcasts http://freeclassicaudiobooks.com/
This is the link to my favorate inspirational speaker Mr. Robin Sharma, this link contains all the free short podcasts about various topics, it is just a teaser to make you buy the full version, but great stuff very inspirational, has a very realistic feel http://www.robinsharma.com/success_podcast_ic_2.htm

This link takes you to the website for HBR (harvard business Review Podcasts) short audio clip with some interesting topics http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/hbr/hbr_ideacast.jhtml

This link takes you to a directory of some major institutions podcast links http://www.oculture.com/2007/02/business_school.html

University of Virginia Podcasts and webcasts http://www.virginia.edu/uvapodcast/search.php?keywords=cabell&submit=Go

This is one site with some great podcats and audio versions for many books, very helpful http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/scores/top

Another Great site with a great collection http://librivox.org/

I have taken a big risk by giving out all my information links, hope it becomes more useful for you than it has been for me.

Some Stupid Ideas to Irritate Tele Sales Executives

2008-11-18T19:52:00.000+04:00

One thing that we all have in common other than Gmail accounts, orkut profiles, mobile phones and hatred for Shreeshanth and Himesh Reshamiya is being annoyed by Tele-sales calls. These range from selling credit cards to holidays, discount vouchers to club memberships, diet foods to cargo service what and what not. The worst thing is that they always have a knack in calling at the wrong time either while driving, eating lunch to talking to a customer or worse even when you are taking a sweet afternoon nap. Unless you are a tele-sales agent yourself everyone out there will agree with me. I have come across some really interesting ideas to irritate these callers, some are really stupid and others are worth a try.

1) Try selling them something of yours when they make this call, i.e i am interested in your credit cards but you will have to buy my home made prawns pickle first and these come in a case of 10 bottles heheheh. Be persistent in your sales pitch and see how annoyed they can be. (tried and tested )

2) Tell them how busy you are right now and ask them to leave their mobile numbers so that you can call them when they are having dinner. (yet to be tried)

3) Cut the phone when you are talking, this is a super cool idea, when they call back you can always annoy them by saying " Is this how your company has trained you, how dare you cut the call when iam talking, connect me to your manager let me have a word with him , this new generation kids no manners at all " hehehehe this can be hilarious

4) Tell them how you rally don't need that card or holiday or health food by bragging about your bottomless bank balance, month long private island tour and the six pack abs you flaunt at the beach. The more exaggerated the stories are the more irritating it will be.

These are just some stupid ideas and you will obviously have many more so don't hesitate to share them. But the irony out here is that we are the global back office employing millions to operate call centers for international customers world over. This article has been inspired by some readings over the net with some personal additions ( creatively plagiarized).

WOULD YOU TRY 1009 TIMES BEFORE YOU GAVE UP ?

2008-11-18T17:45:00.000+04:00

Persistence and Determination is something inborn unarguably the most important ingredient to success. I have been fascinated by this character commonly found in the greatest entrepreneurs of our time, be it the 6000 trials done by Edison for the light bulb or the 100 loan applications rejected for Sabeer Bhatia.

But the truly greatest act of persisitence and unfortunately the least know can be bestowed upon Colonel Sanders the founder of KFC. Dont confuse this with my sever consumption of fast food or my passions towards fried chicken. He was 60 year old and living on a social security pension of 105 $ when he decide to do something about his situation. He identified that he had a really good recipe for fried chicken and strong will power which will not stop him from retiring at that age.

He decided to sell his recipe to restaurants and make a profit out of sharing the additional revenue made by his finger lickin good recipe. At the age of 60 he travelled around the country and visited 1009 outlets in 2 years before he signed his first successful contract. the rest is history KFC is one of the largest franchisee of fast food with over 33,000 outlets world over. This is truly inspiring for every one who gives up on the second sales meet, or the third interview.

Like Abishek Bachan says in GURU " mere himmath nahi cheen saktha hai, mera himmath sirf mera hai "

Egg white Omlette with Frozen Mushroom, Chopped Onions, Sliced Capsicum and a Layer of Cheese

2008-11-16T18:12:00.001+04:00

Men and cooking have a love hate relationship from the time when women have started monopolising the craft. It is a proven fact that the best cooks in the world are men and they are just letting women do it at home, so they wont be so jobless and bored (this can be debated and proven any where). So in this post me the amatuer cook, the expert foodie and the worst guest for food ( nightmare) is trying my hand at teaching you how to cook egg white omlette with vegetables and cheese.

Ingredients

3 Egg

1 Peeled and chopped big onion

3 Sliced mushroom

1 Piece of capcicum sliced length wise

1 Slice of cheese

Salt to taste

Preperations

1) Break the omlettes and take the white liquid only into a glass ( use a spoon to remove the yolk)

2) Mix the chopped onion, sliced mushroom and capsicum to the glass

3) Stir properly ( 5 stirrings to the right and 4 to the left)

4) Add salt to taste

5) Heat the pan with a few drops of oil

6) Pour the mixture when the pan is heated and ready

7) when the omlette is hot and looks ready spread the cheese slice on top.

8) when the cheese starts melting fold the omlette from the side.

TADA THE EGG WHITE OMLETTE WITH VEGETABLE AND CHEESE IS READY

dont be surprised by the photo illustrations mine didnt look half as good and it even had a burned side and a war zone like kitchen to add to the trouble. if any one does take the risk to try this please tell me how it went.