Reading Novels

I've always been a voracious reader however last few years I've not been doing much of that.
Now I'm back to my reading streak again. Done with the below one's

• The White Tiger                                                                                                                                       The White Tiger is the debut novel by Indian author Aravind Adiga. It was first published in 2008 and won the 40th Man Booker Prize in the same year. 
• To Kill A Mocking Bird                                                                                                                        To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was immediately successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature.
• Go Set A Watchman                                                                                                                               Go Set a Watchman is a novel by Harper Lee published on July 14, 2015, by HarperCollins in the United States and Willam Heinemann in the United Kingdom. Originally written in the mid-1950s, 'Go Set a Watchman' was the novel Harper Lee first submitted to her publishers before 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.

And started another one 'Saffron Dreams'.

Burn Your Boats!

When I heard this phrase I was like what's this all about..why would a person do this in first place. Done some research on this and came to know about the history behind it. The ancient Greek warriors were both feared and respected by their enemies. In battle, the Greeks established a well-deserved reputation for their unsurpassed bravery and unshakable commitment to victory. The key to their overwhelming success on the battlefield had far more to do with how the Greek commanders motivated the warriors than it did with issues of tactics or training. The Greeks were master motivators who understood how to use a "dramatic demonstration" to infuse a spirit of commitment into the heart of every warrior.

Once the warriors had been offloaded from their boats onto their enemy's shore, the Greek commanders would shout out their first order, "burn the boats!" The sight of burning boats removed any notion of retreat from their hearts and any thoughts of surrender from their heads. Imagine the tremendous psychological impact on the soldiers as they watched their boats being set to the torch. As the boats turned to ash and slipped quietly out of sight into the water, each man understood there was no turning back and the only way home was through victory.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. ~ Steve Jobs

Tribute! To Steve

Despite having the odds against him, he believed in himself. He believed in his vision. He believed that he could change the way we communicate. He believed he could make a difference. And he did!

This past week we said goodbye to Steve Jobs - the co-founder of Apple who
revolutionized the way we communicate, work and play.

But life was never easy for him and the only reason Jobs succeeded is because he believed in himself. He didn't let the naysayers stop him. He didn't let the doubters hold him back.

He dropped out of school because he couldn't afford the tuition. He collected used soda cans and returned them to collect the deposit money. He walked 7 miles once a week so he could get a good meal from nearby Hare Krishna temple.

They kicked Steve Jobs out of his own company. But he didn't give up. He worked his way back and turned it into the biggest and most influential company in the world.

All along he believed in himself and his vision.

He never gave up. When he slept on a cold hard floor with only a blanket he didn't give up.

Through all those years of struggle, Steve Jobs directed his mind, his subconscious
mind and his powers to follow his vision and success was sure to follow.

When he passed away on Wednesday - Steve Jobs was a billionaire. He built one of the most valuable companies in the world and he made a big difference.

I am glad to have a piece of legacy that you left (An iphone 2g)

Thank You! Steve for everything you gave to this world. You have been a role model to all of us across the globe.

R.I.P Steve!

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

~ Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish!

Doing Something for Society!

I always wanted to do something for the society...though had been doing things here and there but not dedicatedly..So, I got an opportunity lately...CSR(corporate social responsibility) group of our office asked folks across the groups/projects to join this initiative of teaching poor kids in an orphanage..without thinking twice I included my name in the volunteers list.

I was there last Sunday(and now it's a routine)....that one and half hour spent with those poor kids was such an amazing experience, felt so nice...moreover I was astonished to see that these kids are already so smart, they are full of energy and they are so much enthusiastic about learning things...it's really great.

I asked couple of kids, what they wanna become in future and they promptly replied "Doctor","Engineer","Pilot","Nurse",etc and no wonder they will make it..provided we as an society keep on helping them by whatever means we can...it can be done just by visiting them, by donating some funds,by donating some cloths/books,teaching them,helping them in getting scholarships,etc.

I know it's easier said than done but doing something for the society gives you peace of mind...If you don't trust me, then try to do something and you will feel the difference.

"Helping Hands Are Better Than Praying Lips"

For Depressed Souls!

Couple of days back I met a person on a coffee break and after customary "Hi/Hello", I asked him "How is life"? he promptly retorted "Life is a bitch!" I replied back "Life is beautiful!". After talking him for a while got to know that all is not well with him....but somehow I felt like this guy is a depressed soul. That evening I decided to write a post on depressed souls ....What's depression? If you are feeling down and out? If you don't have the energy or desire to get out and do things? If you are feeling hopeless or uncertain about the future? If answer to these questions is yes then you might be stuck in a rut that you don't think you can get out of... and it leads to depression. You want to get up and do things... but you aren't able to do so.The thoughts race through your mind... what if, maybe I should have done... if only I had... it's my fault... there's nowhere to turn... After a while you feel hopeless, you think what's the point of even trying, you'll only fail again... and you're tired of the same old thing over and over again... These thoughts that race through your mind hold you back, slow you down, and trap you in a feeling of despair and isolation...

When you replace those very same thoughts, your entire life changes. Your circumstances change. You begin to feel alive, happy, ambitious, ready to step out and live life to its fullest.

Couple of suggestions to get rid of depression:

* Focus on Success Instead of failures
* Forgive others for the way they may have treated you
* No Longer feel sorry for yourself
* Be more confident
* Enjoy a Greater Sense of Self Worth
* Go out and interact with friends and family
* Don't worry about what others might say or think
* Overcome obstacles that may have stopped you in the past
* Eliminate the chronic feeling of sadness and despair

~ Life is not for those; who can't cope the dope

Harsha Bhogle on Excellence

I came across a 5 year old speech given by Harsha Bhogle at IIM-A on excellence (He himself is an IIM-A graduate and is a famous cricket commentator). Though this whole speech was too lengthy (to be precise 1 hr 17 minutes) but it was worth listening and I enjoyed every bit of it.

Here is an excerpt from that 1 hr video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y5AoZb4eGQ

I'm jotting few of the points from his speech on excellence:

• Excellence never seeks excuse
• Every time give your 100% whatever you do
• Excellence can never go along with ego & anger
• Don't worry about the end results...do your job ethically
• Work ethic, passion and attitude counts far more than ability
• Surround yourself with excellent people whom you can look up to
• Accept your mistakes,recognize them, work on those & bounce back
• Talent alone can't make you successful...you have to have the right attitude
• Luck is a combination of preparation & identifying the right opportunity
• Don't be scared of failures..challenge your limits
• Don't grudge others success
• Share your knowledge

" Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude"

Are Daughter's Really A Liability?

Other day I saw the news on TOI that Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra, the only woman judge in the Supreme court, has declared her unmarried daughters as ‘liability’ on the court’s website. I pondered for a while and asked myself "what's my take on this article"? Firstly, I thought it's no more true! daughter's are not liability they are as good as son's provided they are educated and if they are educated they'll become self-reliant which by no means make them a 'liability' instead they will become 'Pillar of Support' but then i started thinking to the core and came the conclusion the woman Judge is right to some extent.

We need to think deeper on the issue as this statement is not coming just from anyone..but it's coming from a person who is quite higher in the ladder and when she herself being a woman has this notion then the issue has some weightage for sure.

There are so many rural/suburbs/urban areas where even these days girl child is killed because parents think at the time of her marriage they will have to shell out a hefty amount on her marriage as well as part of Dowry. Every now and then you see news of rape,harassment,dowry-killings/Honor-killings,etc. Until a girl gets married and gets support of life-partner,parent's are always worried because there is a sense of insecurity regarding her safety. Since ages we have always consider women as weak and it's still going on.

The basic problem in India is that we don't provide equal opportunities to the fairer sex...we decide what she can do/will do instead of females deciding what they can do/want to do because there are social obligations. If she does something which haven't done before we think what the people/relatives will say,how the society will react,etc. Other problem is of law enforcement..there are laws which empowers women but problem is lack of strict policing/fair trials..

If you compare the situation here with the west; things are totally at contrast....they provide equal opportunities to both the sexes..you will find women working as Police Officers/Train Drivers/Bus Drivers/Pilots/In Armed Forces/Bartenders/Restaurateur's..Point is that they don't classify what woman should do versus what they shouldn't plus there you have stringent rules which are enforced properly so no one dares to do anything against women.

This whole topic has raged a debate across tv-channels and online forums...I don't wanna take sides also can't say who is right or wrong but we need to understand there is problem lying beneath amid all this and we(the society) needs to find where does the problem lies and yes the question remains still unanswered...
Are Daughter's Really A Liability?

~ You're A Big Girl Now

A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam in his own words how a leader should manager failures & celebrate sucess.

In 1973 I became the project director of India's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India's "Rohini" satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources -- but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.

By 1979 -- I think the month was August -- we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal. It was a big failure.

That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am, and the press conference -- where journalists from around the world were present -- was at 7:45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.

The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite -- and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, "You conduct the press conference today."

I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team.

Al Pacino's Inspirational Speech

10 Principles for Peace of Mind

1. Do Not Interfere In Others’ Business Unless Asked:

Most of us create our own problems by interfering too often in others’ affairs. We do so because somehow we have convinced ourselves that our way is the best way, our logic is the perfect logic and those who do not conform to our thinking must be criticized and steered to the right direction, our direction. This thinking denies the existence of individuality and consequently the existence of God.. God has created each one of us in a unique way. No two human beings can think or act in exactly the same way. All men or women act the way they do because God within them prompts them that way. Mind your own business and you will keep your peace.

2. Forgive And Forget:

This is the most powerful aid to peace of mind. We often develop ill feelings inside our heart for the person who insults us or harms us. We nurture grievances. This in turn results in loss of sleep, development of stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure. This insult or injury was done once, but nourishing of grievance goes on forever by constantly remembering it. Get over this bad habit. Life is too short to waste in such trifles. Forgive,Forget, and march on. Love flourishes in giving and forgiving.

3. Do Not Crave For Recognition:

This world is full of selfish people. They seldom praise anybody without selfish motives. They may praise you today because you are in power, but no sooner than you are powerless, they will forget your achievement and will start finding faults in you. Why do you wish to kill yours if in striving for their recognition? Their recognition is not worth the aggravation. Do your duties ethically and sincerely.

4. Do Not Be Jealous:

We all have experienced how jealousy can disturb our peace of mind. You know that you work harder than your colleagues in the office, but sometimes they get promotions; you do not. You started a business several years ago, but you are not as successful as your neighbor whose business is only one year old. There are several examples like these in everyday life. Should you be jealous? No. Remember everybody’s life is shaped by his/her destiny, which has now become his/her reality. If you are destined to be rich, nothing in the world can stop you. If you are not so destined, no one can help you either. Nothing will be gained by blaming others for your misfortune. Jealousy will not get you anywhere; it will only take away your peace of mind.

5. Change Yourself According To The Environment:

If you try to change the environment single-handedly, the chances are you will fail. Instead, change yourself to suit your environment. As you do this, even the environment, which has been unfriendly to you, will mysteriously change and seem congenial and harmonious.

6. Endure What Cannot Be Cured:

This is the best way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Every day we face numerous inconveniences, ailments, irritations, and accidents that are beyond our control. If we cannot control them or change them, we must learn to put up with these things. We must learn to endure them cheerfully. Believe in yourself and you will gain in terms of patience, inner strength and will power.

7. Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew:

This maxim needs to be remembered constantly. We often tend to take more responsibilities than we are capable of carrying out. This is done to satisfy our ego. Know your limitations. . Why take on additional loads that may create more worries? You cannot gain peace of mind by expanding your external activities. Reduce your material engagements and spend time in prayer, introspection and meditation. This will reduce those thoughts in your mind that make you restless. Uncluttered mind will produce greater peace of mind.

8. Meditate Regularly:

Meditation calms the mind and gets rid of disturbing thoughts. This is the highest state of peace of mind. Try and experience it yourself. If you meditate earnestly for half an hour everyday, your mind will tend to become peaceful during the remaining twenty-three and half-hours. Your mind will not be easily disturbed as it was before. You would benefit by gradually increasing the period of daily meditation. You may think that this will interfere with your daily work. On the contrary, this will increase your efficiency and you will be able to produce better results in less time.

9. Never Leave The Mind Vacant:

An empty mind is the devil’s workshop. All evil actions start in the vacant mind. Keep your mind occupied in something positive, something worthwhile. Actively follow a hobby. Do something that holds your interest. You must decide what you value more: money or peace of mind. Your hobby, like social work or religious work, may not always earn you more money, but you will have a sense of fulfillment and achievement. Even when you are resting physically, occupy yourself in healthy reading or mental chanting of God’s name.

10. Do Not Procrastinate And Never Regret:

Do not waste time in protracted wondering ” Should I or shouldn’t I?” Days, weeks, months, and years may be wasted in that futile mental debating. You can never plan enough because you can never anticipate all future happenings. Value your time and do the things that need to be done. It does not matter if you fail the first time. You can learn from your mistakes and succeed the next time. Sitting back and worrying will lead to nothing. Learn from your mistakes, but do not brood over the past. DO NOT REGRET. Whatever happened was destined to happen only that way. Why cry over split milk?

Steve Job on his Life,his Failures & his Success

Politics of Hate!

Though i am not an ardent fan of Shahrukh Khan but i must applaud him for the stance he took amidst the threats by thackery clan and his goons to block his film MNIK from releasing. We live in an independent & democratic nation and we do have freedom of expression to put our views on different issues.
And if someone doesn't agree with any individuals take then they should criticise thru proper channels, why the hell you are making big fuss out of a simple statement ? Why you are disturbing/de-railing the public life ? Why you always follow this hate politics? Why these paper tigers talk from their den only and send their fanatic supporters to disrupt day to day life?
SRK is as patriotic as any member of Thackrey family...in fact I think SRK is more patriotic as message thru his movies unites people in a way.
We don't need these anti-social politicians anymore who spit venom every now and then and divide people on the basis of caste,creed,social-status,etc; we need politicians who have a vision,who unites people,who can provide us better infrastructure,better education,better medical facilities,better institutions,who promote society not on the basis of caste,creed,status but promote people thru meritocracy...who believes in unity in diversity,who believes in women empowerment. Who thinks we all belongs to India & India belongs to all Indians.
Change is in the offing....despite serious threats by fanatic shiv sainik's today people came out in large numbers & watched movies across Mumbai. Crowd's response was overwhelming and anyone who was interviewed by TV channel's spoke upfront against thackrey and his hate politics. Of course full marks to Mumbai Chief Minister & Mumbai police for making people feel safe & putting hooligans behind bars.
Other day when Rahul Gandhi visited Mumbai...Shiv-Sena did the same thing & tried to make things worse for him ; but the smarty not only visited Mumbai but also took ride of two Mumbai locals, meeted college youths & talked a lot about one India, youth power,education,rural development...Impressive!

~ No one can make you feel Inferior without your permission

Life Drives You; You Don't Drive Life

Life has it's own journey,it's own speed,it's own way of handling things...we think,plan,organize things our way but at times things happen other way. More or less everyone of us had faced these kind of situation's & then sometimes we curse ourselves,sometimes others & sometimes even god. Well, i feel no one is to be cursed or blamed for whatever the circumstances may become because nothing is going to changed by doing so....that's the way life is...it's having it's own set of twist's and turn's..Life is so uncertain, so unpredictable. So, don't just spent too much time making big plans..rather take some time out and do things the way you want. Don't live life in disappointment,regrets just because you didn't got what you tried for or that didn't happened what you planned for & things like that...better always be positive about things and just try doing your level best and that's all one can do....rest is luck,fate/destiny!

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on. ~Robert Frost

Ordinary People - ExtraOrdinary Dreams

Other day i was just going thru ibnlive.com to get my daily quota of news & came across a link http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/88328/03_2009/realhero_award1/real-heroes-honouring-the-extraordinary-indian.html
Started watching it and came to know about 24 people from different spheres of life who have been rewarded by Reliance & IBN7 for there contribution to the society.....for the difference they made to others life despite facing all odds. It was amazing to know what all sorts of struggle,hardships,odds they faced but stood rock solid and achieved feats.
There were few people who were well off,who had all the comforts,who could have made quick money but left everything aside to go back and made a difference in the society which they thought they could and they made....whereas there was another group of people who faced some personal tragedies but instead of sitting back they bounced back and started working to eradicate the cause due to which they loss there near & dear one's...A lady selling vegetables who lost her husband because she didn't had money to pay the hospital bills...worked tirelessly over the years with a dream of making a hospital for under-privileged & stopped only when she finally built a Hospital...This is one of those examples there are many many more stories of courage n success....I am amazed & astonished to watch all these people & I salute their grit...Hat's off to there courage,resolute and unshakable faith. These are just ordinary people but having extra-ordinary dreams.
There are many unsung heroes...there are many unknown faces who are making difference in life of others. We are too busy in our day to day life but it would be great if we can at least make some difference to someone...even if the contribution we are going to make is too small..remember every drop counts.

Movies by weekend

• Saving Private Ryan
• Shwashank Redemption
• Into the wild
• Forrest Gump
  

Completed 3 Years!

Today,completed 3 years in this organization...looking back these 3 years have been quite nice...learnt lot of things...have been part of different projects,assignments..made few good friends too :-)

Cheers!

Few Motivaional Words!

Just got this mail from one of websites which i am registered user.....posting it as i feel it's really nice............

1. Instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them. Beat the heck out of them. Enjoy the game. If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Failing makes you tired. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge, more help.
2. God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but he did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears and light for the way.
3. Disappointments are like road bumps, they slow you down a bit but you enjoy the smooth road afterwards.. Don't stay on the bumps too long. Move on!
4. When you feel down because you didn't get what you want, just sit tight and be happy, because God has thought of something better to give you. When something happens to you, good or bad, consider what it means. There's a purpose to life's events, to teach you how to laugh more or not to cry too hard.
5. No one can go back and make a brand new start. But anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

Time Pass in Weekends

It's been 4 weekend's now..and i am doing literally nothing except watching hindi movies and sleeping...and i don't have any qualms about it...finished below ones.

• Khoobsoorat
• Silsila
• Mother India
• Batoon-Batoon Mein
• Khatta-Meetha
• Parichay
• Guddi
• Prahar
• Shool
• Tezab

I hope i'll carry on with this schedule.. ;-)

Got a break!

Finally got a break after continuously working for around 2 weeks...schedule was too hectic
:-( had a chance to roam around the beaches across the bay area...and it was awesome!...the costal area,the meadows,the farms,everthing was too good...CA is really too beautiful...I hope i'll cover lot of places till the time i am here.

Leaving a Mark!

Today a friend of mine is moving back to India after completing a stint of 11 months here at the client office in States...the kind of friendship,relationship he has developed,nurtured & nourished over time here with colleagues,client in this time-period is really commendable. I was literally touched & astonished the way people were feeling when they got to know that he is moving back.
Very few of us can be a person like this,who is adorable by everyone...actually we are too much bothered about the problems we have in day to day lives..that we forgot to count & enjoy the blessings that we have at present and repent upon our failures,sorrows.
Mother,Father,Brother,Sister,etc. are all blood relations which we already get but there is one relation which we make by ourselves & that is relation of a friend..getting into a relation is not a big deal but to maintain it & make it unforgettable is a big thing.
Everyone of us are having our own set of problems & issues but the one who comes a step forward and gives a helping hand to other,listens to other problems,makes them feel that he is among those only; is truly a genuine person and leaves a mark in our lives.

"They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel"

Welcome 2009!

Year 2009 hasn't started on a good note....world economy collapsed,millions of job cuts across the globe,people are living under fear of recession.
Anyways, amidst all this chaos I wish everyone a very happy,bright & prosperous new year...and wish you all a very happy & successful 2009 ahead.
I was in a habit to make new year resolutions every year on 31st Dec. night but this year on 31st evening I just landed in states and then i was busy in celebrating the new year with a group of friends....so forgot to set resolutions.

Surely,I'll make few achievable set of resolutions this year too and i'll focus upon those.

- Happy New Year

Why Me?

Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player, contracted HIV during the blood transfusions he had received during one of his two heart surgeries and he was dying of AIDS.

During his battle with AIDS..from world over, he received letters from his fans.....one of his fans asked, "Why does God have to select you for such a bad disease?" Ashe replied, "The world over — 50,000,000 children start playing tennis, 5,000,000 learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5,000 reach the Grand Slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to the semifinals, 2 to the finals. When I was holding a cup, I never asked God 'Why me?' And today in pain I should not be asking God, 'Why me?

"I cried because I've no shoes;till i saw a person having no feet"

Live Life to the Fullest

Another series of blast in Delhi last week..people have lost their near & dear ones in moment or two..things got changed forever for a unlucky few in a couple of minutes.Some lost their parents,some lost their child's,someone lost her husband,someone lost his wife....someone lost their sole bread-earner.A lot of fuss is going around about terrorism in all the television chat shows..lot of blame game is going on...govt. is also involved in skin saving excerise & opposition is as usual involved in blaming govt. Well, govt. or police alone can't be blamed...sometimes we citizen's aren't too casual about things..we ignore things...we aren't aware of our surroundings. Today's TOI had reports that 2005 Sarojni Nagar victims have to run from pillar to post to get the declared compensation or to get their treatment done and even some victims are yet to get it...what the heck!...seems either life is too cheap or govt./govt. officials are too inhuman...Anyways...my stance amidst all these blasts/accidents happening every now & then is simple..live your life to the fullest...enjoy life..celebrate it..live each and every moment..you never know when it's going to be your last day..you never know what's going to happen in next one hour,next day,next month or next year...so better do all those things you always wanted to do..cherish moments you have spent with your friends...better meet your friends whom you might have forgot by now :-)..Let's not keep grudges,hatred against anyone..though these are quite inevitable but let's forget/forgive people...may be you're going to regret all this down the line...So,live your life king size & say Cheers! to life.

"Life is too short to be small"

Incredible India

There have been an "incredible India" campaign (http://www.incredibleindia.org/) going on for quite some time by department of tourism-govt. of India. We say we are world class,we are growing,we are self-reliant,but are we really this way......i think we are yet lagging behind.....i had two different experience. First,while at IGI,Delhi there was total chaos...long queues at the immigration counter..i was standing for 3 long hours to get immigration clearance...while on board to Zurich i had a company of US citizen(broad),who asked me a question and i was on my feet's...i was just unable to defend my country..yup!..."Is this what you are proud of..with what we just saw at the airport....it was pathetic to be there in the queue for such long and to see that the VIP's are just getting a green signal without even proper checking..you know you people are behind due to these nasty politicians,the deep-rooted corruption,improper infrastructure,etc." I agree and I've seen all this happening back in home....Second,while on board to Boston from Zurich i had a fellow passenger(Addy)who after having some conversation asked me "How you are having such a good command in english?" Do you people have good infrastucture,schools,colleges there?
I pondered for a moment then told him about the kind of schools/colleges/professionals institutes we are having back in India...But the bigger question was the notion,perception people here in east are still having about India.
Today i saw a report on www.ibnlive.com about how government is compromising on quality of shoes..our soldiers wear at the highest battlefield(siachin),another report...an army brigadiar was sending drums filled with water instead of Petrol/Diesel to the army posts..another report..an ibn-live reporter made his ration-card/pan-card/voting-card/driving license/passport...yes all of them without showing any papers and by just paying bribe..and if you go with all the genuine papers the same clerk refuses...whats all this? Is india really incredible? any answers?

~The Times They Are A - Changin

New Year: New Resolutions

Happy New Year to all of you who goes thru by my blog; Yes again its time to say a goodbye to the year 2007 and to welcome the year 2008 with full jest and zeal. Also it's time to make a few resolutions which we can work upon. Resolutions are the first thing which comes into mind after you are done with partying and all. I do had a few resolutions last year, some were accomplished & some are yet to be. Again this year too i do have made some resolutions let's see how it goes.
When it comes to resolutions it's all about how we work towards them,also a bit of luck is always there. I wish a very good luck to all of you for this ongoing year 2008.

Movies By Weekend

• HotShots
• Grease

Value,ethics,morals & etc.

I hope you must have heard words like values,ethics,moral,etc. very often.....if not then try to be there into your manager's cabin or listen a debate between politicians on a leading channel and you will hear a few of them:-) Doesn't it sound all crap when people talk a lot about ethics,moral,values when they themselves owe non of them either...most of us use these words every now and then,without even knowing what they mean....and do anyone really bothers about what ethics,value,etc. are? Firstly do we act in the same manner as we suggest others? why don't we face the truth as it comes and act rationally? why we play the blame game always ?why we look around when we know the answer's are within us? why we say something and do something?
Do we play the roles we have to?do we introspect for the failures? There are too many questions around...and answers if there are any are not at all soothing....
We talk about culture,environment,atmosphere....but do we know iota of it..remember you get what you give..so never expect roses in turn when you are giving out thorns...

~ Don't think twice,it's alright

Cyberslacking

Sometimes back i saw somewhere in the TOI that these days companies are getting quite stringent about cyberslacking......i haven't heard this word before....may be my vocab is not up to date...after googgling this word came to know that a bit of chatting or checking your mails within the company is an issue...well don't know what's the harm in it,if a person updates himself on personal front apart from the work...
yes, but if it's an addiction and you are too much into it that's an issue else I feel it's OK....i was reading somewhere that cyberslacking kills productivity....i feel the other way round...you work better when you know what's all happening around.

Movies by Weekend

• Bourne Ultimatum
• The Score
• Blood Diamond
• Rocky Bilboa

Backing out of the deal

It was uncalled for to back out from the nuclear deal for the coalition govt....just for the sake of saving the government at the center the deal was rolled out...If this deal would have been done we could have got the fuel which is dwindling day by day to fulfill the growing fuel/energy demands.....
I don't know how many times politician's would keep aside national interests and would keep saving their turf.....i think there has to be some mechanism wherein issues of national interests should be discussed,debated,cross-questioned and needs to be justified...before any major deals or decisions has to be taken as an nation...*sigh!*..these politicians they are good for nothing.
It would have been great if this deal would have worked out even if at the expense of present government...and no wonder people would have voted back congress to the power with flying colors but now as the govt had already taken a anti-deal stance just to appease the "karat clan"...i can bet they won't be back with the required numbers....anyways governments will come and go but what about the public/nation...i guess we require a RTI kind of thing for any big decision when it comes to us as a nation in whole...

Managing People

Managing people, it's not easy task.....really it's not. I don't have much understanding of management but whatever i had felt is that people management is a quite arduous task and requires a specific skill-set....some times back i had an impression that being a manager means playing with excel sheets,filling the columns with vibrant colors and remain busy in one or other meetings.Now when i am watching things more closely i feel being manager doesn't means just doing all this....apart from all this a task which measure you as a manager is the ability to handle people i.e. the way you make your employees feel good,satisfied,engaged.....give them the room to express their feelings and understand the same.
Well in this competitive environment everyone wants to grow...wants to move ahead in the ladder and of course want to have higher salary packages....keeping all this in mind everyone is working, and when the aspirations of individuals are so high its quite cumbersome to deal with each of them.....and thus comes the role of an manager to identity the potential of each and every individual show them the right direction...appraise them if they are worth it.
Sometimes i think when we as an employees have so much of issues and have someone to yell upon but think for a moment of these managers who are sitting at the top ,feeling lonely,listening to everyone..calming down everyone,sometimes with false promises..sometimes with tall claims.....showing castles in the air.....they know the truth..they are aware of the surroundings...but still they behave in the other manner because this is what there job is all about...to manage people..by any means. Now i think I've written much on management stuff....and there is always other side of the story too.

Management is an art - Peter Drucker

Sharing B'day with Gandhi

I share my birthday with "Father of the nation"....and no doubt i feel good about it....on my b'day people look at me strangely and say "hey so you are Gandhi"....well i am not & don't want to be....
Gandhi is quite a irrelevant in this mundane world...i am pretty much sure that Gandhi too have felt the same way and had said that there is too much to worry about my kith and kins than anybody else :-)
Anyways, nowadays i am reading Gandhi's "My Experiments With Truth" voraciously,hope I'll finish it soon....

~Nobody Listening

The Winning Streak

It seems everyone is deeply influenced by "Chak De" impact... first it was the football team winning the Nehru Cup,then it was the hockey team lifting the Asia Cup and finally it's the Indian cricket team snatching the 20-20 World cup from Pakistan.....there is a sense of euphoria all around.......
Well,it may be a mere coincidence that all the major victories are happening after Shahruk's "Chak De" but no one can deny the fact that the movie can inspire any team...
The good factor about the team India Dhoni is leading it's a young one,don't have any past records to rely on,they have that zeal,enthusiasm that spirit and above all they want to fight till the end....Hope this winning streak for team India goes on......

Individuals are nothing without Team

Breaking Routine

For last three days i am waking up at 7 in the morning....this was something really difficult as i had a routine of sleeping till 8:30/9 but anyhow i managed to break that...nowadays i going to nearby park and doing work out for around 30 minutes which includes a 10 minutes walk and 20 minutes of exercise...and am feeling good about it. I hope I'll carry on with this new schedule....

Promotion Denied

Kiran Bedi the 1972 IPS officer and also the first woman IPS officer of the country was eying for the post of Delhi Police commissioner and why not she was having seniority as well as the merit by her side....but the officer junior to her by 2 years Y.S.Dadwal was made the police commissioner.
Other day I saw her interview in a TV channel late in the night wherein she was lashing out at the government and i guess it is justified too....Well my take is that it's not always that the person who works honestly,who deserves promotion,who works hard gets promoted there are other factors too like how much booze parties you attend,how many connections you are having in various political parties and how much favors you have done for someone......

"A person should not be too honest.Straight trees are cut first and Honest people are screwed first." ~ Chanakya

Retaining Relationship

Doesn't we take sometimes our relationship for granted?? yeah we do, i think so.....we make so much efforts to get in a relationship and once we are into a relationship we start taking things casually...recently one of my known one's, long cherished relationship brooked-off with a girl whom he was supposed to get married very soon ....alas! but it wasn't destined that way. when u are in a relation i guess there shouldn't be any room for compromise.......rather there should be understanding else things will fall apart.....for this friend of mine i think things still could have worked out but when your respective ego's come in-between you can't think of anything else....and then nothing good can be materialized...one important thing in a relationship is openness and without people being open to each other in a relation,there is a chance that it won't last long...After all what you give is what you get...

~Its all over now Baby Blue

Women on Top

Finally,we got the first ever woman president as PP aka Pratibha Patil......to be frank it wasn't looking at all like an election for the prestigious post....the way leg-pulling was going on and the way parties were digging to find allegations it was pathetic & shameful too.
It is really a matter of concern why political parties are not able to find out any suitable candidates who have some vision,some direction,some dreams.....who are full of enthusiasm..why these parties doesn't made a consensus on a candidate who is appropriate and who really deserves to be there at the top-most position.
I bet Kalam should have been the better choice and he is certainly far better then the patil's and shekawat's. Again same exercise is going to be followed in the Vice President's election....with parties popping up names of Muslim candidates.....*sigh* when we are going to keep these caste creed things aside...
Anyways, full marks to PP for making it to the top as it gives a ray of hope to all those who are eyeing at the women reservation bill :-)

Movie By Weekend

Last night saw "Die Hard 4" ... though i don't go for action movies but this one was worth watching......

Joining Anniversary :-)

Today i had completed a year in the organization......on this same day 6th july last year i had joined...time just went by...looking back it was a good experience to work with different people,to be part of different teams....

~ Cheers!!

Visibility Crisis

I was just thinking about the title of the post whether it should be visibility bug or visibility crisis.....lastly thought the latter would be the better choice.
At times I've realized that people are bitten by visibility bug a lot.....you work or not doesn't matter but you have to have the skills to make your presence felt.
I have seen guys who are standing tall just because they have the ability to make timely cc's and bcc's and there are guys at the other hand who despite putting best of their working abilities can't make it to the top....there is a cut-throat competition around wherein people don't want to loose any chance to prove themselves....well,there is a reason behind...onsite opportunities,good ratings/appraisals...Fine i agree who doesn't have these desires but to fulfill them aren't we loosing our values,morals,ethics...*sigh* who cares at all....In all this rat race the much hyped terms team spirit/team bonding goes into the back-burner...I feel things will come out to you if you have that capabilities in you...it's just a matter of time......
I found this post by Robin Sharma interesting to correlate with.....

Credit Doesn't Matter Mon June 18, 2007

I think it was Teddy Roosevelt who said something like "you can have whatever you want so long as it doesn't matter who gets the credit." (I'm in a cab in New York City blogging this out on my Blackberry so I'm not able to be sure right now). But the idea remains uber-powerful. Leave your ego at the front door when you go into work tomorrow morning and just do great work. Good things will happen. For you.

It's so human to crave applause and recognition and acclaim. We all want to be appreciated by our peers and revered by the tribe. But leadership is a lot more than trying to look good in the eyes of others. It's about standing for a Cause. It's about being excellent as you do your work (no matter what your title is). It's about leaving people better than you found them. And it's about not worrying who gets the credit for a job well done.

People who are brilliant at what they do always get found out. The cliché is true: the cream always rises to the top. The best always come to light. And The Great Ones amongst us can never be held back.

"There are two kind of people,one who works and one who takes the credit,try to be in the first group there is less competition there."

Consumer - Can't be taken For Granted

Remember,those days when you had purchased something from a shop and later on you come to know that item being purchased is defected or not working as expected and once you get back to the shopkeeper he tells you that "item once purchased could not be replaced or returned".
How you felt at that time??.....obviously you might have felt that you have being cheated.Nowadays things are different there is a tough competition among
brands/companies in order to lure customer to buy their products..customer comes
first everywhere...For an example..Last month i had purchased a Motorola mobile phone...it was the basic model and it wasn't having extra feature apart from having a FM radio.To be honest i don't have any penchant towards latest trendy,flashy mobiles...rather i take it as a necessity. Within 18/20 days of purchasing the set it's FM radio was not working and that was not acceptable at all....i complained about the same once to the service center but then realized that they are not taking it seriously.
I approached the CORE center www.core.nic.in which is an online forum for addressing consumer grievances and it's backed by Ministry of Consumer Affairs,Govt. of India.
I wrote my complaint on the online forum against the brand and within a week
the company officials contacted me and asked me to collect the new Mobile set from them.
So,things had changed a lot in last couple of years,now consumer is someone whom you can't ignore just like that.There are ways to tackle issues but consumer needs to be conscious about his/her rights and should not suffer for the mistakes which they are not part of at all.

Robin: Always at his Best

I usually frequent robin sharma's blog-page....i am really impressed the way he narrate things,the way he inspires and motivates...Check this one out,i had always found Robin at his best http://www.robinsharma.com/life_coach_ic_blog_344.htm the first time i came to know about him was when one of my friend gave me the book "The Greatness Guide" a wonderful book,mostly about principles of life,lessons to learn from mistakes,about how to leave a mark behind in the journey of life,about leadership...after reading this one i purchased the book for which Robin Sharma is known for "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari".....awesome! i think it's a must read for those who really want to change the way things are happening in their life's...who want to get motivated,want to get charged....

It's Raining Outside

Finally, there is some respite after facing lot of scorching heat in May,June......
it's raining outside..remember last weekend when temperature had nearly reached 46 degrees...

oh my god! If it's going to be the same again this weekend I'll rather prefer coming office on Sunday too....sounds weired :-)
First time after 2/3 years Met. Department forecast was right about the showers,i wonder if we could have the same equipments/methods for weather forecast as it happens in US wherein it's more or less accurate.....

Here in NCR rainy season doesn't last for long...but back in my native place it starts from june and lasts till September and rainy season means you have to essentially carry an umbrella/raincoat while moving out....

~ Dancing in the rain

Burning! Rajasthan

Thank! god...finally protests by gujjars/clashes between meenas & gujjars and all that reservation stuff has come to an halt in rajasthan....otherwise it's really irritating to find some handful people making others life hell....whom to blame upon other then these politicians who first make falsely claims/promises of doing this and that to public and once they are back to power they just forget....given a chance i would have abolished reservation policy first of all....there is no reason as to why give some section benefit in admissions,government jobs...simply because they belongs to certain cast or creed...If you really want to help them why don't you provide them better or rather free education,subsidies...i also had a point here..that not all who belongs to certain cast/section of society are not economically weak then why to promote them.....reservation if provided should be given to all those who are economically backward.....
This week long reservation havoc had costed rajasthan 25k crores loss in state exchequer...lots of buses,trains,police-stations,railway-stations were burnt by the hooligans in the state....it was painful watching these wastrels damaging government property...aftermath of all this is that we the tax-payers have to pay taxes...doesn't all this makes us think were we heading towards....i think we need to have a zero tolerance policy towards all those who knowingly damage the public property...Can't we protest peacefully how people in western countries do ??

Race To Raisina Hills

As president Kalam's 5 year term is about to complete there are a lot of speculations for who will be the next occupant of the palatial raisina hills. After UP elections the next big thing happening is the president's election and all the political parties are gearing up for this.

Though none of the parties have announced any official candidate for the coveted post but there are few names taking rounds across the circle.BJP is suppose to file the Vice President Shekhawat's name...i think this tradition needs to be changed....being a Vice president doesn't means you also fits into the president shoes.On the other hand congress is supposed to file Shushil K Shinde reason being he is a dalit and he can easily get support from BSP...*sigh* this caste based politics...this is taking us nowhere, i think people should get out of this.

Why we a Billion people country is not able to find a person who really deserves for the post .
Any guesses...who can be the Mr. Right...well i think Narayan Murthy/Karan Singh/
K.Kasturirangan(Former ISRO Head),etc. are the few names we can give a thought.

Also,I wonder why there is no consensus on allowing Kalam for the second term...He truly had done a tremendous job in last 5 years....we should not allow a person to become Head of the state just because he is from this or that caste or community...we need a person who had a vision to do something,who had some plans to give country a direction and who is not just a rubber stamp of the ruling party or a coalition....

Back to blogging

well for last one month i was too busy that couldn't got much time to write anything...but yes i can't leave my blog page forbidden for long.....there were lot of things which were on mind and want to express but this hectic schedule/deadlines really kills *sigh*.... Yup! i understand there is lot more than this 9 to 6 job (which usually stretches from 9 to 9 or 10 rather)...well am really looking for a break...let this quarter come to an end and I'll be going somewhere to the hills or may be going to rishikesh for rafting....though not too sure about it.

~ Back To You

7 Destructive Habits of Incompetent People

This mail i got from one of my friend...though these are not my personal views but to an certain extent i do agree with the points below............

If you want to have a fantastic life, never engage yourself in these 7 deadly habits that incompetent people do....

Number 1 - They Think, Say, & Do Negative Things.

Yup. They see problems in every opportunity.
They complain that the sun is too hot. They cursed the rain for ruining their plans for the day. They blame the wind for ruining their hair.
They think that everyone is against them. They see the problems but never the solutions.
Every little bit of difficulty is exaggerated to the point of tragedy. They regard failures as catastrophes. They become discouraged easily instead of learning from their mistakes.
They never seem to move forward because they're always afraid to come out of their comfort zones.

Number 2 - They Act Before They Think.

They move based on instinst or impulse. If they see something they like, they buy at once without any second thought.
Then they see something better. They regret & curse for not able to take advantage of the bargain.
Then they spend & spend again until nothing's left. They don't think about the future. What they're after is the pleasure they will experience at present.
They don't think about the consequenses. Those who engage in unsafe sex, criminality, and the like are included in this group.

Number 3 - They Talk Much More Than They Listen

They want to be the star of the show. So they always engage in talks that would make them heroes, even to the point of lying.
Oftentimes they are not aware that what they're saying is not sensible anymore.
When other people advise them, they close their ears because they're too proud to admit their mistakes.
In their mind they're always correct. They reject suggestions because that will make them feel inferior.

Number 4 - They Give Up Easily

Successful people treat failures as stepping stones to success.
Incompetent ones call it quits upon recognizing the first signs of failure.
At first, they may be excited to start an endeavor. But then they lose interest fairly quickly, especially when they encounter errors.
Then they go & search for a new one. Same story & same results. Incompetent people don't have the persistence to go on and fulfill their dreams.

Number 5 - They Try to Bring Others Down To Their Level

Incompetent people envy other successful individuals. Instead of working hard to be like them, these incompetent ones spread rumors and try every dirty trick to bring them down.
They could've asked these successful ones nicely. But no, they're too proud. They don't want to ask advise. Moreover, they're too negative to accomplish anything.

Number 6 - They Waste Their Time

They don't know what to do next. They may just be contented on eating, getting drunk, watching TV, or worse, staring at the blank wall with no thoughts whatsoever to improve their lives.
It's perfectly fine to enjoy once in a while. But time should be managed efficiently in order to succeed. There should be a proper balance between work & pleasure.

Number 7 - They Take the Easy Way Out

If there are two roads to choose from, incompetent people would choose the wider road with less rewards than the narrower road with much better rewards at the end.
They don't want any suffering or hardship. They want a good life.
What these people don't know is that what you reap is what you sow. Efforts & action will not go unnoticed.
If only they would be willing to sacrifice a little, they would be much better off.
Successful people made it through trials & error. They never give up. They are willing to do everything necessary to achieve what they aspire for in life.

~ Smooth Sea Never makes A Skilful Mariner

4 Management Lessons

Lesson Number One
A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day.
A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?"
The crow answered: "Sure, why not."
So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.
Management Lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson Number Two
A turkey was chatting with a bull.
"I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy.
"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients."
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fortnight, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.
Management Lesson: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Lesson Number Three
When the body was first made, all the parts wanted to be Boss. The brain said,
"I should be Boss because I control the whole body's responses and functions."
The feet said, "We should be Boss as we carry the brain about and get him to where he wants to go."
The hands said, "We should be the Boss because we do all the work and earn all the money."
And so it went on and on with the heart, the lungs and the eyes until finally the asshole spoke up. All the parts laughed at the idea of the asshole being the Boss. So the asshole went on strike, blocked itself up and refused to work. Within a short time the eyes became crossed, the hands clenched, the feet twitched, the heart and lungs began to panic and the brain fevered. Eventually they all decided that the asshole should be the Boss, so the motion was passed. All the other parts did all the work while the Boss just sat and passed out the shit!
Management Lesson: You don't need brains to be Boss, any asshole will do!

Lesson Number Four
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him!
Management Lessons:
Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy.
Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
When you're in deep shit, keep your mouth shut!

Inducting Twice

Just now am back after attending a induction program supposed to be attended by new joines ,though i am close to complete a year in the organization still i got a mail from HR stating it's mandatory to attend the program...i had no option but to attend the same...every induction is more or less the same....wherein HR people boasts about their presence across the globe,the increasing head count,the no. of offices present.......ohhh forgot to mention in-between HR guys will keep on reminding that employees comes first..."we care for you that's why we treat employees first than the customers"....there will a lot of hue and cry regarding employee satisfaction but bottom line is somewhat different from the rosy pictures shown in these programs/presentations....these guys are in habit of making lengthy policies but when it comes to implementation they back out from their stance...one such HR policy is about rotation of employees from one project to another....i've seen guys running from pillar to post when they had completed the no. of years or months in a particular project and now wants to change their project....but all their efforts had turned futile...
Well whatever the case may be......things keep moving and the gist of the story is that....
"The Show must Go On"

~I'm a liar~

"India Shining" Again

nowadays Times of India had started a campaign named "India Poised"......this reminds me
of how,way back in 2004 general elections BJP had also started "India Shining" campaign to woo voters....lots of govt. funds was wasted on TV ads/National news-papers....though BJP was thinking of a comeback thru all this but all these efforts bore no fruits to them as the common man rejected the mighty,tall claims......
What makes this "India poised" campaign different as it talks of a nation as a whole........it talks about common man....it talks about the extra-ordinary feats achieved by an ordinary man... http://indiapoised.com/india_unsung_heroes.htm .....it talks about the rising economy,booming IT/ITES/BPO/KPO sector.....it shows facts and figures....agrarian sector is growing on smooth pace.......it is showing how the tata's,mittal's,ambani's are making India's presence felt across the globe......we are moving towards a brighter future no doubt......it's not that we are going to be superpower in next 50 years.....but yes we are moving in the right direction......
no doubt "India is Shining" .....

~Cloud Number Nine~

Need of being Decisive

while watching the halcyon water of the lake back in my home town i was just having some thoughts on life.....one thing is sure,you need to be decisive in life.........be it's you personal life or professional......it's better to work out things now then to regret later on for the same....it's all about taking right moves in life....if you want to do something or want to create a niche for yourself or want to reach high on the ladder or whatever you think you can do or you want to have out of life.....all this needs a decision to be taken at the cross-roads of life.....You take some right moves and you are there,you take a wrong move and you find yourself nowhere.....life is like that only....it provides you opportunity to do certain things...it's upon you to convert that opportunity in a hit or you shut the door for the knocking opportunity.......
once you had decided to carry out something you need to put your 100% efforts on that to ensure that you achieve your target.....


"If you want to achieve something you need to desire it intensely and need to be absolutely certain that it would happen"

Plastic Smiles

In this competitive environment where people really don't want to keep any stone unturned to achieve success i guess we are missing something in our day-to-day life.I feel freshers joining organizations are far better than we experienced guys.......at least they are untouched from this rat race to prove themselves.....they don't have false egos.....they don't think that there is a cut- throat competition around......they are away from dollar dreams....they are more enthusiastic than we guys.......they are more genuine,more humble,more helpful......they don't have to find a sequestered place to have rounds of tea....:-)
People now are either too preoccupied with their mundane tasks or want to show that they are too busy....people nowadays don't even bother to say a "Hi".....and even if someone replies to your wishes there is no warmth in it.
I guess we guys are adopting too much professionalism in our daily life's........those campus days were far better when we use to laugh a lot when there was something to laugh.......at least we were not having dual identities.......sometimes i see guys around smiling on some issue but that smile too is bounded within boundaries........
i call these smiles "Plastic Smiles".

Counting Head's

As the economy is on boom so are the IT companies on hiring spree to increase their head counts.......biggies like IBM are planning to double their strength in a year or so,TCS is in fact planning to recruit science graduates and to give them the required training to upgrade their skills............actually, it's all about the number game when it comes to impress the client to get a big project and numbers(of course)play a big role.....One of my friend was on the recruitment panel and after the day long exercise today,he selected a single candidate......he was telling situation is quite pathetic,people just want to get into big organizations anyhow.......some of the people who were interviewed were showing fake experience too......well this is not a big deal at all, I've seen guys in past who had manipulated the figures but the bottom line is that you have to have the skill's to prove yourself.......HR guys too don't bother about this at all as they are the one who will have to face the axe if numbers are not moving.............but aren't we compromising on quality for the sake of quantity.

"Stakes are High Again !"

Day before yesterday i saw a report on Iraq in TOI with the headlines....."Stakes Are Really High This Time : Bush"............well this reminded me of Jon Stewart imitating President Bush on YouTube.com while i was reading my friend's blog http://rahulnegi.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html
This time again bush is declaring "stakes are too high.......but we are not going to be defeated anyway......." God knows how many more US soldier's have to die to restore these high stakes back to normalcy.

~ Sorry,It's all that you can say

Roaring Judiciary

It seems that judiciary is hyper-active these days,be it sibu-soren,sidhu,Nitish-Katara,sealing/
Delhi-govt. cases,and the list goes on......Politicians whose fate are still hanging in courts would be quite worried nowadays........no doubt there are hundreds of sorens & sidhu's who are yet to be punished...people who till now were boasting about their power are now forced to think twice about their future. Yesterday only, trial court in Delhi has sentenced a retired ACP to death for killing a person 19 years back in custody........Thanks!! to judiciary for reviving faith in the common man towards the system.....People are now more vocal if they are facing injustice...plenty of channels are there to help people raise there voice.
There was a news that politicians are now planning to bring a bill into the parliament to curb the rights of judiciary........no doubt these lampoons will cross the party lines and will come together to curtail the wings of judiciary, as they usually do when they have to raise their salary or perks.

India is less corrupt now :-)

I came across Corruption Perception Index-2006 report, while surfing Net which talks about world's least corrupt & most corrupt countries......Finland is at No. 1 & is the least corrupted country , Haiti is the most corrupted one ....... Anyways, my eyes were searching for India's rank..............India is at 74th position(among 163 nation).
The report further mentions that India along with some other countries have significantly improved their rating since the 2005 index. Last year we were at 88th place, though to be frank i didn't feel it when i bribed a policeman for my passport.. damn it.... it hurts my pocket....
Well,I don't agree with what all this report says because on papers we might have improved but ground reality is something different.......................still we have to pay bribes in order to make our driving licences,still we have to shell out 500/1000 rupees to LIU officer/Police personnel in order to get our passport without any hassle, still parents are giving bribes so that their young ones can get into good schools, still MLA's/MP's are bribed for their supports to make government, still each & every govt. official from top to bottom have his part of share in any fund allocated for a particular govt. project.
Situation is quite worse, you can't even raise your voice against the corruption happening around. You have to move in the flock or you would be wiped out.
Actually,people don't want to get into any kind of problems as they know after giving some money there job's would be done but if they won't,they have to make rounds of offices/clerks/etc. and all this leads them to nowhere.
To give an example...................3 years back a honest engineer Satyendra Dubey was murdered because he raised his voice against the nexus of corrupt politicians,land Mafia's & police."Satyendra was an honest and upright engineer working on the Golden Quadrilateral Highway project. Outraged by the corruption he encountered, he took on the construction mafia pulling up contractors for shoddy work and notifying superiors. Frustrated with inaction, he finally wrote to the Prime Minister urging action. http://www.skdubeyfoundation.org/index.php ". All this led to his murder.
Some of my friends use to say we should impose army rule in India to curb the corruption.
well i guess they haven't heard about the ketchup Colonels who takes gallantry awards every year........nowadays every now and then you'll see reports about liquor scam/Dal scam/Meat scam in army/CSD canteens.......uuhhhhh
I think country needs a munnabhai....:-), spreading gandhigiri.....but am not sure that too would work......Anyway,no problem...year by year we are moving high on the ladder of less corrupt nation's......last year we were at 88th,this year at 74th,next year at 60th rank and so on........moving by this speed i guess it would take around 5 years when India will replace Finland as the least corrupt nation.............At least on papers.. :-)

~ Straight from the heart

At Last Justice Prevails

Today Delhi High-court gave the much awaited death-sentence to santosh singh aka the person who brutually murdered Priyadarshani matoo after raping her............Waiting for justice for 10 years anybody would have lost the hope ,especially when the accused belongs to a high profile family. But matto's family & friend's kept the hope alive against all odds...................................It's being a trend that if you are having muscle & money power then you are above all. That's why Manu Sharma,Vikas Yadav,etc. haven't got the punishment till now,which they truly deserve...............Kudos! to all media-person & people who joined hands and came to streets for justice.People were so inspired by the movie "Rang De Basanti" that they were on the streets protesting wearing black ribbons,with candles in hand protested at india gate..........After justice being given to Matto's family now it's the turn to the other high profile cases like Jessica lal & Nitish katra's to get the justice.
Hope delhi police would not work under any pressure from these highly affluent person's and would work in such a way so that any witness doesn't turns hostile.So,that at last justice can be given.

" Hope Against Hope"

Njoy!! Diwali

Festive season is all around...................no one seems to be in
hurry to complete the pending tasks or assignments.............
everyone is in hurry to get back to home-town to celebrate
Diwali ~ the festival of Lights,Joy,Happiness....................
I'm wishing you all who drops by my blog page a very happy, bright & prosperous Diwali.......
Njoy!! & Have a nice time with your dear ones.......

~ Happy Diwali

Pull out from Iraq

It seems that amidst daily blasts,suicide-bombings,guerrilla-war united forces in Iraq are loosing patience and don't want to stay in the chaotic conditions anymore........That's the reason why there was a statement recently by General Sir Richard Dannatt of UK forces........according to him "we are heading somewhere in Afghanistan but in Iraq we are heading to nowhere"......He is absolutely correct in Afghanistan the fight is to nail down the Taliban terrorists & the big fish.....yes you are right am talking abt. Osama bin laden.......but in Iraq troops are facing unknown enemy..........it's a country which is burning in civil-war........forces doesn't know whom to fight with.......In order to show Britain is the closest ally of US Tony Blair is pushing the reluctant UK forces in Iraq.......On going war is being renamed again and again,when one cause apparently doesn't works out it's given another name........first it was b'coz Iraq was having WMD-Weapons of Mass Destruction....then it was for change of regime & then it was a War on Terror.......It's better for US & UK troops to pull out from the country and let the Iraqi govt. decide how it should deal with it's people...........

~Standing on the Edge

Making News

Those days where quite good when we use to wait for DD1 news at 8:30 to get the whole lot of stories from across the globe with good news coverage and reporting........nowadays watching news at any news-channel is something like watching circus.......I guess with the daily emergence of new news-channels it's really tough for reporters too,to come up with something new.They are adopting new ways to remain competitive in the TRP rating's.
It's totally ridiculous how reports are prepared .........you can easily find reporters asking same question repeatedly or flashing the same scene on the TV screens............In some cases it's fruitful too if the news is covered articulately.....For ex. India-TV asks for it's viewer's daily to send some videos which is of public importance & have some relevance and shows govt. negligence. Usually these things are corrected very soon by the respective departments.....
..........After all "power of pen is more than the power of sword".

Mercy For Merciless

Nowadays news related to terrorist - Afzal's death sentence is all around the channels.....Of course it should be.........it's having good weightage.This person was involved in terrorist attack on the parliament.........Thanks!! to the police personnel who without fearing for their lives foiled the attack & killed those terrorist.......Have those terrorist succeeded in their attempt god knows what would have happened.
Then what's all this brouhaha everywhere for granting clemency
to this dreaded terrorist........These politicians they are sick
of their vote-bank politics.....Its really amusing that some people/parties back in Kashmir are rallying and doing protests against the sentence. Yesterday,Afzal's lawyer was talking to the reporters saying "It is all b'coz afzal is a Muslim and a kashmiri".
Today there is no single political party who can say boldly.......yes justice given in the parliament attack case is absolutely correct and this person don't deserves any mercy for what he had done.
Govt. needs to take a tough stance on the issue else i believe there is no need for any trials for 7/11 Mumbai blast case or there shouldn't be any verdict given on 93 blasts case...........

Know your Importance

Forwarding mail's is a favorite pastime.......It's a practice which nowadays people do.......not b'coz they want to pass on some useful info. to other's.........I guess it's b'coz they want to make their presence felt.......Yesterday also i got a forwarded mail from someone but it was worth reading.

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a Rupee 500 note.

In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this Rupee 500 note?"

Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this note to one of you
but first let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the note up.
He then asked, "Who still wants it?"

Still the hands were up in the air
"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and
started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all
crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?"
Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson.
No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not
decrease in value. It was still worth Rupee 500/-.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt
by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as
though we are worthless.
But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose
your value.
You are special. Don't ever forget it! Never let yesterday's disappointments overshadow tomorrow's dreams.

The gist of the story is a lot number of times we get bogged down by some failures in life and blame ourselves for those failures...We think that we are worthless.......Instead of surrounding ourselves in negative thought's it's better to think positive and try to know how worth we are.

" VALUE HAS A VALUE ONLY IF ITS VALUE IS VALUED"