WE ALL MOURN YOU KARKARE, UNNI AND GANJENDRA WITH TEARS IN OUR EYES

As “Sandeep amar rahe” and “Bharat mata ki jai” rented the air at Bangalore the entire Nation, glued to the Television, watched with tears rolling down their cheeks , when they sadly witnessed the loving mother caressing the face of her only son, blowing soft kisses, oblivious of the dignitaries and other personnel who came in to pay their last respects to the departed hero

Situation was no different at Mumbai where the funeral procession was being taken thru the streets where many people in the general public reverberated the air with the same slogans one heard at Bangalore as a mark of their respect to the slain Chief of Anti-Terrorism Squad Hemant Karkare. The tragic end of this hero. When terrorists spraying bullets attacked various locations at Mumbai on 26th November, Karkare donned his helmet and bullet proof jacket to take on them but fell to the ultras

The third hero NSG havaldar Gajendra Singh was cremated with State honours at Dehradhun He was killed by the ultras at operations of the Jewish Centre at Nariman House. Several State Ministers and other distinguished signatories also visited to pay their last respects to this departed soul

There were many who had laid their lives to save the Nation and have had gone unnoticed heroes.

An air of sadness mixed with pride pervades the entire Nation today and stay paying homage to their Heroes who laid their lives

WE ARE ALL PROUD OF YOU AND CONVEY OUR HEARTY CONDOLENCES TO THEIR FAMILY BESIDES PRAYING GOD TOS REST THEIR SOULS IN PEACE.

THE 9/11 OF INDIA

TIMES OF INDIA TODAY [30-11-08] CARRIED THE HEADLINE

'THERE'S NO ONE ALIVE HERE'

When they said did they intend any pun in is the question which came to my mind.
Indeed yes! Nobody is alive to the situation obtaining at Bombay in the first instance

As reports would have it - the CM of Maharashtra took 90 minutes to assimilate the situation to seek the help of the NSG from the Home Ministry who requestioned about 200 personnel from NSG to go to Mumbai. The aircraft was requsitioned, we believe, from Chandigarh and then took this posse of NSG to Mumbai and then at Mumbai transported them thro Buses to the tragic spot after briefing. To make things worse, the sketch of the hotel was also not made available to the NSGs. Altogether the overall time took by the NSG was nearly 10 hours to take their combating position.

WHAT WAS THE COST

the Nation lost few precious INNOCENT lives at Mumbai.

WHO IS TO BE BLAMED

obviously the POLITICIANS who are more busy fighting with each otehr than caring for the common man who vote them to power.

The lacadaisical attitude of the politicians in this Country and the engagement of these NSGs for their security are all the things that would not be tolerated any more by the general public


ARE WE ALL LISTENING TO THE PULSE OF THE MUMBAIKARS - THE REFLECTION OF THE VOICES OF INDIANS AS A WHOLE

DO WE ALL VOW T0 CONTRIBUTE OUR MITE TO THE SECURITY MEASURES OF OUR COUNTRYMEN

'REPLY ALL' - A DESTRUCTIVE WEAPON - CAUTION PLEASE

In this world of technology all of us are immersed in sending out our thoughts on a roller coaster of an email with a favourite mailing list which includes friends, relatives, spouse and children Are we taking enough precaution to be selective with the names in the favourite list before shooting off a message I am sure half of us 'WOULD NOT'

Now for the damage - example

Monica Chopra [name changed] a finance executive with a garment company - After a long fight with her client she decided to escalate the matter to her boss and simply forwarded the entire message - a common mistake we do in day to day life - with a short note saying "this fellow is getting on my nerves and that you please deal with this pain". Instead of sending it to the boss, she sent it back to the client - the the biggest client of the comapny - result - she is rendered unemployed - enough said now.

Instant Messages or IMs are next in the line of weapons of destruction - An advertisement consultant, we believe, talks of motifying IM experience of his own He said amongst friends it is common to call each other names and one day when he saw a school-buddy on line he shot a msg "How goes ...........ass" This buddy of his signed off without any response only to hear later that this buddy's laptop was projecting a product presentation when this message popped up on the screen creating embarrassment. This also happen when find such pop-ups on communicator while projecting presentations - this causes lots of embarassments too besides credibility of an individual depending on the pop-up messages

Earlier IMs used to be lesser evils as they disappear once sent Thanks to service providers like GMail etc these are saved on every chat and can be pretty dangerous if they are browsed by elders and Parents at home Any sensitive and personal messages exchanged on the chat can be an acute embarrassment besides loss of faith and trust on their wards - Far worse, the broken trust and faith can take a longer length of time to be repairad and rebuilt.

Reply all and auto fills it is said are definitely not [y]our friends To make matters worse it is unfoprtunte both the 'reply' and 'reply all' buttons are next to each other Hence check double check to ensure a reply to be sent only to one person you meant and not a group to whom these may be irrelevant or not at all required It is time hence we think of a phone call or a face - to - face chat when some personal messages you intend to convey to an INDIVIDUAL

Please think twice and pause before you hit a send button There are times we all shoot emails on impulse - I always believe when you are impulsive and emotional you are not rational - andafter hitting the send button we sit and regret it - avoid such situations Dont dash off an email in anger as this communication in black and while can be held against you at a later inconvenient instance.

As it is said, there are always flip sides to good things and Email is no exception either Only our exercising caution on all emails can help us save embarrassments, mortifiation and regret

HAPPY MAILING BUT WITH CAUTION

CHEERS

POSITIVE TEMPERAMENT leads to success

Temperament, it is rightly said, detemines your success but is is also important to be able to calibrate your responses to difference situations which successful people will vouch it safe

Temperament shows how one reacts to situation.

Every individual hence must have a temperament to bring about a change, stability and act with panacehe Morarji Desai is a risk-averse Prime Minister as opposed to Narasimha Rao who took risks. Hence it is important that every individual should know how to engineer change.

In the Autobiography My Country My Life BJP Leader L K Advani says " I had committed many, errors of judgement errors in exeution of tasks but never indulged in scheming or acts of opportinitism for self-promotion" while Obama in his Memoir The Audacity of Hope writes that "I was asking your to believe Not just in my ability to bring about a real change in Washington ......I am asking you to believe in yours"

You have got to be cool but tough Emotional intelligence is crucial Temperament does matter but at the same time does not mean that one temperament is better or more desirable than another and that one kind o temperament will work eery situation In this fast changing world it is more important to modulate one;s responses to a particular situation says Nilma and Vijay Bhatt personality gurus for Bangalore

It is always your temperament which tells you how to turn around the situation. I also believe when you at your worst temperament you lose your cool and be irrational leading to deplorable mind-set and consequent action culminating from that.

Remember M K Gandhi, father of our nation, had a very obstinate temperatment but he made it work well for him You just hae to hence make your tempeatment work for you and learn to practice this mantra always.

Cheers

CASH STRAPPING OR AUSTERE DRIVE - WISDOM DAWNS ON CORPORATES TO TIGHTEN EXPENDITURE

Consequent to various developments in the economy and the slump in business the corporates have tightened their purse strings this Diwali bidding goodbye to the glamorous gifts

This accounts for almost 30% drop in this gifts sector Anotehr welcome note is any discretionary expenditure is deferred There have been lots and lots of austerity measures today's Corporate wants to put in practice, turning away the lavishness with which they were treading all these years.

IT and ITES and there majors are some of the biggest whose spends on gifts are phenomenal. With the slow down in the USA, the Chennai Corporates, nay all Corporates across the country , are busy exploring ways and means to apply brakes on its festive and other avoidable spends.

This in my opinion is a welcome departure from the usually luxurious way of spends these corporates were used to all these years The wasteful expenditure that is incurred in the name of development of business needs defintely without any doubt to be curbed to contribute to savings and consequent earnings

Wisdom dawned on the IT/ITES Corporates today who have gone to the extent of switching off unnecessary working of air conditioners, lights et al which were never been the case earlier years - this is taken up for strict compliance - thanks to the recession and slow-down of economy in the U S A and its consequent impact on us.


In fact added to the above, many of the Corporates are doing away with their annual meets, dinners and conferences, besides travel and take to communication by way of Video Conferencing in their place.

This attitude of consciousness will continue for few more months and years as the volume of business is bound to get affected specially for IT/ITES and BPO majors with uncertainty looming large on their revenues from US clients now.

HUMAN CHAIN OR CHAIN OF HUMAN SUFFERING

It was a horrifying experience - a pandamonium - on Friday the 24th October for few of us who were subjected to lots of inconvenience. Torrential rains played havoc in the city thanks to the infrastuctural facilies we have and the foolishness of a human on a rainy day.

I am a victim myself of such an experience, as would be the case with many who dwell in the areas of Nanganallur, Alandur,Madipakkam, Ullagaram to mention a few, who have no other course than going thro one of the three subways {are they "ways" anyway] from airport road to these areas.

I have always been experiencing these subways to be full - for the past decade - at the slightest rain and commuting by any 'wheeler' becomes a nightmare besides being a big challenge. In these circumstances, dependency on the manned level crossing at Meenambakkam seems the only viable and alternative way - you can very well imagine the traffic that would be out there during these rainy days.

In fact I started from my office at Vadapalani at 6 30 pm on Friday and reached home at Ullagaram at 1045 pm - it was great commuting on the first and second gears throughout this stretch caused by water at various junctions and the traffic snarls caused by the human chain programme launched by the ruling party -they could not have selected a better day to inconvenience the voters!!

What have we achieved by this traffic snarls at all places in the city caused by the human chain programme. Well, there have been mixed feelings - some say this is totally unwarranted on a rainy day; some say the polititicans could have undertaken a fast instead ; some say it is foolish to show sympathy at our cost; some say this is not going to make any difference while the few cursed the traffic which was severly affected during that 'black Friday'.

I also wonder apart from this what are we achieving Will this human chain change the circumstances at Sri Lanka It is right that we should have sympathy to our fellow Tamilians elsewhere but not like this - having a chain and things like that. What a waste of time, energy and fuel which was wasted that day This if translated into money in value could have been pooled to help with the necessities - be it food, clothing or importantly medicines - to those affected by the attrocities commited against them at Sri Lanka.

Come on let us all sympathise with any one - more so our own brotheren - but think and see what better options we have in order to mitigate the sufferings without our suffereing here by these unnecessary and unwarranted yet foolish political stunts.

YOU AND ONLY YOU COULD MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
I am proud to forward this speech.......


I am sure you will agree with every suggestion he has made......... .........

***Please read this article by giving 10 minutes from your busy life. Really good.... ***

* Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 's Speech in Hyderabad . *


Why is the media here so negative?
Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.
Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit.
There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.
I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper.
It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place.
The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.

In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE?
Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign TVs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.

Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph.. I asked her what her goal in life is.
She replied: I want to live in a developed India . For her, you and I will have to build this developed India .
You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.

Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.
Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.

YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke,

The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits..
YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?
Take a person on his way to Singapore . Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a
face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best.
In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the
stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5
(approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway
or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch
your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity...
In Singapore you don't say anything,
DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai .
YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah .
YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds ( Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.
'YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, 'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost.
' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand ...
Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake
certificates in Boston ??? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system
in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?

Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay , Mr. Tinaikar , had a point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said. 'And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?
In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job.
Same in Japan . Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all
responsibility.
We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.

We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least
opportunity.
This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related towomen, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system?
What does a system consist of ? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.
Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England ..
When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the
Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home
by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country..
Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too..... I am echoing J. F. Kennedy 's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....

'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA
AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA
WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'

Lets do what India needs from us.

PRESIDENT OR A PEDESTRIAN

The Life of Iranian President Ahmedinejad

The FoxNewsTV (USA) asked the Iranian President Ahmedinejad,

'When you look into the mirror in the morning what do you say to yourself'?

He answered: I see the person in the mirror and tell him 'Remember' you are no more than a small servant, ahead of you today is the heavy responsibility, and that is to serve the Iranian nation'.

Ahmedinejad, the Iranian President who astonished many when he first reached to the office of the Presidency by donating all the high valued Iranian carpets to one of the mosques in Tehran by replacing them with the low cost ordinary carpets. He observed that there was a huge extravagant lounge for receiving and welcoming the VIPs and he ordered it to be closed and asked the protocol office to arrange for an ordinary room only with wooden chairs.

On many instances he joins the cleaning staff of the municipality for cleaning the streets in the area where his home and the Presidency are located.

Under his authority whenever he appoints any minister to his post he gets a signed document from him with many points particularly highlighting that he shall remain poor and that his personal and his relatives accounts will be watched and the day he leaves the ministry shall be with dignity, and therefore it is not lawful for him or his relatives to take any advantage of his office. First of all he declared himself for all the 'Big' wealth and the property he owned was a Peugeot 504 car, model 1977, an old small house inherited from his father 40-years ago in one of the poorest zones in Tehran. His accounts with a zero balance and the only money comes in to his a/c was from his salary from the university as a lecturer with an amount of US$ 250 only.

For your information the President still lives in that same house. This is all what he owns; the president of one of the world's important countries; strategically, economically, politically and with regard to its oil and defense. He even doesn't take his personal salary with the argument that all the wealth belongs to the nation and he is the safeguard over it.
One of the things that impressed the staff at the presidency is the bag the President brings with him every day, which contains his breakfast; some sandwiches or bread with olive oil and cheese prepared by his wife and eats and enjoys it with all happiness.

One of the other things he changed was his personal carrier 'the President's Aircraft' to a cargo aircraft in order to save the spending from the public treasury and he ordered that he will be flying with the ordinary airline in the economy class.. He organizes meetings every now and then with all the ministers to know their activities and efficiency and he closed down the office of the Manager of the president and any minister can enter to his office without any permission. He also stopped the welcome ceremonies like the red carpet, the photo session or any personal advertisement or respect of any kind while visiting any place in the country.

Whenever he has to stay in any of the hotels he asks them to make sure not to give him a room with any big bed because he doesn't like to sleep on beds but rather likes to sleep on the floor on a simple mattress with a blanket.


Try comparing this with the emoluments and privileges our ministers get .... plus the amount they OTHERWISE EARN.

How many of our Presidents, PMs, Ministers & politicians enjoy(?) such a life!!!

WILL OUR MINISTERIAL RETINUE LEARN FROM HIM TO MAKE THE CITIZENS TO SLEEP IN PEACE

JAPAN - MONKEYS AS WAITERS - BREWING COMPETITION IN RESTAURANT

Yes in one of the restaurants in Japan they have engaged a pair of monkeys to serve their customers Kayabukiya the local joint north of Tokyo has this distinguished employment They are known as Yat-chan the elder one and Fuku-chan the younger one reports Telegraph

Their work usually begins with first shift They work very smart and quick to hand out hot towels to customers to help them clean their hands before ordering their needs

WHAT ARE THEY PAID - PEANUTS

If they are successful will they be a competition to the mankind who serve the restaurants

BEWARE - PULL YOUR SOCKS NOW TO COMPETE WITH MONKEYS! CHEERS

POWER CUT AND TAMIL NADU -WHERE ARE WE HEADING TO

As all of us read in newspapers and watch in the media it seems an alarming situation we need to confront in the months to come

The problem which has occured now was because of mere lack of planning by the politicians and bureaucrats of the State The city is better off than the suburbs and villages which take the maximum brunt because of this clamp - practically half of the day is 'black-out' for them

Does the Government intend doing some thing - a Million Dollar question The only grace in the current situation is at least the current power-to-be takes industry and people into confidence to say that they do not have resources and that they are helpless than a sudden clamping catching people unawares - though this raises lots of eye brows and creates immense problems to the stratum of children in particular and the public in general

Look at the past -

there were few individual houses with a fairly larger family living undivided - may be the total number of people at any given point of time in the family was 2+6 They were all in a single house and the resources - be it water or electricity - were sufficient

Look at the day we are in -

no subscription to undivided family concept all separated and have their own family to live and to take care - nothing wrong, what had happened in the milee - single houses split into multiple houses each requiring power as well as water i.e at the place of an individual house you see multi apartments and each has their own requirement

Are we geared for this type of development or does the Government realise all these to give permission for multi complexes all the places blissfully ignoring the requirements of power and water resources


The current scene they say will ease out in 4-6 months time but if does not then the situation will be very dangerous and unimaginable for all of us - with no industry prefer to coming to our State ;current industries closing down ;unemployment problems leading to migration of intellectual youth from the State ; no infrastructure development of the State - with a very high impact on huiman habitation and standard of living leading to possibly a thriving business for thieves and goondas!!!

IS SOME ONE HEARING ALL THESE FOR REMEDY - GOD SAVE ALL OF US AND THE YOUTH OF THE STATE IN PARTICULAR FROM SUCH AVOIDABLE PROBLEMS

TRIBUTE TO SOURAV GANGULI

Some felt he couldn't play the bouncer, others swore that he was God on the off-side; some laughed at his lack of athleticism, others took immense pride in his ability to galvanise a side. Sourav Ganguly's ability to polarise opinion led to one of the most fascinating dramas in Indian cricket. Yet, nobody can dispute that he was India's most successful Test captain - forging a winning unit from a bunch of talented, but directionless, individuals - and nobody can argue about him being one of the greatest one-day batsmen of all time.

SPORTS COUNCIL salutes one of Indian Cricket’s greatest sons and wishes him all the best in all his endeavors.



Interesting facts about Sourav Ganguly




v Sourav Ganguly family is among the five richest families in Kolkata.

v Sourav Ganguly was a typical Cancerian, Sourav was very mischievous as a child. He was petrified of dogs as a kid!

v When Sourav was young, his parents thought to make him an engineer or a doctor!

v Sourav is a natural right hander and does everything, except bat with his right hand. Sourav learned to play with his left hand from his elder brother, Snehasish, from whom he learned to play cricket.

v Sourav was first selected in the Bengal Ranji team, at the expense of his brother, Snehashish.

v His home in Behala, Kolkata has 48 rooms and his family owns 32 cars (wow, that's a lot)!

v There is an apartment complex in Kolkata, India which is named after Sourav. It is called the ‘Sourav Housing Complex.

v Sourav’s first love was not cricket. In fact, it was football and he admits, that even today, he’d rather watch football than cricket on TV. Sourav wanted to be a football player, but he took up cricket because his elder brother was a cricketer.

v Sourav maintains a diary in Bengali. Also he is very religious person and prays before every match.

v Following Tendulkar's footsteps, Sourav opened a three-storey restaurant, Sourav's - The Food Pavilion in Calcutta's posh Park Street inaugurated by Sachin Tendulkar in 2004.

v Sourav is is very fond of Alu Posto and Chingri Macher Malaikari, both typically Bengali dishes.

v India have never lost a Test match in which Sourav scored a century.

v After playing in two or three ODIs, Sourav was dropped from the Indian side, because of his “arrogant attitude".



History of man of match and man of the series won by Sourav Ganguly

v Sourav Ganguly was 31 times awarded man of the match in ODI match cricket.

v Sourav Ganguly was 4 times awarded man of the match in test match cricket.

v Sourav Ganguly was 7 times awarded man of the series in ODI cricket and was 2 times awarded man of the series in test match cricket.






Major achievement of Sourav Ganguly in ODI cricket matches

v Second fastest player to reach 11,000 ODI runs

v Holds the record, shared with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for the second highest score by an Indian cricketer in an ODI — 183, against Sri Lanka in 1999.

v Held the record, shared with Sourav Ganguly, for the highest first wicket partnership for India in a ODI match, 258, against Kenya in 2001. This record was bettered by Sri Lankan opening pair of Jayasuriya and Tharanga in 2006 at Headingley.

v Was involved in the first 300 run ODI partnership with Rahul Dravid.

v Sixth on the all time list with 31 man of the match awards.

v He is also the only player to win 4 consecutive man of the match awards in ODIs.

v India's most successful ODI captain.

v First Indian to score a ODI century against Australia in Australia.

v Second fastest after Viv Richards to reach 6,000 ODI Runs in 147 Innings and Sachin Tendulkar to 10,000 in 263 Innings





Major achievement of Sourav Ganguly in Test cricket matches

v Scored a century on Test debut and one of 3 batsman who made tons in their 1st two Test innings and his 131 still remains the highest by any batsman on his debut at Lord’s.

v Scored a century in each of his first two Tests

v Ganguly was only the 3rd batsman in the world to score a century on debut at Lord's.

v Most successful captain of Indian cricket team so far. Led India to a record 21 Test wins

v Captained India in a record 49 Test matches

SHARE MARKET A BOON OR A BANE

You should have seen and read the recent news that an Indian kills family of five and self at Los Angeles


This uncandid action was the least expected of Karthik Rajaram a B Tech from IIT Madras and an MBA from UCLA - a well educated person taking to this extreme in killing self and family Has he any right to do such a thing on self and his family it was his sheer imprudence perhaps in investing his entire wealth in stock market - which always swings up and down - which led him to this unfortunate end.

A sign of insecurity and lack of understanding the meaning of life While we all are with the family at this trying times, it is felt that we should condemn the actions of Rajaram which show how a miserable money possessed coward he was

I am not cursing any one investing in stock market - please do not get me wrong - I too have gone into this - but the point I would like to make here is that do we invest all our fortune on this legal yet highly volatile and speculative market Will it not be prudent to invest that kind of money which even in the unlikely event of a crisis, is sustainable by each of us ?

There are lots of guys amongst ourselves who are totally mesmerised by this speculation. I strongly believe that each one of us should take leaf out of Rajaram's book not be totally money obsessed and to see life in other perspectives. Please hence keep at the back of your mind cases like Kartik Rajaram to avoid such money-obssessed situations Invest intelligentely and prudently to derive dividends and returns to have a peaceful life ahead.

Prudent investment can also make you reap high returns on your investments like the famous Warren Buffet who made everything out of this market!

Are you with me and sail the same page I am in!!!!

CHEERS

MGR THE EVER GREEN HERO

CAN YOU BEAT IT MGR SHADOW AT THE BED ROOM OF ONE OF THE ACTORS WHO WAS ASSOCIATED WITH HIM

TO THOSE WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND TAMIL THIS WAS CONSIDERED A MIRACLE AT THE ACTOR KUNDU KALYAN'S HOUSE

TO THE ACTOR'S PLESANT SURPRISE WHEN HE SWITCHED ON THE LIGHTS OF HIS BED ROOM ONE EVENING FOUND THE SHADOW OF OUR BELOVED M G R - LOOK AT THE PHOTOGRAPH - APPEARING ON THE FLOOR CAUSED BY THE BED SHEET ON THE BED.

HE WAS SO THRILLED HE HE CALLED HIS NEIGHBOURS TO WATCH THIS MIRACLE TO DERIVE THE SAME PLEASURE HE DID ON SEEING HIS SUPER HERO FEW OF THEM CAUGHT THIS WONDERFUL IMAGE ON THEIR CELL PHONES FOR PRESERVING IT AS A TREASURE OF THEIR EVER GREEN AND EVER LOVABLE HERO

WHO SAID MGR IS NO MORE HERE YOU ARE THROW YOUR FALLACY OUT FOR HE DWELLS IN THE HEARTS OF LOTS AND LOTS OF PEOPLE AND VISITS THRO A SHADOW THE HOUSES WHO WORSHIP HIM STILL AS THEIR GOD

LONG LIVE THE LEGEND CALLED M G R

COBBLER WITH COUPLETS


Have you been down Whites Road If yes you would have been subjected to a unique experience as I was If not, not to worry you can try it out anytime you feel like In fact there was a news item too in The Hindu on this

Cobbler and his strings of couplets

Yes too true to realise a Cobbler just outside Karur Vysya Bank on Whites Road not only indulges in stitching and mending shoes but also to pen a few couplets from the திருக்குறள் [Thirukural]- a famous two liner which caters to all walks of life - displayed both in தமிழ் [Tamil] and English.

His name is Nandakumar- an illiterate [VIII standard]. He writes these couplets himself from திருக்குறள் [Thirukural] on a plank which rests on the junction box with another on the iron grills of the fence and yet another leans at an angle among his belongings on which these couplets.

He has been writing these on a scheduled frequency since the year 1974 and has completed writing all the 1330 couplets eight times till date. He said that there were many on lookers who take a note of this and applauds him on his efforts There were many who have taken pictures on their mobile phones for propagation of this unique effort of a Cobbler. He also claims that he has attained proficiency to write his own lines on philosophy and life.

His passion for this unique hobby makes him allot a small budget in spite of a very meagre earning of Rs 120 a day to carry on with this unique hobby - a stupendous and appreciable habit given his earnings

Are we ready to take a leaf from this cobbler's book???

WHY ON EARTH SMOKERS TARGETTED WHILE DRUNKARDS WANDER SCOTT FREE

Was it prudent to ban smoking when drinking is freely allowed

If turn the newspapers you would daily, without any exception, observe that maximum number of deaths is caused by liquor than passive smoking - but who cares about this

We hear there has been deaths caused by adulterated drinks like arrack etc and the toll this claims is on a higher side than the cigarettes moreover cigarettes may affect an individual - bad alright - but drinks affect families and make them stray on the roads these were the ones whom we see daily lying - the so called நாட்டின் குடிமகன் - on the road

Consuming liquor they drive vehicles into the platforms and on pedestrians who either walk on the road or sleep on them We have a case to the point where one of our friends who was left at a hotel by a colleague of his for lunch shockingly heard in less than an hour that the man who went for lunch was no more Unfortunately, he while on his return - ofcourse walking on the street - was hit by a speeding Pulsar - both the driver and the pillion were totally drunk- and laid his life on the spot WAS THIS HIS MISTAKE TO HAVE WALKED ON THE ROAD???? Are these guys penalised for taking away innocent life if he is influential you know what would happen !

Is the Goverment blind to these types of accidents caused by drunkards insted take on the smokers the effect on the society is not proportionte to drunken drive or they do not want to touch one of the highest revenue churning channel.

HAIL DRUNKARDS DETEST SMOKERS

Down To Business: Should Your People Come Before Your Customers?


One school of thought is that if you treat your people right, they'll be far more motivated and equipped to engage with (and maximize returns from) your customers.

By Rob Preston
InformationWeek
September 27, 2008 12:00 AM (From the September 29, 2008 issue)



The customer comes first. It's considered a business management truism. The way to boost profits and market caps is to focus on the people who buy your products. "Delight" them, as former GE chief Jack Welch would say. Create relationships that foster brand loyalty and return business. Management experts C.K. Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan go a step further, exhorting companies to "co-create value" with their customers, one customer at a time.

There's really no arguing with this approach, but there's another school of thought: The way to get customers to beat down your door is to put your employees first. The rationale: If you treat your people right, they'll be far more motivated and equipped to engage with (and maximize returns from) your customers.


More CIO InsightsWhite PapersAvoiding the 10 Most Common Mistakes in Selecting and Implementing e-Procurement Solutions Managing the RFP Process ReportsNext In Line How CIOs Are Dealing With A Tough Economy Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies, coined Employee First several years ago as he set out to transform HCL from an Indian hardware supplier to a global provider of high-end technology services. Taken at its face value, HCL's Employee First, Customer Second (EFCS) philosophy is still something of a heresy in business management circles, with its implied emphasis on internal matters.

But you need to understand the ultimate goal of employee-centricity, at least the variety that Vineet and others are preaching. If it were just a return to the dot-com era's pinball-machines-in-the-office-lounge, bring-your-pet-to-work kind of environment, it wouldn't be worth a second thought. At its core, however, there's far more to putting employees first than showering employees with perks.

"From the start, I was clear: Employee First was not about free lunch, free buses, and subsidies," Vineet is quoted as saying in an August 2007 Harvard Business Review article. "It was about setting clear priorities, investing in employees' development, and unleashing their potential to produce bottom-line results."

It also was about changing the internal culture. One feature of an intranet that sits at the center of EFCS is the Smart Services Desk, a sort of trouble ticket system whereby employees log in questions and critiques, posted for all 55,000 worldwide employees to view. Company policy says those employees who open a ticket must get a response within 24 hours, and only the employee initiating the ticket can close it. Vineet himself answers a hundred questions a week under a related program.

All HCL managers receive 360-degree reviews that include 1 to 5 ratings on their effectiveness, communications skills, and other areas, from direct reports and others. Vineet posts his review on the intranet, though one wonders how critical the underlings dare to be. Open communications at HCL also includes lots of videoconferencing, online collaboration, and town hall-style face-to-face talks. The goal, at least, is to create an environment where talking the truth is prized more than making excuses and covering your butt.

An employee-first mentality remains especially important in HCL's industry--India-based IT services--where annual employee attrition rates can exceed 15% but where the players are only as strong as their consultants, project managers, and other experienced front-line employees. But the idea has just as much relevance for any IT organization. CIOs who complain they can't find and retain good people are some of the same ones who treat their employees as expendable. How is an IT organization ever going to delight its external and internal customers if there's little incentive to innovate, take chances, think differently, or otherwise do anything that might get you into trouble?

If employee first is just another touchy-feely HR initiative, then it's time to move on. And if it's a ruse for weeding out dissatisfied or ill-prepared employees, it's far worse. Employees first? Maybe not. But if companies and their IT organizations are truly serious about creating an environment for problem-solving, teamwork, and creativity, their employees must fall somewhere high on the priority list.

Rob Preston,
VP and Editor in Chief
rpreston@techweb.com

To find out more about Rob Preston, please visit his page.







Discuss This
6 message(s). Last at: Sep 30, 2008 10:45:43 AM
Carol
commented on Sep 30, 2008 10:45:43 AM
My observation as an employee, a manager and a customer is that organizations treat their customers and their employees in comparable ways. If the corporate culture is based on squeezing the most from their employees, they attempt to do the same with their customers. If the organization treats their customers with respect and focuses on providing products or services that meet customer needs, the company is much more likely to do the same for their employees. It's not a dicotomy; it is a sane, consistent approach that pays off. It is hard to accomplish and requires a deeper understanding of the business than most leaders are willing or able to achieve.
Guest
commented on Sep 30, 2008 10:36:57 AM
There is a reason one method is "tried and true" and the other not. One is practical, the other assumes all people (employees) are altruistic. In the imaginary world putting employees 1st will work. In the real world it doesn't have a shot.
TayzGpa
commented on Sep 30, 2008 9:49:19 AM
Wheather or not the employee or the customer is first or second really depends on how fast or slow you want to grow.
If you make the job a joy for your people, they in turn will make your company a joy to work with as a customer.
For years I have treated my employees as though they were the most important asset that my company has. These people have families, personal goals, etc. I try and never forget that my company is not the most important thing in thier lives. Employee retention for us is high, turn over is low and the quality of work life for the people who work with me is good. Business is also good. Having said that, I have never been obsessed with being the "best in the world" at what we do or be able to do everything that the customer wants. What I care about is that we do what we promise, and never make promises my people cant keep. If I tell a customer that we can do this or that, then we do it. If the customer wants something that is outside what we offer, then I talk to my people. If my people think we can do it then we give it our best shot. If we dont think we can do it or dont have the knowledge to do then I tell the customer that also. So far that has worked pretty well for us. Folks generally know that if we say we can do something then they can count on it being done.
pink panther
commented on Sep 30, 2008 9:46:25 AM
As someone who has read P and K's book on R=G and N=1, I think it has some good ideas, but ... seems totally unrealistic in the real world because it would require a company to sacrifice the short-term for a long-term restructuring of how they do business. It would also require buy-in from all levels. Their examples of new companies are also very pedestrian, and I don't see these companies doing all that much of N=1 and R=G. I also think there's some contradiction between R=G (outsource everything you can to people who don't care about your company) and N=1 (care about customers). Basically, N=1 and T=G says the only successful companies will be intermediaries who don't do anything but match buyers and sellers. Most examples (amazon, ebay, etc) corroborate that. The others are implausible (customers allowing tire manufacturers to monitor their driving?). So I don't know how big this will be in the long term.
Brian
commented on Sep 29, 2008 3:10:34 PM
A very interesting idea indeed.

I laud the concept, but I also see it breaking down under pressure. It probably won't work under the following conditions:

1). When the organization gets above a certain size. Don't ask the size because I think it varies. However large organizations typically form subcultures and internal disconnects. This is not conducive to wide open communications;

2). When the organization is under major threat from outside. This could be market competitors, shrinking market segments, regulation/legal forces, and so on;

3). Spoiler personnel. Anyone who views themselves as an oppositional (or arrogant, or at least a WIIFM type) force to the rest of the organization. These are proportionately a greater threat to open communications the higher they rank in the organization. And, don't be naive, WIIFM types are commonplace in many senior positions, worldwide.
Mike
commented on Sep 29, 2008 4:07:22 AM
Creating culture of problem solving has always been a challenge in organzations . The reason is that the processes which force employees to think in one direction . Innovation will just not happen by saying employee first , However an organization need to exhibit a culture wherein it is willing to take a risk on employees and employees are empowered to take challenges . There are already discussions on this topic happening on a site which calls itself unstructure .

Check it out at http://www.unstructure.org

HEART TOUCHING EVENT - HAIL THE PARENTS OF JITHENTHRAN FOR THIS LAUDABLE THINKING


Only because of people like them, the world is still alive …..a heart touching real life incident…


Jithenthran... met with an accident WOW the Parents did something beyond the box of thinking read on..............

The thing is.... there is a family. Parents are doctors...and they had a son named jithenthran.

On 09/24/2009, he took his father's bike for seeing his friend and while returning he met with an accident.

The people who are there know him and admitted him at chengelpattu hospital. Then they informed his parents and they took him to Teynampet Apollo hospital.
There the doctors examined him and said that his brain has lost all his senses and there is no way to give him life. Without controlling the sadness the parents understood the fact and they decided to donate his organs to the people.

First, his eyes were given to Sankara nethralaya, then his kidney was given to Apollo hospital for transplantation and atlast here comes the final everheard miracle. They decided to give his heart to a 6 year old boy who needs it. So they verified and at last found that the boy is struggling for life at Cherians heart foundation, Chennai.

But within 30mins that heart should be transplanted; They need to go 20kms and in Chennai traffic and doubted whether it will happen. Then the doctors called traffic police and asked their help and they prepared the ambulance with A/C. So fastly they removed the heart from their son and kept in an ice box and ran towards the ambulance.

When they came out the boy's father saw that ice box and cried like anything. The doctor who carried tht box ran like anything that he didn’t even see the ambulance which is waiting outside and he entered the police car which was waiting. He said to the person to just go to Cherian hospital soon. The person who was standing near the car was the Assistant Commissioner and he without seeing his status and jumped to drivers seat and drove the car with full speed.

Every signal traffic got alert and left way for this car and at last within 15mins the heart was given to the doctors in Cherian hospital and it was transplanted to the small boy. Really heart touching....

Do u know the meaning of the name of the boy who died....

His name is Jithenthran - a person who will steal other's heart..............Yes , now he has stole everyone’s heart…..

PERFORMANCE NOT POSITION THAT COUNTS - HEAVEN OR EARTH

A Priest dies & is awaiting his turn in line at the Heaven's Gates.
Ahead of him is a guy, nattily dressed, in dark sun glasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket & jeans.

God asks him: Please tell me who are you, so that I may know whether to admit you into the kingdom of Heaven or not?

The guy replies: I am Pandi, Auto driver from Chennai !

God consults his ledger, smiles & says to Pandi: Please take this silken robe & gold scarf & enter the Kingdom of Heaven ..

Now it is the priest's turn. He stands erect and speaks out in a booming voice: I am Pope's Assistant so & so, Head Priest of the so & so Church for the last 40 years.

God consults his ledger & says to the Priest: Please take this cotton robe & enter the Kingdom of Heaven ...

'Just a minute,' says the agonized Priest. 'How is it that a foul mouthed, rash driving Auto Driver is given a Silken robe & a Golden scarf and me, a Priest, who's spent his whole life preaching your Name & goodness has to make do with a Cotton robe?'

'Results my friend, results,' shrugs God.

'While you preached, people SLEPT; but when he drove his Auto, people PRAYED'

Moral of the story: It's PERFORMANCE & not POSITION that ultimately counts.

African kid...amazing thought This poem was nominated for the best
poem of 2005, written by an African
kid...amazing thought

#################################

When I born, I Black
When I grow up, I Black
When I go in Sun, I Black
When I scared, I Black
When I sick, I Black
And when I die, I still black

And you White fella
When you born, you Pink
When you grow up, you White
When you go in Sun, you Red
When you cold, you Blue
When you scared, you Yellow
When you sick, you Green
And when you die, you Gray

And you calling me Colored ?

THE DANCING CEO - VINEET NAYAR -OF HCL WITH A CLEAR AND LUCID MESSAGE
THE EXPERIENCE WAS TOTALLY DIFFERENT

Yes - we had our yearly 'meet' with our 'CEO' at an event called 'Directions-09'

After effects : Vineet Nayar simply rocks!!! and so did HCL

It all started with a recording - a video shot

Then it was business when told about what we have achieved in past year, what should be our strategy for the next year and how an HCLite can make a difference. It was a very inspiring and motivating video. Then.....

Then.... the finale

Loud Music: 'Ellam pughum oruvan oruvanu kay nee nadi pola odikondiru" Vaali's song echoing then ..it was Vineet ..dancing among the HCLities...moving all around the hall, trying to reach every one. People clapping, shouting, whistling...the best moment people realised at HCL - totally impressed with the dance - were we seeing a professional I wondered so nice was his steps to the tune of the song played

Music stops. He starts his talks.

'Did you enjoy???'
'Yeeeeeeeeeesssssss!!!!'
'Did you like my dance?' ;)
'Once more, once more'
'Ok! but you will have to dance with me'
Again, loud Music. Same song played ..people leaving their seats and rushing to him...every HCLite had a broad smile on their face.
Music stops. Everybody back to seat.

Wow!!! it was so wonderfu and facinating!!!!!!!

After getting everybody in a good and energetic mood,he starts talking. He talked about video. Discussed thoughts he had presented.
What we liked, what we didn't like..everybody was free to speak. And then came the most interesting part: QnA session...where anybody and everybody could ask him any question...

It went on for around 1.1/2 hours...our CEO, with us, for us, ready to talk, ready to share, ready to answer, ready to admit and share his mistakes, make others learn from them - a rare trait and practice perhaps the world over a CEO spending time with his employees

Good news were shared, bad news were also not left behind either. Still, those few hours were really the WOW hours for all HCLites.

Who would have ever thought that employees will have the strategy planning told not by their managers ..but directly by the CEO?
Who would have ever thought that the CEO will come in person to talk and share with you?
Who would have ever thought that your CEO would be interested in talking and much less listening to you?

MESSAGE WAS LOUD AND CLEAR THAT CURRENT CONCERNS FOR THE INDUSTRY ARE

THE BUSINESS TREND
DOLLAR WEAKENING AGAINST RUPEE
CURRENT FRESHERS ATTITUDE
MANAGERS' DEPORTMENT AND EFFICIENCY
SACRIFICES ONE HAS TO UNDERGO IN CURRENT TURBULENT TIME

TO MENTION A FEW

THAT IS THE EVER FASINATING VINEET NAYAR THE CEO OF HCL - HAIL THEE!!!!!

தசாவதாரம் - விமர்சனம்

Following is the review in thamiz, of the KAMAL starrer Dasavatharam by my friend BALA who blogs at தமிழ் உலா - என்றென்றும் அன்புடன் பாலா . Pl. read on.
*********************************
ரங்கராஜன் நம்பி - My 2 cents!

எனது முந்தைய பதிவில் அம்முவின் விமர்சனத்தின் தொடர்ச்சியாக, எனது சின்ன மகளிடம் (6 வயது), 'படம் பிடித்ததா?' என்று கேட்டேன். அவள், "படத்தில 2 கமல் தானே ... சயிண்டிஸ்ட் கமல், கோயில்ல சண்டை போடற கமல் .. வராங்க, மீதி கமல் எல்லாம் எங்கே போனாங்க?" என்று ஒரு சூப்பர் கேள்வி கேட்டாள் :) நான் மற்ற 8 வேடங்களில் கமல் வருவது பற்றி விவரித்தபோது, "மத்த கமல் எல்லாம் பார்க்க ஏம்பா கார்ட்டூன் மாதிரி இருக்காங்க?" என்று இன்னொரு கேள்வி கேட்கவே, நான் அப்பீட் :)

My 2 cents: இணையத்தில் பலவகையான விமர்சனங்களை வாசித்து விட்டதால், உலகத்தரமான படத்தை எல்லாம் எதிர்பார்த்துச் செல்லவில்லை என்ற டிஸ்கியோடு தொடங்குகிறேன்! தசா ஒரு நல்ல மசாலா படம் என்று நிச்சயம் கூறமுடியும். Real Good Entertainer ! "சிவாஜி" பெட்டரா, "தசா" பெட்டரா என்று (ரஜினி ரசிகனான) என்னிடம் கேட்டால், என் பதில் ... No comments;) இதே படம், ஹாலிவுட்டில் எடுக்கப்பட்ட ஓர் ஆங்கிலப் படமாக இருந்திருந்தால், அதன் concept மற்றும் 10 வேடங்களுக்கு சிலாகிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கும், நமது அடிமை மெண்டாலிட்டி அப்படிப்பட்டது :(

பிரம்மாண்டத்தை பிரம்மாண்டத்துடன் ஒப்பிட வேண்டும்! அந்த வகையில் சங்கரின் பல குப்பைகளை (சிவாஜி, இந்தியன் தவிர!) விட, தசா பரவாயில்லை என்று தான் கூறுவேன். இப்படி ஒப்பிடுவதை விடுத்து, சுப்ரமணியபுரத்துடனும், பருத்தி வீரனுடனும் ஒப்பிடுவது சரியான அணுகுமுறை கிடையாது! கமலின் சிறந்த நடிப்பைப் பார்க்க பலப்பல உத்தமமான படங்கள் (ராஜபார்வை, மூன்றாம் பிறை, நாயகன், ஹேராம், தேவர் மகன், குணா, குருதிப்புனல், மகாநதி, தெனாலி, அன்பே சிவம் ...) நமக்காக காத்திருக்கின்றன. மேலும், இந்தப் படத்திற்கு இவ்வளவு பணத்தைக் கொட்டியிருக்க வேண்டுமா போன்ற கேள்விகளுக்குள் செல்வதில் எந்த அர்த்தமும் இருப்பதாகத் தோன்றவில்லை!

கமலின் நடிப்பு, குறிப்பாக பல்ராம் மற்றும் வின்செண்ட் வேடங்களில் சூப்பர். வின்செண்ட் பாத்திரப் படைப்பில் ஒரு எழவு (நுண்)அரசியலும் இருப்பதாகத் தோன்றவில்லை! பத்து வேடங்களும் வித்தியாசமாகத் தெரிய வேண்டும் என்பதற்காக, மேக்கப் சற்று அத்து மீறியதில், ஒரு வித 'ஒட்ட வைத்த' செயற்கைத்தனம் இருந்தது உண்மை தான் என்றாலும், பாத்திரத்திற்கு ஏற்ற பேச்சு வழக்கை அனுசரிப்பதில் கமலுக்கு இணை யாரும் கிடையாது. ஒன்றுமே இல்லாத புஷ் வேடத்தில் கூட , புஷ்ஷின் சின்னச்சின்ன மேனரிஸங்களை வெளிக் கொணர்ந்ததில், கமலின் நுண்ணிய கவனமும், உழைப்பும் தெரிகிறது.

ஒப்பனையும், தொழில்நுட்பமும் வளராத காலகட்டத்தில், தனது நடிப்பால் மட்டுமே 9 வேடங்களிலும் வித்தியாசம் காட்டிய 'நவராத்திரி' சிவாஜி, ஞாபகத்திற்கு வந்தது என்னவோ உண்மை தான்! அது போலவே, கமல் தானே பத்து வேடங்களிலும் நடிக்காமல், சிலவற்றை தாரை வார்த்துக் கொடுத்திருந்தால், இவ்வளவு கடுமையான விமர்சனங்கள் வந்திருக்காது என்று நினைக்கிறேன்.

தசாவின் 12-ஆம் நூற்றாண்டுக் காட்சிகளின் பிரம்மாண்டம், ஆங்கிலப்படங்களுக்கு இணையானது. கமல் நாத்திகராக இருந்தாலும், தசாவின் பத்து வேடங்களில் ரங்கராஜன் நம்பி என்ற ஆத்திக வைணவர் வேடம் தான் அவருக்கு சிறப்பாகப் பொருந்துகிறது :) சாரு தனது விமர்சனத்தில், கோயிலில் இறைசேவை செய்யும் வைணவர் இப்படித்தான் புஜ பராக்கிரமத்துடன் இருந்திருப்பாரா என்று சந்தேகப்படுவது போல் படாமல் இருந்தால், அக்காட்சிகளை ரசிக்க முடியும்! பக்தி உணர்வு உள்ளவர்களுக்கு சிலிர்ப்பு தரும் காட்சிகள் அவை. கமல் "சாந்தாகாரம், புஜகசயனம் ..." என்று சொல்லும்போது எனக்கு மெய் சிலிர்த்தது!

வைணவத்தில், பரந்தாமனின் அடியாரைப் பணிவது, பரமனைப் பணிவதைக் காட்டிலும் உயர்ந்ததாகக் கூறப்படுகிறது! அந்த சிறிய விஷயத்தைக் கூட கவனத்தில் கொண்டு, ரங்கராஜ நம்பியை மூலவர் சிலையுடன் கட்டி கடலுக்கு இட்டுச் செல்லும்போது, பல்லாண்டு பாடும் வைணவர்கள், ஒருவர் தோள் மேல் ஒருவர் ஏறி, (மூலவரின் திருவடியைப் பற்றி வணங்காமல்!) ரங்கராஜன் நம்பியின் திருவடியைப் பற்றி வணங்குவதை காட்சியில் கொணர்ந்திருக்கும் செயல் வியப்பை வரவழைத்தது!

அதே சமயம், கேயாஸ் தியரி, பட்டர்ஃபிளை எஃபெக்ட் பற்றியெல்லாம சிந்திக்கக் கூட தமிழ் சினிமாவில் ஆள் இருக்கிறாரே என்று சாரு போலவெல்லாம என்னால் சிலாகிக்க முடியவில்லை;-)

தமிழ் கூறும் நல்லுலகில் உலவும் அறிவுஜீவிகள், கமர்ஷியலாக தோல்வி அடையும் படங்களை மட்டுமே "நல்ல" படங்கள் என்று ஒத்துக் கொள்வது, சிலாகித்துப் பேசுவதும் ஏன் என்று புரியவில்லை! கமர்ஷியலாக வெற்றி அடையும் திரைப்படங்களில் எந்த வகையிலும் நடிப்புக்கு scope-ஏ கிடையாது என்று மறுத்துப் பேசுவது சரியாகாது.

தசாவை தமிழ் சினிமாவின் மைல்கல் என்றெல்லாம் கூற மாட்டேன்! அதே நேரத்தில், தசா போன்ற திரைப்படங்களால் தமிழ் சினிமாவுக்கு பின்னடைவு / ஆபத்து என்று நண்பர் சுரேஷ் கண்ணனுக்கு இணையாக கெட்டிக்காரத்தனமாக வாதாட எனக்கு சரக்கு போதாது :)

So much money has been spent for this movie but the END justifies the MEANS.

எ.அ.பாலா

LEHMAN EPISODE VS WARREN BUFFET- A LESSON

LATELY, I have been thinking a lot about the Lehman crisis . Spending money that they didn't have and going beyond their means is one of the main reasons for their situation today. In fact that is the cause for the current economic crisis in the US.

When I see all this happening, I can only remember the good old days. Then, karz was bad. People looked down upon those who took loans. Parents would not give their daughter's hand in marriage to a man with loans.

But of course, the times have changed now. Everyone I know has a loan. The buzz word is EMI (equated monthly installment). Today, you can buy everything on EMI - a house, a television, an i-Pod. In fact I know of someone who just bought a fancy BMW 3 series on EMI, instead of buying a cheaper car outright with cash. I mostly prefer to take public transport, but then I am an old man with old thoughts!

Anyway, coming back to what caused the crisis. Imagine having Rs 2 lakh in your bank account, no regular income, yet buying a house worth Rs 65 lakh, in the hope of selling it for a higher price. Even if the price of the house fell by just 5 per cent (that is Rs 3 lakh), you will go bankrupt. This is what Lehman Brothers did; with around USD 20 billion they went and bought assets worth over USD 600 billion. Isn't it suicidal and simply foolish?

I am sure things would have been different, had I been the head of Lehman brothers. But who wants an old conservative man like me to head a complex financial institution.
But there are a few lessons that we can learn:

1. Live a balanced life and avoid overspending.
Tip: As soon as you get your monthly salary, set aside a fixed amount, usually 35 per cent, for insurance, savings and investments. You can then spend the rest.
2. Not all loans are bad. Loans that are 'need based' (home loans, education loans) can always find a place in your finances against those that are largely 'want based' (personal loans, car loans).

3. Borrow only if repayment is financially comfortable.
A thumb rule: Keep EMIs within 30 per cent of your monthly income

In that respect, there is one American who I really respect – Warren Buffet. He has lived in the same ordinary house for over three decades, drives his own medium sized car and leads an extremely regular 'middle class' life. If that's all it takes for the richest person on earth to be happy, why do all of us need to take extra stress just so that we can get things which aren't even essential?

India still has a lot of growth ahead and the future holds immense opportunities for us. Let us make the most of it and save and invest it wisely instead of wasting our precious little on things we don't need.