True Master

Shifting

2006-09-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

Hello !! I have shifted my blogging activity to LiveJournal. You can access my blog at sujeetjoshi.livejournal.com.

Looking forward to seeing you there!!

Cramps.....Excitement... Fun... Anxiety... Joy... and Cramps!!

2006-08-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

Well, the title of the post paraphrases my physical and mental state over the last weekend. I had been to Bangalore to participate in a quiz contest. Driving down from Chennai was an experience in itself. Petrol and Toll consumed our wallets! Not Teja's, he did not have any money to begin with! We hit Bangalore late into Thursday night. The cramps caused by the travel in the back seat of a tiny "zeny" car did not help matters the next morning, when I had to stand in the queue at the registration desk at IIMB for a full one hour!

The prelims came, and then the nail biting wait for the results and then the news of qualification. Amidst all this, I had an awesome time with friends. Life seemed so beautiful, all of a sudden!

The quiz finals were great - made all the more special by Chaitra's and Supreet's presence in the audience! It was so long since they saw me quizzing!! Thanks yet again, to Supreet and Chaitra for sponsoring those coffees and dinner and the movie and for the MacDee.

To top it all, on Sunday there was some major relocation activity to be undertaken by Supreet. Shifting his luggage took the cake for being the most demanding activity of the weekend. Well, now you know why the cramps revisited me!

Some self realizations/belief reinforcements post Bangalore trip:

I still tend to make wrong decisions when it rains!!
Some people dont realise that in absence of sound logic, intuition seems a good alternative (related to quizzing!)

Rewind

2006-08-19T05:28:00.000-07:00

I was invigorated to write some more on the topic that I posted 5 months ago. The latest in the series of insightful comments - some approving, some not so much of my opinion- was written by Skanda. He raised the issue of Kannada having lost its rightful place because the Kannadigas do not "come-out" with their linguistic identity as much as Tamils do.

Frankly speaking, the issue gets complicated because of the underlying demographics prevalent in the state or the city. I am sure 10 years ago, when none of this IT boom was heard of, Bangalore was as awash with Kannada speaking people as Tamils are in Chennai even today. If you visit North India, vast areas have Hindi as the local language. So, anybody who does not know the language feels left out and unable to communicate. The fact that Hindi is the national language needs no reinforcing here, because even if it were not, the local language would still be prevalent (which of course is Hindi).

As far as Bangalore is concerned, the mix of the people in the city landscape has gone more skewed towards non-Kannada speaking people over a period of the last decade. Consequently, Hindi has become a de facto language for many. I have personally experienced this many times in Bangalore where the rickshaw drivers speak in Hindi which is actually unheard of in Chennai. It has to be admitted that Chennai still lacks the cosmopolitan colors that is present in Bangalore. Once the city of Chennai gets more people from across the country for economic reasons, then the shifting linguistic profile of the population will force a change in the way locals see a foreign (read non - Tamil and Indian) language. I have noticed this in cities such as Madurai where a large tourist population floats in annually. So, for the locals - the businessmen, auto-drivers, shop keepers etc. - Hindi is definitely workable! Even Pondicherry exhibits similar properties.

I feel that when push comes to a shove, everyone, irrespective of their linguistic preferences, will settle for the language spoken by the majority in any given instance. Bangalore, presents a paradox in this respect. You move towards places like Rajaji Nagar and Malleswaram and you find the Kannada influence stronger than in areas like Koramangala.

All said and done, patience and tolerance for something that is foreign or unknown to you is important. This holds for both the native speakers and the "otherwise" population. Assimilation becomes a lot easier. Mumbai is a shining example!

Back Again...yet again!

2006-08-15T03:08:00.000-07:00

Its time to blog again after a brief hiatus perpetuated by sloth and behavioral malignancy caused by being stuck in an inertial frame with respect to penning down my thoughts for public consumption.

To begin with, I have hit the second year of my Masters programme in Business Administration. Being half an MBA gives you jitters!!

Economics seems to be the new buzzword around! Well, the credit must go to Freakonomics for getting people to ask questions about things we thought were obvious, but were not. A couple of days ago, I finished reading The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford. (Very many thanks to Chaitra for gifting me that book). Its not as suited for a layman as Freakonomics, but is definitely insightful. During the period of my internship, I have read a lot more books. Shashi Deshpande's short stories were written in a very down to earth manner, but there are lots of references to the female perspectives on life which I guess, women will associate better with than me. Sudha Murty's book, The Old Man and His God, and her writing was a serious letdown!! I advise people to read that book, so that one day when they think of writing they can always benchmark their worst performance on her writing.

Chennai seems to having the most fickle of the weathers. The afternoons are so stifling, that its hard to breathe, the evenings are washed out by rain, the nights are breezy and chilled and the next morning, the sun is out in full force that makes you take a cold water shower!

Snoopers!

2006-07-22T03:04:00.000-07:00

There are two very prolific snoopers on a very popular social network site (run by the same people as is this blog site) on the Internet. Their souls were lost along the Silk Route eons ago. This is supported by their personal nomenclature, namely, Cat-Hair and Kick-Hu. They seemingly possess extreme mental capabilties in tracking homo-sapiens in the virtual world. Intelligence reports point to the usage of a long drawls for verbs such as "laughing" and short bursts of adrenaline induced action in words such as "cook" (it sounds like "cuck").

Some wandering journeyman happened to pop into their conversation and heard the following:

Cat-Hair : Man, look at this girl, **h* *a*, she looks so much like a man! I guess thats because she has got her upper lip threaded and the distance between the nostrils and the upper lip is so un-feminine.

Kick-Hu : Previous recce missions on the same personality revealed the girl's (??) propensity to indulge in hyper-threading experiences!

( The names are getting unwieldy for regular use now. So, Cat-Hair shall be called C1 and Kick-Hu, C2, from here on)

C1: The snap was taken on a nature trail. May be thats the reason for such repulsive make-up.
C2: Quite possible. Civilized world never gave her a second look.

C1: This lady has gone nuts. She has even got her mom into O**u*.
C2: Not just that, mummy and the daughter have testified publicly for each other.

C1: Which caste does this chap A****h belong to?
C2: How does it matter? I know you saw the family function snap.

C1: How can this fellow already have a cabin for himself at work?
C2: He does not. Thats his room in Frankfurt. By the way, talking about Frankfurt, did you know **i*a is there? Where was she working?
C1: Archives point to *er** S**e**. Not sure though. Hey, have you heard that this girl called (name goes unheard) has got married? She does not deserve an uncle-like husband !
C2: Yep. Thats what even I am seeing. She is in Flow(rid)a now.

C1: This crackpot's profile has a community listed, Eavesdroppers!
C2: I am a step ahead of you. I already know we are being overheard.

(hi-fives!!!!)

Milking the Cow

2006-07-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

My daily dose of news and latest happenings around the globe comes from newspaper and the Internet. But, of late I have been watching the news channels too. Quite frankly, they were totally unimpressive. Just for the sake of living up to the tag of a 24-hr news channel and for justifying the advertisers' money, crap is dished out. Even the news that makes sense is packaged "differently". The idea of product/service differentiation is turned into a joke.

Every damn thing is sensationalized. Every story is shredded apart from all illogical angles. Worse still, in many of the news shows the "expert" opinion itself appears so shady, largely because of the doubtful credentials of the speaker. The very art of wrapping the content in the colorful paper of mod-looking newsreaders with gelled hair and wide-as-a-wall flat screens in the background, takes the focus away from the news and "pushes" the prejudicial conclusions and opinions upon the viewers.

Being brought up on the staple diet of gossip-free, content-thick newspaper, The Hindu, I am beginning to find the transition that some of the newspapers have undergone, in the name of "marketing" the news, very cosmetic. For example, one of the leading economic dailies of the country, basked so much in the glory of Arcelor-Mittal deal, spent bales of newsprint tracking his speeches and appearances for the past one year, that for a second, even the most discerning reader on the Dalal Street would mistake it for a LN Mittal newsletter, meant for internal circulation only!

But, try and crib as much we may, the fact remains that "packaged" news sells. The concept of breaking news is hogwashed day in and day out, but still, we lap it all up. We want, they make. They sell, we buy. The audiences are cows. Media has to milk them for the milk AND the cream.

Q: Whats the best way to prevent the milk from turning sour?
A: Keep it in the cow!

Picture Perfect

2006-06-20T02:23:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I "managed" a trip to Bangalore. It had been a long time since I had met up my college buddies.

Dear Chaitra treated us all (Anu, Nitin, Vidya, herself and myself) to a posh lunch (as is her wont) at Sahib Sindh Sultan. We had great fun and food there, especially the gulab jamoon with brandy! Nitin, you owe one to me for the choice!!

You can see the gulab jamoon, it was on fire a few seconds ago, burning with brandy! Look at Anu (in the denim jacket), she is trying to hypnotize the waiter who took the snap!

The same evening I met up with my college buddies at Mojo's. It was great talking to them!

L to R: Jaan, Nitin, me, Pomchi, Leelu and Andu!
Had awesome discussions on company appraisals to the MBA hype to Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty to IIT campus life. Now, this was one hell of two hours we spent together! All the uncleanliness seen on the table is due to Jaan and Andu.

The unanimous comment on me was that I had grown thin. Well, no way better to say it than through this picture ( thanks to Chaitra).

I could freeze all the three days in memory, for life. For Ever. It was picture perfect. Well, almost.

Footer:

Nitin has developed this Paris Hilton - like plastic smile. Its the same in every snap!
Chaitra put a lot of pressure on me not to put the first snap. She looks "ugly, fat, stressed out in lyfe!" in her own words.
Pomchi still writhes when smoking, in spite of beginning to look stouter than a cigarette. Look at this snap below!

Nothing much happening...

2006-06-02T02:07:00.000-07:00

Of late nothing much has been happening around to write so I just thought I shall indulge in some arbit ramblings.

I have watched quite a few movies ever since my internship began. Most of them have been good - comedies like The Rat Race, The Pink Panther and A Night at the Roxbury; and a very cute romantic comedy - Love Actually. But the best of the lot has been The Shawshank Redemption. Now this is one movie that is so very captivating and meaningful, that you will feel at the end of it that there is a way out of every deep shit in life.

Amidst all these movies I have also managed to watch the one dayers between India and the West Indies, from start to finish, all but the first one. ( I am not the lucky mascot for the Indian team!!)

Andriy Shevchenko has moved to Chelsea. I do not know how successful he is going to be. Somehow my loyalties are going to be stressed. I am not a Chelsea fan, but I am Sheva's. Some time in the future my F1 loyalties are also going to undergo same fate when Kimi joins Ferrari. Talking about F1, Monaco race turned out to so much of an anti-climax. But I liked the way Kimi chilled off on the yatch instead of going to the paddock, after his car stalled.

But in the end, no team had more fun and frolic than the Red Bull after they got their got first ever podium finish through David Coulthard. Just look at them!!

I was also reminded recently of this funny, actually the most ignominous goof-up ever in the history of journalism. The photo below shows Harry Truman holding aloft Chicago Daily Tribune, which carried the wrong headline that Truman had lost the elections to Thomas Dewey, which he had actually won!!

Thomas Dewey incidentally was the first US presidential candidate born in the twentieth century.

I have also returned to playing FIFA 2005 on the computer. Its great fun really, much better than those shooting-killing type of games like the Counterstrike. The best part of the game are the awesome background soundtracks. They egg you on to play better and have fun!! I have begun to really like Spanish songs a lot now!!

Hypocrisy

2006-05-20T05:16:00.000-07:00

I came across this article in the Economic Times which talks about the Vatican slamming the Anti-Conversion Law to be introduced in Rajasthan.

"The disturbing signs of religious intolerance which have troubled some regions of the nation, including the reprehensible attempt to legislate clearly discriminatory restrictions on the fundamental right of religious freedom must be firmly rejected”

The Pope told India’s ambassador Amitava Tripathi.

I strongly feel the Vatican and the Pope should restrict its influence to the Roman Catholics and not interfere in the sovereignty of any nation. India being a secular state, has given constitutional rights to freely practise any religion and has also provided for the redressals in case of the violation of these rights.
I am not trying defend the proposed law. But the important question that crops up is if religion is mightier than the nation. There are many nations which are firmly rooted in the idea of the religion. How powerful can the Vatican consider itself, at least as far exercising its influence over Roman Catholics is concerned?
When faced with a common threat perception facing all the Catholics across the world, which transcends the barriers of nationality, it makes sense even at the level of minimum diplomacy protocol to follow the right channels of seeking intervention. The Vatican and the Pope, being the spiritual head of the Roman Catholics worldwide should remain concerned with the issues which can be communicated in a more diplomatically acceptable manner.
I cannot help but mention the persecution that the Church carried out in Middle Ages in the name of propagation of religion. Though the comparison may be anachronistic, but it nevertheless makes sense for the Vatican to project a more liberal and pro-modern outlook to religion, in this day and age, where religion is only used as a tool for gaining political mileage and for seeking to uplift the ignorant masses.

Legacy Apple Ad

2006-05-20T04:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks again to Supreet for getting me to dig out that Apple Macintosh ad featuring Bill Gates.
You can see it here.

Dat Whimsy Code !!!

2006-05-16T03:30:00.000-07:00

For all those who wonder about the managed and the native code released by Microsoft through MSDN, will find this blog by Tom Archer, the Program Manager and the Content Strategist at Microsoft MSDN Online team, rather enlightening.

There is also this interesting snippet by Kate Gregory about the First OO example.

"Today at C++ Connections I have attended two Bjarne Stroustrup talks. And yes, I learned something from both talks and took plenty of notes. Bjarne used what he called Ye Olde Shape Example in a discussion of the brittle base class problem. He mentioned that this is an ancient and yet still useful example that he got from the Simula folks way back when. After the talk I asked if he knew when it dated to, since I use it as an example of polymorphism in the OO/UML course I teach at Trent. He thinks it's about 1971. I was disappointed that it wasn't older than me, and he offered "well, there's always the cars and vehicles, stop, go, turn kind of thing. That's from about 1967 or so." I burst out laughing since I use that example too! It doesn't quite make the "older than me" bar, but it's certainly got a history."

I love C++!!!

Credit: Thanks to Supreet for telling me that quote-unquote thing, never saw it on the editor.

Bon Voyage

2006-05-15T01:37:00.000-07:00

17.10 hrs:
I have never seen an airport as cramped and overwhelmingly crowded as Kolkata airport yesterday. There were queues everywhere. From baggage X ray to Check-in to Security to Boarding gate, was one long seamless queue. People from six different airlines were jostling for space.

18.25 hrs:
I have been standing for the past 75 minutes- moving from one queue to another. There was no place to sit. The queue had people with genuine "waiting-to-board" passengers and also the people who could not find a place to sit. IA arranged to send passengers to Mumbai and Chennai through the same boarding gate. There was a scramble to catch the bus to take you to the aircraft. In the end, hopping onto the Indian Airlines flight was like climbing an RTC bus.

19.20 hrs:
A big fat man is pulling out his luggage inside the aircraft at Bhubaneswar airport. He appeared a Scandinavian to me, seeing his "sweat" quotient! A concerned Indian gentleman told him that the aircraft was not yet at Chennai. ( Gosh, what was that... the big, fat guy thought he was on a Concorde?? 30 minutes from Cal to Chennai!!!)

20.00 hrs:
The plane took off after depositing 10 guys and picking up none at Bhubaneswar. Waste of ATF. Apparently, the flight to Bhubaneswar was cancelled the day before, so the adjustment had to be made. The guy next to me complained. It seems he has a meeting at 2200 hrs and he is delayed badly. (What crap!! Meeting on a Sunday night at 10..whom are you kidding mate)

21.15 hrs:
An old man to the guy next to me, "That thing is nice-your mobile. You can hear songs on that too, right?"
The guy next to me to the old man, "No, its an iPod"
Old man,"Oh..which brand?"
(Why God why, Why only me!!!)

21.45 hrs:
Took my baggage. Thankfully not damaged this time.

22.00 hrs:
A small girl looked at my T-shirt and smiled. I looked down and read it.
"Today is not your day. Tomorrow does not look any better either"

Oops I did it again…..

2006-05-13T00:12:00.000-07:00

The Hiltons have lots of name, fame, beauty, money and the oomph factor. Add to that they have also acquired quite a bit of the “oops” factor over the years. You can be assured of the Hilton sisters to show off their foolishness absolutely anywhere. A couple of days ago, at the Electronics Entertainment Expo in LA, Paris reportedly mentioned the name of the video game named after her, the Jewel Jam as..... Diamond Quest!!!! Oh God, what on earth was she thinking!!
Of all the things that Hilton family has, one thing there is a severe dearth of in their household is SHAME.
Same holds for the Bush family also!
Lets smoke ‘em out!!

Gold

2006-05-08T01:29:00.000-07:00

The price of gold has been rising like never before. It is at historically the highest levels currently. Actually it is very interesting to see the reasons for the steep prices. The prices seem to betray the common logic of demand and supply. One of the many factors contributing to the high prices of gold is the rising demand for crude oil and the consequent high prices for the crude. The high crude oil prices have caused inflationary pressures in many oil dependent economies and also in currencies worldwide, especially the dollar.

Traditionally, currencies and gold have been on the two pans of the investment balance. When currencies fall or weaken, the money is pumped into gold because next to the currency, it’s the gold that is tangible and liquid. Rising inflation has caused depreciation in the dollar, and so, many investors have parked their money in gold, instead of T-bills and the US bonds.

The investment issue has two angles to it - the large private equity and hedge funds and the institutional investors on the one hand and the general public on the other. The general public has been helped in their quest to invest in gold by the emergence of two major Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), the StreetTrack and the Comex, which deal in gold investments. As a result, the layman also is able to put money into gold even without possessing the equivalent quantity of gold in physical terms. As far as the hedge funds and private equity players are concerned, they have pumped in monies in the whole commodities market. The phenomenal demand for steel, aluminum and copper in China’s construction sector has led the price rally in the commodities market. Now, the hedge funds, funds of funds and the private equity players have included the gold also in this commodities bracket. This has resulted in an artificial demand for the yellow metal. But no private equity player or hedge fund is ready to accept that. According to them it’s those who are in the dark forest between the private equity and the hedging business who are responsible.

Another important factor to be noted is the fact that the prices of gold have been rising in spite of low demand in India, which consumes 70% of the gold. No Indian in sane mind is buying gold at the retail level at such high prices.

The rising fiscal deficit in the US economy vis-à-vis the burgeoning China’s exports to the US have led to the fall in the dollar value. As a result, the pressure on the Chinese to revalue the renminbi (Yuan) is also increasing. As and when that happens, not only will the US breathe easy, but it is quite likely that worldwide commodities’ prices may come down. But, as is widely believed that the days of $30 per barrel of crude is over, the gold prices are also on a very tricky and volatile ground. Like the proverbial cat on the wall – you never know which way it will jump!!

Celebration Time

2006-04-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

It is really hard to imagine how the offloading of stake in Sibneft, gathered during the era of Soviet oligarchy, by one Mr. Roman Abramovich, and the managerial genius of a Portuguese, Mr. Jose Mourinho could just be the beginning of a club dynasty that the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United had earlier built.

Yesterday, Chelsea defeated ManU comprehensively, 3-0 at Stamford Bridge to seal off the EPL for the second season in a row. Its not so much as the winning that is important. But just looking at the meteoric rise of a middle-of-the-table team to an almost unbeatable bunch of players is truly great. A couple of seasons ago, when Abramovich spent big sums on buying players and Mourinho, ditching a bumbling Claudio Ranieri, he did cause a flutter in the dressing rooms across Europe. The big bet was not money anymore - but if money could make Chelsea the winners. And here is where Mourinho The Manager came in. Unlike the Galacticos of Madrid, who are all star players in their own right, but not clicking as a team, Jose built a team that is at worst methodical and ruthless at the best of times.

There are still doubts over Chelsea. Their failure at the Champions League being their biggest undoing. Their FA Cup loss last week to Liverpool did not help matters either. Jose Mourinho may be miles away from Sir Alex Ferguson or Gerrard Houllier (I do suspect nationalist sentiments here). Statistics are meant for those people who never realised their dream of playing. Chelsea has brokered a power change in EPL. The game is on.

Disclaimer: I am not a Chelsea fan.

Sweet child of mine

2006-04-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

The clock was ticking by very slowly. It was a long wait. But, soon the baby boy would bring joy to their lives.

The moment had taken a long time coming. About eight and a half months ago, when he heard the good news that he would be a father, his happiness knew no bounds. The life seemed all so beautiful. In the days and months to follow - at work in his laboratory, in moments of solitude, at the umpteen family functions, only the thought of seeing his son grow up to be a bigger scientist than him occupied him and motivated his senses.

"Forget the genetics.Forget the Xs, the Ys, and the XXs, and the YYs. We have strong male gene pool. The first child since the time of our forefathers has been a boy. And not for nothing have we lit those lamps in hundreds of temples, praying for a boy. The Goddess will listen to our prayers", his mother had told him several times over the past week.

Now, walking the corridor outside the maternity ward, he was sure they would be blessed with a boy. The Nature, the family Goddess and the temple priests - they were appeased enough and their blessings sought graciously, for the past year or so. His family was to have a baby boy - the light of his life, the bearer of the family pride, and the son who would be a far better scientist than him.

The bulb went off. He rushed to the nurse. The doctor followed her. His mind was bursting at its seams with impatience. "God Bless You!! Its a beautiful girl".

His world came crashing down.

Pi and Me

2006-04-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

I am
p

Everyone loves pi

what number are you?

this quiz by orsa

For the uninformed, my room number is 314 (100pi).

My association with pi continues!!!

Lessons

2006-04-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

This post comes in the aftermath of an election defeat. No, not the Italian one. Neither the one of the many that are happening in our various state assemblies. This is an election defeat I faced. Quite a few lessons I learnt.

1. In democracy, its not just winning that matters. Running a close second makes your voice heard.
2. People get unduly diplomatic during the election time. All around, you see poker faces.
3. Its not just the politicians who do not keep promises. Even the voters forget theirs.
4. Abstaining from voting is absolute cowardice.
5. Getting votes without campaigning gives you a false sense of pride and accomplishment.

And the Gospel Truths:

1. The Pareto Rule (thanks to the Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, common sense has been given a fancy name).

2. The elected ones display the mentality equivalent to the weighted average mentality of the electorate.

Free Will

2006-04-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

The cold wind blew across her face. The chill registered. A shiver went through her spine. She could feel her nerve endings tingle. It was not just cold, though the brain told her that. She stared down the cliff. One wrong step and it was over - for good. She put a foot forward. Something struck – fear.

“Fear hits when are you are unsure about something.”

She was sure. A deep breath. Another strike.

“Who is that?”

The brain knocked and said, “Go ahead”. No, the brain was wrong. What was it?

The soul screamed, “What is wrong with you?”

The reply came, “I am using my free will”

“What is it?”

“I decide what to do, when to do, nothing stops me”

“Something does. There is a power beyond all of us”

“Did you see it?”

“I felt it”

“There is no such thing; you just chose to feel it”

“Something makes think before I do something”

“That something is you. It’s all in you”

“But I have looked beyond myself”

“You cannot look far. Nothing beyond your self is your own”

“Is it yours?”

“No, I never claimed anything”

“But if it is not mine, then…. How can that be? It is actually ours”

“You were not given anything, it was just there. You chose to think they were yours. You chose to believe.”

“You mean to say, I can do whatever I wish to.”

“Yes”

“But what stops me from pushing that foot forward?”

“You have baggage of expectations – from life, from yourself”

“I am getting rid of it”

“You cannot”

“Why?”

“It is payback time. You cannot escape from it”

“What non sense?”

“You thought the things around you were yours. You used them as if they were yours.”

“So what? I did not misuse them?”

“True. So far so good”

“I never will”

“Standing with one foot almost over the edge is a misuse”

“Of what?”

“Of free will”

The choice was made. Both the feet were back on the ground. The cold wind chilled her spine. The walk back began. The free will lived on, for a better choice.

The Wanderings....

2006-03-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I saw an altogether new and a trifle baffling spelling for my name. It was Suijith. This was the "Mother of all Sujeet - related" spelling mistakes. I have seen various mistakes over the years, but they were mostly to do with the second half. This was the first time I have seen a first - half error. Followed by this spelling mistake was yet another entry into a quiz final. Its become a kind of habit entering a business quiz final and coming fourth odd in the finals. I hope the jinx will be broken soon.

The new mess hall in IIT Madras has opened. Its one real humongous place. For the first couple of days all the guys were out on a fault finding mission to this place. From measuring queue lengths at various times to commenting about the light bulbs to complaining about absence of TV et al. And for guys like me, for whom eating is just another activity to be ticked off thrice a day in the to-do list, operational functioning of the mess hall is a bigger curiosity than the food itself.

Digg is one really interesting news aggregator. Recently, through the RSS feed on my blog, I came across this rather amazing picture . The comments following that picture are also very enlightening.

Last weekend was the deadline for filing nominations for the Hostel Council Elections. The amount of hectic parleying we indulged in to stick to certain posts, to bargain some others, define a ratio for post sharing, and all this for a voluntary post!! I ll think twice before cursing the politicians now!!

The Chennai heat is definitely on now. Its really just the teaser, May - June will show the full power. To think that I had not used a fan in my room during my engineering days, where temperatures never went beyond 34 C really tells me how fast the times change, some day you are here, next day elsewhere. Wandering.

Mind Your Language

2006-03-16T21:42:00.002-08:00

Its been around 8 months that I have been in this place and I cannot help but wonder and feel irritated about the fact that Tamilians (Tams) are so obsessed with their language that they literally put you down linguistically. I cannot fathom why in the presence of 4-5 non - Tamil speaking friends, suddenly 2-3 people start in chaste Tamil?

I can understand that they are proud of their beautiful language. To be frank, even I love Tamil. It is really very sweet to listen to and speak. But, come on, there is got to be a limit. Whats the point of conversing in a language that 4 guys around you do not understand?

I have been amidst Telugu speaking population at school, but never did they speak their language when amongst a non-Telugu speaking group. And its not that some of these Tams do not know any other language, in which case their speaking Tamil is unavoidable. They do know other languages, say English (without loss of generality). But still they prefer Tamil (or should I say Tamizh). I have walked out of many an interesting discussion with my friends when Tamil became the working language.

May be my feelings are due to the fact that we Kannadigas, ourselves are very, what shall I say, unchauvinistic (for want of a better word) about our language. May be its because I have never seen myself as a person for whom language he speaks is an integral part of his identity.

I will not go as far as to say that linguistic chauvinism reflects xenophobia. But, the power and beauty of a language lies not just in its grammar but in the abilty of its speakers to parse their thoughts in a manner understood by all. Speakers maketh the language.

Movie Time

2006-03-11T22:56:00.000-08:00

After much deliberation I decided to watch a few of the Oscar nominated movies this time. I have been consciously avoiding most of the Oscar nominations ever since I slept through Cold Mountain ( starring Nicole Kidman, Jude Law and Renee Zellweger) and labored through last year winner Million Dollar Baby. But I must admit this time the platter laid out was mouth watering.

To start with Spielberg's Munich was a slick movie. It could never have won an Oscar, no matter how much more real or fictitious it had been. The Academy seems to like something closer to home and present day reality than a 1972 Olympic Village shoot-out and the ensuing assasinations.

Syriana was an almost true-to-life depiction of oil politics, boardroom corruption and Islamic indoctrination captured beautifully through the tribulations of a young Pakistani working in the Persian Gulf. The best part of the movie was fast changing scenes that took the viewer from Langley to Washington DC to Spain to Geneva to Beirut (some portions shot in Hezbollah controlled compound) to Tehran to the French Antibes. There are far too many threads in the story that do merge efficiently in the end, but were definitely avoidable.

Crash deserved to win the Oscar ( I guess it will be reinforced after I watch Brokeback Mountain this week). The racial tensions amongst the LA blacks, whites, Mexicans, Iranian immigrants and their paranoia brought out through solid cast is well worth watching. The convergence of the apparently disparate story lines in the movie, towards the end is simply fabulous.

Ornière Créatrice

2006-03-10T23:31:00.000-08:00

Its one of those times again when I am in a creative rut. I have written two entries in my blog over the past two days and deleted them both. They were painful to read.

This is my third attempt at writing. I am following the "First Principle of Batting" for a batsman who is badly out of form - just stay at the crease and the runs will follow. My pitch is this WYSIWYG editor. I am simply writing without any purpose. My worry is content and not form, for the moment. I need to oil my blog machine once in a while. I need to play each thought on its merit. I cannot put down everything here. I may get out!!

I know this is not getting anywhere. Kindly bear with me.

Comfortably Confused

2006-03-04T00:34:00.000-08:00

What is truth? What is a lie? Is truth better than a lie? Why is it bad to lie? Why is lying sometimes good? Why is truth better? Why is truth bitter? Why is truth truthful? Why do not people always trust what you say? Is truth always trusted? What makes you believe in truth? Do you believe because you are supposed to? Who asked you to believe? What is belief? Is truth a belief? Why do you believe? Why are your beliefs different from mine? Why are you the way you are? Who are you? Are you because you think? What if you do not think? Will you not be? Is thinking, being? Does being imply thinking? What if you stop thinking - do you stop being? What if you doubt? Does it mean, " I doubt, therefore I might be"? Is doubting bad? Why is clarity good? Does clarity mean perfection? Is clarity subjective? Do you decide the subjectivity? How objective is your subjectivity? How muddled is your clarity? How clear is your muddle?

Why am I asking you all this? Am I confused? I AM confused.I AM comfortable. I AM comfortably confused. Does that mean I am comfortable in confusion? Am I confused when I am comfortable? Do I know what being comfortable is? Do I know what confusion is?

Do YOU know what being comfortably confused is? Don't ask me.

Carruthers’ Cows

2006-02-26T09:53:00.000-08:00

The limerick, courtesy our Finance Professor, describes, rather funnily, the effect of using debt in the capital structure of a firm.

There once was a man named Carruthers
Who kept cows with miraculous udders’
He said, “Isn’t this neat?
They give cream from one teat
And skim milk from each of the others!

NLP in action

2006-02-24T04:39:00.000-08:00

NLP works (or was atleast made to work) on the premise that we can align our thinking, our daily actions and consequently change ourselves keeping in mind our larger objective in life. So, first you have to identify one personal problem that you face and would like to get rid of. These may include inabilty to focus, lack of courage in admitting something and such stuff.

Once the specific problem has been identified, we have to think and meditate to understand the environment, our behavior focussing on an instance of that problem. Jot down the feelings like anger, and behavior like shouting,screaming which you may experience when faced with the problem. Then try and correlate your experience with your skills, capabilities, beliefs and values.

Identify yourself with a symbol - something that defines you-like a bird in flight, a moon in the night sky or a star. Identify one phrase that would define you and your vision in life - like say, jack of all trades, or something like that.

Now work backwards towards your problem and revisualize the environment and your feelings and seek new insights into it. Do the whole thing slowly, taking about an hour.

This self-exercise is supposed to give one a better understanding of his/her self. For example, you drop a glass of water, your friend says, " How clumsy you are". Now, this is a comment relating to your behavior and many of us take it to the level of our identity and believe , "I am clumsy".

Though the exercise gave such insights into one's self, the class is still smarting under the psycho-babble that was delivered on a sleep-inducing Thursday afternoon and some have pledged not to attend such discourses which forced them to write "Child is the father of man","Pen is mightier than the sword" etc., for want of a better phrase, as their vision in life!!

Neuro - Linguistic Programming

2006-02-23T04:41:00.000-08:00

Neuro - Linguistic Programming is one of the topics that we were experentially taught to us in the PDW course. Well, the idea of NLP is kind of abstract, but it makes sense nevertheless. It gives a structure to a thinking process to analyze your day-to-day behavior from the following perspectives:

1.Environment
2.Behavior
3.Skills and capabilities
4.Beliefs and Values
5.Identity
6.Vision

Ya, I know it sounds abstract. But, more importantly, I, like many others in the class felt that the idea of NLP is more of a research interest, or for academic pursuits, not for daily self-inspections.
Moreover, most of us, at this age would have a fair idea of ourselves, and our behavioral patterns. NLP as it stands, may give you few insights into something you do not already know about yourself.
Largely, the concept of NLP is just to bring a structure to our understanding of our actions.

Fast "Forwards"

2006-02-18T22:15:00.000-08:00

Let me thank Rashmi for triggering my thought process which resulted in this post. This has got to do with the email forwards that almost all of us get everyday. I have tried to analyze what makes people forward these messages. The analysis involved splitting the forwards into two broad categories:
1. The forwards which involve funny pictures, anecdotes, or jokes.
2. The forwards that are more emotional and sentimental in nature.

The reasons I could gather for forwarding the emails are :

1. Each time you forward the mail, the previous recipients' email addresses also is seen in the message. So, it is quite possible that the person who initially triggered the mail was looking at collecting email ids to further his intent of forwarding. And chances are that you get to see a long lost friend's email id in the forwarding list. I myself have a found a few email ids of my old friends this way.

2. The other reason could possibly be based on the basic premise that the person forwarding has nothing to lose in forwarding the mail. The emails asking you to forward to some 'n' number of people within the next 'm' units of time play and expect rewards commensurate with your forwarding rate are usually the ones that carry some sad story, or of some miracle or some such similar stuff. The person who receives the forward normally feels that "thing" inside him which makes him/her forward it.

Largely the reasons for forwarding stem from the fact that its so easy to do it, and for people who sit in the cubicle whole day clicking the mouse might just be all the activity that they do for the day.

I am personally not very convinced with the reasons. I am also not aware of the psyche of the software engineers who forward such stuff in large numbers. I can derive no conclusion out of this analysis - it remains open. Looking "forward" to some better reasons!!

Binge Eating

2006-02-16T10:06:00.000-08:00

The Americans have displayed a voracious appetite for borrowing.
In fact, according to a recent AC Nielsen survey, Americans are the worst savers on the planet. Many people now believe that the Great American Bubble, spurred on by the housing boom, will soon burst - which is only to be expected. The Americans are so paranoid these days. Everyone and anyone is suspect. From Bush to Bangalore, all seem problematic. When a person feels that the future is bleak, the obvious thing for him to do is to stretch the present to a limit. And the Americans have only one thing to stretch - their consumerism.

The US budget deficit is at record highs presently. Dick Cheney is busy convincing people that the Federal Government will have higher cash inflows through tax cuts ( such a dud!!). Soon, the bubble will burst and the dollar will depreciate rapidly. The great Omaha - Man, Warren Buffet has anyway lost faith in the dollar. The dollar's other cheerleader, Alan Greenspan is out.

George Bush should tax people so that they spend less. But, he will not do that. When he could see non-existent WMDs, he is well within his atrocious capabilities to ignore the warning signals this time as well. This time the binge eating will only spoil the American appetite.

Turn the clock back again because...

2006-02-12T23:55:00.000-08:00

...I want to go to school on a Monday morning. I want to run around my school ground in white shorts. I want to balance those chemical equations. I want to watch Byomkesh Bakshi on a Tuesday night. I want to rush through my home work so that I can go and play. I want to sit on the floor cross-legged and read the Hindu Young World, with my brother on a Saturday afternoon. I want to score a goal. I want to play seven stones. I want to study Sanskrit at 5.30 am. I want to be the class monitor. I want to walk back home with my brother, and buy a Center-Fresh on the way. I want to ride my black and yellow Hero XS. I want to sleep at 10 pm.

I want to do all these and many more things all over again. Even if given a choice I would not do them differently. Beauty lies in imperfection.

Madame, vous êtes génie..

2006-02-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

This female is so intelligent.
When asked by a reporter recently about certain news reports about her in the UK press, she replied saying," Its not in UK, its London". Somebody tell her where London is, please!!

See this, and you will realize that she is so inch perfect in giving same expression, day in and day out. Only her facial changes!!

Phew...at long last...

2006-02-08T07:33:00.000-08:00

At long last I made it to a quiz final, at TATA Crucible 2006. Most definitely one of the biggest finals I have been to. Thanks to my team mate Praveen. It feels great to come 5th from among 125+ teams. And of course there were a lot of non-cash items (commonly known as goodies) to take home.

The fact that we decided to attend the prelims only 20 minutes before it started, I think the opportunity was grabbed with both hands very firmly. And business quiz is one of my weaker areas. With the kind of preparation we went in and ended up ahead of many seasoned teams, I am tempted to think of Bangladesh-defeating-Aussies type of a game. But, I have decided to take my business quizzing a trifle more seriously now.

Another thing that got reinforced today was having a great chemistry as a team. You need to have faith in your partner's intuition, and he in yours. That is so very important. Nitin, you know it all too well right!!

Book Review

2006-02-06T03:20:00.000-08:00

I finished reading three books recently.

Fire and Ice by Diana Palmer:
This book is a truckload of avant-garde, sophisticated crap. No sense from the beginning to the end. Flop Govinda movies are far better. Sometimes, I fall into these traps of experimenting needlessly.

One Night at the Call Center by Chetan Bhagat:
First of Law of "the Second", the sequel is worse than the first. Chetan seems to have gone a bit philosophical after attaining fatherhood. A nice peek into the BPO life though.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera:
Not recommended for light reading. The story is set during the Soviet invasion of the then Czechoslovakia.Very open-ended thought projection. Leaves a lot to your imagination, which I gather is the trademark of Kundera's writing. Lots of philosophical insights into life,love and communism.

At the Saarang 2006 Biz Quiz

2006-02-05T22:58:00.000-08:00

With mike in the hand, and a white T-shirt. From left - Balaji,PJ, myself,Protty,Kris - the men behind the Biz Quiz!! And yes, the teams sit on the floor! IIT M quizzing tradition!!

Putting Fundaes!!

No mom, please!!!

2006-02-02T19:42:00.000-08:00

Look at Britney's baby,Sean Preston ( God knows, where from that name is derived. It sounds like some 200- year old mining/construction firm's name from the Industrial Revolution era).
He is like thinking, "Mama, no please, do not go the Godmother Madonna way. Just because you kissed her on stage does not mean you have to take up Kabbalah and the Hindu rituals. Look at aunt Aguilera, she appears fine. And why isn't that vermillion on my forehead too??"

Its all about money, honey!!

2006-01-28T08:02:00.000-08:00

I came across this article on the web, thanks again to Delip. Its by some MIT professor, Phillip Greenspun. He has wonderfully articulated how Ivy League universities, and in particular MIT decide on the tuition fee waivers. Though the article itself is about 8 years old, some of his suggestions seem to have been implemented in the form of the OCW. And after you finish reading the article, do not forget to look at the MIT graduation 1998 pics. They are interesting!

After reading the article, and also from some other related snippets of information, it is quite evident to me atleast, that if you are ready to pay the full tuition fees, and are financially sound (actually ultra-sound), you can easily walk into the Ivy League, with just a modicum of aptitude.

Final word: Money can take you to Ivy League, but not to IIT!!

Back Again!!

2006-01-23T06:26:00.000-08:00

Thank the "force" that was with me. Thanks to Supreet.
Boy,what an emotional roller coaster the last 24 hours were!!

Wrong?

2006-01-22T07:11:00.000-08:00

Is there something wrong with my blog?? I cannot read the text.

PDW

2006-01-20T04:39:00.000-08:00

This quarter we have a course called the Professional Development Workshop. Its a nice one actually. We can enroll for Yoga as a part of this course. We are also taught something called the structured response method of handling unusual business situations, for that matter,even the day to day incidents. This method looks very interesting. I will document it sometime later.

Today we had a group activity, wherein our group was stranded on the moon and we had to come up with priorities for a list of 15 things to carry with us to reach the mother ship.The idea was to see the differences between individual preferences and how they change within a group. It was a wonderful experience really.

The feedback was very insightful too. The "neutral" observers felt that I was the de facto leader of the group, very assertive, and not very imposing, at the same time. One interesting comment was that I was very strong in logic, and riding on the strength of my logic, I bulldozed some of the members of the group!!

Who am I?

2006-01-18T23:57:00.001-08:00

Sleeping Beauty

75%

Peter Pan

75%

The Beast

75%

Donald Duck

56%

Goofy

50%

Ariel

50%

Snow White

38%

Pinocchio

38%

Cruella De Ville

25%

Cinderella

19%

Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego?

This is how I compare with the Disney characters. I am equally like Sleeping Beauty,The Beast and Peter Pan.
I am a schizophrenic. Sorry, not I, we.

Verticalization

2006-01-15T08:37:00.000-08:00

To really enjoy this post you need some background information on a chap called Bala. You can read about it here.

Anyways, Bala has divided his consulting business into the following domain specific verticals:

Food and Beverages: This vertical largely was a result of consistent beverage demand and Bala’s niche expertise in meeting the demand. Being a platinum card holder at various pubs and restaurants, ranging from swanky to quasi-shady, has helped him in integrating the supply and demand.
Entertainment: With weekend demand for the entertainment from the teetotaler clients to “i-don’t-have-money-to-booze-this-weekend” types, on the rise, Bala has risen to the occasion by using his supply-side contacts at multipexes and amusement parks, and realized a highly demanding vertical.
Automobile: This vertical was a result of Bala’s prior experience with automobile majors. This has helped him in meeting the clients’ need for new and second-hand bikes, as well as spare parts. Bala has also integrated transport logistics with this vertical, because the economic feasibility of operating his Pulsar was only too logical.
Finance and Insurance: Very strong, in Auto insurance, with proven expertise in getting insurance for his own bike. Being a local gives him access to a lot of idle funds in times of his clients’ crises.
Information Services: Sound knowledge of local conditions, makes Bala a prime choice for offering value added information services, especially cyclone forecasts (includes their source and destination too…clients love this!!), and accommodation information.

But apart from the verticalization, brand Bala has decided to consciously stay away from a potentially lucrative sector, personal care. With client queries ranging from number of underwears to be brought to Chennai, to the possibility of using an iron box in the girls’ hostel, to helpline services for “sambar-rasam-indistinguishable population” and location – spotting services, Bala is seriously pissed off!!

Next in line: taking his consulting services public!!!!

Wall Street

2006-01-14T06:51:00.000-08:00

I watched Wall Street today. Now, this movie is a classic one. A must watch. Slick pace, superb dialogues and very very insightful. Michael Douglas, as Gordon Gekko, and Charlie Sheen, as Bud Fox, have done a remarkable job.
The dialogues are unforgettable, really.Awesome.

Google

2006-01-13T02:54:00.000-08:00

At last I have also added the Google search bar and the AdSense. I am very sceptical about the money I will be making out of this, if any, but for all that Google has done to our lives and to the Internet, this is the least I can do.

Blog generator

2006-01-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

To help us overcome the writers' block that all the bloggers experience some time or the other, there is something called the blog generator. And it sucks, bigtime!!
To know why, click here

Super stuff!!

2006-01-11T01:43:00.000-08:00

Just take a look at this. Its really funny. Thanks to Delip and Lush.

My Video

2006-01-10T01:12:00.000-08:00

My video is here and here too. It was shot in my room, #314, also called the 100 pi!
I am sure atleast one of the video runs. So, enjoy!
I had an option of putting the video right here on my blog, but with some complaints regarding plugins pouring in, I decided to give the link.

Debut appearance!!

2006-01-10T01:01:00.000-08:00

I am making my first appearance on my blog.
Me(left side with Pepsi in my hand, the proof lies in the foreground of the photo) and Pappu on the right.

Bluffed

2006-01-08T23:53:00.000-08:00

I watched the movie BluffMaster the other day. In one my earlier posts, I had expressed the hope that the movie would be good. But it wasn't to be. The comedy was practically non existent. Only the songs were good.

Embellishments!!

2006-01-08T05:29:00.001-08:00

I have added quite a few stuff to my blog over the past couple of days. Some cool videos and RSS feeds, but I came across an interesting blog embellishment, called the radio blog. You can listen to my playlist of songs when you are at my blog.Cool!! I have not yet added it though. Also, there is something called the "feedblitz" which will update the readers of my blog, as and when I post something new. That kind of gets rid of the anticipation of coming to my blog and expecting a new post. So, I decided to put that idea on the backburner for the time being.

My favorite songs...

2006-01-08T05:25:00.000-08:00

Here are the videos of my favorite songs, "Numb" by Linkin Park and "Moon and Back" by Savage Garden.Enjoy.

New Venture

2006-01-07T05:43:00.000-08:00

I have decided to go jogging from today. I hope I can do it regularly.
Yesterday, we had a "summer internship" treat at Vestin Park. I hogged like mad. All that I had not eaten for the past one week was replenished yesterday.
By the way, this is a nice place for picking some ideas on video blogging, my next venture, in all likelihood, after I managed to start exercising again and put RSS feeds from BBC on my blog.

Back...

2006-01-04T00:57:00.000-08:00

I came back to Chennai on 1st. The vacation back home was great fun, and as is the case with any vacation, they all appear short at the end of it.

The Year That Was

2005-12-30T23:21:00.000-08:00

Yet another year has passed. The year began with ghastly images of the death and destruction left behind by the Boxing Day tsunami. And at the end of the year, only 20% of the tsunami - affected has got its shelters back. Meanwhile, Sania shone, first in Australia and then in Hyderabad, Dubai, Wimbledon and New York. The Indian cricket team lost the one day series to their Pakistani neighbors at home.

Elsewhere, after the euphoria of Liverpool’s win in Europe died down, 7/7 shook London and the stiff British upper lip was not stiff anymore. All Muslims were not terrorists, but all terrorists were Muslims. London returned with a bang, bagging the bid for the 2012 Olympics. The England cricket team won the Ashes, but not many are optimistic about their ability to retain it next winter.

The French rejected the EU constitution. And a few months later, Paris burned with race crimes. More cars were destroyed in Paris suburbs than GM could produce in Detroit in a day. The auto major, along with Ford and Chrysler suffered losses as Toyota and Nissan beat the Americans in their own auto garage. The American optimism was further dented by Katrina, Rita and mildly by Wilma. These female namesakes were the most problematic since Monica and Paula troubled a certain Mr. Bill Clinton.

Indians had their fair share of deluges - first Mumbai and then Chennai. At least we managed the flooding better than the Americans. Chennai is now facing problem of plenty of water, after being on the fringes for the last four summers. Another place that finds the proverbial problem of plenty is the BCCI. Somebody in the BCCI felt that Greg Chappell email deserved a mention on its notice board, verbatim. Sourav Ganguly was ditched and taken back in the team according to the whims of a Marathwada MP – minister turned BCCI president and an ex – wicket keeper whose clown – like antics were imitated by Javed Miandad 13 years ago in Sydney.

Meanwhile, Javed Miandad’s daughter married the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s son in Dubai, right under the noses of secret agents from India and the CIA. The latter continued to hog the limelight for all the wrong reasons. WMD is an old story now. It is now about flying the terrorists through the European airstrips. Talking about flying, GateGourmet strike at Heathrow affected many. Skyrocketing crude oil prices took care of the rest. All this happened while Iraq continued to see blood bath everyday and Afghanistan started harvesting poppy.Iraq, Volcker and the crude oil triumvirate nailed Mr. Natwar Singh.

The Indian politicians were caught accepting money to ask and also not to ask questions in the Parliament. But, the thick skinned ones sang the Billy Joel number, “We didn’t start the fire, it’s always been burning, since the world’s been turning…”

Peter Drucker passed away after making people believe in the philosophy of management for the last 60 years. The Greenspan era is heading to a close. As is this fairly long post, about a year that deserved one.

Flurys' Flavors

2005-12-29T23:06:00.000-08:00

I walk into Flurys.
Attendant: “Good afternoon, sir.”
The attendant walks away. I have come to expect that in Calcutta- dismal service.
The maitre d walks up to us- my parents and me.
”Sir, can I have your name please.”
“Mr. Joshi.”
“You may have to wait for some time. The tables are not free.”
“Ok.”
“Please be seated there.”
“How long?”
“Ten minutes.”
We are at a table within the next five minutes. The service is slow. It gave a nice chance to soak in the sights and sounds of Flurys.

To my right are seated a mother – daughter pair. They are admiring my mom’s sari. My mom cannot see them, and the ladies do not know that I am watching them watching my mom’s sari.

A wedding cake is placed atop a centre table. A lady walks towards it and snaps a picture of the cake. I am reminded of the wedding cake at Donald Trump’s second wedding with Melonia, where the cake was 3 feet wide at the base, and Donald was so busy drinking, a joke goes, that he forgot to taste his own wedding cake.

Somewhere behind my back are seated a group of ladies (or girls, I do not know, I cannot see them) in the waiting area.
A female voice behind my back: “You are not supposed to smoke here. This is the family zone.”
Another female voice, the smoker: “How does it matter? There is nothing to separate the family zone from the non family zone. The smoke will anyway reach the other side.”
Intelligent female. Did I create an oxymoron?

To my left is a couple with their baby. The man appears to be an ABCD (American Born Confused Desi). ABCD Jr. is crying out loud. Mr. ABCD picks up the baby and starts walking around. He is now Mr. BACD – Back As Child’s Dad. Mrs. ABCD (now Mrs. BACD) starts eating her chocolate pastry.

By this time, I have received my order. I play it safe at Flurys after my first visit when I ordered something called Cheese Quiche. (Sorry, I cannot pronounce it; neither can half the Flurys service staff). And when that thing arrived, I was literally searching for it. So tiny. And I have spent more than $1 on it (accounting for purchasing power parity).After that bout of massive post purchase cognitive dissonance, I have stuck to familiar names.

I have finished eating. It takes some more time for the check to arrive. The place is crowded by now. I cannot distinguish the sounds. But the mood is cheerful. That’s what makes this place so wonderful, for the last five generations.

The Shout Box

2005-12-27T22:51:00.000-08:00

The Shout box on the left side, as you scroll down is something that I had been trying to get for quite some time now.I am delighted to have it at last.Now its easier to post messages and comments.You dont have to create a login id with blogger to post a comment.Just use the box.It has smilies too!!

What do consultants do?

2005-12-26T23:08:00.000-08:00

The answer to the question is as difficult as the Freud's legendary doubt-what do women want?
One of the more common diatribes that one regularly gets to hear is “Those who can do they do, those who cannot, they consult.”
Same can be said for the legendary Freudian doubt. Tomes have been written, acreage of newsprint wasted, photographic reels spent by moviemakers in trying to understand the Freudian doubt. And I am not in the same league as those writers and moviemakers nor do I have the patience to write on what women want.
But as to what consultants do, the answers are so convoluted – ranging from strategy to management to technology to boutique, and everything else that smells vaguely of beautifully articulated jargon is associated with consulting.
Add to that the exclusivity that these consulting firms believe in. And charge obscene sums as fees for consulting to justify equally obscene pay packages given to the consultants.
The key to be a successful consultant, I guess, is to be an ace in making sense out of ambiguity. And THIS is definitely easier than understanding what women want. Any day!!

Lazy City

2005-12-26T22:11:00.000-08:00

The other day I was just thinking how lazy this city of Calcutta is. The shops here open at 5pm after shutting down for lunch at 1 pm. Four hours of no business, that too in a metro! But, I realized that the people here are just as indolent, that nobody ventures out at in the afternoon to shop. The cause and effect relation is hard to establish in this particular case. This is as good as the “which came first - chicken or egg?” question.
But the new retail stores have created an interesting situation. People actually swarm these stores at all times of the day. If the retailing boom picks up further steam, it will, in all probability create problems for the laggard store keepers all over the city. No wonder, the Left is opposing the FDI in retail so vociferously!!

Timepass

2005-12-24T22:57:00.000-08:00

I read “The Soyuz Affair” by Stephen Coulter. It’s a book about the death of the cosmonauts aboard the Soyuz. A nice book, though sluggish at times. It gives a nice feel about the life in Athens.
Yesterday I watched “The Bourne Supremacy” for the third time. Very slick, and each time it gives a new thrill. The car chase is awesome. It beats the car chase sequence in “Ronin” hands down.

Yuletide Shopping

2005-12-24T22:56:00.000-08:00

Its been quite some time since I last saw Christmas in a big city. And Christmas shopping in Calcutta was very nice and colorful. All the streets from Esplanade to New Market to Lindsay Street to Free School Street and to the Park Street were beautifully decked up for the occasion. Shopping was great fun. As was the ice cream at Flurys!!

Very funny!!!

2005-12-20T23:21:00.000-08:00

This incident is described in "From the Pavilion End" by Harold "Dickie" Bird.

"Bomber" Wells, a spin bowler and great character, played for Gloucestershire and Nottinghamshire.

He used to bat at No.11 since one couldn't bat any lower. Of him, they used to paraphrase Compton's famous words describing an equally inept runner; "When he shouts 'YES' for a run, it is merely the basis for further negotiations!"

Incidentally, Compton was no better. John Warr said, of Compton "He was the only person who would call you for a run and wish you luck at the same time."

Anyway, when Wells played for Gloucs, he had an equally horrendous runner as the No.10. During a county match, horror of horrors.......both got injured.

Both opted for runners when it was their turn to bat. Bomber played a ball on the off, called for a run, forgot he had a runner and ran himself. Ditto at the other end. In the melee, someone decided that a second run was on. Now we had all four running. Due to the confusion and constant shouts of "YES", "NO", eventually, all of them ran to the same end.

Note - at this point in time, the entire ground is rolling on the floor laughing their behinds out. One of the fielders - brave lad - stops laughing for a minute, picks the ball and throws down the wicket at the other end.

Umpire Alec Skelding looks very seriously at the four and calmly informs them "One of you buggers is out. I don't know which. You decide and inform the bloody scorers!"

Mourinho's Men

2005-12-18T22:45:00.000-08:00

Arsenal lost yesterday. Arjen Robben and Joe Cole led Chelsea to a 2-0 win at Highbury. Life is at its rosiest best for Mourinho’s men. The air of nonchalance and the chutzpah that his players display in their play is worth seeing. It appears that there is nothing to stop the Chelsea juggernaut, at least in the EPL. Champions League might be different story. Barcelona is currently living “Chelsea – like” life in Spain and the mainland European teams might prove a tough nut to crack for Chelsea.

Adam and Eve

2005-12-16T06:07:00.000-08:00

Genesis 1 and 2 contradict each other. Many rabbis over past 2000 thousand years have tried to read between the lines to explain the flaw. Genesis 1 states that God created man and woman, while Genesis 2 clearly says that God created woman after Adam complained of loneliness, from Adam’s rib.
So, many rabbis claim that there was another woman before Eve came into the Garden of Eden. She was apparently called Loeth (from Lily or Lileth, meaning “stormy wind”, an Assyrian word???).
But where did Loeth go? The Bible experts say that she could not surrender her influence and power to a man and hence left him (within a day??).
Whether Loeth knew the existence of the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden is open to speculation. At the same time, existence of a woman before the arrival of Eve can also explain the following paradox (??) – If Abel and Cane were the only two children of Adam and Eve, then how did the human race progress?
To counter this paradox some historians also say that Adam had a few children (or a child, at least a girl child) from Loeth. Or may be Loeth procreated with one of Adam and Eve’s children. Even this possibility cannot be discounted, given that she left Adam within a day and Adam went onto live for 900 odd years.
All said and done, the story of Adam and Eve delivers a powerful message. The message that is relevant even today.

“God may have created man before woman, but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.”

Law of Averages

2005-12-16T00:12:00.000-08:00

Do consistency and the law of averages go hand in hand?
I do not know how else to put this thing? I mean, how long can one continue to perform at his optimum to achieve desired results, till something results that is not commensurate with his effort? At some stage, the person realizes that the things are not what he thought would be. I assume a fair amount of luck is involved in anything you accomplish. You can call it whatever you feel like- providence, destiny, whatever. Is the law of averages some sort of a nomenclature for “what goes round, comes round” - “advocated” by a person obsessed with the “laws”?
I think that’s right. You can try and equate it with the Karmic cycles. The realization of the happenings around you will be the same. Well, the psychological implication of the law of averages on a person is quite overwhelming in many cases. But the secret of being consistent lies in being able to stretch the winning streak as much as possible before the wheel turns.

Non sense

2005-12-15T00:20:00.000-08:00

The stuff that they show these days on the umpteen number of news channels is full of non sense. The sheer number of news channels has over crowded the air waves. In an effort to differentiate their content from the other news channel, the channels resort to gimmickry in the name of “being the first to report”.
Just the other day a Hindi news channel (can’t remember the name, all appear the same) went gung – ho over Sachin’s 35th hundred that they forgot everything else (except for the commercial breaks; thank god, I needed that badly).
Yesterday, after the news of sacking of Ganguly came out, a particular news channel displayed Wasim Jaffer’s photo (the guy who will be replacing Ganguly) and the anchor announced “Is photo ko dhyaan se dekh le, yahi woh batsman hai jo Saurav da ki jagah lene wala hai” (take a look at this photo, this is the batsman who will replace Saurav)!! It was as if I was watching “India’s Most Wanted”!!!

The news channels are, I guess, trying to break away from the 80/20 rule of the media. 80 percent of the news comes from the 20 percent of the people. But the channels are disguising it badly. It’s the same newsmakers, but the channels present it, full of frills, complete with a on-spot reporter, a film song to suit the occasion,blah,blah….
Again it’s the film stars, the politicians, the sportsman, the same bunch of people creating the news. Most of the viewers are now forced to watch the news as the channel “sees” it!
Very bad, but then that’s the essence of democracy. You shout from the top of the mountain, you get to hear only the echo.

BLUFFMASTER

2005-12-09T23:23:00.000-08:00

This is one movie that is just rightly packaged. Its got that oomph written all over it. Though its yet to be released, the songs seem so great. Especially " Right Here, Right Now". This song has got that classy R&B feel to it, never seen before in Bollywood. The styling is solid. The models, Pia Trivedi,Carol Gracias,Aanchal Sharma and Sherry Shroff really bring alive groovy rhythm of the song.
Wonder how the movie will turn out to be? I hope its not yet another case of "beautiful from far, but far from beautiful".

Frailties of the Human mind

2005-12-09T23:21:00.000-08:00

Last week I came across an interesting thing, a question actually.
1. If you were asked to study in the world's best university and not be awarded a degree as a proof that you studied there.
2. You were given a degree saying that you studied in the world's best university, even without having to study there.

Which of the above would you choose?
Interesting? Confusing?
I found the hint in "Signaling Theory". This theory states that it is enough to signal that you are good enough even though you may not be. For example, take a product whose advertisement you see. An ad hardly tells you enough about the product, but the very realization that the company is spending such a lot on ads makes one believe that the product must be good.
What else can explain the brand value of a product like an aerated drink? What makes us drink it, even though we very well know that it hardly has any benefits to offer?
Coming back to the question, the answer largely depends on what I want to use the education / certificate for?
But it raises a vital question of tactic vs strategy. What will hold me in good stead in the long run, the experience of having studied at the worlds best university without having any certificate to show for it or having the certificate but no experience of having studied there?
There are many who can market themselves well, and they only need a break to jump onto the bandwagon of go-getters. And some like to cherish the experience of having satisfied an innate desire, of having achieved a non-hedonistic goal.

Travelling

2005-12-05T23:14:00.000-08:00

I am back home after 4 months. Back in Kolkata.And I can see the sun here. The train journey was the longest I had undertaken ever - 29.5 hrs, spread across 4 states.
First I got to see the rain ravaged fields of Tamil Nadu.The dry and dusty hinterlands of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. And also the longest platform in the world at Kharagpur. 3 trains can stand one followed by the other on the platform!!
I have big plans of relaxing this month...just relax!!
And churn out blogs!!

Depression

2005-11-25T06:17:00.000-08:00

The depression in the Bay Of Bengal does not seem to go away. Its been raining alomost everyday for the past one month.
In the meantime , i have managed to get recruited for my summer internship, without much fanfare though!
My end sems are starting on Monday, and next sunday , 9 days from now, i ll heading back home for a month of vacation.
well, is weather the only reason for the blog being named depression.. not quite, even i am kinda depressed these days.. i simply cannot put down the reasons for the same, but i guess its just like the weather. Its all about pressure, in the end, right?

I-Bankers

2005-11-03T08:05:00.000-08:00

Last week, Lehman Brothers had come onto the campus for a talk explaining their work at the Mumbai based Derivative Pricing Hub . I, for the first time had seen an I- banker ( investment banker, for the uninitiated). God, they look right out of Van Heusen ad... Neatly ironed suits, steel buttons, and classy ties, swiss watches... in fact they all looked like walking billboards for all the top business accessories!! Their swagger would have put John Wayne to shame!!

Ben and Paul

2005-10-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

Paul Krugman, I came to know recently has been nominated as one of the most influential thinkers of the century ( Naom Chomsky went on to win the poll). I have been a regular reader of his articles in The Hindu. But, when will he stop cribbing about everything that happens in USA and more specifically in the White House. Now its like you read his articles and it opens up a pandora's box of complaints and cribs. He was last heard complaining about Ben Bernanke 's selection as the new Fed Chief. ( Ben was Head of Economics Dept at Princeton). Incidentally, Ben was Paul's boss at Princeton.And Paul actually predicted Ben's appointment back in Feb. So, why the cribbing??
Apparently, one needs to be overly critical about a lot of things to be a "great thinker" or atleast to be nominated as one.
1600, Pennsylvania Avenue seems to highly accident-prone region these days.. "Libby" out , Harriet out and who is next?? Dubya still has 4 years to go...

Global Warning

2005-10-27T02:05:00.000-07:00

These days I am getting to read doomsday prophecies especially from the stable of the Guardian newspapers related to global warming and arctic meltdown and how the world oil output has peaked....My take-- A picture is worth a thousand words.

I could not think of a title

2005-10-27T01:32:00.000-07:00

Rain Gods seem to have taken a liking to the Indian metros this year!! Mumbai,bangalore, and now chennai!! water water everywhere...(thankfully there is enough to drink in chennai!!)
Coming back to my previous blog and a comment posted by Mr.Vengal.. I would like to clarify that I have deliberately stayed away from coloring the blog in religious hues.The post was intended to remind how some of our instincts have not fully evolved with evolution. I am pro-darwin!!

Fear

2005-10-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

All that we do,all that we do not do, all of our actions, conscious and unconscious, boil to down to one simple thing,one primary vestige that has remained within us from the time the human race came into existence, and that is FEAR.
Look at every action of yours.Look at what you have done today.Apply the "Five Whys" (as the Japs call it) and you will realise that somewhere deep beneath you were afraid of something.We are all animals at a very basic level.We need to survive.We need to protect ourselves.And as animals , even to this day,continue to live ,fearing the hunter,afraid of being a prey, our human race has built around itself a fortress of civilization.
And inside the ramparts of this fort we cozily believe that whatever we do has a motive driven by our desires which we attribute it to our civil nature.And almost bordering on hypocrisy is our tendency to claim that we are beyond "the sum of all fears".
If people apply fairness creams it is because they fear being dark in color,if people brush their teeth it is because they are afraid of cavities,and the big "soap-toothpaste" selling companies are actually selling fear.But, that marketing manager does not know that it the fear itself which makes him sell fear.

open book exam

2005-10-15T08:12:00.000-07:00

today, for the first time i wrote an open book exam.there was such a lot of anticipation about this exam.but the book in the end did not prove to be all that useful, as is the case with any open book exam!!

Reconciliation

2005-10-10T23:18:00.000-07:00

I have suggested Bala to divide the queries into macro and micro queries after 2 more stunning questions were put to him since my last post.
The queries are as follows:
"Bala, when is the cyclone going to hit Chennai?"
Now hear this,
X:"bala, where is Nandambakkam in Chennai?"
Bala:"I dont know"
X:" I ll tell you the pincode, can you then tell me where it is?"

Bala has reconciled to his query-servicing hotline status.

Meanwhile, its pouring cats, dogs and other four-legged animals in Chennai.

Poor Bala!!!

2005-10-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

There is a friend of mine here in my class. His name is Bala. A very sweet chap. He is a resident of Chennai. And he was helping a lot of North Indian guys in settling down in Chennai. But, Bala and me believe that the northies think they have landed on Mars. they think this place is so bad that without Bala's help nothing can happen.
This has a led to quite a few hilarious questions being put to Bala ,remember bala also stays on campus, just like others. so here we go:

"hey, where do you find cobbler in chennai?"

"at what time does the cycle shop behind the taramani gate close?"

in the mess: "hey bala, which of this is sambar, and which is rasam?"

"can you drop me to Melody theatre and come back alone?"

"where do you find single room acco near IIT?"

"my cycle key is stuck in the lock, where is your Pulsar?"

"how far is spencer's from IIT?" and this is the feedback after returning from spencer's..."oye, you told me it takes 20 minutes , it took half an hour.."!!!

this is the height, though i dont believe its true: "hey bala, how many underwears should i get from Delhi before comimg to chennai?"!!!!!!!!!!!

Lazy

2005-10-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

The quarter finished yesterday.I lazed around today with a definite purpose of lazing around.And the weather was also fabulous.It poured in the afternoon.
Read up Archies comics today, and also determined to finish Pelican Brief by tomorrow.

Phew!!!

2005-09-30T04:24:00.000-07:00

finished my end term exams today... its a temporary relief. Because not only does the next quarter begin on monday, we have the submission of 2 projects in 2nd week of october... i am already feeling the heat...the october heat!
six more subjects to be handled in 2nd quarter...but look at the brighter side... have already completed 2 months at the IIT Madras MBA...it went past in a flash.

my favorite song

2005-09-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite song...Moon and back by Savage garden....
Really insightful!!!
so here it goes..

She’s taking her time making up
The reasons
To justify all the hurt inside
Guess she knows from the smile
And the look in their eyes
Everyone’s got a theory about the bitter one
They’re saying mamma never loved her much
And daddy never keeps in touch
That’s why she shies away from Human affection
But somewhere in a private place
She packs her bags for outer space
And now she’s waiting
for the right Kind of pilot to come
And she’ll say to him
She’s saying
Chorus
I would fly to the moon and back
if You’ll be
If you’ll be my baby
Got a ticket for a world
where weBelong
So would you be my baby
She can’t remember a time
when she Felt needed
If love was red t
hen she was colourBlind
All her friends
they’ve been tried for Treason
And crimes that were never defined
She’s saying love is like a barren place
And reaching out for human faith is
Is like a journey
I just don’t have a map for
So baby’s gonna take a dive
and Push the shift to overdrive
Send a signal that she’s hanging
All her hopes on the stars
What a pleasant dream
Just saying
Chorus
Hold on hold on
Mamma never loved her much
And daddy never keeps in touch
That’s why
she shies away from human affection
But somewhere in a private place
She packs her bags for outer space
And now she’s waiting
for the right kind of pilot to come
And she’ll say to him
Just saying
Chorus twice

first time

2005-09-24T00:09:00.000-07:00

first time i am posting from my email id

AGM

2005-09-23T03:09:00.000-07:00

i dont know what to say

2005-09-23T03:07:00.000-07:00

PhD

2005-09-19T03:16:00.000-07:00

now this place is so enchanting and intellectually stimulating, and you find so many god-like profs who have dedicated themselves to the nobel profession of teaching,when they could have literally made a fortune in the industry, it makes money seem a triviality... i now feel there is such a lot to learn in life... and my first seeds of going for a PhD are being sown!!!

Coming Soon

2005-09-19T02:58:00.000-07:00

This is a post that has taken a long time coming...i guess may be i was so overwhelmed by the fact that i was in an IIT that i lost touch with my inner feelings...
anyways very soon i ll be back...with a bang??? lets see

In IIT Madras

2005-08-01T03:44:00.001-07:00

Rocking Moms

2005-07-20T23:25:00.000-07:00

Heard of the different genres of rock music? Here is the latest addition to it.Its called the "Mom" Rock. Mothers across America (where else!!) are coming out of closets and singing for the sake of motherhood!And going by the response of the people, they are not doing a bad job of it at all.
Some of the bands that are a part of this "mother-of-all-rock genres" include Housewives on Prozac,Frump,Placenta,Mamapalooza and Rockin' Moms.
Where are we heading,people!Soon,lullabys will be accompanied by bass drums,electric guitars and anything else that creates sound.Well,well,from Desperate Housewives to Rocking Moms!!
Good!

Its not just about cigars!!!

2005-07-20T02:48:00.000-07:00

In Cuba,divorces are so easy to get.The couple has to shell out just $3.5 and get a divorce from a govt notary,in 10 minutes!But the social stucture is weakened primarily due to low wages.In Cuba,a doctor,a waitress and a bar dancer,all earn the same amount of money,the average being $23 per month.But,government supports the children education and healthcare,both of which are free.Even the abortions are free.On an average,a Cuban woman has 4 abortions before the age of 30!!!
Most of the working class people live in small apartments,along with their near relatives,leaving no room for privacy.Social experts believe that this is one of the reasons for high divorce rates.

Whats tougher than Greek and Latin

2005-07-18T03:32:00.000-07:00

I came across a news article which said that women form 54% of all bloggers.Why do women blog so much more than men?
Because no one listens to what they say in real life,so they vent their feelings in the virtual world!On a more serious note,I guess its because women tend to trust the unknown more than the known.They believe there is somebody out there who will listen to their voice.
may be they articulate well only in solitary confinement.
I can only speculate...female psychology is tougher than greek and latin..any day!

I do not like Bangalore

2005-07-12T00:03:00.000-07:00

Its been 3 weeks in Calcutta(sounds so much more mod than the kolkotta),and with life kinda settled here for the time being(before i move to chennai in 2 weeks time),I have spent some time in analyzing why i do not like bangalore,because thats where i landed from.
For quite some time now,i have been nursing the feeling that B'lore is not a great place.Now,thats contrary to what many feel.Its true that B'lore is hip and is surrounded by a perpetual hype fuelled by the beeline of celebs,or the new R & D centres opened by big tech cos or the plain and simple BPO boom.
But the moot question is,what makes a city,in the sense,where does its soul lie?In its people,in its culture,in its history,where?
Bangalore,is devoid of any history.For all practical purposes it is non existent.And consequently,there is no culture that can be attributed to the city's history.But yes,every city does have a culture and this is where B'lore does not go down well with me.Bangalorean culture is so plastic and artificial.So westernised.i cannot find a single thing in Bangalore that is original except the patents coming out of Google,or TI or Intel.Take out all these and what is left?Every city atleast has a second line of defence when it comes to protecting its image.What has Bangalore got?
According to me the city of Bangalore itself is culturally divided.The young and the restless,basking in the software sunshine,and the old and the conservative,reminiscing the garden city's good ol' days.Still, this is fine.The problem is that everybody in the city seems to be aping the techie lifestyle.Everybody is in a rat race of the same mundane kind.The city's soul is bereft of the color,the charm that would have been so....fulfilling.Every one in Bangalore is trying to change,which is good(you need to move your cheese,once in a while),but some things are best left alone.

Calcutta!!!!!!

2005-07-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

I am here in calcutta, soon planning a new post..

Back Again

2005-06-05T00:31:00.000-07:00

i think i ll start afresh...now.
let my exams get over...

first post

2005-03-02T08:38:00.000-08:00

this is my first post on the blog world