Monday, April 30, 2007

Fried Brains

Watched this movie…Bheja Fry

Awesome movie…some great performances, awesome concept… very, very real characters…

It was a true reflection of psyche:
• We never learn …
• We all want to be wanted.
• We are so scared to make a fool of ourselves, that we stop expressing
• We realize the importance of something when we loose it
• It is difficult to come in terms with loss, but not gain
• We like to make a good impression
• Help comes from unexpected quarters
• We use power, when nothing else works
• And yes, there are no definite heroes and villains

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Quality: Consistency

It’s so interesting to climb a mountain…facing the challenges, defying the gravity, making your own path through the mundane rocks, facing the failure, finding alternatives to the destination….. each step towards the destination comes with hope, sense of purpose, learning, enrichment…

When one reaches the top…and once the ecstasy sets in you realize how much more difficult it is, to stay over at the top…one that the expectations have increased and secondly, the work and effort is not so evident now…

Consistency is what the Australian team lived today at the finals of the Cricket World Cup…they were so good, and promised such a performance…that hardly any one doubted their success even before the tournament started, and secretly hoped that Sri Lanka would pull an upset and set them back as mortals… which of course never happened.

They have proved, beyond doubt...then they know how to excel…consistently…

Friday, April 27, 2007

Merit ...

I think in people/organization do better in what they are not supposed to do …

First media…that was lacking in many ways by providing gossips, focusing on Page3 crowd, scandalizing all news, making news to keep them busy 24*7…became a tool of social justice by becoming the voice behind Jessica Lal, Nitish Katara and Priyadarshani Mattoo case… bring to light the conscience of common man

Arundhati Roy the celebrated writer is now better known as the activist behind the “Narmada Bachao Aandolan”

Politicians are lately seen more effective in attending wedding of star sons and accompanying their families to poojas then making and upholding policies

And India’s judiciary known for having little respect in terms of time for both victims and accused…it takes 13-16 years to finalize judgment on even the high profile cases, is making policies for the country like deciding on the reservation issue; keeping the democracy alive by rebuffing the politicians time and again, saving the pride of Indian capital by banning the roadside food stalls and giving attention to the fundamentalist deprave by registering a case against Gere and Shetty

Hmmm… may be its time to redefine the roles and responsibilities based on the proficiencies and ignoring the orthodox roles … like denying any reservation based on caste or religion, the only rule being merit…

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Population …

I took the public transport for the first time yesterday, here in Phoenix …I couldn’t help but notice the difference between the buses here and those in India … designated bus stops , no rush to board or descend the bus, everyone courteous and helping…
Most remarkable thing was not that there was a ramp they could lower for the physically handicapped people to board the bus, but the fact that the driver had a pair of gloves to do the same…one of the purposes being that pulling the lever would soil his hands…

On my fourth day of US, I went to a bank to open my account with them and was almost surprised by how well the process was explained to me, how patiently my questions were answered and how the bank employee wanted to talk about the world to me…. I am sure if Pande ji, the manager of the SBI bank in my hometown, got 10 customers on a busy day… he would have achieved better …

I could not, before making this comparison, comprehend the full impact of living in a country with high population…it not only stress on resources, it’s a lot of stress on its citizen’s too…

I believe more strongly then ever before, that our policy makers should work towards…getting the still high, growth rate of population under control, even though it is seen as a sensitive issue and something that may not be a vote-winner initiative. Also, vocational education, encouraging adoption and to associate the population/birth control with health care and not culture/traditions…unlike withdrawing the sex-education from schools in various states, in recent past… must be done at the earliest…

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Breathtaking ...



Grand Canyon, AZ

M E Meeran and India …

Read about the Eastern Group of Companies lead my M E Meeran for the first time … Another rags to riches story …another story of marvelous entrepreneurship from a visionary…who unlike many others haven’t been spotted by the media …yet
I believe when you work…hard and well…you do not find the need or have any urge to talk about your work…you work and your work starts talking about your capabilities, after a point…

Unlike India …

Here when you cannot show capability is one sport called cricket for which you have side-trekked all others…you talk about the colors of the cake, cut by Tendulkar …rather then how the team needs to be revamped

Here when AIDS is the biggest threat to its future…and no one is really admitting its potentially disastrous impact on the population as that will bring no votes….you talk about Richard Gere kissing Shilpa Shetty in an awareness meet ….

Here you loose the bid to host Asian Games in 2014, to Korea, because there was no estimate provided/committed for the expenditure on training, equipment and other facilities for the participating nations… GROSS

Here when the most populated state goes for elections…based on caste and religion..; when children die of dog bites in the Indian Silicon Valley …; when a news channel office is ransacked by a group of religious fundamentalist…you talk about the abhi-aish wedding…

The point is that how long will we not take the problems head on its our country. Some primer of some developed country calling us the next super power is not good enough…when we know how many people are deprived, where we are loosing in administration, how the very basic infrastructure is missing across the country…even if the capital has great metro rail …
I believe we can start by looking at these issues and admitting the problem…rather then looking away…repeatedly

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Battle of Thermopylae ...

Watched a documentary on the History Channel about this astounding chapter of history…

What I personally found remarkable in the whole episode is that when the King Leonidas of Sparta died…yes he died before all his men were killed….a fact changed by the movie 300….
His soldiers bravely fought to safeguard his dead body which they knew will be disrespected by the Persian king Xerxes.

So what was more remarkable than the fact that King Leonidas prepared his men, decided they wanted to go for this war…where odds were heavily against them, strategized it brilliantly, fought along with his soldiers………. may be would have even won if it would not have been for a traitor….is that he commanded so much respect from his men, that even when they were facing their own death, they defended his honor till they lived….

The respect he earned says about his leadership, and how the gallant men fought a war for their king with a conscience and heart …

Friday, April 13, 2007

Another Thought …

Feeling guilty after not so productive day at work … an analogy struck me

Life is like an amusement park …

We have a sunny day (though clouds come and go … ) to spend in this park … to roam around, enjoy and explore, with ticket valid for one time …eventually evening will set … though it will come at different times for all of us….when it will come we will be asked to move out of the premises with hopefully very short or no notice…

There are many rides to ride … some easy some tough…., many stalls to go to and many shows to see …. We want to move quickly to cover them all…to live it all well…. before its time to go, in fact at times we try so hard to live life that we forget that the purpose is to learn new things, experience new feelings, enjoy…

Also when we do one ride …it seems easy and we are no longer scared…like board exams passed, traveling alone, relationships… but after successfully doing one(at times even before that …) we start thinking and worrying about the next…

At times, even getting to these rides is difficult...queues you see... :) .. Things depend on chance ... also on our hard work and perseverance....but most important is to enjoy what we are doing ... shout loud without inhibitions when we slide down...feel the wind on the face...be conscience on the falling and racing of heart beat... at times hold tight to the safety bar and at times let it go …

Thursday, April 12, 2007

The Perfect Sunset


Santa Monica Beach, LA

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Patriotism …

Today, news channels talks about the so called “insult of the nation” by the two men, who have done India proud like very few others…

One cut cake with national flag colors and another presided over a corporate function of an organization which was considerate of its employees of the different nationalities, and thus played the tune of the national anthem and not the anthem itself.

Nationalism is a feeling of ownership, pride, responsibility and belonging for one’s country.

National anthem and flag are the symbols of a nation, not a nation itself. Why inappropriate conduct, if any, against the same should be discussed when there is so much that the nation needs to accomplish, from food and health, infrastructure and education, justice and peace to social and economic equality for all its citizens; when the environmental threats are over looked and threats to the integrity of the nation created for political gains; when all progress in commerce, and even military acquisitions, are made only after paying kickbacks to the administration; when the nation moves on the path of glory only in parts, with the distance between the have and have-nots increasing everyday.

Today is another day that highlights the hypocrisy of an idol-starved nation and a celebrity-crazy media, where heroes are seeked, not to inspire but to prove them as mortals; where heroes are worshiped and back-stabbed at the same time; where heroes are gauged on more then their area of expertise.

Another day when you wonder, what a thorny task it must be… to be a hero….

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Brain Dump...

How can some one write a single blog, when the voices in her head sounds like … some one have turned on a TV playing 40 different channels at the same time?
This is the synopsis…

Channel 1: Why Indian men in US still stare, at both Indian and American women, when American men don’t?
Channel 2: Why none of the tasty and quick dishes are healthy?
Channel 3: What motivates the Sun to move in the same trajectory everyday?
Channel 4: Any chances that the results of the assembly elections in UP state change its state?
Channel 5: So what if India is out of the world cup, life continues… right?

Channel 6: Why can politicians give better education and opportunities rather then reservations?
Channel 7: If Indians are divided on north-south, religion, caste, state, language… seriously, what is holding us together?
Channel 8: How to improve tolerance to jerks?
Channel 9: How can you justify a war to bring peace?
Channel 10: Why do we think more about the people who don’t think about us?

Channel 11: Why parents can always manage to emotionally blackmail?
Channel 12: Why people want to marry an NRI , as if marriage was not dangerous and unpredictable enough?
Channel 13: Why Indian men think girlfriends and wives are separate materials?
Channel 14: Why all sunsets are so beautiful?
Channel 15: Why Media wants to talk about celebrity weddings, when it’s almost fashionable to keep them out?

Channel 16: Why does it feel good to get a compliment, even when you know for sure you are not looking good?
Channel 17: what will the streets look like when all the oil and gas is over?
Channel 18: how much money should one have, to not to want any more?
Channel 19: why can’t we set a retirement age for politicians and heroes from south Indian movies?
Channel 20: Why getting up early is difficult only on weekdays?

Channel 21: Why an Indian non-masala movie should be critically acclaimed in the world, to get an audience in India?
Channel 22: What does it takes to get a flat tummy and keep it that way for life?
Channel 23: Why should be smoking banned in Indian movies, when it’s the only thing that looks …just looks …stylish?
Channel 24: How can sentenceing few people from the mob, responsible for murder of a man, his son and his son-in-law…after 23 years of the incidence be called justice to his wife and daughter?
Channel 25: Do people really take bath everyday? ..shhhh what wastage of water n soap

Channel 26: How can someone not talk all the time?
Channel 27: How thick is a skin of an Indian politician …literally?
Channel 28: Why people eat meat, when there are so many plants around?
Channel 29: Why is adoption a taboo, when you anyway don’t know what is in your genes and how it will manifest?
Channel 30: Why people don’t respect time?

Channel 31: How come there at least one song penned for all possible moods?
Channel 32: Do we get more upset when India looses in cricket because of the number of ads the cricketers feature in?
Channel 33: You can count on your finger-tips the number of people in this world, how believe “My boss is good” ... :)
Channel 34: If new situations are uncomfortable and old situations boring, where to go?
Channel 35: Why can’t the scientist find the chemical locha behind crushes…so that we can all live easy?...hunh

Channel 36: Why don’t people talk about ‘falling-out-of love’ when its as real as ‘falling-in love’?
Channel 37: Why shouldn’t all the individuals in a mob committing a crime be punished, when they are all participants in injustice, irrespective of the number?
Channel 38: How can you ban sex-education in a country fighting population explosion?
Channel 39: Why proof reading a story not half as much fun as writing one?
Channel 40: Why should everybody eat well because you are getting married?

Channel 41: What will Iraq do when it become the super power?
Channel 42: Why does media discuss cola-war when there are millions around the world with no access to clean water?
Channel 43: Why people don’t acknowledge that coffee and alcohol addiction are equally serious? … I have started borrowing money now…sigh ..

Oops ..43 … bad math haunts you through the life…