Well, this would officially be the verdict- the last post from the portals of TAPMI. Now the hostel corridor, our flank - looks empty...deserted and Glum...I have already started, packed up the remaining clothes....would be missing this 24*7 Internet big time... I would no more be online all time....This would be the last post for quite some time to come...I am not that keen to blog from an Internet cafe....I would resume posting twice inbetween- one for the anniversary of this blog on April 26^th and another for the Birthday of a Special person on April 30^th. This blog had been my venting ground for so long...I am afraid, whether it would be the same, even when I resume my postings, sometime later in May, when I would again get the computer and hopefully- Internet.
Till then for all my friends in the Blogosphere....all the best and enjoy Life...

Well, as they say, all that started should be finished. This is that finish. It all started two years back, and it has ended today...My parents have also come and the pictures with my parents and other friends would be in the flickr tomorrow...It's so tired today, that I don't feel like posting anything. The first snap is while getting dressed up for the occassion and the second one is the occassion itself.

The occassion itself. The chief guest is Mr. Vikram Singh Mehta, Chairman, Shell India Group. The one at the right end of the snap is our Director, Mr.Nagabrahmam.

Finally, I am a Manager...atlast....It feels good, afterall to finish off in style as 34^th in the batch...This might still not be the last post for me from TAPMI. I am leaving only tomorrow ..that too the train is at 9:00 PM...so till then will have loads of time to kill and ofcourse blog..

This is the HR Group of TAPMI. We were 10 in all and we had one ball of time here in TAPMI..The men from left are Rajashri(Sterlite), Renjith(Sterlite), Madhur(Radio Mirchi), Ramakrishna(Sterlite), Karthik(TCS), Navnit(HCL Commnet) and Me. The Damsels in the front are, Swagatha(Microland), Rima(Progeon) and Dipti(E-Serve) (Left-Right).

Raj and Venkat had already decided to take a break in Bangalore, coz they were not comfortable driving in the night that too in the busy Bangalore highway...what with the number of trucks that pass through that road..it is real pain to drive at night. So, they had already taken the advice of another great guy from Bangalore..Mr.Abhishek Shanbag. An architect by profession till he entered into TAPMI, this buff is into Titan Industries as Marketing Manager. Having been born and brought up in Bangalore, he claims to know all of Bangalore. Our heroes fell in for that bluff and had taken the name of a hotel ( I vaguely remember it to be some Nandhini in Yeshwantpur)....The buff had given the route to the hotel too...armed with a hotel's name and route, we started venturing into a mase called Bangalore.
I think the game of Maze would be better than Bangalore roads. If I can call the garden city as a city of one-ways, it wouldn't be a over-statement. "Engengu Kanninum one-wayada"....so many one ways and so many violations...*Phew*...I could never understand our traffic sense. Back to the topic..So, our guide had told us that, we need to take a left turn next to the Metro store in Yestwantpur to get to the Iskon temple and from there, we need to go straight for the hotel. On seeing the Metro itself, our joy was boundless...a typical MBA student...started discussing about the supply chain issues that would plague the store and the implications of it on its profitability. Came to the conclusion that the store must be running at loss for the next three years atleat, before retail is opened for foreign investment. Speaking of all these highly intellectual issues, we lost track of the track and before we could realise, we were out of the vicinity of both the Metro and the left turn next to it. We went in search of a U-Turn so that we can retrace the path...the search went for another 1 KM. Atlast found a signal with no Maama around...so took a risk of U-Turn and came back....this time, we couldn't find the U Turn only next to the Metro. We went back in the same road, as there is no U-Turn again....so, back to sqaure one...Here, we can once again see the Metro, but no Left turn. Started back again in the same road, and went to the same signal to take another risk and came back..This time, we were smart enough to ask a call taxi to guide us.. The driver asked us to follow him and as we followed him, a great Indian Lambrador came inbetween us and with it came a dozen other two -wheelers. Missed the call taxi guy and again to square 1. Take the same road for the third time and by the time we took the same risk, we ourselves were bored. This time, we parked the car in front of the Metro and enquired with the security there...Now, he showed us the "Left"..there is actually a gully there as the "Left"....to identify this left we traced the same road, to and fro three times...*sigh*...even after getting onto the correct road, our journey wasn't any better...Bangalore is in a state of perpetual flyovers....there is a flyover being constructed and that obstructed our view...so we couldn't see the Nandhini hotel name and hence an yet another U-Turn ritual. I think all Architects are so(can be some honourable exceptions)...may be the species called Architect cannot express what it thinks, may be thier communication skills are so pathetic..may be.....I have come to this conclusion after having been with an architect(as a roommate) for an year and spent some time with yet another.
But what happened after is even more hialrious...I had planned to stay in Sridhar or Boopathi's room for the Saturday night, as I was sure, they wouldn't be having office and thus, I would go for some shopping on Sunday and return back..I had already told Venkat(this one is my Engineering college frnd) that I would be coming and had asked him to convey it to them both....I was confident that Venkat would have made the arrangements..When I called him from Yeshwantpur, he tells me that Sridhar had gone to Hyderabad and Boopathi to Perambalur(their natives respectievly)..and Venkat has got his parents visiting him...I would rather not disturb him...So, here I am stranded as in the film "Terminal"....The story of Raj and Venkat was more interesting...they both went all ready for the room in Nandhini only to be told that all rooms are filled and hence our search for a place to stay begins....We went to Majestic..even the most rugged down hotel/lodge was filled...it was already 11:30 and the hotles were dowing their shutters...so we decided to eat something and then continue our search for the room...Even the food was pathetic...nothing that we could eat...managed somehow...then I suggested that may be it would be better if they can go to Hosur and search for a room. With no rooms available in Bangalore, it seemed like a plausible option. I had already decided to go to Salem..to my aunt's house...It wouldn't be nice, having come all the way till Bangalore and not visiting them at Salem. So, went to the bus-stand(after bidding bye to Venky and Raj for Hosur) and there started a saga of 2 hour wait...for a bus to Salem....I had seen buses with no place to sit...have you seen buses with no place to stand??....worse still no buses at all....When I reached the bus-stand, there was a bus full with passengers...seeing the rush, I decided to wait for the next bus..that made all the difference.. only after this bus had gone, did I thought of asking the time-keeper about the next bus....the answer was a shock to me...the next bus to Salem was at 1:30(from 11:30 - 1:30, there are no buses from Bangalore to Salem....can u beleive this??)...so waited , waited and waited...even the bus that came, had to get in via the window to get a seat to sit..otherwise would have to travel standing...thank god Iam lean....can pass through the window...
The buses had gone hi-tech with twin TV's and VCD players...but the film they show at 2:00 in the morning is not all that watchable...this bus had "Kumkuma Poattu Ghowndar" starring Sathyaraj, Rambha, Gowndamani, etc. With the songs and dialogues blarring at full volume, had an excellent sleep....the film went on till around 4:30. When I thought all is over and I can catch some sleep for the next 2 hours atleast, comes "Maatukaara Velan" starring "U Know Who"....With MGR in screen, its just impossible for me to sleep...so, ended up travelling without a single moment of sleep.
My trip to native covers the third part...to be updated soon.

I have loads to write about..Till Friday night I had no idea of leaving to Chennai(or any other place for that matter). But when the Saturday dawned, it had a completely different itenary in store for me..I decided that I will leave for Chennai, not only that, I will also leave with Raj and Venky in the Car.So, after breakfast, we started off in the Maruti 800, for Trichy..It was planned that I will get down at Bangalore and Raj will proceed for Trichy with Venkat.

The route from Manipal is like Manipal - Mangalore - Hassan - Bangalore. We went on till Channarayapatna(CRP)(near Hassan) with no problems and then all hell broke loose. The car broke down at around 5:30 PM and there was none except Venky who knows Kannada..within seconds, suggestions ranging from carburetor fault to air filter block were discussed, decisions made as to what might be the problem and the repair that had to be made. The inaction on our part was blamed on the lack of necessary tools to open the air filter or the carburetor. So, hitchhicked venky in a Trailer to the nearest garage or auto mechanic shop to fetch someone...and me and Raj stayed there in the midst of some goddamned highway, with no vehicles in site till the horizon, for the next 10 minutes. This is one of the most deserted highways in India I suppose.

The next part of the story is one of the (there are many more to come...) most hilarious stories of the trip. Venkat has tried to initiate a conversation with the driver and the cleaner,so that they can drop him at some mechanic shop. He first tried with Kannada, then graduated to Thullu, then had used his horrible Hindi, used a bit of his Telugu skills....all these just got a simple eternal silence as reply from the driver and the cleaner.Think of the dilemma facing our guy. (He didn't use English....for which I am yet to find the reason..) Towards the town limits of CRP, our man hears the cleaner shout "Paolam, Paolam, Paolam" to the driver and guess the bliss that should have decended on our guy.....then as it turned out, our guy got a mechanic, an autorickshaw to take him back to the spot and a candle(how intelligent, smart!!!!)..Till that time, when Venkat returned, we were left to check for ourselves certain basic stuff like Petrol level, air pressure, battery level etc...I think this is what our ancestors would have meant, when they told,"Etha Thinna Pitham theiliyum"..we tried all possible (atleast to our knowledge) ways to start the car(including taking it for a stroll). Raj was busy catching signals(mostly non existent, but sometimes just like Rajnikant's Political entry...U never know whether it is there or not) in his cell-phone....I wonder at the marvel called cell-phone....the signal is available at a particular place and you lower it to speak...its gone... you raise the phone...the signal is loud...you move a particular distance, it is there, you take a step(mind you- a step) forward or backward..its not there....*Gosh*....undecipherable technology...flies over my head. The highway was so deserted at around 5:30 itself, that I laid down on the highway and caught a small nap(another one of my idiosyncracies). When the mechanic did arrive in a rickety rickshaw, it was well past 7:00 PM. With no lights and no traffic, the place was pristine and amazing.I think, time of distress brings with it an unusual beauty to mundane things...I had taken a couple of snaps of the road, the place and the antics we did during the waiting period. I will upload them later today.The problem was in the distributor( or atleast that's what the mechanic said)..Paid him 250/- bucks and left to Bangalore at around 7:30 PM...excellent plans for the weekend night in Bangalore gone awary on the road sides of some goddamned place in the highway. For those who think, this is a great story, the arrival in Bangalore itself is just a prelude. The real fun started once we entered Bangalore. I will post them along with the Photos.

Yeah....its over...at last...the last class room session...of my formal education....atleast for the time being[Touchwood.. ;-)].....Though I don't have any idea of doing Ph.D, who knows what time holds in for me??.. That apart, all is not over yet.....There are two end terms to be completed...both are scheduled for tomorrow....and now we are going for yet another party....God save us....but, as they say, "Like we care"......its time....gonna catch up with guys at the party...

foot_prints
Originally uploaded by sskrish.

Foot prints on the sand.....These would be the memories from TAPMI..there are many....some very pleasant, some not so pleasant, some neutral, some outright disgusting...but on the whole, the two years in TAPMI has given me some valuable stuff to take home..(apart from the disproportionaltely large books that I need to pack)....Yesterday was the farewell party by the Junies....I normally don't dance...yesterday was no different...Had taken the camera for one last group snap...But then as fate would have it, the batteries had gone down(even the spares)..Think there is some problem with the plug point...Coz Raj says that he had put the batteries in charge for close to 7 hours...so, had to be content with very few snaps....I even tried to change the batteries....but the cost of it was simply out of consideration...It is costly. Man, I never thought a couple of batteries would cost Rs.90/-...That was the last thing I would do....also, running outta cash..this being the fag end, I pretty much don't have food in the mess...mostly run out to Udupi for a Woodland or Diana or Kidiyoor..places abound...
Coming back to the memories, its just 2 working days left, when it would be officially the end of 6^th and the last term of our PGDBM course...I still remember the day I came here to Manipal for my Interview. It was raining all dogs and it was late midnight....I took the auto the Men's Hostel...I don't know Kannada and my Hindi knowledge was(well thats an Oxymoron)..there wasn't any....The auto driver asked for "Theara"..I gave him a twenty rupee note...Got a change of 8 rupees......was wondering for a long time, what was the exact fare(I was a bit okay with numbers though)...Gave an amazing interview that day, that I lost all hopes of doing MBA that year....Returned back to Calicut the same day for the office the next day....
When I got the offer letter from TAPMI, I wasn't too sure of joining, but as things turned out, well you know, I joined...Met some wonderfull friends....Avis, Rajkumar, Venky, Souveer, Nitin, Chox, Kiran...the list goes on...they made my two years here...got some fights, some laughters, some pleasure, some enlightenments, some debt(how can I miss it), some losses...ahhh...eventfull two years...got some responsibilities, delivered on some, screwed up in some...yet they are all part of the learning curve...
When the time for the Summers came, applied for two companies that came to the Institute first...Pidilite and Kotak Mahindra Bank...Pidilite shortlisted me for the Interview...gave a telephonic interview and botched up the interview..still remember the expression of surprise(or what should I say, disappointment), when the Interviewer asked whether I know a particular brand of their company and I plainly told "No" and that too after he told, that it is one of the most popular brand of theirs....I know I wouldn't be in...Kotak came, asked some really simple questions(after a real tough GD) and I was in..That was the second interview I gave and I got the offer....Though there were many other companies later that came to the campus, Kotak's Mumbai offer was simply great....Went to Mumbai for the second time in 24 years.....from then on the entire story is in archives here...
At the end of it all, when I gave my Interviews for Infy and when I know for sure that I would be in, and when I got the offer letter...ummmm...it's pleasant to reminisce all those moments...might be the last portal of education that I might attend...I would miss all these places...just like the footprints on sand, I too would be moving into some wilderness of humans, to join the great game of Life...for the second time...but not yet..this sure isn't my last post from TAPMI...I have 10 days and 23 hours to go for Convocation....But till then there are memories for company..

It is not that often that a book speaks to you in your language....I had had this feeling of speaking with the book- when I read Charles Handy- his "Age of Paradox"...I was able to connect to him and was overwhelmed by his writing at the beginning....as slowly I realised his theme, he became more natural to me....I was no longer overwhelmed by him..rather I got accustomed to Handy....I began loving his books and I began reading them even slower- to understand each word, alphabet of the book and to imagine how he would have felt, when he wrote those words...and thinking how am I feeling when I read that words....
One such another book that gave me that feeling was "The Alchemist"...by Paulo Coelho....this is one wonderfull book....though the book is realtively thin with just 178 pages, it had taken me two days to complete the book. There were moments when I would just throw the book down and drift away in thoughts, when I realise something...
Some sentences in the book are simply immortal truths...Like..."When we are with someone for long, they become part of our lives...we do things to for them and when we are not like what other want us to be, others become angry with us." and "Everyone knows how others have to lead their lives...but none seems to know, how they had to lead their life".
The important part in such a book is more of experiencing the book than reading it...I had finished the book once...in the sense that I had read through the first to last page once..but I would read it again...not to understand, but to live....Live with that book...
The meaning of the book might be beyond my complete comprehension....I might never understand certain sentences, paragraphs and pages in the book...I will seek my destiny.....I know there is something in store for me in life...I would get it...for sure...Its just that I need to follow my heart.....

BEFORE I CAME TO B-School I WISH I HAD KNOWN...

- that an MBA degree with distinction wud be considered a joke.
- that it didn't matter how late I scheduled my first class I'd sleep right through it.
- that I would change so much and barely realize it.
- that Business school students throw chalks, too.
- that if you wear polyester everyone will ask you why you're so dressed up.
- that every clock on campus shows a different time.
- that if you were smart in college - so what?
- that I would go to a party the night before a final.
- that you can know everything and fail a test.
- that you can know nothing and ace a test.
- that Google was much more than sufficient to complete any damn assignment.
- that I could get used to almost anything I found out about my neighbor.
- that home is a great place to visit.
- that most of my education would be obtained outside my classes.
- that friendship is more than getting drunk together.
- that free food served at 10:00 is gone by 9:50.
- that Sunday is a figment of the world's imagination.
- that it is a really good idea to go places alone.
- that it's possible to be alone even when you're surrounded by friends.
- that friends are what makes this place worthwhile!
- don't be dismayed at goodbyes.
- a farewell is necessary before we can meet again, and meeting again, after moments or a lifetime, is certain for those who are friends.

This again is a forward that I got today..thought it makes a good read...Jeez...I need to stop posting forwards...I seriously don't like posting forwards..somehow I feel guilty that it is not mine and I don't know the author even, to whom I can attribute that to...(Just out of Intellectual Property rights class)...so Iam supposed to be so atleast for the next couplla hours...

And I would add somemore..

"Ek lamhe me unhone zindagi savar di,
Ek lamhe me unhone zindagi ujad di,
Kusur unka nahi hamara tha,
Jo un do lamho me hamne zindagi guzardi...."

This is the forward that I got jus now from one of my friends. For all those poor souls who couldn't understand the Deshabasha, here I go with the translation in Vishwabasha....

I had tried to translate it to my knowledge of Hindi...ofcourse with external help only...Some more couplets from the same..


This would translate into,


The forward went on for a page, but I liked these two couplets very much.....full of meaning and sense....

There are some very interesting news items that I came across in the web today...Some are technology related, some politics and some general stuff.

Technology:
When Good Search Engines Go Bad
This article echos my apprehension on the technology part of it...those autolinks feature in the Google Search tool bar..But, as the author says, I would certainly not like my page being tweaked around by someone else..though this happens only after I permit it, I don't find any reason, other than pure admiration for technology, why should I enable such a facility..Though tomorrow, I might very well think Autolink is a cool feature and would like to have it...I don't know at this point of time, whether I like it..I haven't downloaded it..I don't have any intention of doing it any sooner....Google had to tread the path carefully...It is no more a "Garage Company"...People look upon Google with such faith....it shouldn't squander away that..It had taken years for google to build this trust...but it would take nothing more than a couple of such moves to crash it...

A Browser That Talks Back
A nice innovation this is...a amazing feature for differently enabled people and all those who live by mouse...though mouse is as inseperable as the processor( I hate the Laptops for their silly cursor movement.....move the cursor with your fingers and then click using a seperate hand movement...simply too much work)...this would reduce my work...but then I would have to work my a** out to train the software...If anyone has trained the IBM's ViaVoice, would immediatley sympathise with me...It's one pain of a job to train the software to accept and understand your language, your pronounciation styles and the vocabulory. Also, the grammer...God I would kill myself rather than train it...the manual would say, 8 hrs(if I remember correctly) of training is sufficient...only later would you know that, it is sufficient for the software only to understand who is speaking...then it has to understand what you speak..But to be just, once it learns, it is awesome...U need to be slow while dictating...but then it does a decent job...Now Opera would join the war with Firefox..But somehow, Firefox scores...Iam sure it is not the aesthetics...Opera is far more aesthetic than Firefox...May be the banner ads put me off...I don't know...

Political:
China steps up pressure on Taiwan
I have posted something related to this jus yesterday....so, there has been no noise from US...coz they know, China is no Iraq to trash...But they would sure try to enter into, if there araises a chance...though what they would be able to do is a matter of debate...but as always, China speaks about Internal security..but where is that principle with that part of territory in Kashmir, it holds as a lease from Pakistan....this time, it would be China that would be noiseless...every shirt is dirty and everyone acts as if they have "Ujaalavukku Maaritaen"...ummmm!!!!

General:
White House admits 1st blogger to briefing
Nice news..infact the growing power of this Blogging stuff...He might have been a right wing guy..it doesn't matter...what matters is recognition of the power of informal source of news...but, where will it lead is a matter of debate...with traditional newspapers, you can fix accountability and idealogical responsibility...What would prevent a person from misleading people...coz afterall blogs are highly opinionated...so, where should the reader draw a line...an interesting thought that occurs to me...Is Internet spreading information or is it just aggregating Information...as in even if there are many sites giving the same news, I would go to the site, which would give it the way I want...so, it is not necessarily diverse and different prespective of news..it is just that it creates a level playing field for all to spread their views...padicha padi, padikkatta poa...that's it...

An assignment on Chocolates and confectionery industry is the last thing that I would like to do in my MBA.....With just 9 days more to go for the D-Day, here Iam googling for Chocolate and confectionary status in India....As always, google is of immense help...actually MBA itself is Googled Intelligence only...I love Google....The assignment itself is a pretty old one..because we had proscratinated this long, we had already got an extention of dead line(for our group alone)..Kiran had got it...She too is Googling for Information, as the topic itself was her choice..."ITC Strategy on getting ino the confectionary market in India"...We need to analyse the strategy of ITC iin doing this and propose any further changes necessary...Gawd...this is one hell of an assignment...If Iam to propose a change in strategy for ITC, I may very well propose to them(atleast I will get paid for it)...Here I dont get paid, worse of all, I am workinig for grades(which I hate the most)...
Atlast, finished the "Selfish Gene"....whoa!! what a reading it had been...completely enchanting...but to be fair, a bit boring towards the end...may be repetition of ideas...but it was boring in the end...too much of probablities to calculate at the end...u end up calculating the probability of you understanding what the author wants to convey.
Now, a bit free....applied for Passport...Yeah..I know what you think...thats true..I hadn't got my passport yet..I hadn't applied only...but with the offer letter Infy had made it particualr to give guidelines to get a passport( and it is in the list of necessary documents to be submitted at the time of joining the company)...if that is this necessary, I will jolly well get it...it's such an elaborate process...with one original and two duplicate copies...and one duplicate for every year you had lived out of your permanent address...Gosh....I am tried filling the forms only...Now there would be a Police verification....and then I only pray that I get the Passport soon.
But right now, Iam left with my chocolate assignment to munch and finish....Ennae yaaravathu kaapaathungalane....

With Chandramuhki songs released, the first thing today was to grab the songs...to be fair, the songs are nice....one song in particular "Atinthom" by SPB steals the show...a typical SPB number....after this many years of singing, SPB's voice is still one that leaves a mark....a lasting mark in that....that song in particular is very nice to hear...the other songs, Devuda Devuda(SPB again) is also fine...a typical Rajni song....with social message...thalaiva...engiyo poiteenga...Vidyasagar has done fair job...I am sure many of you would have heard it already...if not what stops you from doing it??...you always have coolgoose to get them from....isn't it???...

Wisdom is knowing something and knowing that you don't know everything. Knowing something is knowledge.

AmI wise, If I know nothing and I know, I know nothing, and am I then, better than one who knows something and thinks that he knows everything or one who knows nothing and doesn't know he knows nothing?

Can there be Wisdom without knowledge?

Arms Sales Begin at Home(Needs registration).
An article on the famed american foreign policy, and the recent squat between the two "Gaints"..agreed US and EU comprise the world's richest and the powerful. But to say that the two pillars of global stability are US and EU is nothing short of self-consolation and self fulfilling prophecy.

And the U.S. and E.U. really are the pillars of global stability.

- THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

You thought we didn't know what these pillars were doing when one went on war with Iraq unilaterally. When american rampaged through the european objections, where was this fraternity Mr.Friedman???...Why is this sudden brotherhood and realisation. You yourself had answered my question.

"This is especially true since the real reason that the E.U. wants to end its arms embargo with China is to position itself better to sell more Airbus passenger jets to Beijing"

Now the cat is out of the bag... Boeing is screwing Bush is it???...Boeing is trailing in the global civilian aircraft arena. It can no longer be the monopoly supported by the police uncle - the US government. It is sustaining itself with the military orders from the government and some arms exports to friendly countries...It's hope of selling aircrafts(both civilian and military) to China would be washed white, if what you say is true.....So, you masquerade your business interests with balance of power argument with Taiwan..stop shedding crocodile tears...Dubhya.....If you guys are really concerned about Taiwan's power and status, go ask it to declare Independence and Freedom from China and back it...
Uncle Sam....It's too late in the day...Ofcourse China is by no way good or nice..yeah..it is rogue when it comes to human rights record..yeah it bans Google news...so what??..Had this happened in India, would these guys be quite....I think Gun definitely speaks louder than Words and coupled with gold, it just simply screams....
Plain arrogance...inability to accept realities...and a nose that is made to be inserted everywhere...what do you get???...Current day America..
BTW, Iam no America basher....it's just the attitude of the present leadership that sux....

Let's say you like cats. When you visit a friend's house and he happens to have a cat, you make a big deal about stroking it, picking it up, talking to it. And you do the same thing with every cat you encounter. It demonstrates to the people around you that you're a sensitive, sympathetic, tactile person. All these things are true of you, including your innate adoration of cats. But that doesn't mean to say you haven't cultivated your cat-fancying into a self-conscious, gushing performance that somehow represents you. This doesn't make you a phony; it makes you something else: mediated - Thomas De Zengotita, Auhtor "Mediated"

Sounds like an interesting book. Jus read a Interview with the author ...sortta review you can say...How the media around us influence the way we respond to events, how conscious we have become to the glare that is always on us...the case of media overwhelming the human intellect. We the ordinary bloggers too might be responding to such a phenomenon. One thing interested me very much...He says, Flattery fails to satify you, and you yearn for it...the more you get flattered, the more you need it....the circle starts and it never ends....you start blogging, capturing your life in camera phones, post them in Internet, wait to be flattered.....The medium facilitates it and as there are many more of the same ilk, it becomes all the more stronger and all the more pervasive.....You can't escape it.....This need not necessarily be bad or harmful. It's just goes to satisfy( or atleast try to) your yearning for flattery.

Anantha Narayan(of 1pointsize), better known as Unantha or Wordsmith(to me), has won the "Copywriter of the year" award. He blogs in Sulfury and thebeyond. I am still wondering why hasn't he posted anything about the award on his blog...Busy with the dinners for the award....eh??...thebeyond has been ages since it saw it's last post. Anantha also maintains a blog (really regularly updated too..) for Advertisements. A wonderfull collection of articles, titbits, and what not on advertisements....There are some other interesting information about him, which I couldn't share without his permission...

Is Impossible always impossible???...or is possible always possible..if the possibility of the impossible is greater than the impossibility of the possible, then it makes all the more sense to pursue the impossible...if the possibility of the impossible is greater than the possibility of the possible, then will impossible still be impossible???

I thought I would never post anything to do with Politics in this blog..But with the recent happenings in the states of Goa and Jharkand, I am unable to control my outrage in the manner in which the Democracy is being butchered in this country.....first it was the state of Goa...I don't think a governor can be more partisan......nothing less...Now it's the turn of the Governor of Jharkand to be so....Look at the way and haste in which the two swearing-ins were arranged...all constitutional norms to wind...all self-proclaimed Saviours of Democracy have gone to graves-is it???....When it is their turn to taste power, these people's democracy turns out to be nothing more than sloganeering....Where is the Mrs.Sonia Gandhi...I think with that surname comes a degree of arrogance...It was her mother-in-law, who killed the Indian Democracy the first time...Now its the turn of her daughter-in-law to continue with her unfinished agenda...How power hungry can the Gandhi Family get????...Sick....

The last post should have given this link to you....I don't know what was the problem, but the title hasn't given the link....so people who couldn't understand what Iam blabbering about, please take some pains to have a look at this article in Salon.com and then form a opinion....I am sorry for my overlooking the post....Actually, it was all okay in the preview, when I wrote the post...but, when it actually got posted, the link is missing....So, please do have a look at the link...

Why Can't we leave certain things as they are????...Why do we need to interpret them in our own ways, colour them in our own terms and make them look ugly(atleast perceived)....The cartoons are one of the most powerfull medium to a child....I still remember reading ambhulimama and Siruvarmalar, imagining myself to be the hero in the story, fighting for my survival against the evils of the world, laughing with the Hero, crying with him, Loving his Girl, trusting his friends, caring for his parents......Should the child in the future be subjected to these sort of Moral questions before falling in love with a cartoon....Are these cartoons not the first contact of good, bad and the ugly that a child comes to associate with....For a long time in my childhood, a typical villan would be with big moustache, big red eyes, thundering voice...and a Hero would be handsome, soft, well-meaning and helpfull guy....When the world opened up before me all these things were learnt, relearnt, delearnt, some forgotten, some outright rejected and some reinforced...but never in my childhood was I subjected to a situation where I need to take a moral judgement....
When as adults, we ourselves are divided on whether Same Sex partners are Moralistic or not, is there any necessities in whipping up passions on a simple subject like a cartoon...There was never a situation, as a child that I would have felt that what Ravana did was right...even now I dont think what he did was right...it is because, there was a near unanimous agreement on such matters...I would have no problem when a character says that "Killing is bad"...because the entire society was clear on it...But now, the society isn't yet clear on these matters.....there is still a lot of flux in these matters...So, how justified would it be to teach our kids certain moral principles, when we ourselves are not clear of it???
Would this lead to me becoming a guy with no friends??....Would the society think that , just because a person is Homo-sexual, he is immoral????....I have no problem if the entire society thinks so...then I too would say that he is immoral....because, morality is society dependent.....not individual choice...there individual freedom doesn't take a cause....but when there is no agreement in the society itself, then there is some serious problem in decreeing about the morality. Theft is considered to be Immoral because, the entire society thought so...if not there would have been great confusion over theft....Stealing has become wrong only because the society thought so..otherwise, who is to tell that stealing is wrong????
Whatever be it, I am saddened by the colouring of the Cartoons...for good or for bad...this might be constructed as a step in recognising that same sex is acceptable....But in my opinion, there are many other ways to do it....Let Child's Play be just that....Child's Play....Let us not convert them into Adults Only.....

What can you say about these sort of guys????...I pity them....Though it makes a hilarious read, the dangers in such a fad are a matter of concern...In one of the networking web sites that I frequent, I have found this particular fad very prevalent....Body Piercing....I remember how terrified I would be on seeing people piercing their bodies for "Vaendudhal"....take "Kaavadi"...Gawd..I used to think, I will never pray for such a favour...but reading about people piercing for fashion....Intha naatae Kadavulae vanthaalum kaapaatha mudiyaathu.....

This post is in tribute to an awesome roomie, who can skip an end term exam because, he doesn't know whether he had taken that paper!!!!!....Today was our End term exam in IT Strategy....Though I hadn't read anything in that (after such a late night party who would???), I was all prepared for it(atleast carrying a book and a Pen is enough Preparation...isn't it????)....Moreover, with the course being IT course, the exam too would be online...So, even pen isn't all that necessary...coming to the greatness of my roomie.....I asked him whether he had this exam....I had seen him in class, but as there are 3 IT papers this time, I wasn't too sure of which he has taken...he reassuringly told that he has taken "Competitiveness through IT", another paper that has it's end term on 10th....So, I left to the exam hall...Grrrrr....Computer Center....after all even an online exam too cannot be held in hostel rooms nah!!!...

Iam speaking about the Budget 2005, presented by Mr.Palaniappan Chidambaram yesterday....it was all gaga here in the campus over the budget....when the budget was finally presented, there were certain sighs of relief and certain sighs of pain....

First the relief part: (Personally)

1. Income tax on Interest on loans for higher education left untouched...which means, I can still claim IT benefit for my interest payments......with a not so small amount as Loan, it would have been a double whammy has Mr.Chidambaram removed that, jus as he did with Sec 88....
2. Investments slab till Rs.1 Lakh to be Tax deductible...this means, I can invest in certain avenues, not because, I will get IT benefit, but because I will get more returns...say for example, if this provision has not come, then even as a risk taking investor, I might have invested in government bonds, because, I get IT benefit...with giving this slab, Chidambaram has opened the doors to Risk taking investors to invest based on their wishes and not because, they will get IT benefit.
3. The previous slabs differentiated between salaries above Rs.5 Lakh and below Rs.5 Lakh...Now there is no slab based on salary...this means that I need not worry about the slab.

Second the Pain part: ( For many too)

1. I need to pay tax on amount more than or equal to Rs.10,000, drawn on a single day from the bank...Withdrawal Tax....think of this.....I pay Tax, when I earn my salary, as Income Tax....then I go to the Bank to deposit it....I pay Banking charges....then for my purposes I withdraw money, Now I need to pay tax....when I spend that money I pay sales tax....so, what is left with me????
2. Housing Loan has been taken off from the IT benefit kitty....Personally I had a plan of utilising this to the hilt...now, it's gone....

But, I should say, atleast Prima Facie, the budget seems to have balanced between the need to carry forward the reforms and to maintain the Leftists... I am not unhappy....