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Straight Angle™: June 2005
Thursday, June 30, 2005

I cant wait!!! 


I just cant wait to make this post....Google('s) Earth rocks baby!!!..Absolutely....nothing else beats Google..not in near future...

This is the place I grew up...The two mines clearly visible as the big white spaces...even the conveyer belts that carry the Lignite from the mines to the thermal power stations is visible...
This is the place I grew up in...Neyveli...full of mines, sand mountains, sweet smell of Lignite, sizzling drizzle of the boiler coolant splashing on the face as you cross them, the smell of Lignite that is being cooled with water, the Lignite that would be littered all along the road, the sands of all possible colours...That was Life...even my school(not in this picture) is visible...but it is a bit blurred...I feel so ecstatic....

Google post after sometime..but worth the delay....

Talking Business!! 

Vivek Paul's story is sure to be the head line grabber tomorrow...When I first saw the mail, I was so circumspect that I refused to believe that...Yeah...there had been rumors that he might leave, but I never gave it any serious thought...may be I should have....Looking forward, I see all possible reasons for him to leave Wipro..

He had been with Wipro for 6 years, that saw the growth Indian IT Companies into a Global force to reckon with and he made it happen..He became the highest paid Indian CEO...he might have achieved these things in such a short while and he is right now at his zenith, when it comes to Wipro. There might have been no further growth to him..he had achieved all that he would have aimed for in Wipro.

With his varied experiences from as GE Global CT to Consultancy(Bain & Co) to FMCG(Pepsi Co), he had it all and proved his worth....He did that in Wipro too and he doesnt have any further growth there...I still remember the discussions we used to have in TAPMI in the succession planning and continuity topics, over the course Wipro would have to take as and if Vivek leaves Wipro....

I was not surprised at reading the mail sent out...it is a well thought out plan, and the plan should have been drawn up some time back...the mail was pretty plain and the plan should work out well..Transition plans had been drwan up..Infact Vivek leaves Wipro in such a shape that it wouldnt matter...this is exactly what we had been discussing over the Organisations and Individuals...

The objective of the individual is to make his position strong in the organisation and make him indispensible...the organisation wouldnt want an individual to hold it at ransom....but a true Leader is one, who is completely dispensible to the Organisation... a paradox in itself...Vivek is completely dispensible...atleast he made that possible...that's what I think.


Vivek leaves Wipro??? 

I am posting verbatim what I received as a forward...though I normally resist posting forwards, this seems to be true....but I am not taking any responsibility for the verasity of the information...It might not be true!!..I tried contacting a few of my friends in Wipro, but I am yet to receive any reply from them...Will update as soon as I get one....This is true....Vivek had indeed quit WIPRO!!!
ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCEMENT
Dear Wiproite,

After six successful years of association with Wipro, Vivek Paul has chosen to pursue opportunities outside Wipro. Vivek’s contribution to the success of Global IT business has been significant and is reflected in Wipro’s Leadership position today. By strengthening processes, customer interface, service capabilities and brand he has built a platform for Wipro’s next phase in growth.

Wipro’s IT businesses are getting reorganized consequent to Vivek’s resignation.

The Heads of Businesses of Enterprise Solutions (Sudip Banerjee), Finance Solutions (Girish Paranjpe) & Wipro BPO (T K Kurien) will now report directly into me.

Dr. A L Rao is assuming the role of Chief Operating Officer, Wipro Limited reporting into me. The following will be part of Dr. Rao’s organization:

Telecom Service Provider Solution Business
CTO organization for IT Business headed by M Divakaran
CIO Organization (IM/Admin/Facilities) for Wipro Limited headed by Laxman Badiga
Japan Geo headed by Masaki Nagao

Tamal Dasgupta is appointed as Head of Energy & Utilities Vertical reporting into Sudip Banerjee. Tim Matlack and Sanjay Joshi will continue to lead Wipro Consulting reporting into Sudip Banerjee. In addition, Tim will also be a key Integration member for all acquisitions in the Enterprise space.

We thank both Tamal and Laxman Badiga for their contributions in their previous roles of CIO and Head of Talent Transformation and wish them the very best in their new assignments.

We are merging the Telecom and E&PE business into one Product Engineering Services business. Ramesh Emani will head this combined business as President – Product Engineering Services reporting into Dr. Rao. We are confident that with this merger, Wipro’s position of leadership as the leading provider of services to Technology clients globally will get further strengthened.

Suresh Vaswani will continue to lead Wipro Infotech business in addition to Technology Infrastructure Services and Testing Services and will continue to report to me. Suresh Vaswani will also be responsible for Wipro Biomed and HCIT business.

The Geo Heads of North Americas (Richard Garnick) and Europe (P R Chandrasekar) will now report into me directly. Rich will also be a member of the Corporate Executive Council. The EAS practice headed by Sangita Singh will continue to report into Rich.

S Deb will move into his new role as Chief Quality Officer and Head – Operations Excellence for Wipro Limited reporting into me. We thank Anurag Behar for his contributions to the Quality function for Wipro Limited, which continues to be a key differentiator for Wipro.

The Executive Vice Presidents – Human Resources (Pratik Kumar) and Finance (Suresh Senapaty) will continue to report into me. They will separately announce the revised structure of their respective Functional teams. The new structures will be a reflection of the alignment of the functional structures at a Wipro Limited level. In the new structure, Balki, Vice President and CFO and Bijay Sahoo, Vice President & Head, TED for Wipro Technologies will assume enhanced responsibilities at Wipro limited level and will report directly into Senapaty and Pratik respectively.

Sudip Nandy in his role as Chief Strategy Officer will report into me and as Head of Merger & Acquisitions will report into Suresh Senapaty.

Jessie Paul, Chief Marketing Officer, will report into Girish Paranjpe

Leadership of other businesses remains unchanged. Vineet Agrawal will continue to lead Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting business. Anurag Behar will lead Wipro Fluid Power business, in addition to providing leadership to Brand, Corporate Communication and Community Initiatives. Both Vineet and Anurag will report to me.

The above changes reflect Wipro’s deep Leadership talent and depth and our belief in our Leadership’s ability to take enhanced responsibilities. I expect the Leadership team to chart the next course of Wipro’s growth through:

Enhanced investment in People and Processes
Higher teaming, excitement and engagement with the team
Enhancing Customer value by domain, business insights and proprietary frameworks
Setting the pace for industry growth.

Wipro’s deep Leadership strength has been a key strength of our organization and will continue to be a strategic differentiator for future as well. With an intent to provide enhanced impetus to Leadership Development, we are setting up the Leadership Development Council under my Chairmanship which will have Ranjan Acharya as its Convener. Similarly we are constituting a Strategy Council with a mandate to identify new areas of growth and investment; this Council will be chaired by me and will have Girish Paranjpe and Sudip Nandy as its Conveners.

We thank Vivek for his contributions and for setting up this strong platform, and wish him all the very best for the future. I am sure the new Leadership will take off from this platform and lead Wipro through the next phase of growth. Over the next few months, Vivek will work with the new Leadership Team to ensure smooth transition.

Azim Premji

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

A Lesson or two! 

I tried conquering you with Love,
You conquered me with Pain and Sorrow,
I tried conquering with Indifference,
You conquered me with Pain and Sorrow,
I tried Anger,
You didn't change weapons,
I settled for Hate,
Why are you still with the same???
I am Am I to be a perpetual loser??
Remember!
In a war, you need to fight
With equals...
May be you need a lesson or two....
(Edited at 01:08 PM, 29-06-2005)

Just as I told! 

So that was the Google's Ad I was talking about!!...I promised and I delivered...Dopppsy!!

BTW, the web is always replete with news on Google and Google is replete with everything that men can aim for....including the latest launch of the Pay-per-view- web service..., its pay-pal bettering online payment system(thats under development), and much more to come...

Ayn Rand isn't going as I expected it to be...may be this would clock the slowest ever speed for me...I am reading at the rate of 10 pages per 30 minutes...this sounds weird...I had read some 50-60 pages an hour, but I shouldnt be complaining...when you read a book so intensely, it would atleast make you a better reader...or thats what I expect...

The book is quite good...I like the way the characterisation had been made and the pure play of signs and body language with every emotion(expressed and unexpressed)....

After a long time...I think its really long..may be some 6-7 months, I heard a couple of songs from "Taal".....Felt wonderfull....but also miserable....the song "Nahin Saamne...yeh alag baath hain".. brought back all that I wanted to forget..all that I wanted to get rid of..."Mere pass hai tu...mere pass hai..".....BS I say....non-sense....

I wouldn't get any further, for I don't want to spoil my mood now...My mood...yeah...I am in a pleasant mood today...I would remain so for the whole day today....I swear I will remain so...

Monday, June 27, 2005

~Memories~ 

Memories are like rain drops that run over the glass window...even after the drop had fallen, the trail left behind stays......

Those are words that I would say to start this post...Yeah...I know it had been long since I blogged....Blame it on my sudden mood swings and general indifference to anything to do with this blog...I don't know why, but suddenly I lost all interest to write anything on this blog...But, as such, Life goes on....Also of some effect was the books that I was reading...."To Kill a Mocking Bird"(Harper Lee), "Atlas Shrugged"(Ayn Rand), "Swift as Desire"(Laura Esquivel), had kept me engaged throughout the last week...it is not that I had finished all the books...I had just finished the first and the last...I am currently reading "Atlas Shrugged"....

I had regained my interest in this blog...I wouldnt let it die...It had been my companion in worst of times....it had taken my joy, sorrow, trust, betrayal, praises, criticisms...had been my partner in crime, had been my best friend and my worst enemy...now enough of this senti-"mentalism".....

Will come back to the post...rather I have nothing to tell...except that I bought the "Atlas Shrugged" just yesterday after a prolonged discussion on to buy this one or "Lolita"..Thank god I settled for this...but I had already spent 5% of my salary on books this month....so would have to stop buying books this month....

To end the post:

Memories of the past that was glorious would do nothing to make the future any better....all that is left of the past is the trail of the raindrop over the glass window.......

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Something like that!! 

How much ever I tell to myself that, I would keep my blog away from loading with Google stuff, the resolve lasts till just the moment I see a news that has something even remotely to do with Google..Call me whatever...but to be fair to myself and to Google, one only had to see their Ad for Software Engineers today in Appointment section of TOI(Hyd edition). Not that I read that tabloid, but I happened to peek into the Ascent section, when my neighbour in the bus was reading it.....

At first I thought it to be a sign of "OM", but on second thoughts it got clear..it is the face of a human...they had taken the Capital G of the Google into being the forehead, with the two "O's" inside the "g" fitted horizontally, that made up the eyes, the "l" that made the nose and the "e", inverted to be the mouth....wonderfull..anyone who had got the picture and is able to scan it, would do a great service in putting up the advertisement for it's ingenunity. The ad is for software engineers for it's R&D centre in Bangalore....How I wish I were a Software Engineer...it's too late now....

"kadarkari thanil neeyum naanum ullavum pozhuthu,
paRavaiyai poal ghanam paadi paRakkum manadhu,
ingu paaivadu puthu vellamae,
enai saernthathu iru ullamae,
kulir vaadai thaan sen thaLiRilae,
indha vaalibhum than thuNaiilae,
iLa maeni un vasamooo..."

~Was that Vaali or Vairamuthu???

I got my passport today...it had been since three months that I applied, so much for the improved processes and all...I had been constantly checking my passport status in the passport office site for the past two months and I lost patience when I kept seeing the "Your Application is under process"..I wrote to the grievance section about the delay and the reply was prompt...it said that my police report hadn't yet been received in the passport office...so only after they receive the Clear Police Report would they do anything over my passport...

So back to the Police station, where I had completed the formalities by April 10th. When contacted back, the reply was that they had just sent the papers 2 days bcak and I would get the passport within a week...all these after I had submitted all the Documents necessary for the verification...so far so good....

BTW,
"nilavinai eduthu arughil kaatiyadhu nee thaanae-
arughil kaatiyadhu nee thaanae
malarin mughavarighal sonnathu nee thaanae
kaatRu bhoomi varum kaadhal paseum mugham
aRimugham seithadhu yaar yaar- en anbe nee thaanae
gangai gangai aatRai kavithaighal kondu varum
kaaviri ootRai kannil kaiyil thandhaval nee thane
aanaal pennae nenjai mattum moodi vaithaayae
aanaal pennae nenjai mattum moodi vaithaayae"

~this had to be Vairamuthu!!..

Monday, June 20, 2005

Smile..... 

They were sitting on the railings that run along the length of the vast lake that was as silent as ever, as if not to disturb the heaviness of the silence between the two...The distant Buddha statue standing in the middle of the lake smiles, as if knowing the stupidity of the silence…but the distance between them and Him, seems to have faded away the smile to nothing more than an aberration on his face….

It had been a long drawn out debate….what started out as a discussion quickly morphed into an argument and a debate...with no holds barred attack from either side, there were quite a few wounds to heal and many an opinions shattered!!..

All that was left behind was the carcass of the once great friendship they shared...the friendship of four years….through some of the wonderful years of growing up...of finding their feet on their own….on making decisions and feeling the consequences of them in face.. but now they seem to be strangers…a nonchalant shrug was what escaped them…the air was violent and the sky clear…the moon shone brilliant, but did little to ease the heat between them….

The buzzing accelerators and the blaring horns of the vehicles with their black soot covered tyres and exhaust fumes would have brought out a sigh from either of them in normal times…but now, it seems to escape their collective consciousness. They sat there mulling over what to say next…who will say that and what would the other reply…

The moment seems to be extending for too long, and the seconds into millenniums. The pathway was filled with children flying balloons and playing “catch-me-if-you-can’s”, with their parents keeping a constant vigil on them.

The sudden rattling of steel wheels disturbed the scary silence between the two…as the rattle grew nearer, it was over powered by the squeak of the voice that sounded more like a war-cry than a vendor’s squeal.

The white cart, with Ice-creams drawn allover it in all possible shapes, slowly came towards them and stopped just in front of him, so that he can see the Ice-cream wallah…he must be somewhere in his 30’s…unkempt hair, ruffled allover, with dirt and sand clearly visible even at that night, made him not-so-lovable..

With a white uniform with blue starred chest, he looked a rugged, yet deprived naval officer...his walk seemed to give him a life of his own…a life so oblivious to the surroundings…so away from the mundaneness of the crowd that kept laughing at him…so aloof from the apparent realities…but he was “steady”..He came near them and spoke something, that neither of them understood, not even cared to listen.

But he wouldn’t give up…he had lots to disclose, lots to let go off…his speech was hardly audible, but the eyes conveyed something that the words and the language couldn’t…It should have been a hard day for him…It should have been a terrible sale for him…may be he has a child to support…may be he wants his children too to play “Cacth-me-if-you-can’s”..may be even he wants to keep a watchfull vigilance of his children while they play, enjoying the breeze...

He wanted them to buy some Ice-creams...that was simple to understand, or so they thought..but this is not the moment to celebrate with Ice-creams...certainly not this moment...they tried their best to avoid him...they gazed at the distant horizon, at the sjy, the moon and even the Buddha...but his voice conveyed a shrill plea that neither could ignore...

Neither would eat the ice-cream now...not the icecream from this cart....he waited there for somemore time, telling something that was inaudible and incomprehensible....his angst was written all over his face, when he turned around and started walking towards the child that showed some interest in his wares....He wouldn't have gone near the child, when the child was pulled back into the lap of his mother and shooed away to safety...

He was now clearly disgusted....he stood there for sometime starring at the mother and murmuring something to her....when he was about to leave, a hand with a wallet stopped him and the smile in his face, said it all....the man who bought the Icecream turned around and walked towards the railing...the Icecream wallah came running behind him and there was a small conversation betweeen them....

The white uniform turned back after a minute, with a faint shade of joy in his walk, pushed his cart and started walking away....The man with the icecream, came near the railing, took a full view of the lake, gave a deep breadth, threw the icecream in the lake, walked off...

The Buddha's smile was clearly visible now...

Thursday, June 16, 2005

For a Change! 

This time, for the first time, I am writing about the Yahoo! Search...Seems like they have come up with a killer app......especially to students of Management, research and high tech. The Yahoo! blog has to say this about the new launch.

The Yahoo! Deep Search would be of immense help to the students and professionals(mostly Consultants!) for searching highly specific information that would not be available in the open WWW, but would be hidden behind passwords and registerations.....When I did my MBA, I know the pain in searching for a specific information regarding something and Google used to throw results that were outright hilarious. But then I used to think "If Google can't give me the results, then the information would probably not be there in the net"..but now, Yahoo! has really beat Google in this one. Google tried to make Life a lot easier for students of reasearch through the Google Scholar...But then even Google Scholar can only index information available in the open net...not on the hidden net...

That service too was good! But from what I have read about Yahoo! Deep, I think Yahoo! had gone for a killing atleast in this particular niche search population. Though Google is far ahead in the race, Google had to necessarily take urgent steps to tackle this sort of "Deep Web" information, as the wealth and usefulness of such information can be provided for a premium and the business sense should not be lost!. With Yahoo! already entering into agreements( or atleast Understanding) with some of the leading research firms like Forrester, Wall Street Journal Online etc, time might be running out of Google!..These information had always been available at a premium, but to find where the information resides would be a pain. Only if you know where the information is, would you be able to get it!..Without knowing where to get the information from, even if you are willing to pay for it, the info is of no use....Yahoo! should make it easier..atleast to find where you can get the required information!

But I do have faith in Google's capacity...this is from a die-hard google maniac!...Because, I belive Google is capable of this. But I still couldn't reconcile to the reality that Google missed out on Flickr...I don't know how or why, but I always thought Flickr would gel with Google the most than Yahoo!...I had been using Flickr for quite sometime now and I know the excellent Photo organising experience it provided. I somehow thought that it would fit into Google's scheme of things much better. But as events would have it, Flickr found it in Yahoo!...But to say the truth, there are ever increasing innovations happening in the web space and I think 43 things or del.icio.us would be one of the priced possessions for Google.

I have some interest in self-organisation and the tagging phenomenon that drives the sites like Flickr, del.icio.us, 43 things etc. The basic Google's algorithm too is a version of self-organisation in the sense that the ranking is the result of the web itself and not by force...ie, if your site has been referred to by many people as the site associated with a certain string, then according to the Pigeon ranking algorithm that Google follows, your site will be ranked first for a particular string!...afterall, there must be some weight in 100 people telling about you, than you yourself claiming so!!!!

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Vaali or Vairamuthu? 

The two songs seperated by atleast 10 years and yet arose the same sort of emotions:
  1. Thoonghatha Vizhighal rendu(From Agni-Nakshatthiram)
  2. Theendai Mei Theendai (From En Swasakkatrae).
The lyrics of the two songs too are a bit similar...this point came to my mind when I was going through the latest post of Renuka. But then, the similarity of the lyrics at this point in the songs,

"Maamara Illai maelae...maarghazhi Pani poaelae...poo maghaL madi meedhu naan thoonghavoo"
(-from Agni-Nakshatthiram)
&
"Panioo Thenoo Un Ithaz mael enna...pannioo, theanoo nee suvaithaal enna."
(-from En Swasakkatrae)

is not in the literal sense of the words, but in the thought process and the metaphors(similes). The "Pani" had always been a wonderful similie for all that is gentle and mostly feminine.

In the first song the lyricist(Vaalli I guess) had used it for a guy and the story has that guy as a Police Officer and that too a short-tempered one. When one contrasts the on-screen personality of the Hero and the Lyrics in the song, the differences are glaring. But the poet finds no problem to gel it with the personality in the film and the picturisation of the song too is good. The music...Ohhh! I can keep writing about it for pages together. The instance after the first "Saranam" and the next "Saranam" the music that goes on with the song...Illayaraaja stands firm and tall there....

In the second song, the metaphor is really wonderful to say the least. It exemplifies the desire of the lover to kiss his beloved and the way he questions her is interesting. For the saliva on the lips to be dew or honey, think of what the lips ought to be!!..It can either be something where dew can rest or a flower or something of a bee-hive!!. I really don't think Vairamuthuu to be so unimaginative to compare the lips to Bee-hive...so it has to be something that holds a dew drop. Now, what all can hold a dew drop?...Anything that had been in open all night long, can hold a dew drop...that includes a leaf too...Here too the female is non-commital about her lips and its contents!!..She says that it can be either and why not he himself taste it...Now, the song stops abruptly without any further hints of what happened next!!

Now comes another important comparison of the two lyricists...I know I can't base this entirely on a single song..But the point of contention is that Vaali seems to be more continous with a flow than Vairamuthu and in my opinion, when it comes to lyrics as dialogues between individuals, Vaali beats Vairamuthu hands down. One only need to read his "Paandar Bhoomi" and "Avathaara Purushan"..his flow is amazing!!...The flow in the first song, where the dialogue continues even after the verse into some sort of an agreement is interesting. But the Vairamuthu's one stops abruptly without a flow...there has to be a natural and logical end to any discussion...the heroine signing that the hero can come and test the nature of the drop on her lips says nothing more than a play of words!!

I go for Vaali...atleast in the first round!

Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Oh!! I feel a bit happy...a bit sad..a bit curious..a bit apprehensive.............a bit normal.

I am leaving Hyderabad....within a matter of two months, I had started liking this place- for the broad roads, cleaner railway stations( I mean the MMTS ones), the Briyanis, the Hussain Sagar..the list goes on..but not quite far...I am leaving to Mangalore. With The God's Own Country nearer, I shoudln't be cribbing. With TAPMI's library just a stone's throw away, I should be beaming.

I am planning to go to Chennai and then take a train to Mangalore-that would be a better option for me than to travel via Bangalore(which doesn't have a train to Mangalore and one needs to take a bus!!). I have a couple of promises to keep...Guess this time Chennai trip would be that exciting....coz I get to go there on week-end. May be I would spend sometime with my uncle's kids..It has been long since I met them(exactly a month and 10 days now!!)..

Monday, June 13, 2005
U don't Love Breathing!!!....Do you??

Friday, June 10, 2005

Getting T(R)agged!!! 

( © : Chakra..I had just Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V'd from his post)

Book tagging virus is on in the blogosphere at the moment. Many Thanks to Chakra who tagged me.

Total Number of Books I Own: Must be about 30-40. I had never thought of making a list of all books that I read..most of my reading comes just like that...I hardly remember the author's name of the book...Only now Iam growing up to noting down the author name and making a list of the books that I read. Also, I use the Library for my reading..not necessarily buying books(ie untill now)

Last few Books I Bought:

  • To Kill a Mocking Bird - Harper Lee(Yeah!. I bought it after a not-so-lovable experience with The Inscrutable Americans..)
  • The Inscrutable Americans -Anurag Mathur
  • Ponniyin Selvan - Amarar Kalki
  • Last Book I was gifted: Oops!!..I don't know why, but people seldom think of gifting me a book...so I am unable to fill in this column.

    Last Book I Read: The Inscrutable Americans - Anurag Mathur (Last week)

    Currently Reading: To Kill a Mocking Bird - Harper Lee.

    Five Books That Mean a Lot to Me:

    All that I read matter a lot to me. Just for the sake of answering, I list 5 books that are on top of my mind this instance.

  • Theivaththin Kural - A collected volume of Acharya's (Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Swamigal) verses.
  • The Age of Paradox - Charles Handy- Actually, this book would have come first, but for the faith I have in Acharya.
  • The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho.
  • Ponniyin Selvan - Kalki.
  • Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins.
  • Tag five people and have them do this on their blogs:
    (All you hav to do is, prepare similar stuff and post the same on your blog)

  • reNUka
  • Eroteme
  • Karthik Narayanan Venkatesh a.k.a Mottai Boss
  • Cogito
  • Venkat

  • BTW, the title of the post is not indicative of my mood...it jus was rthymic...that's it to it...I enjoy writing about books...
    Chakra.... that one was for you...coz people might think you ragged me!!..[Not that I dont want them to think that way..but you see..courtesy;-)))]

    Wednesday, June 08, 2005

    Laaaa..Lalalalalaaaaaaa.... 

    I had thought of doing this for quite some time now...posting on the new Liril Ad...the La..ira..ila...jingle...Now, the first time I saw that Ad, I thought it to be an Ad for some Condom...trust me...it was fantastic when I realised that it was for Liril. I had seen people using it and to be honest, though it is not a masculine soap, I had used to till the last Blue Liril stuff and somewhere along the line I switched my loyalty to Pears.(Now dont ask me whether Pears is Masculine..I hadn't seen any Masculine soap except Lifebouy making it big...come on...agree to it..we don't sweat and we don't smell bad...).

    Liril had been known as youth soap and it always used to be associated with a fresh bath for a teenager. What LIRIL brings to my mind is a refreshing, cool bath and a never say “OLD” attitude. The Jingle at the background…. “Laaaaaa….Lalalala….laaaaaaa..lalalalaaaaaa..la…la..la.laaaa…”, had been synonymous with Liril for quite sometime and it is always with a waterfalls(though of late for the Blue Liril, they showed the Ice-clad mountains!)…The target audience for Liril had been Urbane youth (mostly female..but male too is acceptable) in the age group of 17-25…it symbolized the college going, unmarried individual…

    It used to taken for granted about the image that a Liril would carry among the peer group. No longer so…the target audience has changed from the college-girl to may be a bit more matured lady..with a relationship to take care off, and one who would take interest in physical contact and is sensual. This target segment might be married or unmarried…(the ad itself shows no sign of it being either ways). This is a rather bold step for HLL. They are trying to reposition the entire brand. The brand which was associated with a more youthful image till now will be cast in a more matured, a bit more aged and even with a partner. The more individualistic nature of Liril had gone and the soap as a personality acquires, a “partner” image. HLL might want the soap to espouse such an image (read the story).

    But what the public feels would be based on what they need from the soap. The company justifies that women wants to don the partner role…well…women would always say that…but what is the target segment of Liril?..Is it a married (or a one in relation) or college going, adolescent girl?..Liril had traditionally been the soap of the second category, to change it to the first would require lots of patience and effort. HLL can have lots of effort, but does the public has the patience????

    Tuesday, June 07, 2005

    Slice of Hope!! 

    The building rises against the skyline, as if in standing ovation to the genius of the men that built it. The triumphant laugh is all visible in its glossy exteriors and in its shinning marble floor. The walls had been just painted to ensure a perennial victory in its war against the vagaries of nature. It shrouds the men inside in an artificial feel-good mood. The chillness in the air inside is palpable but pleasant. The constant rumbling of the keyboards echoes along the corridor and is complemented by the ever busy Printer and hissing from the numerous other gadgets that fill the space.

    The bright interiors of the building do nothing to help the inmates to guess the time. It had been ages that I guessed the time by looking at the sun. It seems that Sun has suddenly resigned from being humanity’s official time keeper. The distant whispers regarding Maruti’s new car do nothing other than invite a curious momentary glance and distract others from discussing the tax sheets and investment opportunities.

    Suddenly, the cubicle that is always filled with some chatter or the other falls silent. It is as if there was a sudden American nuke dropped and the entire populace was burnt to ashes. I wonder where all the people had gone. I feel a sliver of curiosity to find what others are doing…after all, they had been here till just a moment ago! I raise my head from the monitor and do a quick inspection of the other cubicles. I see none. There isn’t a soul to smile at.

    I return to my monitor, apparently not disturbed by the lack of soul to smile. After all this isn’t the first time and its not going to be the last time either. It’s just another….yet another moment….just then there comes an abrupt shriek…. That of people- of men and women in irritation and revulsion…they pick up the tissues and smear their faces, all the while whispering something. I feel a flake of ecstasy running through my spine. It has rained!!!!!

    Oh!! It has rained!!...and I sit inside this glass grave, so alien to the nature and its spoils…so separated from the truths, so engrossed in the blue screen of a blissful beach somewhere I would never know and missing out the reality in front. But its pretty late now…Nature hasn’t thought it wise to prolong its dance…may be it’s the time of the year, when the sky plays hide and seek with the sun. May be now its Sun’s turn to seek…But when the sky takes it turn to seek next time, I pray it let me know..


    Monday, June 06, 2005

    The Inscrutable Americans 

    With such a rotten(or atleast potentially rotten) brain to take care of, it would not suit anyone to go on a shopping spree and yet I just did that yesterday(and the day before too)...I made a vow that i wouldn't buy anything this time...I made sure that I keep my Credit/Debit cards, cash etc(except for a lone Rs.100/ note, that I thought was harmless in anyway, that you wouldn't be able to buy anything for 100 Rs. - (atleast in Shopper's Stop)...but boy, how wrong can I be...We went to Shopper's Shop...and the entire story unbundled in front of my eyes, yet I was as powerless as a dirt in the storm...

    I think the business model of these retail outlets is amazing...When outside the complex, I think I have got everything that I need to survive, yet the moment I get in, I think I starve my days and I am perenially in need of those things that are essentials of men...Then there would be no stopping me from buying all those that I can lay my hands on....So the malls get their revenues...may be its the rows and rows of stuff that you use that entice you to buy..whatever, you end up emptying your wallet...

    So, I was cautious enough this time to fool the malls and I didn't take any money with me...So, fear free, I went into the mall and started browsing through the stores, with all sort of "essentials"..but this time around, none of them enticed me...I was like a sage in vow not to see any female....I prided myself of my "Celibacy" in not getting lured into the conspiracies of the virulent urge to buy....

    But then I moved into the books section...all my vows, my "Celibate Piousness" vanished in thin air like the steam over a pressure cooker...and I was left gasping over the books...books everywhere....I couldn't control the urge to buy, beg or steal atleast a couple of them...But saneness prevaied upon me and I decided to go in for just a single book..the choice was between "The Inscrutable Americans" and "To Kill a Mocking Bird". Though I had earlier felt like reading a really serious book, the morning hours had been great to me(thanx to a diva) and I felt like buying something light and I settled for "The Inscrutable Americans"...

    The book is funny..a story of a man in his twenties coming to US of A to do a diploma in Chemical (or is it Chemistry??)..the impressions that he had carried about US are through "Saturday Night Fever" and "The Letters to Penthouse"...so when his care-taker introduces himself as "Randy", he asks "Why are you Randy?"!!..it's no doubt hilarious, but is a highly inaccurate view of things...may be the author had tried out some humour, but at the end, it doesn't bring out the real picture. The author adds on some highly researched ideas like" The Civilisati0ons tend to invent new and more words to describe a phenomenon that they find in abundance in theor locality"- So Indians have words to describe relationships in Abundance, while Americans have more words to describe Sex- meaning all that Americans have in abundance is Sex....Well...the women there in the novel all are whores, thristy for daily orgies and what not...but then, who wouldn't Love to be in such an US......if at all there exists one!!!

    Friday, June 03, 2005

    Getting Rotten!! 

    It had been very long since I read a book...I think my brain and the associated mechanisms are getting rotten without a better way other than reading some stuff on the Technicalities of SAP, Oracle, Seibel, TIBCO etc. I need some nice books...
    The last book that I read was "City of Djins" by William Dalrymple. A travelogue that it is, the lucid and the simple english that the author uses in the book makes it a nice read..but even that is not the serious book that I need right now. I need some book like "The Age of Paradox"..some book that can really make me crave for it...to make me sit along with it, to forget food, water and every other thing and live with it for atleast a day. I had just now downloaded the e-copy of "The Fountain Head" by Ayn Rand. I don't know how the book would be..but the problem with the e-copy is that, it can be read only with a computer in place..also I am not too sure about the copyright issues of the download....
    I need a book that I can take along with me and read at my pace...I need to buy a book...well...till I was in TAPMI, books had never been a problem...all you need to do is go to the Library and you would find books to suit every moment of your mood...from Philosophy to Science, to Romance, to Society and what not...Now, I need to find such a Library...I need to find a place of book.....I need to find it fast.....else I will die of rotten brain.

    Off and Out!!! 

    I am feeling relieved after so many days..feeling a bout of happiness and an inner peace settling in me...feeling of being myself, rather than a mascot of events(past and present)....self-content and enjoying the turns that Life had taken me through and looking forward to further more turns that await me. It feels so good to let go of something that would have been an albatross around your neck. Who knows whether it would have turned into a necklace or remained an albatross!! But I am very happy that before it would turn an albatross and suck the life out of me, it's off and out. I need to thank even the albatross(that wasn't exactly an albatross either!!!) for making that happen....and I have no words to thank some other people(they know who they are) for being so patient with me and my blabberings all these days....there might have even been some serious misunderstandings because of myintransigence ..but at the end of the day, all that ended, ended well...and let me be real...let me be the one I always want to be...let me be ME. Period

    Thursday, June 02, 2005

    Following someone!! 

    Many a times, a single phone call (or even a couple of them) could do wonders for you...that was what happened yesterday...Sometimes, somethings that had been so inconsequential to you till then, would seem like a God's gift...One such is Orkut and it made my day yesterday. That is where I happened to chance encounter so many people who had changed my Life in so many ways (ofcourse they themselves don't know it). My fellow mates in my school - Jawahar Higher Secondary School in Neyveli, do have a community in it for us and that is what had led me to know about so many of my classmates...

    It is good to know that many of them are married and happily settled, or doing their higher education. It was so nice to know that my fellow mates are working with me in the same company...I spoke with one such classmate of mine. She was online in the messenger and I did chat for sometime. Then, I thought if she is working in the same company as I am, then I can call her in the extension rather than typing stuff and that too pepper it with some silly sounding words like "Cool", "Great" n all. So, I called her up...She recognises me as "The guy who used to ask questions to the teachers!!"- *Geeze*.. wouldn't this go off me????...I am still remembered as a guy who asked so many questions???...But habits die hard...I still have lots of questions, that I think of asking, but couldn't, because of so many reasons...

    It was she who told me the news....the news that my first and only crush till date, had got married. I didn't know how to react. As they tell, I was in mix of emotions...Infact even now I couldn't figure out, how I felt. I didn't feel anything...I couldn't help but smile...smiling all long, till she narrated the incidents...It opened up many of my memories, and I was never the same again(atleast for the day, till the excitement faded off...).

    And that someone was this guy..

    Wednesday, June 01, 2005

    So what?? 

    So what??..It's just one of those 365 days that dot the big blue calendar that fills the cubicle...it's just another of those Monday mornings, with a red striped tie and a blue shirt that you walk in the streets, with obvious indifference to the world around....yet another of the days of blistering heat, with nothing much to cheer on even at 7:30 in the morning....one of the innumerable days when you feel all alone even in the midst of a crowd, just another of the days when you don't feel like getting up from bed, just another day of silent mobiles and moribund mailboxes..yet another day of Vegetable Briyani and Curd rice for Lunch...yet another day that you keep starring at the monitor not knowing what to do..one of those days that you skip your breakfast for the untimely bus, just another day that you fool yourselves that by buying something new, you can feel happy, yet to your despair discover late at night, what you had rather bought is nothingness!!...But the kinder world around me keeps reminding me that it was my "Birthday"...SO THE BLOODY WHAT?????...Like I care!!!


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    Swarnasrikrishnan/Male/28. Lives in India/Tamilnadu/Chennai, speaks Tamil, English, 

Malayalam, German, Hindi(??). Eye color is black. I am a god. I am also optimistic.
    It's me machan:

    Swarnasrikrishnan, Male, 28, India, Tamilnadu, Chennai, Tamil, English, Malayalam, German, Hindi(??)


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