Street kids show the way...

early this morning, i was on my way back from my regular work out session at palayam.. the steet was kinda deserted due to the hartal declared by a political party.. the pavements opposite the church was abuzz with activities.. grownups squatting on the naked floor, brushing aside the rigors of the bygone day... old men and women still dozing off under the comfort of those worn out rags.. kids dotting all over the place playing a game of push-n-pull...

i could not ignore a little boy of about 8 years crossing the road with a small vadai in one hand and a glass of piping hot tea in the other.. a litte girl, she should be around 4 i guess, was running frantically towards the boy, apparently to get a bite from the vadai.. the boy took a quick small bite and handed over the rest to the little girl.. she grabbed the peice and was about to run back to her mother.. a small piece of rock blocked her way and was thrown off-foot..her face hit the ground, her little hands were buried in a pool of dirt.. the boy threw away the glass of tea and ran to his litlle sister.. he grabbed her up in his arms and kissed her cheeks left and right.. the little girl was no more crying.. instead, i could see her smiles amid tears rolling down her cheeks, still holding the piece of vadai in one hand and her drooping skirt in the other...

it was an amazing and sweet scene of love and affection.. of caring and intimacy...the selfless brother sacrificed his morning meal, i am sure it was going to be his sole meal for the day, for his little sister.. a street smart example of love and caring unlimited....

back home i told this anecdote to my daughter.. and she just ran to her little brother and kissed his cheeks.. papa likes to cherish those ephemeral moments of joy for ever!!

tell this anecdote to all the kids you come across and am sure they will learn the value of love and caring.. and their world will definitely be a better place than ours!!

so long
roy

Life is beautiful..

more of a personal note, i have been thinking about writing a few lines about my wife's long standing desire, enthusiasm and assiduous struggle to get into State Bank of India (SBI), the largest public sector bank in India and the World's largest employer in the banking segment... i would cherish the news that she made it into the final list of candidates selected for the prestigious position of Probationary Officer.. she is all excited- and so are me and the little ones-and the euphoria still hangs in the air... all around our little kingdom..

couple of months would see her taking up a career in banking- am not sure where.. it doesnt really matter either.. what matters most is the culmination of all her efforts and hardwork into a dream career.. it was tough for a housewife, with two kids and a software pro husband, to prepare constantly for one of the toughest competitive examinations in india and emerge victorious.... all i see is her tenacity and never-say-die attitude in achieving what she wanted and what she had been dreaming of since graduation... and am sure the kids have played their own roles in sharing this victory... spending times with their toys while mom struggled with those basic high school maths... early to bed listening to papa's bed time stories while mom browsed through the day's newspaper, without missing a single news item...

yes, this indeed is a victory well deserved.. but not without the blessings of the omni-potent powers up the heavens...

blessed are the kids, excited is their papa...euphoric is their mom...

so long
roy

The tagging game..

came across this interesting game from fellow bloggers.. especially simba and attagirl..

the crux is to write about your recent reads, five or so, and then tag five of your fellow bloggers.. they are supposed to write about their recent reads and tag five others.. the game triggers a chain reaction..

i am interested because:

1. it gives you an idea as to what others are reading...
2. you kinda figure out what books you aughta read, from others' reviews..
3. again, you could avoid no nos outright...
4. and yes, it helps to keep your blog rolling..

nobody has tagged me as yet, so i would be writing as an untagged blogger... LoL..
of late, am trying to revive my once thriving reading habbit...i wouldn't reach the figure five, but you could excuse me for that..

currently, i am enjoying Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies.. an amazing collection of short stories.. i would definitely recommend this book, if you are the kinda reader looking for short stories with a difference..

and Catch 22 by Joseph Heller would make a wonderful reading am sure.. sujatha has already given an articulate review on her blog..let me go finish the book...

so long..
roy

Of driving and dreams.....

one of my fellow bloggers wrote about the increasing no. of road accidents these days...i don't want to delve into those statistical details... but would love to drive home
the point that it hurts.. and it leaves behind unfathomable pain and trauma to the loved ones..

a mother, who is under-educated, is all left to fend for her now orphaned family..kids who are forced to fend for themselves or dependent upon the unconcerned relatives..
and a father who stares into the darkness having lost his wife and children..i know, going by this, you would come across numerous such tragic facets of road accidents..

there is no point cursing the govt for the lack of well lit and 'pit free' roads... there is absolutely no point blaming the PWD or DoT for digging up the walk ways and leaving them as open as a bare sky.. if you are a driver, you are responsible for hundreds of lives on the roads.. you and your fellow roadies.. and there is no point cribbing about factors totally out of your control..

the moment you are behind the wheel, think about your famiy, and with equal importance, think about the families of your fellow drivers on the roads... and of those pedestrians on the walk ways.. your loved ones are looking forward to meeting you back home... your wife waiting to share the trivia happened at her work place that day.. your little ones anxiously waiting for a pack of chocolates... your mom waiting for that placebo which would cure all her ailments...

and keep your eyes wide open, you would see countless faces, sharing the same feelings, all around!!

if you are reading this, take care while driving.. obey the traffic rules...
you are dear to many...dont fail to see the beauty of their dreams..drive carefully; you should spend those joyous moments with your family all day, every day...

cheers...
roy

IIM B or XLRI??

well.. been thinking about this for a while.. i am on my way to an MBA from a leading B School in India, without quitting my job.. XLRI was a good option, considering its standing in the B School rankings, its strong alumni base, wonderful faculty and best of all, the campus component.. i was excited and was packing up my bags to chennai to attend their interview.. but the moment i noticed IIM B's announcement of their general Management Programme, there was no second thought.. B is going to be the place where I do my MBA... a dream degree from a dream school... phew!!! am not hiding myself from the academic rigor and grind... it would be tough to survive the B School game..

but.. dont you think it becomes a lot easier, when all you see ahead is the beauty of your dream and nothing else?? wouldn't it be a lot easier when you think about those wonderful days you gonna spend at B campus??? at the start of the programme and while summing up...??

wouldn't it be a lot easier when you think about the very strong alumni base of B and the wonderful fraternity you are going to be associated with?? affirmative indeed... so, it is gonna be B, unless destiny brings me something else..... and July would come with the final list of candidates selected for the programme.... till then, i keep counting the days, keep my fingers crossed....

wish me good luck pals...

so long
roy

Random notes..

at times, i just sit back and contemplate.. it is fascinating to visualize your short life in such short frames, which give it an animated fervour!

about my education, my career, my loved ones.. the last, sans everything else, make my life complete and sweet!

looking back, i wonder why would i ever want to pursue a techie's career?? and that too in the clique circle of the so called nerds?? why didn't i say a frank yes to a career with the print media, which seemed lucrative and promising?

may be because i was intimidated by the sheer load of responsibilities in the press? where everything you think, speak, and write go noticed the world over? and you get rated by what you write rather than your integrity and morals?

well, for an ardent student, who loved poetry, loved to read everything from PG Wodehouse to Sidney Sheldon to Neruda, a career with the print media should have been a natural choice.. but life is so unpredictable that you, at times, end up in the wrong street...and there you see the compromise between your passion and the bread winner... hehe..

beleive me, am not that cribbin' type you come across in everyday life...

yesterday, i was lying on my bed, looking up at the ceiling.. trying to spot the happiest moments in my life.. and within moments, i said voila....

it is the time when i read out those enid blyton bed time stories to my little bundles of joy, who keep clamouring for more until they are fast asleep...

it is the time when i sip a hot cup of cofee with my wife, discussing all those trivias in our life...

it is the time when i drive my daughter to school, listening to her non-stop conversations, about her friends at school, her class teacher who gifted a small red crayon to her, her new boy friend who said a cheery hello, her new found passion for free hand sketching, and all about those numerous cartoon characters that she watch on CN...

it is the time when i call my mom and say sorry for not being able to call her so often...

it is the time when i say my prayers to God, thanking him for His numerous blessings that make my life full!

so long
roy

Packers and Movers...

yup..u guessed it right...we just moved outta our old office.. it was kinda getting stagnant in terms of space, in terms of coziness and in terms of look n feel... the building was in a low profile residential area.. sans the silence and homely ambience, it was kinda lacking professionalism, failing to accommodate an increasing head count.. and that led us to this setup, a three storied building beside a main street.. i would not say i was thrown offback by the look of it.. but would vouch for the cool ambience, spacious work spaces, reception, office and cool cofee hangouts.. we occupy the first floor..while writing this, i am looking out to the thick coconut grooves,dancing to the tunes of evening breeze... all the way up.. all the way down... and thats the new office..

ye.. i missed it.. our parking lot rocks!!!

so long
roy

XLRI Interview..

my XLRI interview for PGCBM is just 15 days ahead.. looks like i gotta brush up from the ground up.. having spent 10 yrs in the IT industry, i am looking forward to an interview centered around my experiences so far, about the companies i worked for, my accomplishments in the work place, the challenges i faced etc... as mundane as it sound.. i also need to work on my eco. and fin basics.. stocks, shares and the functioning of stock markests.. have planned to browse through a few back issues of ET.. reading through the past six months' Yojana would be another idea..

and i have written something called a SoP, my Statement of Purpose, which explained in lucid terms why i would ever need a MBA at this point of my career..i dont think it was bombastic, rather i was being truthful to myself in putting my thoughts on paper.. !

am excited to be at Bangalore after a pretty long time, albeit to face an interview board consisting of eminent faculty from XLRI.. and taking an interview now is cool, bcos i have a job at hand.. if i get through, it is a dream happening.. i know i will do well in the course, however hard the grind is going to be.. it would be a helluva lotta opportunity to leverage on my strong organizational, inter-personal and excellent language (u read it right.. hehe) skills while working with my fellow students coming from diverse educational and professional backgrounds, and the faculty who are experts in their chosen areas..

okay, it is time to wish me good luck... i will write about my interview experiences soon after it happens.. till then, let me have random musings here..

so long
roy

The new pontiff..

and yes, in less than three weeks’ time, the new pontiff has sworn in… Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, from Germany has been elected the new pontiff.. the 78 yr old, a close associate of Pope John Paul II, is touted to be a very good administrator…

I was watching those exciting moments on BBC worldwide.. the white smoke emerging through the chimney signifying the success of the conclave of cardinals in electing the new pontiff.. the red curtains, parted in the middle.. thousands thronging St. Peters’ Basilica, waiting to get a first glimpse of the new pope.. his very first address in Italian… indeed, they were moments of great joy for the 1 billion Catholics the world over and to all those who see the papacy as something very special..

am really looking forward to see Pope Benedict XVI leading the Catholic Church and the world population into the new era.. an era of universal brotherhood, compassion and love…

The pack of those 50 elites...

the United Kingdom has just announced the top 5o international BSchools, whose students get that automatic edge over others, while applying for work permits/higher studies in UK. i am not at all surprised to see all the biggies in the list.. HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Cornell, INSEAD, Duke Fuqua, MIT Sloan, MBS UK, Said UK etc..never thought Boston University’s Management Programme to be that great to find a spot in this coveted list.. the thought that simply beats me to the ground is the fact that none of the premier indian Bschools find a place in this list.. not even IIM A!!!

it is time to sit down and brood over the whole bunch of criteria that define the rank of a Bschool.. it is highly subjective and might vary from one rating agency to another, though in a miniscule proportion…but that doesn’t mean a thing for the IIM A (or for that matter any of the Six), one of the best Bschools in the APC region…

so long
roy

Beauty marries professionalism??

i think am falling in love with the new look of my favourite newspaper.. indeed, i was a bit nostalgic on the very day when the revamped daily hit my verandah..maybe because i have been reading this daily for more than 10 years... maybe because the content management did suit well to my taste.. maybe because i loved the monday, friday specials and saturday's young world for their traditional attire, mild colors, orthodox type settings with the marketing eye taking a back seat...? well, i dun quite know.. one thing am sure about, i started liking the new look much earlier than i had thought.. nostalgia sinks in slowly.. paving way for creativity, professionalism and innovations...

thanks to mario garcia of garcia media.. the world's most popular newspaper architect..three cheers there!!

so long
roy

Tests, interviews and more...

oye.. it's time to write something about my wife's test and interview experiences for the past six, seven months... to cut the story short, she has been trying to get into a career in banking, especially with one of the public sector biggies in india..and so far, the future looks rosy, more tests, more expectations.. and yeah.. more travel for her..

if my memory doesn't decieve me (i am not good at keeping a tag on anything..) she is through with about 10 written tests for the posts of agricultural officers and the more glamarous probationary officers.. bank of baroda and oriental bank of commerce were the first of the bunch to come up with their short list for interviews.. and i could see the very first smile on her face, signifying a sense of relief, a sense of accomplishment.. all those burned mid-night candles were suddenly abuzz with lightings.. and i guess, her interviews went well with BoB and Oriental Bank.. she had a tough time with the BoB panel, especially with their psychologist..

well.. i was planning to talk about her experiences with State Bank of India, the largest bank employer in the world and the one which offers the most sought after banking career in india.. after a nerve wracking written test, she managed to barge into phase ii, a GD, wherein you get to lock horns with a bunch of studs and a personal interview, where you face the professors from IIM Lucknow..

her GD went well, she was in a cool group i guess... the topic on WTO carried them well over 15 mins of healthy debates, without ever getting into a fish market ambience.. and the interview went well too, though she had to convince the pros. of her career aspirations at this stage, when the husband is supposedly well placed and the kids are not yet through with their KGs.. i know, it is her dream career, ever since she started preparations for Bank Officers' exam.. for the moment, let the family, papa and the kids, keep their fingers crossed..

i want to see her successful..because i see the beauty of her dreams.. a career which offers her financial freedom, embracing the challenges that come with it..
and the kids would love to see the same too..

PS: she is not yet back after the GD and Interview at IIM Lucknow.. the train is running late and i will see her at about 10:00 pm tonight..

so long
roy

Grim statistics...

world health report 2005 is just out.. as usual, india retains its position in key categories.. child mortality rate, for children below the age of five, is stated to be around 10.6 million world wide, out of which 25% are in india.. again, if you drill down, deaths due to inadequate nutrition accounts for about 50% in india.. the report has shed light on lack of healthcare facilities for pregnant women and associated still birhts, infant mortality rates etc..

i have said this before and will continue to raise my voice on this over and again.. unless our govt. takes note and address the fundmental issues like poverty, lack of drinking water, lack of proper healthcare facilities, child labour, illiteracy etc., we would not make it anywhere..even with the never seen before growth rate in the IT and related sectors and technological breakthroughs happening elsewhere..

the progress you see is not for real unless you are a snob!!

imagine india with a growth rate of 8% with the disturbing statstics on child mortality rates and poverty related issues...
do i make sense??

so long
roy

Contrasting faces of development..

leading mobile handset manufacturer, the finnish giant Nokia, is setting up its production facility in sreeperumbudur in tamilnadu.. calling for an initial investment of $100m to $150m, this would offer about 1200 odd direct employment opportunities.. a boon to the local people indeed..

i have said this before.. any manufacturing facility would bring forth a noticeable change in the living conditions of people around, as a direct benefit of employment potential, triggering nation building and PCI..

and somewhere in the vicinity, kerala and andhra, touted to be the destinations of multinational IT and consultant biggies, which would be havens for white collar workers, with ever increasing income levels..

in metro mumbai, 3 lakhs slum dwellers have been ousted as part of developmental projects.. the govt. failed to provide proper rehab to those hapless souls....demonstrators protesting the ouster were badly beaten up by the police..

in another part of the world, in Combodia, primary school kids own their own lap tops, sponsored by MIT's project to narrow down the ever widening digital divide between third world countries and the super power houses..

back to kerala again.. project akshaya brings the ICT revolution to the masses, talking about wired villages and wireless hot spots.. info on your finger tips is the key..

in sharp contrast, our fellow beings in tribal settlements and tea estates meet with a dire state of affairs with the onset of the scorching summer, with no jobs, making their day to day ordeal a tough battle for survival... and deaths from starvation are no longer a news now.. we choose to close our eyes and ears to such stark realities of life, the endless human sufferings..

these are the progressive, rosy, grave, amusing, revolutionary and dire situations in a few parts of the world, cases in point..

where are we heading to? pause, take a nap and think about the so called digital divide? should we give an ear to this tech-induced jargon and miss out some sleep on that? or is it wise to address the grass root issues such as providing proper housing, means for a steady income, sanitations and potable water to those millions in the outskirts of India Inc.?

to improve the living conditions of all those millions desperately trying to eke out a living in the slums and pavements across India Inc.?

unless we are successful in addressing this core developmental issue, running after technology to narrow down the so called 'digital divide' would be ludicrous. lest it should be like show casing a beautiful bride with a stinking nose and a bad breath!!

enough has been said...

so long
roy

What kind of blogger are you??

LoL... someone gives me a cool rating to my blog... ROFL...

You Are a Pundit Blogger!

Your blog is smart, insightful, and always a quality read. Truly appreciated by many, surpassed by only a few

What kind of blogger are you?

End of a papacy..

Pope John Paul II succumbs to the gamut of health problems that have been plaguing him for long.. the funeral is going to be held on friday, in a function attended by dignitaries and political leaders from the world over... i know it sounds cliched, but would reiterate the fact that we have witnessed the end of an era, an era of powerful papacy, with a deep rooted belief, innate strength, confidence and a hitherto unseen respect for human rights..

am anxiously looking forward to see the next pontiff in the reigns.. hopefully, from asia, africa or latin america.. LA is home to 50% of the total roman catholic population (about 1 billion).. and am not surprised to see the new pontiff from any of these soccer loving nations.. india too has a fair chance in the papal game... well, but nothing would be predictable when the entire process of electing a pontiff is so complex, so meticulous...

so long
roy

Biz round up...

Forbes' official list of top companies in the world has just been released.. Citigroup wins the rest hands down.. Microsoft, after its chief software architect Bill Gates being crowned the richest person in the world, has been pushed down to the 47th place.. bad sales and net value of assets have been attributed for this down turn.. and the first 20 slots go to companies from the US.. cos from india failed to grab a place in the list...

while the dragon land china is heading to a massive growth in IT, it would be interesting to note a few statistics.

number of CMM Level 5 companies : 1
number of companies with a head count more than 200 : 1
net worth of companies : less than that of any IT biggie in india

on the flip side, as NASSCOM, vice presdient has rightly pointed out, india has nothing much to cheer about.. the net worth of indian IT cos is less than that of IBM... how zz that?

and here ends the wait, ex NCR CEO Mark Hurd is appointed the CEO of HP after the ouster of Carly Fiorina...

so long
roy

Stories that steal your hearts....

yesterday night, i was reading the Smelly Dog, a Guid Blyton story to my kids.. this has been my habbit for the past few weeks, ever since my daughter's school closed for summer vacation... it was about 11PM and i was almost on nerves to catch up with some sleep after a couple days' misses.. the elder one, my daughter, would never sleep until am through with at least one story from Guid Blyton.. she adores blyton i guess, especially the animated pics, with less yet articulate text, in neat large fonts... the pics are invariably big and colorful...

well, i was half way through the Smelly Dog.. my daughter was all ears and the younger one, my two year old son, was desperately trying to tear off the pages.. occasionally he would throw up random questions which are enough to throw my daughter off her nerves.. a fight starts and would never end unless one of them screams on full throat and runs back to the bed room....

sans the fights, the Smelly Dog was a good story... my daughter was all praise for Splash, the stray dog in the story and Betzy, the little girl who was rescued from drowning in the sea by Splash himself... sympathy, adventure, heroisome, feelings galore..

my daughter thoroughly enjoyed the story.. as usual, it was my turn to throw a few questions, as part of summing up...the younger one was dozing off, with his mouth wide open and shorts stripped half way down... my daughter kept on talking about Betzy and Splash for quite some time, until she too was lost in sleep, with her hands holding me around, her cheeks against my heart.. mama was already half way through.. love and togetherness unlimited:-)

am sure, my kids are gonna remember me for the rest of their lives for all those stories and the interesting characters who steal their hearts:-) papa's delight:-)

so long
roy

Updates from the biz world...

pepsico india cheif indira nooyi has unleashed her plans of big
investments for the subcontinent to give a fillip to the beverages
and snacks segment..

aptech leads the IT training instis in china for the third
successive year.. NIIT is trailing behind at number 3 slot.

cognizant sets up their 30 acre development center in coimbatore..

airlines operating in the indian skies fight it out for luring the
skilled manpower.. the industry faces an acute shortage for piolts
and technicians.. key contenders in the race Air Deccan, Jet,
Sahara India, Kingfisher and the state owned IA..

surprising info from ET.. skilled oil rig operators earn thrice the
salary in comparison with tier 1 bschool grads!!! the former's
typical salary comes to about 3lakhs p.m... am stumped!!! are you
not?

piece of info... the catchy 'ZEN' from the maruti stable means
Zero Engine Noise.. i own a Maruti Zen VX, but never knew this
three letter secret!! ignorance unlimited!!

so long
roy

Am all for euthanasia..

the topic, per se, is controversial, sensitive and much debated these days.. and past week's terri schiavo case is good enough to put everything in perspective.. all of us would appreciate the need for euthanasia well if we try to be a little more empathetic with the victims.. their pains, sufferings and the bland life ahead.. it is without a purpose that people live out a vegetative state! the last thing they want in life is a chance to see yet another daylight.. euthanasia is the only answer, however hard an antagonist tries to oppose the advocates..

again, it's always easy for us to ignore some one else's sufferings, we want them to survive, we pray for longer tenures for them... but the moment you are responsible for taking care of the victim, your perspective changes..you are fed up with those mundane, boring, nauseating, tiresome patient care! and you become an ardent advocate of euthanasia, albeit not being able to stress the need for it openly, which will invite the wrath of those self proclaimed human rights activists... LoL...

come what may, euthanasia is the only answer to those endless sufferings... are you with me on this?

so long

roy