Now..... and then!!!

 

Home again:

 

Feel good on setting up home again.. you know it's tough when your wife and kids are away and you just gotta live a dry life.. And now we just enjoy the warmth of togetherness!

 

Our home away from home is a little abode, on the first floor, in a silent Koramangala residential area!! Pretty neat and serene, with trees dotting all over the place.. Believe me, I could spot a few monkeys nestling on a peer tree just beside my house:-) There are couple of parks around, a shopping mall, though small in size, and a few grocery stores.. And yes, the milk man is there for sure!

 

I have not started working out yet, but would do rounds of brisk walking around the inner ring of our premises.. it's just fun and you get to meet lots of pepople around!! Come 9'o clock, it's time to drive kids school.. I continue my way to office.. It's just a couple mins drive from the school..

 

Back to work:

 

My office is right on the main road, painted blue and yellow! Since I come in early, I usually end up getting a comfortable parking lot!! Not started working full time in my project yet, there are a million formalities to be completed, both project related and misc before you really go full swing! Anyways, I just enjoy this passing phase, contemplating the tough days ahead!!

 

Tea breaks do coincide with our times.. as I said before, people keep talking about tech stuff always.. billable times, appraisals etc.. Mostly, I finish off my tea, savouring the happenings around.. Lunch is awesome, being a lover of food I just enjoy the Buffet system.. it's fabulous,  and tasty.. At times, they dont come on par with the packed meal I used to have at eSoft with a garrulous crowd, discussing anything under the sky!! Thats something I miss, and things wont come back again:-)

 

Back from work:

 

Six'o clock is a good time for me to pack off my bags, because of less work during this initial days.. The four of us head to the nearest park, kids play around a lot while we just enjoy talking to each other!! Post seven, it's time to savour the paaani puri from the road side vendor.. Now, have you ever tasted this rustic, north indian favourite? Anyone? Me was a starter too.. didnt like it a bit on the first day.. Somehow, I am addicted to it now.. rounds and rounds of small puris dipped in sweet or sour paani, served in a small round leaf bowl.. you know, it's just plain rustic.. miles away from the urban pop-corns and burgers.. I am just captivated by the charm and the enthusiasm with which the boy serves them one by one, until he says you are done.. It's after round 7, I guess!!

 

So, people who have never tasted paani puri, dare to take a small risk taking cues from my note??

 

And the rest is just routine.. and it's just life, day in and day out!! And, slowly I started liking the place and the life here..

 

My wishes are always with you...

 

So long

Roy

 

Follow your passion!

I know, it's a tough decision, especially when you make a career decision, to let your passion rule.. There is a big difference between deciding to do something you are passionate about and run with the masses, ending up in a lucrative corporate offer! There are exceptions, and they come with a bang, bagging all media attention, suddenly becoming youth icons.. morale boosting stuff indeed for ordinary mortals like us!

Following the footsteps of Sarath, the IIM Ahmedabad graduate, who tossed a dream offer from a premier retailer to follow his passion, that of venturing his own business of setting up a chain of hotels.. Growing up in a very humble background, selling idlies in the streets, never made him think otherwise and grab the corporate offer with a smile. Rather, he chose an unconventional track! This is what passion is all about. Anyone who came up with this word deserves a pat at the back.. You never look for a better word here..

The moment I believed that this could be an exception, and after all, setting up a chain of hotels would see him prosper, because of the high return industry profile.. But this lad, Satyajith Sadanand, really caught me off-balance.. throwing up yet another I-Banking career to setup up a football club in this cricket crazy land!! I would have easily let it pass, had it been in Europe or US for that matter, where club socker is a huge industry!! But then, as I said before, 'passion' is altogether a different game.. And there is no money-value attached!

So long
Roy

Boom in the Job Market..

IT boom and massive hirings??

Yet another boom in the economy fuelling massive intakes in the IT sector.. look around; you would see Job fairs everywhere, put up by stalwarts in the field to smalltime headhunters.. 'We are hiring' signs are ubiquitous scenes everywhere in Bangalore, Chennai and the IT stubs...

What's happening here in Kerala?

I am wondering how much of this happenings have a significant impact in Kerala.. Considering the Engineering graduates and the % of actual hits (those who were/are able to make it in an IT co..)You see the alarming gap.. Now, look at their counter parts in the humanities stream. Despite the BPO boom and the massive hirings there, what % of this is being bagged by graduates from God's own country? I would say it's almost nil..

Campus placements are happening only in a handful of Engineering Colleges, out of a smart figure of 100+.. And the same in arts colleges would be around 4. The only relief came from Progeon, the InfoSys BPO recently recruited from Women's College, Trivandrum.

And the reasons?

How would you explain this happening in India's most literate state? The no. 1 reason would be the inability of our graduates to 'handle' English Language... how many of them can write an essay, without those silch grammar? How many of them can handle a gurelling interview? How many of them can perform in a group interview/group task? You get the answers I guess..

The need of the hour?

A total revamp of our curriculum could solve the problem to a certain extent. There should be language labs in every course. Group excercises, presentations etc. would complement the learning in class rooms.. Soft skills training sessions should be held frequently..

On the placement front, colleges should have proactive placement officers.. They should be well read and industry aware.. They should have good PR and Networking skills.. If you happens to be in a college where the placement officer doesn't have a clue about what BPO is all about, it's time to ask him/her to go brush up their industry fundae:-)

so long
roy

Way to Topical Blogging

I have been thinking for so long to give a clear direction to my blogging... a definite portfolio to ramble on.. Am at a loss If asked to size the gamut of subject matter I have handled so far, but would definitely be more than a handful.. Of late, the feeling to make my blog topical has gotten more intense..

The reasons I have for this 'hard' decision would be...

It's time to show the world that you have grown up.. and say serious, concentrated stuff.. And bloggers like Rashmi Bansal, Sidin Vadukut, Gaurav Sabnis etc. have been inspirational, in the true sense of the word:-)

Then there are the BSchool aspirants.. the first name that comes to my mind is Dave.. his writing is awesome and is so passionate about his dream.. his blog is a treasure house to anyone serious about going to a US BSchool. On a side note, BSchooling still remains my dream, but I need more time to pursue that:-)..

Now, the real challenge is to give direction to my blogging... in the coming days I would be thinking more on these lines.. and don't get surprised if I come up with some crazy stuff...

more when I have something serious..

so long
roy

The surprise visitor...

A tragic end!!

been anxiously following the bottle-nosed whale that happened to be a surprise visitor to all Londoners.. in the river thames, the intruder from deep-atlantic remained a charming sight for onlookers.. for most, it was a dream come true; seeing a whale for the first time in their lives:-) wish I were there:-)

A surprise visitor to Thames!

the cute monster succumbed to fate, albeit the rescuers' hard fought efforts to save the mammal..

Efforts in vain..

so long
roy

Ideas that matter!!!

Alex Tew...The boy who did real Biz on the Web!

Only the story of Alex Tew could bring me back to blogging. The 21 year old undergrad from UK made millions by cashing in on the Net... The idea that made him win was selling pixels on his home page, at the rate of 1 dollar a pixel!! The lad who struggled to complete his studies looks back and grins.. he now has numerous offers from companies across the globe:-)

Some people are born with a biz-mind for sure!

BBC's take on the story..

so long
roy

Jack Welch and The GE Way!

Amazing book, to say the least..especially if you are from a business domain, any kinda business for that matter... people from the production and services sector would appreciate the ideas much better i guess.. i was captivated by his 'futuristic' thoughts and innovative ideas, that saw GE through the tougher times before becoming one of the biz super powers in the world.. the way in which he restructured GE business by downsizing is truly remarkable.. few other CEOs in the history has endured such hues and cries from his own people, before emerging victorious:-).. imagine a thunderous applause even after a 'fiery' speech.. it was just that...

personally, i loved the way he introduced the work-out sessions in the work place... it did not take a while for GE employees to embrace it..straight to their hearts:-) me trying out this in our office.. 'nough inspiration eh?

bibliophiles.. go check it out...

so long
roy

Consumer rights....

i was thinking about the plethora of fitness/wellness/beauty/increase your libido kinda ads proliferating the media, both visual and print, of late.. enhance your good looks to shedding/loosing weight to build/tone your muscles to enhance your sexual performance.. VLCC to viagra and cialis.. body lotions to massage therapies.. yoga to power body building.. see 'before' and 'after' ads... ads of every hue and color you could imagine..

the point is, how many of us really care about these run of the mill shams? i discussed the same with a city based pharma professional.. he vehemently denied the claims in most of these ads.. why should we, as consumers, not react to these bogus and misleading ads? copying the west is outta fashion but why not take a step further, like they do, to take these 'promoters' to court if you dont see the expected results as advertised?

the lacunae for the culprits in india lie in our age old legal system.. am sure the punitive measures generally do not go beyond a Rs.500 penalty.. ludicrous, to say the least.. consumer rights in peril.. let's gang up:-)

so long
roy

Freedom of expression, challenges in the new world..

i always thought we enjoyed a strongly rooted sense of, and respect for, freedom of expression, living in the world's largest democracy.. couple of incidences in the recent past makes me wonder.. are we acting like the pawns in an autocratic world..?

well, whatever.. the statement made by an actress about pre-marital sex, and the totally unwarranted incidences that followed, underscores the fact that there are always factions of media and society who have a natural inclination for moral policing... i would say, shamelessly bold...

everyone, including a nine year old lad knows the basic facts about AIDS.. that it is an STD.. it spreads through sexual intercourse... and that using condums would always help to prevent the spread of this monster of all diseases... such has been the reach of the awareness programess launched by media, various NGOs, hospitals, shools etc. over the past couple of decades... this being the reality, why would any one feel that their orthodox beliefs and morals are under threat when some one, a celebrity in this case, makes an innocuous comment in the same lines?

why didn't the same outfit react when a Miss Universe (World?) made the same comments in her public speech recently in one of the metros? she was also donning the role of an volunteer spreading awareness on AIDS... the only answer would be politics playing yet another dirty game.. it is hightime the media, the educated public, gave no ear to such baseless, idiotic reactions to a common man's well formed opinions on social events/evils..

so long
roy

The heritage....

i was taken aback, albeit on a positive note, by this news in a national daily.. a prominent US colonel who was in charge of military operations in Iraq takes initiatives and is the sole driving force behind a mission to retrieve Bagdad's ancient treasures looted from the world famous museum...

it all started when a bold british journalist charged at him saying that he should be bold enough and determined to bring back those invaluable pieces back to the museum rather than crushing innocent victims to pieces.. he took her word, and is now leading that mission to bring the history and culture back in place.. collecting antiques from anyone/everyone who owns it, whether they have looted or purchased from a wayside vendor.. from places as far as syberia to tokio to the rustic market places in old delhi.. and this indeed is an achievement... i salute you colonel...

so long
roy

Currently reading... The Clinton Book!

I myself am amazed at the pace of my reading, of late.. took the famous Bill Clinton Auto a couple weeks ago and am still struggling to get into my usual rhythm.. it really goes page by page.. literally crawls... most of the readings happen while waiting for my daughter's school bus in the afternoon... and the time in itself is not so conductive for reading... i would think it is more suitable for a nap after a fiesta.. LoL...

anyways, the book is marvellous... Mr. Clinton indeed is a good story teller.. i like the way his narration goes, especially his childhood days.. i have always been fascinated by the growing up of american kids.. especially their life styles.. their schooling, neighbourhoods, food habbits, cookies, wine, lambs, hams and lot more.... the book has met my expectations.. dunno when i would finish this though.. and vol2 (my presidential years) comes next...

so long
roy

The tagging game is back.. albeit in a different form..?

It would be interesting to introspect, dig deeper into one's self to uncover hitherto unknown facts..was doing this in a different dimension altogether.. what are the 20 great idiosyncracies about me? here ya go...

1. am simple, to the extent it calls for
2. am affable, to the extent it is demanded
3. am capable, to take up a task and complete it with a touch of mine
4. i love watching Nik Gowning in BBC World News... love his mannerisms
5. i am not a social animal.. am not a nerd either
6. i am a family man...
7. i love reading out stories to my kids at bed time, everyday witout fail..
8. i love talking to my wife, endlessly.. over a cup of coffeeee....
9. reading is my hobby...i nurture a compulsive obsession for books that captivate my imagination
10. i love driving... only if the kids and/or wife give me company
11. am a fitness maniac.. waking up at 4:30AM everyday looks more like my routine
12. i do love my friends.. but bad in maintaining relationships..
13. am good at public speaking.. but not getting a chance of late..
14. a management degree, from a top B school, is my dream....
15. writing a pulp fiction comes just behind..
16. i dont loose my temper easily...
17. i love to live my life till about 80 years, only if my wife gives me company...
18. i dont dance, i would love to learn
19. i believe in my abilities.. no matter what others perceive!
20. i dont give a damn about people who boast about their achievements in life..

so long...
roy

Media going crazy????

yesterday, i was watching leading news channels in TV at noon. all of them were prompt in reporting the sad demise of our ex. president Mr. K.R Narayanan, with articulated expressions, flashbacks from his early lives, interviews with his bereived family members, condolence messages from leading political persona etc... later in the evening, i was reading news about the ex. president still surviving on LSS, sinking, to say euphemistically... and it was at about 5:45PM that he took his last breath, well after 3hrs the media had reported the sham, hastily in an effort to grab a peice of that air time... all shams!! the veracity of facts reported are in peril... and the fact that the victim is a VIP does not make a difference.... Jeeez... do ya care to dig out the facts before going on air???

so long
roy

Keep blogging... Keep going...

was literally out of the world for the past few weeks.. maybe, more than a couple of months?? lost track of times.. LoL.. no blogging, no chats, no browsing:-) believe me, raising kids all alone is no fun! i standup and salute those brave men and women elsewhere who bring up their kids with the label of single parenting..

if u go by statistics, their numbers grow in an alarming rate.. but mine is situational, occupational and more.. how many times do i yell to the world that i miss my wife more than anything else..? how many times do i assure my kids that their mom is gonna be back after a week? my daughter keeps asking me the same and is forced believe that papa is a born lier!!! probably, i keep the trauma off the little one by constantly showering them with new stories from toyland... thanks to the lending library i frequent:-)

BTW, it was raining milk and eggs in toyland yesterday when Noddy's kite was dragged off high in the air, with a milk can and a bag of eggs tied to it:-)... it was fun and the kids loved the story..

and dont think papa is interested only in stories from Toy Land.. presently reading Bill Clinton's autobiography, Vol 1..... the book is interesting, all the more when the man on the center stage is one of America's most featured presidents.. i will be back with a detailed review of the book later..

till then tada..

roy

Books... Hurricanes and more!!

never been this late to jot a thing on my blog.. obviously, nothing was happening in my life.. my love is away and managing the kids and family eats up my time.. yoyo... and sunday was cool with time out for a trip to the library with the kids..they really enjoy being there... sans the reluctance to get out!! hardly a minute after entering the library, i saw their hands full.. the elder one had already packed her hands with whatever Enid Blyton she could lay her hands on.. the younger one was randomly 'ransacking' stuff.. embarrassing to stay the least! somehow, i cajoled them to part with some of them allowing to keep only a handful of Noddy series and a few 'pooh pooh' stuff. the younger one was angry...he wanted to hold every single noddy book on sight.. ahem.. somehow i managed to get outta there, holding my single piece of fiction..:-) a day well spent after waging a fierce battle with the kids, literally true....

elsewhere, in the US city of texas..soon after hurricane katrina eating out the entire neworleans, her sister rita has lashed out at huston and other cities in texas.. looks like they have learnt from the past.. this time, the evacuation did the trick, no casualties reported yet... well, i was not really surprised by the 160Km traffic jam in the process of getting outta the battle grounds.. when every single house hold has a car-that runs down a little further to every single member in every single family-it really is possible.. all u see would be an endless row of cars, cars of every size.. i think this is high time the officials thought about a well maintained and effective public transport system, where buses and trams would be the key carriers..

and the hurricane season is going to be over by november or so.. promising another year of peace, snow and rains... and of course those cute little tulips of every color imaginable!

so long
roy

Story time Kids...Enid Blyton All the Way!!

ever since my daughter joined KG, i have been frequenting the local lending library more often than i used to hang out there.. and i cant resist the company of my two little ones either.. every sunday, soon after lunch and a nap, three of us head to eloor lending library, hardly a km away from where we stay.. it would be post-lunch time there, employees amuse themselves savoring trivia at home and at the work place.. most of the shelves would sport a deserted look.. bibiliophiles usually visit the place after six or seven in the evening i guess...

well, we head straight to the kids' section.. of late, my daughter's favorite is enid blyton.. and papa himself has fallen in love with all the characters in the toy town of toy land.. Noddy, Big Ears, Tessy Bear, the mischevous Goblins, Dinah Doll, Martha Monkey etc...it is fun and suddenly i see that i re-live my childhood once again...true, a weirdly vicarious feeling..

post dinner time.. the kids take ther respective positions beside papa.. the elder one to the right and the litttle one to the left.. papa takes over to read stories from toy land.. the elder one listens with utmost curiosity that all i can hear would be her slow breaths.. the younger one would ask occassional trivia but would go back to the storyline after prompt answers from papa..noddy drives dinah doll to the market for shopping... and on the way, the goblins cast a spell on them... and soon noddy's car is down with a flat tyre.. and big ears comes, from no-where, for resue.. i enjoy each and every moment of reading stories to my kids.. it is fun and immensely rewarding, if you notice their beaming faces post story time.. and this occasion would, in all probability, be rare.. since they doze off in between, almost always!!!

if a day passes without a bed-time story, i terribly miss something.. needless to ask their opinion on this.. and soon, a time will come, when they pick and read books on their own... would i continue to read stories from enid blyton and disney land then..? you bet:-)

PS: papa keeps his habiit of reading serious fiction, as always.. currently reading Chick Soup for The Bride's Soul..

so long
roy

The magical power of prayers..

i've been reading chicken soup for the bride's soul for the past few days.. exciting (do i mean exotic?) ways of proposing to one's sweet heart, choosing wedding gowns, aisle dances to saying vows.. the book is an amazing compilation...

look at this piece for a vicarious reading experience...

couple of months to go for that all awaited moment for emily to join hands with her fiance... year long preparations for that once-in-a-life-time experience.. and the last two weeks were hectic indeed, looking out at Macey's, Fileney's and Mama Mia's for that perfect gown, which shouts in full throat.. emily.. you look like an angel in that... this is you.. she too was surprised at not being able to come across the piece that was really made for her, till she bumped onto this immaculate, wedding gown at mama mia's..

it was a creation... with beedings, laces and satins stitched to perfection.. emily sported a trial and the crowd shouted vowwwww...... the gown was done for her.. but the price tag didnt bring much cheer anyways.. $1200 was indeed outa her reach and she did not want to take credit from her parents on this proud occasion..the clerk at the counter said it would be put for sale the following week and the price would come down to $320... her heart sank... would she wait? and what if some one else steals her dream??

a life time disappointment.. she felt her heart sobb..okie.. but why not i take a risk at this moment?? IF THIS IS MY PIECE, it is worth the wait.. and the deicision was made.. pa and mom and her little sis.. they buried themselves in a strong embrace.... over the next few days, emily thought about ways to retain the gown at mama mia's till the sale day.. maybe, she would ask her friends to call up and book the dress for picking up the following day..keeping the reservation up and alive till the d-day??? each of those shaky ideas were dropped and the family decided to simply wait and pray... and the news spread out... soon, her college friends began to pray.. her high school mates sent her roses saying their prayers.. her pa's and ma's friends called over to say that they all stay with her... and it was like years that the twelve days passed.. emily called up mama mia's to check whether her gwon was still there..the girl at the counter was friendly and warm...she said no and wished her good luck.. emily called up the next day too, just before closing the shop... well, her dream was still there...

and on the D-Day morning, pa and ma were there at mama mia's at 7:00 in the morning.. they peeped through the window panes to spot their dear daughter's flawless gown that corner waiting for the proud owner..at 8:30, emiliy and her little sis arrived, excited, dancing with joy.. 9:00AM.. the shop opened.. emily ran to the corner and grabbed her peice.. tears rolling down her cheeks.. and on the faces of all who knew the story!!! she 'stood on trial' again and needless to say she looked georgeous!!!!

cheers
roy

Redefining travelogues..

i just re-wrote my impressions on travelogues, and travel diaries to be specific, after reading a piece from Maithreyi Nandakumar.. the author is with BBC's radio Bristol.. and the piece i like to talk about is her experiences of visitng the royal palace and meeting with the Queen and The Prince.. it is a rare, and once in a lifetime, opportunity to get invited for the Queen's luncheon gathering @the Buckingham Palace.. each and every sentence in the memoir was meticulously carved to tickle the reader's imagination and taking them to a virtual tour of the palace... the language is beautiful, lucid and crystal-clear.. and you wind up the column with a dejavu..... of enjoying the royal luncheon yourself... kudos to this lady.. i have added one more in my repertoir of must read colmnists.. here comes the elite...

Maithreyi Nandakumar,V. Gangadhar, Ramachandra Guha ,Sasi Tharoor and Sevanti Nainan...

check out a piece from Mrs. Nandakumar..

so long
roy

Uprootings and more...

it has been a while I blogged anything.. and this can't really be attributed to lack of topics of interest.... i would rather see it as a slackening phase, wherein a i feel an elongated lethargy to grab up enough creativity to punch in anything..

that apart, life has not been a roller coaster ride in the past weeks; cool, routine and eventless.. and it doesn’t really rock either, presumably because my wife is away and i feel all the more lonely and left alone, albeit being cuddled up by our two little ones.. while i miss her so much, i cherish the moments of joy spending time with the kids..

elsewhere, in the outside world... Israeli settlers are moving out reluctantly and a larger percentage of them are forcibly evicted from the Gaza strip... i was watching the scene in BBC yesterday night.. it is tough for people who have spent most of their lives, some more than 30 years, in Gaza to move out one fine morning.. these are the moments of agony, disbelief, parting, sorrow and misery.. some settlers, who could not come to terms with the reality yet, where shouting at the police, kicking and cursing them.. all out of unfathomable pain and endless days of suffering that might lie ahead.. it was indeed in the minds of all the Israelis in Gaza that they might want to leave either today or tomorrow.. when the reality struck they could not cope with the stress and pain, one of the basic human behavior indeed!! the police were so composed and cool and truly professional in handling the scene.. but then who doubts the efficiency of the police force of a nation that boasts about mosad and top defense technologies in the world..? way to go gentlemen...

the Palestinians are celebrating on the other end.. you win some and you loose some.. we talk about, and witness, destiny here.. nothing more and nothing less. period.

so long
roy

Dream career unleashed!!

at times i just sit back and wonder what a dream career means to me! is that something which is lucrative to the extent that you live in a hitherto unknown world of snobs?? is it so challenging that you jerk out the last of your nerve cells to tame it and move up the corporate ladder? is it so responsible that you stay up all night at workplace to meet the commitments and deadlines?? or is it all about utilizing your people skills in full where you cajole your team in aiming for the stars and not getting smuggish by reaching the sky??? questions galore.. and in gamuts... i still wonder and no clues yet..

again, one thing that strikes me repeatedly is.. listen to your soul and do something you are REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT.... and the rewards will follow..

enough said i guess....

so, till then

bye
roy