Madhu the mad

A hassled nomophobe

2009-06-03T15:46:00.003+05:30

It was a pet to me indeed..faithful since 2 years. I liked the way it looked (like a candy) and ran..always said 'its creator doesn't create any more like it'.

About 10 days ago the illness began, then the fatigue and frequent unconsciousness. A local (bad) quack at BLR tried a horrible heart transplant and some stupid exorcism(!) but no good. Surgeons at a more serious hospital at Kukatpally,Hyderabad probed around yesterday and the verdict is - its terminally ill. Poor thing cant stay alive for 10minutes... they asked me to get a new one and ditch this. In fact they said 'recycle it'. huh!

I am contemplating a second opinion at another hospital...maybe from a more gifted therapist.

The other Nokia care is in Banjara Hills...err..should I just buy a new phone? Recos please?

Bye-bye my Nokia 6233....

Give me judgement - am I a stupid customer?

2008-12-26T18:55:00.006+05:30

“Right or wrong, the customer is always right.” Marshall Field

If not exactly this statement, such is the professional ethos followed and practiced at the work environment I belong to. However I was appalled during my recent trip to Rajasthan, when not once but twice, I was led to think that the following maxim might be true:

“The customer not only is ignorant of what he wants but also has no common sense to think on his feet.”

I ask you, the reader, to help me in my state of quasi-guilt by arguing for or against my case.

Let me outline the two incidents:

1) The place is a popular simulated ethnic/village resort where guests are treated to many games and niceties (e.g: puppet shows, joy rides, soothsayers etc). Most stalls have very courteous shopkeepers. We show up at a stall which promised to dress us up as a Rajasthani folk couple (costumes et al.) and photograph us. The guy at the entrance told us there are two sizes, a smaller photo for Rs. 150 and a bigger one for Rs. 200. That is ALL he said.
I went for the smaller.

After dressing up, we were led to a spot next to the stall where another guy and a camera man were present. All this while, mind you, we were being 'led' by the shop keepers into the 'service' being provided by them. So we go to the spot and the guy says 'You sir stand here and hold the laaThi like this. You maam stand here and give such and such a pose' to which we comply and give our best possible smileys. After the click, before we can think he goes through a quick repeat of instructions for new poses and ....CLICK. After the second click, before we can react, a third round of the same thing.

Now, he comes and asks if we wanted fourth and fifth individual snaps? I ask 'well will that mean an extra charge?' and he says 'Of course that will mean extra charge!'. I said 'If so, no thanks'.

We then undress (OK....relax, we had beneath, our own dresses!) and came to the cash counter. So by this time are you thinking that the deal is 3 snaps for Rs. 150? If so, thank you for the concurrence, thats music to my ears. If no, well blimey yes, I guess I am stupid.
What followed was- I being asked Rs. 450, my flying into a rage on why he din't tell me it was 150-for-each, he pointing me to an obscure A4 size poster on the wall which said that (My miss! I had not seen that) and he arguing vehemently that I as a customer should know what I want and was taking 'him' for a ride. I asked him why he din't tell me before taking us through his 'pose change' routine; he kept arguing I should know better and that I was trying to save money.

Eventually it was clear it was mis-communication and a misunderstanding on my part but what pissed me off was his rudeness to a customer. I paid up the amount, took the snaps and left after noting the email ID of the resort's marketing department.

2) Next we leave that city and reach our next destination, Jaisalmer. I had planned in such a way that soon after my train arrives (at 12.45pm) I should be able to check-in to the hotel and discuss options with the hotel guys for a Camel safari to a sunset point. I was aware that most options involve leaving to the sunset place, famous for desert dunes, at 3pm.

Now the first glitch in the plan was that the train arrived at Jaisalmer at 1.55pm. By the time I got out of the station with all luggage and got to the hotel it was 2.20pm. I had, however, managed to get 2 options for the Camel safari to the most popular spot, Sam Dunes, by the time I reached the hotel and both would need us to leave by 3.30pm.

When I checked in, I inquired about the service that the hotel provides for the safari. I got to know that their service is a bit more specialized and customized, in the sense that they take guests to a different exclusive spot and not Sam Dunes. Also, they needed us to leave sharp 3pm in a shared vehicle. Again, this is ALL he said, that mattered, about the camel safari service.

So now, the situation is we are damn hungry, haven't taken a bath and need to decide quickly which option to take. At first the exclusive option given by the hotel sounded good so I told the hotel recetion person 'Okay, we will go but we might need more time to get ready'. This was at 2.40pm

Then when I called the other guy to say 'No, thanks', he introduced a new idea that Sam dunes are the most popular and that the place chosen by the hotel would only give a faint and insufficient feeling of being in a desert. This put us back in confusion. Deepthi and I regrouped and decided to not go with the hotel, also keeping in mind that lunch had still not arrived. So we switched sides to the other option to go to Sam Dunes. 2.48pm

I accept, it was not the best thing to switch at the last moment, but what happened after this ticked me off, as before.

2.51pm, I call the reception and say 'I am sorry, there are change of plans and since we really do not want to miss Sam Dunes we will go with another provider; please proceed with your guests so far at 3pm. Besides we will take a while to be ready'. For this, the answer I get is 'That's not good news; As soon as you confirmed, we ordered extra cabs and extra camels for you. Now you've to cough up 25% cancellation since you don't want to go'. That would come to around 325 bucks.

Now, I am sure they were right in asking for a cancellation, but for god's sake why would they not have stated that as 'Terms and conditions' as soon as I asked them about the service if there were such hard and fast dependencies. Am I a dodo to switch if I knew about the cancellation terms!? Unintentionally, they came across as somebody who wanted to make a fast buck out of my being undecided. I am sure they did not intend to but that would be the perception. Mind you, there are a dozen providers of the same safari service and guest levels aren't any great after the recent events in India. After a brief but uneasy argument I offered to pay. Eventually they demanded nothing.

Again, I got to hear things like 'You should know...you should think before doing this and that'.

These two incidents also got my BP high and got me into a hyper-argument mode. People who know me well vouch for it that when I am in that mode, the other person, instead of getting cornered and defensive, would feel 'why is he doing this to himself' :) Not sure how I looked this time.

That aside, the question I want to raise is, should we not demand some clarity in every service provided while being a customer? Also, how about watching what you say to a customer even if he is wrong and you are right, or when both parties are clear there wasn't 'crystal clear communication'? Take a look at the Terms and conditions laid out by IRCTC for online booking as an example, no scope for any ambiguity in the service.

To be honest, though I've not mentioned the details of the stall and the hotel, in effect they've lost a customer for ever and I would not be a great promoter of these places. If anybody wanted more details, please contact me.

Once upon a time in Bangalore on route no.11

2008-12-11T15:11:00.011+05:30

As I finish reading the 'R.K.Narayan-ish' chronicle on Bangalore "Once upon a time" by Mr. E R Ramachandran I sit here with two emotions: An irresistably huge urge to escape back to the Bangalore of the 1950's that Ramachandran paints in front of our eyes and also, a deep despair mixed with a horrific after-(thought)taste while the current day state of the city de-mesmerises me.

Alas...

http://churumuri.wordpress.com/2008/12/07/once-upon-a-time-in-bangalore-on-route-no-11/

But ...back to the article. This is not an article but a journey through events as though the author can still see them unfold. I had never known or heard some of the events and anecdotes presented here! This, after all, is the time when even our parents were kids or teenagers at the most. I am a sucker for any such nostalgia....the photos of bengaLuuru, the side observations of the 'way it used to be' with certain landmark places like Vidyarthi bhavan or Majestic area, the unknown small-facts like that of Kengal Hanumanthiah's experience or the Master hiranniah's drama episode!!

'Bittre tirga sigolla' :-)) Had been a while since I'd heard that.

Some of us probably might not even know that IISc used to be called Tata institute, forget why it was called like that. How do we expect next generations to know anything about Old Bangalore??

Is there anything that's remained unchanged from the Bangalore that Ramachandran paints here??

But why care...did you ask?

:) Ask me when my fantasy comes true some day....oh well you wont be able to, since I'll be a laid back kannadiga of the old bangalore who walks to his Attara kaccheri office from his BaLepete house...back in 1955!!!

Well, as I said earlier, alas....

ps: Is it but natural to percieve that every passing era/period was a greener and a better time to live in??

Spoken English to class VII at Khajaguda

2008-12-05T12:55:00.005+05:30

'I am 11 years old-u' spoke the girl quite sweetly, unaware of the vernacular influences playing behind her statement...and I was there, not a moment late, to say 'old-u kaadu old'.

Yep, I started my volunteering.....today, through Teach India's 'Project 511' initiative.
Teaching is not easy. What's more difficult is teaching 'Spoken English' to telugu medium students.

But what do I tell you ...the feeling of joy surging up in you looking at their response when you ask them 'English kaavala?' - nothing can beat the belief that you can make a difference.

Hope I stick to this one like fevistick........

Karo zyada ka iraada - Interesting ad

2008-10-02T18:53:00.012+05:30

At first it was the jingle that caught my attention and made me look up at the Max New york life insurance ad..

'khaab ko kya chaahiye? rang thode zyaada..........karle dil zyaada ka iraada' ....seemed like a zesty Amit kumar in the early 80s singing away for some obscure movie under Pancham's/Bhappi's guidance :-)

Then I realised it's an ad. The ad concept is no doubt interesting...as this page below points out, A wants to be B, B wants to be C, C wants to be D and D in turn wants to be A. Take a look:
http://www.pluggd.in/interestingness/circle-of-life-max-new-york-life-ad-2737/

But what's got me hooked on is the jingle. I am sure the composers intended a tribute to the retro kings of Indian music. If so (and even if that wasn't so) they've won. The interludes, the yoodle, the instruments and the singing - all full marks!!

What an idea sir-jee!!

ps: Talking of Pancham and obscure, I sometimes feel its upon us hardcore fans of the late wizard to popularise some of his work from the 80s that, very unfortunately, went un-heard due to various reasons, chief of which was that they were used in bad movies. So, I want to introduce one such song 'Ye kori kawari karaari nazar' from the 80s Sunny Deol movie Samundar, sung by Kishore. I've listened to it no less than a dozen times from the past week, it's an ear-worm!
Give it a listen. Total dhing-chak! :)

http://ww.smashits.com/music/hindi-movie/play/songs/4244/Samundar/36511/Ye-Kuri-Kanwari.html

Volunteering....again

2008-10-02T15:44:00.004+05:30

I started volunteering again.....after 4 years. I feel good :) It was at a Govt school in Gopanpally, Hyderabad, where my job in the hour was to clear doubts that 4th and 5th grade students had in Gen.knowledge and computers. I was there, representing 'GE Volunteers'.
It was a repetition of feelings... of returning home feeling devoid of all the 'worries' of the several pending 'issues' around your life... and the rest of the day becomes (I won't call it magical) relaxed.....satisfying... life-reassuring.

The same feeling from the Samarthanam days of jumping into every opportunity the NGO presented for volunteering, of reading to the kids, of running around in the Yesudas concert arrangements, of having lunch with the folks at the NGO and of performing 'hacchevu kannada da deepa' with the visually impaired........ so I've asked myself several times since then 'What was it that made me stop being plugged in?'. Yes, it was a sudden plug-out.

Well, time to change that. Serendipity - The 'Teach India' campaign has kicked off in Hyderabad from today, and I feel I should (and will) register. If not anything, it will be a platform for me to get acquainted with the NGOs in and around Hi-tech city after I've moved to Hyderabad. (When's the last I blogged? Shoot ..lots happening in life after that!!!!! :) for starters, I am married!! More on that in subsequent posts)

While filling up the form I am asked for the reason I want to volunteer. I want to use what I wrote as a discussion point with the readers.

"I believe volunteering is a means of give and TAKE. While I am giving something to somebody I do not forget the feeling of success and the warmth received that I take back every time I volunteer. I also believe that volunteering is NOT CHARITY and every act of volunteering should be a project configured as specific, measurable and result oriented activities like the projects we have in other spheres of life. I see a good opportunity for realizing the above through Teach India and also a chance for reviving my volunteering. I do hope I get a call soon!"

I am not patronizing here. It's just that all of us, including me, are guilty of believing that volunteering means a one way street of 'giving'....and that the recipients of this giving are 'needy'. Just by thinking that way, in fact, you are setting your volunteering up for failure. Also people are not selfish enough when they volunteer to 'volunteer', in terms of knowing and establishing what they want to get out of it. I invite readers, many of who have thought about volunteering and have given up due to frivolous reasons like 'no time', 'nothing I can help with', 'cant stand to look at disabled/challenged people' to consider that you instead need to put in place a specific, measurable, result oriented approach for volunteering and that is when some reality might happen. The rest is left to being so determined that you won't give up.

Then the aspect of considering the recipients of your volunteering 'needy' - I think that's a heinous act. All of us are guilty of it. What one can do is be available to serve, when required.

There is this scene in the movie 'Sparsh' where Naseer, the principal of a blind school, says to volunteer Shabana Azmi 'aapko agar yaha kaam karna hai toh please kisiko bechara mat pukaariye' (If you want to work here please dont address anybody as needy/hapless) after she utters that phrase. By not being one among them and treating them as 'becharas' you stand to lose their confidence.
Sparsh, by the way, is a very profound film and a must watch for anybody who wants to volunteer.

I am not very sure yet that the 'Teach India' campaign will be a great platform for my volunteering efforts, but I sure do hope so!

ondee ondu saari kaNmunde baaree......

2007-03-12T09:54:00.000+05:30

>mungaaru maLeye ..enu ninna hanigaLa leele..
>anisutide yaako indu...neenene nannavaLendu.... aahaa entha madhura yaatanee!!!
>nee amritadhaare koTi janma jategaati.... neenillavaadare naa hEge bALali....
>mausam pyar ka.. rang badalta rahe...yuuhii chalta rahe pyar ka kaarvaan...
>haan pehli baar..ek ladki mera haath pakaDkar boli .... haa re haa!!!!
>anjalii anjalii pushpaanjalii..anjalii anjalii pushpaanjalii
>uyirin uyiren...uyirin uyire.......

alas!!!! (screeeechhh)...here's office :-)
I would not mind just driving up all day listening to songs...
well never mind, kuch kaam bhi hojaye!

Have a rocking week everyone!!

middle class brahmins

2007-01-29T14:09:00.001+05:30

dayavilladaa dharmavu aavudayya?
dayavilladaa dharmavu aavudayya, ayya yaavudayya?

the dharma of south indian (kannada?) middle class brahmin parents who have an 'eligible' groom in their family

Events Bangalore

2006-11-25T12:22:00.000+05:30

Nice job by Thejesh. A good place to know more about events in the city.
http://www.eventsbangalore.net

Random ramblings @28

2006-11-24T18:23:00.000+05:30

random ramblings on a day when I turn 28....
chilling at home coz i've decided i need a longer feeling of weekend which can be manifested by working from home on fridays...and heck today's my bday anyway :)

good news!!! I'm back to india ...not so good - what the $@#%^*%^ work's killing - challenges galore @ GE Money

aah encouraging - I'm with parents now .....well sniff no time to enjoy their company

Looksie!! It's back to bangalore and not Fairfield/New york/milwaukee....uh-oh wait! is 40% of my awake day spent in traffic and dhool-mitti??

bhale - bharatiiya sangeeta keLabahudu, haaDabahudu, kaliyabahudu .....alas ive only ended up making a commitment to learn classical music and already broken it...

Dint the job offer I took look great!!!!???? :) only....seriously mis-managed logistics at the India hub office have made me feel 'ive conned myself'

innu kelsa bittu aachekade enadruu madona anta yochne - yochne aage ide

Nov-dec this year is a GREAT time....dozens of ppl I know (literally) are getting married...it's time!!!

or is it ............................?

I will be one immensely superstitious person today ....ill believe time is gonna change starting now. starting today - November the 24th!!

lehraati huyee raahe khole huve hai baahen
ye hum aagaye hai kahaa

meethe bol bole

2006-09-30T20:42:00.000+05:30

meethe bol bole bole payaliyaa...
boleree....bole payaliya..
chun chanan bole jhanak jhan bole

meethe bol bole ...bole payaaliiiyaaa~~

Too long since I sang on a blog :) bhupinder's voice dancing in my ears as I write

pag pag naache re, ghungharu kii daasii
ik pag raadhaa jaisii, ik pag miiraa jaisii
saanvare kii bolii bole
paayaliyaa bole
miithe bol bole ......

Time for some serious singing to be pursued..

amrutavanthe.....

2006-09-24T12:21:00.000+05:30

Date: 21 Sep 06
Time: 90 mins before my flight to Bangalore from NYK

With nothing much to do but wait, here I am transported back in my thoughts to 1996.....

What an awesome time it was - the first experiences of COLLEGE. For me college was independence, it was break time from aggressive competitive studies, it was time to explore music,acting and such...
if only..........

sigh, if only it had also been a time to be more creative in making new friends. (not just with girls ;) but generally speaking)

When I look back I wonder many a times why I was such an introvert. When it comes to talking to girls, (without having a paralysis-by-analysis but nevertheless trying to scratch the surface of the problem) was it fear? was it dis-interest? or was it the formality to wait until there was an actual reason to initiate a coversation? whatever it was ...

and then it happened..

My first crush

She was in the same batch as me in the chemistry lab...used to fiddle around with the pippettes and burettes at an adjacent table to me.
(Pretty sad that I dint realise that for any chemistry to happen I had to first talk to her!)
Soon I find out she stays near my house...
(Seems stupid now but it sometimes feels good to realise how I 'chup chup ke' used to maro-chakkar near her house while coming back from college lol..atleast that way ive participated in society's rituals)
Still my stance was that there is no opportunity to talk to the girl...so why would I do that!!?? (*heaves out a biiiig sigh*)
Remember that day in class? Free time...I and Karthik are chatting with Deepti, my group song buddy ...and behind her is the girl gang generally chatting away. Deepti wants me to come and sing something to the group. Which guy wudnt jump?...but not I. I was this lump of nervousness..(bcoz she was in the group, is that why? i dont know) so finally I didn't, after a lot of ridiculing by Deepti ('enaag hogatte!? come on sing man') Karthik, for the love of god, couldn't believe it (neither can I now)
So much so, that she used to hang out frequently with a girl I knew from primary school, and with whom I always used to compete for the first rank (I know - GROAN!) I hardly talked to my primary school friend during national college!!!!
*scowls and lets out a grunt that sounds like aaarrrghh*
anyway no use thinking 'jaane kyooooo...jaane kyo'

amrutavanthe...premada gaana
swargavidante...premada dhyana

That was the time when this song had released ...and it kind of made sure I felt good about being in the 'dhyana' :) heh....
Naah....the more I think of it now, the more I realise it was only a crush, (and nothing else) the experience of which was heightened by the mystery element, because forget knowing her, I had not even talked to her :-)

Feb 14. Valentine's day/Rose day. Co-incidentally, last academic day of the college. 'Till date you haven't talked to her. Come on, now will you listen to some immature friend of yours and go and present her a ROSE!!?? HAR HAR'....All my attempts to argue with my mind failed.
It felt though, that she was by now somehow aware that I have something on my mind (or maybe wishful thinking). I think that last moment of the evening will stay with me for a long time..We both came to the fountain of roses, leading to the College exit. I don't know why SHE was looking at me, but I was definitely looking at her thinking 'do i talk to her?'

Did not..

I forgot her, forgot I had a crush or whatever (quite easily so by the way!)
Cut to now - (figured too much written) 4-5 days back I'm just looking around in a 'networking'/timepass portal where you find your school/college mates etc and guess who I find....

She is in the US somewhere..
I wrote to her...got her number after introducing myself (she said she 'remembered' me) I told her I'll give her a call before I leave.
I could not call her AT ALL! (coz of hectic transition items at work and last min shopping/packing)
huh....my thoughts of "how i've never heard her voice-what kind of voice would such a sweet looking girl have-i guess ill never even hear her voice" all that blah aside....I just thought OK let me establish that I've talked to her...for my own conscience...
ha ha looks like the day's kinda screwed up. First I miss my airport shuttle thanks to last min packing, then the cab I ordered last min demands an exhorbitant amount to take me...and will not accept credit card hence.....
anyway I get to the airport.....and call her.

'Please leave a message and we will get back to you'

Okay :) part of my goal achieved, I heard her voice...

alright enuf written, laptop charge is almost out and its time to board the flight.
Will not edit this, straight to the blog...like all my others :)
bye
Madhu

An evening with Nandan Nilekani

2006-08-30T05:28:00.000+05:30

Here I am at office at 4 PM; two days more and I will have wrapped up what can be called a Corporate expedition a.k.a my International assignment here at the US of A. My mind is focusing and working on 10 things in 10 minutes, when I get this email. Nandan Nilekani addresses Yale students, anybody can attend.

I decide I am going to divert focus. Am I glad I did?

It's interesting, of all the years I have been in Bangalore I never once was audience to the Infosys Managing Director (erstwhile/current). However, here due to the virtue of working near New Haven, I get to hear somebody whom I would like to describe with this parallel that my colleague presented. 'There are three kinds of people in life - buddhi vaadi, buddhi jeevi and buddhi nishTha. buddhi vaadis seem to know it all when they talk but forget the conversation once the tea party is over. buddhi jeevis acquire some traits but spend their lives within the boundaries of the knowledge already acquired. buddhi nishThas decide their paths and walk on them'. Nandan's intellectually stimulating discourse today convinced me he knows what he is talking and more....

After a glorious introduction of self by Mr. Nayan Chanda (Director of Publications, Yale Center for Study of Globalization) Nandan immediately delved into the topic - Emerging India.

I was to write a lot more about the session immediately after the talk,...such was the impact. I even made a lot of notes for this blog; but ...as always....laziness+distraction+++ 3 weeks later I'm coming back to the blog draft.
Will suffice to say, from my memories of that evening:

Mr.Nilakeni presented a complete and comprehensive sales pitch of Emerging India. From multi dimensional comparisons of China and India to realistically predicting trends of youth force utilisation in India with statistics, Nandan basically convinced me that he is one of the most prolific and clear thinking techno-leaders India has. I wish I had heard Mr. Narayan Murthy speak about these topics. I was lucky that I was near Yale, because being in Bangalore, I do not know if I would have got this opportunity.
Sales pitch or not, that aside, Nandan still had many valid points of how India is undergoing a radical change in many sectors, Telecom and Biotech being the popular examples. He had his figures at the tip of his mind much like an economist. He was also facing a tough audience that day, which did not mind demanding an answer for the outsourcing boom.
The lighter moment of the evening was of course when this gentleman came up to the microphone and said 'Sir, I work for your main competitor, and I have a question'. Nandan shot back 'Who's that!?'...the guy din't realise why the audience is having it's laugh and proceeded to say 'TCS sir! TCS you must know Tata consultancy services'...he din't get it :-)
Nandan made me stand proud upright amidst the crowd there, and not just for patriotic reasons, but for also reasons which will convince the world soon that India is no longer a culture-rich infra-poor third world country but a force to watch out for!
Amen to that...

ps: 23rd Sep - Bought Thomas Friedman's 'World is flat' about Globalisation. Let's see what he talks about..

Alone vs. lonely

2006-07-31T08:46:00.000+05:30

Wait, before I write more....
Is, by any chance, the comments function on my blog not user friendly?
Apparently several of you are just reading and sneaking out :-) How will I ever know if my blog did any good to you?!

So carrying on...
a) Saturday noon, bored at home. I realise there is a huge multiplex behind my house. So I drive by, and since din't have anyone for company I go and watch 'Superman Returns', all by myself. Anyway, you watch a movie yourself through your own eyes don't you?

b) Sunday late evening, have not gone out all day and pretty much been ornamental on the couch. I get a wild thought to find out what are the beaches within 15miles of my house. I find this 'free-parking' beach in Milford. Tried calling Xiaoru (colleague), she wasn't home. Rajat would anyway be in NYK busy showing his wife around. So, I take my car, take the map and head to the beach. It was enchanting, it was peaceful. Just sat there on the sand looking at water, far till my eyes could gaze. It was almost like my whole life came up in front of me.
Conversation with Bhumika a couple of hours ago had, probably, been the catalyst.
I liked the trip.

So what's that strange about it, for people to say 'man! alone? you are something'? I think I'm comfortable with myself, with being myself. (Hmmmm yeh alag baat hai ki thoda sa 'bahut ho gaya' feeling aa raha hai)
I think many people fear being alone because it's actually the fear of feeling lonely. Heck, i've been lonely from years now without fearing it...even when I was not alone. (Bangalore-hyderabad-gurgaon-USA-BLR-USA)
I had chosen it.....'I' had chosen it.
I think it's now .........finally ..........getting to me.
Time to (waving fingers in the air) 'settle down'.......
signing off
Madhu

Caleb and BOOM

2006-07-21T01:48:00.000+05:30

Scene so far: Caleb lives again (well he is active now!)
He has come through the haunted hotel looking for the way enough, warding off all the unwanted villains on the way. Now he has to go out of this building. He comes to this room where there are 3 doors (remember?).....he has to open the right one. If not - BOOM.
He gets only one chance. Ask anything you want but open once.

Oh well in this case, he finds out one of them is not right ...yippie....so 2 to go. will it be a) redemption or b) boom! :-)

But wait Caleb has a mindwave...why is he looking at it like its a boom or redemption? he should look at it as opportunity or better opportunity?????

Caleb might be losing his mind....only slightly...

Caleb will decide today

:D

==========================================

This is two days back.
The whole thing is that ke bhayya sab se bada rupayyaaaa....
Er..I mean, I don't mean what you thought I mean.

GE MONEY - HERE I COME!

Mumbai help blog - touching

2006-07-12T02:00:00.000+05:30

MUMBAI HELP - A blog which dedicates itself to 'Serving Mumbai' shows an example of people reaching out, in a way that really touches you.

May those souls that departed rest in peace....

Some clarity......? I think so

2006-06-22T08:58:00.000+05:30

The other side of Outsourcing

Thomas Friedman, 3 times pulitzer prize winning journalist produces a remarkable documentary on 'The other side of Outsourcing' which in reality is a highly effective commentary on Current India.
It takes an outsider to do what can be called an eye-opening of sorts to me. As I was seeing the documentary I started getting present to the fact that I grew up in India for 26 years but maybe I was blissfully ignoring (at times) what should be my responsibility to the society around me. It's tough, I know, but I feel it's my duty to make a difference.
Will taking a job outside of India help? It will dilute the focus.....a brief moment of feeling closer to the answer, I guess this moment.

Think about this (what the last speaker in the video says): The High-tech outsourcing to India is impacting 3 Million people in India and making their lives better. But are the lives of the 1 Billion+ people being impacted by this boom?
That is what we have to think about ...

Bach and other CDs

2006-06-19T02:49:00.000+05:30

It amazes me how I have not written even a single blog about what can be almost described, at times, as a life-cosuming passion - Music.

Yesterday I was at the Palisades Shopping Center in New Jersey on my way back to home from Jersey. Stepped into Best buy for a customary 'quick look'. I thought ill check on the Classical section for some symphonies of Bach and Ludwig Van Beethoven. These have aroused my interest in recent days - well I'd always been the kind who is much into popular music but say classical music is too much for them, because they can't 'grasp' the intricacies well.

I think the singular piece of music that changed it and made me want for more was - Toccatta and Fugue by Bach. To describe the feeling I had when I listened to it the first time, it was 'I think this will haunt me for the rest of my lifetime'. Sheer musical un-controlled brilliance.
Went on to search and read about Bach, beethoven, about what is a Fugue, whats a Minuet ...still eager to hear more, know more ...Like Beethoven's 9th (listening currently).

So the question really - why is classical (vocal/instrumental) music so hard on people to taste, to feel and enjoy? I think it's just a lazy excuse!
Probably one reason is that the popular music around you comes with titles, with fixed identifiers, with names of the artists with which your BRAIN can identify and relate with. Compared to that, if I put you through a listening session of Beethoven's 9th symphony, you might feel un-connected in minutes.

At the risk of sounding ethereal, here is my thought about that (and an attempt to dissect the experience I had when I first listened to the Fugue mentioned above)
When you listen to a classical music symphony, you really let your mind forget where you are (ideally close your eyes) and start noticing the emotions that it's generating in you. In other words, if your brain can't relate or identify with the classicality, you let your heart think. With some interest thrown in, you can make an attempt to find out more about what instrument is it, and in which 'movement' that's creating those goosebumps in you. After a couple of listenings, you'll be able to predict the next following progressions and able to enjoy the whole symphony. You'll want to come back to it more and more...

Ah, come to think of it, would you not be better off if you listened to ANY music like this? ..........Hardly holds good with 'Headbanging-with-heavy-metal' ehh? :-)
(Murali, do you headbang with that loud music in your room? tee hee)

So, back to Best buy. I expected I might need to pay a bomb because the classical music CDs might be over-rated. To my dismay, they were badly under-rated!
I bought 4 CDs (2 of Bach and 2 of assorted artists - Ludwig Van Beethoven, Mozzart, Schubert, Haydn, Schumann, Bartholdy; i'll be honest, Iven't heard the last 4 artists myself). These 4 CDs cost me 10 bucks! I mean is this the way Americans respect the pioneers of Classical music!? In my state of disapproval, I hurried to the counter before they changed their mind on the pricing.

Recommendation: Listen to the Fugue I've mentioned above and let me know how you 'felt'!

unbelievable...

2006-06-06T03:20:00.000+05:30

RONE DE TU AAJ HAMAKO TU AANKHE SUJANE DE
BAHO ME LELE AUR KHUD KO BHEEG JANE DE
HAI JO SEENE ME QUAID DARIYA WO CHUT JAYEGA
HAI ITANA DARD KI TERA DAMAN BHEEG JAYEGA..

hmmm....
will need to bookmark this ...

subhaanallaa..

2006-06-06T03:03:00.000+05:30

adhoori saans thi dhadkan adhoori thi adhooren the ham
magar ab chaand poora hain falak pe aur ab pooren hain ham

intezaar....

sigh

About Cars..

2006-05-19T01:46:00.000+05:30

In a mood to read ...and subsequently to write today...at office :)
Was reading this article ..the author should really come to India! he seems desp for a small car...
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/columnists/story/0,,1776877,00.html

Yea! Huge cars here all around..for example my Chevy Impala...(will post a snap soon)..he is right ...I almost scratched my right mirror while driving around in the downtown. I guess in India though, we are suckers for biggies...

Reminds me ...read this! :-)

Top 10 movie car chases

I'vent seen Bullitt, but seen French Connection, Ronin and the other new ones mentioned there...(pity not on the big screen). Ronin was the movie I was mentioning the other day..Italian Job was fun too..
Wonder how they shoot these chases!

GE's Ecomagination Report

2006-05-17T21:41:00.000+05:30

Very inspiring!!!! What do you think?

GE's ecomagination report is now available online Click Here.
To encourage readers to save paper and read the report online, GE will plant a tree at its Peebles, Ohio jet engine testing facility for each of the first 2,500 downloads. These trees will help offset the generation of carbon dioxide associated with growth at the facility.

Quick updates on my post 'Jauggernaut'

2006-05-11T08:16:00.000+05:30

Well I'd written some nonsense about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes's daughter and how they named it 'Suri'

Here are some more quick nonsense:

- Apparently Jason Lee's son is known to his friends as 'Pilot inspektor'
- Demi Moore has a daughter named 'Rumor'
- Another leading hollywood lady prefers just the name 'Apple' for her daughter, while once voted sexy star Johny Depp calls his daughter Lucy Alice Melody

Aww Forgeddaboudid..

That and this on a sunday evening

2006-05-08T07:40:00.000+05:30

Sunday night ...sitting on my couch watching 'Ronin' on AMC starring de niro...fantastic action/suspense movie (so far). Relax this is not a movie review, that will follow on another blog..I know some ppl are movie agnostic (sigh)

Here goes another weekend, tomorrow is the beginning of another week. Eh, its almost 2 months indeed since I've been here. In another 2 months, it will be the time to think about the 'whens' of returning back to india in the course of the sub-sequent 2 months....as Anna put it. Another major decision is, whether I will be returning to BLR for a full time job or whether I will be returning for a 3 week vacation before I come back and take charge on a full time job here....
(Did you ask 'so does that mean you are on a temp basis now?' Yes and no... :-) I am on an IT leadership training program. It's a fast track program to train managers in IT within GE. Consists of 4 assignments lasting 6 months each giving you valuable learning and useful experience before you are 'unleashed' to the real world. So I'm a full time employee but on 4 back2back short term assignments)

Hmm...so that gives me a topic to write (which I dint have when I started writing today, just wanted to write for the heck of it) About my confusion: To stay here or not to stay here....that, oddly, seems to be the question and strangely is becoming hard to decide.

What I'm gonna write might appear weird and funny to you (If so, then all the more reason to leave me a comment heh!) Why is it so hard for you to decide Madhu? You might ask. Well let's consider the problem statement: It is the ambiguity in deciding whether a job in Bangalore(/India) will be a more sensible option for me in terms of a) Better Visibility at work b) Fitment to career objectives c) Better quality of life d) Money and such other considerations, than a job here in the US. The parameters are not definitely in that order. Oh! while I write I start thinking is that the rootcause, I not being clear about whats more important than what (Well maite, isnt that the life's bane of every human that lived, did ya say? :-) )
Let's try to wind up here - so whats the answer for that anomaly?

As I write, again, it comes to my mind I should do a 4 blocker with a better problem and defect statement, some defect metric tracking and a subsequent pugh matrix (fully six sigma) to arrive at an answer :-) might help.
But yes, in simpler terms, the opportunities are good in the US and now pretty good in India too, as the US wakes up to the fact that infrastructure problems, sudden bandh's and other such socio/political issues with the environment in India cannot force them to ignore the clear advantage that India's IT force offers them (Lemme think... maybe that could have been stated better with more descriptive elaboration...oh hell, you got the point right?) Also, not sure whether you've read somewhere, but I sure have, that no matter how the constitution of the IT industry changes with changing directions and horizons, there will always be an acute shortage for good Project Managers. What better place to be an IT Project manager than in GE? :-) Alright intention is not to boast, just writing on...

So....I'm saying that if I get a good role in BLR, then why not. Also should be taken into account is what's called Purchasing power parity (did the MBA's and finance whiz's spring up in attention?) of India vis-a-vis the US. Clearly it's no-way equal, but that can be always levelled by the comparison of your incomes in each of these currencies. Again cutting to the chase, what I mean to say is, if I get more money in India than an average job then hell why not....No not braggin even now, I dont like to discuss my salary with others...I just don't know I'm plain stating the dependencies.

You know there is another angle to all this. Quality of life...till now I don't like my life here. I'm not the most outgoing person you can find if you randomly choose 10 ppl arond me, I would think. Maybe thats the problem. I don't mix with firangs as easily as some of these ABCD's and other desi visitors do.. (btw took a break from writing and got hooked to the TV...oh-my-god after seeing Ronin why dint they bloody announce a new Award category - 'Car chases'!! hooof sitting here dazed!) Sorry for the sudden digression..so where was I..ya so if you are alone here, things might get a bit boring. Well let's consider if I come back for a job, I might not be alone. But that raises a whole new question, relocation for her, her job - is it going to be flexible - etc etc.

By the way I havent yet come to the funny part yet :-) oh yea im in a mood to write, hope you are in the mood to read. There is a big 'What if' to it. The question in my mind is 'What if, after working here for lets say 2 more years, I dont feel like going back?' Hmm..so I'm apprehensive about something I have no control over. Then you'll ask, 'so what? If so, then stay there, make more money, work better,have kids, get settled, get a GC.....' NO ...I dont want that to happen. 'Then bloody why do you want to take up a job there man!? Come back now itself' Well I don't know the right answer yet..What's that need in me that says 'Explore the US option too'...is it the search for a better job, money (dont think so), lifestyle, a picnic for 2 years?? Well thanks for participating in a conversation called 'Thinking out aloud' that was staged inside my mind. :)

We shall find out soon.

Good night and Good luck.

Joey!! :-))

2006-04-26T02:36:00.000+05:30

Have been seeing quite a bit of F.R.I.E.N.D.S lately and was thinking recently I should chronicle all those funniest dialogues of Joey Tribbiani ('how u doin?!') that come to my mind in the most unexpected locations (in my office while I'm on a call - thank god im on mute, in the pantry when I'm sipping coffee with a teammate, standing in the queue for lunch brr!)

So, if you are a FRIENDS fan then sit back and recollect these dialogues and laugh!

===================
Chandler: Yea so the doc gave something that Joey should wear in his mouth and his snoring has disappeared!
Everyone: Wow!

Just then Joey comes in wearing this blue band that's covering his teeth so Rachel says 'you are not supposed to wear it even now' so Joey says 'I know!! It tastes good!!!'

Then that night when Chandler's girlfriend is scaring the shit out of him (Cant recollect who!), Joey appears (with his blue band and all that..) and goes 'Juje I am wrying wo weep here!!!!' howlarious..
========================
Then the scene I was mentioning to Murli,
Joey gets his sis to meet Rachel so that the sis can discuss some Fashion tips with her. He says 'Okay!I will let you two ...uh 'Fascists' have fun now!'
========================
Ross is being butchered by Emily's friends in the rugby match and Ross let's out some expletives to demonstrate he is TOUGH to which Joey points out as if he is indeed 'Red Ross!!!'
Fundoo face expressions..

Face expressions reminds me ..do you remember his face expressions when he wakes up at the beach and sees a mermaids breasts on his chest, made of sand? :))

=========================
Ross is confronting Monica (In london) about the postponement of his wedding. Chandler and Joey are around too, so chandler runs to the restroom making a pretext that he has 'to go!' Joey runs behind him saying 'wait up'

After the brother-sister leave, these 2 guys come out. Joey says 'Man! I hope Ross dint think we ran in because we were too embarassed to stand here'. Look at the incredulous look on chandler's face when he says 'I HOPE HE D-I-D!!!!' :-D What was Joey upto when he ran like that?! ha ha ..so childish.

Have to write a seperate post on my favorite chandlerisms! :)

(Have you seen the blooper for this scene when these 2 guys come out of the restroom with their pants down?)
=========================
How about Joey's dialogue 'Problem solved!!!' when Rachel says about her issue of having a crush on a lecturer 'I dint get over him, I got under him'
=========================
Ross is trying to make useless conversation with Joey when Rachel is leaving for Paris 'You see the thing I told about the thing, is not actually about the thing but .....'
After wards Joey has to NOT get it 'I dint know you thought so much about the thing!' with a smile :)

I guess thats for now ...guys put in what you can recollect..