Free-will

Present Real Estate Market

2012-11-13T15:42:00.000+05:30

THE GARDEN CITY of India is a major economic and cultural hub housing over 8million people with an area of 741.0 km2 (286.1 sq mi). The most spoken industry after IT is real estate. This industry is evolving as the city bloats.

With the increase in population, land becomes scarce and the prices soar to gloomy peak. This is a typical scenario in Central Business District (CBD), Bangalore South and Bangalore West with peripheral exceptions like Kanakapura Road, Uttarahalli and Kengiri where builders are slowing and cautiously rolling out projects. Prices in these locations are on a gradual climb.

The city expanded further to North after the new international airport which has lead to initiation of high end projects by reputed builders and budget homes starting as low as 20 lakhs in and around Hebbal. There has been a steep increase in price from 2010 to now in Bangalore North.

Facing stiff challenges in terms of infrastructure and connectivity issues, Bangalore East is fast developing. Mostly populated by the techies working in IT companies in Whitefield and Sarjapur is a welcome sign to builders who have completed several projects and many more in the pipeline.

Bangalore, a city which never expected such rapid growth welcomes the affluent with open arms to make Bangalore a comfortable haven and on the flip side it threatens the lower and lower-middle income population of their dream of owning a house.

Television.... what does it do?

2010-12-24T17:41:00.001+05:30

Till grade ten I remember watching television very religiously. Greater part of the time was spent on watching sitcoms. Below are few sitcoms containing high recall proteins:

Marshal: A detective solving murder mysteries
Sabina: Saga of a magical woman
Mayamruga: One of the feathers in T N Seetharam’s large sized cap which was widely viewed and obsessed serial amongst elder generation would not be an understatement
Mahabharatha and Ramayana: A Sagar productions, who etched the image of Raama and Krsna as Raama and Krsna in our minds!
Shaktiman: The Superman for us Indians, Mukesh Khanna who spins like a top but in air at the speed of light. He was the only savior of all evil. The villain to me brought humor than what he was supposed to bring as a villain.
Duck Tales: A Walt Disney Production, very popular during that time amongst toddlers and even now I guess
Swat Cats: An animated series created by Christian and Yvon Tremblay and produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Program Services. I learned the adage ‘Curiosity killed the cat’ which was often used by The Deputy Mayor of Megakat City

Evenings during weekends were time for Hindi or Kannada movies which I habitually missed for better and energetic activity, playing cricket. In spite of giving deaf ears to directors and actors plead to watch their movies they still didn’t give up their hopes. Sanguine bunch of people I tell you!

In the "Facebook" of social networking sites, youtube, blogs and podcasts where does the ‘idiot box’ stand today? (You go back and reread)
Pardon, I meant ‘In the "world" of…..’
Who thinks television as an integral part of one’s life like before?
This augurs the obsession with T N Seetharam’s and Sagar Productions sitcoms has transcended to Facebook, myspace, LinkedIn, Twitter, hi5 and more. Don’t muse, Orkut is defunct or something like that.

Despite the fact that there are myriad watchable, knowledgeable and enjoyable programmes aired it doesn’t interests us as much as Internet. Colossal load of information waiting to be viewed on the net divert the attention from television and leaving the ‘idiot box’ as NOT a source of entertainment or knowledge.
Television is no contender for Internet due to disadvantages, portability and speed.
Why would you wait for 9 ‘o’ clock news on television when you can read/hear/watch latest happenings around the world with a jiffy delay on your iPhone or Android phone from anywhere and everywhere in the world? Unlike before you get to choose what you want to read/hear/watch.

Here is a supporting article from Harvard Business Review which gives statistics and talks about the declining trend in television viewership especially amongst the younger generation in spite of diligent efforts from the media strategists and advertisers.

To conclude, unless there is shift in the way television is perceived there won’t be any surge in the number of television viewers but the plummeting trend will continue.

An observation worth sharing

2010-12-21T20:44:00.000+05:30

The below article appears as a metaphor for life to my mind. It seems like the author has streamlined it to digital marketing after realising this concept and practice of 'Get Active Everywhere Else' relating to one's life or maybe he hasn't and it's purely my vantage point on the article.

Sharing the link tzoo.bz/bfr4 if you feel hostile staying on my blog page for long ;-)

Get Active Everywhere Else...
By: Mitch Joel

Have you ever wondered why there is such a struggle to build a sense of community around the digital marketing initiatives you are developing?

Community building goes well beyond the famous movie line, "If you build it, they will come" from Field of Dreams. There is one critical piece of the puzzle that most marketers and self-proclaimed "community managers" forget: It's not about what's happening on your space as much as it is about what you're doing on the communities that serve your industry and space.

You will have no semblance of community unless you are an active community member in the other spaces.

If I had to do this job all over again and start from scratch right now, what would I do? Without question, I would start a blog and fill it with relevant and valuable content for the community, but I would spend 10 times as much time adding value to the five or 10 existing communities where my potential members might be hanging out, reading, and connecting. It's not a ploy and it's not a trick; I would do this because I am interested and want to engage with the other community members. I would also be hopeful that those community members would be appreciative of my contributions and take a chance on checking out what I'm up to on my own space.

Give more than you get.

Some people hear that phrase and think it's about giving more on their own space (blogging more or tweeting more). Big mistake. The "win" (if you can even call it that) is to give away more on existing/other communities and spaces. To be valuable and relevant there. This strategy does seem so counterintuitive at first blush. The idea is to populate and add value to someone else's platform and community? Yes. Hugh McGuire (from Librivox, Bite-Sized Edits, and a co-host on Media Hacks) said it beautifully andsuccinctly: "Don't blog to be known... blog to be knowable." It's subtle... and it's true.

The community decides when it's a community... you don't.

When you are an active member of an existing community, its members will, if everything goes well, become proud participants and members of your community. They don't owe it to you -- and just because you created a platform doesn't give you explicit rights to any community. As mentioned here, there, and everywhere:Community is something that is earned after time and value. Community is not something that happens when you need it, it's something that you build over time and is suddenly there for you when you need it.

If you want to build a community, be an active community member everywhere else first... and mean it.
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Kindly share your opinion

WHY ACQUAINTANCE?

2010-11-29T11:48:00.000+05:30

A WORLD WITHOUT PEOPLE ISN’T WORLD BEFIT FOR LIVING.

I second the hypothesis, Homo sapiens’s evolution from monkey. If not for any other scientific reason (which is beyond my comprehension or to verbalise as disinterested to perceive) but for my observation and analysis, we human beings start our journey by mocking. Be it the first word we utter or the gestures, we mock and improvise later depending on individual storehouse of talent and skill to make it signature.

For better understanding, think about an engine without fuel. The design and engineering is in place and the engine is all set to start but awaiting for fuel. Such is the case with us, the human beings. Our life revolves around people.

We fret more than we breathe. When we are accompanied by people we just breathe and hence we rejoice the time ‘invested’. The feelings associated with such experiences are joy and happiness. This goes to say life is to be lived in that minute/second and that’s when one is content. An individual’s acquaintance or presence will dismiss thoughts on past or future and brings us back from surreal world.

I wish the readers a fret free and joyful life!

Prayer for praying

2010-05-31T16:07:00.000+05:30

Give me power, energy and patience to embrace success*.
Let me be the harbinger of hope and passion,

Let me be the dream full-filler of others and of me.

Give me strength, embed euphoria into my system.
Let me be the benefactor and the transformer of malefactor,

Let every breath and every sound from my system bring joy to people around me.

Oh Lord, equip me and support me in spreading happiness, love and peace.

*Success with respect to this appeal; beget happiness to people around me, put an eternal smile, and help them in good deeds.

Chow Chow Bath

2010-03-30T11:25:00.001+05:30

Wondering if I am going to talk about preparing chow chow bath? Well, in a way yes and not just for you but your family members too!

Step 1:

Pool in all your family members, promise them a great time at the popular restaurant nearby. And keep in mind you will HAVE to bear with atithi (intruders?) at times! Do feel free to use this post; previous sentence to parry intruders if you think they can get this right in to the most complex and gloomy part of their system. My khaas dost will marvel if I am/was an intruder soon after reading this. (Evil laugh)

Step 2:

Struggle to reverse your car out in case if you are a ‘pro’ or you are blessed by the architects of your building. Otherwise reverse with lot of smiles and humming music which will threaten A. S. Dileep Kumar’s fame and name.

Step 3:

Commence your journey with nice old classical music in the car if your family members are classic melody lovers even if you want to play “Cut my life into pieces, this is my last resort. Suffocation, no breathing. Don't give a f*ck if I cut my arm bleeding” loud enough to awaken the mummies in Egypt.

Step 4:

Most often than not, you will have to pull over at a druggist en route to purchase (VP get the dictionary out and begin your search for the next word! Fist pump!!!!!) liniment for your long-standing inhabitant of the family for sprain due to jam packed and laborious routine; eating, demanding, getting pampered (possible from the canine too), sleeping, successfully contributing to global warming, sound pollution and other activities of the like. (For sure you are gasping for breath after reading this short sentence. Guffaw……..)

Step 5:

Vehemently feel good for “gratifying everyone’s need and demand” (glee). And finally head to your destination of the evening plan. Stomach roars in temptation just by the thought of chow. In response to your hunger pangs you push the accelerator hard and from nowhere you get to see Goddess Durga on a two wheeler! Hastily you brake to avoid a collision. Yeah you read it right- Goddess Durga according to few ever devotional, mythological maniac and ‘chance pe mantar chant’ (phrase copied but modified so Dumm’s hunt for another opportunity to fight for copyright :-P) family members. It was a perfect working example of ugly-senseless-stupid-foolish riding and precisely in opposition to the riding rule book!

Step 6:

After all the melodrama you get to the restaurant. Thanks to advance booking of tables’ concept which obviates salivation-waiting. Now you all are seated and it’s just one step prior to HAPPY HOGGING. You see waiters hovering around you with yummy-slurping food in trays.
Within no time your opinion about the restaurant milieu changes to a hospital kind or to be more precise an OT. For people busy in salivation-waiting looks like, the waiters are captivated towards our table. Unfortunately for us, people at the table may lose consciousness and get a feeling of some dreadful surgery on its way in next few seconds! Waiters’ barge and start painting the table with curry, sweet dal, sweet kadi, green chatney, butter milk, mango pickle, etc., to one plate which will fill other plates too. How efficient and tidy the process is! A new dish will be prepared if you dare to ever concentrate too much in to the plate without raising your head. However the service is, we must and should appreciate the food!! (Sitting in office I am trying hard to remember more incidents during my visit to Rajdhani, Forum Value Mall, Whitefield)

Folks, by now steaming chow chow bath must be ready. Happy bulldozing!
Hey, amused about Goddess Durga on a two wheeler? It’s nothing but three people on a two wheeler wishfully changing lanes by waving their hands in rapid action. (lolzzzz)

Punch in your feedback and feel free to share your experience.

Hide and Seek

2010-02-10T06:53:00.000+05:30

Morning or evening the game brings joy and eyes roll in merriment. Time and again this experience departs without sentient. Tour on any boulevard, seldom fails to be a part of this game.

With a gleam the opponent signals the commencement of the game which appears akin to a lantern in the dark. Locomotion and velocity are no vehicles to seek the opponent nevertheless facilitate in hiding. The thrill of hiding is momentary and soon I steal a look out of inquisitiveness to know the opponent’s whereabouts ending up questioning my agility.

My decision to set out with a veil of pride and with courage and buoyancy even after recognizing the partial defeat requires some admiration. In a jiffy the game brings new excitement: hiding and peeping through the tree leafs, edifice, bridge, sky cotton candy and at times through the glass in an indirect approach. There subsists the bewilderment- ‘who seeks whom’?

Morning or evening the opponent concludes the game with a well deserved victory and walks away with a tacit and worthy memo- ‘Do not lose hopes I shall provide you another opportunity try and conquer me. If you fail do not give-up but realize you cannot overpower Nature even with superior technology. Always enjoy the game for I shall adorn myself anew to refresh your mind and fill up with joy.’

Life, an Elevator

2010-02-05T11:10:00.000+05:30

Begin with quarrying, laying foundation, and mounting pillars, stacking up concrete bricks in a contemporary vogue. Heaving the Elevator might ameliorate the builder’s and or society’s prospects.

After years/months of toil by the builder, the Elevator kicks-in. The disposition of electricity- any form of divine association; wires- the principles and values imparted; door- the heart; mirror, light & fan- acumen; software- the mind.

‘Serve all’ is the Elevator’s tenet. Wires help to be transportable and shift levels. Each level has a new perception and learning. The door welcomes people by expanding itself with an upright pleasant smile. Mirror reflects the true ‘you’ and assists in appreciating or curing. Light is the lifeline of Mirror. Fan begets comfort. Software controls the supplement, so they say. Electricity is the lifeline of all lifelines. Ultimately it is people and the Elevator itself who craft the worth of its life.