Maharajas and Snake Charmers

Death: By Choice or By GOD?

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:17:00 +0000

Death by Choice?? Isn't that a coward's act? Only those, who do not have the courage to face the future take the easiest way out.

Who are humans, mere mortals, to take away something the GOD has given? It is GOD given. So it is upto the GOD to take it. That's the right thing.

I believed the same - till recently. But, let's look at an alternate thinking.

Men and Women, when born on this earth, are the same. They cry, with all their might, throwing their hands and legs up into the air and they keep crying. The similarity ends there.

Thereafter the experiences which each person goes through, shapes each individual. Someone becomes bold. Some light hearted. Some cruel. Some kind. Some philosophical. Some logical. Some whatever.....

When someone feels that his dreams are shattered and only smoke exists now, When his worst fears becomes true, When he is repetatedly being cheated, When he finds no meaningfulness to his existance, he may take the suicide route. Can we blame that person?

Afterall, GOD has given us the freedom of choice. Right?

Is it a cowardly act? I don't think so. It is the circumstances that force people to execute such choices. Ofcourse, these circumstances are the outcomes of the choices the very same people made a while ago.

The sad fact is that some of them doesn't realise that the choices made by them created these circumstances and end up blaming the circumstances or their inability to find a solution.

So what's the solution?

Hinduism says that the problems you face in life may be a Sanchita Karma - the accumulated bad acts of your past births. Unless you finish off with all your Sanchita Karmas, you will not attain Moksha (Nirvana). Hence it is better to deal with it now rather than postponing to your next birth by choice.

Life never has a closed door. There is always a way before you. It is just that you may have to take a deviation. It may not be obvious for you. You might have to search for it. It may take some time before you figure out your way forward. But, there is always a way forward.

When you are thinking of Death by Choice, it is only one among many doors before you. Afterall, if you do not have anthing to lose, why not try the other choices? If they fail, you can always come back to the trivial choice.

Life is......

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:18:00 +0000

Life is....is..... simply unpredictable...

Exactly 8 months ago, I posted about my coming back to blogging...

And just when I thought that things are all over for me, it just found a new turn....

The past 1.5 yrs have been a helluva lot...Many things... Many many things happened.....

More about it later...

But now I have resolved again to restart my blogging..... A habit that needs to be inculcated....

c u soon.....

Indirank 40

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 11:50:00 +0000

This blog is Indirank 40...

wow...

Well... After a long sabbatical, I'll be back soon....

Stronger than ever.... Keeping the past aside.... Looking forward to a better future!!

COMING BACK SOON...............

Amazing photographs

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:49:00 +0000

Nice collection of Photos from across the world.

Panipuri: All pros! No Cons!

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 06:39:00 +0000

An interesting presentation..worth the watch....

Panipuri - an Introduction to perfection in food design.

View more presentations from thakkar.

Name Politics

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:13:00 +0000

Name politics is one of the initial articles that appeared on this blog. Written by Mahesh, it articulated the point that India is a privately owned property. Trespassers will be prosecuted!

Neelakantan reminded me about Name politics. You will get the list of 450 government schemes that bear the name of the three members of India's leading political family here.

And do remember to go through this open letter to the chief election commissioner.

Legacy!!

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:02:00 +0000

In Kerala SRTC buses, we still use the ticket racks from the 1950s. Legacy!! What else??

India Israel Defense Deal

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 05:20:00 +0000

I am sure that the India Israel Defense Deal would hog the headlines of the news media in India, in the wake of the impending Elections. As the drama unfolds through our newspapers and digital media in the coming days, watch this promo video from Rafael, an Israeli defense manufacturer to woo the Indian decision makers.

An Israeli made Bollywood video that they aired during AeroIndia 2009. Enjoy!!

Incredible India: Incredible Ad!!

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Kudos to the ad team who manage to represent the diversity of India in this two minute ad...Truely Incredible!!

Nice Video! What is that? A sparrow!

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:11:00 +0000

Long live Pakistan!

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 02:26:00 +0000

A sneek peek into the illegal gun markets in Pakistan.... Every modern machine is handmade here in laiths....Long live Pakistan!!

Pankaj Ghemawat at Nasscom Leadership Forum

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:49:00 +0000

An Insightful presentation by Pankaj Ghemawat at Nasscom Leadership Forum.
Pankaj Ghemawat, Professor Global Strategy, IESE

View more presentations from nasscom. (tags: ghemawat pankaj)

My experience with Nadi Astrology : Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:10:00 +0000

Do you know that some one some where in South India, has written down your entire past, present and future in palm leaves about 2000 years ago?..Surprised?..Consult a Nadi Astrologer right now...

Nadi Astrology - the most accurate mode of revealing life, is a prime school of thought in Vedic astrology. According to Nadi Astrology, Lord Siva, the prime God in the belief of trinity in Hinduism, pleased with the siddhas(Seven Sages) devotion, blessed them with some exclusive powers. He gave them the incredible ability to read and know the past, present and future of people. They etched their immense knowledge in palm leaves called Nadis. Nadi in Tamil means "In Search of".

The nadi leaves, initially stored in the premises of Tanjavur Saraswati Mahal Library, were auctioned by the British and came into the posession of families of astrologers near Vaitheeswaran Kovil in Tanjavur. These leaves are handed over from generation to generation in these families who earn their livelihood by reading the palm leaves. The younger members of the families are trained by the older members in reading and interpreting the Nadi leaves. The texts in the leaves are written in poetic form in Vatteluttu, which is an ancient Tamil script. Nadi astrologers would like to call themselves as Nadi readers as they do not perform astrology, but just reads what is written in the leaves. Hence, any thing which is not written in the leaves cannot be predicted by the Naadi reader.

The Procedure:
Once you apporach a Nadi astrologer, he takes your thumb impression and analyses it. The Naadi leaves are classified according to the type of the thumb impression. There are 108 types of thumb impression like Sanku ,Meru, Sikari, Vattam, one dot, two dots, three dots, etc. My thumb impression was found to be of three dots category. For each thumb impression there are likely to be around 5 to 6 bundles with the nadi astrologer; and each bundle contains forty to fifty different people’s general prediction leaves.

Once your thumb impression is identified, the astrologer returns with a couple of bundles from that category and starts reading. He starts asking you a series of questions for which you have to answer only Yes or No. The questions can be like "you have two sisters", "your father worked with government", "Does your mother's name contains the letter K" etc...All you have to do is say Yes or No. The nadi reader skips the leave if you answer no and goes to the next one and asks a different question. You will be surprised when the reader correctly asks your parent's name to you. The nadi reader can tell you about your past with almost 100% accuracy.

Once your general leaf is identified, he proceeds to read/write the contents of the leaf. There are about 12 different kandams/chapters that can be read. You can select which all kandams that are to be read. The naadi reader charges based on the number of leaves you take. Special Kandams cost more.

List of Kandam Details:

1) To be found out through thumb impression(For Gents, right; Ladies, left) of the concerned person. Will contain name, parent's names, present details of profession, brothers, sisters, children, wife and gist of future predictions for all the 12 houses of your horoscope. It is also a summary of the 11 following kandams.

2) Money, Eyes, Family, Education, Intuition and Speech.

3) Brothers and Sisters, affection, help or ill feeling between self and brothers and sisters.

4) Mother, House, Vehicles, Lands and Pleasures.

5) Children, Their birth, reason for infertility(if any), adoption of remedial measures for having children, future lives of children

6) Disease, Debts, Enemies and Litigations or Cases.

7) Marriage and status of married life. Also contains hints of valuable information about the name of the future spouse, horoscope, age of marriage, location of the spouse's house and some characteristic features of the spouse etc.

8) Longevity, Accident & Danger to Life, Age, Month, Date, Day, Time, Star, Lagnam, and Place of Death

9) Father, Wealth, Visit to Holy Temples/ Places, Advise from Holy men, Fortune, Charitable deeds and Social Life

10) Career, Job, Profession and Business, Good and Bad times in career. Future predictions about growth, prosperity and losses in one's job or business.

11) Profits in Business and Second Marriage

12) Expenditures, Foreign Visits, Next birth and Attainment of Moksha(Salvation).

In addition to these 12 kandams, there are 3 special kandams also which costs more.

Special Kandams:

13) Shanti Pariharam: Last birth, sins committed, and remedial measures that can dilute the effect of past sins.

14) Deeksha Kandam: Wearing Mantra Raksha(Talisman), to ward of enemies. Raksha ensures relatively better rewards for one's efforts and success in deeds.

15) Avushada Kandam: Medicines, prescription suggested to those suffering from chronic diseases.

16) Dasa Bhuktikandam: Prediction for the present major and sub period of the planet.

17) Prasna Kandam: Answers Yes or No, for five questions about a particular time thought by the person.

Generally Remedial measures like visiting certain temples, feeding the poor, giving alms to the Nadi reader. etc, are suggested. The temples usually suggested are the Navagraha Temples of Kumbakonam, Thirupathi, Sri KalaHasti Temple etc. Corresponding to the sins committed, the remedial measures are suggested.

Please note that the Kandams 2-12 talks about your future from the moment of consultation to the end of your life or for a range of 10-15 years from the moment of consultation, depending upon the type of Nadi you consulted. In the next part of this article, I will outline my experiences with two different types of Nadis.

An Introspection: What should I do with my Life?

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 07:35:00 +0000

There's no dearth of books about how to become successful in life. These books come under the disguises of how to be a successful man?....how to make money in life?(is one of the highest search terms in google)...etc..etc.. I had made several attempts to finish at least one of these books and failed miserably, each time.

I failed because, I hate motherhood statements. We know we shouldn't lie or we shouldn't bribe. But how many of us do that? All these books give you is gyaan and we know enough of it. Unless we employ whatever techniques/methods that are outlined in such books, we are wasting our time. So I dropped my attempts to get inspired..

Recently I came across this article from Po Bronson, thanks to Neelakantan. I think this is the first article I came across, which doesn't use motherhood statements, to make you introspect/ inspire. There is a followup article too but thats more of motherhood statements.

In this truly inspiring and insightful article, Po writes about the people he met and how their experiences made him draw some of the conclusions that form the basis of his book, What Should I Do with My Life? .

I really liked these points...

a) Every job has a value system. We will a lot more happier, if we don't have to fight the value system around us.

b) "Keeping your doors open" is a trap. It's an excuse to stay uninvolved. How true!

c) The example of the Aerospace Engineer: Their backup plans do not lead to different destinations, such as "If I don't get into business school, I'll be a schoolteacher." Their backup plans lead to the same destination, and if they ve to arrive late by a back road, that's fine.

Temples of Kerala

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:43:00 +0000

Every Year, My family undertakes a pilgrimage through some of the most unique and famous temples across the length and breadth of Kerala. This has been going on for the past say, 10-12 years. Its really been a great experience to visit these temples.

This year I decided to document these temples, for the benefit of those who may be interested in visiting these temples at some point of time in their life. Hence this series would rather be on the lines of wikitravel rather than a travelogue. “Temples of Kerala” is the label for this series.

We are starting off with Thirunakkara Mahadeva Temple, Kottayam.

Boston Big Picture

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:49:00 +0000

I am a great fan of the pictures that comes on Boston Big Picture....

Look at these breath taking pics from around the world in 2008....

Do subsribe to their feed..its really worth it..

Technorati Profile

Welcome 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:35:00 +0000

I wish everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year!!

Cisco's Telepresence: An innovation with great Potential

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:02:00 +0000

Watch this video below. Only one word describes this: Amazing.

I see a lot of potential for this technology, especially in tele medicine, education etc. The doctor comes to the patient no matter whereever the patient is. This might become the standard for conducting board meetings. This also means, greater sharing of resources. Let's say, a Harvard professor can teach a bigger audience. More companies can get a Guy Kawasaki on their board of directors.

Image via WikipediaI admire Cisco. They as a company have shown tremendous commitment to the emerging markets like India. They have moved 20% of their senior management to the Bangalore globalization centre. The above video is from their global conference call done from Bangalore.

"We have to be here," Elfrink, Cisco's chief globalisation officer says. "If we are not here, someone else will be. You have a billion people here, a billion people in China, 300 million people in Indonesia - all of whom will start consuming and enjoying life. If we don't understand these economies and cultures, how can we be a global company?"

From BT: A decade after coming to India for cost, Cisco now sees it as a second global HQ. Here are the company’s plans:

* Move senior management, beginning with Wim Elfrink, to its Globalisation Centre East in Bangalore to manage the transition

* Have business units based and run entirely from India; these will be new entities, and not relocated from the US or Europe

* Address economies in a five-hour flight span from Bangalore from the globalisation centre

* Sell the idea of operating a second global HQ internally and look for more senior and middle managers to make the transition

* Change Cisco’s work culture from ‘command and conquer,’ where the US headquarters dictates strategy to one of collaboration, where senior executives are allowed to run their businesses almost autonomously

* Build middle management bandwidth internally to allow local employees to eventually take over entire global business units headquartered from Bangalore

* Have business units focus on large opportunities domestically and in proximate markets like Saudi Arabia and focus R&D efforts on developing solutions for these economies

Hats off to Cisco!

Proto.in: Nominations Open!

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 15:54:00 +0000

Proto.in, India's premier platform for startups is happening in Bangalore on January 23-24, 2009. Founded with the mantra of 'Create, Collaborate, Contribute', proto aims to give India's army of entrepreneurs a platform to share their vision and to showcase a working prototype, for the world to see.

From their site: "Proto.in is the startup event that happens in India, inviting entrepreneurs from within and around the subcontinent to participate, share, discuss and draw strength from the growing entrepreneurial demand and knowledge base that is created, in an effort to create world-class product leaders from the region. Proto is about celebrating entrepreneurship, and encouraging it where it matters the most - at the startup level!

1. To Showcase Innovative technology products borne out of India

2. To Encourage, grow and create entrepreneurial awareness

3. To create a community of startup entrepreneurs, who can grow in strength and numbers, drawing wisdom from each other.

4. To act as a bridge between well-established companies, veteran entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, analysts, journalists, professionals and grass-root entrepreneurs."

Here is how it works: A Judging panel shortlists the companies from the submitted nominations. The companies who make it to the finals, have to sell the idea/concept in a three minute presentation to the audience and may get an opportunity to raise funds from the venture capitals and angel investors present at the event.

More over, there will be presentations and workshops held by distinguished Veterans, successful entrepreneurs and Industry stalwarts who will also share their feedbacks, and interact with the companies. All in all, it is definitely a good arena for the startups to showcase their produts, get some valuable feedbacks as well as visibility and branding for the company.

One interesting concept which they are introducitng at the Bangalore event is the PitchCamp, where startups are mentored how to pitch their idea, keeping in mind the strategic objective behind the pitching.

I would love to participate in Proto.in. There is so much to learn from these energectic and enthusiastic personalities and entrepreneurs that participate.

The nominations for the Jan'09 edition of Proto is open now. The last date for submitting the nominations is Dec 15, 2008.

Mumbai Terrorist Attack Protests: Politicians Change We Need!

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:02:00 +0000

The pictures of the protests held in Mumbai over the devastating terrorist attacks are spreading virally. A glance at these pictures will tell you how pissed off are the Indian public with the politicians in the country.

Indians are Angry!

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: india attack)

This protests sends out a very strong message to the Indian politicians. No more convoluted logics, No more theories, No more hypocracies.. You need to act.. The life of Indians doesn't come cheap. Learn from other politicians in the world - country comes first and then his/her own party... Look at the acceptance speech made by McCain. He said: "From now onwards, Obama is my President. Dear President, Lead us". Hard to think off something like that in India.

No where in the world would you see a person responsible for attacking the Parliament- pinnacle of democracy, the largest democracy in the world, is fed at the government's expense. Indonesia, one of the largest muslim country in the world, hanged the muslim terrorists who were responsible for the Bali bombings. India, is so "secular" that despite its policmen died protecting the parliment, despite the surpreme court ruling, it only sees the religion of the conspirator and protects him. Terrorists have no religion. When will any of the politicians learn that? Surprised? says, Arun Shourie- an excellent article.

Enough of this nonsense. Please do not force us to take weapons for our own safety. If you cannot provide safety for us, we will. Indian politician, we dont know how pathetic you have become. This protests is a warning. Learn from it and Change. Change We Need!

Note: The Mumbai protests have been remarkable with the shear number of people who participated. Bloggers of Mumbai played a big role in it. As Rasmi says, Keep the candle burning. By the way, I really liked slide 11!

A guide to how to pitch your startup to the Venture Capitalists

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 05:21:00 +0000

Alok Mittal of Canaan Partners gives a short presentation that outlines what they as a venture capitalist look for in the pitches by startup entrepreneurs. Although, this might be different for the different VCs out there, it still gives a fair idea about how to structure the communiation you send out to the VCs. It is no secret that the VCs are flooded with ideas daily and it is very important to "pitch it correctly" so as to "hit it correctly".

Canaan Entrepreneur Pitchbook

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: young web)

Mumbai Terrorist Attacks

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:50:00 +0000

I salute those who have laid down their lives while doing their duty to their motherland. I pray for those families who have been victims in this barbarous attacks.

There is a working Google Spreadsheet that can be edited by anybody regarding information about the victims. Please fill it up if you have any information about anybody who was injured and is currently in hospital.

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What do you do if you get Rs. 500?

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:55:00 +0000

From Pluggd.in

Unveiling the new Bharti Logo!

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:05:00 +0000

Watch this video unveiling the new Logo of Bharti Enterprises, owner of Bharti Airtel, India's most sucessful telecom company. (Thanks to Sriram)

Inspiring Stuff! Their vision is to be the finest Indian conglomerate by 2020.

ISKCON’s Akshaya Patra Programme- Truly Enlightening

noreply@blogger.com (Arun M) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:07:00 +0000

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as “Hare Krishna Movement”, has been practicising “devotion to god” ( Bhakti Yoga) for the past 4 decades. They were instrumental in attracting people to the ideals of Hinduism world over. ISKCON runs the Akshaya Patra Foundation – the largest mid-day meal non-governmental organization in the world, which is now feeding over 960,000 underprivileged children daily in over 5,700 schools in six states in India.

From their Website: “The Akshaya Patra Foundation makes a difference in the lives of underprivileged children and their families by evolving a free school meal program in government schools.

The mid day meal program motivates children to attend and remain in school thereby ensuring their holistic overall development. This in turn contributes to a self-reliant, productive society. It is therefore our endeavor to make sure that children continue their education.

It is a proven fact that children who are fed at school display a higher level of concentration, short-term memory and verbal fluency. Also, the drop-out rate is tremendously low amongst children who avail the mid-day meals in schools.

The program therefore plays a vital role in ensuring a better tomorrow, both for the child and the society at large.”

In a detailed interview here at ODE Magazine( reproduced at Huffington Post), Chitranga Chaitanya Das from Akshaya Patra Foundation explains the concept.

Watch these videos to understand the difference Akshaya Patra has been making.

Akshaya Patra in Bangalore

Akshaya Patra in Puri

Akshaya Patra in Jaipur

Akshaya Patra in Vrindavan

Quite Overwhelming!!..... I never knew that we can mass produce Indian breads like chappati without compromising on quality. The scale at which Akshaya Patra operates is just amazing....

This is a best example of how corporates join hands with an NGO to make a difference to the society, thereby to the future of a country. Take a look at the honour roll.

Their USA arm, chaired by Desh Deshpande of Sycamore Networks, runs the "One for One" program where $28 donated to the foundation will provide nutritious meals to one child every day for an entire year.

An excellent cause and an excellent program....