Celebrating Life!!

MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING – WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR!!

2013-01-24T14:05:00.003+05:30

Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is one of the most criticized marketing strategies entangled between legal and ethical issues. The practices that the MLM organizations employ are highly questionable but can we really pronounce these organizations guilt just by mere association to MLM, is to be answered.

We need to analyze a few aspects before arriving at a fair judgment as to whether the organization follows legitimate practices or not.

The Pyramid Structure: Recruitment Driven or Product Based

First, what kind of an MLM scheme does the organization follow? How do they compensate their employees? Are the employees paid to recruit people out of which the organization creates multiple levels of compensation or are do they make money by means of sales alone?

Most of the organizations that follow the MLM strategy are bound to use the former. This is how the model works. An employee who signs up with the firm makes an initial payment, say Rs.2000. He is encoturaged to rope in many more people by word of mouth, encouraging friends and relatives to join the bandwagon. Each person pays the initial payment out of which the first level employee in the pyramid receives a pre-decided percentage, say 10%, which is Rs.200 and the rest moves to the organization. When the second level employee brings in a new person, the first level and second level person receive a share out of the third level person’s recruitment fee. The rest moves in to the hands of the organization. Now, the issue here is we have a fund flow without any sales of any product. This has triggered the question “Are Recruitment-driven Pyramid Structures in MLM legitimate?”

Having had to fight a lot of legal battles in this context, these firms have now moved towards another marketing gimmick, where they have restricted movement of funds which is the prime issue in these legal cases, but have begun loading the person with inventory, which could be used for Sales. This ensures that the employee is washed into satisfaction that he is a beneficiary (as he is just receiving goods valued at the same commission), alongside making money with no real transaction.

Quick Money

Human behavior is always inclined towards making big money in limited time periods MLM strokes this point to allure people into this business. Making quick money with practically no investment lures many more to venture into this arena.

But the same rationality sometimes also backfires on the organization with a huge number turning in being under-qualified leading to more of an uncultivated group which can really not mint money to any considerable extent.

Rocket Pricing Strategy

The pricing strategies these organizations employ are deemed to be ridiculously high, their justification being the extraordinary and superior benefits that their products deliver to the consumer. Interestingly, the difference in prices quoted by MLM organizations and the ones sold in retail markets show a percentage increase of almost 40% - 50%!

Why do these organizations tag their products at such preposterous prices? The commission which needs to be paid to the employee is included as a part of the product’s distribution costs, thereby increasing the product price to the end user significantly. But this indirectly affects the Value for Price concept, one of the most important factors for customer satisfaction. The unreasonable cost compounded with less value for price can only result in narrowing down the market from the general public to the employees alone. Due to this reason, they also need to bring out products that assure repeated purchase by these sophisticated customers.

Fancy requires much; necessity but little

Peter Drucker defines Marketing as, “Marketing is viewing the enterprise from the viewpoint of the customer.”

Any startup organization should look into the requirements of the market they want to target and deliver these products at a price more than the cost at the same time providing value for price which is relatively attractive compared to their competitors.

But in the case of these organizations we are talking about, we need to answer, if not enrolled as a representative with the organization, would these people actually go forward to buy the kind of products they do, given the exorbitant pricing of the products from these organizations? Much of the consumption figures projected by the organization would be the outcome of inventory loading, by which the member is urged to buy a huge amount of inventory at a price which is claimed to be subsidized. Whether these products are really goods of necessity if such marketing strategies did not exist is still a question which remains unanswered!

Commercialization of Personal Relationships

One of the most harmful reactions to the MLM strategy is the commercialization of relationships. It is assumed that friends and relatives are natural prospects for this marketing strategy but this does not always hold true. Personal relations never appreciate being nagged about buying a product. Business entities term this “Networking”. People however would love to hold relationships and business apart from one another as it would only result in strains in the relationship. Businesses and their marketing strategies should focus on the attitudes of people, their perceptions on the product and must respect their personal relationships instead of tending to exploit the same.

Conclusion

Organizations employing the MLM technique have been frantically denying all charges against them, shielding themselves and lobbying for themselves in courts. Though they might like to distance themselves from the Pyramid structure we spoke of, the hard truth is that they do follow this illegal method of making money. It is an arduous task to break something as big as the MLM mafia, but these facets need to be looked into before exploring business opportunities in this arena.

கடவுளுக்குமா தோல்வி??

2011-04-25T09:21:00.000+05:30

நிலவுடன் அவளை ஒப்பிட்டேன்!!

நினைந்தேன் அப்பொழுது தான் -

கடவுள் அழகென படைத்ததெல்லாம்

கிடந்தது பழுதாகவும் பாழாகவும் -

அவளது நிகரில்லா அழகிற்கு முன்னால்!!

ஆஹா!!

தோற்றுவிட்டான் கடவுள் - எனினும்,

வெற்றி கண்டான் அத்தோல்வியிலும்!!

Girl Child - Gentle and Gracious!!

2010-03-12T11:42:00.002+05:30

Cognizant had asked for entries for a 5-line poem competition on "GIRL CHILD" on International Women's Day. Though my poem did not find the favor of the jury, I personally felt satisfied and my friends liked it very much.

Here goes the poem :
C’mon!! Take a bow -
Afore the slender lass;
Whose soothly eyes and tender heart;
Healeth anyone, anytime!
Happily disguising the pain in her heart.
Aye!! We salute thou spirits for aeons,
You little God!!

Time to get back to work!! :) :)

Everlasting love for all,
Vignesh C.

Sachin Tendulkar - Hosannah!!

2010-02-28T19:02:00.002+05:30

The strangest thing about my blog till now is that it does not have a single post on my idol, my inspiration and one of the most important persons of my life. Yeah, it is the one and only SRT - Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. While, it may seem to many as a silly scrap of a post from a Tendulkar aficionado and a Tendulkar fanatic, well I'm not trying to disprove it! :) Yes, I'm a Tendulkar aficionado. I'm a Tendulkar fanatic. And I'm really really proud of it. And I will raise my collars for earning such a name any day, any time! :)

My relation with Sachin dates back to July 25,1993 when I saw the still of an exquisite Sachin cover drive in The Hindu. Since then, The Hindu and Sachin Tendulkar have become part of my daily life. Though I was just 7 years old, something about Sachin attracted me towards him. And I have still not been able to decipher it. Is it the gleaming eyes or the curly hair or the childish smile?? I don't know.. Rather, it is every thing that it is so cool about him :) As a matter of fact, Sachin has been familiar to me more than my friends and there is no doubt in the fact that Sachin has been closer to my heart than them. Sachin doesn't know me. So what? It is that one-sided adulation and affection for Sachin that makes the relationship most endearing and this might be quite enimical too.

Sachin has made me happy; Sachin has lifted my spirits whenever I was bogged down. Sachin has been a source of joy throughout my life. Albeit he has done these with his bat whilst friends do it in person. But that should not take away any credit from Sachin. He has been closer to me than my closest friend, though unknowingly. That's why I said Sachin has been a part and parcel of my life. I have celebrated his triumphs, I have prayed for his successes and I have been depressed when he slipped, much like how we are to our families. Sachin has this unique blend of being in my family as well as my friends circle. And now, it is almost evident that many of you may write me off saying that I have got some mental chemical imbalance, but all that I have mentioned is really true and straight from my heart :)

What is that thing about Sachin that makes him the darling of the masses? He has done the work of a politician - understand people. He has done the work of a social worker - emotional support. He has done what a Bollywood hero must do - entertain. He has done what a doctor does - heal. He has done what we must do - make India proud in everything. Finally, he has done what he must do - amassing and plundering runs at will After doing all these, his humility is something that is a lesson for every person on earth. He has treated ups and downs as impostors. Something, I have been trying to follow really hard.

When people threw heartless obloquies at him when his form slightly dimmed in 2007, he did not yield and did not fade into the oblivion. Rather, he bounced back with a renewed vigor and vengeance. He let his bat do all the talking. That is Sachin. Seldom has he voiced his opinions. He knows that is is his bat which needs to silence the critics. Sachin cannot do a mistake. He never will. Peter Roebuck famously commented,"Sachin can get out cheaply! But he is not capable of playing an ugly stroke!" How true!! He is human!! He will commit mistakes.. But, he will learn from his mistakes faster than the fastest supercomputer. This facet distinguishes Sachin from his fellow mortal cricketers.

Imagine a player with 30,000 runs, 200 wickets, 250 catches, 600 matches is so down-to-earth to mention that his success is not an individual one. I have never seen a person to whom success sits so lightly. Take FedEx. I am not undermining him but he was a little haughty in telling that Britain have to wait to see a Grand Slam winner before the Australian Open finals. True, he overpowered Murray, yet, a slight haughtiness was visible. Tiger Woods, his name lies in the gutters now. Schumacher, we all know that he is famous for taking digs at his co-drivers. Maradona is a legend known for aggression. Pele has his own actions of temerity. Brian Lara and Pete Sampras come closer. But Lara is famous for his friction with the WICB. Sampras is famous for some angry remarks on the on-field umpires. I agree, it comes at the heat of the moment. Still, Sampras has lost his cool a dozen times. I have never seen Sachin lose his cool. Might be once or twice. Again, this aspect is something that I have been trying to follow in my life. :)

I have heard people say that when you wanna describe about someone so close to your heart, words will not flow and lots of emotions will pour in. I was wondering what kind of feeling is that. Today, I realized that. I have written a handful of posts with ease and good speed. For the first time, I have been short of words and I have been taking days to write this post. Because, whenever I start writing something, I go to my dream land recollecting the positive spell that the wizard has cast on me and his great influence on him. Such has been Sachin's dominance on me. Sachin shall live in my heart forever. He will be the closest friend of mine :) And I cannot imagine a day when he will bid adieu to the game of cricket. Guaranteed, that it will be a tearful day for me. Still, I have no doubts that he will be the very same inspiration that he is now. His life is an excellent example that it can be made a lesson in history. Bharat Ratna is something he has deserved long back!! A very long delay. For, no one who have been the recipients of Bharat Ratna have enthralled India so much. Forgive me Mother Teresa, M.S.Subbalakshmi and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. You are all legends. Still, Sachin has equally changed our lives and that too from a very tender age. :)

Sachin Tendulkar has been a household name and no other person has such a fame and following. No one comes a distant fifth, leave alone, second, third or fourth. No amount of thanks will be enough for this little genius. Just tonnes of indebtedness forever. He has all the records in cricket. He even has the record for the most records in cricket. And it is highly unlikely to be broken, Even if it is broken, one record will stand in his name forever. That is - Sachin has scripted the lives of a billion people, he has carried a generation forward and made India proud. And no one can carry the hopes of even part of them. That is one record that is unbeatable and will stand for aeons to come :)

Sachin, enthrall us as always and let your magic spread forever worldwide.

I have seen several breathtaking cricketers, but only one person will remain as the BREATH forever - And that's only Sachin Tendulkar.

Love you loads and love you forever,
Vignesh C.

P.S: As I mentioned, I started this post trying to make it the best post in my blog. But I know I have failed.

Reason: Words don't flow when you write about your beloved.

Inference: This post makes me realize Sachin more. While I am not able to meet my own expectations, I wonder, stand in awe and salute Sachin Tendulkar who has satiated the expectations of a billion people for twenty long years. Whoaa!!! I take a bow!! :) At Sachin as well as from this post ;) ;)

Let joy, affection and love flow everywhere!! :) :)

Coorg - Certainly Scintillating!!

2010-02-11T00:15:00.021+05:30

WHOA!!
Yet another tour embarked!! Joys just got multiplied!! Desperation duly got divided!! Fireworks exploded in our hearts!! Agony of routine forgotten, thankfully!! It's truly a fascinating life. One moment, life seems very monotonous, dull and drab. The very next moment you be with your family or friends, it all vanishes into thin air and we can feel the resurgence of exuberance. Having started 2009 with a terrific tour with family and friends and then succumbing to pressure of work and higher studies, I badly needed a break from the clutches of boredom. This was at this point that we decided to try out Coorg or Kodagu, a peaceful hill station nestled in the eastern slopes of Western Ghats. And slowly, we realized that all our friends were desperate to come out from the shackles of monotony. And it was no surprise that there were a dozen of us ready to go. Republic Day helped us to plan the tour for four long days, and it was very surprising that all 12 of us availed a leave on the same Monday. The above photo was the brainchild of Gokul. He used coffee seeds for that pic :)

WARNING:.This is a real lengthy post. It is not just to share my experiences at Coorg, but to re-live each and every pleasant and fun-filled moment. So, please do not blame me for the unusual length.

This post is for my dearest friends who missed the tour and other very close friends who wanted to see it as a post. So, it is our responsibility to make them live those moments.

Others, you will get bored!! So, you can glance through the titles :)

Ready, get, set, go!!

CHARACTERS: Praveen(Unsung), Rajesh (ST-Don't ask me the expansion!!), Saravanan(Putta), Vairavaprakash(Virus), Ram(Salsa Saamraat :P), Prasanna(Kumbu),Venkat(Singam), Shyam(Lethal), Prasad(CP), Fakkir(Nallavara? Kettavara?:P), Gokul(Silent Killer) and Vignesh C. :)

GUEST ROLE: Kumar(Virus' Cousin, who works for Ericsson in Hasan, Karnataka)

MISSED CHARACTERS(See the below photo): Vinodh Shankar, Sandeep, Kapil, Navin and JB(Sorry, ur foto is missing :P).

[WE MISSED YOU VERY MUCH!! THIS IS ESPECIALLY FOR YOU!!]
(Read this post as if you people were there in the tour :) )

BUBYE, WORK! WE'RE OFF TO SCOTLAND OF INDIA:
Work on Friday, the 22nd of Jan'10 was going good and I had planned well to start early from the office and reach comfortably to catch the train at 9:15. Unfortunately, there was a client call that dragged on and on and on. Murphy's laws work perfectly at these times. :) It was around 7:45-8 that I started from the office.There began the thrill of the tour. Rushing to the Central in autos, buses and share autos, that too with your tummies pleading for some food can be a real painful experience. We reached the station at around 9 and ate at HSB like dogs fighting for a piece of bone. We boarded the Mysore Express sharp at 9:15 and from there, the fun started. We were discussing well over 2 hours about the happenings in each one's lives, we were taking a few snaps and we started off playing cards. The conversations were so animated, so lively and so refreshing that we realized that the clock had struck one only when the TTR pounced on us for not hitting the berths till late night. After taking a light-hearted jig at the TTR, we dozed off to the deepest of slumbers.

1st DAY, 1st SHOW:
The tempo traveler was waiting for us at Mysore. We had a light breakfast and started to Madikeri, the Capital of Coorg district. Thanks to Praveen (The Organizer and Facilitator of this tour, Cheers mate! :)), we enjoyed the movies and songs in DVD's in the bus. It was a joyous ride and the driver was so fast in the hilly terrain that it was more of a roller coaster than a bus ride. We reached the resort at around 12.. It was a charming and serene place. Unpolluted air, unpolluted water, unpolluted sounds and unpolluted people greeted us. It can't get more captivating. We had a quick refreshment and after a nap, we started to Nisargadhama (An elephant and deer park). It was an island with a mini-forest flourishing with bamboos and other cane trees. Spotted deers were a major attraction. The brook flowing nearby added to the scenic beauty of the place and one cannot resist enjoying the heavenly feel and taking a few snaps.

TIBETAN MONASTERY:
The next place we visited was a Buddhist Monastery.or the Golden Temple in Kushalnagar. It was a place noted for meditation. We just acted like meditating opening our eyes 5 seconds once :P The architecture of the monastery was brilliant with exquisite sculptures and the atmosphere was very calm and peaceful. But we were the ones making most of the noise there ;) It was a different experience to see 5 year olds donning the monks attire and we were all discussing about the self control of those children. We then window shopped through the Tibetan shops and this is where ST got a "Very funny! Idiot!" remark from a lady for teasing her in front of her husband :P .. We were all laughing it out the whole night. The entire tour was filled with laughter and joy :) We fought with the hotelier there after he charged us extra. The short and puny Kumbu turned like Vaettaikkaran Vijay and started howling dialogues at him. Though he spoke well, it turned out to a nice episode at the end :) The serious facet of Prasanna was evident there.. Though we made fun of him, a silent admiration was there ;) We returned to the guest house and played a round of cards. We discussed all sorta vetti talk throughout the night and finally hit the bed late late night.

ABBEY FALLS - CASUAL VISIT:
The second day, we woke up a little late, had a nice breakfast and suddenly decided to check out from the first resort. We snapped pics with the cute child of the resort owner. The child was damn cute and refused to come from my arms :) Then we started to Abbey falls, which in itself was like a mini trek. The falls was really cool and it was a perfect photographic location :) We tried out all kinda snaps and all of us scolded for being late :P We were not deterred, though!! ;) At last, heavy bumps made us get back hastily into the van with pain in the back and pleasure in the hearts :P

PRISTINE THALACAUVERY:
Then we started to Thalacauvery - The Origin of River Cauvery that is the source of water for the majority of Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Gokul, till now had not joined us for the tour. He took the train next day and reached Thalacauvery in what was one of the most hectic journeys. He came to Thalacauvery via Mysore, Madikeri and Kushalnagar without rest. Thalacauvery was serenity personified with people performing pujas all around. The hill top at Thalacauvery was stunning with a majestic view of sun rays meeting clouds meeting mountain tops meeting our fingers in the photographs. ;) Then, we started our way to the Mount View resort which is a 2 hour journey and we dozed off only to be welcomed by a resort which was in a no-man's land. In the middle of nothing. I wondered how the resort's owners and families stayed there. It was so lonely; so eerie and so frightening. But since we were a bunch of 12 people, I dint fear much though I dared not venture out in the middle of the night for the fear of snakes and other animals. ;) Some were daring and they had a 30 minutes outing in the dark night.

THE MOST EXCITING PART:
TREKKING THE KABBE HILLS:
TREKKING was one of the most eagerly awaited moments of the tour. In Wayanad, we made a mistake of trekking without carrying our water bottles. We suffered from thirst which we could not tolerate. Learning from our mistakes, we took enough water bottles and sufficient precautions. It was a 2550 foot hill. And the trekking was to last about 5-6 hours. We started at around 7 and we slowly walked chit-chatting all the way. It was a fantastic experience to go atop a hill devoid of human activities and filled with lush green vegetation. The purest of hairs, the distant humming of birds and the hissing of insects and snakes made the trek interesting and invigorating. The clear blue skies, with peaks surrounded on all the sides was an added attraction and as the cliche goes, it was a treat to the eyes. The guide left us behind as we were taking too long for our snaps. We got divided into three groups, the first group followed the guide, the second lagging behind the first by a kilometer and we, the last and the third group were so behind that we could not spot the others. Finally, we reached the summit and after posing for victorious photos as if Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary had scaled Everest, we returned back. Man! Who told ascending a hill was easy than descending? Both were equally taxing with the descending slopes having its own shares of steeply ups. Think deeply, it might even wake up the philosopher in you :) Tired and panting like dogs, we still did not stop taking photos and videos. We sang, danced, shouted and just let go off ourselves into the solitary embalms of the hills. It was fun, fun, fun and fun all the way. :)

CRUMBS OF COMFORT - THE CHELAVARA WATERFALLS:
After the enjoyable ordeal of trekking (What an oxymoron! :)), our limbs pleaded for rest and comfort. And lo! What a better place than letting loose of ourselves in a waterfall? We then reached the Chelavara waterfalls, which is a kilometer drive from the trekking spot. Reaching the waterfalls in itself was like another mini-trek, and with our legs writhing in pain, we snailed our way to the falls. The water was definitely freezing and our senses became numb in a matter of seconds. The chill water which was painful at the beginning slowly became normal, then turned pleasurable and then heavenly. We enjoyed ourselves lying in the waters for about an hour and a half like a herd of buffaloes. After the trekking and a bath at the falls, we were exhausted to the core and had a hearty meal as if we had never seen food before. :)

JUNGLE GYM:
Then came the most thrilling, exciting and challenging adventure of the trip, probably a lifetime :). The Jungle Gym. It was an estate cum adventure area cum coffee plantations. “The Now or Neverland”, as it is called is India’s first outdoor activity centre. An Indo-British joint venture, it comprises of death-defying adventure sports meeting the highest international safety standards. What was more frightening than the gym was the Risk Disclaimer they asked us to sign. A sample: “We are not responsible for your death or any physical infirmity”. As soon as reading these lines, a chill ran down my spine :). But being with a group of 12, I decided to venture boldly. But everyone knew I was frightened and they were cajoling and convincing me to do the stunts without fear. Later, I realized that all had the same fear in them :). Though they were meticulous on our safety, we could not help hiding our fears.

I will tell the various activities we performed. Though it will look simple, the real thrill cannot be said in words. It can only be experienced. Risking our lives is not something you do very often. It could not get more thrilling.

The various activities were :

1. Walking on a wooden bridge between trees.

2. Hanging on to a rope on top and then crossing the two trees using a small bridge which was in the shape of "Z".

3. Walking on a single line between two trees.

4. Walking on double lines between two trees keeping our legs equidistant.

5. Walking on a thin line guarded by nets (Difficult than the previous)

6. Walking on a swinging bridge between the trees.

7. Crawling in a very narrow steps between the trees.

8. Jumping between swings between the two trees. (MARIO Style)

9. Driving a small pulley driven car between the two trees.

10. Hanging on to the rope and a pulley drives us to the top of a tree.

The highlight was once we start, we cannot stop in between. With bated breath and complete exhaustion, we completed the tasks :) We have not even studied with the sincerity that we showed that day. As it was life-threatening :) Climbing the trees and getting down using ladders were the only easy task. Once we were air-borne, it was left to God to save the Pharaohs :P (as we called ourselves) :)

That brings an end to an exciting day of events - the trekking, waterfalls and adventure sports. :)

6 of our friends immediately had a quick dinner and hit the bed. The other 6 of us were playing cards and enjoying when the clock struck 12. That day, being the Republic Day, we immediately planned and woke all the 6 of the sleepers in their dreamland and shouted, "Jai Hind!". It was great to see the puzzling and whimsical looks on their faces, especially Venkat and Gokul :). Then we hit the bed after deep discussions on all the topics in the world :)

DUBARE FOREST AND RAFTING:
The next morning, we packed our bags, bought fresh honey and coffee from the estates for our friends and family, bade goodbye to the resort owner and started to Dubare forest. Most of them were sleeping and remaining were watching the John-Kat-Neil starrer "New York" in the traveller. We reached the Dubare forest. It was more of a place where the fantasy Ramayana could have taken place. Remember thay Ram, Sita and Lakshmana cross rivers, enter the forests and set up a hut and live there. It was a typical example. We decided on river rafting and it was one great experience. At the outset, it looked pretty simple. But once we started, we could realize the real aches that it gave to our limbs. It was thoroughly enjoyable. After taking innumerable snaps, we got off the boat. Next, we crossed the river by walk. The slippery floor of the rivers (because of which I had by slippers attached to the jean loop :P), courtesy blue green algae, it was challenging and at the same time tickled our funny bones whenever someone fell. Having crossed the river, we had a quick look of the forest inside and rushed up back the river as we had a train to catch. A quick lunch followed and we dozed all the way back to Mysore Railway station.

DESTINATION CHENNAI:
Having a mild dinner at Mysore station, we got the Cauvery Express at 8:15 and we enjoyed our ride back home. As usual, we played cards and made all kinda chaos in the train. The co-passengers did not seem to mind our non-stop non-sense and that made us enjoy even more. Playing card and chatting with friends is probably the best way to time-pass. This is the only place where local gossip at workplace meets Obama meets Sachin meets Rajni meets college flashback meets future plans meet innumerable kalaais. Slowly, one by one started hitting the bed as we had office the very next morning. 7 of us were playing cards till 11:30 when Bangalore station came. As we were all hungry, we bought "n" number of Lays, Little Hearts, Kurkure, Bourbons ans Bisleri and started munching it. It satiated our hunger to an extent. Feeling exhausted, we slowly retired to bed and dozed off at around 1. The busy beauty Chennai Central welcomed us and it was in sharp contrast to the peaceful bliss of Coorg. Taking another snap at the Central, we bade each other goodbye and found our way back to our homes, where a heavy and hearty feast was welcoming us. After the meal, I felt like sleeping like a log for hours. But, work called me and with the usual moaning and groaning, I started to the office, where yet another busy day was awaiting me :)

Whoaaaaaa!! I have completed the travelogue, at last!! :)

I wonder if I might have the patience and perseverance again to read this post and correct the inadvertent spelling errors, if any.

For those people who have successfully read this post, a hearty congrats and a thanks ;)

For the rest, it is just a repetition of what I said. It was meant for my friends who missed the tour and other friends who were eagerly anticipating my experiences at Coorg :) Anyway, thanks for the visit.

A very peaceful, heartening and invigorating tour, it was, and with this comes the end to my extremely lengthy but extremely meticulous travelogue :)

Thanks for the patient read. And three cheers to myself for such a long and patient writing. :)

P.S: All along the tour, we calculated the points for the mokkais each of us had put which was the main highlight of the tour. The toppers were Praveen, Virus, CP, Putta and Ram :) The first three were inducted into the "Mokkai Hall Of Fame" as they had their scores in crores. :) They are ready for the podhu maatthu when the entire gang meets again. :) Rajesh and myself escaped as we were the core committee members. ;) ;)

My love to you all as always..
Love you more and more,
Vignesh C.

Simple Moments - Lasting Memories!!

2010-02-08T22:28:00.003+05:30

Many friends have been posing this question. Why is there a huge lull after your last post? It is because of a travelogue that I'm working on. It is about the Coorg trip that we recently went. Going by the length of the post, even I will find it very difficult to read fully. But I'm writing it giving importance to the minutest of things for my friends in SSN who did not turn up and my friends in Cognizant who have been asking me :)

In the meanwhile, like how Goutham is doing a VTV before his next big venture with Ajith, how India toured Bangladesh before its South African challenge, I have decided to pen a small laughable moment at a restaurant in Adyar quickly.

Me along with 5 other friends had gone for a dinner to Sangeetha. The speciality that day was "Maharaja Masala Dosa", "Ulundhai Adai" and "Panneer Gobi Masala Dosa" along with some Sangeetha specials. When we were deciding on what to eat, I asked my friend a recap of the menu. One of my friends was in full flow. "Ulundhai Adai","Maharaja Masala Dosa", "Gobi Masala Dosa", "Rava Dosa", "Paalak Batura", "Poori Masala", "Chola Puri". The menu was told with such ease and speed that even the waiter was amazed. Coz, my friend was a routine customer. The menu was going on for around five minutes. Once my friend completed with bated breath, he looked at me and asked what do you want now?

I replied,"1 Plain Dosa please!!!" ;) ;)

You must have watched my friend's expression there. It was a perfect Kodak moment. All the other friends blurted out laughing as my friend had a dried throat just for a plain dosa :P :P :P. I was thanking my stars that I escaped without getting thrashings from my friends as it turned out to be a hilarious situation. I still feel very sorry for my friend (:P) , who knew the standard dishes I order in the hotels and still tried to persuade me in trying something different :) The timing of the situation was perfect and made it all the more laughable. Such small and simple moments are the ones you cherish for long and make our lives interesting and meaningful :)

Let Love & Affection Floweth Everywhere,
Vignesh C.

Aayiratthil Oruvan - Awry One!!

2010-01-16T12:02:00.008+05:30

Classics cannot be created; they are born. Selvaraghavan has tried to create a classic for the sake of creating one. Though it is a nice storyline, the execution makes us squirm in disgust. All the Selva's ingredients are there but in bits and pieces. It is rather a depressing and demoralizing degradation of Tamilians rather than their glorification. The characters have played their parts well; but the characters themselves have not been etched out well. So, even a fantastic show by Karthi, Reema, Parthiban and to an extent Andrea has not been able to make amends.

At the outset, the movie might seem as one where extensive research has been done. Sadly, that's grossly misleading and dangerous. If you had studied Tamil in your school and college, you could understand that it is just an adaptation of the Aganaanoorus, the Puranaanoorus mixed with the Silappadhigaarams and the Manimaegalais. And I can say this quite boldly as I have been quite interested in these Tamil epics and studied a lot of them. And even that adaptation is a half baked one. The research has been done only by the art director who has designed the palaces and the sculptures quite beautifully. The director has failed miserably once again.

As people speak, it may be a new genre in Tamil industry, but that is not an excuse. Karthi saves the first half with his one-liners and shrewd acting. Though he is just two films old, he shows the class of a veteran. The Parutthiveeran hangover is still visible at places. Reema Sen has got the role of a life and she utilizes it well. But her lip sync and her ancient Tamil are horrible adding to the continuous degradation of Tamil by Selva. A Tamil heroine ought to have bagged the role. And Selva could've cast a new face here. Andrea just fits the bill in first half and in the second, she has no role.

R.Partheeban steals the thunder with the performance of a lifetime. But it cannot stop people from moaning and groaning at the theatres. Azhagamperumal cannot get more irritating than this. Let us come to the storyline. The Indian archaeologists are in hot pursuit of a lost Chola kingdom somewhere in Vietnam where one cannot reach as there are "n" number of obstacles and no one who ventured has ever returned. The "Natraja Shadow and the quicksand" is the only obstacle that is justifiable. The 10,000 snakes from which most of them escape and the 2,000 cannibals from whom almost all of them escape is laughable. Those who appreciate this must then stand up and clap Vijay's waterfalls jump as it is more exaggerated than Vijay's stunt even though it might not seem so. A MGR and Rajni can do such gravity defying and unbelievable stuffs as they are larger than life heroes. Even when Vijay does it, we try to censure him though he is the next mass hero. So, we cannot help but laugh at Reema, Andrea and Karthi when they do this. Selva makes it look believable and thats where the audiences are made fools. And it continues for the rest of the movie :)

Vulgarity in the name of "sentiment" and "carrying the movie forward" has become Selva's forte. A movie, even though it is an art movie or a classic or a blah blah blah, ought to be enjoyed by famiy audiences as well. And is there anyone around who can bet that this movie can be watched with family? Selva just thinks his audiences are fools here. Reema seduces Partheeban to take revenge on the Chola king to save her Pandiya dynasty. But what is the reason for trying to seduce Karthi? No doubt Selva has given quality films, but it is high time he limits the vulgarity in his movies. AMAV, the Venkatesh-Trisha starrer, was the only exception.

Graphics has been miserable throughout the movie. Guess the graphics has been done by MS-Paint ;) And the climax where the Indian Army is led by Pandiya warriors is the biggest comedy among all. The Indian Army has been made a mockery of. Brickbats to Selva here! GV Prakash has given fantastic and hummable songs but horrifying BGM. Miles to go young man! On the whole, Selva's brilliance is visible in bits and pieces. For fifteen minutes of the movie. And I don't think that must be a reason to watch this movie. We can watch the movie once for the performance of the cast. Time to bounce back with more substance for the director!

We can try to project this movie as a Hollywood equivalent flick. That may be done to make ourselves proud. Again, it is just degrading ourselves. Because, if people outside India watch this movie, they'll just laugh and move on!! This is not a movie that makes Tamil movies match international standards. The only thing that can be appreciated is the new genre seen in Tamil. Otherwise, you can afford this movie a miss. And the movie ends with a thodarum!! :) I am not saying Selva must not make a sequel. I'll rather say he should make a sequel as an atonement for this movie and reaffirm his status as one of the promising directors of Tamil cinema.

On the whole, I feel sorry for the producer of the movie who has spent 320 millions for such a flick. Let God save him in getting back the money. Because Selva will escape as he has a history of good films to show and Karthi has a series of good films to bank upon.

Selva is a good director - certainly not in this movie!!

Only people who think that a movie which has a different storyline is the savior of Tamil cinema will appreciate this. They just fall in the trap which Selva expected! :) And Selva need not have dragged Tamil heritage here.

P.S: If there is a disclaimer stating that this is not the "Chola" kingdom of the past, why should he choose the name Chola? Why should he choose tiger as a symbol? He could have chosen the name "Selva" for the tribes, sorry kings and given some other symbol!

Verdict: 2/5.
Tried a huge swing to clear long-off, but caught at silly point :)

Revisiting Childhood!!

2010-01-03T23:24:00.005+05:30

Hello Folks,

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year. Let the new year usher in all fun, joy, peace and prosperity that you desire. I have become well known for writing lengthy but nice posts. And so, I have decided not to fall into an image trap (like heroes :P) atleast for sometime.

I have been reading quite a few novels for 4 or 5 years. The Dan Browns, the Sidney Sheldons, the Robert Ludlums, the Paulo Coelhos and our very own "Masala King" Chetan Bhagats have all become pretty monotonous. Though they have a distinct style, splendid narrations and excellent plots, I cannot help in getting a feel of monotony and I'm really struggling to get over it. Perhaps, I have been bored out. Sorry if my opinions differ.

So I decided to read classics going forward. It has been a great source of joy right from my childhood when we had novels in our English papers. Further, the umpteen books my parents got me from book fairs and stores kindled me in reading more and more novels. But those were up bridged versions. Now, I have started reading those voluminous classics and I bet, it is more imaginative, creative and fun-filled than the recent ones.

Moby Dick, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Fin, all Shakespeare's novels and A Tale of Two Cities are some of my latest (though oldest) reads. I have now planned to read Salman Rushdies, Aravind Adigas and Naipauls. Shalimar, The Clown is one book I would advise you all to read for the pure joy you derive from that book.

I hope my revisit to classics continue for quite a while. The more you read, the more you realize that there are oceans to be covered. Practically, what we have studied till now tends to zero. And what is to be, tends to infinity. Quite a distance to be covered. :) Miles to go before I sleep. But, right now, sleep comes first ;) See you.. Good night :)

With Love,
Vignesh C.

The Triumph Of The Trio - Three Idiots!

2009-12-27T16:57:00.001+05:30

Wouldn't you relish at the prospect of Shane Bond or Brett Lee taking a hat-trick yorking out Sachin, Lara and Ponting? Though Sachin is my favourite, I would still love it for the sheer happiness and joy of seeing these prized wickets falling successively to terrific bowlers. Well, Rajkumar Hirani has done exactly that. He has given three blockbusters as his first three films. Can it get any better for a newbie? The two Munnabhais and now Three Idiots have all been fantastic feel-good films with a right mix of humor, sentiment and message.

Three Idiots is loosely based on "Five Point Someone" by Chetan Bhagat which was a runaway hit by itself. Hirani has commendably modified it and gives us a clean and entertaining package. The cast, more of an RDB cast, was good, not necessarily apt. Aamir Khan, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi, the main protagonists do their parts to perfection, but do they look like college students is something that is debatable. But these thoughts flash only during the first five minutes of the movie. After that, you realize that the trio have literally lived their roles.

Sharmaan Joshi who had proved himself in RDB mixes comedy and sentiment and oozes energy on screen. I wonder why is he not getting those big breaks? He is definitely better than Saif Ali Khan was in his formative years. Madhavan, though portly, carries off with ease and is a pleasure to watch. The costume designer ought to have given more stylish clothes for Maddy. Sharman who is shown poor has better costumes than the rich Maddy. That's one flaw you can watch out for. But the real show-stealer is the man himself - Aamir Khan. Man, he just sets benchmarks each time with his movies and breaks it every time setting it higher and higher. As the intellectual idiot, Aamir does complete justice and the role is more of a cakewalk for him. He carries the movie on his shoulders.

And Three Idiots is just not about the three main people as in other movies. Each and every character is etched out well and each of them deserve plaudits. Bomman Irani a.k.a Virus as the principal of Imperial College of Engineering is perfect. Kareena Kapoor (Bebo) is charming and cool. Not much of a role, though. Millimetre and Chathur Ramalingam tickle our funny bones to the core. The sentiment portion of the film is just apt and you feel for the protagonists, though it gets overboard a little once or twice.

Aamir's pursuit for excellence over success and how he reforms his friends are superbly conveyed. Thanks to Hirani, the director and Abhijat Joshi, the man in-charge of screenplay. The Farhanitrate, Prerajulisation and the Induction Motor principle has a touch of genius and intellect to it. Though one or two comic scenes are inspired by forward SMS's, it is still enjoyable. Hirani's genius is brought out when he names his puppies as Kilobyte, Megabyte and Gigabyte. Almost the entire movie was rib tickling and you can laugh your hearts out :)

The climax, though enjoyable and sentimental was a little artificial. But, in movies you cannot expect 100% logic. So you can exempt it and enjoy well. Only if we encourage such movies, Indian cinema can boast of more and more classics. Else we will fall into the routine "masala" trap. That is not bad. But that should not become the identity of Indian cinema. Take a pack of popcorn, relax and chill out completely. But make sure, you empty the popcorn before the movie starts. Coz, you will spill it laughing your hearts out.. Just enjoy this laugh riot. Its definitely worth the money and worth the time :)

ALL IZZZZZZZZZZZ WELLLLLLLLLLL :)

Verdict : Three Idiots - You would love to join them as the FOURTH. :)

Final Rating: 4.5/5

Onions and Tomatoes - The Simple GDP Tools!

2009-12-26T16:28:00.008+05:30

All these days, I was thinking of onions and tomatoes to cost 15-20 rupees per kg. After a real long time or rather aeons, I went to the market to buy some fruits and vegetables. I was shell shocked on seeing the sky rocketing prices of the fruits and vegetables. I realized my mistake all these years when I refused to eat fruits and vegetables which my parents offered citing the bad taste of those fruits and vergetables which was of course a lame reason for my lethargy and laziness ;)

The post may sound as yet another silly and needless issue. But it is something more than that. How many can afford these steep rises in their basic needs? People like us doing white collared jobs in software and publi sector can. What about the daily laborers, farmers, small shop keepers, scavengers, rickshaw drivers and salesmen? Can they really afford them? When they are not able to afford onions, potaotes and tomatoes itself, how can they dream of apples, mangoes and grapes? We conveniently tend to ignore these facts as we are used to milkshakes and juices almost daily. The common man is again deprived; again voiceless; again adjusting and again cursing himself for his sorry state of affairs. Is this just?

I recently read in a magazine when there was a quote that read like this. Usually Onions make us cry only when we peel it. Nowadays, it makes us cry even when we look at it. I just laughed over the pun and moved on. It was only today that I realized the magnitude of the situation. Our friends who grow these fruits and vegetables are not able to taste the same. Is there any justification for this? Who is to be blamed?

Why is such a pathetic situation prevailing in a country that basically depends on agriculture?

Where have we gone wrong?

Why have we not able to sustain the momentum gained by the Green Revolution started decades ago?

We can conveniently pass on the blame giving ample reasons like bad soil texture, poor seed quality, detrimental climate, poor use of technology, so on and so forth. But aren't we responsible? Shouldn't we have found a Plan B for all these?

Because these reasons do not just pertain to India. It is common all over the world. When they are tackling effectively, where and why are we lagging behind?

This needs some serious retrospection. And it is high time we act.

Corporates, governments and individuals must realize the fact that however the technology makes rapid strides, it should be only for the betterment for the entire nation. Not just to a bunch of computer geeks and gadget freaks.

Wake up, Ind! When tomatoes and onions are by themselves so costly, what's the point in calculating the Gross Domestic Product, Gross Domestic Income and thereby determining our standard of living? When it is so evident that we are reeling in the gutters, why are you using statistics? Isn't it still not evident? Does it really require a Master's at the Harvards, Stanfords, Oxfords and the Cambridges?

We cannot let a land that has been a cradle of civilization to ashes. We cannot see a land that has been made fertile by Ganga, Yamuna, Indus, Brahmaputra and Cauvery get polluted into the Cooums. We cannot let a land where the biggest producers of rice and wheat do not have enough of the same to those who produced it.

Corporates and governments should assist agriculture more, which in anyway is not going to affect their profits. Rather it will help in increasing it drastically.

And we should play a part in this turnaround thereby effecting a collective progress rather than the progress of a single sector.

And we must remember that, we are always dependent on the famers. The vice-versa is not always true.

Jai Hind! :)

The Name Is Bond - Shane Bond!

2009-12-26T07:15:00.001+05:30

A flourishing cricketing career cut short by injuries. Shane Bond, the 34 year old Kiwi quickie has finally called it a day from Test cricket. The killer looks added to his terrific spell of fast bowling endeared him to many. Neither has any Kiwi captured the imagination of so many nor any would be as Shane Bond did. Barring "The Dan". Shane Bond's fairy tale was a typical example of, "I came, I saw, I conquered". Bond has destroyed many a batting line up with his deadly pace and lethal swing.

The fact that his career spanned over 5-6 years, but only 18 tests, stands as a consternating testimony as to how injuries have plagued him throughout the career. Not many bowlers out there have captured the wickets of Sachin, Sourav, Sehwag and Dravid in a single innings. Bond achieved that. The precarious predicament in which he left the batsmen with his inswingers, outswingers and reverse swingers was a sight to watch. He left the batters flummoxed and gasping for breath. A fairy tale hampered by hamstrings and niggles, I would say!

No doubt, even in the 18 tests he played, he asserted his supremacy and he was in the New Zealand's All Time XI Team selected by Cricinfo. When he played, he was the best bowler in the world. Not even Lee. Lee came a distant second. With Bond, NZ won 10/12 tests in the last 5-6 years. Without Bond, NZ won 10/49 tests in the same time. I think this speaks volumes of the dependability that the Kiwis had on this guy.

Bond retiring is a loss not only to the Kiwis, but to the entire cricketing fraternity. Probably, the era of the fiery fast bowling trio is on the wane. Bond has retired. Akhtar shows no chance of a comeback. Lee is almost written off. Bond at his best is every cricketing aficionado's dream and the dream though short was stunning. Hope Bond continues to leave batsmen clueless and enthrall us in ODI's and T20's. Cricket at this stage needs players like Bond.

Let Bond attack the batters.
Let the injuries not. :)

Hoping to see more and more of him :)

Avatar - The Benchmark Just Reaches Never-Before-Seen Heights!

2009-12-25T11:55:00.004+05:30

Every child during his/her kindergarten or primary schooling would have dreamt about a fantasy world where everything is good. pure and unpolluted. And it remains within them forever even though few of them change in higher secondary/college portraying themselves as the thug/bully in their college which very few respect though and which they themselves know is unreal.The rest just keep those childish dreams within themselves and move forward enjoying and accepting what they get.

The AVATAR is a movie in which I relived the fantasy world I had always dreamt of - residing in harmony with nature, living without any worries and making merry always. Even now, I live like that, though ;) The stunning spectacle of the world of Pandora was simply mind blowing. The 3D effect at Sathyam added to the visual treat and never before have I lived through a movie as this one. Excepting a handful of them.

This god-fearing and happy-go-living indigenous people face catastrophe from the GREEDY and MONEY MONGING Homo sapiens from the earth. WE ARE THE VILLAINS IN THIS MOVIE. The success of the movie lies in the fact that at one point we feel sympathetic on the Nevi'im and start detesting the humans for their barbaric act of destructing the peace and harmony of Pandora for the material needs. James Cameron pulls off this coup with complete ease.

Sam Worthington makes a mark as the paraplegic ex-marine as well as the leader of the Nevi'im. His change of mind on seeing the plight of the Nevi'im is smooth and completely acceptable. Zoe Saldana as Neyitri does a fascinating and commendable job. The entire cast is perfect, Even thought the movie goes for 170 minutes, Cameron keeps us glued and entertained.

Cameron has subtly elucidated us the catastrophic consequences of our greed which may lead to the devastation of Earth. He also carries a message of symbiosis where we should share a give and take policy with the Nature. And he does it in his "Oh-So-Cameronian" way. The use of technology has not been more apt and the hard work of thousands of technicians is evident and Cameron has a long list of credits for those technicians at the end of the movie. Hats off to them!

The first half was as captivating as it can get. The second half was equally engrossing but one can feel a "Desi" flavor as Cameron has liberally added a fair dose of sentiment and action. But that in no way hampers the pace of the movie and you continue to enjoy :) The fact that the audience supported the Nevi'im over the humans itself signaled the triumph of the movie in our hearts. And this movie certainly deserves a standing ovation :)

I had the complete satisfaction of reliving my fantasy world and desperately hoped the movie continue for 3 more hours ;) I came out of the theatre completely rejuvenated. The time was 1 A.M midnight and a long and enjoyable, but risky, 25 km drive on the GST Road back home was awaiting me. Yet, I dint think about it as I was cherishing each and every moment and the movie only helped me in dreaming more and more :)

The AVATAR crew deserves all credits and we salute you whole-heartedly. :)

Verdict: If you miss Avatar, you are missing something in your life :)
Avatar is usually associated with a descent of the God from heaven to earth.
This Avatar is the ascent of Man from earth to heaven :)
Exaggerated it may sound, but you will appreciate once you relate to the subtleties and nuances of the movie.

1st half: 5/5
2nd half:4/5
Avatar Team:10/5

Final Rating: 5/5 :) :)

Enjoy whole-heartedly without trying to search for flaws. One or two may be there. But you cannot afford to lose out the enjoyment and the divine joy harping on those flaws :)

The dubbed version of Avatar in Tamil can be given the title "Vaettaikkaran"..

Oops!! We already have a Vijay hit in the same name..

But this is the Real Vaettaikkaran!

So the Tamil title for the movie should be, "ASAL VAETTAIKKARAN".

P.S: Ajith and Vijay would be more than happy to share their titles with this "Movie Of The Decade".

Vaettaikkaran - The Hunter or The Hunted?

2009-12-24T15:22:00.002+05:30

After all the hype and hoopla surrounding Vijay's 49th movie, the movie hit the theatres on Dec 18th. The jokes about Vijay in SMS's, e-mails and magazines was the talk of the town. It also provided the much needed publicity for the movie. Even a two year old child dances at seeing Vijay's foot tapping numbers and very few heroes like him have that mass appeal. Lets see if he has utilized it well.

With the songs already declared a hit, the expectations were soaring sky high. Our team (one of the best BACHELOR's team around with all fun and frolic) decided to watch the movie first day. Ten of us reached the theatres racing our way to Albert as we started late from our office. Our on site co-ordinator was shocked at this risk of ours ;)Nevertheless, we decided to give it a try. And whoa! The opening for the movie was massive and the crowds frenzy with the Ilaiyathalapathy magic.

The movie was the usual commercial entertainer with the hero bashing up all the baddies, romancing the heroine, fun loving child to his parents and playing the sentimental brother role. Vijay was quite convincing in the role and he also struck a good balance between commercialism and over hype in this movie unlike his earlier ventures. Anushka provided the necessary oomph. The fact that she was in the movie only for 7 minutes excluding the songs stands as a testimony to the fact. The villains all played their parts well.

Overall, this movie will be welcomed by all who prefer movies are only for enjoyment. It will have a decent run at the BO too as the Sun Pictures are marketing it vociferously. Its an out and out typical Vijay movie.

Though it might not have hunted down the critics, it certainly escapes getting hunted and it is sure to get added to the list of Vijay hits. And let us hope Vijay gets out of his commercial masala mode from his next ventures.

Verdict: 2.5/5
Puccah commercial entertainer! Beware of Avatar!! It is hogging the limelight!!
The Hunter hunts but does not dominate!

Cynophobia - Will It Ever Vanish?

2009-12-11T00:30:00.007+05:30

As the title may mislead, I assure you that it is not a complicated or brain-tweaking post. It is all about a humorous incident that took place in my street today. And of course, the person who was at the receiving end was none other than the author of this post :)

And coming to the point, Cynophobia is nothing but the fear of dogs. As I entered my street today, a 35 year old gentleman and his 5 year old daughter were having an undisturbed and a peaceful walk at around 9 in the night. Suddenly, a couple of dogs jumped from no where and started its hoarse barking at the three of us.

This sound was strong enough to cause anxiety and fear in the minds of the pretty little child as well as in the minds of the tall and handsome young guy ;) ;) Yeah!! That's me..:) :) Jokes apart, I started trembling in fear and involuntarily clutched the hands of the little girl. The man started laughing at my fear and the child gave a puzzling look and to my amazement, started smiling at me.(Mind you, it was not laughter. It was a smile :))

Having got embarrassed, I blushed and escaped from the place reassuring myself that I was brave enough at all places except when seeing a dog :)And after thinking of the events once again, I laughed at my own CHILDISHNESS :)

True, child is the father of man. There is always a childishness in every person and we are afraid to expose it :)

I'm probably one among the very few exceptions :)

P.S: As I returned home and switched on the TV, I saw "Laesa Parakkudhu" song from "Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu" where the ever cute and dazzling Saranya Mohan clutches the hero's palms on seeing a dog :)I was just laughing my hearts out at Saranya Mohan's fear for dogs too :P

It's a co-incindence!! Damn it!! :) :) Happens!! ;) ;)

Hopenhagen - Lets Go Green!!

2009-12-07T22:54:00.005+05:30

As the media and the news channels go gaga over the climate conference at Copenhagen with each country boasting of reducing its per capita carbon emission and trying to escape the wrath of the globe by projecting themselves as "go-greeners", it is clearly evident that the larger picture is much more complicated than that is projected.

With due to respect to the likes of Al Gore and R.K.Pachauri who have been the catalysts in creating this climate awareness, I would obdurately stand by my opinion that the developed nations haven't done anything concrete till date.. The fact that Barack Obama has consumed 400 times more carbon for his visit to Denmark for a day than a common Danish man consumes in his month speaks for itself and a deeper retrospection into the effectiveness of our policies is needed. The Boeings, Limousines and other security for Obama and his team have warmed up the globe further.. :) No offences to Obama of course. For, he has been a man with great sagacity and greater perspicacity..

India, in spite of the inside tussle between the team and the ministers, has projected a decent plan and one hopes India adheres to it without bending too much to the pressure from other nations.. Though the per capita emission from India is likely to reduce drastically by 30%, the total emission is likely to increase.. Though inevitable, still we can think of greener solutions to it..

Having said so much about the nations, we must not forget the fact that each and every action of ours will have a great say in maintaining the ecological balance. Right from switching off our monitors, using bio degradable items instead of plastics and using public transport wherever and whenever possible, we can do many such small things which will ultimately benefit our future generations.. And our legacy may inspire thousands of others too saving the earth from becoming extinct..

Lets "Hopenhagen" and reaffirm our pledge to go green!!

Its not in doing less things that we'll positively impact the world.. It's in doing things differently that we can tackle the current scenario..

You remain cool and also let the world to!! :)

Not a bad idea.. Is it? ;)

Wayanad - Soul Soothing!!

2009-12-06T23:57:00.014+05:30

After joining Cognizant, this is my third post.. Wrote 3 posts in 12 months.. Pretty low strike rate ;) I do npt want to give any lame excuses citing hectic schedules or mind breaking codes or so on. It is pure lethargy and my aversion towards computers after sitting (staring) for 12 - 13 hours per day..

To break ourselves from the shackles of monotony, the RDB gang sans a Soha Ali Khan(as we call ourselves) decided to embark on a tour to any hilly terrain for rejuvenating our drained minds. And what a finer place to choose than Wayanad??? Having decided on the location, we had little troubles in booking accommodation etc., thanks to Kapil.. Booking the tickets was taken in charge by Praveen and Navin. All we had to do was just pack our bags to enjoy ;) ;)

As we proposed this idea, almost everyone were interested in the tour to our surprise.. That's when we realized how these companies have trapped us in its vicious tentacles.. But I have to accept the truth here.. My company is not as demanding or pressurizing as I have projected.. Instead, I am one of those rare few who are enjoying their stints at their companies. In tat way, I am greatly blessed.. Very close friends (something u don find in a software organization), very nice team mates and somewhat nearer to home too..

Lemme come to the tour.. Me, Praveen, Venkat, Navin, Kapil, Gokul, Prasanna, Rajesh, Shyam, Vairavaprakash were the ones who went after Ram, CP and Fakkir backed out at the last minute due to their official duties. JB was away in Mangalore.. Saravanan was away for an on-site assignment in Orissa :P.. Vinodh Shankar couldn join as he had a very important exam scheduled on that day.. Tough luck! Good Friday came as a lucky break for us.. As usual we went running to catch the train after working till 5:30 at the office.. Thats wer the thrill started. Shyam, Venkat and Navin were not sure if they would make it, thanks to the ever heightening traffic at Mount Road. We settled down in the train amidst the chaos & congestion and started relaxing ourselves. Most of them were pretty tired and we all fell into naps inadvertently..The train reached Erode at 2 and we got down.. Till now, the tour was sort of a low key affair with not much enthusiasm. The sky soaring spirits which is the brand name of our gang was sorely missing..

It all started after this.. We hired a traveler from Erode to Sulthan Batthery (Wayanad).. Thanks to Navin.. It all started with some kutthu songs played in the bus and our feet were tapping violently to these numbers for an hour!! At 4 in the morning, we stopped by a tea shop and almost emptied the entire shop!! Then we dozed off after hearing to real melodious numbers dreaming and dreaming ;);)!! It was around 11 when we reached Wayanad.. The lush green scenery welcomed us.. And whoa!! It was really fantastic.. Serene and stirring!!

Our resort was located in a perfectly picturesque place.. A huge open space filled with grass and tress and in the midst stood our resort.. The resort looked majestic.. Then we unwound ourselves at the resort for a while.. After a sound sleep, some pranks and a never ending photo session, we kick started the tour with EDAKKAL CAVES. We hired two jeeps (We could have never imagined a trip without these jeeps) to Edakkal!! Sugarcane juices and cowboy hats greeted us.. After that we trekked our ways to the top of the caves. It was thoroughly enjoyable.. The view atop was breathtaking. Sunlight trying to creep in between the rocks of the cave was as lovely as an innocent child trying to stealthily take a chocolate. Then we posed for Naan Kadavul stills atop the rocks! We all tried out really really funny things and thinking of those things, I'm laughing my hearts out now.

Then we returned back to the guesthouse. The food provided there was fantastic and the hospitality of the people there was gratifying.. We ate to our tummies' fill and then played cards, dumb charades, antakshari, so on and so forth.. Also had a photo snapping session.. Then we all retired to the bed and had a cozy sleep under the warmth of the blankets in the chill climate.. We had planned to start the next day at 8.. And as always, we all woke around 9 and again as always, I was the last one to wake up after people hit me hard to make me awake..

Then came our fantastic trekking experience.. We all started to Chembra peak in the jeeps..It was a forty kilometer ride from our guesthouse.. Pretty unforgettable for Rajesh ;) ;) [Censored here :P] We reached the foot of the Chembra.. Tea plantations and pepper trees along with other "Acer ginnala","Aloe barbadensis","Euonymus bungeanus" etc etc. whose names we dunno greeted us :)And the guide just like that told it was a 2750 metre peak and we had to climb all the way up And we came there just with 2 litrs of water bottle.. Naanga apdiyae shock aagittoam :P :P

Unfazed, we embarked on the trek with a never seen before bravado.. ;) Prasanna was our inspiration here :P :P We climbed amidst all the bushes and trees.. It was quite tiresome. But as we chatted all the way up, we did not feel it. The slope became steeper and steeper and we were panting like dogs.. We were fighting out for de 2 liters of water, but did not forget clicking photographs all the way.. We reached about 2100 meters when we were welcomed to a stupefying view of the lake atop the peak.. The shape of the lake was exactly as that of human heart and it was mind blowing.. The guide told us here was where all wild animals would be drinking water from.. Still, the waters were as pristine as it could get.. We just dropped on the shore of the lake like dead ducks.. After a small nap on the shore, we reached out to the end of the peak where the view was amazing and so scenic that it will linger in our minds forever.. We then climbed down, which was a bit riskier than climbing up.. We managed to finish the trekking well under 5 hours.. But we were late for the lunch and the hotel tested our patience by making us wait for fried rice and curd rice for an hour :) Some of us, already hungry, got a packet of bread and started eating it.. I have never relished a loaf of bread so much in my life.. Thank God I got at least that.. Then we enjoyed ourselves at the Pookode lake.. Went for boating.. Enjoyed the super sunset from the lake.. Then we went to a viewpoint only to find the view blocked by high mist and fog:) Again came back to the guesthouse, had a sound sleep and refreshed ourselves.. I can understand that I am shortening all the lines but I have been typing quite a lot.. So even though, the flow is there, I am hurrying up in order to hit the bed soon..

Ooooops.. I have typed so much.. Yet the most exciting part of our trip has not been covered.. My fingers are already aching.. Still I'd continue.. We then started off to a SAFARI.. Not the kind where you are inside a closed jeep waving hands to animals like you do to a two year old :). An open jeep safari in the open forest when the clock strikes twelve.. It was the Kerala-Karnataka border and we were venturing into the the exciting Bandipur Forest.. The safari was as thrilling as it can get.. We were standing at the edge of the jeeps and were all concentration personified in looking for any hint of a movement from the animals in the forest.. The highway was in the middle of the forest.. The eerie silence that prevailed made the safari more haunting and made us more daunting ;) ;)

The jeep drivers kept us in awe as they identified the animals from no where.. By the slightest movement of the animals they figured them out and we just kept staring at the darkness :) At last, we saw to see 30-40 deers grazing gently in the open field.. As the headlights were off, they were grazing peacefully.. As soon as we turned on the headlights, they ran as if they were being chased by a dozen lions ;) [Not us though :P] We understood how man has intruded in the peace and harmony of the forests.. As the clock kept ticking well past twelve, the chillness and the eeriness kept growing.. Suddenly, we were greeted by a couple of wild elephants.. My God, what big tusks they had.. The driver, sensing danger if the elephants spot us, reversed the jeep with eye-blinding swiftness and agility (Guess, they were in the league of Jonty Rhodes and Robin Singh ;)). We saw jaguars and sambhars on the way back and then reached the resort at around 2.. With immense satisfaction, we retired to bed only to know that we had to get up at 5 to go to the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary to see tigers and wilder elephants :P

As is the wont, we woke only at 6 and rushed to the sanctuary as we will not be able to see the animals in the hot sun.. There we had a glimpse of deers, elephants etc etc.. But we missed out on the tiger as it had just crossed us.. We knew it because the guide and the jeep driver showed us the fresh footprints of the "King Of Cats".. We lamented at this blink-and-you-miss chance. Then we came again to the resort..

Wait.. Still the post is not over :) Then we started to the Kuruva Dweep or the Kuruva Islands.. A delta formed on the Kabini river, we had to ferry across the river to reach the island.. It was so romantic and serene.. Unaffected by human advancements, it stood as a testimony to the fact that whatever skyscrapers we people build, we cannot add life into it.. But the Kuruva had so much life in it even though people were not there.. Such is the beauty of nature.. We dived into the river and enjoyed for about two hours,splashing water at each other, beating each other under water and sitting in the river like a herd of buffaloes ;) Then we returned to the resort, packed our bags, had a filling meal, thanked the guide, jeep drivers and the resort owner profusely and started to Kozhikode station to board the train to Chennai.. Played a couple of games of cars and we were so worn out that we all slept off very soon.. Woke up to the scorching sun and realized we were back to Chennai..

All had to rush back to the monotony of their office works, while I had time to bask in the glory of our trip as I had taken an extra day off.. The tour was really invigorating and provided the much necessary stimulus to make us work for another 6 months.. Meanwhile, I also planned some tours with my family and so company is getting less stressful for me ;)

And writing this post was again special as I had the wonderful opportunity of recollecting those joyous and happy moments.. Looking forward to have more such unforgettable memories.. Though I might have wrote this post 7 months after we went, the memories are still afresh in our minds.. And this is not going to stop..

Because....
We have already booked our tickets to Mysore,Coorg and Mangalore.. :) :)

Coming this January :) :)

Fun, fun and more fun is the simple mantra :)

The Elections - 2009

2009-05-17T09:41:00.012+05:30

The Indian Lok Sabha elections has come a bolt from the blue to almost all sections of the people. All were expecting a nail-biting finish and were eagerly preparing for the post electoral coalition drama that usually prevails after every Indian election. But that was not the case to be. The United Progressive Alliance convincingly won 256/543 seats and Congress being the single largest party. The National Democratic Alliance were visibly disappointed at this clear mandate and they have to sit out in the Opposition for another five years as this Congress led UPA government is all set to be a stable coalition.

SINGH IS KING is the new mantra everywhere with most of the leaders acknowledging the fact that his honest and fair political image had a larger say in the showing in spite of the ever rising prices and some cold blooded terrorist attacks that caused a chill in the spine. But we cannot transfer the blame entirely on the government as they tried their part. Not every government can be 100% and so was this.

Rahul Gandhi with his bold decision to go it all alone in Uttar Pradesh paid off in more than one way with the Congress grabbing 21 seats, a huge number that was not even predicted in the wildest of dreams. A party which won just a single seat in 1998 LS in UP had a lion's share of the voters bank this time. But the decision to contest alone bombed in Bihar with the Congress getting not more than two seats and the Bihar heavyweight Lalu getting around the same numbers. Lalu was graceful enough to accept that going into the elections without the Congress turned out to be a big blunder. Will Lalu be inducted in the cabinet? This is something which is in the hands of the top management of Congress.

The youth face of the Congress have virtually turned the tide round for the Congress in a commendable way. Rahul Gandhi virtually pulled off the impossible in UP. Rajasthan topped the charts with Sachin Pilot leading the way not to forget Omar Abdullah's services in Jammu And Kashmir.The Left has put off its worst show in West Bengal in 40 years able to pull it off in just around 15 seats. Kerala was no exception for the Left. It was a white wash which very few predicted.

In Tamilnadu, the DMK + garnered 28 seats with the AIADMK + winning the remaining seats. It was a very close contest for PC and T.R.Baalu who scrapped through at the end in their respective constituencies. PMK pitifully lost in all the seven constituencies they ontested.Some of the notable heavyweights to lose out were Vaiko, Mani Shakar Aiyar, EVKS. Elangovan, Renuka Chowdhury, Mahesh Jeth Malani, Bangarappa and Ram Vilas Paswan.

The NDA had itself to blame after the spate of scathing verbal attacks on Manmohan Singh which were not acceptable. Varun Gandhi played a tremendous spoilsport after his "HATE" speech against the minorities. The party leadership was very graceful in defeat and attributed the defeat to the absence of a seasoned campaigner in A.B.Vajpayee. The NDA has told that it will act as a responsible opposition and this is a healthy sign for the future.

Congress extended its dominance over Andhra Pradesh and BJP scripted a sensational win in Karnataka. Chiranjeevi and Vijayakant were effective in splitting the vote banks and they still have a long way to go in pursuit of power. Overall, the elections in India were peaceful and democratic with rare cases of stray violence.

Let us hope that UPA lead us sensibly in this turbulent economic scenario and works really hard for the welfare of the country. Let us also wish that NDA and Left work as a perfect Opposition with its constructive criticism that will help the country in moving at a real good pace to catch up with the developed nations.

After all, it is not a matter of who is winning at the end..

It is a matter of the progress and growth of 1 country.. 1 billion people..

Miles to go before we sleep..

Jai Ho!!

ARR Lives An Indian Dream!!

2009-05-15T22:43:00.003+05:30

Though I may be the last to sing hosannas on the Mozart Of Madras - Allah Rakha Rahman grabbing the Oscars, I strongly feel that there is no time frame to write about the adoration I have for Rahman. Whoaaa!! What a long road he has traveled before reaching the ultimate destination that anyone in the film fraternity could dream of!! Bur ARR is the one who is not going to get saturated!!

I have seen a lot of Sachin in Rahman and vice-versa. Their humility, dedication and down-to-earth attitude have always enamored me.. My love for these geniuses just keeps on growing day by day.. Even if they seem to lose steam occasionally,I find a touch of elegance in tat too.. ARR is not the one who is going to sit and relax after the Oscars! According to me, sky is the limit for him. But according to Rahman, maybe, sky is yet another destination.

Slumdog Millionaire, as many have pointed out, is not necessarily the best of ARR compositions. His Roja, Bombay, Taal, Swades, Lagaan, Vande Maatharam, Bombay Dreams, Jodha Akbar and Rang De Basanthi, to mention a few, were far better in quality. But as ARR pointed out, Slumdog was equally challenging as that was the maximum anyone could do for that complex and intriguing script and ARR has done full credits to what was expected of him.. We must not underrate his Slumdog as that was what which took an Indian to glory on the glittering Oscar stage.

The speech in which he thanked his mother and his gratitude to God in Tamil were something which really moved everyone.. Not many are there who would prefer to speak in their mother tongue.. There are many so called dignified people in metros who look at us in a degrading manner even if we inadvertently blurt out in our mother tongue. This is a lesson that these haughty people must learn from the legendary music pioneer..

The music director was so poised and carried himself so gracefully when he mentioned that he was a mere messenger sent by God to receive the Oscars on behalf of MS and Ilaiyaraja.. Now how many would do that?? Or what was the need to do that?? The fact that he struggled in his early childhood and how he slogged to carve a niche for himself makes his achievement all the more laudable.. His love for his parents, wife, children and God was pretty much evident in all his speeches.. Now there is one of the very few in the film fraternity who has balanced his personal and professional lives with utmost perfection. A lesson his contemporaries must definitely learn.

Now that Oprah Winfrey has decided to interview the genius in India has come as a shot in the arm. Indian tourism is expected to amass large profits by this.. ARR has unwittingly become the face of Modern India and it is really good to have such a gentleman to be an Indian icon as it will certainly enhance Indian reputation abroad.. We hope Rahman balances his Hollywood ventures equally with Bollywood and Kollywood not disappointing his home fans.. But Rahman has, more than once, reassured that he will continue to stay in Chennai and compose for us.. Raavan and Endhiran are keenly awaited..

Rahman is treading a path that very few Indians have ventured in.. The zooming heights, the ever rising popularity and the huge expectations from his fans can slightly be threatening and mind sapping.. But definitely not to this musical wizard. The road may be replete with difficulties and hardships. But Rahman will overcome in his own way.. Not fussing too much and treating them as yet another test God has posed to him.. Long live Rahman!!

Jai Ho!!

Let his music continue to enthrall us for at least another century!!

It maybe greedy!! But still I don think its wrong!! :)

Do We Respect All? - An Heart Aching Episode

2008-11-29T17:39:00.008+05:30

I was travelling from Saidapet to S.R.P Tools to meet a friend in 19B MTC after my CAT show on 16th November at noon. It being a Sunday, there was a heavy crowd of people who were returning to coastal places like Mamallapuram, Kovalam etc etc after their brisk fish business in the morning. U all know how fish baskets stink. I was standing in the foot board with the highest levels of tolerance :)But my tolerance levels seemed minuscule when compared to those ladies who were holding their babies in the hands and the men who were trying to balance their huge baskets. It was a Herculean task within itself. Thanks to the occasional breeze, I was able to breathe and the journey was quite peaceful and I was enjoying trying to comprehend the Tamil slang in which those fishermen folks were conversing. But believe me I could not make out head or tail of their conversation.

The bus now came to the next stop Anna University. It took 20 long minutes to travel from Saidapet to Anna Varsity. There two engineering students whom I believe fell in that so-called true love and all that made-for-each-other crap. They were in the typical urbanized style with those AXE, I-Pods, N-95's etc etc. The girl as is the wont started complaining about the fish smell and the people to her always-saying-yes-to-everything boyfriend. More the number of stops, more the people. One of our fishermen friend who had absolutely no space to stand requested that arrogant, metro culture spoilt girl to go near the ladies seats and stand. She shot back and told him to mind his own business. The elderly person was 60 and this girl was barely 20. I was shocked at this reckless attitude and was more shocked to see the boyfriend looking at the gentleman in a manner that he was ready to pound him.

Worser things followed. The elderly man after a few minutes was virtually struggling to stand. In order to evade from tripping on to the girl keeping in mind the decency factor, the gentleman fell on a 35 year old man who was sleeping in the bus. Immediately the 35 year old man sprang up and started abusing him with filthy words. All these for trying to be decent!!! While our Romeo boyfriend was conveniently enjoying with his girl forgetting the fact that it was a public place.

I was disheartened to see this disgusting attitude among people. A 60 year old man who had set a benchmark for the highest levels of decency was abused just because of the fact that he was a rustic dhoti-wearing simpleton and the guy who was having intricate stuffs was left free. Shouldn't he be scolded or at least advised? Why was he let off? Was it just because he looked decent because of those jeans, T-Shirts and I-Pod's? Why was the girl not reprimanded? Why was the elderly gentleman rebuked? Just because he wore torn clothes or smelt bad? That is because fishing is his life. How can u judge so wrongly based on these insignificant parameters?

This is the misconception among most people. Those wearing T's, Jeans and having costly accessories are branded as dignified while those wearing torn clothes, slogging for their daily bread are being suspected or labeled as not-so-dignified. This attitude must change immediately and all must be treated as equal. Because of the simple reason that ALL ARE EQUAL. India, being the largest democracy must assure its citizens of equality and impartial treatment. Or else this can lead to serious implications in the near future by planting seeds of hatred and jealousy among the people. We must nip these differences at the bud level to make a stronger and a more united India! Jai Hind!

Bachchan And Blogs - The Big B's!!!

2008-10-09T01:12:00.006+05:30

My recent passion - the blog has kept me hooked before my system for 24*7.. From reading only the blogs of friends, I have started to read the blogs of unknown strangers. It is really astounding ,sometimes humbling and sometimes inspirational to learn that there are so many people around you so talented, so expressive and so much to offer to you without any introductions. I wholeheartedly thank such bloggers who have indeed enlightened and entertained others even without their knowledge.

With due respect to Wordsworth, I would like to add that in addition to poetry, blogging is also a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings that takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility. Having said so much about blogs, I have got a small regret on quite a handful of bloggers including myself. Though it is always correct to express whatever we think, we people miss out on certain small factors. I am not blaming anyone! It is just my interpretation.

Coherence is one aspect that is seriously missing in most of the blogs. Though what people express through their posts are spot on, they lose valuable points when it comes to writing coherently. I myself have found this to be a major handicap and I am putting in all my efforts to overcome it. Think I have started writing my recent posts more coherently than the previous ones.

The next point I would like to put forward is the use of language. Many people are tendentious in the fact that a post with the most flowery words and "Shakespearean" language will convey their feelings the best and will win over people. I vehemently oppose this stand. A post is more effective when it is simple. That does not mean it should not have a strong vocabulary. I am just trying to convey that we should not try to insert "WORDS" for the sake of doing it.

As I said previously, these are just just small errors most of us invariably and unintentionally commit. For there are not many who could express their views as we do through our blog.. So we can be proud of that fact.. :)

And I would like u to tell you the blog where I saw this coherence and perfect usage of vocabulary co-existing with one another. It was that of the legendary Amitabh Bachchan's. The simple way in which he has expressed his opinions and the effective usage of words are something which I would like to learn from the Big B.. And I am flabbergasted at the thought that he has written his posts for 170 days continuously and still going strong. And now that's one thing I would like to follow in his footsteps. I hope you people will also love his blog. If u haven't read it, please ensure that you read from Day 1. It will be rocking!

See http://www.bigb.bigadda.com

Now there's one of the true inspirations! And that's from the Big B himself!

Cheers! :)

The Born Fighter - Sourav Ganguly !! Saluting A Legend!

2008-10-07T22:53:00.006+05:30

And the era of one of the greatest batsmen in history has come to an end. Dada has announced his retirement from cricket. Sourav Ganguly is one rare of a kind who dares to call a spade a spade. He was perhaps the first Indian captain to instill the self belief that they have in them to become invincible. After WC winning Kapil Dev and to an extent Azharuddin, India lacked that leader who can motivate his players on and off the field. India was experiencing a turbulent period where they ended on the losing side even to the less fancied teams. Even the greatest batsman Sachin Tendulkar could not tilt the tide in favor of India. After the maestro relinquishing the captaincy, the onus fell on “Dada”.

The captaincy was not given to him on a platter. It was a period when India had been rocked by match fixing scandals and when Azhar and Jadeja had their ignominious exits. Also Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh had retired and the situation was too horrible to comprehend. Sourav did not get bogged down by these and he handled the situation with such an ease and grace that is rarely seen of a new captain. Perhaps, Graeme Smith was the next such skipper. The most striking feature of Sourav’s captaincy was the fact that he relished his role. The Bengal Tiger had that realistic zeal in himself to prove and succeed on the big stage. He must be credited with discovering and harneesing the talent out of the younger breeds the likes of whom are Sehwag, Zaheer, Yuvraj, Kaif, Harbhajan and even the current sensation Dhoni.

Sourav can always be proud of the fact that he formed an entire team that was only slightly short of INVINCIBLE. It can be proven from the fact that we are the only team to have given the Aussies a run for their money and reputation both at home and abroad. This is a fact none can take away from him. The fact that he led India in most number of Test matches and inevitably the most number of team wins clearly tell the indomitable will he possessed. The daredevilry, aggressiveness and speaking-truth-in-front-of their-faces attitude attracted both admirers and critics. He made sure neither success went to his head nor failure into his heart. These traits clearly are an indicator of his supreme levels of success he had during his tenure as a captain.

Now coming to his breathtaking display of attacking batting, it is not often we see a batsman accumulate 18000 runs. And he is only the third to have 10000 runs,100 wickets and 100 catches in his kitty after Sachin and Sanath. Very few people have achieved this feat and I really salute the great warrior. When coming to his batting, what everyone remembers is his flamboyant drives through the off side. That’s why he is perfectly christened as “The God of Off-Side”. By the way who could forget the huge hammerings he gave by dancing down the track to almost all the bowlers he faced. At any moment it was sheer pleasure for the spectator. He has not spared even a single spinner I guess. His sixes of Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Saqlain Mushtaq were so fascinating to watch. Though some critics say that he has a weakness in facing short balls, he compensated more for that with his elegant short selection. As I said, the statistics speak volumes of his achievements. And who could forget the terrific opening partnerships he had with Sachin. They gave nightmares to every bowling attack in the world.

Whatever he has done to the cricketing fraternity will be remembered forever. I feel that if Sourav had played for any other country, probably, he would have been the greatest sport star of that country. Unfortunately we had Sachin Tendulkar here. I am in no way underestimating Sourav’s caliber. I would say he and Dravid definitely missed out some more accolades that they so richly deserved. But that always happens in life. To have watched such a terrific trio in action was definitely fantastic. Ganguly leaves behind a huge void that definitely will take some time to be filled. Though there are some promising youngsters in sight, we cannot fill up a “Ganguly” spot for sure so easily.

The air of charisma that Ganguly has carried with him and the respect he has commanded from teammates and oppositions alike are something which must be tried to be emulated by any aspiring cricketer. It really pains me to think of cricket where I can no longer see those cover drives and sixes. His strategic field positions, his aggression on the field and composure off it, his emotional strength are something everyone will miss. Because there are not many who have become the second highest scorer after making a comeback. He was the second highest run scorer in the world after Jacques Kallis and the leading scorer for India in 2007. That was what I said about emotional strength. It is the perfect COMEBACK, something we have not witnessed in any sport excepting the legendary Lance Armstrong. And for his stature he definitely deserved a fiiting farewell.. Those standing ovations, those tears and those hugs from his teammates.. He richly deserved everything of those.. As I type these sentences my eyes turn moist.. Thats what Ganguly has been to us.. A Hero in every sense.. And Ganguly has chosen the perfect occasion, though I think its at least a year early.. But no one knows Ganguly better than himself.

And I hope these eyes will also turn moist when Sachin, Dravid and Kumble retire.. But Dada will always be special for he is the first to exit the cricketing scene gracefully!!

So it really pains me to miss those special Dada moments….

Those nail bites on the field...
Those shirt take offs…
Those blinking eyes while batting.
Those elegant shots.
Those aggressive captaincy..
Those encouragement to youngsters.
Those “Never Give Up” spirits.
Those infectious celebrations after taking a wicket or a victory.

Everything I will miss...

Dada, You will remain in our hearts forever..

Let the Maharajah Of Cricket have a peaceful retired life and let his invaluable services to Indian cricket continue forever and ever..

Love U Dada..

U people have been part of my lives!

And u ll remain so!!

No Smoking!!

2008-10-06T22:38:00.008+05:30

I feel really elated to hear this news! The ban on smoking in public places! And Wow! What a beautiful article in THE WEEK! But I would like to put forth my views! A real good move that might go in a long way in preventing the society from many evils. Kudos to Anbumani Ramadoss for bringing this into effect. That too on Gandhi Jayanthi. It requires real bravery to bring such a ban on smoking.. As good things always have criticism, this ban has also attracted its own share of detractors especially from the Bollywood and Kollywood fraternity.

I was really happy that SRK has voiced his support towards the ban though he had not promised he would quit smoking.. :)Thats de main problem with addiction.. You tend to give up a habit after rigorous efforts and unbelievable levels of mind control.. But on seeing an old mate with a small puff or a small bottle of beer u r pushed back into the trap with a renewed vengeance of continuing it forever! The slide downhill is always the easiest, be it in life or smoking, but it ll definitely lead to hell. Am seriously sincere and sincerely serious in these words! IT WILL DEFINITELY LEAD YOU TO HELL!

But I have 0% rights on commenting about people who smoke as its their individual prerogative to smoke or drink or whatever they like to do. We cant mend people just by law alone. U cant stop a diabetic person from eating sweets or restrain a young lad with eye power from watching tv or computers. It lies in their willpower. Similarly, (though the comparison might seem unfair) we cant always keep a check on the smoker.

But this ban protects the non smokers more than the smokers. And thats what i like in this ban. It does not say, "Smoking Is Illegal! A person who smokes in India will be jailed" or any such crap! It clearly states, "Smoking In PUBLIC PLACES is banned"! Thus it provides a sigh of relief from the cigarette smoke which I assure most of the non smokers detest. And I was shocked to hear passive smokers have 75% of hte risk tha smokers have.

This ban does a world of good to the kids! When children do not see their elders smoking in the middle of the road, the probability of these kids getting into the smokers' lobby is very less.. [As children are the most impressionable of all..(These points I put forth assuming that parents do not tend to smoke in front of their children in their houses! :))] From these points of view I wholeheartedly appreciate the ban and I salute the Health Ministry as a whole! Because if I congratulate the health minister alone people may twist it as a supporter of a particular party and make this whole serious issue of health as politics!

Because as adults it is our duty and responsibility to guide our next generation. They may or may not heed to our words. But we should always be in a position to help them differentiate between the good and the bad. And that will definitely go a long way in shaping their destiny and their future which in turn decides the state of our society and ultimately the fate of our nation. Sometimes even small things go a long way!

So, I sincerely wish this ban is strongly enforced..

And by 2020 (Dr.Kalam's Year) I hope there will be no smokers in our country!

You may term it as greed. But I will term it as HOPE!

Please Give Up Smoking.
Your Well Wisher,
Vignesh.

The Kolkata Magic!!

2008-10-04T23:22:00.007+05:30

As I was reading about Shah Rukh Khan's article that he had become a Kolkata-Vasi after he bought Kolkata Knight Riders and now that he was celebrating Durga Puja, my memories of good old Kolkata started enticing me in absolute awe and joy. Kolkata,The City Of Palaces, the city where I had spent three to four years of my schooling , the city where I had my cricketing fervour exposed, the city that taught me "knowledge was not just books" (Thank God I learnt it in my 5th standard itself), the city where schools were much more fun-filled than the colleges, the innumerable number of bandhs and holidays, the city where the people were so hospitable and friendly, the city where the fastest of metros and the slowest of trams were side by side, the city which went frenzied at hearing the names of Sourav Ganguly, the city which had the likes of Tagore,Netaji, the city where I paid my homage to Mother Teresa.. It all sprang into my mind instantaneously.

Kolkata is a city that has a distinctive flavour stamped on it. The richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor mingle so easily and were so caring and loving for one another. Magnanimity and Helping Tendency wise I would rate them right at the top. The people were so expressive and they enjoyed for/at almost everything. Be it a Holi, a Dada century, a Mohun Bagan or an East Bengal win, a Leander Paes medal or for that matter even a victory in road side carrom or chess. They were de ones who just wanted a reason to celebrate.

When things are going like this in Bengal would people miss out a chance to celebrate the ten day gala - The Durga Pooja? Everyone go gaga over this Durga Pooja.. One of the most important festivals in Bengal. They celebrate it with such pomp and gaiety that it would be infectious for even the most insane person on the earth. And the winter holidays in the schools made us to erupt in sheer joy.. :)"Pundals" would be put up in every street corner. The idols of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswathi and Ganesha (In some places even Lord Karthikeya) would be beautifully made with the highest of artistic acumen and they will be adorned with all types of jewels.

The whole of Kolkata would be on the streets from evening 4 to mid night 1. Durga Pooja being in the winter season and the temperature being in the ten's, it would not have been a more pleasant weather to visit almost all the streets in the huge metro. Even such a chill weather would not bog us down in eating the yummy ice creams in almost every single pundal. Not to forget the countless pani puris and rasagullas we gobbled in. The pleasure derived at such an enjoyment with family and friends is something which I cannot express in words.

The pleasure of the celebrations during Durga Pooja is because of the mixture of devotion, enjoyment and the collective effortss that the people put in trying to make the festive a stupendous success.. Even there were prizes for the best decorated "Pundals". So it added the necessary motivation to the function. The sincerity shown by the people for making everything the best is certainly inspirational and sometimes enviable too.. No doubt, Durga Pooja remains one of the most memorable moments of my life.

Now that I ve come back to Tamil Nadu, I miss Kolkata and everything associated with it!

Hope I will go there sooner or later :)

Muniyandi, 3rd Year Zoology! - The Experience and The Lesson!

2008-10-03T23:13:00.011+05:30

Hello guys! I wanted to type "Muniyandi Vilangiyal Moondraamaandu" in English.. A perfect mokkai to start with.. :) I wanna share this movie experience with u.. See I am not writing a review of this movie.. So continue reading.. I had just returned from my long and exhilarating tour of Rajkot, Jamnagar, Surat, Porbandar and Mumbai after completing my final sem exams.. Travelling has been my passion since childhood and I ve covered a good part of our nation because of my extensive travel since my childhood. The next 15 days was quite a relaxing affair.. After that I badly wanted to go out travelling again. And than came de break from de relaxation.. :)

Luckily, Kapil invited us for a function in his house.. Our gang quickly sprang into action.. We planned to roam entire West T.N. Coimbatore being my hometown and dreamtown we skipped that.. So me, Praveen and Vinodh made a landing at Navin's house at Erode. The two days we spent der was hell of fun. As usual sleeping and eating the 1st day because we were tired of 5 hrs travel :)

That night we, being night owls, decided to go to a movie as usual.. Night shows were my favourite ever since my childhood.. Had gone to umpteen number of night shows with family.. Same was de case with Praveen and Navin.. Vinodh had not gone to one.. And he was skeptical bout coming to one :) Fakkir had delayed his arrival by 6 hours. He said, "We ll go to Subramaniapuram together. U ppl go to some other movie da".

So we were fighting among ourselves as to go to which movie. Navin said,"We ll go to Dasavatharam". But we all had watched it 3 to 4 times. Vinodh said ,"Lets try Hancock".. As we heard it was not tat worth I suggested, "Lets go for Muniyandi Vilangiyal Moondraamaandu".. All stared at me like a pack of hyenas waiting for a deer.. Somehow I convinced them saying Vadivelu was der.. Though I myself was sure that the movie would be a disaster.. It was a risk and we decided to take..

As usual we entered the theatre 30 mins late.. To avoid de "crowd" we took a ticket in "BALCONY".. The crowd which we never anticipated to be in such large numbers was too tough to handle.. There were 10 people below us and in de balcony 7 (Including the 4 of us). The other three were : A newly married couple who came to romance in the theatre.. (Think theirs was a joint family :)).. Another was a middle aged man drunk heavily.. He was half asleep.. We whistled and shouted at almost everything. (I mean at the cinema! Not at de couple! ;)). The movie was so unbearable and being a first timer for night shows Vinodh slept for 1.5 hrs in de 2.5 hrs. The other three of us were chatting.. While de couple were busy romancing.. The hero was just fighting and shouting as usual.. The heroine was made to look stupid in every scene.. Vadivelu comedies were below par..

The movie was an utter waste of time, energy and money.. When we came out of de cinema hall I had a nice thrashing and scolding for suggesting such a brilliant movie.. Night 1 'o' clock, I and Praveen drove our way back to home when we saw de other two missing.. They were caught by traffic police thinking they were drunk.. After a small argument he showed mercy on them and we were back home thinking about the height of "vettiness" we were undergoing.. This movie experience had such a lasting impression on us tat we dint dare to venture into the theatres for another fortnight..

Worser part was because of tat we were late to Praveen's house at Salem wer Fakkir joined us. As a result, late to our wonderful and a memorable bike ride to Yercaud Hills led by the experienced Praveen.. :)The worst part was we were as usual late to the function at Kapil's house (The Most Important Agenda Of Out Trip!!!).. We dint mind his scoldings and enjoyed there too. Wait,Innum mudiala!! We continued our fun ride to Fakkir's house at Trichy.. In between, we became religious and we planned a quick trip to Namakkal Aanjaneya Temple and Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple. We had promised to return to our houses within 2 days.. But we took 5 to 6 days.. After Trichy, Navin suggested' "Pollacchi Vaalpaarai poagalaama da?"..

We shouted together, "Aala vidu saamy" and happily strode back home..

Eagerly awaiting the next trip..

It was fun,fun and fun.. We rocked wherever we went..

By our laziness, carelessness and lucky go attitude.. :)

As usual..

For thats our gang's brand name.. :)

The CAT !!

2008-10-01T13:05:00.004+05:30

CAT of late has become a craze and an obsession for de "just passed out of college" guys.. The "passion" viewpoint of doing an MBA has vanished and taking on the CAT has become a jolly game for most of the youngsters.. As we are all idling away our time and we wanna show off off that we r a little busy than what the other person is construing about us we conveniently lie that " Hey! Trying CAT". After all CAT s not such a simple affair guys!

Most of my frenz (almost all!) have an eccentric opinion that they can bell the CAT hands down and get into the IIM's.. All have this tendentious opinion that an engineering graduate has much more brain and talent than a commerce or arts student. I must thrash such guys! They also easily say,"Macchan! One year work! CAT next year!". As if IIM's are in queue to give them their "much deserved seat". God save them!

I seriously believe that CAT s not a child's play and it requires serious work,dedication and determination. This aspect s seriously missing in 95% of B.E's. Including me. Thats why I chose to write on this topic. In order to bell the CAT we must re-assess ourselves, our aims and ambitions and then work towards CAT. I am not pessimistic. Am just saying cracking the CAT is not wat everyone can do.. It requires serious introspection and motivation. All the best guys. Take CAT seriously. After all I will take pride in saying, "Hey 10 of my friends are in IIM's". :) ;)