Janani's Space

Spintronics: Moving Closer to Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 22:41:40 PDT

I did a story on Spintronics as far back as December 2006… Spintronics: Keeping the Computer’s Tryst with Quantum Physics…at which point of time, it was still a big idea with little implementation! There were some prototypes from IBM and Freescale but no large-scale implementation except for the iPod’s memory.

It was therefore good to see today’s news in EFY Times about the first electronic circuit that merges traditional inorganic semiconductors with organic spintronics.

Now, I really wish to see those dot-sized memory chips and power-saving, instant-boot computers!

Fanfare!

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 23:00:15 PDT

I always used to wonder how the emotions related to fanfare emerge in a person, you know... the kind of craze that makes you obsessed with an actor, a movie, a character, a music band, whatever! I think it is kind of seeded in a person at a very early age. In fact, I am seeing such emotions surfacing in my two-year old son now!

He has become such a great fan of Thomas, the Tank Engine, that every time we switch on the television, he wants to see Thomas. He wants to keep wearing the same Thomas t-shirt everyday. He threw a tantrum at a superstore the other day to make us buy a Thomas toy. And, every time we boot the computer he insists that we play the Thomas & Friends theme song on YouTube. Just because we spun a tale about that t-shirt being infested with ants (to make him remove it for washing), he went about repeating the story very sadly to everybody he met! As in, he has become very fond of Thomas... he has become a FAN... at the age of two!

I remember by nephew was also in love with Thomas around the same age. I guess fanfare begins with cartoons... your favourite engine, your favorite character, your favourite super-hero, whatever. And I feel that this emotion strengthens either because others encourage or discourage it. For example, when Teju first started pointing to Thomas or saying things about it, we felt very happy (in superlative) and kept encouraging him to watch Thomas shows, speak about it... because we wanted to encourage his recognition of objects and his descriptive skills. As a result, he started to like Thomas even more.

In order to wean him away from the Thomas t-shirt, I started creating an excitement around the images in his other t-shirts as well... and when I told a story about a monkey or a bear or Mr. Bean, or whatever character was there in a t-shirt, he began to like that too and insisted on wearing that repeatedly for the next few days! Then, I would have to make up another story about another doggie or bunny or whatever was there in another bright t-shirt, to make him switch loyalties! As in, if you create an excitement around a character, children become fond of it.

But, well, despite condescending to wear other t-shirts and despite beginning to take a look at other characters, Teju continues to be an ardent fan of Thomas'... first love, I guess! He also likes Barney, Bob the Builder and Finley the Fire Engine, but not as much as he likes the cheeky Thomas! It makes me wonder again... what made him a 'fan'?

I also wonder what it is with Thomas! I haven't yet met a single kid who doesn't love Thomas. Why, I love Thomas too!

Madras onion rasam

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:55:44 PDT

Shallots (also known as Madras onions, small onions and sambhar onions) are very healthy. They are believed to have good cooling properties, ideal for the summer. In any case, I'm sure you will agree that they are extremely tasty! I agree they are very difficult to peel, but nowadays one can easily find peeled shallots at supermarkets.

Shallots are used quite liberally in Keralite and Tamilian cooking, especially in recipes originating around Coimbatore, Chettinad, etc. We would all have used shallots in sambhars and chutneys, but here is a rasam recipe I came across recently. It is extremely tasty, and seems to be a 'comfort food'... that is, it can be served to those who are unwell also, as it tastes very soothing and warm, and also helps cure common colds. Have it mixed with rice, or like a soup... it fits both roles!

Here is how to make it...

1. Soak a small lemon-sized ball of tamarind in a glass of water. Extract the pulp and keep aside.

2. Coarsely pound a little pepper, cumin and coriander seeds. You can vary the quantities of these according to your taste. Ideally, just pound them using a manual spice mill, else if using a mixer-grinder, just give it a twist or two... do not grind it finely as the whole texture and flavour will change.

3. Heat a tablespoon of ghee in a vessel, season mustard, asafoetida and two red chillies. Then, fry the coarsely powdered spices till a good aroma comes.

4. Add 5-6 shallots, halved. Saute till a good aroma comes.

5. Add one chopped tomato, the tamarind pulp and salt. Boil till the onions and tomatoes are soft.

6. Add 1 to 1-1/2 glasses of water (this depends how much the tamarind pulp has already reduced), simmer the stove and heat till the rasam starts foaming on top.

As a variation, you can dilute 1/2 cup of cooked and mashed tuar dal with 1 cup of water and add this to the rasam instead of plain water. This tastes better.)

7. Remove from fire, add one tablespoon of neem flowers fried in ghee.

8. Garnish with curry leaves and serve hot.

Alternatively, you can add shallots to any other rasam too, by cooking it along with the tomatoes or with the dal.

Tell A Tiny Tale

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:07:41 PDT

I picked up a book called Peter Rabbit - Tell a Tiny Tale from the library last weekend, and found it extremely useful to tell tales to my toddler. A Penguin Group publication, this book uses characters from The Tales of Peter Rabbit authored by Beatrix Potter.

Each section takes one character such as, say, Peter Rabbit, and asks four simple questions related to that character, such as 'where does he live', 'what does he eat', 'whom does he play with', 'who chases him', etc. There are three pictorial answers to each question. You can mix-and-match these questions and answers and tell a story to your child. For example, you could say... "This morning, Peter Rabbit woke up early and got out of his home in the tree. He bathed at the pond and played with the duckies. Then, he went to grandpa's garden where he found some carrots to eat. The cat didn't like this and came chasing him. Just then, grandpa came out and saved Peter Rabbit from the cat."

In the process of entertaining and kindling the child's imagination, such an exercise actually peps up our grey cells too. It is amazing how many tiny tales you can make up with those simple questions and pictures! You are sure to recall (and thank) the mathematics teacher who taught you permutations and combinations in class 10!

All scientists need to observe nature; not just biologists

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:21:59 PDT

Thanks to billions of years of evolution, natural systems have gained a certain perfection in terms of structure, processes and functions. It is therefore not very surprising that many scientists have gained inspiration from nature for their own discoveries or inventions. We have been encountering such examples in our textbooks, right from primary school. Gravity was discovered when an apple fell on Newton's head and set him thinking. Velcro came about when a scientist noticed how the seeds of the burdock plant stuck to his coat and his dog's fur and stayed put there till pulled out.

The interesting fact is that nature continues to inspire researchers in all fields, including IT, electronics and communications. Neural networks based on the working of the human brain, semiconductor chip fabrication techniques inspired by the designs on butterfly wings, submarine designs inspired by the fins of whales, and a lot more. Sometimes, this inspiration comes completely by chance. But, a lot of times, scientists decide to consciously and systematically seek solutions from nature. There are different approaches to doing this - and that happens to be the subject of my article for Electronics for You's April issue.

Some scientists keep on, unrelentingly, observing nature confident that they will eventually come across some brilliant ideas. Some scientists observe nature keenly to find answers to specific research problems they are trying to overcome. Some scientists notice things in nature that could solve their research problems, but completely by chance. Some scientists merely take inspiration from nature while others try to also imitate the natural structure or process in their artificial system. Each of these is a different genre of bio-inspired technology.

While researching these different approaches to nature-inspired technology creation, I came across so many interesting personalities who have, in recent times, gained inspiration from nature for their research work. Dr. Akhlesh Lakhtakia of Pennsylvania State University, for example, was inspired by Ulexite or TV rock. Subsequent investigation and experiments led to the development of sculptured thin films (nano-engineered meta-materials). Dr. Vinay Vaidya and his team at KPIT Cummins came up with a patent-pending night vision system inspired by the cardioid shape of a leaf he noticed in the garden. Dr. Kwabena Boahen and his team at Stanford University have developed a million neuron system called the Neurogrid, a neuromorphic project based on the structure and functioning of the brain. Dr. Judith Braganca and her team at BITs-Pilani's Goa campus are developing a nature-inspired sunscreen. There are so many more examples of nature-inspired technologies by these and other teams across the world, and it is also interesting to note that many of these nature-inspired researches have gone on to become commercially successful products too.

However, we need to keep in mind that while nature-inspired research is truly fantastic, it is not fantasy. The inspiration is only the first step. A lot of in-depth, systematic, multi-disciplinary research is required to convert the inspiration into an impactful technology!

Starting simple

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:22:57 PDT

The National Library of Singapore has a very good children's section. Lots of interesting books, a very nice reading area, etc. We take Teju to the library almost every week, and find that he really enjoys it despite being the noisiest kid there (of course, that is more of a problem for us than for him!) All the other kids his age, even the sub-two ones, are so quiet. In fact, the kids section is almost as silent as the regular library. That turned out to be a huge surprise, but that is not the subject of this post.

Something that surprises me even more is that despite the very large number of books that the library has, I find it quite difficult to select books for Teju to read. The reason is that most of the books, even some of the alphabet books, are too 'creative'... stick figures, sketches, cartoons, comic characters, and so on. Some of the images are so abstract that I, at this age, am unable to figure out whether it is a dog or a hyena! How can my son understand?

I feel that such books are not appropriate for beginners, especially two-year-olds. I mean, if I pick an alphabet book that has realistic images of apples, shoes, dogs and other everyday objects, Teju will be able to connect with the pictures. Stories with trains, planes, lions, dogs, rabbits, people... those are the ones I can read out and make him understand. The next time he sees a lion at the zoo, he will be able to recall the story I told him earlier, and perhaps even recount it to us. Instead, if I showed him dragons, he would want to see them at the zoo too! What would I do? How would I make a two-year old understand that a dragon does not exist?

Last week I picked up a book called Rangoli by a publishing house called Tulika. It was a very simple story, about a girl who looked out of the window and saw her grandma drawing a rangoli outside the house, and how ants and other insects came to eat the rice flour of which the rangoli was made. The setting was something Teju could associate with. He could understand all the images... the girl, the grandma, the rangoli, the lamps, the flour, the mynahs, the ants, everything. So, he understood the story, and even recounted it to his dad when he returned from office in the evening. That is the kind of engagement I expect from a book!

From such experiences, I am led to believe that alphabet or number books (or flash cards) with simple, realistic images; and short stories with minimal, realistic characters and a simple storyline (perhaps involving everyday activities) are more relevant to pre-schoolers and will help imbibe the reading habit in them. Once they understand the concept of 'imagination', and that some things are real and others imaginary, they will be better able to enjoy comics and such creative books. What do you think? How has your experience been?

Kadapa, a great side-dish for idlis

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:17:42 PST

Idlis and dosas are quite neutral in taste, and rely a lot on the side-dish to make them attractive. While they can be had with almost any moderately spicy or spicy accompaniment, including sambhar, chutneys, gojjus and pickles, kadapa is one side-dish that many, especially from the Tanjore district, would die for!

I've heard that in Kumbakonam, especially, people line up outside the hotels on the days that kadapa is served with idli! I believe famous mess-style hotels serve kadapa only on one or two days a week, as it is considered a special item. Veteran foodies would know the fixed days on which kadapa is served in the various hotels.

Soak coconut, khus-khus (poppy seeds), saunf (fennel seeds), green chillies, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves in a little water, for around 10 minutes, and grind to a smooth paste.
Cook some moong dal and keep it aside. You can vary the quantity of dal depending on how thick you like your side-dish. Typically, it should a little thinner than sambhar.
Cook one or two small potatoes, peel, crumble and keep aside.
In a vessel, season mustard seeds, gram dal, asafoetida, green chillies and ginger.
Add chopped onions (shallots give a better flavour and aroma) and tomatoes and saute for a while.
Add the masala paste and saute for a few seconds (do not saute for too long).
Add a cup of water along with the boiled potatoes and salt and boil for a few minutes till the aroma pervades the whole room!
Pour in the cooked moong dal and boil for a minute or two.
Garnish with loads of coriander and curry leaves.
Serve hot.

Variations:

If you do not have much time, you can replace the paste with one or two spoons of garam masala and half a spoon of coriander powder. It will be close to the original flavour, but the coconut texture will be missing.
If you do not have time even to cook the moong dal, you can use a paste of besan (gram flour) and water. It will thicken and give the same consistency that dal gives.
While the original version does not have even tomatoes, more modern versions do use tomatoes to give a slightly tangy flavour. If you want it even more tangy, you can use tamarind water. Add the tamarind water, salt and potatoes after sauteeing the onions and tomatoes, and add the ground paste after the raw smell of tamarind goes.
You can make a healthier version by adding other vegetables like beans and carrots.

Try these quick recipes...

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 20:54:29 PST

I tried out some quick pointers I got from cookery shows last week. Some of them turned out to be good. You could try these too...

a) Add some finely chopped orange peel along with the tomatoes when you make rasam. The flavour and aroma are awesome. (I think I've also caught the 'awesome' bug from playback singer Sujatha, who keeps using this adjective when judging Airtel Super Singer 3.)

b) Take some curry leaves and make it into a thick paste. Add this paste along with some finely chopped ginger, finely chopped and roasted cashews, chopped curry leaves, and a dash of grated or finely chopped coconut (optional) to dosa flour, and make 'Karuveppilai Dosai'. I believe it's a Chettinad delicacy. Tasted very good, and is also nutritious because curry leaves are iron-rich.

c) Grind half a cup of green chillies and half a cup of coriander into a fine paste. Take a kadai, heat til oil, season mustard seeds and gram dal, add the paste and saute till the raw smell goes. Add a few tablespoons of thick tamarind paste, a little bit of salt and a good dose of jaggery. Boil the mixture till it thickens. Bottle and refrigerate. This chutney can last for more than a month. You can use it as a side-dish for curd rice, dosa and roti, or even as a sauce for bhel puri.

Back to blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 21:04:11 PST

Found a little extra time today, and I thought I'll write a post about a few new recipes I tried this week. "It's been a few months since I last blogged," I thought, and opened Blogger! I was shocked to realise it has been over a year. But, I would have neither realised nor believed it if anybody had told me that it has been a year. Time has flown that fast.

With a home and a toddler to take care of, somehow the blog got relegated to the lower rungs of my priority chart. I could say Teju took up all my time, but I do not blame him for it. It's a choice I made--to give him the highest priority. Because, that is the greatest pleasure a mom can have anyway... to take care of her child hands-on.

The elders at home used to keep telling me to enjoy every minute spent with my child in the first few years, however hectic life might be. And, they were absolutely right. Well, the parent-child bonding will remain the same even later, so why are the initial few years so important? For many reasons.

First of all, in the initial few years, the child needs you most--for safety, reassurance, learning, and reasons aplenty. So, it is good to be around. Secondly, in the first few years the home is the child's primary society and we are his closest friends. As he grows up, the child's time gets shared with other societies--school, friends, extra-curricular activity groups, and so on. So, the initial few years give you an opportunity to be with your child almost all the time... something you might yearn for in later years, when he is away at university! More than anything else, it is fun to observe every stage in the transformation from baby to toddler. It is enjoyable and enlightening too. As the child grows, so do we. There is so much to learn--unconditional love, the power to forgive and forget, the ability to learn from the environment, so much more. Every hour brings a lesson in science, philosophy, psychology, nutrition... and these days, even technology too!

When Hurricane Teju is around, time no longer follows international standards or physical rules. When he drags the chair into the kitchen, threatening to climb on the kitchen top, a minute seems like a second; when he lies on my lap sleepy but unwilling to doze, the same minute seems like an hour--once again, it is relativity at work.

When Teju wants to, he hangs on to every word I say and repeats like a parrot, in the same inaccurate but cute way. When I want him to, he behaves as if his ears are out of order!

He loves to mock all that we do. When I clean and mop, he follows me with another broom and cloth. When we try to photograph him, he wants to grab the camera and do the same. He wants to work on the same laptop that I use (so now you know why I get so much less time to work than before). He wants to read the same books that we do, and eat the same foods that we eat. But, when we play with his toys, he doesn't want to follow suit!

His favourite haunt is the kitchen, and his favourite playthings are the utensils in the kitchen. At times, it is so much fun to watch him cook like a pro. At other times, it gets a bit tough, especially when he catches hold of tomatoes and purees them!

He loves to recall the day's happenings to Vikram when he returns from office. Teju can still not speak in sentences, but it is amazing how he does manage to tell Vikram about everything we did throughout the day using his limited vocabulary, actions and sound effects!

Sigh! There are innumerable such instances, every day, when I think of how lucky I am to be able to be by the child's side and observe all his doings. Although all these experiences are indelibly written in my mind, I wish to record/jot these down so I can recall them later in life, whether to pep myself up in more boring times (Daffodils?) or to show to Teju when he is older. But, well, we come back to the same problem... with Teju around, there is barely any time for anything but the routine tasks and urgent work!

Porcupine Mountains -- A beautiful photo

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:27:01 PST

This is one of the most beautiful photos I've seen in a long, long time. Even more beautiful than the photograph is the comment by the author on how the ten seconds that it took to click the pic seemed like eternity. Relativity. Einstein must be turning in his grave every time we feel such a thing, without even knowing it's an aspect of relativity.

Things you could try to overcome colic

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:35:06 PDT

Colic is a very common condition amongst babies, especially boys. According to some of the websites, 1 in 4 babies is colic. If you dread the onset of evening, because you are so sure your baby is going to start crying incessantly and unexplainably, then your baby is probably colic too. Being colic does not mean your baby is unhealthy. It just means its digestive system is growing and becoming strong and stronger. As a starting point, you can read about colic at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_colic and dispel any fears you have.

Firstly, you must understand that till date, nobody actually knows the cause of colic! No amount of research has been able to discover that conclusively... all that researchers have figured out is that colic is not at all an adverse health condition. It is not harmful. It is nothing to be afraid of. It's merely a part of the baby's growing adventures. Hence there is no actual "remedy" for colic. Just a few things that you can do to distract and soothe the baby when it cries...

a) Our baby's paediatrician prescribed a drops called "Colicaid" to improve digestion. It helped a bit.

b) But more than medicine, what you need is patience and love, to deal with and soothe a baby that cries in a high pitched tone, incessantly, without even opening its eyes to look at any toys you might show to distract it. Be calm and believe in the fact that this is a very temporary, passing phase.

c) Rest the baby on your shoulders and pat and stroke its back such that its stomach is pressed down.

d) Try rocking the baby in a cradle, or keep it in your lap and swing steadily in a swing.

e) Try taking your baby out to the balcony or verandah and let him watch the greenery and hear the birds chirp -- nothing helps more than this! If your baby is big enough, then take him out for a stroll in the pram.

If any other solution worked best for you, do let us all know.

Enjoy every trimester of your pregnancy

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:09:52 PDT

Your first trimester is probably one-fourth completed by the time you realise you are pregnant -- and that's a good thing, because the first trimester is probably the toughest, rich in morning sickness, acidity, psychological troubles (only in case you're worried about how life would change after you have a baby), and much more. But the moment you realise you are pregnant, I have a friendly prescription for you -- ENJOY as much as you can!

Some people would claim that life changes the minute you know you are pregnant and the stress and sacrifices begin right then, blah, blah... and it is definitely so for those with special medical conditions, but if yours is a normal pregnancy, then throw away such notions and enjoy yourself completely! That is the best way to spend those 8-9 months! And that is actually the right way to prepare yourself for the future too.

Life will undeniably change after you have a baby -- no movies for a while, a strict diet, irregular and sometimes no sleep, and so on. Some people think they need to prepare themselves for the post-natal situation by thinking (and moaning) about it right from the first trimester of the pregnacy. Others think they should be over-cautious while pregnant and miss so many things that after the delivery, they repent for having wasted those wonderful free days!

I feel you should let go and have a bash all through your pregnancy, so that once the kid is born you feel satisfied that you enjoyed the pre-natal days to the hilt and are then prepared for the little sacrifices -- which are after all temporary!

Do not overwork. Reduce your workload and reserve lots of time for sleep and enjoyment!
Go out as much as you can. Avoid travelling on rocky roads, keep away from two-wheelers and autos as much as you can, but travel safely wherever you want. Travel will be restricted a bit after the baby comes. My husband and I made so many trips to visit our parents, as well as explored so many new places in Bangalore. Similarly, I also went around a bit coming to Chennai for the delivery. Now, when I'm confined to home with the baby, I have lots of memories to recall and enjoy!
Don't forget to watch all the movies you want to. You can't go to the theatre with an infant, and even at home you cannot dream of watching a full movie at one go, without any interruptions. Vikram and I watched at least one movie every week, mostly on DVDs.
Eat everything you love -- this is the time to do so. Once the baby is born, you have to be on diet, to maintain your weight as well as to ensure that you do not eat anything that troubles the baby (gastric foods, etc) -- keep that in mind, and eat whatever you feel you will sorely miss after the delivery -- aloo bonda, masala paratha, kothu parotta, pitla, colocasia fry, whatever you love!
You can also eat out occasionally, provided it's a safe place. There is nothing wrong with eating out in a good restro/bakery you frequent, but eating pani puri in the road corner is a no-no. Similarly, it's safe to eat cooked food. Avoid raw stuff even in good restaurants. So, stay safe but enjoy yourself.
Write lotsa emails, make lots and lotsa phone calls... you might not have time even for that later. So, keep in touch with your friends and warn them that you might not be in touch for a few months later -- so that they don't think you have vanished into outer space.

Oh well, just do whatever you want to... don't keep brooding about not being able to do things after the baby comes... do it all earlier, so that you are prepared for the next phase of life, and all set to greet it with a bright smile and no repentance!

Disclaimer: If your doctor has adviced you not to do something, DON'T do it! Enjoy within the limits prescribed by your gynaec!

Note: The prescription also holds for men whose wives are expecting a baby.

Babies make you believe in God...

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:48:12 PDT

I have not blogged since the second trimester of my pregnancy... I was busy enjoying myself in other ways :-) But now, my baby boy, Tejas, has brought me back to my blog again. Watching him grow is unbelievably exciting! I have known writers feeling sorry for themselves after childbirth, saying they feel so dull doing the same nursing and cleaning routine over and over again, resulting in a mental block that prevents them from writing, etc... sorry, I don't feel sorry for them anymore... because so far my experience has been very different... it is so wonderful watching a baby grow, there are so many things to think and write about... the baby becomes the stimulus and the inspiration to write!

Anyway, coming to the subject of this post... I think watching a baby grow is enough to make even an atheist start believing in God, or at least the existence of some kind of superpower. I believe in God, and yet I feel excited and surprised at every development... I wonder: How does a child know to suckle from the minute it is born? Who teaches it to start looking around, to vigorously kick about, and to cry? Why do so many expressions -- from laughter to fear -- cross a baby's face when it is seemingly fast asleep? How does a baby suddenly learn to smile one fine morning? How does a baby entertain itself when nobody is around, and when it cannot read or even understand words? We sit and talk to a baby but it cannot understand us, yet it has the decency to smile and make us feel comfortable -- how does it know this courtesy, if I may call it that? How does a baby learn to swallow? How does it recognise its mother? How does it start acquainting itself with other people? How does it learn to move its limbs? Without words, without symbols, how is the baby able to make us understand if it is hungry, sleepy or unwell?

Well, the structure of a baby, its features, etc, may be programmed in us as genes, as we've learnt in our biology lessons? But when a baby does things exactly like its dad or mum or other close relatives, it still immerses you in immense joy, surprise, and inevitably the question arises -- how? How does a baby form habits so early -- my son for instance refuses to cover his legs when asleep -- he will kick away the blanket with an irritated look and then drift back to blissful sleep, he knows when it is time for his raisin juice and will not drink milk at that time, he knows what games each of the family members plays with him and reacts accordingly, and so many such habits... and he is just two months old!

My aunt was telling me about a recent research that proved that a baby can form habits as early as three days old -- they tied a toy pigeon to a hook above the baby; there was a string tied to the pigeon, the other end of which was tied to the baby's toe; whenever the baby moved it leg, the string was pulled and the pigeon made a sound. After three days, when the researcher brought the pigeon and tied it to the hook, the baby immediately started moving its legs up and down in the usual rhythm!

I keep questioning 'how', and despite being an 'educated woman' and despite reading so much literature on the subject in the Internet, etc, I am not convinced that it is just simple biology. I think there is a Power above all that. I like to believe in grandma's theory that God speaks to children and plays with them -- that's why they go into a trance quite often and laugh and play even when nobody is around. God teaches the baby the basic life lessons (and the complex lessons too, later in life!), He soothes it when it is scared, He helps the baby understand the emotions we show towards him - thereby forging the bond, He protects the baby from negative emotions and other scary things, in short, it is He who helps the baby to even start learning the things we teach him -- God stands as the first building block in the baby's life. I am thoroughly convinced. May He be with Tejas too!

Kadlekka Parishe

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 06:01:35 PST

Last weekend we attended a strange festival at the Basavangudi Temple (Bull Temple) in Bangalore. It was so interesting that it has brought me back to my blog!

"Kadlekka Parishe" or Peanut Festival is celebrated on the last Monday of the Karthigai month (this year, the last Monday of the Kannadiga's Karthigai month was 24th November) at the Basavangudi temple. It order to draw the crowds, the jatra started on Saturday itself (although the rain did play spoilsport, on both Saturday and Sunday evenings).

Well, the highlight of this festival is the sale of peanuts! Farmers from all around Karnataka and even areas of Tamilnadu (like Dharmapuri) come to sell their first harvest of peanuts. As a result, you can see peanuts in every direction you look around the Basavangudi temple -- right from BMS College right upto the Ramakrishna Ashrama. The temple is crowded with a truly assorted array of visitors -- right from the villagers to the ITzens of Bangalore to foreign nationals! Naturally, there are other festive activities too, to entertain the crowd to the fullest -- this ranges from special pujas at the temple and music/dance concerts to stalls featuring bulls, sale of a wide range of goods, especially handicrafts, and amusement rides. But the overwhelming aspect of the whole festival is obviously the heaps of peanuts covering both sides of the road!

There is an interesting story behind this -- my neighbour tells me. Many years ago, Basavangudi was full of peanut plantations. However, strangely the villagers found that somebody was stealing their peanuts every night! Suspecting this to be either a thief or a herd of cows, the villagers stood guard one night, and one of them found a lone bull feasting on the crop! Mistaking this to be a thief, he threw his spear in the direction and on finding no further movement from the person/animal, he went back to resume his night's sleep. When the villagers came to the field next morning to review the night's adventure, they realised that the farmer had actually struck down none other than the Bull God (Nandi or Basava, the mount of Lord Shiva) himself, and in place of the bull, they found a stone statue. They also realised that in the guise of a bull feasting on the peanuts, the Bull God was actually guarding the peanut crops from thieves!

Worried that they had committed a sin, the villagers pondered over what to do, and built a temple to house the statue. However, to their surprise and shock, the bull kept outgrowing the temple! That was when Lord Shiva appeared in a troubled villager's dream and instructed that they should dig in front of the bull statue -- they will find a trishul (the three-pronged weapon of gods and goddesses), which they should affix on the bull's forehead to stop it from growing, and they should also worship the bull regularly and offer the first harvest of peanuts to the temple every year. This custom is continued till date.

This explains both the mammoth size of the bull as well as the strange custom.

In all, a wonderfully interesting experience -- which makes you forget that you are in the fast-paced and cosmopolitan Bangalore. Vikram and I felt like we were in Thanjavur or Mylapore, raging with festivities, old-world style!

Updates!!

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 05:31:12 PDT

When it rains, it pours -- good luck or bad! This time, fortunately, it turned out to be good luck.

a) The rains came, and the power shedding frequency has gone down amazingly. Just 1/2 an hour a day. Thank God.

b) After I sent the link to my blogpost on Sify (A long cable cut short) to a senior executive at the company, suddenly today evening two visitors knocked at my door - Sify's Area Manager and the local agent! They renewed my a/c for the pending two months, and assured me good service now and later. They did not refute any of the problems I faced but told me that this problem occured only in two areas of Bangalore and nowhere else. They also promised to rectify the problem in my neighbourhood. It'll take me a while to trust that this will happen, but I was definitely happy about the assurance and hope it turns out true. I know this isn't really citizen journalism -- it happened because I mailed the link to the top management, but I'm happy that they at least acted on this. If my neighbour gets the same service, it is citizen journalism!

c) The good tide continues -- BSNL has also fixed the massive exchange problem in our area, and I've had uninterrupted connectivity for the past two days. I almost fainted with joy when I got a call from BSNL asking if the problem has been solved. What service! Of course, this was definitely not because of any blogpost, but nonetheless, I'm glad it happened :-)

Touch wood! Hope God doesn't end with a, "Touche!" and stop the rains ;-)

AGAIN!!

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:12:41 PDT

Can you believe it... my BSNL connection is down AGAIN!!! I called the customer support only to be told that it's a problem at the local exchange. So, the walks to the telephone exchange begin again. I know BSNL service is not going to improve any time soon, but in the bargain I hope I at least lose a few kilos... worrying about the connection and walking to the exchange!

Do I have a broadband connection?

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:10:06 PDT

I think I do :-) But I am not sure BSNL thinks so. Here is what happened...

In May, I applied for a broadband connection from BSNL. In June, I got it. I went to their office every week, diligently, and one day they said – Ma’am, you’ve been blessed with a broadband connection by the almighty BSNL. Here is your username and password J I was elated. My husband and I had had such a terrible time with Sify that we were yearning for the BSNL connection, despite the horror stories we had heard about their customer service.

On June 7th 2008, the residents of Padmanabhanagar would have seen me walking back home from the BSNL office with a big smile on my face and a small chit of paper in my hand – that tiny scrap of paper with the username and password scribbled on it by the supervisor at the desk was the only proof that I had a broadband connection! I asked for more details... the IP address perhaps, but they refused to help me in any other way, since I used a ‘private modem’ (it was a standard model, but I was using my own modem and not the one supplied by them). So, after a bit of a struggle and some calls to the BSNL call centre, I got the broadband running on my computer (for those of you who don’t know, they have a call centre for broadband queries – 1800 424 1600).

However, right from the start it so happened that my connection would get cut every time we got an incoming call! So, I called the customer care again, and they confirmed that it was not a problem with my modem’s settings but with the line, so they would lodge a complaint.

A month went by, nothing happened. I would just get calls once in a while asking if my telephone worked. Every time, I would say, yes it did, and explain the disconnection problem I faced. Still the problem persisted.

And then one day, the connection went on the blink – totally! Two lights went down on the modem! So, I called customer care again, and they said the problem was again with the line, but they could not register a complaint because the previous one (lodged more than a month ago) was still pending!

So, off I went to the exchange again, but even before I could explain what the problem was, the supervisor there shut me up saying 500 lines were down and would be repaired. I went to the office every day, for a week, only to get the same reply. Till one day, I managed to barge past the supervisor and tell the lady at the computer that my telephone line WAS working but my broadband connection wasn’t. She pulled up some records, and very nicely told me, “Madam, you do not have a broadband connection. Your application is still pending!” What?! I had been using the broadband connection for over a month, and even paid for it. So, how come I don’t have a connection?

I was confused and tried to explain the problem to her. After thinking for a while, she asked me... if it is true that you do have a connection, tell me your username and password. For some reason, she insisted on knowing the password to ascertain if my claim was true or not. Unable and unwilling to argue with her, I gave her the details. She believed me. She pulled up the records, changed the status to “repeat complaint” and promised to get it fixed asap. And it was. The next day, I got a call from the engineer in the morning, asking what the problem was, and he fixed it immediately. If only they had heard me out, perhaps the problem would have been sorted out even earlier.

Well, that is not the end of the story. The ADSL link was up, but for some reason the PPPOE connection never went through. The connection status remained, “Cannot reach PPP server.” Customer care again! However, the moment the customer support guys asked me for the modem model number and I answered, they would reply saying, “Sorry madam, we do not support private modems.” Oh my God, most modems have the same settings, and D-Link was such a standard model, couldn’t they at least try and see what the problem is?

After repeated calls, I at last reached a guy who seemed to be awake and prepared to try fixing the problem... after 45 minutes on the call, he realised that the problem was at the server-end and fixed it! On July 22nd 2008, I got connected to the Internet, at last.

Having gone online after a long time, I pinged my brother on GTalk, and said, “Hey, my Internet is back!” Lo and behold, the lights went off! Therein begins another story – the saga of power cuts in Bangalore :-)

PS1: I learnt quite a few lessons through this experience. Firstly, never argue with a Government employee. Be polite, almost subservient. They need to ‘bless’ you with service. Please, good morning, thank you, sir and madam are good words to use – and they do have a good influence on the Government staff, and achieve the desired results. I do not blame them – they probably have enough people screaming at them, so politeness is a welcome respite even for them!

PS2: When you call customer support, remember that you are reaching a call centre. So, every time you call, a different person will pick up the phone. So, if one of the professionals you reach seems clueless or unhelpful, don’t waste your time. Cut and call again. Chances are that if you call six times, you will reach one person who doesn’t belong in front of that dumb terminal and overused headset! He or she will hear, think, and sort out your problem.

PS3: Six months in the Silicon Valley of India, without a stable Internet connection, working from home! How did I manage? My husband and dad who were confident that we could (at any expense) find a way out to let me work uninterrupted, egging me on to patiently overcome poor customer service and somehow get the connection – even when I lost my cool. Not to forget my work associates who never complained about my short and sometimes slightly delayed responses! Best of all... a Reliance Netconnect data card that continued to work even after our card had been rendered invalid due to a wrong recharge done at the local Reliance World store!

PS4: I hope this connection continues to work!

A long cable cut short

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:07:38 PDT

This is such a long story, I don’t know where to start and where to end! Essentially, when we moved into Padmanabhanagar six months ago, we heard that there were only two ISPs operating here – BSNL and Sify. BSNL told us that a new connection would take around 6-8 weeks to materialise. Since I work from home and needed Internet badly, we decided to go for Sify instead. We called customer care, and promptly within two days, a guy called Sudhir came home, booked our connection, took an advance, gave us what seemed like a “receipt”, and promised to give the connection within three working days. Three grew to seven, seven grew to 14 days, and there was still no sight of the guy!

After we called again, another guy came – this time, a Mr Chethan. Sudhir had shut shop and would no longer be catering to our area, he said. So, it was now over to dealing with Chethan, who said he will take the advance from Sudhir, but insisted that he will not do the wiring till we paid in full. So, we paid the remaining Rs 6900/- Sify charges a whopping Rs 1800/- for installation, while most other ISPs offer it at more competitive rates if not a complete waiver; however, the brochure promised a discount of over Rs 700 if we paid for six months in advance, so we did, little knowing what was in store. We got something which we thought was the “receipt”.

The guy who came so promptly to collect the payment disappeared after that. He would speak on the verge of tears and explain all his troubles to us, whenever we called to enquire about the status of our connection. And one day, we flew off the handle and threatened to take a BSNL connection if he didn’t do the wiring within a day. So, the wires came. After a dozen more calls and threats an idiot of an “engineer” came to setup our connection. He became tense the moment he saw that we had Windows Vista. He threw in the towel when he found we had a wireless router too. So, with a little help from him (nothing more than providing the IP addresses and the Sify dialer), we set up the connection all by ourselves, and it started working.

One month went by, with us being able to use the Internet whenever Chethan’s server was not down, which was not much, by the way. Then came the first week of March, and we were greeted by a new error message: “Invalid quota/account expired!” What the heck, we thought! After all, we had paid in advance for six months. We called customer service, and they said our account had been renewed only for a month.
Why?
That is how it works. Your local agent has to pay us next month’s subscription and only after that we will renew the account.
Oh, so will you contact the local agent or should I?
You have to remind him, madam.

So, we were back at the mercy of the Honourable Shri Chetan Ji. His father wouldn’t be well. He would not be in town. He would be in hospital. He would have no money in his account. All the calamities known in this world would befall him only when our account had to be renewed.

After another week, a call to the customer support again.
Hi, the local agent is not renewing my a/c despite repeated reminders?
Oh ok, shall I lodge a complaint?
Yes, please.

A few more days go by...
Hi, my a/c has still not been renewed?
Oh, is it so madam, let me check the status of your complaint?
We have reminded your local agent. He’ll be doing it.
I am confident he is not. So, what further action are you going to take?
We can only remind him ma’am. He only has to renew the a/c. We cannot do anything.
So, am I Sify’s customer or the local agent’s? What responsibility do you take for the poor service I am getting?

After giving up on customer care, we would call the local agent repeatedly till he renews the a/c. The same ordeal continued every month, for four months.

Last month...
We are unable to reach the local agent, our Internet a/c has not been renewed, and worse still, we are not even able to reach the Sify account... we have no clue whether the cable has been cut somewhere or what. Shrimaan Chethan Maharaj has changed his telephone number, so we cannot even reach him.

After several desperate calls to Sify customer care, we realised that Sify is as useless as its local agents. They wish to take absolutely no responsibility for the kind of service you get. Whether it is a connectivity issue or a renewal related one, the call centre simply lends a patient ear to your rants – they initiate NO action and make it very clear that you have to contact your local agent for any further response. What was even more ridiculous than this response was the fact that they do not keep customer records for more than two months, so the person at the other end of the phone had no clue how MANY complaints we had given. What about those blessed issues that are not solved even after two months? Ask God or somebody from Sify – the former might be easier!

Now, we were – totally – at the mercy of the local agent. With Rs 1800/- paid for the installation, and two months of service pending from the six we’d paid for, we had around Rs 2800/- at stake, looking at it on a pro rata basis!

So, we decided to go and knock at the doors of Mr Chethan. However, we realised the door we knocked on was not his! When we reached the address given to us by him, we realised that it was not his office and that we were not the first gullible nuts to reach there! There had been several others who had come searching for Chethan, and the people at that address made it very clear that Sify is the worst option we could have gone for. Slow or fast, costly or cheap, good or bad, go for BSNL – at least, they have a permanent office, they said! How true!

We somehow managed to find the address and telephone number of Babuji Cable Vision, the network that Chethan worked for – every time we call, they promise to convey the request to Chethan and send him, but our problem has not been solved till date!

We have decided to forfeit the 2.8K for the sake of peace... unless somebody from Sify reads this and feels it their duty to sort this problem out for us!

(In the background we also applied for a BSNL broadband connection, and got it after four weeks of waiting. That is another story; wait till you hear it. But it’s not half as bad as Sify – I would say it is much better.)

And then there was light!

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:47:33 PDT

Where?

Most of the people in Padmanabhanagar, a neighbourhood in Bangalore where I live, say their Good Morning and Good Night, in the darkness -- not really because everybody follows the 'early to bed, early to rise' principle, but more so because this is how bad the power situation in Bangalore is.

The newspapers proclaimed four hour power cuts across Bangalore, as the monsoons had failed, and the dams not being full meant not enough power for the city. But in Padmanabhanagar, we have power only for around four hours a day. Trust me... I drew up this power cut schedule from the past few days:

The first power cut of the day is from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., followed by...
8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
12:30 - 2:30 p.m.
3:00 – 3:30 p.m.
4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
9:30 – 10:30 p.m.
Please note that the power cuts are also at the most inconvenient of times!

Why is it that we are suffering such large power cuts, when the rest of Bangalore experiences only 4 hrs or less of power outage? If rumours are true, it is because Padmanabhanagar is Devegowda’s “area” – housing his petrol bunk, hospital as well as homes of his closest kin... and obviously Devegowda is not particularly liked by the current Government.

Well, the monsoons I understand, and the four hours I’m prepared to accept as a price to pay for the damage we’ve caused to nature through modernisation... but from the wrath of the politicians, who will save us! If the rumours are true and we are afflicted by excess power cuts just because we live near Devegowda’s fort, it makes me wonder... we are the ones affected by this, not him... I’m sure he has heavy duty generators running on all his properties! How does it matter to him whether or not the lights burn in our homes?

Thankfully the Sun God does his job reasonably well, or we'd be in the dark for most part of the day too!

A Satisfied Squirrel

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:32:32 PDT

This morning, as always, I laid out rice under the tree outside our house -- customarily meant for the crows, but always eaten by other animals including a tiny mouse that lives in a hole under the tree. Just when I was about to go back into the house, I heard a happy squeal and turned back, only to see a tiny squirrel eating the rice.

It was interesting and insightful seeing how the squirrel had its fill. It rushed down the tree and took four to five morsels of rice, that is all. Delighted to see its hands FULL of rice, it rushed back up the tree to the lowest branch and happily devoured it. It came back again for two or three more fills, and then rushed away playfully.

In all, it must have had less than one mouthful of rice by our standards, but it seemed so satisfied and happy. The spoonful of rice I served out would have fed four or five squirrels, I guess! And that in itself is a satisfying thought.

Well, it all goes to show just one thing -- satisfaction is relative. We are as happy and satisfied as we want to be!

India's Cottage Industry Rocks!

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:50:16 PDT

Truly, India's cottage industry rocks. The wealth of fabrics and handicrafts that get 'exported' to the cities from our villages and small towns is truly mind-boggling.

But, I wonder where you buy these? Earlier I used to buy them at exhibitions and other handicraft showrooms, but now I feel the best places to buy these from are the government-owned/cooperative stores such as Janatha Bazaar, Cooptex, Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan, Sarvodaya, etc. You get them much, much cheaper!

Imagine getting a beautiful, ethnic pillow cover for Rs 21/- or a classy, aesthetic, durable bed spread for Rs 75/- And oh well, I forgot the 15% seasonal discount on them! These are pretty much the same goods (often from the same manufacturers) that you would buy for triple the price at posh shops!

If the products are so economically-priced and yet durable, why is it that more people don't buy from these cooperative stores? I can only guess. Maybe it's because these stores are very to-the-point without any fancy decor or lighting? Maybe it's because these stores are not given much publicity? Maybe it's because they do not stock 'everything' all the time and only moving stock that matches the season? Well, I would say, that is why they are able to sell at such a price!

Personally speaking, any day, I would prefer to window shop at exhibitions and upmarket stores and then go buy the same products (if available) from the Janatha Bazaars of this world! What if one pillow cover or dupatta fades... 90% of the time I am able to bet on the quality :-)

Thogayal -- ever so versatile!

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:11:29 PDT

Have you tasted thogayal/thuvayal before? If you're a south Indian, you're sure to have, else you can try it out now, right in your own kitchen -- I'm sure you'll love it too!

Essentially, thogayal is a spicy variety of chutney made with vegetables/greens, dal etc. Tastes heavenly when mixed with rice, topped with a dash of til oil. Or you could have it as a side-dish along with idli, dosa, puris or the heavenly தயிர் சாதம் (curd rice)!

Curry Leaf Thogayal

One great thing about thogayal is that you can use the same basic recipe for any non-starchy vegetable (radish, beetroot etc), coriander, curry leaves or pudina. Even better, you can use it to imbibe in your diet many nutritious parts of vegetables which we would otherwise discard, such as the flesh of the snake-gourd, the peel of chow-chow, orange peel, etc!!

Here is how you make it...

Fry together a few spoons of urad dal, red chillies (according to taste) and asafoetida. Saute the vegetable/greens/peels. Grind both together, a little coarsely (if it's too fine, it will become sticky when you mix it together with rice).

Easy, isn't it?!!

My brother's blog

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Thu, 01 May 2008 08:35:51 PDT

I'm sure you'll love it! He's been blogging much longer than me, and is much more regular too. Plus, he is a great observer -- you'll know from his posts on varied subjects! Check it out... http://gcmouli.wordpress.com/

Valid concern...

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 04:27:31 PDT

Around mid-March, our BSNL telephone line was down for over a week, and I had to go to the office every alternate day to find out when it would be fixed. One fine day, I learnt that it was a major breakdown with several lines in the area down, and that it would take a few more days to be fixed. That was when a senior citizen, who had also been regularly wearing out his feet at the steps of the BSNL office lost his cool and raised a very valid concern.

His telephone had been down for more than 10 days, that is, for 1/3rd of the month -- will BSNL reduce the monthly rental paid by him since the service was not available for such a long period, he asked! To a person living out of a small pension, every rupee mattered, and the wastage of 1/3rd of the monthly rental is a big matter of concern. It is a matter of concern for every person, for that matter. He obviously got only a grumble and a curt reply saying the lineman will come (when?) soon.

Despite the emergence of several competitors, and the apparent change in the outlook of government agencies, organisations like BSNL still seem to consider serving the customer with a smile as a favour bequeathed on the latter (at least that is the attitude of most of the old-school customer-facing staff). Needless to say, they will not go out of their way, ever, to make a customer happy. Can you even dream of BSNL giving the concerned citizen a discount on his monthly bill, just because he raised a valid concern. I can definitely think of many MNCs and even proactive Indian private players doing (or at least considering) it.

With the kind of infrastructure and clout that government institutions have, just imagine what a sea change a little change in attitude can bring about. A lot to hope for, but well, some things seem to never change!

Fun and Learning at OSIW

noreply@blogger.com (Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 02:07:15 PDT

(A late but detailed review)

Being part participant, part team-member (on the content planning front), loud devil’s advocate, unconstrained idea-generator, patient ear, and unabashed complainer – or in short, being a pain in the neck – is a tough role, in any event! But I enjoyed being just that, at Open Source India Week 2008 (held from February 11th to 15th 2008 in Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi; I attended in Bangalore).

To be frank, there were a lot of little execution goofs – sometimes, the taxis sent to the hotel to pick up the star-speakers didn’t reach on time, a few speakers didn’t turn up, the event managers produced just one ‘master of ceremonies’ for three halls, sometimes it seemed as if there were no schedules although everything looked perfect on paper, and there was no Internet at the venue – God bless those patient souls.

But over all, I enjoyed working with the team – a lot – and it was a valuable learning/networking experience for me too.

Lesson learnt: Events must have a dedicated team for handling logistics, but this team must also be involved right from the planning stage so that they always have a holistic picture of what is happening, where. Execution related errors can be easily avoided and should be -- because it’s these little goofs that irritate both the participants and the organisers!

A wary start

Events are not my cup of tea. I am an editorial person, and understandably, I was wary of joining the team. Of course, others discouraged me too, since Microsoft (well-known element on the hit-list of free/open source software patrons) was also a sponsor. I, however, liked the fact that the organisers were very candid about that. They did not try to con me into joining the team – they made it clear at the very outset that Microsoft was going to be there too. Somehow, that didn’t bother me much, because it’s ultimately about being ‘open’ and letting everybody share their views. Ultimately, the consumer is intelligent and will make the right decision. I never doubt that. In fact, as a consumer, I believe I am intelligent too – I only use what works best for me!

Plus, the organisers offered me a role in the content-planning front, which frankly was just one step away from what I do for the magazines I work with. The content in this case would be presented and not written, and I’d have to interact with speakers and not authors. I also liked the fact that the goals of the event were good, and the positioning was different – it was an event targeted at those who knew the basics, it was meant to be a meeting ground for professionals already in the field of FOSS and IT to top up their knowledge and discover the latest in FOSS.

As a silent reviewer, however, I was a wee bit saddened because somehow the goals were not publicised much amongst the targeted audience – the turnout was not as much as it could have been, and the saddest part was that some later said, “Oh, it sounds interesting but we never knew about it, or we’d definitely have come.”

Lesson learnt: It’s not enough if you put together a good event, you need to publicise it too, because the right audience is an important part of the overall dynamics. And this needs to be done not just through ads but also through social-networking and other online modes – let’s say, PR is as important as the ads. Plus, it needs to be done on an ongoing basis – throughout the year, to keep the buzz alive.

That said, it was a very interesting few months -- interacting with speakers, understanding the topics they'd like to speak on, checking the 'match' of the topics with the various segments of the audience, finalising the topics, etc.

Interesting stuff, and pet projects

As a participant, I thought the content overall was well-planned (obviously, I didn’t plan all of it ;-)), and I found interesting discussions happening in many of the halls, anytime I stepped in for a sneak peek. Web development, mobile applications, open-sourced hardware-software platforms (such as the T-Engine/T-Kernel embedded systems platform), virtualisation, and a whole lot of interesting topics were covered – and the general impression was that the erstwhile LinuxAsia had grown in coverage in sync with the increased scope of its name!

Two of my favourite workshops (well, to be frank, it’s these two that lured me to work with the LinuxAsia team) were the ones on accessibility and FOSS-based entrepreneurship.

Accessibility is a significant issue today, and all the speakers (and the audience) were very clear about the fact that no proprietary software offers the specially-abled users as much freedom and accessibility as open sourced ones. The speakers demonstrated accessibility features in desktop environments and browsers, the possibilities that open source opens up in this front, and also certain challenges faced currently, which developers could help overcome. Klaus and Adrianne Knopper of Knoppix and ADRIANE (desktop environment for the visually-challenged) fame, Krishnakant Mane of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research who demonstrated accessibility features in software such as Mozilla Firefox, Amartyo Bannerjee, Teresa and Arun Mehta who spoke on computing for those with autism and cerebral palsy, and C Umashankar, managing director of ELCOT who showcased their work in that space and the general relevance of accessibility – every talk was valuable to users and developers.

FOSS.biz, a workshop on FOSS-based entrepreneurship was another interesting session that saw a packed hall and tremendous interaction between the audience and the panellists. The two panel discussions focused on tech-entrepreneurship on a broad level before zooming into the growth in FOSS-based entrepreneurship (and investments therein) across the globe. Many insights arose from the experienced panellists such as investors Alok Mittal and Ashish Gupta, technologists Brian Behlendorf and David Axmark, and open source advocates like Dr. Anthony Wasserman.

India needs more entrepreneurs now, as that’s the only way we can capitalise on our intellectual capital in a sustainable way, in the long-term. And FOSS breaks down some of the entry-barriers, allowing more people to start their own companies. While the investors made it clear that their evaluation of a project would be agnostic of whether it is open sourced or not, they did highlight the global trends in FOSS-based entrepreneurship and discuss the advantages therein. This workshop was organised in association with investment firm, Canaan Partners.

Not to forget the interesting panel discussion on mobile technologies – the topics discussed ranged from the need for standardisation to make life easier for developers, to better usability, and the desire for virtualisation on the mobile. Channelling the insights of experienced technologists such as Chiaki Ishikawa of the T-Engine Forum and J Satyamoorthy from Red Hat’s Jboss team, Narendra Bhandari of Intel did a superb job of chairing this panel – he left the organisers in total awe, thanks not only to the way he conducted the discussion on stage but also by how he managed to keep an eye on all the panellists to ensure none of them went missing minutes before the discussion was set to happen!

The summits saw a focused audience

I did not have much to do with organising the summits and couldn’t attend any but the CTOSummit in Bangalore (since it is quite closely linked to technology) – but I think it is a superb strategy to shape OSIW into a set of sub-events, including these summits. Unlike a campus event (such as, say, the TechZone of OSIW), in a summit, the audience is limited but extremely focused. Even when a summit is planned or publicised, the profile of the typical attendee is also planned. So, the speakers can also target their talks well; plus, since the audience has similar interests, there is a very vibrant interaction also.

The CTOSummit held at the Taj Westend, Bangalore, was very nice – the panel discussions as well as the interaction with the audience. Frankly, to the extent that I attended, and from the point of view of ‘i.t.’ magazine (which I consult for) and as a journalist, I found this session most interesting – as every panel discussion spelt the latest in technology, what’s hot, what’s not, innovations, and opportunities to be tapped.

Lessons learnt: The exhibitors expressed a very valid desire to have booth-space available at the venue of the CTOSummit, since the audience comprises decision-makers who are more likely to act (first-hand) upon what they see than the mixed audience seen at the campus event (TechZone). Maybe next year?

I only wish I’d also been able to fly over some of the Bangalore traffic and make it in time to have a proper lunch with the attendees at the summit! No, no, it’s not just about the food (that’s there too!). It’s because, as a friend once told me, the real conference always happens when the conference isn’t happening – and lunch times are crucial to get a feel of the audience, their preferences and what they really think about an event! Hmm, maybe it’s not too late… you can mail me your ideas, even now!