Avial

RTI Success Stories - First

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 18:04:00 +0000

The plan here is to Share my success / failure stories with RTI 2005 . FYI , I am not a RTI activist. I do Not belong to any party . The timing of this has nothing to do with AAP . I have minimal knowledge on RTI . I do have basic ideas about RTI and of course I will share my experiences here .

Introduction
What is RTI : I am not going to lecture on this . There are umteen sites telling us what is RTI . How you can file them , etc. Some of the links I like

http://rtionline.gov.in/

http://www.rtiindia.org

Story 1 : Did my EPF get transferred ?

I had to make a couple of Job changes in 2008 . When I Joined the new organization , I did not want to close out my PF account as my other friends had suggested . I chose to transfer and wait for the transfers to happen . Although I submitted my transfer application as soon as I joined the new Organization in May 2009 , my new Org took its own time to consolidate and Send it to EPFO office . I believe they did it in Sept 2009 . I forgot abt my PF transfer and I was engrossed at my new work . Time flew ..2010..2011 , .. I did not even know my PF had gone into a black hole . Where to go..Whom to approach . At the max , I would follow up with my PF dept and ask them if my PF has got transferred for which they would have the same ans as I did . I was just hoping for the best .
Thanks to one of my colleagues , he suggested to file a RTI to get the status . I spoke with him in length . I was never convinced that it would work . Ok..so what next .. I was researching a lot of sites to know about RTI , etc. I had drafted the letter several times . My laziness always overtook me and I never posted any of the letters to the PIO , EPF dept . For some reason , in late 2012 , I thought let me fire a print out and speed post the letter . Done . Keeping my fingers crossed to get the reply .
Oof .. Sharp 20 days , I did get a reply from the PIO , EPFO Bangalore saying my EPF from both the organizations have been transferred . Infact it was transferred by 2011 . I had no idea abt the transfer otherwise . But my mission was met to get to know that EPF had got successfully transferred .
Although I was not completely convinced that RTI enabled my transfer , I was atleast happy that my PF was transferred . Thanks RTI .
Rating : 7 on 10 .
Why not 10 on 10 ? First RTI , being cautious abt the success . It did help me in achieve my goal . But I didnt still know how to use this effectively to get my job done .

Good Job Mate .

"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind".. That One small step has more success stories to follow . Keep coming back .

Madhu
Right or wrong to information ?

Dish ...

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:03:00 +0000

Certainly this post is not on food . what else could this be ? My coz calls me to check which sat TV should he subscribe ? mmm....
Ta da.. Whats the first thing we do if we want to review ... Google govindan as I chellam call it . Does a research ..read several reviews ..then choses a brand advertised by one of the Khans..
Rewind !! Sunday mornings 25 years back ( gosh I am too old ) , if I had to watch He-Man Cartoon , I had to finish all my homework on Saturday . Not that I finished them , but I atleast had to act as if I had done .But today , there are 15 cartoon channels ..Gosh ...my niece is glued to all the cartoons 24x7. God pl help .
When I used to pass Sadras Bus Stand , there used to be an inverted umbrella antenna , which used to retransmit the received data . Today each one of our apt have the setup .
Now with Set top boxes mandatory in most of the major cities / towns , these channels are basking in the glory .

Talking about dishes ( read dish antennas ) , who can forget the tripartite communication strategies in olden days for antenna tuning . TV antennas used to receive signals and we would receive the only channel ( Doordarshan ) . Wind blows and the antenna turns like a wind vane in the direction of the wind ... All the kids where in the terraces trying to change the direction of the antenna back to its original position . Madhu in the terrace turning the antenna to its original direction , Amma in the balcony to transmit the message from madhu . Appa actually checking in the TV and checking for clarity .

As a child I used to curse the wind . Now there is no such Antenna.. All of us are glued to the TVs without the 5 / 7 stripped antennas but a small dish in our terrace .. Luckily they dont change directions!!

Technology evolved .

Madhu
Ant Anna or Ant thambi ?

Third time unlucky

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 04:37:00 +0000

One two three.. I could not get luckier this time . I am finally Ousted . Tell me what wrong did I do ?

I am the first Chief minister to have survived 2 No confidence motion in a span of 2 weeks. Just that it costed me that much more . What the hell , I was the one who brought BJP to power in a southern state for the first time .

If people ask me about what I have done for Karnataka , I rebutt back , why are you asking me this ? Why did you not ask the same with my predecessors ? I was busy going to temples and meeting astrologers .

When Opposition claimed that I had given money to keep their mouth shut , I had said I will take a 'Truth Test' in Dharmastala that I had not paid a pie . Unfortunately I could just go to the temple but could not take the test because "the question paper was out".

I have wonderful sons , hence gave away the govt land to them out off turn . Now tell me whats wrong in this ?

I swear that I am "less" corrupt than my previous govt . Now you cant blame me for the corruption that other people had done !

Illegal Mining ? What is that ? Where is Bellary ? I did not derive any benefits from Illegal Mining . Whatever I got from it , I gave it back to party . Didnt I ?
When the Lokayukta report was published , I was busy in a holiday in Mauritius enjoying a vacation . Tell me which is more important ?

Now with so many achievements under my belt , not sure why my part high command wants me to leave this post . Can anyone help me ?

Cheers,
Maddy urappa ??

Germination ...

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:13:00 +0000

Good news over good news.. I got a place to stay for myself ..a small one about 2 months ago . Me and my wife decided that we would have a small terrace garden .
To start with we have a few flowers in pots . How can we forget not having vegetables .
We have beans which have sprouted within a week of planting . Got Palak , Methi , etc .
Hope the sow gives us a great reap to atleast keep our enthu going on .
let me post as and when I get more experience on my gardening skills.

Cheers,
Madhu
- The Mali

Socially Networked

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 15:35:00 +0000

My partner has been bugging me to blog for all this time and I have been escaping saying I am BC !! Really busy or lazy ? Well partly both are true . Probably ran out of topics .. Really ? Then how am I connected to the whole world .
There been a flurry of socially networking site . The Orkuts of the world , Facebooks ..Twitter ..
Well to net unaware netizens if I have to help understand what these are then these are networking sites to say hi to all your friends and keep them aware of what you are up to .
I have seen some of my friend's tweets as " I am going to bed" ..Gosh guys are you so very vela .
In my perspective the only benefit these sites have is to pass time . Initially I was thrilled by Orkut which brought in a connection to my old friends . But then as time passed , I realized that the only thing I had to say them was a simple Hi... I didn't have anything much to say :( Then what are the benefits of these social network sites. One big benefit that I could think of as create a lot of controversies . FYI ..Twitter has made a MP fall down just because he could keep his mouth shut .
Does that mean don't I have any such ids in these social sites. Of course not . I am a guy who has logins in almost all the sites and pretty decently active in all these sites but still believe its of no use . I am always in touch even in these only with whom I am actively connected .
My juniors have a different philosophy together . They claim face books of the world have been the best things to use in the internet . mmm..fair thought and I have always seen them connected only in one of the social sites ..
Knock Knock..my door bell rang . I saw an unknown person at my my door step . He had come to give my post mail . Realized that he was my neighbour whom I haven't met for the past 2 years that I have lived in this apartment . Neither did he have a clue that I was his neighbour .
Just an irony in the world of social networking , the neighbours arent networked :(

ESPecial win

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:22:00 +0000

Long Hiatus ..reason certainly not whats there in the title. But the one i had put up as an exciting day . Yes I have upgraded my status . So so good with a lot of tension before the status change . Now things are settling down . I am safe with no injuries from poori kattais and idli karandis. I have outsourced some of my activities and am certainly having more free time than before . hopefully she doesnt read this post lest i will be having more work .

Chal Cia.. This post has got nothing with the title . Just a misnomer title .

Madhu
- No longer a bachelor .

Caught napping

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:22:00 +0000

Yesterday evening , I had to go to the bank to check if my account has got transferred from Kalpax to Bangalore . yes you read it correct . I have an account still in Kalpakkam . After 10 years I decided to get this account transferred .
.Should I go to the bank just to transfer this amount . Anyways the account has stayed dormant for 10 years , Cant I let it stay as it is ...Several thoughts were running . The thought of bangalore traffic made me think to avoid it . I poushed myself over and decided to go for it .
Being an avid follower of rules, I hate breaking lines . Try to follow traffic rules as much as possible. Avoid bribing people for any reason . And of course try not to take bribes . Not that I am govt. servant for me to take bribes . Sometimes I feel I act like rules Ramanujam . As I got closer to the bank and was waiting for a signal to get green , I heard a lorry honking right behind . I was just cursing the lorry driver for severly honking at me . Hey idiot , its still red , you cant go over the signal . As the signal got green , I took a U Turn and moved away giving way to the
lorry . Ha I was feeeling relaxed for having such lorries get past me . As I had started accelerating my bike ......
From no where did a constable appear and waved her hand accross . I didnt do any thing wrong ..Did I . I have my papers , I didnt jump any signal . I wanted to make myself doubly sure , if she was asking me to stop ..Creech...my brakes were on and I moved to the left to park my bike . I started to tell her that I didnt jump signals , I had my papers on ..etc. etc . For which she quietly said there a NO U turn signal and I didnt obey it . Oops. didnt I notice it at all ..

My pocket grew lighter by Rs.100 and I had my challan for taking a wrong U turn .

Madhu
- the traffic breaker .

Another year passes ...

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:39:00 +0000

A long year passed ...A lot of ups and downs as usual ..Lot of stuff happened .Interesting and uninteresting . The future is always exciting . Let me see whats in store for me in 2010 .

Madhu
- Eagerly entering 2010

Finally its out..

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 06:26:00 +0000

Long waits..Costly elections .low percentage turnouts. Multi Party system.Third fronts .Nehru-Gnadhi Dynasty . Modi-Advani Factor .26-11 .Recession..Aam Admi..India Shining..

Its all over . UPA is set for another term . Singh is Kingh .

Madhu
- Just a voter.

Maiden English

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 01:35:00 +0000

Rani has been our servant maid for over a year now . She talks very little and finishes her work very sincerely . The problem is language. I and my amma cannot speak kannada and Rani cant speak Tamil. Mode of communication is then Tannada . English was a taboo. She couldnt understand a word in English .
She doesnt bunk and her work is decent. But I have only one complain. She comes very late for work . She comes at 11:00 Am. Well I have asked her to report at about 7:00 am , so that she can clean the house even when I am there. Every time I have asked her to come early , she said she was working in homes where the couples were working for a fraud hit software company . Both the couples had to leave before 9:00 and it was next to impossible for Rani to come to my house at 7:00 . Point agreed . But on Sundays , she used to be at 7:00 . What ? Why do you take me for granted and disturb me at 7:00 on sundays. Am I not a office goer? Come on..

We have got used to her timings and she has got used to ours. I have stopped complaining about her weird timings to my house . Time has passed . Suddenly one fine day she starts coming at 7:00 am in the morning . We thought initially that this was a temporary arrangement and she would get back to her normal timings. After a week , amma slowly asked Rani why she was coming early these days. For which she silently replied , she was affected by "RECESSION" and carried on her with work.

Madhu
-Awed by effects of recession

why not stp ?

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 01:36:00 +0000

I am not an avid tracker of all these indices like sensex or Nifty . I have some of my friends who burnt their fingers not knowing what they were doing in the markets. Some of them were told by their mutual fund agents during the 2007-08 that indian exhanges can give you returns of 200 p.a ..What ?

Come on, lets be honest . For any stock to deliver 200 % yoy , the production needs to jump 200% . Agreed indian markets are huge and they have a lot of value .But expecting a ROI of 200% every year is just next to impossible . Investing in Indian equity would give you returns of abt 20-30% over a longer tenure , which is really good .

Taking their advices and tips , my friends investments have eroded big time .I for one never believed in stuff which generates short time happiness . I prefer long term . After some analysis, I did come to know that most Mutual fund AMCs have a product called STP .
Yeah Systematic Transfer plan . Whats so great abt it ? This is very much similar to SIP ( Systematic investment plan ) . But with a minor difference .
Here , you move the money periodically frm debt funds ( check my old article on this ) to equity funds instead of having bulk deposits . This way you if you are in the top tax bracket you save on tax on Savings account as well as you get the fruits of investment in equity . The only catch here is you might not have AMCs which are strong both in debt and equity . And you can have a STP only within a AMC ad not across AMCs.
All AMCs should have these products. You might want to try this product and let me know your feedback .

Madhu
-the financial expert .

Bus bookings

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:25:00 +0000

This might be old news .There are some sites that allow booking of buses online.
You might want to try this site .

KSRTC has this feature . But TNSTC doesnt .. Come on TamilNadu transport ,lon way to go ..Come out of stone age .

Madhu

Ttttt ?

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:55:00 +0000

New office ..new people , new characters . I am a slow mover amongst people . It takes time for me to get used to people. Its amazing how human mind makes impressions about people by just their looks . Infact I too made first hand impressions about a lot of people mostly wrong impressions .
I was getting close to Sundar who was my manager . Sundar was very talkative.Infact more talkative than me . People used to be scared of him both for his knowledge and his voice . I had no problems getting along with him .
As time passed one day he invited me to his house for a cup of coffee . You all would by now know that I am one of the greatest lovers of coffee not that I am addicted to it . Yaaru Coffee nnu sonalum I go with them without a second thought ..We got in the car and as we were travelling to his house .there was a quick argument on who was the best coffee taster . He said that he is an extensive coffee drinker . As the argument heated up, he brought about his visits to cafe coffee day in his locality . He also mentioned that star bucks in US offered him a spl rebate on account of his loyalty. He brooded that he could identify and distinguish variety of coffees by just a sip . Infact , he proclaimed his wife made coffee which was the best in the world . This was on expected guidelines . Now all that I could offer as an argument was I just drink one cup of coffee everyday but that it was a south indian filter coffee. He was laughing hither thither as we parked the car in his house .
I greeted Mrs. Sundar and their kutties Aswin Sundar and Megha Sundar . The beverage topic started again and the kids said that Boost is the secret of their energy and they wanted to be Sachins and Dhonies ..
Meanwhile , mrs Sundar gave both of us cups .As we were sipping sundar was enjoying , but my facial expression changed . This certainly wasnt tasting a bit like my regular coffee . Several thoughts were running in my mind , was this is a special Coorgean coffee, Ingy Coffee , Sukhu Coffee ? Infact this was tasting terrible . But how could I say this to my manager . I gulped this like a kashayam. Sundar was sipping his cup and called his wife to boast abt his coffee drinking and coffee identifying prowess . To impress him I asked her the recipe of this special coffee for which she silently replied that this was not coffee but Tea and that she didnt know to make coffee all through her life . What ?
I gave a wry smile to Sundar as we walked to the car .

Madhu
Coffee Champion .

Naatyam ...

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:48:00 +0000

Last friday one of my kalpakkam friends had invited me for a dance performance. His wife who is an eminent Bharatnatyam exponent was performing in Yavanika state youth center , Nrupatunga Road , bangalore at 6:30 PM . For whatever reasons,my inclination towards music is much
more than towards dance .I wanted to break this barrier and grabbed this
oppurtunity .
On dot 6:30 , the program started with an invocation to the dance Lord Shiva ,
in Revathy . The first thing I realised was the phenomenal stamina one needs to
have while dancing. A humble suggestion audience , pl do not pick up your mobiles while an artiste is performing . Would also appreciate if you can remain silent all through the performance .
mmm.. dance soodu pudika arambitchidhu . Right after the invocation the central piece the Varnam began . Unlike in a music concert where varnam is the starter in dance it is the core . Its like the RTP where the exponent can show all his/her talent . Madhu why do u have to compare Apples and Oranges ?
The Varnam was set to RitiGowlai ( for new comers listen to Azhagana Rakshashi, kangal Irundal ) .Sri Krishna vasudeva depicted lord Krishna leela . How beautifully the lady depcited Putana vada and shakatasura vada ( please read it as destruction not as an eatable vada :) ) . Lord Krishna becoming the
parthasarathy...Now I came to understand the dance is no less than music .
Certainly there is a visual appeal . Thanks to the lady performing .
Having done with the varnam , the track moved on to the Padam in Chinna jiru
kilyeah set to Ragamalika by Subby ( Thillu mullu style ) . The bhava of
mother child relation was just amazing. Good Job done again .
The lady singing to synchronise with the performer needs a noteworthy mention here . In all the renditions she brought abt the emotions to help the lady performing . Just a small suggestion madam , 'N', 'n' ,Gna in songs need to be relooked upon . Yeah I understand that diff lang have diff pronounciations ,but meanings differ if a wrong syllable is used .
If chinna chiru kilyeah was superb , The devar nama by Purandara Dasa
was a step further . This piece was the best rather I liked it the most .
Reason , because there was a posture of Lord Nrsimha my fav which the artist
brought about realistically .
I was just thinking , probably the theme today is only Lord Vishnu . Just as my
thought went through she started a performance in a Javali which depicted
a beautiful husband wife relation . Isnt this Raghava Prema ?
Dance without a thillana is a lunch without a desserrt . The dessert was
was in AmritaVarshini . Ok guys lets go home after such a wonderful evening.
On the whole it was a brilliant performance by the lady .Certainly appreciations to the singer , the natuvangini , the flautist and the mrindangist as well .
Great job done . My appreciation is minimal here as my knowledge in dance is
zero . I would have certainly appreciated the perf if I had known better .
Certainly the seed is sown , and I would get back with some more understanding
of the art .
Venaktesh , this academy has perfomances on every weekend on diff art forms.
Next week polama ?

Madhu
Thandava Koney

yet again..

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 14:56:00 +0000

I have got tired of writing abt terror . Past 3 days have really been tramautic for me as it has been for anyone in India .seeing the stupid idiots firing at innocent people ..These terrorists are just cowards . they do not know what they want . i have no words to abuse them .
certainly the NSG, police , Army , the hotel staff have to be appreciated . No words of praise can be sufficient .
aftermath , i saw ppl shouting and finger pointing at politicians , intelligence failure ..all of them said they want a better system in place. My point is out of the 20-25 ppl who wud have got interviewed , I am assuming 10 wudnt have voted.. 10 wud have tried to evade taxes .Now each of us are corrupt and ahve a systemic failure ..but expect the system to be perfect .the only way to correct the system is by correcting oneselve.Each one of us shd do our duties sincerely and then if we demand something is going wrong ..then nothing like it..But here each one of us are corrupt to the core including me ..But we want the system to be perfect..
My heart cries ...

madhu
- the warrior

Finally.....

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:40:00 +0000

I feel its just yesterday I came to Hyd . I looked at my calendar and realised that its more than 5 years that I have stayed here. The Gullys in Ameerpet and Begumpet know me very well.

I have had my share of ups and downs in my stay at Hyderabad. Beautiful events , very sad events have happened in this place.
Now its time for me to move on. Again all that I am going to do is fix / create more bugs as i have always been doing.As I always say as a computer applications programmer , there are only 4 things you can do ...SELECT , UPDATE , INSERT or DELETE ...But in a new place , new ways of doing old things..new challenges new expectations .. lets see whats in store ..

Bye Bye Hyderabad .. I am coming Bangalore ..

Madhu
--Last Post from the Nawabistan

Shoot Me if you can

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:45:00 +0000

Photo Courtesy : Olympics Site

Abhinav Bindra has won India's first individual gold medal in Olympics .Event: 10m Air Rifle .

I am just at loss of words in Congratulating the champion ... I was enthralled to listen to the Indian National Anthem during the award winning ceremony .I salute the great indian shooter .

You are ABHINAV "WIN" DRA.. Its a great day forIndian sports .

Cheers,
Madhu

Theory of relativity

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:44:00 +0000

After a gap of abt 3 years I picked up a book on Relativity . Yeah it was a real technical book and Thank god I didn't really struggle hard to understand .It took me some time to get on to the groove and then what I was driving the book pretty fast . Its altogether another matter that I had to refer back to google time and again to get my physics back in place .

Why is the theory of relativity so much acclaimed in physics world ? mmmmm.. The main reason is it redefined Newton's laws which were considered to be the bible of classical mechanics .What was it ? Heard of the great twin paradox .. Think on those lines .. Though Sir Einstein is treated as the guy for relativity , I would certainly contribute some of the relativistic principle's to Poincare and Lorentz.
Even though theory of relativity is a path breaking discovery , Einstein didn't get a Nobel for this discovery but got the Nobel for his work on Photo electricity .. Did you know why? Post your comments if you know the exact reason . ( I guess I know ) .

Hindu philosophy treatises relativistic principles in its own way . Did you know that one human year is treated a day for "Deva" .One Year of Deva is treated as One day for Brhma on all those ..Dont you see the time dilation or space time curvature in the umpteen stories that we have heard off during our child hood days ..

Talking abt relativity , I always felt Physics and Philosophy of life go hand in hand . Both of them try to think on the most obvious things around. Most famous people in this world are either physicts or philosophers . The reason is simple . Common people don't understand either of them :)....And I know that most people who read my blog wouldn't have understood me either ..
So Am I a physict or a philosopher or both ?

Relatively yours ,
Madhu

Timely Puzzle

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:58:00 +0000

I know its a decade I have asked a puzzle or infact posted something at all ..

Again its a sequence Puzzle which I got to know recently ( infact last saturday ). i am posting it coz I was able to crack it ...otherwise would I have ?

Ok ..The sequence is

1,6,11,4,9 ,......

Can you find the sequence ?

Cheers,
Madhu
--The titan

Philosophical Masala Dosai

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 13:08:00 +0000

Before reading this post , I would request u to read my other post on dosais. I relinquish my dosais fully . Especially masala dosais(MD) . The other day when I was munching my MD , I realised that eating MD was an art by itself !! yes ..i then started analysing how people ate their MD..To my excitement it did have a significant way in their way of life too ...
Let me put down my analysis ..
1)People who finish the dosai part and have the masala saved till the last moment. These people save a lot of money and use the money later.
2) People who are of the other kind . The ones who finish the masala first and slowly gobble the dosai part ..These are the people who dont care abt savings ..Spend and enjoy is their motto.
3)People who start from the middle and proceed to both ends..These are the people who like to get right to what they think is their best part of life.
4)People who eat the dosa making sure that the masala lasts forthe whole dosa.. These people are very rare. They plan their life systematically ..
mmm...these are my strange analysis ..Next time you eat dosai , i am pretty much sure
you would think abt this art of masala dosai and eat it carefully and not push it in your digestive tract..

Be careful ,eating Masala dosais reveals your character ..

Madhu
-MD in Dosai Philosophy

History Repeats

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 18:02:00 +0000

Nov 1 , we moved from 6 type in 4 th Avenue to 4 type in 5 th Avenue . New Apartment , new neighbors , new flat mates . New house excited me as it does to everyone . I was in Std 7 . It was a brand new flat in one end of the colony . Shifting the house was the best thing I liked then, as I would get an opportunity to travel in a Lorry . Though the lorry journey didn't last long , I enjoyed it thoroughly . Shifting was over over the weekend . Monday morning I was ready for the school . I used to board the bus in Second stop in the 3 street . My Bus stop didnt change as both the houses were in the vicinity of the same bus stop . As I was getting ready , mami from the second floor wanted to know the where abouts of the bus stop and where she would have to put her small daughter who was in 1st class then .
From that day , I used to accompany her to the bus stop . Monday mornings were the toughest . The small girl would cry and we used to cajole her to go to school . Invariably she used to be late and we used to run to the bus stop . My God , I was literally scared when I got a responsibility of accompanying another girl the next year . But being a good boy , I used to take care of both of them. 7 , 8 and 9 th class ... I think I did my job dutifully . 10 th class , I got my bicycle and thank God I started going to School by cycle and not by Bus . By then both these girls knew the route to the bus stop and I didn't have to accompany them to school . At least I didn't have to run every day to the bus stop :( .
20 years have gone by... The same family who stayed above us are moving to Hyderabad . They have rented a house in our apartment . But this time therez a small change , we are in the second floor and they are in the first floor. These people are new to Hyderabad .. The girl is working in a big time company . shez planning to commute to office by MMTS train . Should I accompany her to the office ? Will I be late to my office ? Does she still cry on Mondays to work ? Should we all coax her on Mondays to go to office ?
I was just a bit shaken, thinking about the famous adage "History Repeats " . It has almost repeated for me ...

Cheers,
Madhu

Meera alias M.S.Subbulakshmi

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 18:23:00 +0000

I Know that I am in no capacity to write abt one of the greatest doyens of modern day classical music. As a small child I was seeing Mira Bai movie with my parents and infact was awed by the divinty in the music and the singer. Infact from that day I even thought the queen of music who portrayed Mira was indeed the real Mira . Post facto I still think that my thought could have been true. MS amma as she is known could have been a reincarnation of Mira herself . Just listen to "Katriniley varum Geetham " and I know as the song says , your heart will melt for her music.

If you by any chance listen to classical music , you would have for sure not missed listening to MS. The beauty in MS songs lie in the fact that the listener attains a trance state . We all get elevated due to the divinty that her songs posses . For one instance I listened to "O Rangasayee " by her in Kambodhi and started to collect songs in Kambodhi only to realise that the song's beauty lies in the voice of the singer and not in the song itself.

So many awards , money , fame had not deterred the Vaak Saraswati from charity. Her service to humanity through Maitreem Bhajatha which she included in all her concerts sings for itself. Anything special that made me write abt this art form today ? She attained mukti on Dec 11 ,2004 . But her music remains in all of us at least in me till I remain .

Madhu
-an atom writing abt a galaxy

Marana Kadi

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 05:55:00 +0000

I went to my cousin's marriage when my small little nieces and nephews were all over me to share them with kadi jokes(Poor Jokes). In my school days these kadi jokes used to be really popular. Let me see if I can recollect some of them and post them. Please do post your answers . Most of them are old jokes and really common ones. You need to understand Tamil to answer them.

1. The most famous one - Bus Pinnala thallina enna agum
-- Pin Valayum
2. Oru Naal enga amma Murukku panina . After week we found that they were dead .Why ?
-- Adhula Thookula potuirundanga
3. Thayir( Curd) en velai (white) a irukku
-- Pala thothca(wash) thayir varum
4. Whats the opposite of STD ?
-- No Coffee Da
5. Palvalikku mukiyaman Karanan enna theriyuma?
--Pal daan
6. Patient: Neenga oru "Pal Doctor" a ?
Doctor. Illai Naan " Muppathirendu pallukkum Doctor".
7. Oru girl veettukku late aa vara. odane antha ponnu appa "yen lattu" appadinraru. amma asked her "why are you late?" annan "thum late kya karum(hindi )" appadi nnu ketaru akka "enthukku lattuka uchchavu (telugu)" what can you infer from this.
--Oru Ponnu Late a vanda , 4 peru 4 vidama kepanga
8. What is the similarity between short circuit and poramai?
--Wire eriyardhu
9. LEO coffee a yaen kalyanam pannikka mudiyaadhu?
--Leo coffee manamana coffee
10. LIC oda 14th floorla sandhanam poosi yirukkanga. Yaen?
11. yen manaivi vayil pudavai dhan kattuva (aachariyamaga)yellarum iduppula dhane pudavai kattuvanga
12. Mylapore-kkum, Mandaveli-kkum sandai vandha edhu win-pannum?
--Mylapore , enna dhu kitta daan tank irukku
13. Russia-la yen kosu-ve illai?
--Ena anga kosukkku vera peru
14. Ramar Sithaiyai thedindu Lankai kalambumbodhu kadal ai thaandarathukku varar.Appo enna aschariyam! Kadal avarukku appadiye vazhi vittuduthu. Yein?
-- Enna avarukku kitta "will" irundhadhu. where there is a will there is a way
15. Mickey Mouse , Donald Duck and pluto were playing. Suddenly Mickey's tail started growing long. It grew very long .It went to a corner and Started writing Ramayan ? Yean?
-- Enna adhu valmiki ayiditchu :(

I can see all of you running towards me for hitting me..Naan abscond ........

Cheers,
Madhu
Kadi Kadi

Sundal Garam Sundal

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 07:02:00 +0000

Dusserra is a festival which is celebrated in all parts of India for various reasons. North of India , people celebrate on the victory of Ram over Ravan . In the East people enjoy the festival as Durga Pooja with "Sandesh". In the South people celebrate it as victory of Durga over Mahishasuran by having a Kolu ( dolls ) . Each of the regions have their own culture and reasons to celebrate .Navarathiri is most well known for Ladies going to one another's house on one of these 9 days . Ladies sing songs , interact with others . On the whole the whole environment is spiritual . The celebration of Kolu is by placing divine mud dolls on an odd number of steps . The fact that we place mud dolls symbolizes that after death we also become mud .

I being from south have my own reason.I celebrate kolu for a very special reason . Yes your guess is right . I enjoy the sundals . Being from a small colony called Kalpakkam , I used to go to most of my friends houses and eat sundals from each of the houses . Being a good critic of food , I gained popularity for giving genuine comments on sundals .It became well known in a circle of our friends that my certificate was valid for all the 9 days. On the day I certify a sundal to be good , it was like Vasishtar Vayal Brahma rishi for the sundal Mami . Like today's Microsoft certification for MCSE or Sun ceritification for Java, those days were popular for Madhu certified sundals .
My amma's speciality was Puttu . This is made of Arisi Mavu( Rice flour) and generally made on a Friday . My God! , I still remember our house used to be full of people on Fridays. People from 21 street( farthest from my house) used to come to 5 th avenue to taste my Amma's Puttu .
The days are gone , now a days we havent been celebrating kolu for this reason . Its been more than 2 years since I have eaten sundal . I miss my Sundal . Hoping against the hope to start celebrating kolu again atleast for my sundal wishes .

Cheers,
Madhu
Sundalan

Savings A/c or Short Term Debt funds

noreply@blogger.com (Avial) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:34:00 +0000

The Indian equity markets are at dizzy heights and it seems they have taken steroids . They are running up as if they want to catch up with Ben Johnson . Ofcourse this comes with a lot of risk .
Thanks to these heights I have seen a lot of mutual Fund AMCs launching arbit schemes under various names . Though I feel most of them dont have any value addition. I have seen a lot of ppl running behind just because the new funds have no Entry Loads . Should only Equity market be our investing strategy . Why is Debt Funds not being discussed at all ?
Actually Debt Funds should also be given its due . Actually I tell you short term debt funds are more tax efficient that your saving account interests . All this assuming you are in the highest tax bracket and you file your tax returns as a nice and honest citizen . Let me explain how .

We all know SB a/c in any bank gives us a return of 3.5 percent . For an amount of say 10000 the ROI = 350 ( I hope my Maths is correct ) after a Year .
That means all 350 Rupees is taxed at your highest tax level . 350 * 30/100 = 12.25 .(Actually these numbers are small ) but the numbers proptiantely increase if the principal is more .

Lets take the same amount in a reasonable shot term debt fund . Ideally if you are in the highest tax bracket , You should be going for a divident option . this is because the dividend payout is made after the tax . So the dividend that you receive is not taxable . typically the NAV falls after a dividend payout . So you can just keep pocketing the dividend . This would be intune of about 4-4.5 5 (average performing fnuds ).It could go up higher . Another thing about short term funds are its far less riskier that Equity funds ....Of course MFs always comes witha statuatory warning . For short term funds there are no entry/exit loads too :)

You might want to visit this for more details .

Next time chose you better not park your money in SB instead think of investing short term money in Short term funds with dividend options .

Cheers,
Madhu
Money manager