Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Helping hands - an important message.....[Pls circulate]
Please circulate this mail to as many people as you can, as we should be thankful to God for the food that he has provided us...and express our gratitude by helping those, who unfortunately are the disadvantaged ones, in our own little way possible.
Remember, "Helping hands are 'always' better than Praying Lips".
Thursday, February 15, 2007
B School Blog Hunt Competition
India's 1st B School Blog Hunt Competition
Student/Alumni of Any Business school worldwide is eligible
just go through the following links for further information-
http://inferno.aimk.org/Main/BlogHunt
Submit your blog at -
http://inferno.aimk.org/blogofthemonth/index.php
Organised by Army Institute of Management co Sponsered by Pagalguy.com
www.inferno.aimk.org/
www.pagalguy.com
==============================================
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Great story on Gandhism.......................
perhaps in this one case - parent-child relationship, there is generally love, which can make non-violence work...
Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K.Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, in his June 9 lecture at the University of Puerto Rico, shared the following story:
I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa, in the middle of the sugarplantations. We were deep in the country and had no neighbors, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going to town to visit friends or go to the movies.
One day, my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was
going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town, my father asked me
to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced.
When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, "I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together."
After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John
Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time. It was 5:30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and
got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00.
He anxiously asked me, "Why were you late?"
I was so ashamed of telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, "The car wasn't ready, so I had
to wait," not realizing that he had already called the garage.
When he caught me in the lie, he said: "There's something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn't give you
the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I'm going to walk home 18 miles
and think about it."
So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads.
I couldn't leave him, so for five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a
stupid lie that I uttered. I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again. I often think about that
episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all.
I don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. But this single non-violent
action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday. That is the power of non-violence.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
The thrilling face of a brave new India- Shashi Tharoor editorial
The thrilling face of a brave new India- Shashi Tharoor Editorial
We all know India has changed dramatically in recent years: the country I
left when I first went abroad as a student in 1975 would be barely
recognisable to the young Indians of today.
To those who remember the old India, there's visible evidence of change all
around from the variety of makes of car on the roads to the number of
channels on my mother's television set, not to mention the malls now
sprouting like mushrooms in chic suburbs that used to be dusty and forlorn
mofussils.
But what about the invisible evidence of change? How does one capture the
transformation of attitude that's as essential a part of what India has
become?
Sometimes a simple event encapsulates something far larger than itself.
Journalists are overly fond of 'defining moments', I know. And one should
always be wary of making too much of anything that transpires on that
theatre of the evanescent, the sports field.
But my epiphany about the new India came last month in just such a setting
during the telecast of the first cricket Test against South Africa at the
Wanderers' ground in Johannesburg.
India's new bowling hero, Shantakumaran 'Gopu' Sreesanth, was batting,
facing the charged-up South African speedster Andri Nel. "As soon as I
walked in to bat, Nel said 'I can smell blood, I can smell blood',"
Sreesanth later revealed. His first ball beat the Indian tailender all
ends-up.
Nel then marched up to the young Indian, taunting him that he didn't have
the heart to stand up to the big man's pace bowling. "You don't have the
fire, man. You should have a big heart to play me," Nel reportedly said,
thumping his own chest in full view of the TV cameras.
"You are like a bunny to me." He then declared that he would 'get'
Sreesanth with his next delivery. Nel ostentatiously changed the field for
the next ball, moving the short-leg fieldsman to deep square-leg and
informing wicket-keeper Mark Boucher, in Sreesanth's hearing, that he would
be bowling a bouncer.
The young Indian was not fooled. "I am a fast bowler," Sreesanth said
later, "and I was sure that he would bowl a length ball." Sure enough, Nel
charged in, believing the batsman was expecting a short-pitched delivery,
and bowled a fast, full-length ball on the middle stump.
Sreesanth, having guessed correctly, stepped back and with an almighty
swing hit the ball back over the fast bowler's head into the stands for
six. What followed is now one of television's most memorable moments.
No one who saw it can forget Sreesanth running down the pitch in triumph,
twirling his bat like a bandleader's baton, then breaking into a dance that
combined both relief and exhilaration: the relief of the plucky kid on the
beach who has kicked sand back into the bully's face, and the exhilaration
of one who knows that, after essaying so foolhardy a deed, he had gotten
away with it.
Nel was left not merely speechless but defanged; the sheepish expression on
his face was worth almost as much as the priceless, laugh-out-loud joy of
Sreesanth's impromptu breakdance.
Everything about the episode emblazoned a story of transformational change.
In the old India, a tailender, confronted with a fast bowler's aggression,
would have been cowed. He would either have backed away from the imminent
threat of decapitation, or (at best) have put his head down and attempted
to block the next ball.
He would have been grateful to have survived at all; there would have been
no doubt that the foreign paceman would have maintained his psychological
ascendancy. It would certainly never have occurred to the Indian to think
like a fast bowler, and it would have been beyond imagining that he would
decide to meet fire with fire.
Sreesanth's extraordinary hit over Nel's head for six encapsulated for me
all that is different about the new India: courage, assertiveness, a
refusal to be intimidated, a willingness to take risks and ultimately the
confidence to stand up to the best that the outside world can fling at us.
This goes well beyond the cricket field. Sreesanth's India is the land that
throws out the intruders of Kargil, that acquires Europe's largest steel
conglomerate in the face of taunts about 'monkey money', that exports more
films abroad than it imports, that challenges the traditional assumption of
superiority by others, that wins Booker Prizes and Miss Universe contests.
It doesn't matter, then, that India lost the next Test, in Durban. It
doesn't even matter that the entire series 'went south' in Cape Town.
Because this is not about cricket any more. It's about a state of mind a
state of mind that will also change the Indian state.
What Sreesanth demonstrated was an attitude that has transformed the
younger generation into a breed apart from its parents'.
It is the attitude of an India that can hold its nerve and flex its sinews,
an India whose self-confidence is rooted in the sober certitude of
self-knowledge ("I am a fast bowler," said Sreesanth), an India that says
to the future, "come on; I am not afraid of you."
As 2007 gets under way, let us cheer on the prospects of this India an
India whose reach and imagination can soar like a six into the skies above.
Friday, February 09, 2007
anna dies...
Thursday, February 08, 2007
One Bed Room Apartment
quite an interesting article .... something to think about... if it is worth the grind of going through with a "career" over the simple joys of life. :-)
ONE BEDROOM FLAT... AN INDIAN SOFTWARE ENGINEER'S LIFE...- A Bitter Reality
As the dream of most parents I had acquired a degree in Software Engineer and joined a company based in USA, the land of braves and opportunity. When I arrived in the USA, it was as if a dream had come true.
Here at last I was in the place where I want to be. I decided I would be staying in this country for about Five years in which time I would have earned enough money to settle down in India.
My father was a government employee and after his retirement, the only asset he could acquire was a decent one bedroom flat.
I wanted to do some thing more than him. I started feeling homesick and lonely as the time passed. I used to call home and speak to my parents every week using cheap international phone cards. Two years passed, two years of Burgers at McDonald's and pizzas and discos and 2 years watching the foreign exchange rate getting happy whenever the Rupee value went down.
Finally I decided to get married. Told my parents that I have only 10 days of holidays and everything must be done within these 10 days. I got my ticket booked in the cheapest flight. Was jubilant and was actually enjoying hopping for gifts for all my friends back home. If I miss anyone then there will be talks. After reaching home I spent home one week going through all the photographs of girls and as the time was getting shorter I was forced to select one candidate.
In-laws told me, to my surprise, that I would have to get married in 2-3 days, as I will not get anymore holidays. After the marriage, it was time to return to USA, after giving some money to my parents and telling the neighbors to look after them, we returned to USA.
My wife enjoyed this country for about two months and then she started feeling lonely. The frequency of calling India increased to twice in a week sometimes 3 times a week. Our savings started diminishing. After two more years we started to have kids. Two lovely kids, a boy and a girl, were gifted to us by the almighty. Every time I spoke to my parents, they asked me to come to India so that they can see their grand-children.
Every year I decide to go to India. But part work part monetary conditions prevented it. Years went by and visiting India was a distant dream. Then suddenly one day I got a message that my parents were seriously sick. I tried but I couldn't get any holidays and thus could not go to India. The next message I got was my parents had passed away and as there was no one to do the last rights the society members had done whatever they could. I was depressed. My parents had passed away without seeing their grand children. After couple more years passed away, much to my children's dislike and my wife's joy we returned to India to settle down. I started to look for a suitable property, but to my dismay my savings were short and the property prices had gone up during all these years. I had to return to the USA.
My wife refused to come back with me and my children refused to stay in India. My 2 children and I returned to USA after promising my wife I would be back for good after two years.
Time passed by, my daughter decided to get married to an American and my son was happy living in USA. I decided that had enough and wound-up every thing and returned to India. I had just enough money to buy a decent 02 bedroom flat in a well-developed locality.
Now I am 60 years old and the only time I go out of the flat is for the routine visit to the nearby temple. My faithful wife has also left me and gone to the holy abode.
Sometimes I wondered was it worth all this? My father, even after staying in India, had a house to his name and I too have the same nothing more.
I lost my parents and children for just ONE EXTRA BEDROOM.
Looking out from the window I see a lot of children dancing. This damned cable TV has spoiled our new generation and these children are losing their values and culture because of it. I get occasional cards from my children asking I am alright. Well at least they remember me.
Now perhaps after I die it will be the neighbors again who will be performing my last rights, God Bless them. But the question still remains 'was all this worth it?'
I am still searching for an answer................!!!!
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Success Doesn't Happen In Isolation
There was a farmer who grew superior quality and award-winning corn.
Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won honor and prizes.
One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learnt something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors'.
"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.
"Why sir, "said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn.
If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn."
The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves. So it is in the other dimensions!
Those who choose to be at harmony must help their neighbors and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well. The value of a life is measured by the lives it touches.
It is very often a participative and collective process.
So share the good practices, ideas, new learning's with your family, team members & neighbor
natural highs
:-)
Natural Highs
Think about them one at a time before going on to the next one.
1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.
3. A hot shower.
4. No lines at the supermarket.
5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail.
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
11. Chocolate milkshake (vanilla or strawberry).
12. A bubble bath.
13. Giggling.
14. A good conversation.
15. The beach.
16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.
17. Laughing at yourself.
18. Looking into their eyes and knowing they Love you
19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
20. Running through sprinklers.
21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
23. Laughing at an inside joke with FRIENDS
24. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
25. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
26. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).
27. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
28. Playing with a new puppy.
29. Having someone play with your hair.
30. Sweet dreams.
31. Hot chocolate.
32. Road trips with friends.
33. Swinging on swings.
34. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
35. Making chocolate chip cookies.
36. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
37. Holding hands with someone you care about.
38. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
39. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.
40. Watching the sunrise.
41. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
42. Knowing that somebody misses you.
43. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
44. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.
Lord, keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth.
Spare some thoughts for the men
Thought 1
When we are born, our mother's get the compliments and the flowers.
When we are married, our brides get the presents and the publicity.
When we die, our widows get the life insurance.
What do women want to be liberated from?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thought 2
The average man's life consists of :
Twenty years of having his mother ask him where he is going,
Forty years of having his wife ask the same question;
and at the end, the mourners wondering too.
------------------------------ ---------------------
Thought 3
A Man was walking down a street when he heard a voice from behind, "If you take one more step, a brick will fall down on your head and kill you."
The man stopped and a big brick fell right in front of him. The man was astonished.
He went on, and after a while he was going to cross the road. Once again the voice shouted, "Stop! Stand still! If you take one more step a car will run over you, and you will die." The man did as he was instructed, just as a car came careening around the corner, barely missing him.
The man asked. "Who are you?"
"I am your guardian angel," the voice answered.
"Oh, yeah?" the man asked "And where the hell were you when I got married?"
--------------------------------------------------------
This is the best!!!
Thought 4
Everyone in the wedding ceremony was watching the radiant bride as her father escorted her down the aisle to give away to the groom.
They reached the altar and the waiting groom; the bride kissed her father and placed some thing in his hand.
Everyone in the room was wondering what was given to the father by the bride.
The father could feel the suspense in the air and all eyes were on him to divulge the secret and say something.
So he announced "Ladies and Gentlemen today is the luckiest day of my life." Then he raised his hands with what his daughter gave him and continued, "My daughter finally, finally returned my credit card to me."
The whole audience including priest started laughing.......... but not the poor groom!
***********
Sex Video of Merrill Banker, MTV Host Eclipses Brazil Election
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Fwd: Slow Down Culture - A good read
An interesting reflection. : Slow Down Culture
It's been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It's a rule.
Globalize processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results. Therefore, we have come to posses a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results.
Said in another words:
1. Sweden is about the size of San Pablo, a state in Brazil.
2. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants.
3. Stockholm, has 500,000 people.
4. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, Nokia are some of its renowned companies. Volvo supplies the NASA.
The first time I was in Sweden, one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to work). The first day, I didn't say anything, either the second or third. One morning I asked, "Do you have a fixed parking space? I've noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot." To which he replied, "Since we're here early we'll have time to walk, and whoever gets in late will be late and need a place closer to the door. Don't you think? Imagine my face.
Nowadays, there's a movement in Europe name Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart: the spirit of Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week.
Basically, the movement questions the sense of "hurry" and "craziness" generated by globalization, fueled by the desire of "having in quantity" (life status) versus "having with quality", "life quality" or the "quality of being". French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity been driven up by 20%. This slow attitude has brought forth the US's attention, pupils of the fast and the "do it now!".
This no-rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress. It means reestablishing family values, friends, free and leisure time. Taking the "now", present and concrete, versus the "global", undefined and anonymous. It means taking humans' essential values, the simplicity of living.
It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more productive where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do. It's time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence of spirit.
In the movie, Scent of a Woman, there's a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, "I can't, my boyfriend will be here any minute now". To which Al responds, "A life is lived in an instant". Then they dance to a tango.
Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious of living the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists. We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".
Congratulations for reading till the end of this message. There are many who will have stopped in the middle so as not to waste time in this globalize world.
