Whatever...

I came across this full draft of a speech by Shri Adavani (leader of the opposition, Lok Sabha) which he delivered at FICCI. As one of the comment says, the victory in Gujarat has lead to a change in the BJP. They now know for sure that development CAN be a valid issue for fighting an election and more importantly, winning it. All BJP needs now is fresh blood that can see the party do wonders for the country.

This is a topic I have been thinking over for some time. It is disheartening to see that breaking rule is becoming a norm across our country. As per a recent news article that is what even the government is observing. We dont need anybody's statement to testify this as we see it all around us. This post is an attempt at understanding why the law of the land is broken? Let us first try to understand why laws or rules are brought into place. A rule is an attempt to make the playing field level. It identifies a set of criteria based on which decisions will be taken in a system. Forming a queue is the simplest form of rule. It identifies first come first serve basis for serving a person, no parking zones are meant to be kept free for free traffic flow so on an so forth. Becauase rules are more like cartels . The member who deviates has an incentive to do so than what he would achieve by staying in the cartel. There are certain market conditions in which cartels work. I will not get in...

What the British and the Indian National Congress did for centuries together, the new age political parties are still doing the same...Divide and Rule. Only positive part is that they seem to be taking a clue from history. Maharshtra Navanirman Sena - formed by a young politician Mr. Raj Thackrey, whose political aspirations made him come out of the shadow of his mentor and Uncle Mr. Bal Thackrey, is all out to break every skull that is not Marathi. Why? Because it has no real issues to raise. The Big T (of the Thackrey) did the same thing a few decades ago and became a major hit with the Mumbaikars. Once popular and in power, he skillfully shifted the line of divide from Marathi v/s Non- Marathi to Hindu v/s Muslim. Reason? arithmetic. Only Marathi votes can’t get ShivSena to win seats. So be more inclusive and garner hindu votes a superset of Mrathi votes. So what’s Raj upto? Poor soul had broken away and was losing mind-space in the voters. Out of sight is out of mind. He had to do ...

I have been following this bloke eveer since I joined the IT industry couple of years ago. I admire him no only for his funny bone, but also for his ability to make his passion his profession. Dilbert , which till now was a part of my feeds, is now an official widget on my blog. Keep visting this space for your dose of corporate humour and my banter.

Have you ever been in a situation where you take up something because you like it and then after doing it for some time you find you are no longer happy doing it? That's what exactly been happening with me all along. Engineering, MBA, Banking, IT consulting, IT consulting with a fatter pay check. My dearest friend thinks I am cut out for an independent businessman. My mother and wife are in no mood to listening to a "I just quit my job" news. Now I have serious doubts about my interests. Do I switch jobs with full information or are they out of mere curiosity? Am I to be called a fickle mind? How do people know right from the age of three what they want to do? Can't there be someone who wants to try out a couple of things before he settles down on something!!! Right now I am hell bent on getting into acting. But now I am playing mind games with myself. What if I gt bored there? What next? I want to find an answer to this question "How to know what you like the...

All of us must be well aware of the Lead India campaign started by the Times Of India group. Yet a brief overview in their own words. I think this is just another talent hunt program and is not going to help India politics or democracy in any way. The very reach of this program is limited to literate English speaking class of Indians. That could be hardly 10% of the total voting population. The real aam aadmi who decides the governments and hence the policies that govern us is far from basic primary education, leave alone English newspaper or television medium. As I have written in my earlier post real politics will still be nothing but manipulating numbers. As atanu says in his post here , untill basic education is given to each and every Indian citizen, it is stupid to expect rational thinking and unbiased opinion from him/her. All that this contest will do is provide limelight to a bunch of opportunistic small time socialites, bring dinner table discussion on national television a...

Found this article while surfing the www the other day. I think its a question that needs to be asked. It my sound like a party pooper to the SRK fans, but take your time and ponder over it. Although the the writers other posts are pretty ordinary, I found this particular article quite interesting. Go on...read it.

The big day draws closer. The early visitors have arrived. The houses will slowly be filled and packed to their capacity. Everybody's eyes will be settled on the two people in the middle. As I write this post, it is just 4 days and 23 hours to time zero (25th November 9.31 AM IST). Moods are changing in the dressing rooms. The preparations are fierce and the stage is all set for the big match...

काल आँफिसांतल्यांन घरी जात्ना मी कसला तरी विचार करीत होतों. तेद्वां अचानक लक्षांत आलें कि मी विचार जर भटींत करतों जाल्यार भटींत ल्हियत कशा नाय ? म्हणुन ह्येँ भटींत. ह्या फुडें भटींत ल्हियवेशें दिसलें जाल्यार सवय असावी म्हणुन...

After having shifted to Pune , I didn't get the time to put my bike in shape again and take it out for a ride. Actually it is not so much about time as it is about motivation. There is a threshold motivation one needs to reach. When this motivation exceeds the laziness, you are game! In my case, it happened yesterday. I walked half a kilometer, got the tires inflated, put in a nut that I had lost to transporting, got some lubricant on the drive and I was ready to go. It was a ride with a purpose as I was going over to the Jawdekars for wedding invitation. Now I know why pune was once a city of bicycles. Once you cross over the hill of chandani chowk , it is fairly cyclable . Also the air is so chilly, you don't sweat much. It was a tough task for me although since I leave on the other side of chandani chowk . While coming back from the city chandani chowk is one hell of a uphill task. I got out of breath mid way. The air being chilly and heavy was the real problem now, as...

As I was travelling from Goa to Pune in a Bus, I overheard some conversation and could see a lot of dilemma on the face of a fellow passenger. As the story evolved, I could connect with him. Thus it went: They were a couple, he was with his fiance/wife/girlfriend (a non-ma/behen relationship). There was another girl (pretty) who wanted to a lady's seat. She could get it only if this gentleman would give up the company of his travel mate as there were no other female passengers on the bus. I have been through similar situation and have said no and felt guilty about it till the society at large did something equally unjust to me. But this incident in the bus the other day, sparked off some more such dilemmas that I have come across quite often. I thought of having a golden globe of dilemmas; put them on the blog and see which is the most common dilemma. First being the one above, the second dilemma that comes to my mind is of cheating in exams. No No. Me cheating is taboo enough! It ...

OK! For once a blogger is inspired instead of the readers. And I want to start a venture in product development. I have something in my mind on the lines of SaaS. I intend starting a company at my home (preferably in my garage so that success is guaranteed). But the main question is, is it the right time to start a venture? With rising salaries in the industry, one will have to cough up a lot of money to hire good people. Although, the venture may be easily financed, break even may take a loooong time knowing the cost of recruitment in the industry today. So, wouldn't it be ideal to wait for a slow-down, may be a few lay-offs and a bit of panic in the industry. It will then be time when people will be ready to work for much lesser wages. I may put a post on my business plan someday. But as of now, what is your opinion?

In my earlier post, I spoke about the predicted downfall of Indian IT/ITES industry. The comments were on either side and one of the points that came out was the quality of India products. Be it manufacturing or services, India hasn't been spokes of much about for its quality. India Inc. has not spent significantly on R&D. In case of manufacturing, R&D requires huge investments in terms of infrastructure where as in case of IT/ITES, the investment needs to be on people along with that on infra. Now, for a better R&D in ITES, are we equipped peoplewise? To begin a massive overhauling in the outlook of the industry, where do we begin? We begin where it all begins. Education. Let me talk a bit about education. Do we have an education system that promotes an inquisitive mind? (a mind that will R&D!)Or are we simply creating labour, such large in number and so abundant in supply that nobody bothers about the quality .The price of this labour is bound to go down. When we ...

What does an IT consultant do on a weekend? Discusses global economics with his friends and tries.. neah gives consultant answers to 88.3% of questions of the world (you wont understand the arithmetic behind the percentage...it's too complex). That's what I did to the best of my ability and knowledge. But my friend ( he has an MBA from the real world and no B-school crap) posed a question "How long will the tech. boom last?" and I heard it as "How long will guys like you keep receiving hyped up salaries?". That was a dream shattering question. I saw a Royal Enfield Bullet (the bike of my dreams) fading into the distance. Would I still be affording Rs. 1 Lakh for a bike, say three years down the line? Would I be flaunting proportionate income X years (which I hope is multiples of 10) down the line? Well, my friend has a fair idea of M&As happening across the globe in BPO , KPO and ITES sectors. He also knows of emerging countries who can prove t...

I know 2 posts in a day is an overdose. But this is not really a post. Its a promotional campaign. Hit my blog as many times as possible. I got a moral booster. And may be that will get the best out of me some day. Right now all that's coming out of me is cough (eeeeeeeeeeewwww!!!)

I keep wondering ... so many thoughts cross my mind every now and then. I also feel like sharing them with people. But then there is the initial hiccup of putting it in words, typing it, giving it direction and shape. but now-a-days a strange feeling overcomes me as I begin to type a post. On more than one occassion I have typed quite some content and then decided to delete it altogether. I think I am bogged down by a limited number of visitiors to my blog. Or may be I need a 'hit counter' to keep track of hits although people may not be leaving comments behind. I will try n get one soon... Also after having shifted to Pune a lot of thinking is happenig in Marathi. So there is an extra effort that goes into adopting it in English. May be I will start a blog in Marathi... There is also a general lack of activity in life. I mean I have begun to think I am not quite adding value to the readers of this blog. If I was 'doing' something new/ different I could have shared with...

For those who have been out of touch with the events in the world that are effecting everything from the sensex bull run, the Indian Cricket team's loss right upto the instability of the UPA government, I am getting married on the 25th of November 2007. So shopping should supposedly be my top priority right now. However, I have managed to wash my hands off it except for the farments which need to fit me and need my measurements. So I am off the hook for quite a few decisions and 'to do' lists. I pitty Shveta however. She has to make choices that need to be acceptable to one and all. right from her mummy, my mummy, her sister, chacha, mama, phupha and even the shopkeeper. I think marriage is the most interesting time in a girl's life. How much ever I try to think from her perspective, I will never unerstand the way she feels. Its a mixed feeling of leaving you parents for good and feeling bad about it while at the same time feeling good about the fact that you will be sp...

There is a new marking system for this play. It will be in kilometers. I cycled 15+15, 30 Kms (Chandanagar to Banjara Hills Rd. No. 8 and back) to watch this play. Dont ask me why. I just did it (and now 'feeling' it!!). So whatever Kms I give will be out of 30. That means that is the effort I would have put to watch the show, for what it was. Overall the play gets a 17 Kms. A little below 60%, falling just short of first class.  Neem Hakeem Khatra-e-Jaan is a an adaptation of an english play The doctor despite himslef which is a translation of original French play Le Médecin malgré lui by Molière. The play is set in Hyderabad I guess. The central character is a good for nothing drunkard, Nathulal Bankepuria who has lost his job as a compounder with a doctor. He has been in this job for 6 years. He has a wife who always troubles him or vice versa but there are always quarrels. To get back to him, his wife convinces two courtiers of a deewansaheb that he is a Hakeem . These co...

Hyderabad got bombed, again yesterday. Around 40 civilians are expected dead. My Baba asked me if some militant organisation has taken responsibility. I am not sure about the organisation, but am sure it is headed by one hell of a moron. He seems to have no hint of a brain in his head. Why then would he decide to kill Indian citizens. I am not going to argue like a socialite saying it is inhuman to kill innocent civilians. But I have a case for him. Obviosuly some one is trying to make a point to the government through these bombings. But what is the purpose of the bombings? Does he expect the citizens of India to rally behind the goverment to meet his demands? Arre bhai, we cant make the goverment do something for us, how can we make them do something for you? And if you want us to represent your demands, what are they? Who are you? Let us know each other well and then we can have a deal. Or does he expect that the goverment will be touched, moved by these killings (although ministers...

Sometime back I made a post titled "Happiness sale and other things". I got a comment from my friend Sumit on this post. It seems there are many people who are questioning their own definition of happiness. In my opinion its our entire generation. Some may come forward and agree to it. Some, choose to ignore, push it under the carpet, come to terms or simply give up. Happiness as we all would agree is relative. What can make me happy may not make you happy. So what is the difference between you and me that makes us happy by different things. In my humble opinion, the answer is Maslow's hierarchy of needs . A person will be happy because of an event depending on where he is in the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. A hungry person will be happy if he gets food, a jobless person will be happy to get a secured job. We need to identify our position in the pyramid and strive for what we don't have. The achievement of that will definitely make us happy. In my opinion what we ...