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| Wednesday, September 20, 2006 |
| Goals?!?! |
We have had long discussions abt defining, setting and achieving goals.
I found this article in rediff and found it relevant to our discussions.
The article wud make a good read for interested ppl. |
posted by Iday @ 2:17 AM   |
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| Sunday, September 17, 2006 |
| Ram - part2 |
"Hei anga paarungadi loosu poraan"
"Atho paaruda sethu vikram avanum avan moonjum"
"Good morning guna".
"This way Sir."
"John, Am I looking o.k"
"You look terrific. Sir"
Ram's maths' teacher, "Nee venumnaa paaruda road road paradesi mathiri alaiya porae. mathsla yennaiyae kelvi kaekura"
"Mr.Ram, how was the flight journey?"
"4 hours flight delay in Lisbon and an emergency landing in Frankfurt. i really don't like travelling"
Ram's father, Maths 100 English 10. "Dai englishla fail aana collegela sera mudiyathuda. athaiyum konjam padi"
"Mr.Ram, can you explain the advantages that your latest valli algorithm has over RSA algorithm?"
"Sure gentlemen. Combinatorics deals with collections of objects that satisfy specified criteria....."
Ram's mother was crying, "yentha pasanga koodayum sera maatengra akka. yellarum sirikum pothu evan moraikiraan. yellarum moraikum pothu evan sirikiraan".
"Mr.Ram, in what way do you think your rasappan methodology would change the world economics?"
"I don't know about that. but, its sure gonna change my wallet size." Press persons were in splits.
"Naai aalu nikaraanga kooda pakaama apadiyae pothu paaru. loosu loosu. ingeetha theriyaathu"
"Excuse me gentlemen, its getting late for my Nobel lecture." |
| posted by Ramkumar @ 7:39 AM |
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| Wednesday, September 13, 2006 |
| The Beach!! |
I had been to an interesting place last weekend. It's a restaurant called "The Beach" at Indira Nagar. It was a birthday treat and we (seven of my friends) reached there around 7 PM last friday straight from the office.
As we entered the restaurant, we were thrilled by it's very look - sand everywhere, open sky with small huts here and there covered by palm leaves, a pillow on top of a cut coconut trunk replacing the traditional chairs, a mini flat bole of a tree supported by two bamboo sticks replacing tables, circular candles everywhere that were the only source of light, a mini light house at one corner, small pool of water at another corner (supposed to be the beach but it had very little water), a small but deep pit containing water that had fishes, crabs and couple of water snakes, heavy rock music in the air, cute girls all around....I should say nothing short of an electric atmosphere.
We were welcomed by a Chinese cutie who led us to a small hut. Next to us were a couple, two foreigners and were resting their body on a bed (yeah... there were few beds in the restaurant on a corner and they had two cylindrical rests as well) and were drinking some cocktails. We ate hell lot of side dishes - mostly sea foods, few mocktails and cocktails, and finally some rice. If I say that the food wasn't all that great, it is definitely euphemistic- I was puking that night.
At 9 PM, the DJ stepped in. Rocks transformed into Hip-hops. One girl alone was dancing for half an hour but her boy friend didn't moved his ass even by an inch. Then all of a sudden, few more guys and girls stepped in. At 10:30, almost everyone in the place, except us were dancing. A couple were twisting their body ferociously and my friend told me that it is called "Salsa"?!, a form of dance (who knows?). At 11 PM, after watching all those fun around us, even we shaked our head (it's strange to find most people dancing with their head and hips; but legs glued on the ground) for sometime and left the place by 11:30 not before spending a memorable evening at ' The Beach'.
You know what... girls get unlimited beer for free of cost during wednesdays...should we call them 'feminists' ?!
Definitely worth going there once!! |
| posted by kart @ 8:38 AM |
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| Monday, September 11, 2006 |
| Ram - Part1 |
Sage was wakened by his disciple before the usual time. "Guruji, our cows have been stolen by some armed men. As per your teaching, i didn't confront them but just asked them why they are doing this. they replied in this way". The young sadhu was showing his bruise. Sage sivananda closed his eyes to know what happened. By this time, the entire gurukul has assembled. The head disciple, ram, waited for the Guru to open his eyes. Favourite was he, the guru asked him the question once he opened his eyes. "So, what do you think ram?" "They could have asked us guru. They shudn't have done this. According to thiruseniaasthram 12:35:89 they should be punished" "Are you angry with them?" "Why should i guru dev? afterall i posess nothing in this world. just have the worry that we couldn't take care of the cows that king chakrakoushik gave us." "Get back those cows" "As you say guruji" Sage sivananda is regarded as the best warrior in the world. Even the great Bheeshmar can't defeat him. He learnt his skills under Lord Shiva. Born as kshatriya, he so excelled in his skills that Shiva requested him not to continue as kshatriya. "You have completed all the lessons. There is nothing in the world i can teach you now." "Oh! thanks Lord, this shows your love for your disciple." "But, you must promise me one thing. You should never attach yourself with any material things in your life." "As you wish Lord" "You have one more work to do. You have to identify potential kshathriyas whose onslaught this world can't bear. just like you and groom them under your custody. See to that they also don't fight." "I am honoured my Lord." This was just thousand years ago. Of all disciples, Ram was his pet. He followed by other disciples went to the Contingent leader and begged to return their cows. As fate would have it, he didn't heed and insulted the poor monks. Ram realised there is no other go, he ordered one of his fellow monks to take care of the small contingent of thousand soldiers and he went passed the crowd. He caressed the head of the horse and took the divine horse with him. Arjuna was outraged as well as surprised to know that harmless monks took the horse away. In aswemedha yaga, taking the horse means open defiance. He took his kandiva and prepared for the battle. Something told him to take his other 3 brothers present with him. Battle began. This side 32 sadhus and the other side thousands of soldiers. Ram ordered his fellow sadhus take care of the army while he take care of Arjuna and his brothers. Arjuna used all his skills but with no use. One of the arrows divided into two pierced Arjuna's soldier and hung him high in the ratha. Seeing his brother humiliated, bheema jumped out of his ratha to engage Ram in gatha battle. Ram dodged the shot and used bheema's force to flung away bheema's gatha. In a quick manoeuvre, he placed his legs between bheema's leg and took lifted bheema to thrash him in the ground. Bheema swooned. He used his mohana asthra to tame the other two brothers. Sadhus lifted the four brothers and brought them to their guru. With proper treatment, all the four recovered. "Oh! sons of kundi sorry for bothering you. This land and the cows were given by king chakrakoushik to us for our survival. Kindly allow us to safe guard it." Arjuna recovering from his humiliating defeat, "Guruji, who are you? We have never heard of such great warriors." "Arjuna, it is better that you forget whatever happened here. These people are not warriors but sadhus. They are not fit for fighting with mortals. Ram can you leave the honourable kings to their haven." "As you wish guruji" |
| posted by Ramkumar @ 6:51 AM |
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| Saturday, September 09, 2006 |
| Experience the difference |
Experience is a teacher who gives the test first & then the lessons. This was one of the proverbs which i wrote in my school's black board.(we had a healthy competition then, who comes up with the best saying, this one made me popular). If you start thinking this one is about my recent GMAT debacle, no it isn't. Something about the lessons life is giving me about inequality surrounding me. I happened to see my schoolmate. Still searching for a steady job. He has done all sorts of jobs from being a PA, electrician to school teacher. We were once equal,....still we are equal in that parameter(both passed 8th). Only that the parameters which make us unequal have become more prominent reminding that i have travelled not so difficult path. Then, i met another schoolmate. This guy was above-average student with good handwriting and drawing skills. With a SC tag, we all predicted he would become a doctor without much effort. Even he thought so. Now, he is one those guys who is depending on computer centres for job. He knows almost everything. j2ee, .net, testing tools, now oracle....his quest continues. It is just not a coincidence that what we predicted is made upside down by Him. Once, we start seeing differences, we see differences all over the world. Think about our own classmates . Many of us have spent our college days bullying helpless girls (now ladies). Now, look at them. They know the world better than us. They know gas connections, investment plans, school fees, ration card...list goes on. When they got married, nothing irked me. Afterall, they are leading by just one level. I can catch up. But, now, they are ahead by two levels. They have touched the elixir called Motherhood. Look at me. still not sure where i am going. I can't dismiss the possibility of me competing with their children for MBA. There is a small creche running next door. They used to conduct all important functions.  Recently, Aug 15, there were children performing shows with their parents wathcing them with pride. Being 6 feet, i could watch them over the wall from my side of the compound. "Rakshita pre-kg A winner dancing competition ++applause++ Sugunya, ukg b winner running race ++applause++"". A lady lifts the child & kisses like anything. amma paasam. Wait...I have seen her somewhere. No....it can't be...she is my 10th std classmate. I ran helter-skelter before she notices me and asks "inamuma entrance exam yeluthitu iruka, muraliyae college mudichitaru". Still in the parameter connecting us, we are same. But in others.... |
| posted by Ramkumar @ 1:14 AM |
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| Friday, September 08, 2006 |
| Train Conversation... |
In the recent past, life wasn't all that interesting. I felt very boring to come to office at 10 AM, attend some meetings, do some work in-between those meetings, get back home at 7 PM to watch Animal Planet/ Ten Sports for 2 hours and finally go to bed around 1 AM. This has been my routine for last few months. I was thinking how to make my life more interesting!!
Crikey!! How about this... interacting with different set of people in their own bandwidth/mindset. This is really very interesting and challenging than it actually sounds. Here is my first attempt...
Two weeks before, I was travelling back to my home town by train. Since, I was travelling alone, I carried a small story book- "Malgudi Days", written by R.K.Narayanan. As you all know, the stories in the book centre around the life of an ordinary Indian living in a semi-urban Indian city (people say it is Old Bangalore - Malleswaram to Basavangudi => Malgudi). After reading couple of stories, I turned around to look who were around me.
Only now, I realized I was sharing my compartment with couple of married woman - Hema and Geetha. They were mordern house wifes and their age may be somewhere between 28 and 32. Each had a child around 5 years. Geetha started the conversation.
Geeta (caressing her son's hair): "Rajesh is very brilliant at studies. Last evening I went to his school. His teacher told me that he is very smart in studies."
Hema: "Even my daughter is very smart. She ranks Top-10 in studies in her class. She is very good at gymnastics too. Rakesh (I guess her husband) wanted to enroll her in dance class as well. You know he loves her very much."
Geetha. "Even Anil (Geetha's husband) loves Rajesh very much. Even he wanted Rajesh to attend yoga classes. But....I said, 'No'. You know, already he plays lot of games and so I don't want him to get tired physically."
Hema: "Oh. But, Anuritha (guess...it's her daughter's name) doesn't get tired at all. Daily, she wakes up at 6 AM, goes along with Rakesh for a walk, plays shuttle in school, performs gymnastics at National Games village, finishes her homework, plays with Rakesh for sometime and finally goes to bed at 10 PM."
Geetha: "Even Rajesh doesn't get tired that often. Last week we went to Thirupathi for 3 days and came back to Bangalore on Sunday. Next day, Rajesh got up 6 AM and went to school by 8 AM. Even Anil woke up only at 10 AM. That day... inspite of travelling for 8 hours the previous night, Rajesh took part in his school annual day games and stood first in Bun eating competition."
As and when Geetha was saying that "Rajesh stood first in Bun eating competition", there came running a small boy with a slightly big pot belly. I started laughing... only word that I could think of now was... "Sothu Dadia!!"
Now, I wanted to enter into their conversation. I don't want to appear as a stranger to them coz I wanted to maintain the rythm and tone of the conversation.
Kart: "Hi. Neenga Tamizha?"
Geetha: "Yes." (I was actually expecting a reply in Tamil.)
Kart: "Which place are you from?"
Geetha: "Bangalore" (Hmmm...expecting a place in Tamil Nadu.)
Kart: "How long are you in Bangalore?"
Geetha: (After a long Pause) "5 years" (No more 1 word answers plz...)
Not knowing what to speak next. I shut my mouth. Then they both started discussing about their children's annual day competition, husband's birthday party, Kids Kemp, PVR, dresses, etc., etc. I was still preparing for my re-entry into the conversation. This time I chose a different strategy.
Kart: "Hi.. what is your name"
Anuritha (Hema's daughter): "I am Anuritha."
Kart: "Where do you study?"
Anuritha: "Saint Mark's School"
Kart: "Which subject do you like the most?"
Anuritha: "English"
(Shifting my attention to Hema...)
Kart: "Cute girl. She is very smart."
Hema: "Yeah. She is very smart. She already started playing with his dad's computer."
Kart: "Oh. That's cool. Even I work on computers. You have lot of kid's educational CDs. You could buy some for her."
Geetha: "Yeah. Even Anil bought few CDs for Rajesh."
Kart: "That's really a very good idea. Children can learn a lot by actually playing with the computer. They will love it."
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It was very thrilling for me coz I spent 2 hours chating with couple of strangers and that too discussing on topics that I knew very little.
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| posted by kart @ 3:45 AM |
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| Thursday, September 07, 2006 |
| One minute story (from anantha vikatan) |
She saw what she shouldn't have seen. Its not her fault that the tuition teacher had a fever. She came blasting to her mother coming from temple. "Dad and that maid...shit what a bitch she is? how could dad do this to you? stop her from work right a way."
Her mother with a surprise calm and composure said, "I was me who came to this house as a maid". |
| posted by Ramkumar @ 11:21 PM |
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| India is my country and i love its rich and varied....... |
This happened during the recent mumbai blasts. (What an irony i need to add the adjective recent) My neighbour is a kannadiga and runs a bakery. He was speaking about the blast with my dad in my presence. He told us the incident where he met an auto driver in bangalore who was an ex-serviceman. The driver told that he quit the job because army was not in the same way as portrayed in the outside world. There was a sectarian environment. He accused muslims in military for supporting the terrorists in india. My neighbour, a gentleman in his 50's bought his story and was arguing against muslims and their participation in indian army. "How could they infiltrate without the support of muslims?"
Now, before everybody jumping into attack mode against this old man for his views, let me tell something about him. He is not the usual bigotry one would falsely associate with iyengars. He is a kind man, has a good rapport with the colony people (rare in a higher middle class colony like mine), a hard-worker and helps poor people. The intention of this post is not to shower diatribe on him but to question why did he buy the story. He could have cited the recent controversial census which gave the report that representation of muslims in army is very low. He could have defended his fellow countrymen ignoring a story from a stranger. Afterall, his customers included muslims even though his shop's name has iyengar in it. I am not sure but i think the man's ability to strike similarities among people is both a boon and a bane. Man has this ability to form groups according to the need of the hour. The groups could be based on colour, caste, religion, place, language.. the list is endless. Even in our college, the place where we can expect partisan views the least, we had this oors concept, north-south, madras-nonmadras, paalaru-ponnaiyaru etc. Recently, there has been a sickening trend of associating oneself with their companies. Something like me and prad greeting "Hi companies". "Yintha madras payalgalae yipadi thaan" is not that harsh as "Yintha muslim payalgalae yipadi thaan". But, they are both similar. People who are willing to say the former, would at some point of time say the latter also. Man is so fond of forming groups that he will lose his identity as a human, as a living thing, as a wonderful creation of God.
I jumped into the discussion although i was not invited. I argued "Uncle, your argument is baseless. LTTE is a terrorist organisation in its own right though it started as a liberation movement. They involve drug trafficking, child soldiers etc. Does that mean all tamils are terrorists? Does that mean i am also a terrorist?". Sharp came the reply. "Hey babu, nuvvu tamil kaathura telugu vaadu". |
| posted by Ramkumar @ 8:54 PM |
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