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India must have once been a land where art and architecture, science and commerce, spirituality and hospitality, lived in every mind at work. If not, how do you explain the Mysore Palace in all its grandeur and eye for details, built years ago? The intricate art work, the wooden carvings, stone sculptures, and the paintings tell us so much about the artistic talent prevalent in the olden days. There surely must have been an entire clan well-trained in the art work or may be there were people with in-born talent in art work on various media - Wood, Stone, Canvas, Wall, Metal and Fabric. Makes me wonder - With almost no automation back then, how did people manage to build master pieces without a single blatant flaw? How did people manage to paint segments of a picture in multiple card board/canvas/wood sheets and fit these pieces into a complete beautiful picture on the ceiling of the palace? How do paintings as old as few hundred years stay fresh and alive till date? Has anyone in India...

Abhiyum Naanum (அபியும் நானும்) is the recent clean movie that has hit the screens. The movie begins in a park where a young father is playing with his daughter. He meets an old man and they strike up a conversation, the common subject being parenting. The old father recalls little joys and some lovely moments in his life, as the father of a very sensible girl. Since this is a very recent movie, I am not getting into the script of the movie. If you are a young father, you'd love to walk with the movie. If you are an old father, you'll agree about few things and won't agree with most others. If you are a son, you may not really appreciate the movie, unless you want to understand parenting. The movie portrays the affection between a father and daughter. Right from the day the kid is born, till she gets married, director Radha Mohan has chosen some very common, very simple incidents that can make wonderful memories for any father. The father Prakashraj's affection for the ...

In a conference, there are times you welcome a tea break.. It all depends on what kind of session you just came out of. On one of these welcome tea breaks, I was very busy chatting about random technical and non-technical subjects with a friend. This friend Mr.K, was one of the senior members in my professional community. His friend Mr.S, also a senior, joined us for a quick minute to talk about the quiz competition that was to be held that evening. The quiz committee had told us to find our own team members for the session. Mr.S told Mr.K : "I want you to be my in my team, so I can, ... okay, so we can, win the contest ." [ Smiles all the time...] Now, this is a very casual and simple statement between two friends.. alright.. but then if you look close enough, rather think a little, it will bring a very understanding smile to yourself. How often have we actually told someone, I need you to be in my team for us to win? Very Very rare.... It takes us all generally a while to...

December is all about Winter and Christmas.. Christmas is all about care and share.. Christmas is all about prayers and wishes.. Christmas is all about colors, bright and beautiful. . Christmas is all about cakes and sweets.. Christmas is all about chocolates and wine.. Christmas is all about presents and visits.. Christmas is all about love and people.. I guess most of us either know or agree with most of these.... Yesterday I happened to visit a friend. It was a Merry Christmas day in their lovely home... I noticed love and care filled the air all the time.... its not very often you get to be in such company outside your own family... My friend's family had invited about four of us for lunch. They are five in the family. So, in all nine of us plus their birds and our maid who helped us all had a wonderful Christmas lunch.. Just think people... To cook for so many of us, a meal that satisfied every one's tastes on Christmas day - not forgetting the time spent in prayers, the d...

I met a friend, after what seemed like ages, on Google talk yesterday. It is Christmas vacation and I asked about vacation plans.... " I want to stay home, spend some quality time with my family, this vacation. " was the prompt response... Now, if you know me enough, you surely understand that I would have been surprised beyond limits.... To think that a software personnel getting two weeks vacation like a school kid is in itself rare, and to think that someone actually wants to spend all that time at home is more than just 'RARE'... I wanted to know the 'why' of it, then and there. So I asked " If not planning trips outside your town, are you not planning a few visits to your friends' places?" He said: " You should either be close enough to share work or your friend should have people to help with the arrangements for party, lunch or dinner...and not everyone you visit is comfortable with you helping out, and not every other house has someo...

Vaaranam Aayiram, Soozha Valam Seidhu....( வாரணம் வாரணம் சூழ வலம் செய்து ...) That's how a Thirupaavai ( திருப்பாவை ) hymn begins. The Thirupaavai is the set of hymns recited by this young girl Kodhai ( கோதை ) also known as Aandal Naaichiyaar (ஆண்டாள் நாச்சியார்) to praise the Lord Krishna. She lived in Srivilliputtur, South India. This town was her world and the temple of Lord Vishnu, her paradise. Her father Periyaazhvaar ( பெரியாழ்வார்) did not know that Aandal tried on the floral garland, that was meant to be offered to Lord Krishna, on herself once every day, before she offered it to God. Unless she is satisfied that the garland is perfect for her Krishna, she would not offer it. This is much against the usual practice where we dont offer flowers that we have tried on already to the God whereas the reverse practice is usually considered the norm. It is said, that one day, when Periyaazhvaar refused to take the already 'tried-on' garland and got a fresh one done for the...

I chanced to attend this very interesting session in one of the conferences yesterday that said, Look for the Zen moment always... Ever seen a flower bloom? Even seen one petal fall off a flower? Ever watched the moment you understood a concept in class? Ever kept tab of the moment you understood a joke? Ever watched the flutter of a butterfly? Ever taken time to watch the color of a sunrise change? These are some of the heavenly/interesting/wonder filled moments that cannot be defined, however much a wonderful prose writer or poet you are. It is that one moment ( could be less than a second ) that turns around your perspective towards something... It is called Zen Moment. Though Zen sounds slightly philosophical there is a lot of practicality in this. Every day is a new day with new challenges at work. Most of us easily rate the work after a few years of experience, as 'Just the usual' or 'Nothing unusual about it'. That's when work becomes a monotonous and stressf...

Fashion.. That's a movie for people who can handle some reality check in everyday life. Meghna Maathur is an educated girl from Punjab. Her father is talking about an articleship with some Chartered accountant while she is keen on pursuing her teenage dreams of becoming a model. Much against the will of her parents and with some help from a friend of friend, she takes this bold step to go to the city, which she, like everyone else believes to be the Fashion Destination in India. It was a very hard time for a town-bred girl to handle the 'just-no-way-out-of-it' situations in the fashion world. She made friends, lost some good friendships, gained some not-so-great-friendships, mistook some relationships, gave up some in-born, home-bred and precious values, drifted from her principles, did things that didn't quite agree with her as a person, tasted success, struggled to handle the lime light it brought, became high-headed, changed her self to remain on the spot light ...

Well, am not really going to write some content for a school book on what natural calamities mean, but then looks like we'll soon have to add Bomb Blasts and Terrorism to the list of the other disastrous natural calamities..... How else would you explain the terrorism attacks happening in India today? Just like we have no hold on Earthquakes, High-tides, Cyclones, Flood, and Volcanic Eruption, it seems that we have no hold on the Bomb Blasts and Terror attacks that shake the country today. Not a single day goes by without some news of bomb, terror, fire and attack. Every paper and news cast has one of these words on their news item all the time. Children grow up seeing and hearing of these things. We go to a movie theatre and there the situation is worse. Not a single movie in town today is clear of attack and stunts. Don't explain that a commercial movie needs such things to me.....At least once in a while children should get to watch things that meet the standards of their me...

I was talking about Project Management to a senior friend of mine....He told me about the most striking analogy from a lecture that he once attended on Project Management. The lecture goes to say that the best example of Project Management is the Indian Wedding Muhurath . [ pronounced as 'Mo' as in 'Move'[Mu] , 'Who' as in 'Whose'[ Hu ] ' , 'Ru' as in 'Rumble'[Ra] , ' th ' as in 'thrive'[ th ]. I am sure you can 'google' the word, but to put it in simple words: Muhurath is the chosen moment when the bride and the groom get married. Different customs are followed to mark this celestial moment of matrimony. In traditional weddings, a number of elaborate rituals precede and succeed the ' Muhurath '. The bride's parents and the groom's parents agree to get the wedding done on a specific date and time. For the guy and the girl, this event means 'Engagement' where they get formally engaged to...

What is the point in sitting in a class and not listening to the lecture? What is the point in writing something without comprehending the meaning? What is the point in going to a party without the enthusiasm? What is the point in teaching without knowing the concept? What is the point in managing without knowing project management? What is the point in buying more and more when you don't want to 'give' away things you don't use anymore? What is the point in earning money when you cant save some of it? What is the point in asking questions when you don't want to know the answer? What is the point in eating when you cannot appreciate the dish? What is the point in saying 'yes' when you want to say 'no'? Simple : Time pass!!! :) and appropriate pay off in terms of experience in each of these instances :)

I went for this movie yesterday not because am a great fan of James Bond movies, but because I can catch up with some of my friends. I read the movie reviews upfront and got a sea of mixed review comments... Time to write my own.. I am not a major fan of English movies, and definitely not of Noisy movies, still I can say this much about the movie : basically Good, very Noisy, moderately Intelligent, and extremely Tiring. I surely expected more for all the hype it had created among the fans.

What are you doing this weekend? Now, do you have a single answer to this question? Most of us will have more than one appointment fixed for the weekend... Tailor... Should ask him whatever happened to my dress that he's been promising to return.... Lunch with a friend... Yeah, we've not been able to catch up for quite long now.. Should meet this weekend.. Call up someone... Everyday I pick up the phone to dial, something or the other keeps coming in between... I should positively return this call over the weekend... Visit Auntie... Sure, will be there over the weekend... For lunch?? Not sure, but will surely give a try. And to clean up the room, to wash clothes, to meet friends, to invite friends, to read a novel, to go to the temple, to attend music class, to attend a birthday party, to attend a wedding, to shop for the week, to buy a gift, to service the car... and the list is endless :) Most of us, if not all of us, have more than what we can handle, planned for the weekend...

There are only two steps to success in Business.. 1. Innovation 2. Marketing I read this when I visited one of the banks in my home town. People have this tendency to compare... I guess it is an inborn nature... So, if you are into business, you surely have to do something different from the rest of the world to be able to make that comparable difference... Now, that you have put in a lot of effort to make a difference from the rest of the herd, you need to tell someone that you have done it and done it exceptionally well... If not inborn, you should be able to learn the art of boasting about your work modestly to people... Only if these two happen, will your trade and commerce work best for you. Next time, you see someone doing very well, you can place the reasons easily : Innovation and Marketing. If we give it a more careful thought... this rule applies in all walks of life..... including your hobbies and work.....Some one should know what you are doing and you should know what it...

Remembered this rhyme when I was walking on the road one rainy evening in Bangalore..... வானத்திலே திருவிழா வழக்கமான ஒரு விழா இடி இடிக்கும் மேகங்கள் இறங்கி வரும் தாளங்கள் மின்னல் ஒரு நாட்டியம் மேடை வான மண்டபம் தூறல் ஒரு தோரணம் தூய மழை காரணம் எட்டு திசை காற்றிலே ஏக வெள்ளம் ஆற்றிலே தவளை மட்டும் பாடுமே தண்ணீரிலே ஆடுமே அகன்ற வெளி வேடிக்கை ஆண்டு தோறும் வாடிக்கை This was the tamil rhyme I learnt when I was six years old... It is about a rainy day - Thunder takes the role of music, lightning takes the role of a dancer, sky becomes the stage and frog enjoys singing in the rain... The rhyme ends saying : This fun-to-watch event happens every year. I do not remember the poet's name, but I surely remember the verse-speaking sessions with this rhyme, every monsoon.

That was the sign at the help desk of one of the popular, plush, high-end, prestigious, and seemingly over-friendly banks in the city. I stepped into the bank on a bright Saturday around 11:00 A.M. After I got my bag checked at the gate, I waited like most other educated, civilized professionals in the long queue to collect the service token number at the desk that said : May I help you? Finally, when I got to the head of the queue, I gave my reasons to be there and got the Service Request Token number plus a few forms to be filled and taken to the counter. A lady with the sweetest of smiles ( I would prefer to call it stapled smile) came over and asked if she could help me. I repeated my reason for being there and she said, " Please take your seat in this bay or the other side, watch out for your token number on the monitor over there. " The bank was packed with people and I had no choice but to stand/walk around waiting for my number to be displayed on the monitor... I am ...

Big Bazaar is one of the fast-growing supermarket chain in India. I have visited Big Bazaars in Mumbai and Bangalore. At least three storeys, about 15+ assistants on every floor, good service, dedicated shopping sections and networked computerized billing counters, just about everything you need for your household, too many varieties to choose from, and a ten thousand ideas to spend your money are some of the credits that this super market chain holds in cities. I chanced to see a sharp contrast to this in my semi-urban town last week. The name of the shop was 'The New Novelty Big Bazaar". Now, about this Bazaar - Housed on Ground Floor, Mud flooring, Three aisles to serve as walk ways, a section each for clothes, linens, plastics, stainless steel kitchenware, bags, and rexene purses, manual billing, about five assistants, no fan, one water can and good service. Makes me think.. I am not sure if the owner of this place is even aware of the Big Bazar chain in the cities, but h...

Onam , a festival popular in Kerala, South India, is known for the beauty of the floral carpet, the delicious food, warm regards and prayers, and an aura of prosperity. With whatever little idea we had, we managed to bring some color to the regular work day at office, on Onam day with our Pookalam ( Poo - Flowers, Kalam - Carpet ). The floral carpet in a typical Kerala home is very different from what you are seeing here. The floral carpet as you see seems to bring a feel of cheer, color, beauty, prosperity, satisfaction, peace and happiness. I firmly believe that festivals need to be celebrated in work places to bring in a change from the usual routine, bring out the long lost talents, get people together, instill the thought that team work pays, and bring lot of smiles that last till the next team event... Management hint here I guess is : Keep the team happy.. Work cannot be made lively with just another code segment, another marketing assignment, another document, another meet...

That's the question I heard from Ms. A to Mr. B. Here is the conversation that followed: Ms.A : Hey, How are you? Long time... Mr.B : Fine, thanks :) Am on my way out!!! Ms.A : That was fast... Where are you off to?? Mr.B : Am off to XYZ software company. Ms.A : Good.. When is your last working day here? Mr.B : Day after tomorrow.. :) Will send a mail. Ms.A : Thanks, stay in touch :) All the best!!! :) So, if you have not met someone for long in a software company, don't be surprised if you hear such kind of response to your 'How are you?'... Life in software industry is like this of late :) At work, spend time with your friends and remember to call if you do not see someone in his cube for long.. For all you know the person would have left the place permanently.. :-)

This is a 1:45 hour movie in Hindi, that certainly qualifies as the one-of-the-few, out-of-the-herd Bollywood movies. If you are looking for unnecessary stunts, noise, music, songs, planned comedy and are against using your already over-working brain while in a movie theatre, then may be you should postpone watching this movie. As with all advantages/positives, there are some disadvantages/negatives that is of course dependant on individual perceptions. I choose to talk only the positive aspects and not taking the role of a psychologist/teenage counsellor who might have a different opinion of the story line. :-) The movie is about what happens in Mumbai between 2.:00 P.M and 6:30 P.M on a bright Wednesday afternoon. A very clam-faced old man calls up the Chief Police Officer in the Mumbai Police Head Quarters and informs about the explosives that he has planted in five locations in the city. He asks to speak to one person who can make a decision without having to go through a thousand ...

Not a new word for people in crowded cities. On my way back from office, I got caught in heavy, peak hour, evening traffic. Of course I chose these words very carefully. Heavy because, you cannot move an inch in whatever vehicle you are in; peak hour because all software companies are off at the same time; Evening traffic is worth mention because everyone wants to reach the same place, on the same road, and at the same pace as you!!! A quick chat with a very interesting friend last week made me understand that there is no point in cribbing about things you can't change... traffic being one of the lot. She told me how she enjoyed the music from some Festive procession while it was causing a very heavy traffic jam on the route. I was beginning to get irritated with the long wait, but remembered the recent lesson and tried looking for something to enjoy.... Here's what I noticed: From what is written on the sides of auto-rickshaws you will learn at least one proverb, a philosophi...

''Keep your voices low. Remember, you are seated close to a Work Area' . This is the standard saying that we would have come across... 'Silence' in a doctor's office... 'Please switch off your mobile phones in the temple premises' in a temple or a place of worship. 'School zone, No-horn please' on the walls of schools whose class room windows overlook the busy road. When all over the place, such messages need to be posted to let people know about the basic niceties that they ought to keep up, the nicety of my office cab's driver, is worth a mention here. Driver M loves to play the local FM radio channel during the long drive from and to our office. Whenever anyone in the cab gets a phone call, he always remembers to lower the volume of the Radio. No one needs to tell him or put a sign-board. He knows it too well. He is a calm composed person who has never lost patience in Bangalore traffic, never yelled at the fellow bikers or drivers.. if y...

Inaugural Speech for the new batch at the Symbiosis BBA program, Pune - 23rd June, 2008 - By Chetan Bhagat Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time. Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A l...

Did you think the term on-site is associated/patented only to software industry??!!!?? On-site opportunity for a software engineer is to go to a customer's place preferably to a different country... On-site opportunity for a military doctor is to go to a war field to treat a wounded soldier... On-site opportunity for a chartered accountant is to conduct financial audits in a company rather than working on some mathematics at his work desk at the base office... On-site opportuntity for a Caterer is to cook at the customer's place to meet the catering needs for a a very important social event... On-site opportunity for a vegetable seller in the market is to go to a specific place in the town to sell vegetables... On-site opportunity for a painter is to be at a construction site instead of handling the in-house painting jobs at the contractor's base site... On-site opportunity for an electrician, plumber and other building technicians is to go to a house to solve related probl...

You know that a conversation falls under the better-to-stay-out-of-it category: if you get a smile for an answer if you get a "well... may be.. may be not " for an answer if you get a quiet stern look that asks "Why do you want to know?" if you sense a quick change of topic if you get an indirect " as much as you.. or not as big as people think it is" answer I have noticed that people are not comfortable talking about Money, Property, Weight, Age among other things.... And once people who take these topics seriously get into this kind of a conversation, it is just never the same between them.... Wonder Why??!!!??? Courtesy : yesterday's road side conversation when A was keen on knowing how much B got for a hike, and he drilled him very casually ( hard to notice if you didn't know the context) and found out exactly the amount he got for a hike... :)

Maane Tu yaa Maane Naa....The girl in the movie, Aditi, is a typical fun loving, adorable college student. Nice movie... That's a blanket statement I would give just like most others who watched the movie would say.. The story is simple... Two friends think that share nothing but friendship but then later decide that there's more to their relationship than plain friendship. The story is world-known, but the way this movie has been made is very different from the regular Bollywood films. There is a lot of fun and nice dialogues that take you back to your early college days... There is good music.. Thanks to Rahman... :) There is lot of English and socialization in the movie, thanks to today's way of life in most metros.. :-) There is a lot of noise and cheer and fun and laughter.. :-) On the surface look, this movie is a cool time pass. On careful thoughts, you will notice a few pointers that never get explicitly called out anywhere in the movie... These have been left for t...

You step out of your work desk to enjoy the picturesque scenery created by the gentle rainfall.The granite steps that lead to the office reception is wet. You spot one of the housekeeping staff members in your office with a bucket full of water and a mop. She is mopping the hallway. What is obvious in these two cases ? Wet floor!!! And no one needs to tell you that in these two scenarios... I have got so used to the sign boards in my offices : Caution! Wet Floor that I think one fine day even when the place is obviously flooded with water and there is no Caution board, I might slip on the granite floor... It is said "Commonsense is not common always.." If we have such kind of boards stating the obvious, then our common sense will cease to exist one fine day and we will never be able to Think in the first place, forget the ideal " Think beyond the obvious "... :)

Yesterday a thought quickly crossed my mind... What if all software companies migrate to Moon someday.... Dress codes may change and I think will be more formal for sure, due to the temperature conditions in Moon. People may not work long hours as they have to travel back to their homes in the Earth the same day. All fast food corners on Earth will open only on weekends. All software engineers go to work to the Moon during the week and they don't have time to have junk food. They get to eat only twice a day. Due to the differences in the environment, they may not feel hungry in Moon. So its likely that they stay out of junk food during the week. The Passport office will have a new wing called Pass Sphere that issues permits and identities to the software employees. The conveyance between Earth and Moon will be expensive. There will be no need for any cafeteria or food in Moon, so the companies can cope with the travel expenses. The software engineered in the Moon will have to com...

Today is a Friday. All email vendors have decided to observe a day's outage period. So is the decision with the major mobile service providers. Tomorrow and day after are holidays. How does this impact you? If power fails for one whole day in the world, what according to you are two major impacts?

1. You operate ATM today and find one billion dollars balance. What are the first three thoughts that come to your mind? 2. You have one day to spend one million dollars.. What would be the break-up of your expenses?

It is said that there is a very thin line between certain two closely placed aspects on the life line...sometimes it is very hard to really demarcate the two. Some of them I gathered are : Think and Worry Stress and Tension Competition and Rivalry Criticism and Jealousy When you read these terms separately you are sure of their definition. When you put in a careful thought, you really are not sure of the aspect you are referring to at any point in time... Not clear ? Try to figure out if you are stressed or tensed? Try to identify if you are thinking or worrying? Try to see if you are competing with something/someone or do you have a rivalry situation? Are you trying to be a critic or are you being jealous? Honestly, it is difficult to tell... Give it some thought.. If we manage to keep these two aspects separate, am sure all our professional and personal lives will improve for good. Use the web reference or any dictionary reference to find the word meaning, but connect with yourself ...

If you are an IT professional and your office is in one of those IT parks, you wont deny the fact that one of the happiest business man in that part of your town is a Pan shop owner... Every compound/fence of IT company/IT park has all these : A driveway with Entry/Exit Boards, the gate guards who look at you like you are the next person whom they expect to bomb the building down, the security folks who are ever so sweet to let you know that you can't walk on the driveway as per the sign board , the gardens and fresh flowers, spic-span walkways, the rear gate which is always busy with some traffic of trucks, trolleys, buses, that you never have the time to spend to understand....and then there are these cabs or buses neatly parked.. they have to be taken out of the building on time when the employees get out... (or is it the other way??... the employees get out of office on time because the buses leave at a definite time... ) and then there are these Pan shops situated at a Strateg...

I have been hearing this often for quite sometime now.... " I want to quit life at a software park and move into something else ".... Some of the interesting thoughts that I came across... I want to start a chain of Fresh fruit Juice centers... I want to make it a business empire out of it... I do not know anything about selling fruit juice, but I want to learn in another few years, so I can move out of IT. I believe I can meet a lot of people during my work day. I want to become a farmer... I have no idea about farming but I want to learn it in another few years, so I can move out of this IT profession. I believe I can make a difference to the world this way. I want to become an agriculturist... I have an admiration for agriculture, but have no idea what it takes to become an agriculturist... but I want to move out of IT into agriculture. I believe I can stay in touch with Nature and its beauty this way.. I want to own a tea shop... This has to be in a a hill station. I can ...

Never make your hobby your job...suddenly, at some point in time, money will seem to matter a lot. Love your job.. If you don't, find ways to love it.. If not, move on. All jobs get interesting with nice managers. The most interesting job can get irritating with a bossy manager. Aim for and work towards perfection in your job, but remember to forgive yourself of your mistakes at work, because no one else will. To love your job, compete with your past record in the same job. To do a thorough job, all you need is the fundamental belief that you can do better than the best. Take time to appreciate the job you have done... often that improves your performance.

- Bees are the busiest... - Business tactics needs more of practice than of an educational qualification... - It is important to be stern, friendly, composed,excited all at once in business... - Business demands investment of time in people more than investment of money.... - It is good to mind your own business to avoid alarming effect at the end of the first quarter... - Follow-up is one of the keys to successful business empires....

Andhra mess..... Once quiet, but now a noisy little food joint close to my office caters to the IT folks who crowd in during Noon for lunch. We are a group of friends who frequent this place once or twice a month for sure. We all have different preferences in meal usually. One friend of mine loves peanut powder, another does not have curd, I don't usually take rice, instead ask for extra Rotis, another friend likes to have sugar soon after the usually spicy meal. Usually we place orders for "All Veg meals" and when the waiter comes over to serve, we give out our preferences. I never knew that he knew our tastes by heart... He ensured that sugar was kept on the table, extra rotis were brought in, and peanut powder took a place in our table. We are all still amazed about the memory power that this person who serves close to hundred people a day has and how much of an impact it has on us, his valuable customers. Later when we were talking about it, we realized that a lot of ...

Any meal gets interesting with this South Indian speciality 'Rasam'.. I am tempted to talk about it today as I had made Rasam this afternoon and all of us had a hearty meal with Rasam receiving applause:-) It is wonders of wonders coming to think of the simplest tactic of making water as tasty as it can get :) Rasam has water, tamarind, chilli, asafoetida/garlic, sugar, a special powder that has a lot of spices and grams, tomatoes and coriander... If you want to learn to make Rasam contact the nearest South Indian home... if there are no South Indians around, try Google. :-) Rasam in Today's Tamil language means "Juice", in Malayalam means "nice and entertaining", in theory means "taste".. Hey, wait I have not had a chance to Google this.. these are just my thoughts.. :) Karnataka, India takes the first place in making Rasam.. followed by Tamil Nadu... Northern India has a dish called Shorbha which seems to belong to the Rasam family... In som...

Yes, right... I am talking about Outlook... the role of Microsoft Outlook in work life.. Yesterday when someone asked me, if I would be available on Thursday morning for a discussion, it took me a while to realise that I had no idea whatsoever of my appointments on Thursday.... I had to rush to my desk to look at my Outlook calendar to say "I am free on Thursday morning"... I sat back thinking about this... Its never happened with me... I am known to remember my appointments, phone numbers, task lists, email ids and of course birthdays....I once used to argue with people that if you prioritize 'People', you cant really forget these things...what's happening now? Outlook is everything at work.... You have a task to finish, enter it in Outlook.. You have a birthday wish to send, mark it in Outlook... You need a contact number, look it up in Outlook... You want to see a message from a friend, check your Outlook... You want to write to a friend, compose it in Outlook....

This morning, when I was commuting to office in the company-provided deluxe bus ( High platform, Cushioned Chairs, Comfortable leg-space, Air conditioned, the local FM radio channel ) I was curious to see how much longer my bus has to wait in the heavy traffic. So I stood up and gave a quick glance to see that the road was completely packed with buses like the one I was travelling in. There were a few cars, quite a number of city cabs, a very few bikes and a few maxi cabs. No cycles or pedestrians in this part of the city at this particular time of the day, as you just cannot expect to wade your way by a bike or walk, through the very heavy, heavy-vehicle traffic. I was glad that I don't drive a car - as in this city's traffic, you would be one among the rare herd of people who love to drive to work in an office that is out of the city - and certainly am not the kind. I also noticed that people in most of the cabs, cars and buses dozed off... I wont blame them for it as they p...

I know you picked up this topic because you love Gulab jamoon or are curious to know what this post is all about.... Last Saturday, I was in a shopping mall in Bangalore. After a two-hour long roam, my friend and I decided to eat at the food court. We chose the juice and dessert corner and placed orders. While I was still waiting for the sugar cane juice that I ordered, I was scanning the display shelves. It is a nice past time if you are the kind who will appreciate decor. Wall papers with fruits and cake pictures, glass shelves with fruits made out of wax, a display shelf with lots of freshly baked cakes and some sweets....I stopped right there... it was not just another sweet.... it was my favorite Gulab Jamoon.... :-) For people who do not know about Gulab Jamoon, it is an Indian sweet which at its best, is brownish red in color, soaked in Sugar Syrup, very soft to bite into, and tastes very sweet usually. It takes about an hour to make 30 pieces of this sweet and costs INR 6:00 to...

Realising that you are confused takes you close to the solution. Five steps to solve confusion : Identify, Confirm, Prioritize, Think, and Act Confusion is more like a muddy puddle of water.. It takes some time to sediment. Confusion implies that clarity is round the corner. Re-check if it is really confusion or just an interesting problem that needs your time and attention.

I chanced to visit a village (About 100 km from the city) recently. When I was about to leave, I asked if there is any transport from the village to the nearest town from where I can take another bus to go to the city. The villager was very helpful in directing me to the bus station. There was no bus shelter as such, but from the crowd there, I guessed it should be the bus station. The villager went on to tell me about the "nice school" ( the only school there), the "main hospital" ( the only health clinic in the village where nurses were always available and doctors come in at a definite time), the regular buses, the future plans to have a doctor's office and house after the ongoing temple construction ( One Crore budget) gets over, and that the village will soon become a town. The sparkle in his eyes, when he said this, showed how much he loved the place and how satisfied he is in the current promise that the future holds, for the village and its residents. ...