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Showing posts from July, 2009

Do-nothing times....

I want to do nothing..and its a working day.. Cannot think of writing..there is so much I can write about. Cannot think of movies..there are many I can watch. Cannot think of talking on the phone..there are people I can call. Cannot think of music..there is music I can listen. Cannot think of taking a good afternoon's nap..I can take a ten minute nap. Cannot think of writing a blog post..there are topics I can write about. Cannot think of reading a book..there are e-books I can read. Cannot think of taking a walk..I can take a quick walk on the beautiful campus walkway. Cannot think of eating..there is a nice cafeteria. Cannot think of shopping..there are things I can buy. Cannot think of browsing.. I can surf for knowledge and networking. Cannot think of thinking... there is so much to think about and sort out. I don't recall when I had last felt the way I do now... with so much that I can do and I can be thankful for, but not feeling like utilizing them at all. I have no idea

Crispy language

If you have been watching my blog or if you have spoken to me before, you surely know that I cannot keep it short when I talk. :-) Not that I am putting in a lot of effort to keep my language precise, but with whatever effort I am taking, I should be able to learn it some day. So, you can imagine my reaction when I heard this at the customer service desk yesterday evening at a local Airtel outlet: "Good evening.. ( I actually heard the voice smile..) I lost my Nokia phone that had an Airtel pre-paid SIM card sometime ago. Is there a way to ensure that no one mis-uses the card?" I couldn't help looking up from my paper to see who this well-mannered gentle man was. His tone was very professional, words seemed very carefully chosen to ensure that the support guy didn't have to ask another question to clarify the problem at hand and he was very friendly. He was an old man with a hearing aid, very mindful of the support executive's time at 7:00P.M in the evening. It to

A lot depends on the way you look at it.....

I never knew that so much of thought process can run in a non-movie maker's mind, until this afternoon, when I chanced to listen to Preran Kurnool ( Yes, I have taken his permission to use his name). He works with Adobe as a technical communicator and the gathering was about technical writing. Though I wanted to keep this blog completely away from technical writing, this one post calls for a brief description of what we do at our work desks. We write documents that ship with the software or hardware. So, as you can imagine, it is definitely not a 'Cool' desktop or a 'Sleek' phone or a 'fantastic' interface. We write facts and say a desktop, a phone or an interface. We don't really dictate what the user thinks about the product at hand. We just say what we have to say. That is the kind of profession we are in and partly why my writing does not have bombastic and beautiful words in the posts. The whole audience had the same base in their day-to-day jobs an

Namakaran: Keep it flawless

Our names are very important to us. I mean we all feel very disturbed if our names are spelt incorrect by someone. Agreed, we put up with or have to put up with an incorrect spelling in our names, but we are not very happy if people don't spell our names correctly, are we? In olden days, naming a baby in some South Indian Hindu (a faith in India is called Hinduism and the people who follow it are called Hindus.) families was very easy. The first son in the family got his paternal grandfather's name;the second son and his maternal grand father shared the same name; the first daughter took the paternal grand mother's name and the second daughter in the family took the maternal grand mother's name. All these grandparents usually had very long names which were mostly that of a Hindu God or Godess . One way to remember God in day to day activities was an old reasoning behind such a naming convention... The next to next children usually were named after the Hindu Gods and God

Quick look : Go kiss the Word - Shubroto Bagchi

Shubroto Bagchi, co-founder of MindTree Ltd., writes about the rich experiences that life has gifted him with, about the interesting people he has met on the way, about the subtle truths of life that we often miss, about the simple lessons that make a great leader, about the basic traits that make a difference to each of personally, to our folks, to our workplace community, and to life at large. A few reasons why you should read this book: You hate attending lectures. You do not have time for voluminous books with nano-sized fonts. You have had enough of the management jargon and cant stop to hear another word that even remotely suggests 'management tone'. You are a professional who has some aspiration in life. You always believe that staying in your 'domain' or 'career path' ONLY can boost your growth in the corporate ladder. You want someone to believe in your ability. You want to know how to manage difficult people. You want to learn to say 'No'. You

Song - Time is short; The music won't last

I remember reading this poem many times in the past but when I got an email today with the same poem, it sounded just as new, interesting, and nice. If I remember well, I guess this was written by an ailing little girl who knows that she has a very short time to live in this world. It was amazing to note the tone in the song, given that she knows when she might have to leave this world.... Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round? Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight? Or gazed at the sun into the fading night? You better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply? When the day is done, do you lie in your bed With the next hundred chores running through your head? You'd better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. Ever told your ch

It happens only when it happens.....

This is one of my friend's favorite saying... I was in a long queue to get a platform ticket in the city railway station, today. The queue in the counter seemed to be moving faster than the one at the ticket vending machine. With about twenty more people to move on, before I can get to the head of the queue, I was beginning to lose the patience to wait. Same with a lot of others who stood in the queue with me. A lady was telling her companion to just check what are the chances of getting in without a ticket.. to which he replied, Why take a chance? and be worried about getting fined, for another whole hour that we are going to spend here?".. I didn't turn around to see if she was happy with the answer, but smiled to note that people have become sensitive to following the rules and regulations. Another few restless minutes ticked off and I was glad that the queue was moving quite fast. Then, I heard another practical and brilliant statement..... An old man was telling som

Media and social responsibility

There is this popular pill advertisement on the television that shows a worried, married, young woman, really worried that she might get pregnant. What follows in the few seconds advertisement, is a quick remedy to her problem in life...- the pill.... Did the advertiser think about how this was going to be perceived among the children of today? Did the advertiser think about how young parents would read it? Did the advertiser think about the fact that there are doctors in town who have spent a few years studying the subject thoroughly? This advertisement if not carefully weighed can be very disastrous to the peace and quiet in many homes, today. It is not sufficient to put a disclaimer in a nano size font in the advertisements.. I don't even bother to read any such nano fonts in any poster, even if it is a banner sized advertisement. Will the media or the advertisers or the product marketing division think about it? Whoever would tell these guys that All easy solutions in life may

Changed my view

I didn't intentionally eavesdrop on the conversation yesterday, but then you can't walk around with ear plugs all the time. Two young men were discussing an interview progress. A : So, you are done with the interviews? B: Yeah, done. A: How did it go? B: Yeah, overall, it went well.. Most people didn't know this C ( something that was absolute Latin to me ) concept... A: So any ray of hope? How many met your expectations ? B: Two of them... A: How many years experience? B: About two years plus.... A: Guy? Girl? B: One guy and a girl have taken the top two ranks.... A: Who do you think will finally make it? Have you decided? B: Not really... thought I will keep the decision aside for a while.... A: You know what? Just select the girl and say 'Better luck' to the Guy.... B : Well... You know what.. You have still not changed!!!!! Thankfully Mr.A was not the interviewer for which ever company and position that was being discussed. So, that was what I heard on the roa