Dew

In the corporate world, emails are common, so is the 'Reply All' syndrome. This post is inspired by a 'Reply All' email that said, "Unable to access the files" in response to one of yesterday's emails. I am not in the management ladder as yet, but work has been keeping me very tied up for the last whole week. This morning, I logged in to quickly check my emails and see this very IMPORTANT email. [ Sorry about being so loud.. I really did not think that email was important.] I glanced through the thread briefly and understood that some files were posted yesterday and an email has been sent to all the concerned people, including the members of the senior management who really do not even have time( is it 'take time??'.. lets rest this argument for the moment. ..) to eat three meals a day and have a good night's rest. One of the recipients has attempted to access the file immediately after seeing the email and found an access issue. So, he has jus...

I used to have a good... no.. very good handwriting when I was in school. This statement, I am constantly telling myself to remind me that I can write neatly. Why?? In college, the dutiful and sincere student in me started writing a lot of notes in class for the first one month. I think, that's when I lost my neat handwriting. Never written like that ever. Or may be its because of the voluminous engineering exam papers that we had to write in about three hours time to secure a grade in the university. Close to 40 theory papers, averaging to fifty pages each can tell you the volume of effort that has gone into spoiling my neat handwriting; not to mention the siren kind of bells that mark the close of the exam hour. Some of the other reasons I can think of for this dramatic change of my handwriting into a totally incomprehensible doctor's prescription strokes ( definitely intended comment.. I have not seen too many clear doctor's prescriptions till date... often wonder how th...

It was unusually crowded in most buses this morning. I knew I had to travel as a 'standee' today. With my laptop ( less than 2 kgs for sure) , it was a little difficult, but then it's just for today. I decided on Swalpa Adjust Maadi and bought my bus ticket. What amazes me in bus travels is that although the bus is packed, at every bus stop at least one person boards the bus. Mathematical mind says, so also, at least one person alights at every bus stop. In spite of all the Maths, I would still say, when my bus stopped at KR Puram stop, the bus was packed. A young woman who is expecting a baby in say, less than a month's time ( from my judgement ) boarded the bus and I wanted to say " Excuse me, why do you have to take this bus when it is so crowded?".. but I assumed that she has her own reasons ( bad boss, late start, and crazy work load ) and did not say anything. [My take would be.. No matter what, do not get into a crowded Bangalore Metro bus.. with the b...

Tomorrow, the 26th of January is the 60th Republic Day in India. A little bit of history here: On this day, 60 years ago, Constitution of India came into force. Google for more details. I am seeing emails and posters alerting security all over the place. All of us have been asked to cooperate with the security guards in case they conduct any surprise checks. All train stations and other places of public resort have been heavily guarded. Sixty is a nice long period to celebrate all the achievements of the country. Over the years, every aspect would have seen a lot of changes, both plus and minus - all of which is nice to recall and learn from. At such an introspective moment, here we are, worried about terrorism and other potential, unforeseen problems that can strike tomorrow. Why is this happening? On any national holiday that involves the government, there is at least a strike some where in the country to say the least. Other issues - I don't want to google it for you. We have al...

I happened to see this banner advertisement outside a saree shop. Cutting all the artistic(!!!!!!!????????!!!!!) details that I do not want to explicitly lay out for you to imagine, I'll simply say that the advertisement seemed like it was for the girl in the picture and not her saree. I think its easy for any one who drives on the road to get distracted looking at the picture of this well-photographed, super-model, good looking girl. That is besides the point. There are at least three different posters that supposedly were displaying the exquisite artistic work on the saree and its borders. I could not see the art in the saree. My question is very simple: If you are advertising for a saree, why don't you think about having the saree draped as beautifully as possible, on a beautiful girl and take pictures that portray the art work in the saree? A well-draped saree will surely make the girl look extremely beautiful. This is a known fact. I am wondering if the advertisers would t...

Have you attempted to say one line on your birthday that describes your mind state? Here are some of the responses I have heard: Getting too old to celebrate... Getting older... Getting older and getting wiser too... Time to think of wedding... Don't put candles on my cake to remind me how old I am... Time to wear a shorter dress just so I don't feel too old... Don't even ask!!!! Yeah, its just like any other day... Who ever said it is special... How long do you think I must celebrate this day... I am getting older... We are just planning a dinner outing this evening.. Nothing much.. Its just any other day... Yeah, lots have changed, learnt quite a few things.. lost and gained some sense :) Now, that is the usual routine note of responses that we would hear... Yesterday, at office, we were celebrating a friend's birthday. Cake, Samosa and coffee to keep it simple and quick. When the initial round of cake was over people shifted focus to the birthday hero. We wanted to h...

A for Apple.. B for Ball.. C for Cat.. D for Doll.. E for Egg.. F for Fan.. ... ... .. . . This is how our schools have so far been teaching. Right now, I know the alphabet is being taught with phonetics associated with the letters, so when the children speak the English language, there is no need to correct the pronunciation. At one of the bus stops day before, I saw an advertisement from Aircel for an Internet card that you can use on your mobile phone and connect to the Internet. Applause to the creativity involved in the Advertisement. This is what it said: A for Address.. B for Blog.. C for Chat.. D for Download.. E for Email.. F for Face book.. and I went on to continue.. G for Google H for Hot mail I for Internet J for Jabber ... ... ... I am sure, given some thought we could make a complete new, modern, trendy library of words for every letter in the English Alphabet. I would not be surprised if the schools adapt to this library soon. All the children start-off their play time ...

This is the very first time in three years that I am touching religion on my blog post. Though I agree that all of us can have varied opinions on this post, please ensure that your comments do not hurt the believers and staunch advocates of the Good God. I also wish to express that this post is definitely not open for any argument on this blog site. :-) We respect every fellow reader/writer's opinion and freedom of right. Your comments will be accepted only on this understanding. Thank you. Last week, I had a chance to visit Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh, India. I strongly recommend you google for details on the temple if you have no clue what I am talking about. The intent of the post is purely an expression of what I noticed. Most believers know that it is not the Darshan(chance to see the deity) which you plan but it is the Darshan which He gives. I had heard that, but read this in one of the local restaurants in Tirupathi. Although it does not sound true enough, it is very true. Yo...

I had attended a workshop in early December on Technical Writing. In response to a particular question around writing, the speaker said, "There is always a simple rule to handle some situations; They say,"Swalpa Adjust Maadi" in Kannada. This translates to "Just adjust a little" in English." This one fragment got rooted in my mind. For the last one month, I have said this phrase many times to myself to ease simple, common, unnecessary stress that we all face each day. I just thought this whole idea is worth a post. More often than not, it is the trivial commonplace events that cause more stress [ small unnecessary stress usually cascade through the day and lead to bigger problems ] to us than the relatively serious ones. Here's one to help you visualize better: You are driving to work. You had set out well in advance from your house and you have had a great start of the day and your feel-good factor is good enough. Your favorite melody is on and the t...

[ Disclaimer : This reaction is as on the date of this blog.. You never know what I will write about it tomorrow, if they indeed prove that life in Moon is possible and there is real estate space available for sale there... except the paper work that might bother me, I don't think I will have a problem signing up for a space on Moon, given that the investment is worth my money.] 'Extra-terrestreal' estate!!!!!!! Definitely not a misspelling :) Real estate is really getting into extra-terrestrial space making it extra-terrestreal estate business... What else would you say if you receive this link on email: http://excitinglives.com/experience/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=213 This talks about gifting some space in the Moon for a friend. The cost would be Rs.1650 for a definite area of the land in the moon. Years ago, I remember reading about the fact that some people had claimed to have bought some land ( Is the land on the moon called land or would it be ...

We've heard this word quite a lot of times till date, haven't we? Welcome is used so often that it seems to have lost its importance.... but then, there are some Welcomes that we can recall even after years later... The freshers' welcome party in college... The Seniors' welcome party in hostel... The wedding welcome party... Some airport/train station welcomes.. ... ... ... We also recall a lot of not-so-welcoming tone/note of welcomes... that's something we park aside, never to pick up again.. :) When I was writing " See where life takes you " I recalled a hearty welcome I had three years ago, on the same day. It deserved a separate post and that's what this post is about. January 8th 2007. It is a very important day for me. First, because I am joining one of the biggest companies that my mind could imagine, till then. I mean, I never even opted to attempt a test or an interview in this company till three months ago. Second: I was hit strongly by a wi...

Thanks to my friend, who sent a very thoughtful forward. These thoughts are after-effects of that useful read :) A leader knows when to let the other person take the lead. Leadership and management are two different things altogether. You don't have to be a manager to be a good leader. You have to be a leader to be a good manager. The extended basics of leadership - Work hand-in-hand, Give-in once in a while, Be responsible for your decisions. A leader must be able to appreciate a good job in front of the world. A leader must have the courage to call a spade a spade. A leader keeps the not-so-good feedback between the subject and self. A leader who is an expert, admirer or an aspirant can appreciate a good job, well done :)

Finally... after the world has watched the movie, I got a chance to write about the movie... Three Idiots, a Vidhu Vinod Chopra movie. It is a must-see movie, so I won't detail the story or characters or the artists or the music or direction. All these is for you to find out from the reviews on the Internet or the movie itself. All thanks to Chetan Baghat's characters in his first book, Five point someone. It is a hilarious and sensible account of three friends in IIT. The movie has taken its base characters from the book and the story takes a cinematic turn which is perfect for a movie. Some major take-aways: - All Is Well. - Focus on Excellence, Success will Follow. - In most situations,'Do whatever it takes' . - Notice small niceties and hidden talents in people. - Take time to be attentive to words and feelings. - If you can encourage someone, just do it. - You do not have to stand first to win in life. - Be a friend. - Success is relative. - It is not bad at all. -...

Its all in the mind. We hear it most often from most seniors. Give it a careful thought and you will know that it is your mind that decides anything you do or say. And how often do we take those decisions? Every waking moment we keep taking decisions - major or minor. It is the mind that decides to wake up early in the morning and practice an exercise routine, and the same mind that decides to let go of the thought and continue the early morning sleep for another hour. When mind can have so much control on this simple decision of waking up early in the morning for an exercise routine or not, don't you think, it can have a better control on the way you work? In my opinion, one of the Job Descriptions of the mind, personified as a Manager here, is to take decisions. This all-powerful mind needs a break once in a while from its train of thoughts. On a bad work day, when it comes to action, there are times when we decide to walk around the problem,mostly tend to take up the external su...

That is from a recent email conversation with a college friend, yesterday. The line made me think.... It is nice to see where life has taken you from whichever point in time to the present. It is exactly three years since I came to Bangalore. It has been an interesting journey so far.. Over the last three years, Some strangers became friends.. Some view points changed.. Some attitudes improved.. Some experiences became lessons.. Professional circles changed.. Pay check changed.. Close friends became closer.. Personal policies remained.. Smiles increased.. This is a very short, generic list that I have written. To be honest, it is interesting to note how life has changed course for us from a point in time till another point in time.. When I did, I could appreciate a lot of things and realized it is important to be thankful for what life brings to us each day. I thought this statement 'See where life takes you..' is very thoughtful, although it was a very casual remark from my fr...

Hello Readers, I wish you and your family a very happy new year. I know this wish must have come in a little earlier in the year, but could not manage to get my space to write down my thoughts till now. Thank you all for all the support that you have extended so far, for my blog and me. Without your comments and readership, I know I could not have reached this far... I am very happy about breaking my own record of the past years in blogging. My blog has seen 104 posts from me in 2009. This is the highest I have posted in the last three and a half years of blogging. Thanks, one and all. I hope to be able to continue to write my thoughts and to receive your comments on my opinions. If there is anything specific that you want to see me writing about, I would like to know your views. Please post a comment on this one to say what else you would like to hear about. If the topic is something I can write about or feel like writing about, I will surely keep it my mind and will write as and when...