Jaane Tu yaa Janne Naa

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 the audience to explore.

There are scenes that tell you how it is important to notice that children are not as happy as you think they are, how talents in kids go unnoticed simply because you do not care to notice, and how inherent skills/attitudes surface some day or the other... Could be my interpretations, but you will surely notice it too..

For an analysis this is a good movie..
For a causal mind less time pass, this is a fantastic movie..
For college goers, am sure this movie is sure to kindle a lot of hard-to-justify thoughts..
For fun lovers this is great..
For people who are looking for a change from the usual Hindi movies this is a definite hit..

A nice mix of old story in a modern canvas with colourful of music, dialogues, and fun. A rare make in today's film industry.

An integral segment of IT highways and IT parks

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 Strategic business point just outside the huge building... They form the integral segment of the IT facility I would say.... :-)

Pan shop owners don't spend a lot in putting on interior decor make up to their shops.. It is typically a shed of sorts with an asbestos if an old timer or a canvas/kakhi shamiano( the kind that is used for tents) if the guy is testing waters in business in this particular IT park/company. Then there are a lot of things neatly arranged on the small counter..I have no idea what are the things but from the known IT traffic to the shops I can say Pan, cigarettes and chewing gums, are sure items on sale. Some of these are in sachets and they are hung in such a beautiful pattern that they give quite a decorative ambience to the shop. Since the shop is frequented only by IT folks who are supposedly posh , care for cleanliness and just the idea of looking neatly dressed and are well mannered, there are no loud talks and no bargains... there is no need to tell people to use the dustbin and no need to appoint someone to clean the place after a high-tea is done... By the way, in more organized Pan shops by the IT bay, you will also get to see a small table and few chairs, giving the setting a truly high-tea friendly spacious look.....

In my few job hops, I have always seen that this Pan shop owner is a happy man catering only to the software guys.... there is always one shop.. at the most you will see two shops in the vicinity of an IT giant.....

I have always wondered why the IT parks and company authorities never complain about a not-so-posh shop dotting their posh office..
And why IT folks complain so much if the AC is off for a few seconds in office, while they don't mind taking walks outside office to the Pan shop in sweltering summer heat.....
And how is it that the Pan shop owner always smiles and our folks always have a " This is too much to handle" look on their faces....
And why the IT guys don't read what is documented on cigarette boxes "Smoking is injurious to health".. but coming to think of it, most of them don't read emails and official documents properly as well... So lets just leave it at that :-)

IT folks decide to move out of IT......

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 stay connected to the nature's beauty, observe people and enjoy the peace and quiet of the scenic beauty around.

I want to teach in college.... I love teaching. I want to quit IT life and teach young and ever energetic student crowd.. Will make me grow younger each day.

I want to write for a greeting card company... I want to put in some emotions into my work to make it a nice adorable piece of art... I want to quit IT after I have made money...

I want to teach kindergarten kids... They are such lovely teachers, wonderful friends whose innocence can make my work life interesting... I want to quit IT and move into a K.G school so my life becomes more cheerful and I can smile every minute....

I want to produce a movie... I want to play a small role in it.... I am sure it is more interesting that IT anyday....

I have heard all these so far. Last week I heard that some techie in a very reputed company chose to move out of IT to pursue his interests in Agriculture... He wants to make use of his programming knowledge and acquired knowledge in agriculture to come up with something nicer and profitable for himself and India at large.. He and his family have moved into a small town in Tamil Nadu to start work on this. Coming to think of it, I am sure it takes a lot of strength to give away a plush office space, swipe cards, identity cards, recognition in the name of the company, high-speed computers, ever-available Internet, city traffic, international schools, metro environment, immense bank balance, some five cards - both debit and credit always packed with cash to spend, luxurious life style - party, gifts, drinks, expensive wardrobe, Inox theatres, music and dance, Pepsi and Pizza, posh car, mobile phone that is less of a phone and more of a camera, player, computer, and recorder today... and anything else that you can think of that characterizes an IT professionals' life today.

They say " You have to give up something to gain something ".. May be such a sacrifice will bring big gains to the community.. May be it will involve a lot of struggle.. May be it means a total change in lifestyle... but it also means lot of happiness at the end of the mission..

May be some results are worth sacrificing comforts of IT life... May be it is worth a thought.... May be everyone should consider doing something other than their tried and tested profession someday...

Rasam

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 some of the South Indian homes, no meal is deemed complete without this dish called 'Rasam'.

It is a South Indian equivalent of today's soups... a good appetizer... :)

Rasam is the first dish that any South Indian baby is introduced to after the regular Farex stint gets over.... :)

There are so many varieties of Rasam.. I know of a house where they make at least fourteen varieties of Rasam .. So in effect you get to have the same kind of Rasam only once in two weeks... :)

Rasam has medicinal values... If you have a bad cold/fever and you are in a South Indian house, you will get to have Pepper Rasam for sure...

People love Rasam so much that they have managed to add pineapple pieces in it thus making a new, " not-bad-after-all" Rasam called Pineapple Rasam..

Rasam although simple to make, is an art... as much as coffee making is... :)

Gulab Jamoon in Bangalore

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 INR 10:00 in any restaurant or a shop that sells sweets. Google can help you better on this reference..

I love Gulab Jamoons... There is no limit to the number I eat at a time and there is no definite time of the day or night when it comes to tasting Jamoons.

For a minute, I was tempted to buy, though I knew it for a fact that among the other things that I have ordered that evening, this sweet would add too many calories and it may not go well with the rest of the items... While I was still thinking, I happened to glance at the price of the sweet. It was Rs.49( seven times!!!!!!! more than the usual price)...

I picked up my sugar cane juice, sat down at a fair distance from the shelf and pondered about the cost and the fact that many of the customers were willing to pay that high a price for a sweet that can cost upto 20 rupees at the maximum.

May be this is how the calculation was done:
Pro-rated cost of Air-Condition in the mall + Pro-rated cost of the glazed glass name plate stating "Gulab Jamoon"+ Pro-rated cost of refrigerator display shelf + Pro-rated cost of maintenance of the sweet corner+ Pro-rated making charges + Pro-rated cost of the bright lamp in the display shelf that made the Jamoon look truly attractive + Cost of the actual Jamoon = Rs. 49!!!!!

May be, just may be this is how the cost Math was done, otherwise, I don't see any other work- around to arrive at this huge number for my favorite Gulab Jamoon.

Chanakya and Me

My friend sent me Chanakya's Quotes. I immediately thoguht of responses to them. I wrote back and thought i would post the responses here...
Neethi in Tamil means Judgement. So you will see, a Neethi for every Quote of Chanakya.

"A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and Honest people are screwed first. - Chanakya

My Neethi : To maintain a log of the consecutive lies you said is difficult. You need to be smarter than SMART can mean.

"Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venemous **- Chanakya

My Neethi : One day, your pretence comes out to the limelight and your true color will show up.

"The biggest guru-mantra is: Never share your secrets with anybody. ! It will destroy you." - Chanakya

My Neethi : If you don’t share your secrets, you will never know anyone else’s secret and you will never have opinions of people. Opinions of people do matter, coz you never know which opinion will spark an idea in you. A good idea can make a lot of difference anyplace, anytime.

"There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no Friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth."- Chanakya

My Neethi : Simple logic. You don’t go around making friends with everyone in the globe. If there are friends, then there is a duty that friends have towards each other. This is not a planned self – interest. Even if it is, it doesn’t matter as long as there is love binding the friendship. There is no bitter truth about it. This is the fact of Life.

"Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead." - Chanakya

My Neethi : Not always you will have answers to these questions, leave alone satisfactory answers. Just go ahead and do it as long as a second thought on it does not give you qualms. It is your duty to work your best and forget about it. The rewards will come when they have to.

As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it." - Chanakya

My Neethi : Fear for valid points needs to be there.. You cannot fall off a cliff unless you want to commit a suicide…

"Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years. For the next five years, scold them. By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend. Your grown up children are your best friends." - Chanakya

My Neethi : Mere Scolding does not help. Half the time the kid is baffled about the very idea that the parent is yelling for nothing at all. You can never become a kid again and so you will not understand what it feels to be a kid, unless you care for a little bit of child psychology.

Books are as useful to a stupid person as a mirror is useful to a blind person. - Chanakya

My Neethi : That means only intelligent person can read books.. Which again means there would not be any best seller books, coz I bet all readers are not intelligent.

Well, these are just opinions.... You are free to post yours..

Miss. Right

After carefully reading through my article on 'Mr.Right', one of my friends actually suggested if i would some day write an article called 'Miss.Right'. Not a bad idea... Let me try...

Who is this Miss. Right?

Is she the kind who

is honest?
knows to differentiate Love and Friendship?
can trust people once in a while?
can come out of a shopping complex without shopping for a rupee?
can cook a nice meal for herself?
can understand that career comes first for the 'Guy' of her life?
does not complain when a preplanned outing does not happen because of the spouse's work load?
can sacrifice her career for the family?
knows when to stop crying?
can talk when she has to?
manages to stay in touch with most of her friends well past college years?
can vent out her emotions?
knows that it is okay to forget appointments?
can stop bothering about her looks?
can stop advicing?
can take life easy atleast once in a while?
does not spend on stuff toys and dolls?
can accept the spouse as he is?
never complains on smoking and drinking?
can take work light?
can smile when everything goes wrong?
can take rest when it is absolutely necessary?
can stop worrying about tomorrow?
can grow up to understand men?

Does such a woman with all these qualities exist at all in this world?

Note:
This is not a complete list.. there might be lots more.. My work demands that i have to stop here and get back to whatever i was writing. This is cent percent my personal opinion and i am sure you have your opinions.. :)

Mr.Right......

Who is this Mr. Right?

Is he the Maharaja Harishchandra's son who is more honest or as honest as his father?
Is he the kind who loves to be simple?
Is he the kind who has hobbies and has all the time in the world for it?
Is he the kind who has time for personal space?
Is he the kind who laughs atleast once a day?
Is he the kind who makes many friends?
Is he the kind who is cheerful most of the times?
Is he the kind who talks out his mind to a close friend when he needs a vent?
Is he the kind who marries a girl and not his job?
Is he the kind who calls a spade 'A SPADE'?
Is he the kind who gives respect to the girl as a person?
Is he the kind who has clean habits?
Is he the kind who loves his family?
Is he the kind who stands by the girl when the world steps aside?
Is he the kind who respects himself?
Is he the kind who has dreams and aims and hopes and aspirations for himself?
Is he the kind who knows a straight forward method to achieve it?
Is he the kind who knows that anger is short madness?
Is he the kind who knows what he is doing?
Is he the kind who takes life easy?
Is he the kind who understands a woman?
Is he the kind with whom the girl can spend hours together talking about anything and everything under the sun?
Is he the kind who believes that God is behind everything?

Does such a person with all these qualities exist at all??

:)

I learnt........

I met a potter. He was skilled at crafting every little bit of clay into beautiful pots of various shapes and sizes. I learnt never to ignore anything in my life....

I met a weaver. He was weaving a beautiful silk Saree for this famous shop called 'Sundari Silks' in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He crafted his designs for the saree on a graph paper and fixed the threads on the loom accordingly. In minutes, there was a beautiful swan design on the saree's border. I learnt that his knowledge of Graphs and concentration was more than mine.....

I came across a palm reader. I learnt that her 'tactics' in people handling was more than mine.... Should ask Srijith, my friend about what was it like to have your future read.. I must admit that he was bold.

I met an artist. I was amazed at how confident he was about his strokes on the fabric, that could very well qualify as a curtain cloth. I learnt that his 'patience' was more than mine.....

I learnt that inspite of the fact that all these craftsmen were more 'qualified' in terms of all these skills, they are never rewarded as much as I am.

I could not help wondering about scores of my folks from the software industry who work mostly without any of these tactics in their personal as well as professional life, and who are invariably paid more than these craftsmen.

- Mindspeak - On a visit to Dakshin Chitra , ECR Road, Chennai on 11th March 2006 with my friends from office.