Am jacked with work.... Am to prepare a strategy for the year 2003 and my mind just does not seem to concentrate on the work I need to do. I remember someone telling me that the Human mind is like a fly, it cannot stay at one place for more than a few minutes. I am jumping slides and subjects on my ppt..I have to finish it today but I wonder if I will be able to do it. I tell myself, Where there is a will there is a way, come on...

And to top this state of mind is the Friday feeling, I want to go home, 5 days have been too much in Bangalore...all work work work. I just want to spend time in the room, which will always remains Dad’s room. Dad, I miss u!

This morning while driving to work, two scenes which was not what i wanted to see.

1. A huge tree, which would have been there for more than 5-6 decades was chopped, making way for the construction of a temple. All that was to be seen was the stump of the tree which was swaying magnificiently yesterday, providing shelter to weiry travellers.
2. A street dog butchered by a speeding Vehicle, all that remained was flattened skin of the dog...it was a gory sight

Do we have the rights to play with nature? Why are we so inhuman to all these facts.

Time to ponder ona few realities of life.

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle.

How difficult is it for u to post ur blog...worst scenario is that ur system gives away and u end up tearing ur hair....

Mrs. Kamat has a unique way of updating her blog...bumped into her blog through Ashwini's blog...who left a message sometime last week....

I have been hooked onto all these blog from morning....:)

Wishes

Nilesh entered into Holy matrimony yesterday. Wish u a very Happy and Blessed Married life...For obvious reasons, we are not going to have any F1 related posts for quite sometime I guess. :)

Picture this

While driving through the main streets of the Silicon Valley of India, I was treated to a scene, which again put me on the "don't crib” mode. It’s mid day and right in front of me is this mini truck, which is transporting huge iron rods for construction. It’s an open truck and on these iron rods, I find a man sleeping peacefully. The very thought of touching the roads made me jump and here this man sleeping without any worry in the world. I was trailing behind the truck, for there was heavy traffic and was all along trying to see if the person is worried by the blaring sun and the heat generated by the iron rods, but no…. He was having a contented sleep. Dad always used to say, sleep is verly closely related to death, we hardly know whats happening around us when we are asleep. And here was another case to vouch for this theory...

?

Am a person full of questions these days...

Why 9 times out of 10 we keep our thoughts or views to ourselves, is it for the fact that we are afraid we may hurt someone with our words, deeds and actions?
Why do we not voice out what we think, this may be taken either as a good point or u may be branded as a "What the hell they think of themselves"

I have been wondering how good a censoring authority we are, what comes to our mind does not reach the target audience...there are so many things more, but i censor it ...Let me answer them myself, and them put on the blog :)

A blog on the Library news...and that too updated on a daily basis. Check it out, might get u useful info. library news daily

I also happened to read a report on the Pravasi Mela, which is an interesting read...a long one, but has a strong message

Lessons from the Pravasi Mela

Let us ignore accusations about it being a 'thank you' to Non Resident Indians who contribute handsomely to the Bharatiya Janata Party's coffers. Let us forget charges that dual citizenship is a sop being handed out to select nations just to encourage further investment not just in the party, but perhaps also the nation. And let us overlook the fact that the finance and foreign ministers were heckled by the 2,500-plus audience, including journalists and special interest groups from overseas, mostly complaining that their views were not being heard.

To criticize it would be easy. The list of grumbles and gripes -- from both delegates and the government -- about the event is long, and most are relevant concerns. Let us instead focus on what the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Mela in New Delhi from January 9 actually achieved. One, it brought together 1,946 Indians living in 66 nations under one roof. From places as far away and as exotic as Martinique, Uzbekistan and Benin. That was on day one. The delegates reportedly crossed the 2,000 mark on days two and three. Making it the largest gathering of non-resident and ethnic Indians ever.

Two, the government, at the level of the prime minister and his deputy sent out a message to Indians across the globe that India had decided to honour and remember the great Indian Diaspora. It also emphasised this was not a one-off thing. Both the conference and the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards had now become institutionalised and would be an annual feature.

Three, despite the chaos and mismanagement, it gave the delegates, or least a preferred few, a chance to network with the government and each other, which can only be a good thing.

Four, it gave Finance Minister Jaswant Singh the chance, in his own words, to announce -- rather than send out a standard press release -- the substantial easing of overseas investment rules for both the private sector and individuals. (The number of people scrambling to be photographed with the prime minister, deputy prime minister, finance and foreign ministers was quite interesting, since there were as many resident Indians as non resident ones jostling to get in the frame.)

"I don't I think I will come again since all I heard were boring speeches, but on the flip side, I am returning with a list of relevant people who can help me decide whether or not to invest in India," summed up a delegate from the US who had come specifically for the session on health care and pharma. This, despite some sessions, like the one on 'opportunities in defence and internal security research and development,' which were impeccably managed and moderated, and also allowed fruitful debate and interaction between the audience and the panelists, proving it can be done.

Five, if the idea was to encourage debate and discussion, the government perhaps got a bit more than it bargained for, with delegates publicly accusing the Indian government of ignoring the plight of ethnic Indians, like in Fiji as well as non-resident Indians working in the Gulf and North Africa, while wooing those in the developed countries. But again, this allowed the government to learn about, and perhaps assuage and address, the genuine concerns expressed by these groups.

Six, the media hoopla alerted and educated the resident Indian about their 20 million cousins spread over the world. This is important since negative, stereotypical images about NRIs exist in the minds of many Indians. And finally, if nothing else, it gave Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Bismillah Khan a chance to put together a scintillating performance.

But do these benefits justify the millions spent by the government and FICCI on this gala affair, which had the general air and feel of a mela rather than a dignified convention?

Yes.

It is important to remember this was a first of a kind event, and provided the organisers learn from their mistakes, subsequent events are bound to be better and more effective. And even if the money spent -- conservative estimates put the figure at Rs 15 crore -- was not partially recouped by the increase in tourism and hotel revenues, it should not be written off as a loss just yet, since the returns could take some time. It is difficult to put a price on intangible benefits which are bound to be spin offs. But the government might consider setting up a donation-based corpus for subsequent events, with scrupulous and public records, of course. The government also needs to ensure that the ideas and emotions collected during this event are collated, debated, and acted upon swiftly.

There was a distinct clash between economic and emotional interests during this first event, and steps must be taken to see that both are leveraged to India's advantage. Emotional bonds with the country of origin are easy to understand. The fact that many third and even fourth generation Indians thronged the meet put paid to the theory that these bonds fade with each passing generation. Events like these prove the clichéd adage that you can take an Indian out of India, but you cannot take India out of an Indian. But emotions alone are not enough. People will not invest in India just because they or their forefathers left these shores years ago. It might make them think about it, but the money will come only when they are sure that they can get adequate returns on it.

And that can only be achieved by projecting a stable economic and political climate, and the continued reassurance that these investments were not subject to the whims and fancies of successive governments. Enter the prime minister who valiantly asserted that the government was not interested in just money, but in leveraging the great talent and abilities of the Diaspora, in varied fields.

Enter the home minister who stressed on India's secular fabric and traditions and described Gujarat as an 'aberration' never to be repeated. Enter Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and his sops for Indians abroad willing to invest in specific sectors, a small but significant step, and his promise that his Budget would hold other proposals and sops.

Enter Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha whose appeal to emulate the Jewish and Chinese Diaspora went down well with the audience, though it provoked South African Fatima Meer, a Samman recipient who championed the anti-apartheid movement and has written books on Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, to declare she hated the word 'Diaspora.' But all these gestures, all these efforts, will come to nought if the government does not actively ensure that the initiative does not fizzle out to become yet another annual Delhi do, where hot air rules.

A TP mail which is doing rounds these days...read on!

You know you're living in 2003 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
4. You e-mail your mate who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends is that they do not have e-mail addresses.
6. When you go home after a long day at work you still answer the phone in a business manner.
7. When you make phone calls from home, you accidentally insert a "0" to get an outside line.
8. You've sat at the same desk for four years and worked for three different companies.
10. Your CV is on a disk in your pocket.
11. You learn about your redundancy on the 11o'clock news.
12. Your biggest loss from a system crash was when you lost all of your best jokes.
13. Your boss doesn't have the ability to do your job.
14. Contractors outnumber permanent staff and are more likely to get long-service awards.
15. Board members salaries are higher than all the Third World countries annual budgets combined.
16. Interviewees, despite not having the relevant knowledge or experience, terminate the interview when told of the starting salary.
17. Free food left over from meetings is your staple diet.
18. Your boss gets a brand-new state-of-the-art laptop with all the latest features, but you have time to go for lunch while yours boots up.
19. Being sick is defined as you can't walk or you're in hospital.
20. There's no money in the budget for the five permanent staff your department desperately needs, but they can afford four full-time management consultants advising your boss's boss on strategy.
21. Your relatives and family describe your job as "works with computers".

AND THE CLINCHERS ARE...
22. You read this entire list, and kept nodding and smiling.
23. As you read this list, you think about forwarding it to your "friends"
24. You got this email from a friend that never talks to you anymore, except to send you jokes from the net.
25. AND YOU ARE TOO BUSY TO NOTICE THAT THERE WAS NO No. 9

kewl na?

A few quotes which have created a impact on me:

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle.

The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.

Inspiration is much higher than reason, because the former comes from the heart and the latter from the brain , but the 2 must never contradict.

Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

I take the view, and always have, that if you cannot say what you are going to say in twenty minutes you ought to go away and write a book about it. - Lord Brabazon

Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. - LINCOLN

He who is the most slow in making promise is the most faithful in the performance of it. - ROUSSEAU

Dreams are but interludes which fancy makes. --Dryden.

I had a dream which was not all a dream. --Byron.

A visionary scheme; a wild conceit; an idle fancy; a vagary; a revery; -- in this sense, applied to an imaginary or anticipated state of happiness; as, a dream of bliss; the dream of his youth.

There sober thought pursued the amusing theme, Till Fancy colored it and formed a dream. --Pope.

It is not them a mere dream, but a very real aim which they propose. --J. C. Shairp.

Here may we sit and dream Over the heavenly theme. --Keble.

They dream on in a constant course of reading, but not digesting. --Locke.

My friends have always been a source of strength. Have seen them standing behind me in good times always and now with the situation that I am facing, they are there again. Asking me to gather courage and get back to terms with life. Time, as they all say, is a great healer. I just hope that this phase too shall pass away. I realize that for my family I need to be strong, for my actions would hurt them to and Dad would never like me doing that.

Thanks everyone for being there for me when I need u the most...If I start taking names, the entire blog would get filled...but please treat this as a personal thanks to each one of u. I am really blessed to have such wonderful people around me. :)

My World

My world came crashing down on the 9th of January 2003. The loss I faced on this fateful day can never be overcome. It was not a materialistic loss, it is a mental, physical, emotional, psychological and whatever u can think of loss. In that one man, I lost, a parent, grand parent, friend, mentor, critic, philosopher, guide, strength, my roommate, and the one reason for my being where I am.

He was there when I first learnt to walk, when I walked the first time on stage to pick my award, when I walked to be decorated with the Gold Medal at my University, there when I was sick, hungry, sad, happy, angry, frustrated. I just had to sit there and he understood it all. He was by relation my maternal grandpa, but he was my superman, my dad.
The love which was to reach me from my parents, my grand parents gave me, grand ma left 20 years back and hence grandpa was always there, playing the role of mother and father and today, I can feel him smiling to me from the skies.

Dad, I love you and I just hope that u never leave me alone. I cannot explain how much I miss u and how grateful I am for having u in my life.

A weird story..Believe it or not

An uncle of mine has performed a stunt, which can be featured as the best dare on AXN...when I heard it, I didn’t know to how to react. Read it and tell me whether it’s a threat to superman or Rip Van Winkle.

Our superman was driving at about 1500 hrs to meet his brother. As he is cruising along to his destination, he dozes away. (Remember that he is alone in his car). Now as he dozes off, the car decided to find its own way, it cruises along to bang right inside a stationery State transport bus. Our man still asleep. Onlookers are amazed at this "Believe it or not" sight, get a crane and move the bus, rip the bonnet of the car, and get our Rip Van Winkle out take him to the nearest hospital. He has a big mark on his forehead and few stitches on his cheek. After all this is done, our man wakes up with the proverbial "Mein kahan hoon"(Where am I?)...Calls his home and that's when the entire family rushes to see the great feat. The car is damaged beyond repair, if u see the pic u would not believe that someone would have survived this accident.

Saturday we had New Year's Party at office. A family day out infact for all of us.. We had a blast, a day filled with games, prizes, gana, bajana, khana, full toss masti. A result of which was a sleepy sunday. I don't remember when was the last time i slept so much. My folks were aghast to see this vagabond sleep at home. It was a perfect sunday for me. Many a times i picked up a book to read, but sleep got better of me.

Its monday and the blue feeling is gone, Thanks to someone who gave me some good news in the morning. I am really happy for that person...May the happiness that's with u today never leave u. :)

Neck deep into work.....fridays turn out to be such a workholic days...but a good start to the weekend!

Happy weekend!

Home Gloom

We have been house hunting for quite sometime. In search of the perfect place, which we can say is ours..and we still are to find the right place. As always people have been giving us their "unasked for " Advise...why don't u build a own home, buy a plot, go to a flat...and our response is a flat smile which says "We know what to do...keep away..."(Somebody did tell me that i am a fiery and fiesty character...shows it na?).

On yet another such round yesterday, we were shown a house, which was so very nice. It looked liked the ones u always dream to stay in. Not the modern plush houses that are so very common these days. This is the kinda house, people like me love to stay in, to lock themselves in their own cocoon, this is a perfect house, the perfect place, to just disappear from all the noise and rattle for moments of tranquility. . Though located on one of the busy streets of the City, its got its own calm and serene nature. A perfect hobbit home u can say.

After seeing the house, we had our own sets of ifs and buts for this house, we are yet to decide. But i shall always cherish having seen this house. And possible make one like this for myself.

Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.

Then sing, young hearts that are full of cheer,
With never a thought of sorrow;
The old goes out, but the glad young year
Comes merrily in tomorrow.

Wishes for a very Happy, Health, Wealthy and Prosperous New Year
Have a wonderful 2003!