My Perspective

German Trip....

2009-06-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

So finally i decided to pack my bag and move out of Aldershot...Enuf! Or should i say it happened all thanks to Aarushi who made me go out...:) aaaha...But i must say...Thanks Buddy...it was just too good!

So the journey started Friday night itself 2300 hrs and i was off to London Gatwick. And i thought people must be in bed but come Clapham and i was confused...2345 hrs or 1145 ....0019 i managed to get in the train...managed..yeah..thanks to two people behind me who pushed me in the already completely jam packed train. Stood on 2 fingers :) and was in Gatwick....Tym to sleep on floor...aaha...this was an experience!

Early morning wake up call and i was on my feet..Banana Shake and tym to wait for flight...nd the wait continued....flight was late by 1 hr...so when i landed in Munich i was late and had to run...(first run. of trip..) to catch the train...Welcome Munich.

Went around and walked all the way to see Munich...Platz Platz and Platz :) but it was nice and then the beautiful road with all the big brands...you name it and they had it...Versace, Armanis....wow...And the place was abuzz...real nice place i must say and luckily rain stayed away.

So tym to leave for Frankfurt....ICE - Inter City Express. Fast ...Fast...nd Faster...Experience i must say and 1900 hrs i was in Frankfurt. Went to hotel...a hot shower and back...wonderful weather, walked for some 2 miles and was in heart of city. The best city i have ever seen i must admit. River, History, Class, Buzz, Industry...Frankfurt has it all..Tribute to Michael Jackson at Romer and i was chilling out with nice food around the rhine...river :)

Slept nicely...nd then took Intercity...not express...so the old age train nice sweet compartments and i was on my way to Dusseldorf. Another beautiful city...another river...beautiful ..church, museum, fashion, arts...the place was all energy...Rhine, TV Tower, Marx Platz...walked all around and was back to London Gatwick :(...Run Lola Run..caught one train ....run again...caught another...an run again..finally dropped dead in Aldershot.

Top 50 Young Entrepreneurs Under 30

2009-06-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

There are those who keep working their ass off and get some dollars, pounds or INRs and when they look at honda citys of the world ... they dream. And then there are those who work their pants off but take that extra bit of risk, go out and do what they want and ....these guys drive porsche, wear hugo boss, holiday in spain.....What makes them different.

Check the list of "Top 50 Young Entrepreneurs Under 30" at http://www.retireat21.com/top-young-entrepreneurs/

What's the difference between these guys and others..like us...:) Can we "gather" the guts to take that risk .... atleast end of the day we wont say we didnt try....And mind you "No Indians" in the list. Its high tym - Wake up India!

Educate or Immigrate

2009-05-30T03:54:00.000-07:00

When Nanadan Nilekani said "Outsource or Immigrate" the title suited well for the corporate world in US, UK & European Market. But i think the basis of his thoughts (not refuting his thoughts) is primarily IT Industry and not how the overall economy can grow in the developed countries. Outsourcing will surely help corporates get more value for money, access to talent pool and make them more and more competitive and hence outsourcing is a good option, against the public opinion and Obama's harping.

But is that a long term solution for these economies to continue their poweress. No because the more they outsource the more they become dependant and the more these shoutings will prevail without any logical solution to the problem. Immigration could be a good option as that will help these countries get educated talented resources to burden the responsibility of growing the economies. But again there's a major problem with that and that is the more you immigrate the more hostile your own public becomes and you end up creating unwanted scenes.

So the only solution and as correctly pointed by Obama also is to Educate. Let the young generation in US & UK & Europe wake up to the challenge and face the fact that there's an Indian Population and not just Indian but Asian Population who is well educated and is no more coming from the world of snake charmers! And if they still want to live in disbelief of their supremacy then its just a matter of few years when they will regret the lost time! So from my end - "Educate or Immigrate"!

Back!

2009-05-24T16:07:00.000-07:00

Dont know if i m writing just to write and say i m back or i m now again gonna write, but there's a feeling to write again and so i m back!

Now next question is who cares whether i write or not? Yeah, makes sense but then its good to announce i will again write even if there's no one looking forward to see me write :) All said n done "Hum likhenge"

Was listening to "K for Kishore" dont know how many of you know about the program but i love it not because of the singers but because of the fact that they sing Kishore Kumar! Awesome songs....my fav song found place in the show - "hamhe tumse pyaar kitna...." fun!

Could interest rates go negative?

2009-01-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

Found this interesting article on BBC. Read the complete article on BBC News

If the Bank of England cuts interest rates on Thursday could the interest paid on our savings fall below zero? Negative interest rates, where the bank charges us to look after our savings, have been seen before.

In the 1970s Swiss banks charged foreign customers rather than paying them interest to hold their money. But one economist said "it is not impossible but as close to that as you can get. Zero percent is a possibility for a brief period."

As they put it - The battle of Greats!

2008-12-28T14:16:00.000-08:00

With SRK's Rab ne .. & Aamir's Ghajini releasing at almost same time, most people have pu it rightly as "Battle of Greats"!

Watched Rab ne.. & Ghajini in last two days and i must say both the actors played their roles brilliantly. The stories for both the movies looked very oridinary to me though! On one side Rab ne...had SRK playing dual roles of simple oridinary guy alongside a today's generation folk. SRK performed the two roles fantastically and really brought glamour in an extremely simple character - i doubt if any one could have done that. On the other hand, Aamir played a role of a killer, living only to take revenge - brilliant acting - dont think any one in industry could have done better.

Rab ne... & Ghajini though went very slow on story and i felt so many times like forwarding it!

All said & done, must watch and not always do you find a "winner amongst the greats"!

Mumbai - Terrorism, Politics, Pakistan & Thackrey!

2008-11-28T13:23:00.000-08:00

More than 50 hrs since the fight against terrorism is on in Mumbai - 150+ killed, 350+ injured...

All this while our Politicians are busy making strategies and playing games - Manmohan Singh & Advani couldnt even meet and come together in Mumbai, Modi comes up with a dramatic politic behavior..yet again. No message/strategy on how to stregthen our security! The state of the country is horrible!

Imagine a constable with a "stick" or a "1970 gun - which would take some 10 mins to load a bullet and fire" fight against the terrorism. Thats the state of a country which is investing heavily in building a nuclear bomb which they cant use all their lives. Look at the police in UK/US and compare them with what we have - can they fight against terrorism. Why cant our respected PMs come up and announce a 100 cr investment on making every policeman a commando. They would never - it would make more sense to these corrupt and foolish and selfish politicians to take home that 1 cr and sit in those lavish 7 stars (luckily the MP came out safe - god bless)

There are so many proofs of Pakistan being involved in the attacks - What happened after 9/11 - Bush & US went after Iraq/Afghanistan/Iran and whereever they could and didnt allow another 9/11 to happen. Our respected politicians will sleep and relax and watch TV commentary on how the attacks are being done but not go out and kill the root. They wont! Wake up before its too late.

And, wheres Mr Bal Thackrey - the uncrowned king of Mumbai! He will come out on streets only on valentines day! I just saw this message on NDTV and was so apt - "Where's Bal Thackrey - Tell him that its the 200 NSG from Delhi - incld North & South and not Marathis and its these guys who are fighting and risking their lives so that you can sleep peacefully in your 5 star room" Well said...

I am just hoping & praying that some sense prevails or else it will happen again and again and again....till India dies!

Tough Times

2008-11-08T14:59:00.000-08:00

Its been time since i wrote, but couldnt resist writing on the recent financial crisis.

On one hand there were some celebrations in US with Obama's victory and on the other hand there were these n job losses. Now the number n doesnt matter because its high and by the time you read it and the next reader reads it this number would change significantly.

The worrying fact is its slowly hitting India and its effect is not just felt by IT companies as was thought initially. Naresh Goyal managed to bring back 1000+ Jet crew and brought smiles to many families but there are 35 expats who have been asked to leave now. TCS, Infosys came out in open and said they wont fire any one but Satyam fired some 30 people with reasons like fudging of bills etc. If you thought companies with major financial services focus will be the only ones hurt, L&T Infotech which primarily delivers for manufacturing clients has started forcing its employees to resign.

The buck doesnt stop there 7,00,000 people have lost jobs in Textile industry in last 2 months and another 5,00,000 will in one month. Most of these being daily wage workers. 50,000 lost jobs in Surat - Diamond Workers! Whose gonna buy diamonds at this time when countries like Iceland doesnt have food to eat. Tata Steel has fired some 400 and runs 2days a week; no one need steel these days.

Ripple effect flows on B Schools also with IIMs inviting twice the number of companies to de-risk and this year Middle East & Asia is what US & UK were last year. And dont forget the firing of HR consultants who used to supply resources for accounts like Lehmann, Goldman Sachs and others.

So that was India Inc. who initally thought it wont get effected by death of Lehmanns, Freddie Macs and other financial institutions of the world.

Now what....?? Is there a way out...Have we reached the bottom? How many more and where all? ....CSC...???Sales...?? ... I dont have answers to any of these & neither do i think any one has...I sleep with these questions daily waking to see another question added in morning! Reports from NASCOMM and others seems to prove themself wrong every 3-4 days...so i think we can just wait and watch and ofcourse....

To all those who earned million of bonuses - Thanks for this wonderful gift for your greed has brought down million of families and brought many kids/families on road!

Another record!

2008-10-17T16:13:00.000-07:00

When most of the people had written the man off, he comes back with a solid 49 and scintillating 88 - a match saving innings and other one which brought India back on tracks. In the process, he also broke Brian Lara's world record of highest test runs and he didnt stop there, he became the first player to cross 12,000 runs in test cricket a feat most would not even imagine achieving.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has scaled a peak in cricket that people can only dream off.

But as said by some great "If elephant walks, dogs bark" - there have been innumerable instances of people coming up with there theories going to an extent of coming up with headlines "Endulkar". Many cricketers who havent made 1/10th the number of runs Sachin had made, went on to decide when he should retire or which shots he shouldnt play. Some people who have not achieved 1/1000th of what the master blaster has done went ahead to redicule him & worst which is hard to imagine was mumbai crowd booing him when he got out for just 13 runs.

Despite this he has scored consistently, now i am sure many would have stood up seeing this - but i have figures to prove. The max. time Sachin has stayed without a century is 17 matches and compare this with Lara - 27, Border -61, Steve Waugh - 41, Dravid - 22, Ponting - 18 only goes on to prove how wrong the detractors have been. Now most would save he hasnt played winning innings - till 2000 he was the fulcrum and played to save India from losses and since then his scores have ever increasingly been at times when India won!

His CV surely looks weak in 4th innings and the only few things unachieved are a world cup and 400+ score. I havent read many good articles in the recent past but this one is an awesome one so all those Sachin fans - http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/373350.html

And hey, congrats Sachin - The Master Blaster!

creADivity - TATA NEN Hottest Startups

2008-10-16T06:48:00.001-07:00

creADivity has been nominated in TATA NEN Hottest Startups list and after winning TiE EAP last July this is its second such achievement. Currently ranked 148 amongst 500+ startups, creADivity is an online marketing and advertising platform. To know more on creADivity hit http://creADivity.com and if you feel it deserves a vote - hit http://hotteststartups.in/viewandvote.do?method=fetch&businessFn=viewandvote&startupId=465 login and vote!

Launch of creADivity

2008-10-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

All of you are invited to the launch of creADivity on http://creADivity.com... :) What you guys thought there would be a launch party with Aishwarya Rai's and Abhishek Bachan's of the world coming and dancing!

Relax that will also happen but not now...As of now check creADivity and get your self registered to get the best creative solutions!

Kheer

2008-09-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

So finally i could cook and kheer is the latest addition.

Though i didnt expect much but it tasted awesome, obviously "woh baat nahin thi" but than this was the first time.

Hype - Misuse of the word

2008-09-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

People in India seems to have crossed the limits for their selfish interests or probabaly let me know just focus on India but yes, people surely have decided to cross all the limits to get as much benefit they can get out of it - Good or Bad.

I was just going through NDTV and happened to see this ad on Google Ads - Sachin Tendulkar is Dead. Bloody Ass hole the folks wrote this just to get attention and get people on their webpage to vote for the most stupid thing, Should Sachin be sacked?

One, the headline used sucks - I think the people behind this should die in shame for they are no less than a terrorist. Two the so called voting is such a stupid one - Some stupid guy who is a failure in his own life and couldnt do anything but spread rumors on death of somebody to make money creates such a poll.

I dont know Sachin's contacts but had i been at his place i would have sued this person to death.

creADivity nominated in Tata NEN Hottest Startups List

2008-09-22T11:10:00.000-07:00

After winning the illustrious TiE EAP award in July, creADivity is back with nomination in Tata NEN HottestStartups list. Though still not ranked, creADivity aims to be listed in top 50 startups of the year. So if by any chance you feel creADivity deserves to be in the list vote for it at http://www.hotteststartups.in/

Screwed Royally

2008-09-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

Imagine getting charged 6000 INR for getting a duplicate key, or not even a duplicate key but to just get your locked house open.

Yeah, thats what happened to me yesterday. So here we were (Sandeep & myself) moving out to buy stuff for kitchen and as soon as we stepped the first thing we said was "keys" & yes to our luck we both left the keys inside the house :)

Now what, unlike India where you will find people open the door through wires or get a person who could make a duplicate key for 25 INR, UK showed why the place is costly. Sandeep finally found a person who could help and here he was in front of our house. Opened his briefcase, took out a thick sheet, pushed that inside the door at some angle and there it was door was open - max 1.5 second..thats the max he took. And i was screwed!!!!

70.50 Great British Pound for 1.5 Seconds!

Outstanding Journalism - India Shining

2008-09-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

I am extremely surprised on the way India's Media behaves. Ever since Delhi Blast Star News has been more interested in Shivraj Patil's behavior and clothes. Now i do understand that Congress and Shivraj Patil have showed no empathy but then Star News hasnt done anything great either. By shouting on matters which are highly irrelevant the Media in India has shown time and again that they can go to any limits to get higher TRP. Whether it was Aarushi Talwar's murder or bomb blasts these media channels make sure they bring news faster to Indian audience but they dont end there - they can go to limits of senseless humiliation.

I am sure there's this another segment which will shout that Media shows what sells and blah blah - but then why have sensor board for cinemas, let them show what sells. Media has brought less constructive things to audience than destructive - and if people want to refute check the images below. Aaj Tak & Star News Sucks!

Life Changes

2008-09-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

Life has changed completely ever since i have landed in UK. Last 11 days, things are totally different.

I still remember the days when i had to drive for 1.5 hrs to reach office and here it is 5 mins. Those hourly snacks break in office, we dont have any such thing in UK. And drive back to home only to get all cooked food and nothing to do, compare that with buying stuff like vegetables, ready to eat, dinner set, cooking, washing utensils..uff...and than the laws here at times makes me feel there are more laws than even an average Indian can imagine breaking.

But than its been fun till now and now that i am settled and raring to go (not go back) the feeling is slowly sinking in - It will be sometime before i see those faces which i miss the most!

Life has changed....not me

FRIENDS

2008-09-03T13:21:00.001-07:00

Was just watching FRIENDS - dont know how many times i have seen that - & happened to watch Episode where Ross gets his pants struck and cant pull them over. I really cant figure out the secret behind FRIENDS, it just makes me laugh out loud....the secret thing which keeps Joey shout, Rachel & joey shout - you know ...how have you known...i have been dying to talk...& then Pheobes ends with...I bet they are doing it...bla bla...uff..i cant hold myself but roll on the bed laughing.

Just too awesome! I think i can watch it "n" times...

Indian Economy & Indian Cricket

2008-08-03T02:21:00.000-07:00

I dont remember the name of the show but it was something to do with the luxury malls that are coming up in India now. And during the interviews with some of the Real Estate Consultants & Strategy Consultants who deal with the HNIs one of the comparison that came up was "Indian Economy right now is like Indian Cricket" - You will lose a few matches but Indian cricket never dies & in the same way the economy is on a downturn right now but Indian Economy is here to stay and hence a down turn today will not have a long term effect on these luxury malls that are coming up in India.

Interesting comparison & to me it did make lot of sense too!

What say? Would the luxury malls be a success in India or with global slowdown they are entering just at the wrong time...

...Random thoughts...

2008-07-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

Uff..It seems like its been ages i have been on this blog. Actually i have been kept too busy with loads of things - CSC has made sure they make me work like mad and last 3 weeks were actually hectic. We worked on a bid (a huge bid) and though it was fun, at end of it i only wanted it to be over! Alongside, i have always been covering Great Lakes on my other blog. And then ofcourse, i-Startups Blog and i-Startups Consulting has made me work even after spending long hours in office. Some really nice posts on i-Startups Blog; so dont forget to read them.

But it didnt end there, i have also become a member of Evan Carmicheal's Forum and published an article recently. The same can be accessed on Evan Carmicheal

And yes above all this, theres another startup i am closely working on & this one is already all set to make waves.

But that hasnt stopped me to from watching spree of movies including Jaane Tu, Kismat Konnection, Dan in Real Life, Hancock....and party at Barrique, Zosse, Ruby's Tuesday, TGIF...All in all life's been hectic but fun!

Total Recall Advertising

2008-07-06T01:01:00.000-07:00

Remember all those old loving sweet and cute ads...

Times Now covered a program on Total Recall Advertising covering some of the briliant ads from yesteryears. Whether it was David Whitbread of Ondia's fame (Neighbours envy, Owner's pride) to Lalitaji to Jab mein chota ladka thaa....it was fun going back to old good days. And then Masterji (Raju tumhar daant tu motiyon jaise chamak rahein hain) from Dabur Dant Manjan fame, TP Jain shared his experience of shooting in the ad and how even today when he went to US some one caught him and ran him through the complete ad.

The came Dam Laga ke ...Piyush Pandey's start in advertising career and how Munna Bhai's Director, Rajkumar Hirani featured in ads like Chal Meri Luna and Dam Laga ke haishaa..

Moving from early 80's it was time to move to 90's when liberalisation had started and how Kamasutra brought sexual revolution to India and heralding it was Pooja Bedi. ...Now the trivia that made me sit up and say - oh my god i didnt know that - Ayesha Takia and Shahid Kapoor were the actual Complan poster boy and girl and how Aftab featured in more than 100 advertisements in his childhood days..

Total Recall....A trip down the memory lane..

Kabhi Kabhi Aditi - Jaane Tu...

2008-07-04T23:38:00.000-07:00

Awesommmmmmmmeeee Song!

I just happened to listen to this one c/o some one special and boy the song is just too good. The movie looks fresh and cool and the song brings freshness much like Musu Musu aati dil ...and is being choreographed really well.

Hats off! This seems to be the inn song

Indian IT Market all set to grow by 18% in 2008

2008-06-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

A Recent report by Forrestor - State Of A-PAC Enterprise Technology Adoption: 2008 brought some good news for technology vendors in India. Yes, after a disappointing show due to the slowdown in US, Forrestor expects Indian IT market to grow by 18% to USD 38 billion only second to China, which is expected to grow by 20%.

The report which has covered data from 777 companies in Asia Pacific Region, has placed India as an important market not as a supplier but also as a consumer. With the rural areas in India all poised for a phenomenal growth, Forrestor's Analyst Jonathan Brown places India as an important market for technology providers.

On the same date, Infosys founder and Chief Mentor Narayana Murthy stated that they are looking to work more in Europe. Over past few years Infosys has increased their revenues from European Market to around 28% and is looking to take that figure higher. Infosys is one of the only Indian IT company which has completed "ignored" Indian IT market and Forrestor Report signs "problems" for them. When TCS, Wipro and HCL has been able to mark a strong hold on the Indian market, Infosys late entry in this geography can prove fatal and considering the growing importance this would cost dearly to Infosys.

But considering Infosys & its ability to bounce back (it is the youngest IT co. of the lot), I wont be surprised if it has some strategy up its sleeves. All said and done, my personal belief is that Infosys should mark its debut in this developing market - India.

Sarkar Raj

2008-06-14T01:37:00.000-07:00

After watching some of the most "bakwaas" movies like Krazzy4 & Tashan, Sarkar Raj came as a pleasant surprise.

Continuing from where Sarkar left, Sarkar Raj has a really nice story well directed and some power packed performances by Bachans. If Amitabh was in his very best, Abhishek matched him and Aishwarya was equally good. The best part was the fact that it didnt try to use the same formula which RGV used in "Sarkar" which meant that the theme remained same but story was nicely knit around the theme to bring a new feeling.

And how many times do you find a hero dying in the movie (for all those who havent seen it, sorry for this). All in all a nice story, wonderfully scripted, and some really nice acting - Go watch it!

Shereen Bhan

2008-06-01T00:02:00.000-07:00

Many a times i have written about the so called "Young Turks" but the female who has been running behind these souls to cover these hi flyers is someone who has gone unnoticed. Shereen Bhan, the lady who anchors & produces Young Turks, India Business Hour, The Nation's Business & Power Turks on CNBC TV 18 has been a phenomena in masking different faces with brilliance in all her shows.

Shereen has been an exceptional interviewee covering not just the who's who of corporate world but getting Deepak Chopra & Benazir Bhutto also responding to her so very intelligent questions. Shereen also FICCI Women of year in 2005, is famously known as BEST - Beauty, Elegant, Smart & Talented. A Graduate from St Stephens College, Delhi Shereen Bhan is surely one of the most renowned anchor & to many ....best anchor

The Goal

2008-05-31T00:38:00.000-07:00

I have been reading "The Goal" by Eliyadhu Goldratt (whom we missed when he visited Great Lakes last year) & though i have only read 1/3rd of the book i am really liking the book for its wonderful way in which it makes you think and reach a conclusion on deciding what "goal" actually is.

Most of us do make a mistake in deciding our goals and with whatever little experience i have, i have been finding it very difficult to be focussed on what to achieve. With people in other domains having a phenomenal growth path and lucrative benefits, one does tend to think on what he or she wants to achieve and thats where i believe "The Goal" can be really helpful.

All said and done if you are focussed and know what to achieve you can find ways from nowhere to achieve that - but your "goal" shouldnt be baseless and should actually be a "goal"

Monish Gujral - Young Turks in Delhi

2008-05-10T04:12:00.000-07:00

Today at Young Turks it was time for people from Delhi who have made a difference & Monish Gujral was the man to be on the other side of ShereenBhan.

Monish is Chief Managing Director of Moti Mahal Delux which started way back in 1947 and has catered to the likes of Pandit Nehru & Prime Ministers of visiting nations. Moti Mahal today is famous for its "Tandoori Chicken" & knowing this fact Shereen made sure Monish gave the complete reciepe of the awesome chicken.

Monish who got the chain of hotels from his grand father has taken it to the next level & made it a nation wide chain. Moti Mahal is also all set to go international with offices in US, Australia & New Zealand. Monish has taken the franchisee route to grow his chain of hotels and expects around 100 hotels in India by 2010 with 20% of the total revenue coming from international operations including US, Australia, New Zealand & Arab countries. With his Corporate Managers & Chefs he has made sure that the quality of food, especially tandoori chicken, remains same across any of his hotels. Monish has also brought in Kawali music to highlight the Indian culture. "Moti Mahal Tandoori Trail" is the new look of the Moti Mahal Restraunts and Monish wants to build in a small business class hotels with the most wanted facilities by the time commonwealth games come to India.

Considering his desire to make it a global chain he has also gone out and started DNY Bread Bar which serves the Moti Mahalised version of American Sandwiches for the calorie conscious.

He surely is taking Indian Food to places! To check the websites hit http://dnybreadbar.com/home.html & http://monishgujral.com/home.html

Lipstick & Economy

2008-05-03T05:13:00.000-07:00

After seeing the subject, i know most of you would be wondering if i have gone nuts. No guys, i havent ...!

A recent study has found out a relationship between lipsticks sale & economy. As per Economic Times, women tend to buy more lipsticks when economy is not doing good and then reason behind the same is that during economic slowdown women are unable to buy the costly tops etc. that they so much desire too and to satiate their desire they end up buying the less costly "lipsticks".

Sounds a little stupid but yes thats a fact. After 9/11 deflated the economy, Lauder - Chairman, Estee Lauder noticed that his company was selling more lipstick than usual. He hypothesized that lipstick purchases are a way to gauge the economy. When it's shaky, he said, sales increase as women boost their mood with inexpensive lipstick purchases instead of $500 slingbacks.

Now that surely is an exciting phenomenon!

Probably some of the females reading this can confirm if Mr. Lauder has got it right :)

i-Startups.com

2008-05-03T02:42:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since i have been thinking on writing & providing a platform for startups in India to advertise themselves & also get the support from VCs. It was this motivation that made me start a new blog i-Startups.com. Though currently i have started it on wordpress, i plan to build the same as a one stop platform for all the startups in India & abroad to reach the target audience.

Blog “Innovative Startups” (i-Startups.com) would cover some of the most innovative start ups taking place across the globe with an intention to provide ears & eyes to those interested.

For all those who are interested in helping me build this platform mail me with the recent innovative startups that you have seen & also all those who want to fund some of these startups pls. feel free to write to me on contact@i-startups.com

To know more on the happening iNnovative sTartups keep hitting http://i-startups.com

A Night it was....

2008-04-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

Finally the IPL has arrived...& it did in Delhi too..

So after deciding to go for the Delhi Dare Devils match at 6:45 PM, i was running against time (without tickets). And what all i had to do - take a bath, clean my bike (was riding after 6 months - to save on time), pick Sonti, search for Kotla & check for tickets.

7:05 PM, i was on road and with all the shortcuts and speed on my Yamaha, i reached Sonti's place at 7:30 PM (23 kms :) ) & we were all set to reach Kotla before we found a jam but c/o of the two wheeler we were on, we could beat it and reach Kotla around 8:00 PM. The crackers were on and traffic was stand still so decided to go & park the bike and Sonti was on the ticket counters to get tickets. The Marwadi Great Laker that he is, he got 1000 Re ticket for 350/- and i found parking slot 3 Kms away from Kotla. Ran, Ran & Ran - It was Run Lola Run that was coming to my mind while i was running towards the stadium.

8:30 PM, 3 overs -17/3 Rajasthan & we were in Kotla. Watching the heros closely, so closely that it got a lil difficult to find who was batting & where was Sehwag & Shane :).

After watching Rajasthan struggle to bat, Delhi Daredevils hit boundaries at will & Delhi crowd going mad (with job cribs as munch ins) we were done & decided to go to IIFT for dinner. Reached there by 00:15 and got some nice Aaloo Paranthas to eat.

After dropping Sonti, i reached back home by 1:15 AM.

All in all a nice weekend....and the only reason i didnt write much about the match was the fact that it wasnt as interesting to me as a 50 over match, except for the cheerleaders :)

Young Turks

2008-04-12T02:59:00.000-07:00

Mumbai it was on Young Turks this week and it was time to catch up with Shailesh Chaturvedi, CEO Tommy Hilfiger.

The young chap from Narsee Monjee, Mumbai who has around 15 yrs of experience in Garment Business was as impressive as expected from a Tommy Head. The discussion went from his experience ever since he joined Madura Garments in 1992 to working for as big a brand as Tommy. When asked about his biggest market in India he was quick - "Punjab"; the land of Mercedes. He also discussed how the economy would still continue to grow at the same or faster pace but the cost/expense that Indian Organizations are facing needs to be stabalized especially the increasing rentals.

He also shared the challenge of selling a "Global Brand" in India where the average cost for a pair of jeans range around 4500 INR. With spending of a one footfall ranging between 5K to 2 L, Shailesh was quick to mention that all his stores in India have been profitable and have been able to break even in 3 yrs. Considering a 2.5 Crs investment for setting each store, the break even time looks impressive.

With 15 yrs of rich experience and a brand as big as "Tommy" to handle Shailesh surely is a "Young Turk"

Krazzy4

2008-04-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

Despite the publicity stunt of "Item Songs" which were declared to be copied from Ram's music, Rakesh Roshan must be thinking why the heck he had produced this movie. Krazzy4 is a junk of a movie with nothing but shear head ache.

Despite being a 2.15 hrs movie it gets extremely difficult to sit through the movie with talents of all the actors being under utilised. At the look of it with Arshad Warsi, Rajpal Yadav & Irfan as a part of movie one expects it to be a laughing jackpot. Forget the jackpot there are hardly any moments where you feel like laughing.

About the item nos. both SRK & Hrithik did a real good job and Rakhi as usual was her "exposing" best.

Even if you are too enticed to watch, see the movie on DVD.

BS Nagesh - MD Shoppers Stop

2008-03-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

CNBC TV 18 covered an interview with BS Nagesh, MD Shoppers Stop and it surely was a pleasure watching Retail Tychoon from India who is now amongst the retail house of fame, which has a total of 104 professionals who have made a difference in Retail Industry.

Ganesh discussed how he moved into Shoppers after working with Carona handling 128 retails stores before given a chance to manage the 50,000 sq.ft Shoppers Stop in 1991. He was quick to accept the offer and rest is history.

When asked about governments decision on FDI, he clearly stated that Multinational retail chains are anyways entering India and hence stoping them would be only stupid as neither that would stop them nor would that help India "earn" more from the investments and also lose sheen as they enter with different brands. He also said that whether its Pantaloon or WalMart a competition is equally dangerous and hence Indian or non Indian is just a perception.

Sitting near his pool, he also discussed about the retail industry across globe mentioning how the margins between the largest retail chain and smallest chain isnt much. When asked about the rumors of Shoppers Stop being on the block, he was quick to mention that if he is there with Shoppers till his retirement i.e. 10 yrs from now, Shoppers would not be on sale. He also told about how "over taken" was wrongly heard "taken over" and since then the rumors of Shoppers being available for sale taking a fly.

He was quick to answer when asked on how these retail chains have taken business away from "mom & pop" stores. He mentioned how these kirana stores have been nimble and swift and have learnt the skills to tackle with these big retail chains. As per the latest report though the sales have reduced these mom and pop stores have managed to increase their margins and revenues.

With his wonderful tabla beats, a feat achieved only in 16 weeks of training it was a discussion with a person who knows his competition and has his plans ready to take them head on.

Arun Maira of Boston Consulting Group

2008-03-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

Watched Arun Maira of Boston Consulting Group on CNBC TV18 & as expected it was a nice, fun filled and an interview with lot of depth.

Arun Maira who has done his graduation from St Stephens, Delhi and is a non MBA (against all expectations). The discussion kept moving to different directions and with Arun on the "Charpai" the discussion moved to the rural India and his suggestion - "Increase the pie instead of thinking of sharing the same pie"

When asked about Consultants being quite, not the party animals types - but the master of all consultant Arun is a phenomenal dancer and has made Shaimak Davar run for his guns, & so he was quick to refute the same :)

He also discussed about the honor he had in being a part of invited consultants by planning commission in 2005.

It was a nice one to watch & Arun surely seems to be a hot favorite of many MBAs.

Happy Holi

2008-03-22T23:15:00.000-07:00

Wishing you all a very very happy Holi!.

I am sure you had loads of fun & wonderful time with colors.

Mithya

2008-03-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

After a long time, it was back to watching movies - "Mithya".

I liked the starcast and Vinay & Ranbir have always been great together, but this movie didnt have much on their chemistry. The movie revolved around Vinay's double role and though it was stated to be a comedy there wasnt much to laugh about.

The movie had some nice acting done by Vinay & Neha Dhupia as always was looking gorgeous. The movie has a story which is very similar to any double role movie but was nicely made and twisted to give a new look. All in all a decent movie and nice one time watch.

CNBC TV18 - "Inclusive Growth Discussion"

2008-03-16T01:04:00.000-07:00

Happened to watch the "Inclusive Growth Discussion" yesterday on CNBC TV18. The Discussion had panel members from industry and academia including GRK Reddy, Managing Director - MARG, Dr. Bala V Balachandran, Dean - Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, Jamshyd Godrej - Godrej Group.

The discussion was focussed on how to include the "majority" indians in growth that India has seen over past yrs and what all steps should India Inc. take to carry the masses alongside. The Discussion was moderated by Harsha Subramanian, Deputy Editor - CNBC TV18.

The discussion was nicely carried out and i really liked some of the points like bringing out a mass movement on a national level which is only possible if our so called growing organizations take some funds out of their kitty and make sure that they participate in a constructive way. Dr. Bala was also of the view that such a mindset needs to be developed from the school/college level and hence the movement has to be on a national scale.

The discussion focussed on an important issue and it would be great if we have some more similar discussions and more importantly if some action items are brought out and implemented after such forums.

The Discussion was sponsored by MARG Constructions, India's Leading Real Estate Organization with Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai as Education Partner.

Awesome Ads..

2008-03-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

There seems to be some really creative ad writers on block these days. Some of them have really made awesome ads which surely are far different then those star sudded ads.

There was one some days back in which the guy enters the room and the teacher asks him to leave as he was late - he then enters in such a way where he looks like running out of class - "Kahan jaa rahe ho, class mein bhetho" ...awesome.

These days Spirite and Virgin Mobile ads are making ways. Spirite one is in which the bf comes and tells his gf that he was with another gf but tells in such a way that the gf doesnt believe him..Kewl..and Virgin Mobile - where the female says she isnt interested in guys and then "Ten singh" calls and asks for Goa which she rejects but her parents force her to go..."Ten Singh, Goa is on" :) and the other one in which the guy is caught by traffic police for breaking the signal..calls his dad and dad asks traffic police to hit him or jail him but not pay any challan - emotional police guy kisses the guy and leaves him - sitting with friend "Papa.......Giggles"...

Good show...far better then some of ads where our so called king of bollywoods are romancing in bath tubs and red petals...

Women's Day

2008-03-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

Wishing all the females a very happy international women day. (Going by the same image as last year :) http://manik1383.wordpress.com/2007/03/07/international-womens-day/)

But just a quick question, if we believe there's no discrimination on the basis of sex and both sexes are equal - why celebrate such a day?

Ne Ways - Wishing you loads and loads of success!!!

Tendulkar inspires amazing series win

2008-03-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

Aussies get their own doze of medicine..

Stage 1 - Sydney Cricket Ground

Ricky Ponting - We would not need the 3rd match in best of three finals....
Hayden - India has been shouting coz they have been playing a lot and losing all..

Sydney Cricket Ground turns Sachin Cricket Ground and Australians were found dancing to the tunes of his shots. Result - India Beat Australia comprehensively to go one up in finals.

Stage 2 - GABBA

Australian Coach - The team is disturbed and under pressure.
Ricky Ponting - We will come back in full steam

Yet again Sachin proved that he will remain the God of Cricket. And this time he made sure he silenced his critics who have been shouting that Sachin doesnt perfom in important matches. Whether it was 66 against Sri Lanka which helped India reach finals, or 117 not out in first finals helping India go one up or 91 in 2nd final helping India cease the emphatic and historic victory - Sachin made sure to stamp his authority...And also regained "RANK 1" in ICC Cricket Rankings in ODI. Irony of it..replacing Ricky Ponting..

Praveen Kumar then came and made sure India won the match and make aussies chew their own dust .. what better place then Symonds & Hayden's Home Ground...

After winning 20-20 World Cup and recently under 19 World cup, CB Series win is surely icing on cake

God...Upto it once again..

2008-03-02T05:23:00.000-08:00

Magnificent Tendulkar helps India create history...

A spirited 116 not out helped India go one up in 3 match final of Commonwealth Series. This became the first time India beat Australia in Sydney Cricket Ground and Sachin's century paved the way for this history being made.

After being criticized for not being India's match winner especially in finals and while India is chasing, this innings from Sachin silenced all his critics. This also meant Sachin scored his 1st century in Australia...surprising...Out of 39 one dayers he had played in Australia this was his first century and ..what a time :)

Salute....

.........Thanks!........

2008-02-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

There are times when you keep waiting for something good to happen, and when that happens the pot breaks. All of a sudden all the news that flow out seems to be "Good" for you and things just start falling in place. At times there are few people who have a similar effect - they can just get all the good news flowing for you.

Luckily I have had an opportunity to be with some one who has made me what i might not have thought when i moved out of Great Lakes and started naukri. The events ever since seems to be all designed to favor me, and i must extend my gratitude to that "special one". Thanks Buddy!

Also, this blog/this sense wouldnt have entered my "clueless" brain had i not talked to another very close friend of mine yesterday. Though the intent wasnt to come up with this, but the outcome made me realise how good life has been to me. Thanks Polock!

Dedicated to a Special Person!

2008-02-22T22:44:00.000-08:00

This is dedicated to a very special person who is no more than a "Loser"! God Bless You
Though i didnt want to take it to such an extent but continous bugging by this (un)gentleman has forced me to write on him. The so called experienced guy seems to be living in a world of "falsehood" where he seems to be totally unaware of the practicalities of this "ungenerous" world.
He seems to be questioning integrities when his own is not "questionable" but "surely" ingeniune; he seems to be threatning me of Indian Penal Code (Law), when he doesnt know a shit about it, he seems to be reminding me of the effect on my career, when he doesnt seem to be having one at all.
Mr. so called "perfectionist", you have fought and shouted with authoritative guys; only to come back with sycophancy.
Just a gentle request, after been in industry for so long its high time you grow up...And for the last question that you have been asking me again and again -
"I will personally meet you around your convocation and answer that, and if not me will surely ask some one to meet you tell you what i would have done!!!!"

Happy Valentine Day

2008-02-16T07:31:00.000-08:00

Wishing all those who come and take time out to read my blog a very very Happy Valentines Day! (A Lil Late but i am sure thats ok)

Run Lola Run!!!

2008-02-16T07:28:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you feel you have made a mistake and then you keep regretting it and even though you dont know the final result the fear of failure makes you dread that mistake. You promise not to repeat the same and pray every second to God that pls. help me out this last and final time! But the time between the results and present always not just makes every second an hour but the most difficult times of your lives.
Uff...!

creAdivity - Start up by Great Laker

2008-02-15T08:59:00.000-08:00

CreAdivity, an online marketplace started by one of my batchmate at Great Lakes is now making strides and gaining popularity.

creAdivity is an online marketplace for selling and purchasing advertising ideas and campaigns. It acts as a meeting place for marketing managers/entrepreneurs of different organizations and creative people from different walks of life who can provide advertising inputs, marketing ideas and campaign designs. To know more on it check http://www.creadivity.com/

Read the latest press release on the same on http://startups.in/News/Press-Releases/

Nervous Adevnture

2008-02-09T23:11:00.000-08:00

Excitement..Thrill...Panic...Tension..Worries...

Most of the times i have felt that these comes as a package and even though we would love to feel the excitement and thrill without any signs of panic or tension; I have generally ended up having them as a "Combo Meal".

Think of this you want to go and do scuba diving; awesome excitement and adventure but deep inside i have felt the tension of falling, hurting, dying etc..

Some months back i went to a friend's marriage and out of excitement (and panic to get tiks booked ASAP), i booked tickets for wrong dates...Shit had to spend some 2000 etc to get that sorted out!!

Read in newspaper, some 10-15 days back, that Livein is legal..kewl..but with thought of people living in i could see the "fighting index" growing up..hehehe..afterall the more time you spend with each other the more is the probability of fights and further tensions and worries and...what if someday it happens that you end up getting tooo close and then wake up in morning all tensed ... panic..tension..!!!

But still exciting and adventurous.....Welcome to the world of nervous adventure

The IT free fall

2008-02-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

Over the last few days there have been many anxious faces in the IT Tinsel town and the reason is well known:

" IBM asks 700 employees to leave based on results of aptitude tests"

"TCS announces no variable pay and reduced hike in upcoming quarters"

"TCS asks 500 employees to move out based on poor performance"

Yeah, all these news have made any amongst the Indian IT industry have sleepless nights. This surely seems to be similar to 2000-01 bubble burst. And its not just experienced people who seems worried, over the last decade IT has been the biggest recruiter of fresh engineers and with training costs taking its toll - freshers recruitement has also gone low.

With US dollar weakning continously and showing no signs of strengthning and subprime crisis further adding to woes; this doesnt seem to be the right time to be in this sector.

Attempt to survive

2008-02-02T08:57:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has made another attempt of survival against the rivals Google by bidding for Yahoo!

Microsoft has been trying to buy Yahoo for the last 18 months or so, but hasnt been succesful but most analysts believe this is just the right time for the acquisition to happen. Board at Yahoo has been negating the offer and have been "trying" for a turnaround; which didnt take place despite the change in strategies over last year or so.

But would this acquisition help solve the purpose. The acquisition is majorly to capture the online market and Microsoft believes Yahoo and its vision towards online market are in sync and with synergies meeting there would be a win-win situation. But Online market is majorly about Search and Search remains synonomous with Google. So would this acquisition by any chance help them challenge "Google" or atleast help them "Survive"

Barking....!

2008-02-01T20:24:00.000-08:00

Ever Realised who the most irritating creatures are - Is it the no-non sense guys;is it the guys who end up not participatin and making you work all the time or is the guys who dont participate but make sure they crib and shout - Yeah they are the barking DOGS!

Many a times you find people who have never made an effort to contribute and make things a success but what they do is first shout saying things arent working;then shout its a waste here and then try igniting people that its all crap and finally start blaming others around. Have a friend doing MS in US and he told me about this incidence yesterday -

These guys had almost spent some 40-45 L on their MS and just around the placement time (considering that there's slow down and things are in poor shape, most MS colleges are strugling to get placements) he started shouting there hasnt been any value addition and its all waste spending 40 L, whatever they write on website is waste blah blah..

Huh - Many things come out of this, website is a selling mechanism and is meant for selling the insitute and everyone (seems except for him) knows that website figures are inflated (POOR Ignorant and Illiterate Chap)

- What research did he do before landing there and also who have control on economic factors, a slow down can lead to many colleges struggling to place students.

- Will his cribbing and shouting be of any help and why didnt he shout during his 2 yr course that there was no value addition; is this the right time to shout when its almost over.

- Blaming College authorities and seniors for inflating and selling their insitute; wasnt that their job - dont you tell that you son is a good guy even if he is not!

- Worst part, he even blamed some of his seniors who were trying to get him a job (he knew they were trying)

- And the last - A fitting Reply to his CV from one of the companies (His CV looks out of shape and his past education is nothing great to talk about except for his MS in this School, how can we negate the factor of his last 12 yrs)

Grow up Mr Barker! Life is not just about shouting and cribbing its about doing/contributing and then demanding - What did you do in last 20 odd months for your institute??? LOSER!

Aussies Down Under!

2008-01-19T03:24:00.000-08:00

Greatest Indian win over last 40 yrs - Sunil Gavaskar

The line says it all, after so much of tension and bad umpiring which led to India go 2-0 down in a 4 match series, Indians today made a strong, rather strongest, comment on Australia by beating them in their own DEN. Yeah, India beat Australia by 74 runs in WACA - Perth - A Place where no sub continent team has ever achieved this feat.

After having 16 wins in a row, India today made sure that they stopped the Australian jaugernaut and the most amazing thing about the victory was that they did it at a ground where almost everyone thought India would lose in 3.5 days!

Great Cricket by Anil Kumble and his team, where everyone contributed and made sure they answered all critics and silenced them big time.

All the best for Adelaide!!!

Laloo Yadav - An Engima

2008-01-13T09:27:00.000-08:00

I was watching Laloo's Interview on one of the newschannel and as always he impressed with his prompt and highly interesting and intelligent answers.

Speaking on Indian Railways, this man was up with numbers and knew exactly what he has been doing and how he has made a loss making unit to a profit organization without passing on the burden to the passengers for past 3 yrs. When asked if the next budget in Feb, considering its the last before elections, would he be increasing the fares - he was quick to point that he would be coming up with another wonderful budget.

When asked on Congress's loss in Himachal and Gujrat - he did not shy away in taking the question headsup. He balmed BJP for their communists approach and their "false" claims like Hindujas, India Shining etc.

Bihar - His favorite subject! When discussed on Nitesh Kumar, he was quick to question "Where has the development being done"??

It didnt stop there, he even asked Sharad Pawar to ask Indian Cricket Team to return from Aussies tour.

The guy surely have guts and knows what he is talking about! After all not everyone attracts guys from Harvard!

IT Services and MBAs - A Mismatch

2008-01-12T22:01:00.000-08:00

Financial Services Vs IT Services

Though i always knew that Banking, IB etc profiles would be far better placed in terms of "CTC" then we guys in IT; this year the gap has started to widen and with dollar re fighting with each other, I am quite sure its time guys like me in IT will struggle to grow.

When banks like HSBC, Citibank etc are paying anywhere between 10 L - 14 L plus bonuses to freshers, IT is paying around 7 L to freshers. Investment Banks were always a distance away and the gap has widened in last 2-3 yrs with IB paying 10 L + bonuses, with these bonuses going as high has 200% of your salary ~ a starkling 21-30 L yearly.

Its not just money which worries me, there doesnt seem to much growth and the IT market suddenly seems to be on a mature path. The roles for MBAs arent clearly defined, the type of work demanded from them isnt defined, the KRAs arent clear and hence you end up living in a false world. Except for cos. like Cognizant, Infosys and few others - there arent many IT cos. which do respect the "MBA" tag.

Domain Consultants, Business Consultants, Pre Sales Consultants, Application Consultants - whatever they call you the profile moreor less remains the same. There isnt much to think and challenge. Is this time for a change...Either roles are designed for MBAs in IT Industry or MBAs move for industries where there is satisfaction - Banking, Investment Banking, FMCG, Real Estate, Retail....

Nano - Tata Launches World's Cheapest Car

2008-01-12T02:48:00.000-08:00

Ratan Tata once again kept his promise - He did deliver the 1 Lakh Car that was promised by him 3-4 yrs back.

Nano - The World's cheapest car was launched recently in the Auto Expo Fair and became a craze for millions across India. 660 CC car with a boot in front and engine on back became India's favorite car and helped so many Indians realise their dreams.

Though the same is an awesome invention for millions of people, like a coin it has an other side. The car which would help so many people move from 2 wheeler to 4 wheeler, would take the traffic on Indian Roads to a next level. This would make driving a nightmare with so many Nanos on the road.....But then as said by someone famous - "Every invention has a boon and a bane"; Nano would help millions fulfill their dreams but make driving even more aweful experience on Indian roads.

Atleast my journey to office would increase by 30 mins - 3 hrs daily in Car!!!Should i set up a small room inside!!

Ricky Ponting - NonSense

2008-01-05T21:37:00.001-08:00

Ricky Ponting - The Captain of Australia has been rightly termed "Utter Non Sense" by Sunil Gavaskar.

This match seems to be screwed up by Bucknor, Benson, Ponting, Clarke. Ponting & Clarke has shown time and again that what matters most to them is not the game of cricket but their selfish desire to win, which has put the game to poor grounds. Ponting didnt walk when he nicked the bowl and was caught, Clarke didnt move when he nicked the ball, Ponting appealed when he took the catch and picked it from the ground, Clarke shouted and asked Ganguly to leave when the bowl was grounded, Benson asked Ponting - The man who doesnt have any "trustworthiness" left and asked Ganguly to leave.

Horrible show by Australians...Poor display...

And Mr Bucknor and Benson, pls. open your eyes and if you cant do the job move off cricket grounds. This is worst display of umpiring i have ever seen.

Australians SUCKS!

Australians - No Show of Sportsmanship

2008-01-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

A Man praying to God on 5th Day of the test match at SCG - Harsha Bhogle Comments - Whom are you praying to - Vishnu, Druga, Bucknor or Australians"

India is again back to the wall, 6 wickets down and Australians have done it..No this time Australians havent done with good cricket but with poor, "critized" way to push India back. Adam Gilchrist's appeal to put Dravid into pavilion was shocking. The ball was nowhere close to bat but the appeal was conviencing and Bucknor seems to have gone blind - Shocker.

Ponting after making a tremendous effort pounced on a catch which he picked from the ground and still appealed and boy that was horrible show of sportmanship.

Ganguly was then asked to leave when Clarke took a catch of Lee - and frankly that wasnt clear and shouldnt have gone against the batsmen. But though i really praise the way Australians play, today for the first time i am disheartened as they seem to have lost all sportmanship and credibility.

Whether its Symonds case against Harbhajan or poor show of appealing - Indians have been pushed to the wall by poor cricket, and though a loss here will go in the books as "India Lost to Australia", to me it just doesnt make a difference.

Grow up Australians - Its a gentleman game!

Blame Game - Indians are good at it

2008-01-05T08:56:00.001-08:00

Indians Seems to be in a habit of playing the blame game and not taking the responsibility.

I was having a discussion with a very close friend of mine when this topic cropped up.

We were discussing how Great Lakes has been able to develop a brand for itself in such a short time, when he told about some of our batchmates still feeling that the placement team of 2007 didnt do the best in terms of placing the students. Lots of people shout that Great Lakes as a brand is still not good and keep blaming someone or the other - but they dont stand up and do something to improve the brand. The discussion then moved on how we spit on roads and then while moving around shout - "India is damn dirty". Lot amongst us, including me, keep changing lanes whie driving and even at times come from the wrong side and then when we find some one else doing it - "Indians are bloody illiterates, just dont have senses". When we find politicians continue filling their buckets when others are left thirsty, we shout about their being corrupted but - "We dont go and join Politics, but chose lucurative jobs in MNCs".

All in all there are so many instances when we do shout and blame, but deep inside we have been doing similar things and if not similar things we havent played our part in improving the situation atleast.

"Passing the monkey from our backs", thats what we have been doing. Its time to wake up

Sachin - The GOD of Cricket

2008-01-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

The man once again proved that he is the GOD!

Sachin Tendulkar, crossed the jinx of getting out in 90's and has started 2008 with a bang - 150 plus not out, against the best cricket team - Australia! The reaction on his face after crossing the century was of utmost delight, and i am sure would have made many a fans emotional.

Sachin played an awesome innings - "Regal Knock" as has been quoted in many dailies. He went on to spread across his charm, probably the last time, at one of his fav grounds - SCG - where he now averages 326!. Some of the newspapers have gone ahead and changed SCG from Sydney Cricket Ground to "Sachin's Cricket Ground".

A banner in crowd stated - Commit all your crimes when Sachin is batting, They will go unnoticied because even the lord is watching" - on Cricinfo.com. His innings was of ultimate class with tremendous control and aggression when required. Another great thing about the innings was that he showed tremendous faith in tailenders and gave them enough confidence - one of the reasons for India not just surpassing the mammoth total but giving Australia a lead!

A Standing ovation to the genius! "Sachin is the GOD of cricket" and will always be.

"Goli Maaro'ing" Syndrome

2007-12-30T06:15:00.000-08:00

The latest buzz word in the dictionary of MBA's is "Goli Maaro'ing! Sweet and Simple :)

Day in and day out, i find so many people interacting and maaro'ing goli to each other that now it is difficult to tell when they are serious and when they are doing time pass. And its not just restricted to "Maha Bakwaas Admi's and Aurat's (MBA's)" there are dozens in corporate market who have don'ed the art.

My car was hit by a girl a few days back (now pls. dont think abt the girl, think about my car) and its been 10 days since i have given the car for repair to Authorised Maruti Dealer - Vipul Motors, and every day the concerned person tells nothing but "maarofy goli". Bottom line the car is still not ready.

Got Airtel Broadband connection and its been 2 days, other than internet everything is there - Phone, Wiring...and i was promised that it would be here in 1 day. Once again a victim of the Goli :)

All in all people have started to realise that what they say is important till the time you can convience the listner - after that "who cares" - it was a Goli :)

India - Not a good start!

2007-12-28T21:00:00.000-08:00

India is struggling to save the boxing day test match, with more than half them team in the pavilion and still1.5 days to go. Australia has once again proved that they are a far more professional team.

India started well bowling the Aussies for a mere 300 odd in 1st innings, but their batsmen failed to perform. Except Sachin, no one stayed long enough on the crease and though Sachin looked in prime touch making 62 of 77, that wasnt enough. Saurav tried giving him company but played on the stumps and once these two were back in pavilion, half the match was lost. Aussies came back strongly in 2nd innings and gave India a target of 499 - and as i write India is 157/7 and only man who has stayed on crease is Saurav Ganguly.

I am sure this would be a good lesson to Indian Team and in case they plan to win even a test match, its high time they pull up their socks and perform well.

JFI - Another wicket down, Run out!!!!You know who to blame...

Indra Nooyi - Awesome character

2007-12-24T08:43:00.000-08:00

I happened to watch a recent interview on CNBC TV 18 and on the other end was Indra Nooyi, CEO & Chairperson - Pepsi Co. On the day when FORTUNE has named her as the most powerful women across globe, the lady was all charged up and answered all the questions raised with poise. When asked about the recession in US she was all prepared with an answer. She replied that even in the past such recessions have occured but the propensity of people to drink and eat pepsi co. products doesnt decrease - and hence whether its recession or not, it doesnt make much difference.

Of late, i have started to become a fan of this lady for her ability to carry such a big/huge organization and still stay calm footed. To add to it she has been able to maintain a wonderful balance between her professional and personal life. I still remember that during her visit last year to chennai, she came to Great Lakes Institute of Management, during the first international Yale - Great Lakes Research and she was quick to mention that her son wasnt keeping well and hence she will have to run back. The fact that she came - showed her dedication towards her professional carrier - and still clearly passed on the message that her personal life was very very important and hence she would have to leave early.

Awesome! I congratulate her for being selected as the most powerful female across globe

Back to Alma Mater

2007-12-22T07:35:00.000-08:00

Had a chance to visit Great Lakes yesterday after 8 months and boy!!! it felt so so good to be back there. All the memories kept flashing in front of my eyes, those late night stays, those crib sessions, those placecomm meetings, those conference hall time pass....Found the place still the same, with students running from one end to other for assignments, ppts etc, classes happening simultaneously..."Great Lakes Rocks"..felt like going back to studies again!

Went there for some official purpose and had an awesome time there, spent time with some close friend(s) and surely some special moments!

....Whats the topic...Confused again :)

2007-12-15T01:12:00.000-08:00

Since the dollar has started to fall, it seems my head has been blowing ideas after ideas on how to jump out of IT. My sixth sense "chaati baati" says its just about the right time to move out of IT, whereas my mind says 3 yrs in this line, now you are destined to set your career here only. Yesterday i woke up wanting to see creadit cards and moving in Banking line, atleast there was money but by the time i went off to sleep i was convienced that IT is still here to stay and hence just building myself in the current role would help make my resume stronger.

Today morning, i wanted to go to Telecom - After all i am in Sales, i should be able to sell anything so why not airtel plans :). And with every passing minute i am fighting continously but not able to find a road ahead for myself. I am a patient "Quick Walk" syndrome and want a tag of AVPs and VPs around my name ASAP, "par yeh ho naa saaka aur aaj yeh aalaam hain" (for all those who arent hindi movie buff it is a line from Amitabh Bachans movie and means 'But this doesnt seem to happen and today the condition is...) that i am struck trying to put by two legs on 10 boats without knowing which one is right.

Is this the beginning of a series of confusing nights!!!!

"Quick Walk" syndrome

2007-12-14T09:13:00.000-08:00

Today after working for about 8 months since doing my MBA from Great Lakes, I have a feeling that i am not growing, not growing because my job isnt paying me much or my job isnt challenging me much or is it just me who is going through this "Quick Walk" syndrome. Now this "Quick Walk" is not a known syndrome and hasnt been "named" by some Management guru, but is something which i feel most of "WE" youngsters are going through. We want to reach the top very very quickly. We want to achieve every thing in a very short span of time not just money, but profile, designation, love, sex, marriage...everything..

Professionally we want to grow in organization and other times we want to jump companies and grow faster and sometime even i feel its time to make a switch, then i feel its time to stay and learn and be more stable...Man, i am caught in two halves and frankly end of day i have no idea where i want to go, and how i want to go...but yeah i want to walk quick!

Is it just me or is it actually a syndrome. Is "Quick Walk" a normal thing found in most youngsters (though i am getting old daily but still) or my invention is just my disease!

Growth up the Ladder

2007-12-13T08:19:00.000-08:00

Indians seems to be on the top these days. In last one year we have had Indians taking the responsibility of leading worlds top organizations. Recently Adobe announced that, Narayanan, will be CEO for global operations, Citigroup has named Vikram Pandit as Global CEO, Indra Nooyi, Pepsi Co & Ramani Ayer, Hartford.

Time has finally come when Indians are no more doing the backend work but also taking the top positions. But one thing i find common in most of these is "Global Degree".

Now does that by any chance mean that though Indians are getting recognition - Indian Education is still not accepted across the boundaries, and to some extent rightfully. Does that mean that a Global Degree is a pre requisite for "Quick" growth on the ladder. Is it time that Indian Education System stands up and delivers and proves its worth or....Is it time for all the "wishful" CEOs to pack their bags and get a foreign degree??

Delhi Airport

2007-12-13T07:50:00.000-08:00

I was at Delhi International Airport yesterday, had gone there to receive some French Delegation, & had a really "horrid" time at Airport.

For a country which is growing at awesome pace, where the economy is sky rocketting, a country which is coming to its own with Indians leading global organizations let it be CitiGroup or Pepsi Group or Hartford Financial Services...India's capital doesnt have a decent international airport. The cables keep falling from the ceiling, the flights are not at time, there is no place to sit, you have no information about flights....and worse at 11:30, the announcement is "Air France is expected to land at 11:00" awesome...truly awesome.

I fail to understand why we cant have a decent airport forget having a world class one. For a country which is in focus of millions across the globe, this is ridiculus. And though there is some infrastructure work that is going on, but by no means does that give me a sense that Delhi would have a good international airport.

I hope all the money that our politicians who have been doing their level best to stop India from growing, wake up and do something

Confused,,,,,

2007-12-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

Enterprenaur or Job!

A question that keeps striking my mind day in and day out - the reason, realization that being in industry - being in tier 1 companies, theres nothing much to grow neither learning wise nor money wise. Can being in an Infosys or a CSC take you to becoming a CEO. Yes, but not many have had that luck of being at the right place at right time. Not mnay have had that much brains of taking the world head on.

So, does that mean go to a smaller company or start something or your own. Both have the risks associated with it, considering that i am currently living in an environment which is duly protected and hence even a huge mistake gets me nothing but a bashing at max. But in a smaller company or a start up - Either i go flying high or zoom down.

Is the risk worth taking??? What say...Is it time for us to get out of this protected shield and start something of our own! I am confused.....

SeNsEx

2007-12-02T01:37:00.000-08:00

Stocks ... Shares are the inn thing these days, with market scaling only UP, i decided to improve on my portfolio, and the first thing was to sell Air Deccan, though i earned a profit of considerable amount on the bought price, but just after i sold the stupid share went higher and higher.....and so there i was sulking on it. Then i bought Wire and wireless on limit price and within two days the share price went up by 16 Re, only to find out that due to limit price i wasnt alloted any shares....Another loss :(

Bought Dish TV and there it was against all expectations it started declining...:(

Seems i have an adverse effect on market! But as some brave man says, you dont lose till you quit...and so i am not quiting...:)

Marriages Raining

2007-11-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

Its raining marriages...yeah ..i am surprised to see so many people going ahead and marrying..I got 9 marriage invites and one engagement information today and 7 of the invites was on 2&3rd dec.. Awesome..Its great to see so many people entering a new phase but people...atleast chose some other dates...ab main kahan kahan jaaon...

Wishing all of you a very very happy n ........happy....marriage!

Great Laker launches his own Portal

2007-11-19T08:48:00.000-08:00

A very dear friend of mine is all set to launch his own website which would act like a platform between the young budding creative people and corporates and help both of them shake hands and create a win win situation. This would not only help the young people get an opportunity to showcase their talent but also help the corporates, who are these days running behind innovation, get a taste of young innovative brains.

The website is as of now running as a pilot and once all the legal matters and other things are done, along with some funding from venture capitalist, it would be on its way.....

Wishing him loads of luck and i hope he achieves great great success through creadivity..and may be recruit me some day :) soon...

Also, i m sure it wont be a bad idea to go on the website ..check it and give your feedback and in case you have any pls. do post as it will help him improve!

http://www.creadivity.com/

Also read the blog on http://thecreadivityblog.wordpress.com/

Sachin Tendulkar - The Genius

2007-11-15T08:09:00.000-08:00

97...3 less then another century...6th time in 2007...

All i can say is Hard Luck! Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar yet again failed to convert his awesome innings to a century. But that by no means take away the importance and the class of the innings he played. Sachin seems to be back to his prime form and has been making runs left right and center. He has been completely dominating bowlers ever since the World Cup failure and has silenced the critics big time.

And about those saying "Sachin has forgot to make centuries" I will just say give him a break. When he doesnt score...We criticise him and ask him to retire, When he scores centuries, we shout that he plays for himself, when he falls just short of century we again criticise him....Its been 18 yrs and this man has carried the burden of millions of cricket crazy fans. He has taken the burnt whenever he has failed or rather failed to come to our expectations. He has set newer records and broken them himseleves setting higher records. This man has done more than any individual amongst all "WE" critics could imagine doing in our professions, for our country.

Its time to stand and salute the man for his achievements and just let him enjoy the game of cricket and keep all we spectators on the edge of the seat with his breathtaking strokes, his newer records, his centuries and his missed centuries.

I am proud to have been born in the era where i could see this genius bat!!!

Sachin Tendulkar - to a larger extent my motivation to see & play cricket!

Back to India

2007-11-15T01:59:00.000-08:00

Back to India!!!!

After having a nice time in UK for a month its time to get back to India. I am presently at London Airport and waiting for the boarding to begin ... another 2 hrs to go & as always me landed first even before Jet Airways officials :)..(this time i had a reason though, had to check out early morning..so cudnt do much)..so just a recap of the visit with some wonderful moments, some lonely times, some anxious times but all in all awesome time!!.. Had a nice time in office with awesome exposure, this would certainly be one of the best times in my short 2.5 yrs career as of now.

Had nice time going through almost all of London...Lords, Wimbledon, London Bridge, River Thames, Tower of London, British Museum, Canary Wharf, Parliament House, Royal Parks, Palaces...great great time...

Had some lonely moments when felt all alone in the big pool but if they were once in 10 days (making 3 in a month) had so much fun that they can be written off :)

Anxious ...yeah...i cant forget the few mins (seemed like hrs) when i thought i had lost my cash bag and shit i was gone...besides that it has been a smooth journey.

Looking back it surely has been a great time and now moving back these days will surely go down the memory lines!!!

Sachin's nineties jinx

2007-11-08T05:10:00.000-08:00

Yet again the great man fell short of what would have been an amazing century! Its been the case this year and we havent seen many centuries coming from the master blaster. The last came way back in Jan 2007, and this is the maximum gap ever since his 12th century. In last 5 months he has got out thrice in nineties and missed a wonderful century 5 times..Thats too much in too less a time..

But whatever said, this innings was truly amazing and fun to read (wasnt watching as i m office). Awesome stuff and to all those critics once again the man is here to rock and will continue doing so!

Hail Sachin!

Weekend in London

2007-11-05T03:17:00.000-08:00

Awesome Weekend...

Started Saturday working almost half of the day, finishing some office stuff but it was fun after that. Along with Praveen Boss went to Tower of London, London Bridge and Tower Bridge. amazing sight...it was real fun...Also went ahead and checked out Canary Wharf, the financial hub with offices of Citi Group, Barlcays, HSBS, Morgan Stanley, Meryll Lynch ...and then had a nice dinner in Picadilly..and yeah missed it...travelled by all modes, Buses, Trains, Tubes, DLR (Dockland Light Railway)..just missed the cruise

Sunday was fun all along, landed at Wimbledon station, caught another Indian (from Birlasoft) and went ahead and took a guided tour to the Wimblendon Museum and Lawns. Saw all the courts, and places inside..amazing BBC Media Room, Gym, ....and then moved to Museum..awesome collections..It was worth a tour.Got a lil late but decided to go ahead to Lords...but found it closed so had to just move around and peep in as much as was possible from outside. So after covering the Home of tennis and cricket went ahead to waterloo Pier, had a nice Italian Dinner and back to Woking.

India Shining....

2007-10-29T07:02:00.001-07:00

The Worlds Richest Man is no one but an "Indian"..Yeah Today Mukesh Ambani became the worlds richest man surpassing American software czar Bill Gates, Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim Helu and famous investment guru Warren Buffett, courtesy the bull run in the stock market.

The net worth of Mukesh Ambani stands at $63.2 billion.

The five richest people in the world with their net worth

1. Mukesh Ambani ($63.2 billion)

2. Carlos Slim Helu ($62.2993 billion)

3. William (Bill) Gates ($62.29 billion)

4. Warren Buffett ($55.9 billion)

5. Lakshmi Mittal ($50.9 billion)

This really is a matter of pride for India ... Cheers!!!

London times....Issue 3..

2007-10-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

London Times...Yeah, me spent some 5-6 hours yesterday moving around London and it was awesome. It was an amazing or aweful (person's pererogative) day...with no sun, black cloudy, drizzling all through out ....and here i was all alone totally rapped in the lil wollen clothes that i have brought here. So the journey was on and ladies and gentlemen fasten your seat belts for an exhilirating tour of London....

Woking to London Waterloo by Train, generally takes some 35 mins, but when i am ON even London Trains fail:)...hehehe so there i was at London Waterloo after 1 hr in the train and the moment i stepped out it started raining..Nevertheless, i had decided i will go around London and so did I...Went through a sub way to find out way for London Eye and after walking for 10 mins, landed at the same place..London Waterloo station...hehehe...continued search and finally landed at London Eye...awesome sight right next to River Thames...you end up seeing all the London through this..clicked many a pics of myself..you might be wondering why i stretch my hands in most pics...no its not SRK effect its because i have to click pics myself...

Went on and moved to Parliament House...nice place with flags flying all across, Buckhigham Place, Chivalry Museum and Royal Park..covered them all...captured them all and by the end of it i was all "wet"....i mean because of rain :) (What were you thinking..uff)Okie so moved on to Covent Gardens...A nice lil place with many a people doing different stuff...a group of guys playing violin and they did that amazingly...They made sure if some one picked phone around them all 6-7 of them just sorrounded and played hard...hehehe...awesome fun...

Time to eat something...Pizza's ....long since i hadnt treated myself...so had a delicious Chicken Supreme...yummie...Garlic Bread and then Deserts...Profiteroles...yeah thats what was the name...nice creamy balls...:):)...now i know what shit you guys thinking...

Okie all fresh went ahead to Trafalgar Square and yeah it was Diwali Time in london. Huge mela set up there for Diwali and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom band was there to make the public dance on their beats....:)

Picadilly,, Leceister and Oxford ....left it for next weekend....:) Fun all along...Rain all along!..to check some of the pics...check Orkut..or http://picasaweb.google.com/manik.kinra/TripToLondon02

London Times 2

2007-10-25T02:06:00.000-07:00

Had a tiring but enjoyable day yesterday with loads of things happening around...had a tough day in office with loads of no. crunching :), ran to Woking (Hotel), changed and started for London Waterloo where i met Dad's cousin.

So there i was finally with someone in London and made most of it. He took me River Thames, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and was right at the place where fire broke down yesterday afternoon :)...and then...it was Halle Berry time, so i had the opp to see Pregnant Halle Berry on the red carpet...

We then moved to Picadilly for a nice Indian dinner and had a good time chatting! Back to London Waterloo and then Woking..and now Aldershot...time to work..will keep you updated :)

Many a beau without a shilling,
Many a widow not unwilling;
Many a bargain, if you strike it:
This is London! How d'ye like it?

John Bancks, "A Description Of London"

London Times...Issue 1

2007-10-20T12:05:00.000-07:00

London Times....Yeah so me finally landed in london on 17th Oct i.e. Wednesday and since then have been having a thrilling time till the last mins. Was a lil nervous (still am) when reached airport, managed to get a cab..and boy wonderful taxi's ..huge they are..asked him to take me to Farnham where i had a room booked...90 pounds for taxi..around 8k INR...shit man...ne ways reached farnham but couldnt find the hotel...so there i was a wonderful start to the trip..Went to CSC Aldershot office where my boss was waiting for me and since then i have been in Holiday Inn woking...nice awesome rooms, wonderful breakfast...

Next day had to reach the client site (Riegate) at 8:45 AM, started at 7;00 AM so had to get up at 6:00 AM... :) awesome...spent the entire day there...shit man its cold out here...came back to Woking and had a nice dinner...

Day 2...had to reach by 8:00 AM :0....so even early...:)was there till mid noon and then the fun part...went to shopping in Woking, had a nice evening and then went to London...so a nice train journey to London..saw Oxford Circus, piccadilly circus..and had nice italian food...so back to woking....

Day 3...woke up late, nice breakfast ..went ahead had a nice shopping time in woking ... (in btw i havent bought ne thing it was bosses times)..and then spent some time watching TV, got internet access so there i am writing blogs...but had a breathtaking moment...checked my laptop bag , couldnt find my pouch with cash and TCs and almost felt dead...called boss...and kept searching...finally found it in my suitcase...dont know wen the hell i kept it there....good part..spoke on fone for some time...and felt really really good....(though the one who called almost went bankrupt)...

And yeah tommorrow's target is to shift to new hotel, Metro Woking (http://www.metro-hotels.co.uk/) and stay there till 14th :)...without net access ..(office mein hoga though). and then may be go out some where and check out a few places in Farnham or Aldershot...or may be end up in London..though lil chances..

Will keep you updated....

London Times

2007-10-16T23:52:00.000-07:00

This comes after such a long wait...yeah finally me going abroad...yeah, i am right now at International Airport, Delhi and i am flying to London for 2-4 weeks period. Have been running since last two days for VISA, cards, Tickets, Phone etc. etc.. and finally by the time i have reached at the airport and have gone thro the security check in i am almost exhausted and believe that as soon as i board the plane i will just go off to sleep....

Any ways i hope the trip is fruitful and a happy one...see you all soon !

Genpact all set to acquire Citigroup Global services

2007-10-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

Genpact is all set to acquire Citigroup Global Services. The BPO deal would be amongst the highest with valuation of around $600 million. Genpact is right now in competition with Firstsource, but according to the Business Standard and CNBC TV 18 they seem to have outbid them. Genpact, which is India's biggest BPO, would be bagging stake of 80% of Citigroup thereby adding another 8000 employees to its base. This would take Genpact's employee base to around 30,000. Citigroup with $155 m revenue for the last quarter would surely take Genpact to next level.

This deal would surely help Genpact increase their stake and have a more powerful center in India. As a matter of fact, this was the first assignment i worked on when i entered CSC - though CSC didnt bid for it! So awaiting for the results....

Champions - India

2007-09-24T10:07:00.002-07:00

Chakkkkkkkkkk De Oooooooooooooo Chakkkk De India.........

Awesome job, great work and amazing victory for India. Yeah - India is the World Twenty Twenty Champion. Above all it was such a wonderful game of cricket with so many breathtaking moments. When Pakistan was right on top in first session, India came up with an amazing performane in second half. But before the match ended, it had some moments when i ate my nails down and almost hurt myself in anger.

That 4 sixer stint in later half, those 2 sixes and that wide in last over...Up I went when the ball was in the air thinking its a six...and i stayed up in air shouting loud with my dad seeing Sreesanth taking that catch.

End of it all - Cricket won, and India WON...Yeah Chakkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk De Oooooooooooo Chakkkkkkkkkkkkkk De Indiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.........

Nice Learning..Interesting

2007-09-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

I was just speaking to a very close friend of mine who is currently doing MBA from Great Lakes, and ended up in learning or rather knowing something which i found very very interesting. A lecture from Nirmal Gupta (who has been voted as best Prof three times in ISB, Hyderabad) was where these intellectual thoughts evolved.

Do you know why we dont see a white colored Scorpio??Reason: When Scorpio was brought out in Indian market, the taxi or public transport market was already filled with Qualis, Sumo and likes and so Mahindra & Mahindra decided to target only the private traffic market. Also, if you see most of the taxis are "White" and hence to keep it different from being branded as a "Taxi" vehicle no white Scorpios were brought in market. Just a piece of information, in case you find one white scorpio dont run to sue me, coz later on Mahindra brought two white Scorpios in Indian market on special requests by two very high profile customers. So incase you find one you are looking at the only "one in two" white Scorpio in India.

Now another awesome thing - Why is digital watches not a boom in India?? Reason: Indians have a mentality of looking at time from a reverse perspective. For ex. if i have to move out for office at 8:15 AM and i check my watch at 7:58 AM, my thinking would be another 15 odd mins to go. Now when i see my digital watch i have to see it as 7:58 AM only, and hence analog is what is in and digital is what is out.

Nice learnings..thats what i felt...!

My New Car...

2007-09-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

Finally after going through so many dealers, i found one...Yeah, it overshooted my savings - and made me bankrupt - but its a pleasure driving this machine...Maruti Esteem - my first car

Come to Delhi...will take you around!

India Shining...

2007-09-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

Humdinger...Is that the word for this match....Yeah...i just feel like shouting my ribs out...India has done it and have reached the Finals of the first T-20 Worldcup, and to add to it we are facing ...arch rivals Pakistan. Awesome performance..Yuvraj once again proved that he s amazing..6-sixes against england..and today yet again a wonderful match winning innings...fastest 50,longest six...great show.

And now, MS Dhoni...he is proving that the young Indian team under his leadership can scale mountains and touch stars..Though too early to say, but good show.

Get set and go for the kill - India Vs Pakistan - Final, World Cup....It doesnt get bigger than this for sure.

Indian Cricket - An Enigma

2007-09-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Indian Cricket....the name which somehow finds ways to get into controversies, which somehow manages to get into trouble, is today fighting to not just find a coach but also a captain. Cricketing worlds richest board is today unable to find either of the two.

But its not just about not been able to look and find a successor, its the ability of the thinkthank to keep running backwards. Today the two names which are doing rounds for captaincy along with MS Dhoni, who seems to be the last contender, are old war horses - Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly. Frankly speaking, both of them have nothing to gain out of this but only lose and not just these two but the Indian cricket in itself would lose if either of them becomes captain. Though Saurav seems to be crowd favorite, Sachin is leading the tables when it comes to the wise men in the selection committee. But lets look at both the contenders are see if they can be a win win situation.

Saurav, has proved himself as one of the best Indian captain with his aggresive captaincy and successful track record. But after being dropped, there s a scanner on him - and the same crowd would be the first one to ask him to leave cricket if he stops making runs. A Captaincy failure at this stage would lead to even worse for Saurav.

Sachin, has shown time and again that he is not the captain material and has buckled under pressure. At this stage when he is in awesome touch, he wont (shouldnt either) want to risk taking that extra pressure and effecting his batting touch when he is in the last stage of his career. But a genius that he is, I have a feeling that he would want to conquer the only cricketing mettle that he hasnt - "The Successful Captain"

For both of them, they dont have much time before they bid adieu to Indian cricket in which case they surely arent the long term solution. So why go backward......

MS Dhoni, though young and not enough experience has shown to have a steady head on his shoulders. He also has age on his side and has done well in limited opportunities that he has got.

My Vote - MS Dhoni....(Though deep inside i would want Sachin to lead and do wonders, he is - was - and will always be my favorite...)

Dhamaal..

2007-09-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

A movie without actresses...A movie without tension...A movie to go see, laugh and forget..Based on running for the 10 Crs hidden in a park..these 4 gentlemen keep running till they find Sanjay Dutt and the competition increases to 5. After all the struggle which they do, which is hilarious, they land up at the place and find the money only to donate it...

The story moves fast and doesnt get boring. Javed Jaffri, Ritiesh Deshmukh and Arshad Warsi are hilarious as always with awesome comic sense and timing. A one time "must" watch movie...

Web : Crime Jungle

2007-09-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

The Web is becoming a crime jungle and its getting dangerous day by day. With so many networking sites, and so many teenagers and youngsters spending most of their time on web it surely is becoming scary. A recent edition on CNBC found out how youngsters are becoming addicted to this "web jungle".

To add to it the fact that lonliness and tension is increasing day by day and youngsters are using web as a medium to take the same out is adding to the worse. These youngsters then indulge in illegal activities due to various reasons like personal vengegance and at times just out of excitement and fun. This fun can become so dangerous, even these people would never have imagined. Recently there was a real murder which happened and the reason was - "Orkut". Yeah the youth icon, Orkut. On interviewing many yougsters, it was found that they maintain 3-4 identities and keep switching amongst them so as to never disclose their real self, in the end themselves getting confused and becoming a victim of depression. Not just that the Sexual wave which is catching these youngsters, is giving shivers to common man. With many girls slowly finding out their fake profiles, catching their morphed nude photographs on some strangers profiles, there have been many similar cases and law is now forced to find a way out.

Like every discovery, it has its positive and negatives and the world is now becoming unsafe with these negatives coming out in open.

Happy Love Day!!!

2007-09-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

Wishing you a very very "Happy Love Day"....:)

Learning @ Ruby Tuesday

2007-09-07T23:57:00.000-07:00

After a decently hectic week, it was TGIF "Thank god its Friday" finally, and so it was time to party. So there we were at Ruby Tuesday with the office gang...Though not the entire team was present due to other engagements, it was nevertheless fun all along..atleast i had loads..Pitchers of Cocktails were flowing in and acting as insectisides killing all the ppts, agendas and other stuff i did over the week :)

And as always a group of guys after drinking generally end up in some hot discussion and so there we was...discussing and talking abt the attitude of some of the guys who sit on going up the ladder forget the basics and become so arrogant that they end up becoming a laughing stock. Though there was a fun part attached to the party, there was one take away or "was my learning for the day" and it was - "Grow up but dont go arrogant and dont become a deadpan".

Sachin Tendulkar despite being the "God" of Indian cricket is required to perform and perform better than Powars and Uthappas of cricketing world ... Surely will try to carry the learning...

India Shining

2007-09-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

Was just going through "Voice & Data" when i saw a traffic police with a blue berry and a small printer in his hand. On reading the article i found that over 250 traffic policemen in Bangalore have been given these gadgets to handle the traffic crimes.

These policement enter the license details in the Blueberry and get the entire details of the individual on the printer screen. The hand-held computers will have connectivity to the server at the traffic management centre. The mobile communication major Airtel and software companies Telebrahma and Thematics are providing the technical support for the project. This way they also can fine the individual with an online receipt.

Awesome, surely India shining!

Growing Blogs - My Perspective :)

2007-09-02T04:33:00.000-07:00

The growing blogs on Wordpress on 19th August 2007, saw a listing of My Perspective (my other blog on wordpress) - http://manik1383.wordpress.com. The list had some 100 blogs listed on the page. Check the below mentioned page for the same

http://botd.wordpress.com/2007/08/19/growing-blogs-480/

Good to see the blog listed on the growing blogs page. Neha seems like i am following your footsteps bahen!

Cooking Classes....

2007-09-02T02:51:00.000-07:00

Times are changing and the faster we adapt to it the better it is for us...and so considering that sooner or later i will be moving out of my place again where i will have to depend on outside food, i decided to learn how to cook.

I had my first cooking session today where i learnt how to cook rice???and trust me mastt ekdum fundo rice banaya apun ne. Though it was fun eating it, it was surely not a wonderful experinence standing in kitchen without a fan...

And above all there s one more reason which forced me to learn cooking, other than my ever so hungry stomach, may be i would be able to impress some good looking sexy gal with my cooking abilities,..and waise bhi considering that girls are working same time as we guys, i think this would be the first question the girl would ask guy before marriage..

Do you know how to cook???? :) and yeah....i know.....

Awesome twosome...

2007-09-02T00:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday i happened to see two interviews - Sujata Firodia from Kinetic and Muthuraman from Tata Steel. Both of them have been succesful in their own rights and have done wonderfully well in their fields.

Where Firodia who graduated from Stanford has shown tremendous courage in leading and taking Kinetic to next stage, Muthuraman showedwhy Tata Steel was able to acquire Corus and become fifth largest steel maker in the world. Firodia also told how she has been able to reach the top most position in Kinetic against the odds of being a women. She also discussed about how her husband, Manish (again from Stanford) has supported her and has been the pillar of support.

Muthuraman discussed about the excitement levels a day before Corus bid and how he kept his cool. He potrayed the level of stability that Tata Group has shown over the years.

Both of them were exceptionally good and inspirational, great show and really both of them hae been wonderful in taking India across the boundaries.

History Created...Chakk De India...

2007-09-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

With SRKs Chakk De India is motivating all the sportpeople across India..taking them to newer hiegths, theres another great news for Indian Hockey fans. India thrash Sri Lanka 20 - 0, (yeah i havent mistyped it...its 20-0) equalling the record for maximum no. of goals in Asia Cup. India kept the goodly Saturday crowd thoroughly enthralled as a total of eight players featured in the amazing effort with striker Prabhjot Singh leading the onslaught with five goals. Indialed 10-nil at half-time. In the process they equalled Malaysia's and Pakistan record (Malaysia and Pakistan both have defeated Thailand by 20-0).

This surely is a great win for Indian Hockey and .....looks like SRKs Chakk De is taking Indian sports to glory .. (ofcourse expect our so very famous and hyped Cricket..not much to write abt them)

Orkut...Boon or Bane..

2007-09-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

With Orkut turning out to become the Youth Icon, it has all of a sudden found mention in every newspaper, news channel and magazines. And the most important question everyone seems to be asking is - Is Orkut a boon or a bane?

With so many reasons to support either of the two, i am totally confused. With rave parties to sex scandals, it has created heights of disturbances in human lives but on the other hand it has made sure that many long lost friends find a way to stay in touch. It has also helped form so many communities like Adventure communities and many similar ones, that one is forced to thing that it has more positives than negatives. But as with any good thing, whether its been mobile phones, television sets, nuclear weapons...this too has two sides of coin and with so many irresponsible souls around on this earth it will always have to face the brunt of "bane" tag.

What do you think...is it a good thing to have happened ... or it has more negatives...keep commenting, may be this could just help us find out the solution..

Marriages Galore...

2007-09-01T01:57:00.000-07:00

Dont know what has happened to everyone around me, but they really seem to be in a hurry to get the knott tied...Just after the college, our very own sedu showed how to plan marriage in a month and do it in grand style. Since then i think almost every Great Laker, is if not marrying, atleast making sure that they get hooked up...

And just when i thought it was a Great Lakes effect, i was proved wrong two of my sweet female friends have decided to be Mrs. and no more engage in flirting...one got engaged 2 months back and one would 2 months from now...sad me...and today found out another friend of mine, now this time male friend ...same age..would be getting married in november....

Considering that Sedu is already gone, Dadi would soon get married.. (now i m using the names with which i call these people), our ever so sexy and casanova friend paggy, also got engaged and would be marrying soon....i think its high time Sitashwa, Nitin, Manan, Neha, Rupal and myself pull our socks before it gets too late...mamu..chalo tussi bhi ab kuddi vekh lo...

In between this comes live from Mumbai, Mr. Nitin Prabhakar has declared that he is on a search for a "soni kuddi" to get married soon....so there goes another one ...the effect for sure is passing on....and passing on fast

Heyy Baby

2007-08-31T22:20:00.000-07:00

Heard so much about this movie that couldnt resist but going for it....Awesome start to the movie with 16 actresses dancing to the tunes of Heyyyyy Babyyy it was all fun....then came the comic scenes and there was a laughter burst, and i swear at one point in time i was having a severe stomach ache. But with the flow the movie started getting senti and ended up being less comic but more senti...

All in all .. nice songs, nice locales, to a larger extent good comedy ... but thoda senti ho jaate hain :(. One time watch for sure...

2007-08-31T21:36:00.000-07:00

This blog is a continuation to my Wordpress blog, just that i thought i should dedicate wordpress completely for News @ Great Lakes and so the idea of having the second blog was born. I hope you guys keep clicking here as much as you have done on my other blog.