One more new year round the corner and its celebration time. In my office we were asked to make our own masks and come. Now see some of them. What makes this celebration unique is all this is happening amidst uncertainty about job and business. More than half of people got fired. Still everybody is optimistic (not of getting fired) about future. Our office is ready to welcome 2009!



He tried Kathakali for sure!


That's one Tribal chief's mask!


Romeo or Remo?


Glad to see atleast one Gladiator


That's beauty queen (with mask)

The Great Indian Spelling Bee!
Saw this board opposite to Ascendas IT Park. The headline says ‘Indian Soups’ but if you see the lady, you will hardly believe that. Probably they want to say Indian soups served by a Chinese or Japanese? Now have a look at the spelling of various soups; be careful, you might lose your appetite!

How IT works

Nov30, Sunday night my wife, who is working in an IT company gets a message that the office will remain closed in the coming days. Thanks to Cyclone Nisha ( I am wondering on what basis they name these cyclones). The servers are not working, A/C also out of action. Normally when i am informed like this, I am thrilled but she is tensed. Monday, Dec 1 is the deadline for deliverables. Suddenly the atmosphere changed. She frantically started sending mails to the client, talking them over phone. This continues for a couple of hours.

Dec 1

Afternoon: she decides to go to Office and get the work in a pendrive so that if the client ask her to send the details, she can send
Eve: By now she is restless, making calls to Mumbai, London and some local calls (am seriously worried about our telephone bills) now I am also restless

7:30 p.m: She finds out that she can work from home on the remote desktop of Mumbai office
8:00 p.m she sets up the connection and ask two of her teammates to come home and work
8:25 p.m Two people arrive and start working. I am reminded of my BPO night shift days
9:00p.m Call from Mumbai, 4-5 people should fly to Mumbai and work from there for atleast 2-3 days
She starts calling her teammates, finds it difficult to convince them to fly to Mumbai (Quite understandable after terrorist attack). After much effort 3 brave hearts are ready. I am clueless!
9:50 p.m E- tickets mailed, two guys are working in full swing.

Dec 2
6:00 a.m: They are still working. I am headed to my office to take printouts of e-tickets. Never in my life I was so early to my office
9:30 a.m I drop her at Airport!
So I tell her next time if some one ask you where u working, tell them I work in Ascendas IT park..errrrr...Home....errrr ....Mumbai Office... just tell 'I am working'

I have seen water tanks in different sizes and shapes. But one in a Lotus shape is truely unique. This water tank is at Jagannath temple (like one in Puri) in Chennai.

News in the daily caught my attention, correspondence course on Gandhi! I decided to give it a try. It is always good to be a student of something. So I called up the Gandhi study centre, the organisation conducting the course and got the details. The course is for three months, course fee is Rs 150. Now the highlight, you will get the question paper at home and can answer sitting at home. There will be one full day contact class.




Name of the course is “Let us know Gandhi” a must need for this age.
Course material contains three books.








Exam is on Jan. It’s student days ahead, also an opportunity to know more about a great soul.

Imagine this; you go for shopping in Chennai's top most Alayam of Saris. You select saris and come to billing counter; you pay the bill and get the saris, now the surprising part. You get something free with Sari, can you guess what? I bet you can't
A Tulsi plant free for purchasing Saris (I am not sure about other dress materials). This is what exactly happened to my wife and we have our first indoor plant,a Tulsi plant!

It’s good to hear live Carnatic music nah? So even if you can't make it to Narada Gana sabha or Music Academy

Go to Sri Krishna sweets in Adyar

Every day evening you can hear live music here. It’s very interesting to see them discussing about various styles, ragas and all. So it’s double sweet at Sri Krishna

Office Records

This is not Guinness Book of records, not even Ripley's believe it or not series. These are office records (if you find a more sensible name, pls go ahead)

Marker Tower. 3 markers and a Glass!



Now 3 markers, a mobile and a Glass!Record holder Deva along with the record



Anybody there to beat this?

I never dreamt of a career in modeling but being in an advertising agency, I had lots of opportunities where I modeled as reference. These ads were also started like that. So even though it’s highly unlikely to recognise me, I agreed for the shoot. Never in my wildest dreams I (and nobody in the agency) thought that client will approve the concept and models. Believe me friends, the person who is seated in these ads is me. The ladies are my colleagues. This is not a dream debut I know but the feeling is great.






These ads were published in Kumudham,a Tamil weekly.

In this age of specialty and super specialty hospitals, this clinic is unique. I saw this dental clinic on the road side at Hyderabad. Do not miss the patient.

I'm lovin'it!!!

McDonald's, World's largest fast food chain opened its first outlet in Chennai on April 2nd. I was pestering my wife about this for past 2-3 weeks. I have read enough and written also (When I was in ICFAI) about 'Golden Arches' but never visited a McDonald's. So now the time has come for that. The new McDonald's is at Ascendas, an IT park.

So on April 5, I made it to McDonald's. It was not a-dream-come-true type of visit. The place was crowded, atleast 150 people in front of the counter!!!



At last after 30 mins, I got my Mc Aloo Tikki!!! Am not sure was it worth all this wait and struggle, still I'm lovin'it!!!

Death of a fish!
We have a beautiful fish tank (and fishes also) in our Advertising agency. We feed them, go near and observe them.I have seen some people even talk to them if not fight with them. We used to even compare them with ourselves, relate each fish with staffs. It’s a happy fish tank and we too. All this changed last Monday. Sathya, one of the staffs first noticed it. One fish was dead and floating. An air of sadness filled the agency.

We decided to do last rites for the deceased fish. Normally when a fish dies most of us just throws it somewhere. We did not want to do that way. Some one prepared ‘padai’ (made of bamboo where the body is kept) for fish.

One printed a “Kanniranjali”, a condolence note for the parted soul.

At 11:00 a.m the final procession started. With no joy in our hearts we all watched the last moments of fish. Let its soul rest in peace.

One evening with a living legend!

Anandettan came and told me that two tickets are available for the first test match between India and South Africa at Chennai. He said he is going on Friday 28th of March. That day Sehwag made history. Now the only thing that motivated me to go for the match was Sachin Tendulkar! I wanted to see him. So next day I decided to go. Around 2:30 I reached stadium. I ate one piece of Watermelon and two pears. I checked with a person about the score, he said India was all out! Ha great news now I can see all the players, especially Sachin. I entered the stadium with prayers in my lips to have a Darshan of God of 22 yards. I went inside and sat.



Sreeshanth started to bowl; Sachin was standing in first slip position. I could see him, but not that clear. Several overs passed but I was not happy. I wanted to see Sachin even closer. Match was not great, Indian took only 1 wicket and South Africa was not at all in a hurry. Then came the last over of the match! I came to know about this after the match. Again Sreesanth to bowl, all of
a sudden it happened. Sachin came running to long on and stood there.



Our section of gallery was in a state of absolute chaos. I saw two young guys writing something in a drawing sheet and running towards the fence and shouting Sachin, Sachin... Sachin Tendulkar was standing some 15 ft away from me. It was dream come true. People were screaming, shouting and making all types of noises to get Sachin’s attention. At last Sachin turned around and waved his hand.



Now people went crazy. Match was over and as he slowly walked towards Pavilion, I stood and had a last glimpse of Master blaster.

How to become founder member of a 180-year-old Newspaper?

Its great to be a founder member of World’s largest English news daily(as per ABC), even though its for a new edition. The other day I received a founder member certificate from Times of India. TOI is starting its Chennai edition on April 14 and I had subscribed to TOI for six months.



I know for sure that I am not one among the founders of TOI, but when I got this certificate, they bought me for sure. Before receiving the paper itself I feel a sense of ownership. Now am eagerly waiting for my copy.

When it rains!!!!!
Last visit to my native place, Cherthala, difficulty in finding the place? Ok its in Alapuzha Dist, now issues with pronunciation? Here is an easy one, a place in Kerala (hope you could make it at last) was a wet wet one. It was rain and more rain.

And when it rains in Kerala, it pours!!!

Have a look!

December 25 will always be remembered for two reasons: No prize for guessing the first one and second, it was on this day in the year 2007 Second (First in Kerala) official orkut Kshatriyam G2G happened at Thripunithura. Am I getting bit formal? Ok

This time everything related to G2G was special including my travel to Kerala from Chennai. Myself and my wife will go down in history as “first couple(most likely) to travel nearly 20 hours to reach North Paravur (Ernakulam dist) from Chennai. Don’t ask me how we accomplished this unique distinction, we are still clueless.
Then came Dec 25,my Mom, my wife and myself reached punithura by around 11.am(function was about to start at 10.am mind you) and there were already some 20 odd people. Met Girishettan (and few others)for the first time, Rajeevettan for 3rd time and Mohanammavan (K. L Mohanavarma)I have stopped counting the number of meetings with ammavan long time back.

So by around 11:30 function got kicked off. As i promised earlier, this is not a formal/official report.



Everybody except one, gave a self introduction. Mohanammavan, as usual was unique in that. He asked everybody to read his books and get to know about him better. He had a huge bunch of books written by him and everyone picked what they liked.


Various thoughts came up in the meeting.Kshatriya kshema sabha (atleast in Tripunithura) welcomes youth’s participation and elderly people are always there to guide/help. Jyothish put forth an idea of identifying various projects for the benefit of Kshatriya community and organize funds from NRI Kshatriyas



Mohanammavan’s message was simple!!!!! Try to create a good network, a well-knit community. As the stress levels of everybody is skyrocketing, try to find some good friends whom we can share our concerns, ideas and thoughts. When we have a good e community we can accomplish what all we want to. He said he had full faith in youth and all were capable of great things and he wished his age could be reduced by some 60 years so that he could become one among the audience!



Lunch was superb and sumptuous



That was my version of second formal Kshatriyam G2G and am waiting for Third one!!!!!

My adventures with ICICI Bank

My debit card expired and as everybody does I booked a new one. New card duly arrived. I went to nearby Bank branch for activation of Card (I did not want to try my luck in help lines) but there I was connected to helpline and the person asked me some 20 odd questions, right from My name, mother’s maiden name, nominee’s name, neighbor’s name and what more. At last the most trickiest question. He wanted my cheque number and I did not have the cheque book. So he politely asked me to have a cheque leaf with me next time I call ICICI bank. I was heartbroken and with no other choice left the bank.

Next day I was all geared up and well equipped . I took my cheque book, new ATM card and reached bank. Again I was connected to helpline. This time to my surprise the person asked just 4 questions, no need of cheque numbers and whole list of names.

I remembered their tag line “Hum hai na”(We are here) what for? To confuse the customer? or harass them?

The Art of Begging!!

We Indians lack creativity, or at least not at par with other countries for sure. Indian advertising is ranked 21 in the world. This applicable to desi beggars also. Have a look at this person and the reason for why he wants money.





After an year also he is consistent




After all why he wants his wife to come back????

Change is Good!!

Its heartbreaking to say goodbye to someone who was with you for past 23 years, that too when you were fully dependent on him. Sometimes you felt that he was part of you. Never, not even in your wildest, craziest dreams you thought that he would leave you.

At last that moment came, to say goodbye to dearest friend and as they say in one of the latest commercials, “Change is Good”

Last week I underwent LASIK, laser treatment for eyes!!!!

Kapil’s Devils Vs Dhoni’s Destroyers!!!

After a gap of 24 years Cricket world Cup is back in India. This time Dhoni’s destroyers brought the cup home without the burden errrr brains of Gods, Princes and Walls. Thanks to media, a news debate has already started, Who is The Greatest? Kapil’s Devils or Dhoni’s Destroyers? Forget the debate, I do see some comparisons. Both the team were under dogs in the beginning of the tournament, but at last because of sheer spirit they won. Kapil was a great Captain and Dhoni is in the making for sure. Anyway History is repeating, but time taken is the only worry! How long we should wait for the next Cup?

Epilogue

Indian Cricket team members are going to become millionaires after their T20 triumph and Indian Hockey team,(if u remember they recently won the Asia Cup) is planning to do a sathyagraha in front of Karnataka Chief Minister’s house. No prizes for guessing the motive behind this Sathyagraha.

'Shashtiabdapoorthi'


"India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only!"

Mark Twain

"If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India"

Max Mueller


Turning 60 is a social-religious event in India. When a man or woman turns 60, sacred Vedic ritual called Shashtiabdapoorthi is performed - 'shashti' meaning 60 years, 'abdam' the year and 'poorthi' completion of 60 years in a person’s lifetime. Numerous rituals are performed mainly to invoke peace, ensure good health, and longevity. India celebrating 60 years of Independence. When it comes to a nation, its the attitude and hard work of people that decide the progress and well being.

Wishing India on her 'Shashtiabdapoorthi'!

An Auto adventure....

Hiring an auto is a challenge, especially in Chennai. One has to debate, argue and what not to hire an auto. Now Govt has come up with some changes to make sure that nobody is taken for a ride (no pun intended). Once you come out of Chennai Central railway station, you will see the prepaid auto office. Its hardly 25-30 meters from station and by the time you reach there, half a dozen auto drivers would have already enquired about where you want to go. If you are successful enough not to strike a deal with them, you reach the prepaid auto office. There you have to pay Rs 2 and tell where you want to go. They will give you a slip that contains the destination, approx kms and fare. One has to give the slip back to the auto driver with fare once he reaches his place. My place is around 10kms from Central station and the auto fare mentioned was Rs 93,(In Banglore, where Petrol price is more, we can travel twice a distance with same fare). Rs 93?!!, now this is tricky! Make sure that you have exact change. I did not have( I had Rs 100 note) and I started visualizing what all can happen once I reach home. It was morning and auto driver might say, Sir this is my first trip, its raining, the place is bit interior, so you have to pay Rs 100. I started thinking how to tackle him. By the time we reached the exit point of auto stand, one person was standing there who took the slip from me, entered the auto number and gave back the slip. Along with that he gave me this card and asked me to write the feedback about system and post it.



I found this a good system, oops, lets not jump into any conclusion, so far so good. While entering the main road, I heard auto driver telling “if it was like this everywhere, it would have been good”!

Kshatriyam gettogether, A fresh start!!!
29/07/07,Banglore


Myself and my younger brother, Sabareesh reached Banglore Cantonment Station at 4:15a.m, by 4:35 Vijay Kerala Varma came to pick us.

I found Viju to be friendly and caring. There is a nice soul inside this Giant body for sure


Venue : A J International


Surprised to see this!!!

One thing I noticed in the meet was that from the very beginning, all behaved as if they know each other for a very long time.




As usual with any meeting, we started with a prayer!



Rajeev Kumar gave the agenda, Viju welcomed everyone and started the discussion, Vishnu Das added some more points.


We discussed about widening the scope of Kshatriyam community, i.e how to come out from games, polls and more games!!!!

Group photo!!


What next? This discussion is not about Kshatriyam, but about where to go?



It was a wonderful experience, meeting people with whom, for a long time you have been Scrapping, chatting and sometimes arguing.

GANDHIGIRI at its best!

Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K.Gand hi Institute for Non-violence, in his June 9 lecture at the University of Puerto Rico, shared the following story:
I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa, in the middle of the sugar plantations.
We were deep in the country and had no neighbours, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going to town to visit friends or go to the movies.
One day, my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town
My father asked me to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced.
When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, "I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together."
After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time. It was 5:30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00.
He anxiously asked me, "Why were you late?"
I was so ashamed of telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, "The car wasn't ready, so I had to wait," not realizing that he had already called the garage.
When he caught me in the lie, he said: "There's something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn't give you the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I'm going to walk home 18 miles and think about it."
So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads. I couldn't leave him, so for five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a stupid lie that I uttered. I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again.
I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing.
But this single non - violent action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday. That is the power of non-violence.

Thanks to Anandettan who shared this story

Lord Shiva and Kyoto protocol

Lord Shiva’s kailasam (where he stays) was bustling with activities from the very morning. The news came as an absolute shocker to everybody. The ice Shiva lingam at Amaranth cave has melted away completely on the very first day of pilgrimage!!!One of the Bhudhagana (his army) was frantically reading amendments made at Kyoto protocol convention. The question lingering in everybody’s mind was, has all the signatories started doing anything against climate change? It is said that Global warming caused Ice Shivalingam at Amarnath to melt away.
Thousand of devotees from different part of India visit Amarnath cave temple to have darshan of ice Shiva lingam. Lord Shiva was a worried God. I can’t even bless my devotees? What have I done? Or is it that my devotees don’t deserve this darshan? Yes, its all because of their mistakes, Lord thought. Humans have started destroying the nature for his selfish motives. They are not only making their lives miserable but mine also. Was this the beginning of the end? Lord was even more worried after thinking all this!