Desi Fun(da) ... and more.
As you all must know by now Kingfisher Airlines is my carrier of choice in the hot Indian aviation market. I love the fact that they have brand new aircraft, which gives me an added sense of safety, the fact that they have the IA engineering servicing these aircraft, who are the largest and best set of aircraft engineers around, and I love their service with a smile approach aswell.
From all the recent news we have been seeing/hearing it seems that Mr.Mallya is on a buying spree of Airbus aircraft for his airline. A320's, A319's and even A380's and now its heard he has gone for the A340-500 as well. I still wonder what the hell he is going to do with so many planes considering that he cannot fly overseas until around 2010, with the 5 year minimum prerequisite put in by government of India for a carrier to be eligible to fly abroad? But with the huge backlog of orders that Airbus has it will be able to deliver most of the long range aircraft only by around 2008-2010. Which is perfect timing for Mr.Mallya. He will be sitting pretty with his fleet as and when the government removes the stupid rule or when he qualifies for it in 2010, whichever comes first. By then the airline will have enough experience within the country and will be damn prepared to meet international standards which I have to say are not met by any Indian airline post the TATA-AI era. It will be great to wait and watch how things pan out in this region especially since the air is getting a crowded place to be right now in India.
Now all that needs to be seen is whether or not all these wonderful things about Kingfisher Airlines is actually raking in the moolah or not. We will be able to judge that once they become a listed company. Their IPO is scheduled to be out soon.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
TCS my breath away
Well the behemoths have spoken. Infosys hit the 2billionUSD mark and then TCS came out with its results showing that it had just missed the 3billionUSD mark by a whisker (figures at $2.97B). Not to be left behind TCS went out and declared a 1:1 bonus for its investors and I hope that they have a wonderful dividend coming our way soon too. In the next day of trade the share price hit an all time high playing around the Rs.2050 mark during intraday trade. And of course there was the usual analysis and data hitting the news channels. CNBC went out of the way and had an exclusive interview with Feroze (Nadrivala not sure of the surname) the head of corporate affairs. A flamboyant speaker who was ready with all the figures and facts and a sound temperament to handle the dumb CNBC journos that he had to face that early in the morning.
All in all the season has been ripe in the IT sector for the Indian companies and all have seen a steady increase in the number of clients. And more lucrative high end deals being snatched by these companies shows that they are able to compete with the global giants along the lines of Accenture et al. With recruiting in these companies on the roll there is a shortage for talent in the high end services segments and they will continue to command a high premium for their services.
That said there seems to be a dearth for aeronautic professionals in the growing aviation industry in our country and everyone is scouting out for talent. You can guess their desperation when they say "Senior ..." and the requirement states that a year of experience is all that you need to qualify to apply:). Well let the good times roll.
Apologies if you found the title a way too cocky this time:) I liked it though.. hehe
All in all the season has been ripe in the IT sector for the Indian companies and all have seen a steady increase in the number of clients. And more lucrative high end deals being snatched by these companies shows that they are able to compete with the global giants along the lines of Accenture et al. With recruiting in these companies on the roll there is a shortage for talent in the high end services segments and they will continue to command a high premium for their services.
That said there seems to be a dearth for aeronautic professionals in the growing aviation industry in our country and everyone is scouting out for talent. You can guess their desperation when they say "Senior ..." and the requirement states that a year of experience is all that you need to qualify to apply:). Well let the good times roll.
Apologies if you found the title a way too cocky this time:) I liked it though.. hehe
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Bangalore, Kannadigas and Riots
Last week Bangalore saw some of the worst cases of mob fury and public nuisance witnessed in the subcontinent. There were many aspects that surround that violence and these issues have been highlighted pretty well by the media. Just to give a headsup it started off by the death of a legendary actor in these parts of the woods Dr.Rajkumar. He was a legend in his own right and did a lot of good to forward the intentions of the local people aka the Kannadigas. He was seen as a leader amongst them and a very iconic figure to say the least. From what I have seen and heard of the person he was a pretty good guy, not politically motivated and totally non confrontationalist in his attitude right to his core. His passing away bought in a lot of people from all over the state who came peacefully to pay their respects. However this large stream of people was not expected by the local authorities and miscreants entered in torching some buses, causing a lot of damage to public and private property, putting a lot of loss on the local economy and eventually and probably the worst part being the indelible tarnish splashed on the image of Bangalore and our country.
Now all that said and done there seems to be something terribly wrong around here. Like the Sainiks in Maharashtra there are local groups who are of the opinion that outsiders aka non Kannadigas should "have" to learn the local tongue if they want to be out here. This opinion was voiced by a local, and supposedly, eminent journalist whose name I seem to forget***. His reasoning was that in France people can't do without learning French and in England people can't do without learning English. That is the word of the land is very important. I wish I was near him to smack him. Some of my counter arguments
- Essentially the analogy with France was totally uneducated. France is loosing out on investments that do not depend on the local economy due to their chauvinism. Bangalore on the other hand is based on outsourced work.
- The image of Kannadigas by us outsiders (I wish I was one even though I am not) is of the local thugs aka auto drivers taking advantage of everyone, followed by the land/home owners who charge a fortune to rent out their homes to outsiders etc. They don't paint a pretty picture of themselves so what would make anyone aspire to be like them. Noone want to be like you and therefore noone wants to take the trouble to learn your lingo either.
- Moreover the dufus made all his arguments in English on a English news channel. That shows the importance and need of English in a global economic scenario.
- And does he know that there are about a 1000+ yes one thousand plus official dialect prevalent within India today. If we need to bring reform within the country the only way is by having one common language for us all. And FOR HIS INFORMATION that language is the national language Hindi. Imagine a businessman going all through India and needing to learn the local language to fill in his paperwork. The masses will never realise the benefits of the booming economy with such an backward school of thought.
If I employed him I would fire this columnist.
***Such people by my lingo are termed as "educated illiterates". People who have formal education and possibly quite a lot of it but have not been able to utilise their minds, or whatever source of intellect they may have, to understand and put that education to some effective purpose. Will try to find his name but he is not worth mentioning in the positive.
Now all that said and done there seems to be something terribly wrong around here. Like the Sainiks in Maharashtra there are local groups who are of the opinion that outsiders aka non Kannadigas should "have" to learn the local tongue if they want to be out here. This opinion was voiced by a local, and supposedly, eminent journalist whose name I seem to forget***. His reasoning was that in France people can't do without learning French and in England people can't do without learning English. That is the word of the land is very important. I wish I was near him to smack him. Some of my counter arguments
- Essentially the analogy with France was totally uneducated. France is loosing out on investments that do not depend on the local economy due to their chauvinism. Bangalore on the other hand is based on outsourced work.
- The image of Kannadigas by us outsiders (I wish I was one even though I am not) is of the local thugs aka auto drivers taking advantage of everyone, followed by the land/home owners who charge a fortune to rent out their homes to outsiders etc. They don't paint a pretty picture of themselves so what would make anyone aspire to be like them. Noone want to be like you and therefore noone wants to take the trouble to learn your lingo either.
- Moreover the dufus made all his arguments in English on a English news channel. That shows the importance and need of English in a global economic scenario.
- And does he know that there are about a 1000+ yes one thousand plus official dialect prevalent within India today. If we need to bring reform within the country the only way is by having one common language for us all. And FOR HIS INFORMATION that language is the national language Hindi. Imagine a businessman going all through India and needing to learn the local language to fill in his paperwork. The masses will never realise the benefits of the booming economy with such an backward school of thought.
If I employed him I would fire this columnist.
***Such people by my lingo are termed as "educated illiterates". People who have formal education and possibly quite a lot of it but have not been able to utilise their minds, or whatever source of intellect they may have, to understand and put that education to some effective purpose. Will try to find his name but he is not worth mentioning in the positive.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Infosys at 25
Desi Fun(da) ... and more.
This week India's darling IT company turned a solid 25 years old. It is suprising to know that it has been nearly 25 years since Narayan Murthy and his cohorts dreamt up everything about software offshoring that is so commonly talked about all around the place. Well they did celebrate their birthday with a bang offering shareholders a 1:1 bonus and a Rs.30 dividend bonus/share to commemorate their 25 years. Pretty cool wish I had bought some of their shares on Thursday.
Well to party along the news channels went overboard on getting the Infosys board members on their talk shows and stuff. But CNBC went all the way by having multiple shows throughout the day specifically on Infosys. And the icing on the cake was an exclusive interview with the entire board of the company and then singularly with Narayan Murthy.
Among all the things that he spoke about he went out of his to repetitively state that Infosys has tried to be model citizens of the Indian corporate world. It has relied only on facts and figures and based its estimates on hard data and nothing more. Thereby following the dictum that when in doubt, disclose. He also stated that the focus of the company is its customers, followed by its employees and finally its shareholders. (Something very similar to the Tata ideology) And hey there is also some similarity with my thoughts. He clearly stated that the focus of any successful company should be "Underpromise and Overdeliver". (If you have read my previous post on suggestions for a startup you know I am not lying)
All in all it was a great interview and it was wonderful to see the picture of Mr. JRD Tata in the background while the interview with Mrs.Murthy was on. It seems the legacy of Mr. Tata lives on, in the daily work of people like Mr. and Mrs. Murthy. We need more of such people.
This week India's darling IT company turned a solid 25 years old. It is suprising to know that it has been nearly 25 years since Narayan Murthy and his cohorts dreamt up everything about software offshoring that is so commonly talked about all around the place. Well they did celebrate their birthday with a bang offering shareholders a 1:1 bonus and a Rs.30 dividend bonus/share to commemorate their 25 years. Pretty cool wish I had bought some of their shares on Thursday.
Well to party along the news channels went overboard on getting the Infosys board members on their talk shows and stuff. But CNBC went all the way by having multiple shows throughout the day specifically on Infosys. And the icing on the cake was an exclusive interview with the entire board of the company and then singularly with Narayan Murthy.
Among all the things that he spoke about he went out of his to repetitively state that Infosys has tried to be model citizens of the Indian corporate world. It has relied only on facts and figures and based its estimates on hard data and nothing more. Thereby following the dictum that when in doubt, disclose. He also stated that the focus of the company is its customers, followed by its employees and finally its shareholders. (Something very similar to the Tata ideology) And hey there is also some similarity with my thoughts. He clearly stated that the focus of any successful company should be "Underpromise and Overdeliver". (If you have read my previous post on suggestions for a startup you know I am not lying)
All in all it was a great interview and it was wonderful to see the picture of Mr. JRD Tata in the background while the interview with Mrs.Murthy was on. It seems the legacy of Mr. Tata lives on, in the daily work of people like Mr. and Mrs. Murthy. We need more of such people.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Our fascination with bandhs/strikes
Bandhs aka strikes seem to be the way of life out here in our great country. If someone from a union is fired there is band. If a minister dies or is put in jail there is bandh. If a political party is in the minority it seems duty bound to call a few bandhs during their tenure in opposition. If India loses a pesky cricket game there is a commotion. And now this nuisance about actors dying and bandhs. What is going on with us? Heck I think soon there will be bandhs when people fall sick.
It is good that we adore and respect people who we carve out to be idols for us in our lives. But what is the length to which our patronage to the same person goes. Are we not duty bound towards our nation and therein directly to our jobs to observe any such action of grief on our own time rather than have the phobia of being stoned by rowdy so-called fans of these same people and running away from our jobs?
If any of these people are worthy of being treated as stars/idols etc it is only because they performed their duty ie. did their jobs well throughout their lives without flinching or taking time off for free siestas. If people are truly fans of the same they should pay respect to the dead by going on with their jobs and hey if need be donating something to their local non-profit.
All that said there is much to be done if we want India to be a truly global place and labour reforms seems to be topmost on the agenda. Unionisation is killing the economic progress made by the country and getting a bad rep., especially for outsourcing derived business, throughout the world. Come on people we have nearly 20+ official state and central bank holidays combined. Then most organisations give a healthy addition of nearly 30 odd paid leaves. Do you think we are going to be able to compete in a flat world with this lethargic a workforce? I doubt it.
SC/ST/OBC Reservations in specialised courses
Desi Fun(da) ... and more.
It has been a raging debate during the past couple of weeks wherein the latest moron of a minister Arjun Singh has gone ahead to propose that the educations such as the IIT, IIM and IISc, to name a few, should have reservations for SC/ST/OBC candidates. While I truly understand the need for furthering the cause of underprivileged classes of society by due representation I am totally against minister toying with institutions of such a high stature just to further their political vote banks. It would be more appropriate to maintain the status quo on quotas per se. With the current system these classes are given due opportunity upto graduate degree levels and sometimes further in particular institutes. Now if they are truly capable and have made use of these resources they should be given able to get into these prestigious institutes by nature of merit rather than caste or otherwise. If the government truly wants to help them out here they should provide these students with something along the lines of interest free loans on education fees etc. This will truly help these students.
All that said and done we Indians have probably the best minds in the world to work around the system. Once these quotas are in place be assured that a parallel industry of sorts will rise up from the earth for fake OBC certificates etc, which are available even today. There is absolutely no way of checking the autheticity of these certificates and that itself should discredit the introduction of such a quota based system at these institutes.
I hope one day we can have our institutes proclaim on their prospectus' that they do not discriminate on bases of caste, color, religion etc as all American institutes do. Ironically all American institutes also go ahead and try to maintain black/white, men/women, local/alien ratios.
It has been a raging debate during the past couple of weeks wherein the latest moron of a minister Arjun Singh has gone ahead to propose that the educations such as the IIT, IIM and IISc, to name a few, should have reservations for SC/ST/OBC candidates. While I truly understand the need for furthering the cause of underprivileged classes of society by due representation I am totally against minister toying with institutions of such a high stature just to further their political vote banks. It would be more appropriate to maintain the status quo on quotas per se. With the current system these classes are given due opportunity upto graduate degree levels and sometimes further in particular institutes. Now if they are truly capable and have made use of these resources they should be given able to get into these prestigious institutes by nature of merit rather than caste or otherwise. If the government truly wants to help them out here they should provide these students with something along the lines of interest free loans on education fees etc. This will truly help these students.
All that said and done we Indians have probably the best minds in the world to work around the system. Once these quotas are in place be assured that a parallel industry of sorts will rise up from the earth for fake OBC certificates etc, which are available even today. There is absolutely no way of checking the autheticity of these certificates and that itself should discredit the introduction of such a quota based system at these institutes.
I hope one day we can have our institutes proclaim on their prospectus' that they do not discriminate on bases of caste, color, religion etc as all American institutes do. Ironically all American institutes also go ahead and try to maintain black/white, men/women, local/alien ratios.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
America's immigrants
The top new item for this week has been the news of the US senate getting into their huddle to decide on legislation relating to guest workers and a contentious issue of illegal immigration that is plaguing the United States, more so than any other country. The western coast is already considered Mexican heartland and many would be surprised to know that most of the bus terminals out there have announcement in Spanish and English to cater to the obvious clients.
Let me put in my 2 American cents on this issue (and yes they are my cents which I bought back from states). Firstly the issue of guest workers aka H1B workers or specialised workers etc. This is a major problem biting the Americans in the ass. Any immigrant knows that the white man aka people who call themselves native Americans are not to congenial with having immigrants flowing into the country. These Fresh Off Board (FOB's) are a pain for them. Taking over their white collar jobs and steadily moving up the ladder with hard work and the determination to carve out their share of the American pie. Now that said they are faced with the problem of a declining economy which without the presence of these skilled workers will keep declining and the blue chip companies will keep moving out of the US and finding better pastures in places such as India and China ie the places where the same workers originate from. An with ever increasing problems of American students not wanting to pursue higher education there basically is no option but to keep inviting this alien workforce to come and pick up the creamy jobs. Well tough luck here.
Secondly is the problem of illegal immigration. By the very definition of illegal one would imagine that this is a non-issue. But remember the previous line wherein I said that the number of native American student pursuing higher education doesn't seem all that high, according to studies done by the US government. Now that said these same students in schools and colleges combined with the kids of the very same illegal immigrants have been protesting about the rights of these illegal immigrants, I repeat illegal immigrants. Wow only in America. If they were protesting about the human rights of these people or the way that they are being shipped in by the big farmers to do their crappy below minimum-wage work they I would've understood. But what rights does an illegal alien have, or should have? This just proves that countries regardless of their economic stature have the same class of politicians who will do just about anything to get or increase their vote bank.
I remember reading that the number of African Americans in the US represented the largest section of people in America, and the number of Mexicans/Spanish in the country was soon catching up. I am pretty sure that already the Hispanics represent the largest society with the States over the African Americans and the white/native Americans. Well whatever be the case seems like the native Americans better learn to be good to all these alien workers. From what I see the low end jobs are being lapped up by the Hispanics who need a better life and the higher end jobs are being offered up to the Indians and Chinese. So what's left is yours unless you mess with your Indian or Chinese boss and get fired or try to act rude with your Hispanic junior and get sued for racist behaviour.
Wow.. only in America right.
Let me put in my 2 American cents on this issue (and yes they are my cents which I bought back from states). Firstly the issue of guest workers aka H1B workers or specialised workers etc. This is a major problem biting the Americans in the ass. Any immigrant knows that the white man aka people who call themselves native Americans are not to congenial with having immigrants flowing into the country. These Fresh Off Board (FOB's) are a pain for them. Taking over their white collar jobs and steadily moving up the ladder with hard work and the determination to carve out their share of the American pie. Now that said they are faced with the problem of a declining economy which without the presence of these skilled workers will keep declining and the blue chip companies will keep moving out of the US and finding better pastures in places such as India and China ie the places where the same workers originate from. An with ever increasing problems of American students not wanting to pursue higher education there basically is no option but to keep inviting this alien workforce to come and pick up the creamy jobs. Well tough luck here.
Secondly is the problem of illegal immigration. By the very definition of illegal one would imagine that this is a non-issue. But remember the previous line wherein I said that the number of native American student pursuing higher education doesn't seem all that high, according to studies done by the US government. Now that said these same students in schools and colleges combined with the kids of the very same illegal immigrants have been protesting about the rights of these illegal immigrants, I repeat illegal immigrants. Wow only in America. If they were protesting about the human rights of these people or the way that they are being shipped in by the big farmers to do their crappy below minimum-wage work they I would've understood. But what rights does an illegal alien have, or should have? This just proves that countries regardless of their economic stature have the same class of politicians who will do just about anything to get or increase their vote bank.
I remember reading that the number of African Americans in the US represented the largest section of people in America, and the number of Mexicans/Spanish in the country was soon catching up. I am pretty sure that already the Hispanics represent the largest society with the States over the African Americans and the white/native Americans. Well whatever be the case seems like the native Americans better learn to be good to all these alien workers. From what I see the low end jobs are being lapped up by the Hispanics who need a better life and the higher end jobs are being offered up to the Indians and Chinese. So what's left is yours unless you mess with your Indian or Chinese boss and get fired or try to act rude with your Hispanic junior and get sued for racist behaviour.
Wow.. only in America right.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
India's Commonwealth games blitzkreig
Desi Fun(da) ... and more.
The Commonwealth games are on and India is currently placed 3rd on the third day of the games. Its really thrilling to see the flurry of medals that has come our way in shooting and weighlifting. Melbourne seemed to be the playground for many of our shooters picking up medals left and right. It is suprising how much change can be brought in through inspiration. I am sure that many of these shooters have followed the path of hard work and dedication like Mr. Rathore who picked up India's lone medal, a bronze, at the Olympics in 2004 at Athens.
Also encouraging to see the weighlifters continuining their domination here even after some shameful acts of performance enhancing drugs stung us at the olympics. Even the table tennis pros had a field day and picked up the gold yesterday. Totally awesome.
Even if the contingent doesn't pick up any other medal in the remaining days this is already a very big achievement for us. I hope that the sponsors start showing some interest in sports other than cricket. I am sure their investment will be a percentage point of their investment in cricket but the ROI will be many times over. After all it takes guts to promote a struggling athelete and even more guts to stand by a struggling sport.
Cheers to our Commonwealth contingent (minus the babus and paedophilic masseurs who have tagged along)
The Commonwealth games are on and India is currently placed 3rd on the third day of the games. Its really thrilling to see the flurry of medals that has come our way in shooting and weighlifting. Melbourne seemed to be the playground for many of our shooters picking up medals left and right. It is suprising how much change can be brought in through inspiration. I am sure that many of these shooters have followed the path of hard work and dedication like Mr. Rathore who picked up India's lone medal, a bronze, at the Olympics in 2004 at Athens.
Also encouraging to see the weighlifters continuining their domination here even after some shameful acts of performance enhancing drugs stung us at the olympics. Even the table tennis pros had a field day and picked up the gold yesterday. Totally awesome.
Even if the contingent doesn't pick up any other medal in the remaining days this is already a very big achievement for us. I hope that the sponsors start showing some interest in sports other than cricket. I am sure their investment will be a percentage point of their investment in cricket but the ROI will be many times over. After all it takes guts to promote a struggling athelete and even more guts to stand by a struggling sport.
Cheers to our Commonwealth contingent (minus the babus and paedophilic masseurs who have tagged along)
Friday, March 17, 2006
To her
With 13 long stem roses a note says
(leaf 1)
"Ever wonder how odd a sunflower would feel amidst these beautiful roses?
(leaf 2)
....exactly
how inept these roses feel being in front of true beauty like yourself"
.. from a spineless admirer.......
(leaf 1)
"Ever wonder how odd a sunflower would feel amidst these beautiful roses?
(leaf 2)
....exactly
how inept these roses feel being in front of true beauty like yourself"
.. from a spineless admirer.......
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Back to Mangalore
Desi Fun(da) ... and more.
Well the previous weekend was super. I went back to Mangalore with my mom (came over from Mumbai). After my previous trip in September 2004 this is the first time I went back there. Shameful I agree.
I left from Bangalore at around 10 Friday night and reached Mangalore city by around 6 am. I didn't want to wake up my cousin with whom we had planned to stay so I chilled at the bus stop and had some hot tea. Then I went over to their house by 7.30 and had a good breakfast. Mom came over by around 4. Was good to see her especially since I didn't get a chance to meet her after her minor operation on the thumb. But yeah all was well. My cousin's kids Freya and Riya had gotten a bit more free-er with me since the morning and we were just playing and talking kid-talk all evening.
The next day ie Sunday we decided to start the flying visits again. Started off by leaving Mangalore by 2pm and then reached Udupi and met with Eric uncle and family. Then from there to my aunts house followed by another aunt and then finally reaching my godparent's house late in the evening. He as usual was happy to see us and all excited too. Its always good to meet him and this time was even better as he announced that his elder daughter may get married in dec/jan. Still remember his kids being so shy and small whenever they came over to our house. Just reminded me that I am getting old and well also reminded me of that someone, who's name must not be taken, and who doesn't even pass a smile my way by mistake. I dont have any guts in that department sorry.
Well we had a sumptuous meal followed by gossiping between the cousins (our parents) on all families and ended up getting to bed late at 1 am. Then the next day we visited the other cousins who stay in adjoining houses and made a beeline for kinnigoli. Again on the fast track we visited my cousin Tona and family and Uncle Pinto and even got a chance to drop by at Lawrence's house and garage. Was good to see him after a long long time. Ofcourse most importantly we met up with my uncle and his wife and my grandmother, who all of 97 is become frail now and her movements are restricted to one room. Thanks to uncle they are managing with her care. God bless her and god bless them. I don't know what else can I do.
We came back by afternoon and then later went on to see some nearby areas in the evening and met another uncle. Saw some wonderful locations in Mangalore and was really wanting to stay back. Well the wonderful Manglorean girls could easily add to the arrows in my already pierced heart but well thankfully I didn't get a chance to venture into that territory.
Only downside of the trip was that I did not get a chance to taste the toddy/sur this time round. Well waiting makes the heart grow fonder they say. This wait is killing me along with the other wait.
Thanks Lani and Fancy for another memorable stay at my favourite place in the whole world.
Well the previous weekend was super. I went back to Mangalore with my mom (came over from Mumbai). After my previous trip in September 2004 this is the first time I went back there. Shameful I agree.
I left from Bangalore at around 10 Friday night and reached Mangalore city by around 6 am. I didn't want to wake up my cousin with whom we had planned to stay so I chilled at the bus stop and had some hot tea. Then I went over to their house by 7.30 and had a good breakfast. Mom came over by around 4. Was good to see her especially since I didn't get a chance to meet her after her minor operation on the thumb. But yeah all was well. My cousin's kids Freya and Riya had gotten a bit more free-er with me since the morning and we were just playing and talking kid-talk all evening.
The next day ie Sunday we decided to start the flying visits again. Started off by leaving Mangalore by 2pm and then reached Udupi and met with Eric uncle and family. Then from there to my aunts house followed by another aunt and then finally reaching my godparent's house late in the evening. He as usual was happy to see us and all excited too. Its always good to meet him and this time was even better as he announced that his elder daughter may get married in dec/jan. Still remember his kids being so shy and small whenever they came over to our house. Just reminded me that I am getting old and well also reminded me of that someone, who's name must not be taken, and who doesn't even pass a smile my way by mistake. I dont have any guts in that department sorry.
Well we had a sumptuous meal followed by gossiping between the cousins (our parents) on all families and ended up getting to bed late at 1 am. Then the next day we visited the other cousins who stay in adjoining houses and made a beeline for kinnigoli. Again on the fast track we visited my cousin Tona and family and Uncle Pinto and even got a chance to drop by at Lawrence's house and garage. Was good to see him after a long long time. Ofcourse most importantly we met up with my uncle and his wife and my grandmother, who all of 97 is become frail now and her movements are restricted to one room. Thanks to uncle they are managing with her care. God bless her and god bless them. I don't know what else can I do.
We came back by afternoon and then later went on to see some nearby areas in the evening and met another uncle. Saw some wonderful locations in Mangalore and was really wanting to stay back. Well the wonderful Manglorean girls could easily add to the arrows in my already pierced heart but well thankfully I didn't get a chance to venture into that territory.
Only downside of the trip was that I did not get a chance to taste the toddy/sur this time round. Well waiting makes the heart grow fonder they say. This wait is killing me along with the other wait.
Thanks Lani and Fancy for another memorable stay at my favourite place in the whole world.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Of Sania Mirza
Desi Fun(da) ... and more.
Now today morning's newspapers read that Sania Mirza has dropped down to #45 in the WTA rankings. For the absurdly naive millions of Sania fanatics that may turn out to be a shocker and many might even consider self-immolation in this maniac-driven society of ours, but how many of us level headed pre-Sania tennis lovers actually think that Sania has it in her to make it big?
Let me make myself clear. I give all due credit to Ms.Mirza for her hard work and getting into the top50. Moreover her desire to succeed had been really refreshing and invigorating in this die-hard cricket country of ours. And the exposure that she has bought to the game of tennis has been incomparable. Not even the gruesome twosome of Paes and Bhupati managed to get the interests this high.
But getting into the higher rug of the tennis elite is not a matter of simple desire. All of the top 100 have the desire to be in the top5 or top10. Heck even Anna Kournikova wanted to be numero uno but she simply couldnt back up the desire with the will and dedication required to be there. The first time I saw a pic of Sania the immediate reaction was that she looks like Lindsay Davenport of years before or like Monica Seles after her delayed comeback. Heck you can expect to beat the William sisters or Sharapova if you arent able to run after all those baseline zippers and then run onto the net to get that late drop volley. If Sania wants to be up there she needs a dedicated fitness coach, cut down on her hyderabadi meals and get in shape. The plus side for her is that she is young enough to do that and take a shot at doing what few of us can only dream about... some of us cant even make up that dream.
Now today morning's newspapers read that Sania Mirza has dropped down to #45 in the WTA rankings. For the absurdly naive millions of Sania fanatics that may turn out to be a shocker and many might even consider self-immolation in this maniac-driven society of ours, but how many of us level headed pre-Sania tennis lovers actually think that Sania has it in her to make it big?
Let me make myself clear. I give all due credit to Ms.Mirza for her hard work and getting into the top50. Moreover her desire to succeed had been really refreshing and invigorating in this die-hard cricket country of ours. And the exposure that she has bought to the game of tennis has been incomparable. Not even the gruesome twosome of Paes and Bhupati managed to get the interests this high.
But getting into the higher rug of the tennis elite is not a matter of simple desire. All of the top 100 have the desire to be in the top5 or top10. Heck even Anna Kournikova wanted to be numero uno but she simply couldnt back up the desire with the will and dedication required to be there. The first time I saw a pic of Sania the immediate reaction was that she looks like Lindsay Davenport of years before or like Monica Seles after her delayed comeback. Heck you can expect to beat the William sisters or Sharapova if you arent able to run after all those baseline zippers and then run onto the net to get that late drop volley. If Sania wants to be up there she needs a dedicated fitness coach, cut down on her hyderabadi meals and get in shape. The plus side for her is that she is young enough to do that and take a shot at doing what few of us can only dream about... some of us cant even make up that dream.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Bush and Musharaff - An unholy nexus
Desi Fun(da) ... and more.
While Bush finished off with his first ever visit to India there were protests all over the place. Well in Pakistan things went a bit further and a few bombs went off in keeping with the legacy of Pakistani terrorism. Well everyone who knows me knows my opinions on this matter. There is no demarcation or enimity between the Pakistani leadership and terrorists being trained in PoK. This has been shown to be true on numerous occasions, more recently during the Kargil conflict, the attack on the Indian Parliament and so on on so forth, where the assailants had Pakistani army identification cards on them.
What was more suprising was that the next day ie today (March 5th 2006) the newpapers across the globe report that Bush and Musharaff have signed a terror-pact for better cooperation between these two allies on the "terrorism" agenda that they have to fly the flags of freedom in the so called evil states in the world. But while this great agreement was being signed the opposition party leaders in Pakistan were kept under house arrest, many more party workers arrested for god know what reason.
America has always been stupid with its choice of allies while fighting its foes and this is just another shining example waiting to blow up in their face. They want to ally with a country that was born out of a rebel's idea of self-greatness while dividing the great Indian subcontinent on the basis of religion. Further this country has gone on to see less than a decade of true governance via democratic processes during its nearly 6 decade long independence.
Now if thats not an unholy nexus I dont know what is. Nice choice Bushie.
While Bush finished off with his first ever visit to India there were protests all over the place. Well in Pakistan things went a bit further and a few bombs went off in keeping with the legacy of Pakistani terrorism. Well everyone who knows me knows my opinions on this matter. There is no demarcation or enimity between the Pakistani leadership and terrorists being trained in PoK. This has been shown to be true on numerous occasions, more recently during the Kargil conflict, the attack on the Indian Parliament and so on on so forth, where the assailants had Pakistani army identification cards on them.
What was more suprising was that the next day ie today (March 5th 2006) the newpapers across the globe report that Bush and Musharaff have signed a terror-pact for better cooperation between these two allies on the "terrorism" agenda that they have to fly the flags of freedom in the so called evil states in the world. But while this great agreement was being signed the opposition party leaders in Pakistan were kept under house arrest, many more party workers arrested for god know what reason.
America has always been stupid with its choice of allies while fighting its foes and this is just another shining example waiting to blow up in their face. They want to ally with a country that was born out of a rebel's idea of self-greatness while dividing the great Indian subcontinent on the basis of religion. Further this country has gone on to see less than a decade of true governance via democratic processes during its nearly 6 decade long independence.
Now if thats not an unholy nexus I dont know what is. Nice choice Bushie.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Sports Day at IEC - Sun Microsystems Bangalore
Desi Fun(da) ... and more.
Well two weeks of thrilling action coinciding with the Turin Winter Olympic Games came to a soft ending on March 1st here at IEC. We had the MICO sports grounds to ourselves to finish off all the outdoor sport finals and it turned out to be a great day to have fun and basically sweat it out, be our competitive selves. Many of my team mates turned up, especially since we intended to kick some ass in basketball, only to be denied in a thrilling loss right in the semifinals under the blazing sun.
It was an awesome day and for the first time I could see the really competitive and not so competitive side of people out there. Got to know some more faces in Sun and that was good too. But as I say there is just one winner at the end of the day, all the people following them are just the losers. So well it wasn't as eventful as I would have liked but hey I aint michael jordan or lebron james you know;)
But the real bummer was the dismal turnout. According to the organizers, and there were 50+ organizers/volunteers, there were nearly 600 participants in all the games. I guess their script didn't do a SELECT UNIQUE * from PARTICIPANTS | wc -l (those duke fanatics!!). It looked asif there were some 100 people who participated in all the sports. Well what was even stinkier was the fact that though transportation was provided people didn't bother to turn up and cheer their pals out there. For all of those who did not come, FYI procrastination is good sometimes to get your mind in tune.
Anyways we had a wonderful time. We got trained in the art of not being winners in nearly all the games. But Alok and myself managed to win the Foozeball trophy. Joe Triviani and Chandler Bing deserve all the credit! (also Ramesh and Joseph from our QB days)
Well two weeks of thrilling action coinciding with the Turin Winter Olympic Games came to a soft ending on March 1st here at IEC. We had the MICO sports grounds to ourselves to finish off all the outdoor sport finals and it turned out to be a great day to have fun and basically sweat it out, be our competitive selves. Many of my team mates turned up, especially since we intended to kick some ass in basketball, only to be denied in a thrilling loss right in the semifinals under the blazing sun.
It was an awesome day and for the first time I could see the really competitive and not so competitive side of people out there. Got to know some more faces in Sun and that was good too. But as I say there is just one winner at the end of the day, all the people following them are just the losers. So well it wasn't as eventful as I would have liked but hey I aint michael jordan or lebron james you know;)
But the real bummer was the dismal turnout. According to the organizers, and there were 50+ organizers/volunteers, there were nearly 600 participants in all the games. I guess their script didn't do a SELECT UNIQUE * from PARTICIPANTS | wc -l (those duke fanatics!!). It looked asif there were some 100 people who participated in all the sports. Well what was even stinkier was the fact that though transportation was provided people didn't bother to turn up and cheer their pals out there. For all of those who did not come, FYI procrastination is good sometimes to get your mind in tune.
Anyways we had a wonderful time. We got trained in the art of not being winners in nearly all the games. But Alok and myself managed to win the Foozeball trophy. Joe Triviani and Chandler Bing deserve all the credit! (also Ramesh and Joseph from our QB days)
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