Action seems to have begun even before the auction began. With a planned move that owners called “strategy” and the media describes as “balderdash”, ignoring players from our “friendly” neighboring nation stoked a fire. “Dildo” fuelled that fire with a masterstroke to promote his new movie angering the Shiv Sena and setting tongues waging. I’m not here to pass a judgement on the right thing to do – As most passionate Indians, I don’t think that the current political climate would aid Pakistani players to come in and play, not to forget, earn some top dollar and take that back to Pakistan. That said, I also believe that sports shouldn’t be mixed with other issues. Sadly though, our structures don’t permit the co-existence of both ideologies. Someone said, there’s got to be only one dagger in a sheath!

If the auction bit was wave 1, our friends in the rash state of Maharashtra seem to have a new sense of hatred for the Aussies! They threatened to stop the Aussies from playing in Mumbai and had the big bosses calling them. It’s not an unknown fact that their muscle is with the hooligans. From a commercial perspective, the cricket bosses were worried and rightly so. As much as we hate the Aussies for their erstwhile dominance of cricket, we can’t live without them either.

A Shane Warne is a top draw wherever he goes as are the Gilly’s, Hayden’s and the McGrath’s! Cricketers like them are no longer produced and looking at one of the initial tenants of the IPL, the young Indians can learn a ton from some legends like these! The magic unfortunately didn’t work and the Sena seems to have snubbed the cricket bosses. The Government can put up a brave face and promise the support, but it’s a question of time before ruthless elements like these rear their head and cause trouble. If a Government that can’t protect our borders and act on intelligence save innocent citizens, what hopes do these so called security measures have on an unruly crowd?

If this was not enough, the Deccan Chargers have issued a notice to the IPL for moving out matches from Hyderabad. Telangana or otherwise, someone at least believes matches should be played in Hyderabad – there’s a sense of government support (please as need for money) as this battle unfolds! I don’t know if this was big news or not as I didn’t see this breaking. Poor young Jadeja has been banned and he seeks to appeal against it!  Being a recent feature on the international circuit, he’d hate it to be left out – forget the experience and all that blah blah!

With Mumbai being a potential issue and Hyderabad joining, what’s Lalit Modi going to do? Unfortunately for him, he has very little time on his hands to pull off a South African safari. There’s too much skin in the game to even consider moving the IPL beyond our shores and I watch with baited breath. Being that South Indian Tam Bram, isn’t it time we renamed the IPL??Similar Posts:

• The Cricketing World Needs Australia!
• Shame On You, Dildo!
• Sreesanth’s Spicy Appam Saga
• Where’s Our Self Respect ?
• Could World Cricket Survive Without India?

• The Cricketing World Needs Australia!
• The IPL Woes of Mallya and Shahrukh Khan

Deve Gowda, to me, is The Go(w)d…Ask me why ?

Deve, in all the languages I know of, means God …and Gowd sounds like God, albeit with a twist ….of course – with a Twist…So here is The God – with the twist….and what more he acts like one too.

So, The Go(w)d, as I lovingly call him, is beyond the realm of my understanding…When I hear this name the one thing that comes to my mind is his ardent love for sleep…It appears that he has been deprived of sleep throughout his life- a la Kumbhkarn ! Everywhere he went, every word he spoke, every step he took – he symbolized senility, boredom, sleepishness etc etc..How long can one sleep, by the way? ….I’ve not sneaked into his bedroom…nor have I ever dreamt of, but yes the question lingers.

Deve Gowda – Tussi Go(w)d ho!….I mean Go(wd) of Sleep

That was the image that I had about him till about a few years ago…

..And then began the power struggle in Karnataka. We know how the Dharam Singh government was toppled. Although they say, it wasn’t without his blessing – it is quite in the open how much The God loved his children just like any other man on earth. The children a.k.a  The Prince & His Anna (Read Kumaraswamy & Revanna) were a victim of his nepotistic tendencies..or rather beneficiaries, should I say?. ..And they say his party is called Janata Dal which means party for the people, where all the people are his family members.

Deve Gowda – Tussi Go(w)d ho!….Really!

…And did I mention about his aversion to anything that is remotely called “development”.  No, I  wasn’t going to speak on that…Today he proved me right, in front of the media – Showering his blessings for the CM – Haven’t seen yet ?  See it here.

Not that I am a big fan of Yeddy, but these kind of showers does help The God’s cause in  enhancing his image as the “Biggest” Go(w)d of his times. And if that is not enough, his son – erstwhile CM, emerges and supports his dad.

Jaisa Pita, Vaisa hi Putr…..Oops! Suputr!

Yeah right – you say that the CM is a Ba@$%@#d and say later, this was said because he was stressed. WTF ?  And we speak of moral standard for ourselves, our politicians and the society in general. Imagine the plight of the millions of kids who would be idolizing The God….oops, The Go(w)d.

What lessons?!..Wah bhai wah! …Tussi wakeyi Go(w)d ho ji!

Surprised that this has not caused a furore yet on the Twitterati or anywhere else…So here is my contribution to the twitter world – my first of sort. I am creating a hashtag called #TussiGowdHo…Similar Posts:

• Sumathi Vs Muthalik
• Fifth Front–The Game Changer?
• Manmohan Singh Wins The Confidence Vote
• What The Hell?
• Look At Our Laws!

• Dr. Manmohan – New-Clear Prime Minister Gets His Opposition Nuked
• Who Will Be India’s Hung Prime Minister ?

In preparation for this, I did my initial research. I logged on to the website and got the information that I possibly needed, surprisingly, the website was not too forthcoming and I hence had to follow it up with a call. The guy answering the phone was not too friendly, spoke as if he had something stuck up his backside and was going to pass out in a few minutes. That said, he provided me the information that I needed. The website also clearly stated that I had to do this on my own and could not use the services of an agent!

Obtaining what I needed to know and also downloading the forms that I needed, I worked on the sides to ensure that I had my picture and the needed documentation to proceed. With it all being set, I needed to go for the document submission process. Could I not get an appointment online? I tried to get online and explore this option – but guess what, the website made it clear that you couldn’t get an appointment online and that you had to go and stand in a queue! Alright then, what time is a good time then? I chanced my luck on the phone and got to a slightly more helpful dude this time around! He told me that things can get pretty crowded and that it is best advised to get there early. So that you know, the official opening time was 0915 hrs and tokens would be given effective 0830 hrs!

With the so called insider information, I planned to get there by 7-ish… I live in the UK and at this time of the year, it can get pretty cold. My rationale for picking 7 AM was that people would take a while to get there considering the weather! Diligently, I set up an early morning alarm, get through my morning chores in a rush and ensured to carry some decent warm clothing along. The famous London Underground which has recently had a reputation for not being able to get its act together at this time of the year & provide customers with reliable service was operating a good service! Smiling for the first time, I hopped on and got off where I had to. A friendly, smiling young officer guided me to where I had to go when I asked her for clarity on directions – ( No, I didn’t ask her for directions because it was a she! I’m truly terrible at reading maps! )

With daylight yet to break and the destination in sight, I was surprised to see no one in sight! As I got closer, arrows guided me to a side and another side and then I saw this long line of people! I joined the queue, 15^th in line and felt good as more and more people came along with passing time. The office was closed and there was not an official in sight. With an hour and a half to go, I started chatting with folks to get a sense of what they were up to! The guy who came in first showed up at 0500 hrs! I think we picked the wrong day! With temperatures as low as -4 deg Celcius, I realised that my warm clothing wasn’t warm enough to sustain standing out in the cold for an our and a half! I was not alone in feeling that way as my feet started to get really cold! Time seemed to crawl!

Surprising at 0830, a window opened and someone started issuing tokens! Boy, was she efficient? I got mine in a few seconds from the time she opened that counter by just answering some simple questions. With a token in place, we had to get to the next queue. This one was again in the open, the only difference being that the daylight had broken through, but the weather still freezing! An hour and a half with your feet on the ground means that you start to go numb! Again, I wasn’t alone!!! The wait to 0915 seemed to take an eternity. At 0915, the sesame did open and out came this well dressed man speaking my local language ..”Token haat mein ?” he said, as he conducted a 3 second body and bag search letting us in. Glad tog et out of the cold, I was hoping to see some folks who will do what we wanted!! We were asked to be seated and wait for our turn. No one showed up till 0940!

When they did, they all didn’t show up either. It was like a game that some kids would play hiding and showing up – Counter 9 went up first and then counter 1 –would it be 2 next? No way – was counter 5! The magical sequence of counters opening went on for about 10 minutes and the shop was technically, fully functional in about 10 minutes – 0950 now!

An elderly English gentleman, the first guy to show up was called to counter 5. After some conversations, everyone in the office hears this – “I can’t stick your photo! If you can’t stick the photo, go and ask someone for glue – else, go home and stick it and come back later. The poor gent’s face turned pale and being shouted upon! He dragged himself out of the counter for someone to offer help by lending a glue stick! With that done in a matter of moments, he returned to the counter again to hear – “ Why are you back again – didn’t you hear what I told you?!” – I’m all set said the old man as he managed to get serviced again. I could hear a few other foreigners sitting behind me say – “Isn’t that rude for a diplomat?” I couldn’t help but agree and was nervous waiting for my turn!

I was called forward – I stepped in and said “ Good morning Sir!” – No response! I then reached out for my papers from my “searched” bag as I heard – “ Token”” – Give me the token first!”. I promptly did and then went back to submitting my papers…A little scrutiny and I tried saying that I needed something… as I was shot off asking to wait! I waited and then by God’s grace, my papers were accepted! Happy that it was mission accomplished, I asked the gent, when do you think I can get this back? No response as I asked the question again! A cold stare and a response – see your receipt that I give you!! Alright!!! I get my receipt and it says 12^th Jan 2010, 1530 hrs!

Welcome to the High Commission of India, London!! I was trying to get extra pages on my passport!!Similar Posts:

• Unfolding The Truth- The Agony Of An Informer
• Dhoni Gets An All New Female Entourage
• Does God Favour The Rich?
• Pooja’s Neighbor Is Gay!
• It’s All About Money, Honey!

• The “Scar” in Scarcity
• Nokia Users Can Rejoice (Again) and Get Fit

Anything that you do in this RASH state can get you into trouble!

• An airline wanted to lay off a few people because they were in deep trouble – They went ahead at their own peril and got into trouble!
• A movie director referred to the capital of this state as Bombay – the old name which this city has held for ages and is world famous for. While everyone knows the city changed its name, the poor director had to apologize for a mistake that he made!
• Supposedly a cosmopolitan city and a city that provides a livelihood for everyone under the sun, folks from other states, especially the north of India were targeted because they lived there and were threatening the livelihood of the local community
• This one takes the cake for me – A Formula One driver is invited to the city to drive on a cordoned off road and gets a 1.4 million fine because he breached speed limits!

Our financial capital continues to amaze me. While I have a lot of friends who swear by the city as the place to be, these bizarre events make me wonder if modern India is in reverse gear!

The business world we live and operate in has changed and changed for ever! There will be business cycles because of which businesses will hire and fire. I’ve seen days when we’ve gone to campus with nearly insane compensation numbers to hire fresh from college grads! If you create an issue when businesses fire people, will you also create an issue when business picks up and hire people?

Movies are a flippin fun thing! There’s everything from sex to crime to fun and song and dance – there’s a censor board that has a role to play in and if they have done their job, who are you to come and throw a spanner into the works?

India grows in cities and now in small towns and villages. This is a reality that people need to accept and live with. If you are truly concerned about people migrating, as administrators, you’ve got to ensure that growth is uniform across cities and states

If you don’t understand what formula one is all about, please don’t call heroes in their own rights home and shame them and make a mockery of yourself!

It’s about time that my RASH state learnt to deal with change better!

PS: Can someone assume me that my IP won’t get tracked and I won’t get attacked? I care a damn – hopefully, I won’t have to live there in a long long time!

Image Credit: Don CareySimilar Posts:

• Vroom!
• Where’s Our Self Respect ?
• What’s Indian about Force India?
• IPL – Déjà vu!
• Could World Cricket Survive Without India?

• The Burning City
• Is Raju taking all the blame on himself?

The ride for Force India has been all but smooth. Being known to be traditional back markers last season, they switched their engine supplier earlier this year with a hope to get out of being one. The investments have certainly been coming good and their other driver, Adrian Sutil was threatening to score their first points a few races ago. He didn’t eventually do that was a different story altogether.

This success has internet sites and social networking sites filled with messages of national pride! The public seemed to go head over heels with the supposed Indian team making waves in the pinnacle of motor sport. What’s been baffling me is the fact that there is nothing Indian about this team. Here are some facts that absolutely matter to me:

1. The constructor of the car is British – based in Silverstone, they work with Mercedes, a European car maker to build their cars
2. The drivers are not Indian – Fischi is Italian & Sutil is a German
3. The crew is all British & European

One might argue that Indian constructors will never ever get to build an F1 engine – agreed. I can understand that argument and will be smoking pot if I believed that was untrue. Why employ drivers when there is talent available in India? It’s not certainly the best talent in the market – that said, Mallya does not have the best drivers that money can buy anyways.. in Narain Karthikeyan, he has someone who has done a full season in F1 and in Karun Chandok, he has an emerging GP2 driver who has clearly demonstrated that he is someone with talent worth considering for the future.

Hypothetically, had the Force India team won the last race, the flags and the anthems to go would have been Italian and British. There’s nothing Indian about them, except the owner though. With growing popularity and speculation that the sport may come to India soon, Mallya missed a huge opportunity to get someone Indian in replacing Fischi who went to the mother ship. Being Italian, it is a matter of huge pride to drive a Scuderia in front if an Italian crowd at Monza – without going into whether Ferrari were right or wrong, I thing Mallya missed a huge opportunity to sign on an Indian to drive that monster package that he seems to have laid his hands on. He’s kept his chin up in saying that anyone can drive a good car – I hope for his sake that his replacements drive half as well as a pro like Fischi.

With Kingfisher being a major sponsor themselves in this business, I’m not too sure if this is something to write home about – quite frankly, there is nothing Indian about this!!!Similar Posts:

• Representing India? Be An Indian First
• Vroom!
• Shame On You, Dildo!
• Where’s Our Self Respect ?
• A RASH Drive In MahaRASHtra

• Getting Your License – Do It Yourself?
• The Big Blue Scratch

Many of them wrote him off saying that he is too sophisticated for politics and will not be able to handle the rough and tough of politics. He walked out of a political debate before the elections. This was telecast live and he had to draw a lot of flak for that. This only added to the perception that he cannot handle criticism. But he astonished us all with his landslide victory with a margin of close to 1 Lakh votes. Then again, he surprised us again by becoming the MoS for External Affairs.

Now, he has astonished us again with some “astonishing” numbers. I am talking about his number of followers in Twitter. He started to tweet on March 17, 2009 as part of his election campaign. As of June 2, 2009, his Twitter followers had grown to around 4500+. (I don’t remember exactly, but I was his Twitter follower number 2700 ( or so). By the end of that month, June 2009, his number of followers crossed 10,000.

He got a new title as he himself tweeted on June 24, 2009 “In Dubai my old friend Sheikha Lubna, UAE foreign trade minister, hosted a friendly lunch at which she greeted me as ‘Minister Twitter’!”

The progression from that point was quite interesting. Jacob Joseph, Tharoor’s Secretary, has been tweeting about the number of followers. Here is a sample of his tweets.

August 4, 2009 – Shashi Tharoor (@shashitharoor) has crossed 20,000 followers

August 5, 2009 – @priyankachopra has overtaken @shashitharoor

(Priyanka Chopra apparently had the most number of followers among Indian celebrities at that time and there was a race for the top spot)

August 22, 2009 – Pic of Dr. Shashi Tharoor (@shashitharoor) tweeting from the boat race http://myloc.me/p8rs

August 26, 2009 – Shashi Tharoor (@shashitharoor) adds 3000+ followers overnight on twitter

August 27, 2009 – Shashi Tharoor (@shashitharoor) crosses 36,000 followers on twitter!

August 29, 2009 – Shashi Tharoor (@shashitharoor) crossed 50,000 followers on twitter.

September 6, 2009 – RT @keralafarmer: 1 lakh followers @ShashiTharoor http://bit.ly/bl6ii

Astonishing isn’t it?

The secret of these numbers is that his untiring commitment to tweeting. His tweets are informative, witty and lively. He has tweeted 1235 times(as of September 7, 2009) at an average of 200 per month.

No wonder he is able to get such a fan following. What is next? 5 Lakh by the end of this year?

Will he ever overtake Barack Obama(20 Lakh + followers)? Or is it question of when and not “will he”?

Image Credit: StutiSimilar Posts:

• Who Will Be India’s Hung Prime Minister ?
• Elections, Political Parties & Cheap Publicity
• To Vote Or Not To Vote?
• The Battle For South Bangalore
• Mr. Advani-Are You Listening?

• Shashi Tharoor–A New Beginning?
• Tweet.IM – Twitter Integrated with Instant Messaging

Well, that was  my Facebook status message a couple of days ago. Quite understably, no one understood why I put it out there and what was the context. Call it my overconfidence or pass it as yet another PJ (read Poor Joke), what I wanted to convey was this :

Will Jagan Mohan Reddy a.k.a Jagu-(a)-R replace our soft spoken septuagenarian Rosaiah a.k.a The Rose. I never imagined I’d have to explain my PJ all over again… Never mind – that gives me another subject to decipher..hehe!;)

It takes no brains to tell that I am talking of Andhra politcs. With the death of YSR, there is a sympathy wave amongst his loyal followers to make YSR’s son the next Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

On one hand Mr. Rose has taken over as the care taker CM, for now. He very conveniently portrays an image – I am a loyal party soldier, I will do what “madam” or our high command says, I have no ambition and all that crap.  Hard to believe, but so far the 70+ something Mr.Rose has portrayed a decent “I am not too keen” kind of an image.

On the other hand, JMR a.k.a. The JaguaR (according to me), is playing it safe – It is an emotional time for him having lost his dad. The odds are in his favour to become the next Chief Minister of AP. That he doesn’t have the requisite experience in politics doesn’t hold much water for now with his loyal fanbase- they are going by the same Indira Gandhi-Rajiv Gandhi logic.

Will “madam” budge in to the pressure tactics by Jag’s fans ? Can Cong afford to have an inexperienced CM to rule a state like AP ? Will it be fair to veterans like Rosaiah, Jaipal Reddy etc. who have served the party for so many years ?

On the same coin, this might be a great opportunity to bring in a fresh new face and take advantage of the situation. That JMR is a successful businessman, an upcoming media tycoon will play well for him – only if he plays his cards right.

My bet is on long time Cong loyalist -Jaipal Reddy who is not only experienced at the Centre but also belong to the Reddy community which is a significant force in Andhra politics today (although I hate to see caste-based politics, the reality is that this is what moves India, today – look at the Maya Memsaab!).

Jaipal Reddy, for now, is keeping silent and staying away from any controversies. Is that part of a larger plan, by the way ?

Either ways – interesting time in Andhra politics. Can’t wait to see what’s next…

Image Credit: WikipediaSimilar Posts:

• Who Will Be India’s Hung Prime Minister ?
• Elections, Political Parties & Cheap Publicity
• The Cesspool Called Indian politics
• TRS Pulls The Plug On TDP!
• The Battle For South Bangalore

• Duvvuri Subbarao-Top Andhra IITian For The Top Indian Job
• Give The New Party Some Breathing Space

Apparently, several Indian actors in the past have been so called victims of racial profiling including Aamir Khan, Irfan Khan, John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh et al….and more recently our Ex-President, Dr. Abdul Kalam.

While I sympathize  with anyone for having to go thru this ordeal, strip search is a common practice here in the US port of entry for anyone who they think is remotely suspicious and I kind of agree. No wonder US did not have another 9/11

A rule is a rule is a rule.

Whether you are a celebrity, or the President, the King or an ordinary man- why should you be given a special status because of what you have achieved. Aren’t the law of the land supposed to be the same for all ? Why blame the security guards or officers ?? They just followed the procedure & protocols. They don’t know their own celebrities, let alone Indians…..and why should they ?

Don’t we say – Equal right to every one, equal opportunity to every one and all that jazz ? Why discriminate when it comes to celebrity ?

What irked me more was the rants from our own Soni Kudi : Tit for Tat, saying ” You’ve done blah blah to our celebrities, so we will do it to yours”…

C’mon lady, don’t you think before you speak out ?…

Give me a break!!!  Why don’t you look at improving the security procedures in the backyard before spelling out your vendetta. Why don’t you ask  Chidu bhai not to spare anyone who is remotely suspicious. On one hand you keep ranting at every opportunity, at the same time you don’t do enough to tighten your own belt. Look at how your administration allowed a man to breeze thru security with guns. Learn some lessons!!!

Coming to the point – That SRK had to go thru this ordeal was his misfortune, but I guess the rule applies and should apply to everyone. Celebrities are no exception!

For once, I agree with Salman Khan – No big deal!!!Similar Posts:

• Shahrukh Khan- A Winning Star ?
• Is Asin Here To Stay After Ghajini?
• Billu Barber–A Complete Family Entertainment
• Yuvvraaj Music Review
• Salman Khan – Is He A Copycat?

• Dhoni Gets An All New Female Entourage
• Lost And Found

Hillary Clinton’s visit to India last week paved another path for bilateral ties. Defense deals, new trade agreements, joint ventures to fight climate change etc., are some of the key highlights of discussion during Hilary’s visit to India. Given the mandate that this election has thrown out coupled with Obama’s vision for India, the number of opportunities between India and US will only grow north.

If I were a business man and I had some innovative concepts or planning to expand my current footing, the first thing that I would do is to look at countries like India and China. Assuming I had a few million dollars to plan for a plethora of activities, my first few activities would include doing a survey, understanding the local requirements, hiring a team of experts locally, assigning them responsibilities, setting them targets and working with them to achieve my goals. Easier said than done, right ?

Now lets think practically – How many of us have a few million dollars to spare ? How many of us can afford to go to India often, stay there for a while and establish practically everything from scratch – A handful ?

A difficult proposition considering the effort required to set up your office, infrastructure, team etc., right ? So, what happens when you land in India – How will you be treated ? Will you be cheated ? How are the hotels ? Is everyone transparent enough ? What is your support level ? Who can you contact, in case you need help ? Do you need to take insurance ? How can you trust the doctors there ?

A million questions in your mind and you don’t have your answers. You wish there were answers to all these questions, so you could happily venture out in India without having to worry about individual and organizational credibility. You wish there was a helping hand to walk you through your road to success. You wish there was someone responsible who answered all your queries. You just wished !

Until about a few years ago, these wishes would have been mere wishes, with entrepreneurs and businessmen wading in the dark experimenting with the truth and reality of life in India. But now, things are different, way different than you can imagine.

A company called Entry India has made the life easier for Americans to start business in India. In their own words

Our Mission at Entry India is to Bring India Opportunities and US Businesses Closer.

The First Step towards this is to be aware of the ‘opportunity’. Our opportunity reports are specially designed for small businesses, start-up companies and investors to quickly size up the opportunity and get prepared to seize it. Our personalized approach to collect, organize, validate, and disseminate information is uniquely effective in overcoming entry barriers and ensuring successful outcomes for you.

India is beckoning U.S. companies. Let us take you there.

Entry India has recently completed their Delhi Travel Directory . Whether you are traveling to India for pleasure, business, study or medical care, the best way to ensure a successful and hassle free trip is to be thoroughly prepared for the trip. Delhi Travel Directory covers important information for planning your trip to Delhi and practical personal, business and government contact numbers and information you will need while in Delhi. It is a resource created by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) for NRIs to make their endeavors in Delhi successful especially when they visit Delhi for personal or business purposes.

Like Delhi, there are plans to come up with Directories for Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai etc. What more? Each of the associates/address listed in this directory are handpicked and qualified by Entry India LLC. It can’t get better!

Dr. Mahendra Pratap, one of the partners with Entry India, presented ‘Doing Business in India’ at the 14th BMM Convention’s US-India Trade Fair/Expo on July 04th, 2009. Here is a glimpse of the presentation.

Still thinking ?Similar Posts:

• Immigration Issues In America – Blessing In Disguise For India ?
• My Vision for India- Bridge the “India-Bharat” divide
• Why India is Special
• Of IT, English And China
• 26/11-Kargil Version 2.0

• Can We Realize The Dream of Better Transport?
• Buying mutual fund units in India

My current employer presented me with an opportunity to move to London pretty recently. Having been there several times and spent a fair amount of time, this was something that I said yes to without a thought.

People who have been through the motions will tell you how the process is slow – the selection to the decision making and then the eternal wait for your paperwork. As frustrating it can get, I waited for what now seems like an eternity to get it all wrapped up. Jumping to catch the first available plane out, I showed up here with bag and baggage.

My first realization was the fact that I was on my own – a business trip where you can’t care less about anything material is very different to the fact that you need to fend for yourself for the word go when you are on your own.

Coming from home, we tend to take a lot of things for granted – A vehicle to commute on your own, often 4 wheels, large spacious houses, the value of which we hardly seem to realize back home, Family – how many times have we stopped to think about them when living with them?, last not least, the domestic help that we consider a given – from washing clothes to cleaning dishes, needless to mention, the houses too!

I started missing home in no time – I think it was less than 24 hours. Walking into work, you are in the midst of a place where you are met with “what are you doing here” kind of looks and conversations that go no longer than a “hello” however hard you try. If you have a new role to boot, welcome to the party!!

I can tell you that this concoction really hits you! I was hit and hit pretty hard too. There’s never been a time in my life when I’ve missed home ever so badly. Initial thoughts were pretty simple – which headhunter can I call to get back home now? Who are the old bosses that are hiring that I can reach out to? F@#$ this, I can get back home and find a job., 3 months – worse case, 6 months!

The search to find a place to live in is pretty interesting too! I’ve had pretty much every corner of London recommended as a place to live in and in literally 60 seconds being critiqued as a horrible place to live in too! Wow!! Is this a city that people live in?? With confusing views and conflicting opinions, you are left wondering why the hell did I move!!

Speaking to friends who have done this before, I realized that I was not alone in feeling this way. It’s that age old thing of grass being greener on the other side and being uprooted from your comfort zone that make you feel queasy. Every one that I have spoken to thinks this is just a phase, a phase where I draw a line on the sand to say here is what I felt only to change things around in 6 months time. Whilst time will tell if this in indeed true, here are my top 5 tips for those that plan to move overseas.

1. We never spend time preparing for a move overseas mentally – while the excitement gets the better of everything else, please spend time preparing mentally. Overseas moves are pretty stressful
2. Speak to friends about places to live in. Remember, every area is safe and equally unsafe. Doing some ground work ahead of time saves you a lot of stress
3. Overseas moves are not for the faint hearted and pampered ones – Washing clothes despite using a washing machine and pressing clothes are pains that a two rupee coin can ease back home.
4. I don’t know if feelings would have been different had I been single. If you are married, never ever move without your family. It’s cute to say I will move and my family will join me later, but on the ground, they can provide you tremendous support when you attempt to win small battles on your own and alone.
5. While we all know that “ change” is difficult and the only constant in life, going through that change is a lot more harder than what you think.

Cheers and happy moving! I’ll tell you if I feel any differently after 6 months!

Image Credit: wwarbySimilar Posts:

• Health Is Wealth
• Adventures Of A Gastronome In The Bylanes Of Old Hyderabad
• Is NRI Fad For Marriages Fading In India
• Let Tommy Make a Living, Apparently It Was a Rumour
• A Trip To Backwaters

• History Repeats Itself – Ask How ?
• Five Indian Ways of Going Green

More often than not the maids in India end up being the victims although there are times when they are on the erring side too. Sometimes they are accused of stealing petty household goods and at times they become cynosure of all eyes for all the wrongdoings. All said and done this so called “Maid In India” controversy doesn’t seem to die down.

The latest on the list involves a tinch of Bollywood masala. Long story short, the recent Shiney Ahuja rape case – one which shocked the nation, convinced us there is quite a bit of villain among the heroes too. I might be prejudging the case, but going what has been reported in the news it seems likely that Shiney will stop shining for a while. The point is the maids have become a victim of their own circumstances, like most women, in front of their own heroes.

Brings me to the point-Will we, in India,  ever get to a stage where we rely on professional maids for our saaf-safaai ? Can this unorganized sector be made more organised so that crime of this sort can be rooted even before they occur ? Will we, the middle class Indians, can ever live without a maid ?

Well, quite possible…if the government wills. May be its time for the government to step in and regulate that unorganized market  and show a ray of hope to the poor and downtrodden by bringing in professionalism, accountability and most importantly security for the server and the served.

Food for thought ?

Image Credit: Ahron de LeeuwSimilar Posts:

• Driver Licence System In India–What Do I Want ?
• Driver License System In India – Let Experience Show You The Truth
• Is India Failing as a Civilized Society?
• Moral Policing In Modern India
• Foeticide in Liberated India?

• Let Us Celebrate “The Good Citizen’s” Day
• It’s All In The Mind

Firstly, do we need a book to know how to be happy? Happiness is a feeling which comes from within. It cannot come by reading books. No one else in the world knows us better than ourselves. Only ‘We’ know what makes us the happiest. For some it is the latest gadget while for some it’s the best jewelry. Some people even get happy when they get the food they like while some others find happiness in success. Some of us get a thrill out of creative effort while some of us find happiness in our family or friends. It’s totally up to us to realize what makes us happy. Some people can earn Rs10 a day and sleep happily while others earning 10,000 a day might not be happy. It’s just our state of mind.

One thing common among all the people on earth is Pursuit of happiness. Someone rightly said “What we want from life is continuous and genuine happiness”. We all have only one motto in life – to be HAPPY. Some want to be successful to be happy, some want to be rich to be happy while some want to be famous to be happy.

Since childhood, we have known happiness as a conditional feeling. For example, as a kid, if you got a new toy you were happy. Slowly it graduated to good marks, good job, good pay, nice family….. We learnt to get happy on conditions. If I buy a new car I will be happy. If I can buy a new house I will be happy. Most of the times we relate happiness with things that have not happened.

We human beings have this common habit of forgetting the joys and remembering the bad times. We never ever think of being happy with what we have. I don’t say that we should not pursue success, money, fame or love. I just want us to remember the reason why we want success, money, fame or love. We always see happiness as something that will happen tomorrow. We forget to experience it today. The desperation, need or anxiety to achieve the means of happiness does not let us find happiness around us. There is no secret for happiness which we do not know or which a book can tell us. Everything is within us. We should learn to look inward for happiness. Care for people around you, try to make someone happy, and try to enjoy the life you have. Be grateful for what ever you have and you will be happy. Don’t relate happiness with future. It is in your present.

If you are already happy, your attitude towards your goals changes. You are more confident in your approach. Be happy that you have friends and family to share your sorrows. Be happy that you have not been struck by a calamity or tragedy. Be happy that you have a good home to live in and good food to eat.

Let us start being happy with ourselves first and other things will come on their own. Happiness does not need any investment. It just needs a mindset that we are happy. Being satisfied and happy gives you the feeling of joy and bliss which I guess is the ultimate aim of our every action. Let us not forget to be happy in this pursuit of happiness.Similar Posts:

• The Life Of An Indian In UAE- A Practical View
• Show Daddy – How Goal Setting And Prioritisation Saves You Time
• Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
• Is Impatience Really A Virtue Now?
• A Choice Called Happiness

• Is Impatience Really A Virtue Now?
• Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

In 2 weeks, India has moved from cautious to infected. The numbers continue to grow on a daily basis. For a disease that is highly contagious and with symptoms that could be easily mistaken for common ailments, the danger is omnipresent for a nation like ours – rich in people, average in medicare and poor in awareness.

Thankfully, India has finally raised a travel advisory yesterday. They have also requested for infected nations to screen air passengers at the source rather than just at the destination. The media is trying to bring in awareness to the masses and doctors and hospitals immediately refering suspect cases to the Govt. medicare centers.

Despite all this, a suspect escaped from a hospital quarantine a couple of days back. Officials were seen desperately trying to track down fellow passengers from flights that brougnt in confirmed cases to the country. Govt. centers are trying to arrange for adequate stocks of Tamiflu and Relenza. All this as research is now showing that H1N1 can further mutate to resist these drugs and yet hoping for a vaccine in then next 3 months.

As science tries to find a solution, and research better ways to counter the threat, we must acknowledge that no one  is beyond this danger. Thankfully H1N1 is still treatable and many nations are already prepared to (hopefully) contain it.

Prevention is better than cure. If you are interested to know more about H1N1, visit the WHO pages for:
- All about H1N1 and latest updates
- What each of us need to know about reducing risk of infection
- How we can help our our communities fight this dread

Spread the word! Awareness is the need of the day.

Image Courtesty: WHOSimilar Posts:

• The Golden Bird of Education Has Flown
• Designer Babies-Going Against The Nature?
• Are Tax Evaders Patriots?
• Miracle On The Hudson,Lessons For India?
• Rajnomics-Hatred Is The “Agenda”

• Miracle On The Hudson,Lessons For India?
• Look At Our Laws!

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The cab came at the right time at 0530 hrs. Not used to such early rising, especially on a Sunday. Somehow, jumped out of the bed, dressed up and got ready. Is it drizzling?? No, wonderful !!! Some respite from the monsoon showers. One of our companions had a problem and missed the trip, later on regretted for missing it, but the team of ten was enough to have good fun on the trip.

Faces tensed up by constant work pressure, eased up and soon we were playing games in the cab. Antakshari with songs from Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam did rounds and I thought I was the only one who knew so many songs. After a nice breakfast we continued travelling. The place of our resort was confusing and we were seen searching for the place ending up everywhere else. At last we had to depend on a guide to take us to the resort.

He took us through a place what appeared to be a footpath. Great …good natural feeling. Then came a vehicle ahead of us and we were stuck. Finally we decided to walk. After walking for fifteen minutes, we reached our destination. It was an exotic place perfectly blend with the surroundings. Initially I thought I was inside a ‘Nalu Kettu’ (a four layered ancestral house in Kerala) but the sight of a “Reception” confirmed that it was a resort indeed.

Traditional mouthwatering mango shake was the welcome drink and soon we knew we are at the right place to unwind. The ladies were more interested in photo shoots while the gents were busy playing games. Few landed in the swimming pool. After spending some ‘quality’ time in the games area we moved for lunch. Lunch was perfect. Last time I had ‘Karimeen Polichathu’ (fried fish) was about 11 years ago. Old memories fired up. Heavy lunch with traditional Keralite dishes made us feel sleepy. The best part was yet to come.

Very soon we got off to our boat trip. The hot afternoon made us go to the roof top .The cold breeze took the heat away, in fact we longed for a drizzle. Wow! Here we saw Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala, alas no more. High wages and water logging has made farming non-profitable. Yet the determination in people to survive by dairy farming, small scale industries and fishing was very obvious.

We went through narrow stretches of water often crossing huge luxury boats. We saw boat stops akin to the bus stops. People were dependent on boating for all activities. Cars and bikes are foreign to them. A Church bell reminded me it was a Sunday. We took a halt in between. Tender coconut water acted as the coolant to the sumptuous lunch we had.

The return wasn’t all that exciting. We were thinking of our office duties the next day. Things eased as we stopped for a short break in between, at one of our colleague’s home for tea. The tiresome journey and the lunch made us decide against a dinner. By the time we reached home it was midnight. It was a day to remember, trying to recollect the days passed by.

Next day morning – Back to work!Similar Posts:

• The Marathon Men
• Drink Warm Water, Avoid Heart Attack
• Curd Rice-A Simple South Indian Delicacy
• Living Overseas
• Three simple tips to lead a healthy lifestyle

• The Fall From Grace!
• Idea Generation – Worthless If Not Implemented

The one speech I personally loved, albeit not attended live, was made by Mr. CV Narasimhan as part of introducing MS Subbulakshmi to the United Nations audience. It epitomized brevity, but stayed with me for a long time. It took me many years to relate to what it was about the message that stayed with me for that long. Eventually, it dawned upon me that it wasn’t the hidden message, because there was none! The simplicity in the message, the clarity of conveying the same, and the unpolluted mind that was speaking the thought was the magic bullet.

I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to address a group of graduating students. Though not in the scale of the cherished and prized names and faces, it was an opportunity for me to pick on what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it. For without that opportunity, the whole thought of how to convey a message that stays in people’s minds longer, wouldn’t have dawned upon me at all. People speak of preparations for a speech and holding the audience’s attention, etc – I have never had problems with any of it, and even humbly claim to have excelled in delivering technical and technology notes, but messaging a personal thought or addressing an audience with the goal of motivating them for their lives ahead was a different matter altogether.

It was the spring of 2006 and as circumstances would have it, I was requested to talk on stage to the graduating masters’ class of VTU (Visweswariah Technological University, the umbrella of engineering schools, in Karnataka – a province in Southern India). Half way through the preparation of the slides, I was left pondering – “these students have had the opportunity to attend some of the best schools in the province, and they aren’t looking for any more expertise there; neither am I qualified to make grand speeches of yore…so what do I talk about and more so, what do I want them to remember from today?”

Eventually, I spoke of the humble beginnings in my career, how people around me played a part in my growth and the importance of networking well, how I made the choice to join my employer from campus nearly a decade earlier, and more interestingly – how I made the transition from acquiring theoretical knowledge to applying them to practical experiences. In hindsight, that wasn’t the best message I could have delivered that day.

Instead, if I could just have gotten up on stage and uttered the two words that mattered to me in my career, and ones I try to live upon everyday, that would have possibly driven home my take on beginning a professional career in their chosen fields. It was well appreciated as I got to hear later, but the personal satisfaction wasn’t there – it was at the back of my mind, and sure enough, gained prominence when I became exposed to the graduation and commencement speeches this season.

CNBC, whose blogs I follow ardently, (thanks to the plethora of tools that make them stare in your face) had one article on the same lines. Instantly, it made an impact on me and I am indebted to the author for clarifying a nascent thought within me, that was seeking light of the day. In a country where graduation speeches are hounded by political and economic media – for economists or politicians are the chosen messiahs to deliver messages, more often than not – with the same fervor as paparazzi chasing the social news makers, there is no dearth of graduation messages at this time of the year.

Wonder if the prominent and noteworthy orators consider it worth their salt to take a leaf out of Churchill’s book, without of course quoting him!Similar Posts:

• A Deep Dive Into the Options Available for a Master’s Degree
• Planning to do MS or MTech? Here are some options
• Crossing The T’s and Dotting the I’s
• Lost And Found
• Learn The Difference Between Teaching And Lecturing

• The Great Speeches Of Modern India By Rudrangshu Mukherjee
• Crossing The T’s and Dotting the I’s