Musings In The Mist

Testing Times....

2011-11-29T20:22:00.006+05:30

Sometimes, just when you think things are really moving into the right direction, everything is falling in place etc. At the same time, in the background the process of everything going awfully awry has already started.

When you are at your peak comfort feeling with your life and feel super confident that you are on top of everything, life strikes you with an abrupt jerk. It’s like waking up someone from deep slumber by throwing a bucket full of scalding hot water on the face.

With it, everything turns over its heels. You are grounded with a huge thud. Everything that seemed to be nice now looks vicious. People for whom you cared for, helped and mentored become your worse foes.

Such is the mysterious way of God's workings. During these troubled times, you have very few sympathizers, even rare supporters and absolutely no one who you can trust to stand along with you. It is a time when you feel the entire world is conspiring against you.

Loss of confidence, irritation at small things, continuous brooding over what just happened, lack of tolerance are just a few things that happen to you.

More importantly, something curdles deep within you. The values you had embraced all along your life are deeply shaken up. You lose faith completely and feel that nothing will ever be able to repair the damage done to your psyche.

It is often said that when all the doors are closed, God quietly opens another door to lead you onto the right path. Is the same happening? How to identify that particular door?

Is this the time to quit? Or these are tasting times where one is supposed to stay calm, keep faith and prove one's mettle? Is it God's device to teach you how to become strong and brave such storms? Are these just temporary obstacles so that you understand and appreciate the value of the road you have travelled so far? Is it to make you understand the importance of the road ahead? Is it to steer your mind to think in some other direction which may have been overlooked?

Whatever that is - I am trying to convince myself that it’s just a phase, everything happens for good and no one can change your destiny except the Almighty. I am trying to take this lesson so that I can emerge stronger at the end of this phase.

Hope I will succeed. It is easier said than done so please wish me luck.

Remembering Jagjit

2011-10-14T09:59:00.001+05:30

The departure of Jagjit Singh has changed life forever.... I came up with few lines as remembrance to him... This is my first ever attempt at writing something which resembles as a poem. Please treat it with this consideration in mind...

Kis ke sahare ab jiyenge hum?
Kis ke sahare ab piyenge hum?

Sare ke sare utaar chadhaav
Saari khushiyan saare gham
Soacha hi nahin kabhi is tarah bhi tanaha honge hum

Khamosh hui aawaaj, band hui parwaaz
Choota aapka saath to soone hi pad gaye saaz

Kaise bataye ke dil ko aap pe kitna hai naaz
Ke utani hi jagah dil me khaali bhi hai aaj

Aap hi kahiye - Aab jiye to jiye kaise hum?
Ab piye to piye kaise hum?

DSK Developers Ad Jingle - IT Industry Parody

2009-09-15T22:01:00.004+05:30

This is next in the parody series. The original is a very catchy jingle for DSK Developers on FM radio and TV.

Chhan Chhan Solutions Banwatat Manasa....
Bhannat Growth Initiatives Kartaat Manasa....
Sarsakat Saglyanna Khechun Training Detaat Manasa...
Diwaswapnaat Ramtaat Manasa....
Jeva Bhetataat ---- Ugach Consultancy Denaari Manasa!!!

Aayushyawar Bolu Kahi - IT Parody

2009-09-15T20:33:00.004+05:30

This is an attempt to adopt a very beautiful and quite famous poem by Sandip Khare titled "Ayushyawar Bolu Kahi" (Let's talk something about life). I wrote the first three stanzas while the rest of it is contributed my colleagues - Shailesh Wagh, Sameer Katkar and Devendra Phadnis. The result of combined creativity of all four of us has come out nicely and expresses the usual mess that happens in any IT company and project. :) Some of it are real things for example our company is giving out Sleeveless Jackets this year as the Diwali gift. Enjoy! :)

Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi
Meeting hoti pan kunich uthale naahi
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Kay bolayache an kay karayache kaamach kahi naahi
Me ekata monitor kade nustach tak lawun paaahi
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Officemadhe gift mhanuni jakeet dile tyalahi nase baahi
Jakeet ghalun aalo tar kuni Sachin mhanati kuni Maahi
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Office madhe kamacha nusatach dikhava hoi
Tarihi Billing cha meter ek sarakha suruch raahi
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Ya project madhye kay karave kahich sudharat naahi
Tarihi ek sarakhe ka status magati hech samajat naahi
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Visa jahala tohi nusatach padun raahi
Ka paise waya ghalaviti umgat majasi naahi
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Manager saarkha pipeline daavit raahi
Visa date sampun jaai pan project yet naahi
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Changala project saarkha maalaach hulkaavani det rahi, an,
Maza visa juna zala tari shejaarchaach navin visa kaadhun Pardeshi jaai
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Recession gele arthavyawastha punha ubhari ghei
Monthendla tarihi vajaach sagali jama kahich nahi
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Hushar te waat wegali pakadun nighun gele
Thambata yethe telahi gele tupahi gele haati dhupatanehi naahi
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Varshabharapurvi rangawati je swanpanche vishwa
Atta “Windows” chya baher pahaychihi chaati nahi
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Ctrl+C ani Ctrl+V cha moha sodun lihile navin kaahi
Widambanachi maja original la naahi
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Ganjalelyaaa dokyaatun nighaale naaavinyaache phutaane .. !!!
Widamban nuste hasanech nahi tar aahe satya 16 aane .. !!!
Widambanaachi majaa original la naahi
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Widambanachi mahati mothi, jana kalel dusari baju
Bare wait janun ghenya nase dusara taraju
Widambanachi gammat nyari mhanun kavi lihit raahi
Chala dostaho aayushyavar bolu kahi

Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao!!!

2009-09-03T09:33:00.003+05:30

A chopper carrying Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajsekhara Reddy went missing while on its way to Chittoor from Hyderabad on Wednesday, September 2. Contact has not been established with the chopper since then. The area where the chopper was last seen is Nallamalla forest which is a very stronghold of Naxalites and also infested with Tigers (Real tigers not the Tamil Tigers) :)

The government has launched massive search and rescue operations. With every minute passing without any news of the chopper or its passengers, the rescue party is inflating with more sophisticated machinery being added. Till now it comprises of,

8 or more IAF, Army, Civilian choppers.
Sukhoi 30 fighter jets with night vision capability (read thermal signature sensing).
ISRO unmanned aerial vehicle which is low flying remote sensing plane to scan the area.
5000 CRPF and Army personnel for ground search.
Elite GrayHound anti-naxalite commandos of AP Police.
Choppers and other help from Indian Navy as needed.
Image sensing from Indian Satellites Cartosat-I and II.
AP govt had also sought help from US satellite real time imagery to scan the terrain but thankfully the central govt ruled it out.
A local tribe called "Chenchu" which knows the forest is also approached for help.

Have you ever visited a local police station across any town or city in India and happen to see how the police react to a complaint of Missing Person? I doubt they even send ONE wireless message to alert other police stations. In fact they would ask you to register the complaint in some other police station siting jurisdiction limits issues.

If the government can mobilize such huge force and machinery to trace one Chief Minister at such a short notice, cant it deploy the same machinery to weed out and Naxalite stronghold from this very jungle and area? The state and central government, Army, Air Force and Navy all appear to be coordinating very efficiently and smoothly since yesterday morning. Can they not show same coordination, team spirit, promptness while dealing with Anti-Terrorist or Anti-Naxalite operations? Instead, we see an ugly blame after every terror attack with every agency washing its hands off saying that either they did not have "Inputs" or if they had then they "passed it on" arguing that its someone else's job to act on them.

Such a huge search operation is never carried out when a police party goes missing in pursuit of Naxalites. Who cares, they are just constables and Sub Inspectors. They are not VVIP, are they? The gruesome killings of Police personnel by naxalites in makes headline for a day and then disappears as suddenly as the Royal Chopper of the CM.

Now, I DO NOT mean that the government should not have launched these search missions, but then it should ensure that at least 1% of efforts be made to search for normal (Non-VVIP) missing persons rather than according rude treatment and shooing away the complainants?

It can also show same alacrity, coordinated and high profile effort to stamp out the naxalites and other terror outfit operations from this country. The anti-naxal action has been severly crippled for decades due to non-cooperation between police forces and govts of different affected states. The Central Home Ministry had categorically declined to press the Army into anti-naxal operations though the Home Ministers since last 10 years have acknowledged naxalism as the biggest internal security threat for the country.

Afterall, the core ideaology of naxalism is based on the principle that a select few in the society get all the wealth, status and previliges whilethe poor-n-needy majority does not get anything, isnt it?

Obituary

2009-02-25T11:43:00.003+05:30

Noted Marathi stage actor Prof. Dr. Lakshman Deshpande passed away on the 24th of February 2009. He was 66 years old and is survived by his wife and two sons.
With his death, Marathi stage has suffered a huge loss. He was famous for his one act play "Varhad Nighalay London la" (Marriage Procession goes to London). The play is all about a marriage party from a village in Marathwada going to London to solemnize the marriage and the resultant comic situation. Dr. Deshpande used just 3 simple lights, couple of mikes while he enthralled the audience portraying 52 different characters of the marriage party. The show ran for more than 2900 times. His rendering of 52 characters and the success of the show earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records beating an American theatre artiste. The one act play was staged at USA, UK, Canada, UAE and Australia. The Hindi adaptation of this one act play had also become quite popular. Apart from this, he has directed more than 50 plays, presented “Natasamrat” in two-character format which also celebrated its silver jubilee. He also staged other plays such as “Bandhamukta”, “Ghar Tighanche Hawe” and “Buwa Tithe Baya”.
He was honored as the President of Marathi Natya Sammelan, Recipient of Vishnudas Bhave award among various other awards.
He was the head of dramatics department at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad. He was instrumental in cultivating talent of stage actors in Marathwada as he chose to stay back in Aurangabad against moving to Mumbai for more success. He demonstrated that if someone is good, they can earn success even staying away from Mumbai with his own example.
Personally for me – he was colleague of my parents, a family friend and teacher of my mother-in-law. His sudden demise has left us shocked and aggrieved.
May God rest his soul in peace and give strength to the family. Dr. Deshpande, we would really miss you.

Should Government Bail Out Satyam?

2009-01-13T21:17:00.002+05:30

Update: At the time of posting this blog, CNN-IBN broke the news that Govt of India is about to bail out Satyam Computers with Rs. 2000 Crores in three installments. Rs. 500 crores will be given to them each month for taking care of salaries and Rs. 400 crores as working capital injection. Govt is shying away to call it as a bail out, but in whatever terms they name it - - It remains a bail out.

Satyam Computer Services and other companies floated by B Ramalinga Raju family are in the news since December 2008; when the Satyam board 'unanimously' consented to acquire Maytas Properties and Maytas Infra at overstated valuations. What happened next is well documented by the Media.
The Net result is that the country's biggest corporate fraud; dubbed as India's own Enron; is threatening the credibility of Indian software outsourcing companies in particular and the Indian industry in general. The Government of India, SEBI and other regulatory and law enforcement bodies have swung into action to make sure that the beleaguered IT giant does not go under. There is too much at stake - the jobs of 53000 Satyam employees and their families, the ripple effect on other Indian IT companies that may result in more job losses, the fate of various infrastructure projects awarded to Maytas companies etc.
As a knee jerk reaction, the Commerce Minister Mr. Kamal Nath issued a statement that a government bail-out for Satyam is also being considered. But is it really prudent for the Govt of India to offer financial help to Satyam out of tax payer money?
I am totally against this idea of bailing out any organization which is going under due to acts of its own management or any other circumstances. One, it is against the principle of free trade. Second, it sets a very wrong and dangerous precedent of diverting government exchequer to sort out the mess created by few individuals with their acts of mismanagement and frauds. In plain terms, it sends out a clear signal to fraudsters that they can siphon off huge sums with a guarantee that Government will pay for them. The government cannot simply insure, indemnify and thereby encourage frauds and lack of corporate governance in organizations. This approach is totally illogical and unjustified be it in whichever part of the world.
Huge uproar was witnessed in the United States recently when the US Govt was mulling a huge bailout to the Banking and automobile sector. There was a deadlock in congress and senate and the original bail outs were actually rejected. Public dissent was also strong on the streets with a loud and clear message to the Bush Administration - Do not waste our money to help these behemoths who have gone broke due to their own greed and deeds. It is a different story that the Bush Administration could finally get the requisite support to approve the second version of that package. But, it should not be taken as guidance by other governments.
The money we pay in taxes is marked for running the day to day affairs of the country, building infrastructure, assuring health services, education, electricity and other basic needs for the entire population of our country. If we look at the state of all the above parameters, there is a dire need of allocation of more funds to be spent on improving all of these. The magnitude of population affected by lack of above facilities is way much bigger than the number of employees of Satyam and their family members. The funds have to be correctly channelized to these sectors to assure basic quality of life to the common masses. It is not only imprudent but also grossly criminal on the part of govt to pour this money into a mismanaged, fraud-stricken private company. Criminal - because the govt is in essence helping the criminals to get away with the siphoned off money or the inflated profit figures. This is as relevant today with Satyam as it was with UTI fiasco in 2001, Securities scam and Stamp paper scam.
Instead, the government should focus on ascertaining whether the Satyam books were simply inflated with non-existent cash or the cash was actually channeled to the Raju family. If the later is true then the govt's job is to ensure recovery of that money and awarding harsh punishment to the culprits. That would serve as a deterrent to the future fraudsters. A bail out will serve exactly the opposite purpose.
If we get into habit of 'helping' failing corporate bodies in the interest of saving a few jobs, then the question is how many more times are we going to do this? Shall we bail out failing cooperative banks, loss making airlines, recession hit export sector? If someone floats a sham company to collect money from general public and then does a vanishing act - is the govt going to create a real company with the same name and inject liquidity into it? The common man stands to lose two times - once by investing in these companies and twice to save his own investment by his own taxes!! This should never be allowed to happen.
As far as the 53000 families are concerned, the fact is that they were highly paid for so long as everyone else in the IT sector. They should be having enough money to sustain joblessness for at least a couple of months. If they sense they might be laid off, then they should immediately start looking for other jobs with openness to join tier-II or tier-III companies at lesser salaries. They can get into better jobs once the market recovers. I am equally concerned for them but I am also concerned about the huge jobless population of India. Do we lose our sleep every night thinking about them? Do we pay through our nose to bail them out, to create jobs for them? They are many times more in numbers than 53000.

Finally, the last and basic question is - Why should I pay for Mr. Raju's or any other individual/corporate misdeeds?

The Beach

2008-12-19T21:01:00.001+05:30

Its vast expanse lay there for miles. The sand on the surface was still warm from the enormous heat rained on it by the fiery summer sun all through the day. Ah, it was much hotter during the afternoon. It had a gradual slope descending into the ocean. It met the ocean and then there was water as long as one can see. The sea was roaring with the brute force of the high tide, trying to meet the moon high over the sky. It rose with hope and anticipation spreading its giant arms and fell in disappointment each time for the moon was unreachable. The saline water ran furiously over the sand battering it cruelly until the force waned and water receded back to the ocean like a crestfallen, defeated soldier. The ocean made another dash at the moon with one more giant paw rising high and came down with a deafening roar as if in self anger.

The moon shone brightly in the clear night sky watching the agony of the sea below. It smiled smugly feeling unashamed pride in its own ability to make the gigantic ocean rise and fall at its own will. This is the one sight it loved to watch every day. It shined a tad brighter illuminating the sky as a glow swept on its surface. Suddenly, a strange anguish spread through its mind as the light was not its own, a mere reflection of what it received from the fireball which had sunk on the horizon few hours earlier. "I may not own the light, but my touch makes it so beautiful", the moon thought knowing it was in vain. It continued shining but inwardly seething at its own failure to possess its own light.

The beach was aware of all this as it was watching this charade zillionth time since many long centuries. "They are at it again!” it grunted, "I take all the heat, my sand is tanned golden and these guys won’t even let me have some peaceful time even during night!" Yet, it felt so nice when the waves crashed onto its surface, a spent force. It was a witness to the pride and failure of the sea and the moon. Unknowingly, it yearned for another mammoth wave to rise towards the sky, yet another effort and yet another failure. "That’s how it will always be!” - It thought as it soaked into the fresh splash.

Hyderabad Hues

2007-05-11T18:44:00.001+05:30

I moved to Hyderabad about three years back. I spent a year here before moving to Seattle and now I am back to Hyderabad again.

Much has been said, written and picturised about the language and culture of Mumbai and Hyderabad. I am trying to bring out some unique specialities in Hyderabadi language and the culture in general. Though, I will not be able to bring out all the facets, these are just few things I noticed which make up the fabric of the city and have every potential to bring cheers to your faces. Enjoy!

1) Ho Gaya: In Hindi, this generally means that 'It is done' or 'It has happened'. But in Hyderabadi hindi, it is widely used to signify that something has finished. For example, coconut ho gaya means the stock of coconuts is finished, please inquire at some other shop.

2) Sai, Satya Sai and Tirumala: On an average 8 of 10 shops will have one or more of these words as part of their names and 5 of 10 people will have it as part of their names.

3) Shrinivas (Shrinu): This name is so common that if you stand in a public place and call out by this name, you will not be able to count how many heads turned in response.

4) Sarrr: This is nothing but 'Sir'. Almost everyone on the street will address you as Sarr to show respect.

5) Ek Hi Rasta: This means 'follow the same road'. Whenever you ask for any directions you will be told to turn here and there and then 'Ek Hi Rasta Hai!'.

6) MLA Pesarettu and Chiranjivi Dosa: These are names of two delicacies. While I do not know why the Pesarettu is called as MLA Pesarettu, the Chirinjivi dosa has a story of its own. It is said that superstar Chiranjivi was once suffering from a long illness. During those days, he used to visit his favorite restaurant everyday and order a dosa. That particular restaurant named their dosa in remembrance of those days.

7) Biryani: Nothing about Hyderabad will be complete without the mention of Biryani. Hyderabad boasts of various outlets serving truly delicious Biryani and you will be surprised to see the quantity as well. Some very popular places are Paradise, Bawarchi, Hyderabad House etc.

8) Hou: Whats this? This is the simple 'Yes' or 'Haan'!!

9) Sweets: Hyderabad is home to innumerable mouth watering sweets. My favorites are Paper Sweet (Pootarekulu), Kubhani ka Meetha, khaja etc.

10) Tollywood: It is mandatory for every Hyderabadi to be crazy about telugu movies, actors, songs and everything else about tollywood. The quality, variety of subjects and technique is mostly comparable (in some cases surpassing) to bollywood.

If you have noticed some more things, please let me know. I am also thinking about what to add here and promise to post it some time later than delaying this post.

Me, Maneka and Dogs

2007-05-02T17:35:00.001+05:30

This Country is literally going to dogs!! Stray Dogs, I mean!!

I remember during my childhood, the municipal corporations had dog squads which used to regularly catch stray dogs and put them in confinement. Parents taught me to always have my pet tied in a neckband so that the municipal folks dont catch it. That was then.

Now, the municipal corporations have been kept on a tight leash and chained so that they dont get to lay their cruel and wicked hands on the most important citizen of free India - the stray dogs!!

As an obvious result, the number of stray dogs have increased phenominally in our cities. It has snowballed into a major issue with rising number of incidences of stray dog attacks on the cruel species called human.

I spent three years in the city of Mumbai. There were as many as 20 stray dogs on the small lane that led to my room. Cruel people returning late from work were always at the mercy of these best friends of humans. Moreover, my room was at the ground floor of the house and the meeting place of these dogs was just there besides it. They used to discuss their issues in very loud barks throughout the night. I used to call it as the office of the All Kalina Dogs Association! Naturally, I had developed a certain degree of insomnia while tuning in to these nightly meetings.

Then I shifted my base to Hyderabad. Here, the story is almost the same. During past two months -

1) A 7 month cruel human baby was mauled by stray dogs. The cruel parents of the baby were asked to run from one hospital to another in the city during the course of which the baby died.
2) Stray dogs attacked many girl students of a women's college on the day of their exams. The girls were believed to have provided food regularly to these strays.
3) Dogs went on a rampage in a society and had bitten a lot of people.

As is the norm nowadays in modern India, the matters reached the court. The AP High Court ordered the civic bodies to take all possible steps to curb the menace of these good dogs and ordered the government to provide relief to all the affected cruel humans.

A meeting of all the stakeholders was then called by the AP govt bodies to discuss the issue and find possible solutions. Our cherished animal rights activist and former union minister, Ms. Maneka Gandhi was also invited along with earstwhile actress, Ms. Amala Akkineni who runs the NGO called Blue Cross. During the meeting, Ms. Gandhi and Ms. Akkineni blasted the civic body officials for their alleged role in staging the encounters of the good old stray dogs!!

Off late, I have turned an ardent fan of Ms. Gandhi and an avid hater of the abominably cruel human species. I staunchly believe that come what may, at any cost, we need to protect the animals. We may have to sacrifice a few of our own species while serving the great cause of animal welfare. This belief is as strong as a dog's loyalty to his master.

So, I decided to be very kind towards all animal species and not just dogs. After all, dogs are not the only animals that get such horrific treatment from humans!!

Since then, my lifestyle has seen a sea change. I am thoroughly enjoying this newfound life devoted in the service of animals.

First thing, I have stopped throwing stones at dogs to ward off their attacks. If they bite on my left leg I will put forward the right leg with a smile on my face. After all, that is the true Gandhian philosophy, rite? Slowly, they will understand the importance of non-violence and stop biting people.

Second, I am of the opinion that dogs be allowed to have ration cards. That will give them more rights as legitimate citizens and solve the hunger problem. Once that is done, they will not bite for food at least.

Next, as a community, they should have voting rights. That way, there would be a large clout in policy making. This will also result in the humans respecting the Dog point of view!! The only negative impact being that the political circles will see more dogfights than there are today.

Media will also be very happy since they will get more 'bytes' from this new 'breed' of politicians.

No dog has ever known to have 'eaten' money. So, automatically corruption will be down immediately. Party changing will also be reduced since no Dog will indulge in Horse trading! No dog will encroach on other dog's constituency since they are known to mark their own area and live within it.

The First One

2007-04-16T13:39:00.001+05:30

This is the first ever attempt at blogging from my side. I had tried my hands with the pen before and a few people liked it too. The erstwhile writing succumbed to the everyday chores and routines of life and it seemed too difficult to rejuvenate it.

I am grateful to my friends for continuously and relentlessly pursuing me to start writing again. Finally, I have decided to give it a try again and see how it goes.

For starters, I am trying to get my old sarcastic humour worked up to blog on the current affairs around the world. The intent is to just create humour and not to hurt anyone. I hope you will enjoy my blogs.

Wish me luck and I will be back with more soon!