Cruising with Life

My friend's submission to Nikon D5100 Photo Competition

2011-06-02T16:19:00.001+05:30

Please vote for Shantanu Bhattacharya

Here comes the decider in World cup 2011

2011-03-31T14:43:00.004+05:30

Yesterday's match between India and Pakistan was a tough one, and quite an interesting one.As for the final, we have 2 subcontinental teams for the first time in the history of cricket world cup. They also share another interesting statistics- both have been to the finals twice, winning first time and losing second time.

India- 1983- won, 2003-lost
Sri Lanka-1996-won, 2007-lost (both times they played Aussies in the finals).
It would be a treat to watch Tendulkar and Gambhir take on Lasith Malinga,

Sehwag and Yuvraj V/S Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.
Another cracker of a match in the offing !

Chennai Beach Pictures

2010-11-25T18:18:00.000+05:30

Here are some pictures I took with a cellphone camera when I went to Chennai beach in October.

Hopefully you would like these pictures.

Stronger reason(s) to be or to become a vegetarian in the current age

2010-10-20T23:58:00.000+05:30

Hi friends, I wrote this for Mypage5, a site where I am quite active these days. I talk about my preference for being (and remaining ) a vegetarian and why I feel that people should remain so, and in fact, if possible adopt it. Till a long time, even upto early 20th century, our forefathers did not had many of the conveniences that science and technology has provided us. To be more specific, I would talk about Cold Storage, Bulk Transportation,extensive Roads and Rails and numerous Flights for cargo movement. These as well as refrigerator and Air conditioning has made it possible to store foods as well as fruits as well as vegetables all year around,and not just for a particular season. Our forefathers and ancestors lacked these facilities. Hence, they had to contend with whatever grew / or was available in their natural habitat, and as per different seasons. So, an Eskimo living near North Pole had to hunt for animals and so did a person living in higher Himalayas, say in Ladakh, Tibet or upper Alps. So, many people had no choice but to eat non-vegetarian food and had very little scope for vegetarian food. However, now even people living in such places have the option of having vegetarian food all the year. Yes, the freshness might be lesser, still they at least have the option. This makes the case for more and more people to go vegetarian, which has scientifically been proved to be more beneficial for health than non-vegetarian food. However, whether you or others actually adopt it depends a lot upon your own personal beliefs.

Iceland offers Gujarat Companies tie-ups in the field of Geo-Thermal Energy

2010-10-09T15:59:00.000+05:30

I read this in Hindu-Business Line: Mr. Gudmundur Eriksson, Ambassador of Iceland in India was at a meeting of Assocham-Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India regional office in Ahmedabad, and offered technological tie-up in the field of producing geo-Thermal energy. Iceland is among one of the world's (and probably the highest) leading producers and users of Geo-Thermal energy. This is a form of renewable energy, like water, solar and wind, and is produced by using the heat trapped inside the earth. As per Mr. Eriksson, producing Geo-Thermal energy incurs 1/3 rd of the cost of equivalent Solar energy and Iceland already has technological tie-ups with Abu Dhabi, Kenya and Sudan. I believe that if this tie up happens, it will be a great news not only for Gujrat but for India as a whole. There would be a boost for Energy generation as well as potential money spinner in the future, when India could as well export the acquired knowledge of generating Geo-Thermal energy. However, a lot depends on whether and how many tie-ups take place actually.

India's exciting one wicket win over Australia in Mohali test

2010-10-09T13:04:00.000+05:30

In an exciting finish in the first test match at Mohali, India beat Australia by 1 wicket. India had to make 216 to win, and at 1 stage India were 124 for 8. Then V.V.S.Laxman and Ishant Sharma had a superb partnership of 81 runs and took India to victory. Laxman remained unbeated on 73, and Ishant made 31. The place where I am currently staying does not subscribes to the sports channel showing this match, but I would surely love to watchthe highlights of this match.

What is this street's name ?

2010-10-02T17:37:00.000+05:30

This is another of my Chennai experiences. I had this experience on the street where I stayed at a guest house location till 30th September morning. The street on which I lived is called as "Neelkanda Mehta" street. However, on many homes as well as some other places, it is written as "Neelkanda Metha" street. I have asked other people too. However, I have not found a satisfactory answer.

My Chennai Diaries

2010-10-02T17:17:00.000+05:30

I have been in Chennai since 10th September. It had been very hectic for first 2 weeks. I did not get time even on weekends to explore anything.Finally here was a saturday in Chennai, when I did not had to go to the Office. I had a local tour here. Or may be a local journey. I took bus no. 500M from Chrompet to T.Nagar since I had to go to meet someone. It was an A.C bus and I got a seat within 10 minutes. It was a comfortable journey after that. An exciting thing was to be able to watch Chennai airport runway from a flyover near the Chennai airport. This airport is undergoing a major expansion. I also had a good walk in the afternoon, when I walked nearly 2 kilometres (or may be it was 3) from G.N.Chetty road to the Pondy Bazaar in T.Nagar. It was a bit humid during the return journey and the sun was also shining bright. Yet, overall it was a good experience. More in my next blog.

Massive waste of Foodgrains in India

2010-03-31T16:02:00.000+05:30

I read this article in Hindustan Times of 31 March today and I find it disgusting. It talks about Thousands of Tonnes of Wheat going waste and becoming food source for rodents and insects. In the picture, it is shown that 233,000 bags of wheat, 50 kg each, enough to feed lakhs of families is going waste in Fatehgarh Sahib, 40 Km west of Punjab and Haryana Capital Chandigarh alone. Total for all such sites and the total grain wastage is mind blowing. I simply do not understand why cannot government on its own, or by inviting private players get the required food storage facilities? What is preventing them? Another alternative could be to send people directly to the farmers to buy these food grains directly from them-although it could be impractical to implement. Still, something needs to be done urgently. What do you suggest ?

Reduced time gap between Movies' Theatre release and Television premieres

2010-02-22T00:26:00.002+05:30

It recently occured to me that in recent times, the gap between the dates when a movie is first released on Movie Theatres - multiplex or others, single screen halls and the date on which they are shown on television channels- like Zee Cinema, Star Plus, Sony, Set Max for Hindi movies, and HBO, Star Movies etc for English language movies has reduced. Earlier, we used to see that a movie being released in a year was shown on television- the next year, or may be 2 years after that. For e.g- I recall movies like DDLJ or Border being shown a good 2 years after their theatre release. However, now movies are sometimes shown just 4 months, or even 1.5 months after their theatre release. E.g - "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani" was released in Late October(or early November) and was shown on TV around New Year eve. Akshay Kumar-Sanjay Dutt starrer "Blue" was released in October and was shown on TV in December. It has been almost similar case with "Rann" and "Qurbaan". For "NewYork", the gap was of 4 months. What do you think could be the reason? Is it that now people see so many movies and are so busy that the films seem to get "older' very fast?

My Urban Transport Diary : Part II :Why should we ride Delhi Metro more?

2010-01-31T21:55:00.000+05:30

Another blog I wrote for Mypage5 recently: While riding along Delhi Metro, a thought came to my mind. Delhi Metro Corporation is making many new sections to places like Badarpur, Airport, Gurgaon etc. It has taken loans from Japan, as well as other sources. These routes are very very beneficial to the public, as they get faster alternatives to the current buses, autos options. Moreover, Metro trains cause less pollution, thus helping not only with pollution control, yet also helping in improving our health in a way. This makes it imperative for Delhi Metro Corporation (DMRC) to make more money out of its operations. This is where, we the public, can help. Whenever, we can take a ride on the Metro, we should do it. This does not mean that someone takes a flight or a taxi from somewhere to ride a Metro Train. Yet, when possible, we can take the Metro Train. This would help DMRC to fund its projects and in turn help us, the public. While it might sound bizzare, yet do give a thought to this .

Why we write online ?

2010-01-31T21:53:00.000+05:30

One of my Helium articles: In recent years, online writing, whether by freelancers, professional writers and authors, reporters, newspaper editors or just casual people has grown manifold. Every person has his or her own reason to go online, blog, write articles, or as called on Twitter.com; "tweet". Let us delve into the reasons as to why people write online: 1) Popularising one's published fiction or non-fiction work: Many authors write online to make their works- whether novels, short stories, poems more popular, reach out to a wider audience and hence earn more money. People also try to popularise their non fictional work. 2) To be able to connect with their fans' expectations and responses : This is what Hollywood or Bollywood actors like Amitabh Bacchan, Aamir Khan etc do. They do write casually, yet they also like the comments that people post on their blogs. 3) To make extra money : Many people, including those who write on sites like Helium write to earn extra money, apart from their regular income by writing online articles. Some, in fact, might earn so much that they need not do any other job! However, such persons would be very less. 4)To enhance one's writing skills : An aspiring writer might use the web as a forum, where they write articles and based on how many people read them, or what kind of responses they get, use online writing or blogs to improve their writing skills like => Paragraph formation => Vocabulary => Use of verbs or adjectives etc Sites like Helium, Triond provide a great platform even for non-professional writers to enhance their writing skills and in a way earn more bucks online. 5) Casual writing / blogging : Many of us would belong to this category. They get excited about all the noise created by blogging or writing online articles and just start writing. They might even lose interest after some time. In fact, it happens many times. 6) Writing for a cause : People may use their popularity to write blogs or articles on sites and use they money they receive for charity purpose. In fact, on helium, one can donate their articles' earnings to charity. This way, online writing also contributes to a social cause. Apart from charity, people also write to raise awareness on many of the current social, economic and political issues. One might write on environmental issues, law and order problems, social strife etc. However, sometimes, some of these articles or blogs get into controversy if the topic is a debatable and hot topic.

My Urban Transport Diary : Part I : Delhi-Noida Metro Ride

2010-01-31T21:40:00.001+05:30

Hi All, Wish you a very good evening. I wrote this as a blog on Mypage5 site. Here it is : On 21 Jan 2010, I took my first ride on the Delhi to Noida route on Delhi Metro. The route to Noida had become active in Mid November 2009. However, after reading a few reports about trains getting stopped in between, too much rush and some cases of chaos, I was wary of taking a ride on the train. However, due to certain need, I decided to take a ride. It was not as bad as I expected. First, I went from Kashmere Gate Metro Station to Connaught Place (Rajiv Chowk) station via underground link. It was a new train coach from Bombardier company and the good thing is, there is a digital display at each train stop. Then, I changed at Rajiv Chowk station and took the train to Noida. It was a hassle free ride, nearly 25 minutes from Rajiv Chowk to Sector 18 Noida.

Problems in Interconnectivity between Delhi and neighbouring cities

2010-01-02T12:28:00.000+05:30

I also posted this on Mypage5 blog: I hope that this New Year has bought tons of happiness for you and your near and dear ones. While one might criticize me for being too much worrying kind of a person when it comes to traffic problems in and around Delhi, I cannot help it. One such issue is the inter-connectivity between NCR region cities- Delhi, Noida, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad. This refers to the timely availability of public transport like Metro Trains(in progress), buses, Autos as well as Taxis between these cities. These cities do have public buses as well as private buses running between them. However, the service varies from being reasonably good between Delhi and Noida, to fewer and less frequent buses between Delhi and Faridabad, or from Delhi to Ghaziabad(mostly private operators). This service is also not too good between Gurgaon and Delhi. Autos are also there but they charge too much for inter-city travels, say Rs.200/- when they should be asking Rs.100/- !! The situation becomes quite bad like in case of going from Faridabad to Noida, because one has to pass through Delhi in between. One hs to change at many places and unless one has a private vehicle, one is bound to have many problems and lots of commute time. Governments are taking steps to improve the situation, however, this is not happening fast enough. Then, there are certain political issues as well as non-cooperation between Governments that create problems. I hope that more citizens from each city come forward and pressurise the governments to resolve the issue. Will this actually happen depends a lot on us and me included !!

The "Secret" of Happiness ?

2009-12-04T12:56:00.001+05:30

One of my friend send this joke to me on my cellphone:

Whenever Rajesh used to go to a neighbourhood shop, his friend Deepak's home was in the way. He always used to hear laughing voices from their house.
One fine day, he met Deepak in a Mall.

Rajesh asked Deepak : " How come I always hear laughing voices from your house. What is the secret of your happiness?"
Deepak replied:
"My wife throws shoes or sandals when she is angry. If those shoes or sandals hit me, she laughs a lot. If they miss me, I am the one laughing! "

How did you find this one?

myLot User Profile

IT Projects: Billing and resourcing hassles

2009-11-24T23:15:00.002+05:30

This post is from my Helium article on Billing and Resourcing hassles in IT Projects.

Sometimes,I used to wonder as to why Projects in IT companies face a situation where two employees are doing the work equivalent to that of four for the company's client.This was the case even when that company had many people on "Bench".The term "Bench" is used for those employees who are employed by the company, yet not working for any Client or "Account".

Why is it so . Here is what I found out after discussing with some of my colleagues and some seniors :

1) The company says to the client : we would have 4 people billing for this Project A , 5 for Project B , 10 for Project C . 2) The client approves this . 3) A situation arises wherein some extra work comes in for Project A . However,Project C has 10 people,yet not that much work . Logically,one can just pick some people from Project C and put them on Project A .

However,they would first need to be trained by the existing people on Project A and then assigned to tasks . In order to accomplish this ,a full cycle of "Knowledge Transfer " exercise needs to be done. Naturally,the Company would want extra payment from the client for such an exercise as it requires technological as well as manpower costs.

However,the clients are normally hesitant to do so because of cost and budget constraints . The ongoing economic recession has added to the stress of the various clients-especially those in Real Estate,Banking,Finance and Insurance sectors. So,they refuse to provide extra funding to the company which is doing their work .

The end result is something which is not good for anyone,yet worst for the Employees . Now, those 4 employees working on Project A have to put in extra efforts,extra hours and their health too can suffer.

This might impact : 1) Quality of the work: a big loss for the client and the company, in terms of productivity loss. 2) Some extra leaves by Employees at the end of the Project: bad for the company. 3) Worse quality of life: Very very bad for the employees.

What could be the way out? I believe that the Company must be a bit flexible and should plan for resources and billing accordingly .The Company may keep some people trained on various Software Tools,Applications and Processes. These resources from a common pool may be inducted into Project work when required.

With Recession,this has been more difficult. Companies are not willing to invest in their Bench or Reserve Pool development. Still,the initial costs would be offset to a great extent by the benefits of the additional competency,skills and benefits that the common resource pool would bring in .

This way the billing Model in IT Projects would be enhanced to maximize Company's profits and growth.Also,this would take care of the billing and resourcing burden in long run as a result of a better policy for doing so .

Living in a big city:Why be egoistic ?

2009-10-26T14:38:00.002+05:30

Living in a big city has many advantages.We can buy good cars, can have good homes.We have a plenty of clothes ,electronics items and what not .We do have some things which are problematic like traffic, noise and many a times crime. Still, people do like to live there.Many even feel egoistic about it.I would like to term this as "Big City Ego" ! What is it? This is a word I did not read from anywhere, even though such a term might be existing.This is the feeling that many of my fellow urbanites have of feeling superior because they happen to live in; or born in a big city. They even make others feel inferior or worse, try to humiliate them.

I was born in New Delhi, bought up, educated and for major part of my career, worked here.Yet; it does not make me feel something extra special. It does not give me "license" to make others feel inferior or brag about myself.

Yet; there are some friends as well as relatives of mine who take extreme pride in being born or living in Delhi (specifically Delhi, not the NCR region).They feel that others are inferior to them . Now, this feeling is nothing specific to Delhites .I recall seeing a Hindi Movie "Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai" in which a College student of a Mumbai College, where the film's hero Abhishek Bacchan had gone to study, was ragging Abhishek Bacchan and asked him a question : From which "Village" are you?

Abhishek Bacchan replies : "I am not from a Village, but from city Varanasi ." (or was it Allahabad city? I don't exactly recall ).

To this, the other person said : "Every place outside Mumbai is a village ! ".

This kind of an attitude might also be prevalent in countries other than India.In any case, such an attitude is condemnable.

Just because you are born, living or doing a job in a place with more facilities, money, job oppportunities and luxuries of life does not give you license to deplore others; or to mock them.

It is by god's will that things happened in our lives in way that made us live here.So, we must be humble and treat people living in smaller cities as well as Villages with respect and friendliness.
Aren't we all equal before god ?
What do you think ?

Deepavali Dates - A pattern ?

2009-10-26T14:00:00.002+05:30

Hi , I am writing a new blog post after quite some time. In between, I was writing on a few other sites. So, Here I am with a new post. I posted this on another site: Mypage5. Do tell me if you like this one :

I have a strong liking for seeing patterns in things,or with numbers.No,I am not a genius mathematician;even though my maths had been average to good in different mathematical topics.One pattern which I have been observing is with respect to the dates on which Hindu religion's major festival :"Deepavali" - the festival of lights (also called as 'Diwali" ) has been over past 9 years -starting from the year 2000. Now,this might be due to some well known astrological or astronomical cycle,which I am unaware of ;yet most of you know about.Still,I would like to share this with all of you :

1) In the years 2000,2003,2006 and 2009 , Deepavali was on or before 25 October. This year it has been the earliest as far as I recall-on 17th October !! .
2)Years 2001,2004 and 2007 (and probably the next year 2010),Deepavali was around 10th November (I think dates were like 11 November or 13 November) i.e a bit late .
3)Years 2002,2005 and 2008 ,the Deepavali was in between these two extremes .In 2005 and 2008 ,it was around 28 october,wheras it was a bit late in 2002-around 5 November.

Year 2002's pattern was a bit different. Otherwise,I observed that every 3 years,these dates follow a similar pattern. I.e the pattern in years 2000,2003,2006 and 2009 are the same and so is the case with 2001,2004 and 2007 and for 2002,2005 and 2008 .
So,my guess;without looking at any Religion calendar (or Vikrami calendar) is that next year 2010,the Deepavali would be around 10 November. May be I would be proved wrong;or may be you would disbelieve me. However,I have not consulted anyone on this and all these are my independent observations.
Any comments ?

Challenges before Asian countries in the year 2009

2009-02-06T12:12:00.005+05:30

Well; this is an Article I published on Helium - an Online forum for publishing your articles . This deals with the challenges the Asian countries face in this year 2009 . Here we go : Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area (or 29.9% of its land area) . It is also home to 60 % of World's population (approx 4 Billion) . Now, how would one define Asia ? If you are from UK you might call someone from South Asia - India,Bangladesh,Pakistan,Sri Lanka , Nepal or Bhutan as Asian . People in USA generally call Japanese ,Chinese and Korean as Asians . The people from middle-east or West Asia with Saudi Arabia,Kuwait,Israel ,Jordan etc are normally considered as separate in terms of their different History and Political scenario . The Central Asia covering former Soviet Unions such as Kazakhsthan , Turkmenistan etc are geographically in Asia .Yet ;these are considered closer to Europe due to integration of erstwile Soviet Union. One may perceive that issues , developments as well as challenges before an Asian country such as China would have little link with other countries except for its neighbours . However;in an increasing global world things are different .Foremost would be the economic linkages . With USA in the midst of a severe economic downturn (in fact a recession) , China is suffering with lower exports and massive job losses. This has grave implications for investments in other Asian countries ranging from Pakistan to Western Asian countries . Chinese government ,though has risen to the occasion with a big Financial Stimulus of $586 Billion . Hopefully;this would help not only China but also the countries in which it is a big investor as well as importer of goods .

=> East Asian Countries
Japan and South Korea have problems similar to those of China and USA . Japan is perhaps worse off in terms of economic downturn . The Japanese bank has acted with measures which would hopefully yield good dividends .

=> Challenges of Terrorism and War dangers The countries of India and Pakistan are going through a very turbulent phase in their relationship . There was a danger of war between the two countries after the 26th November attack on Major Buildings in Mumbai,India . Things seemed to have cooled a bit due to diplomatic efforts by India , USA as well as UK . However ;terror strikes are one of the biggest threat to all the South Asian countries ;including Sri Lanka which is still seeing fighting between Army and LTTE . India and Pakistan having Nuclear Weapons increases the risks all the more. Any wrong move on the part of any of these could have far reaching consequences. The Israel - Palestine Issue and the recent Gaza Strip Offensive by Israel is proving to be a major painful issue . It would need a strong Political will by both Palestinian and Israeli Governments . Hopefully,USA under Barrack Obama would aid in a peaceful resolution . Terrorism is also impacting China which has seen Armed struggle in one of its North-West provinces as well as Indonesia .

=> Economic Slump
Economies across Asia are facing major slump . Property prices are getting down from Tokyo to Dubia and Shanghai to Mumbai . Spendings on Automobiles , New Houses as well as Consumer Durables is down . However ;this is also an opportunity for Asian countries to increase trade in Agriculture , Processed Foods and other things among themselves to compensate for decresing demand in Western countries . Moreover;Governments of India ,China , UAE etc have been introducing measures to stimulate economic growth and spending in these days of economic gloom and reduced consumer confidence .

=> Impact of Environmental Changes
Gloabal Warming ,Environmental Pollution and resulting environmental changes affect many of Asian countries . India and Bangladesh had big floods in recent years . China had to adopt special Even-odd Days Traffic measures before Beijing Olympics to reduce the problem of Smog and Traffic Pollution . Euphrates and Tigris rivers in Iraq also face problems due to lack of Maintenance . Construction of major dams in China too have attracted their fair share of controversy .

=> Unresolved problems from the past
A number of people in Asian countries ;especially India , Bangladesh as well as small pockets in other countries still do not have adequate meals .Health facilities are severely lacking . Acess to potable water still remains a dream .

=> Summary
True ,Asia has made giant leaps over the last 60 years .India and China are 2 major growing countries - both in economic and Political Terms .Still;Asia has a long way to go . A Major thrust to Intra-Region Co-operation could be a major stimulus to combat the issues facing Asian countries .

=>Some statistics and facts were taken from 1) http://www.iht.com/articles/20 08/11/09/business/yuan.php 2) Wikipedia article on Asia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A sia 3) ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38 928

Evolution and Creationism - My Viewpoint

2008-12-31T12:16:00.005+05:30

Whenever someone mentions something related to Evolution ; or whether God created all Animals , Humans ;or whether it is all a play of evolutionary Process; I become very much engrossed. It is a topic in which I have a unique interest .

At a personal level,I favour the Theory of Evolution . True , the theory that God created everything does has its valid points . It also has many people supporting it .

Points that make the God's creation Theory (as such this is not the name of the Theory , but I call it like this ) :

1)Evolutionists say that Man evolved from Apes who in turm evolved from some Amphibian creatures ,who in tuirn were evolving from Reptiles or Fish and so on . yet ; who created the most basic Life Form ? It must have been God .

2)Who decided when Big Bang has to happen or why Earth only had to be habitable long enough ? True , Mars also has some signs of Life Supporting conditions , but no Life has been detected as such .

3)Why Man only developed brains big enough to control so much of Earth ? Why Not Chimpanzee, Gorillas etc ?

True , these points and more seem to be valid .

However;now I would write something on Theory of Evolution . Now, what I am going to write is my understanding of Evolutionary Process . There might be a few things I might miss .

Still; I would be able to cover sufficient number of things :

1)Studies have shown a number of similarity between Humans spread across continents , Their genetic make suggests that we all evolved from a common ancestor who descended from Apes.

2)Evolutionary traits develop over Thousands of Years . Our evolution from Ape like creatures to Man involved shedding of some organs ,structural changes in our Arms , Legs , size and shape of brain and muscles . Similar evolutionary patterns have been studied in Horses - who developed from Tiny creatures to the big ones we see today .

3)There had been some Human as well as other Animal species who got eliminated or become extinct as they could not survive factors beyond their control - such as sudden climate changes , massive Floods or Droughts or hostilities from enemies .

4)Studies have also proved that evolution also produces new species which have common traits from their parents as well as individual traits of their own . An example is the Domestic Fowl (or Hen and Rooster) of today's times which evolved from l Red and Grey Jungle Fowl . The Domestic Fowl has characteristics from both its ancestors as well as its own independent characteristics .

To summarize, I do not oppose anyone who is opposed to the Theory of Evolution . However; I believe that the Theory of Evolution has a stronger validity vis-a-vis the theory that God created everything .

And last but not least , May God bless all of us : To Grow , increase our knowledge and gain more and more material and spiritual wealth .

Caste, Religion or Nation

2008-10-14T12:41:00.003+05:30

When I was in my School during 80's and 90's ;I used to hear a lot about "Unity in Diversity" , "Patriotism" etc . In schools, we were taught that Nation is above all - Caste,Religion, Region etc . The real life is a lot different . I agree that one should not be jingoistic and have too "Ideal" Patriotic feelings . Yet ; I see that people are bent upon playing down one another and hate so much If they interact with people of other Religion,caste , Region etc . There should be a better tolerance of each other . After all , we are all Humans and also we are Indians .

Jai Hind !

Back on Blogger !

2008-10-14T12:34:00.003+05:30

Well; I am back on Blogger . I had to be off for some time because of my Mother's untimely demise in late May . Afterwards,there have been added responsibilities for me in my Family as well as other complexities in life . All these kept me off . Also,I have been on a Critical Project in my Job and was involved quite heavily in that . There are a few days of reduced activity and this gets me back to Blogging . More in my next Blog .

Regards Peeush Trikha
New Delhi / Noida
14-10-2008 12:40 PM

Short and Long Term Planning

2008-04-18T12:06:00.010+05:30

Today ; I was thinking of planning something . The thought came to my mind : Should I plan it for a very Long time : 5 or 10 Years + ? Or should I think it only in terms of this year and next . All of us who believe in planning face this question now and then . So I would get a bit into Pros and Cons of both options :

Long term Option

Pros :

1) Helps us in taking Tough decisions that influence our overall spending Habits , Personality Traits .

2)Helps us plan better for Rainy days and keeping a buffer stock of Finances as well as Resources.

Cons :

1)Long Term Planning might make us in the habit of thinking too much. Also,we may tend to focus too much on future rather than on present .

2)What If conditions surrounding our decisions change beyond recognition . Say;we plan something assuming that Personal Computers would be around for 10 more years at least ;and some new thing comes up that eliminates PCs altogether !!

Short Term Planning :

Pros :

1)We worry less and take faster decisions . 2)Decisions can be better acclimatised to any rapidly changing scenarios . 3)Deciding conditions can be measured and understood by us faster.

Cons :

1)Short Term planning might make us to avoid taking hard options which might be beneficial in long run .

2)We might opt for too many knee-jerk solutions which might even harm us in longer term .

Which to use when is of course our choice. My say : Use as per the situation and your own line of thought .

My Nainital Journey

2008-02-14T16:37:00.014+05:30

On the night of 30th January ;I set out along with my wife on Honeymoon to the Nainital ;Hill Station of Uttarakhand, a North Indian state . It was quite cold in Delhi and expected to be colder in Nainital. Why I choose it then ? Probably ; I would have choosen some warmer place . But I like going to Hills and even stayed for some time in a few places in Himachal Pradesh . I am specially fond of the Signs marking how much a particular place is above Mean Sea level - say 1500 Metres above Sea level or 2200 Metres above Sea Level and so on . We boarded a Train to Kathgodam which is kind of gateway to many of the Kumaon and other Hill Stations . Even when we got out at Kathgodam,it was quite chilly . The interesting part was the presence of some Europeans (or may be Americans ) in the 2nd class A/C Compartment of the Train . I even commented to one telling him: "Quite an International presence ! " . Whether he liked my one-liner or not is another thing .Ha ha We then hired a Cabbie to Nainital . He talked a lot about commercialisation of Nainital and was quite too much interested in our Programme . When we reached Nainital it was 8:35 Morning of 31st January .

31 Jan 08
The Chevron Fairheavens Hotel Temperature display showed 5 Degree Celsius at 8:40 in the Morning . We felt chilled to our bones. It was cold in Delhi too but this was much chillier. But we had enough woollens . The plus was that it felt much more fresher and less polluted. we had our rest and early Lunch that day . There were some problems as the snow of last Night had frozen water pipes and there was electricity problem. Still;the Hotel staff tried their best to make us comfortable . In the evening we had a walk down the Hill at the Mall Road . Not much to do as we were quite tired .

Day 2 :1 Feb 2008 It was still very cold .We had our breakfast and then set out to have a Tour of Taals (The lakes ) . Each lake with its story . We got a good guide who took us in an Alto Cab . The guide shared a lot of information with us . His knowledge of the area and its customs was quite superb . There was Garuda Taal-shaped like the Indian Mythological bird Garuda . Then the 7 Lakes Tour- Sattal - We had Boat ride for 3 Lakes. It was quite an experience. Another was Naukuchiyataal . It was the deepest one . But did not have Tourists (You see : We were there during Off-Season ) . So it was a very short stay . Next we stopped at a Temple en-route : Hanumangarhi . It had a very big statue of Lord Hanuman . Next was Bhimtal -It is the biggest of all -even bigger than Nainital . There is a Temple also around . As the evening was approaching ; the View of the Taal was quite superb. On the way ; we also bought Jams and Fruit Drinks from a Local Farm; the products of which are very good as per our Guide.

Day 3: Feb 2 2008 : It was quite cold during these days in Nainital . And we being from plains faced sub-zero conditions a bit too tough to handle . We were not in a mood to travel much on third day . However,we roamed around the Local Market and had a bit of shopping to do .

Day 4 : Feb 3 ,2008 : What a brilliant day . In early morning ; there were quite a number of weekend travellers and there was snowfall outside !! We were so overjoyed at our first in a lifetime experience of Snowfall. The Snow was so light ;like Small Cotton Pieces . But it melted to water once it felt on ground or on clothes. I tried a lot to capture it in my camera but I could get just some faint backdrop of Snow . There was a bit heavier snow after some time but not enough for Camera shoot. We had our breakfast and Lunch at Hotel. Then,in the evening;we headed for a Local Tour . First were some Natural Caves named as "Leopard caves" , "Monkey Caves" etc. Do not worry ; these were just names and no real things !! (Else they would have killed us ) We enjoyed those caves. At times; we had even to crawl beneath the cave . Next ; we went to a Road at quite some height (Near China Peak ) . There was so much snow around !! We played with snow balls and had a no of Pics . It was so exciting . The other things on the journey were not too impressive apart from a few spots from where we could have massive views of Nainital . By the time we returned we were quite tired but excited nevertheless. We also had a look at the Local Tibetan Market .

Below : Some Snow View Pictures

Day 5 : Feb 4,2008 We were still not over our last day's "Snowfall Exploits" . So , we were ringing up our parents and told them about our previous day exploits . We went to Lake,Local market and also the Local Naina Devi Temple . May be due to the influence of Snowfall; weather opened up and it was much warmer as compared to last few days .

Last Day : Day 6 : Feb 5 , 2008 We had a planned tour of Ranikhet the previous day .However ,we had to cancel that due to us getting too late on 4th . So we packed our bags ; and had the Ranikhet tour . We covered a number of temples, an Amusement Park ( a small one;not a High Techno Stuff) , there was a place from where we could see distant peaks ;including Nanda Devi Peak . The highlight was the Golf Course ; one of the highest in Asia . The minus was the highly shortened grass that looked almost Yellowish and not Lush green that we were expecting . We then travelled to Kathgodam from where we had our train to New Delhi . Not a sizzling or Mind-blowing Tour of Nainital ;still something to relish for times to come . More soon

That Poor Folk

2008-02-14T12:47:00.000+05:30

14 Feb 2008 New Delhi / Noida : While waiting for my private Cab Colleagues at ISBT Delhi today ; I saw this Man -around 25 years of Age . He was sleeping with a blanket on one of the Pillars supporting 1 of the Flyovers (probably a Construction worker.) I could see a sense of grief in his eyes. He woke up and I could see he was walking barefoot . How difficult is for such people - with just a blanket under an open sky in such a Cold Weather. At least this Man had a Blanket . Many poor people do not have even this . You would think that I could give a few blankets or do some charity work . But such a thing would only be localised . Can't there be a big revolution in our country to provide all such people with Houses / Shelters as well as more means to live ? May be I am getting idealist but then what I saw today provoked me into thoughts on this . More in my Next Blog Entry .

The "Cold " and "Hot" of Winters !

2007-12-23T23:04:00.000+05:30

So I am back . And guess what - another "Offbeat" Discussion - The "Cold" and "Hot" of Winters. The Cold is ok ; what is "Hot" ?? A genuine question indeed. But then , If the weather changes with a Day temperature rise of 5-6 Degrees and you start feeling irritable in woollens ;then this is it . And to trouble more , it starts getting so cold after 5-6 P.M . So imagine a guy with just a shirt on in the afternoon stuck somewhere and getting caught in the Evening Chill !! Is it the Effect of Climate change ? Well; not really ; but the Temperature differences were not so high If one sees 7 to 8 years back . By the way , Wish you all a Very Happy Christmas and a Happy New year 2008. And lots of Love and Care to a very special one !

Matters of Faith - "Being Religious"

2007-11-04T20:16:00.000+05:30

The other day someone was telling me that how people ;especially younger people do no longer frequent Temples or other places of worship and are "Less religious" . Then , there are the occasions when the Smart Priests ;many of them are now quite well adapted at using CellPhone to promote their work direct people to do some kind of Fasting or Prayers for the Planets-Venus, Mars,Saturn or the Stars : Sun , Moon etc .There they make a good amount too.Of course,it is their profession .Now,I too respect faith & not an Atheist .But I have a few questions : 1)Does one have to be a regular visitor to Temples/Mosques/Churches/Gurudwaras or the Religious places of other religions too often to prove that they are religious ?
2)If someone indulges in malpractices,corruption or even White Collar Crime and donates a large amount to Religious Institutions or conducts Big Pujas etc . , are they more religious than others ? Do think about it and If you like this one or like to add something do respond.
"Om Namah Shivay "

The Game is "National" Again .

2007-09-13T15:49:00.000+05:30

Wow !! Brilliant !! What a Movie is this !! After watching the latest bollywood flick "Chak De India" , anyone must have uttered such words . The movie has been directed brilliantly,the script was well planned and overall execution by almost all the characters was perfect. It was so refreshing to see Shahrukh Khan to act in a totally natural manner. The female leads were also good ;especially the captain . Even "Wagle" was good .(I keep on forgetting his real name -just remembering his name from one of the TV Soaps) . The most convincing part was that the way female leads are shown playing hockey was very authentic .It seems they have "really" put in a lot of effort in doing their act (s). The effect that this movie has on media, public and nonetheless on Indian Men and Women Hockey has been phenomenal . The way Men's hockey Team beat South Korea twice and 7-2 the second time was simply superb. The movie has been marked for a case study in one of the MBA Schools in Punjab and also in one of the courses in Madhya Pradesh. Even Pakistan Men's hockey team has found the film to be inspirational. India's new president has also watched this movie and praised it . What more I can say : I can just say that it has made the Game of Hockey as Truly "National" again ;and not just on paper !!

Addiction of New Age

2007-09-13T15:20:00.000+05:30

Yesterday was another "Normal" Day in the Office .What it means : nearly 7 hours or even more in front of my Office System : coding,Document Studying,Checking and replying to Official Mails . In the evening I had a conference call with people in USA .So instead of 7 to 8 Hours in thefront of Computer Systems,my exposure time increased by1 Hour . There was a bit delay in the call and by chance I opened a Site . I minimized the Site Link during the call. Ideally,I would have just logged off after the call end.But unknowingly, I opened the Site and spend another 15 Minutes there. It is now becoming a kind of habit with me to be on Net just that little bit extra here and there. Is this addiction .Yes , in some way but it is also not like the stories of students or even elders who spent a lot of time - even 40 + hours at a stretch playing games or surfing on the Net . Then, there are thoseSaturday Evenings when I initially planned to spend no more than 1 Hour on my PC; but went on spending more than 3 Hours . Sometimes I Think there might be a genie in these Computer Machines whichcast a spell on us and cast a spell on us . Is it the "Addiction of New Age " . Not sure as of now . This may need a scientific study one day । LOL!! More in my next post .

Wow what a weather !

2007-06-17T21:05:00.000+05:30

It s middle of june and after the scorching heat of last week sunday as well as for 7 to 8 days before that , it is such a marvellous feeling.True,people have had problems in commuting what with water -logging ( and to think that monsoons are yet to set in !! ) but the rains have cooled so much . I am really enjoying the moment and so are hundreds of people who frequent Central Park in C.P and India gate .

The “Safe” Money Limit

2007-06-16T20:52:00.000+05:30

As has been the cases with my “Blogs” , I am continuing with another offbeat topic . Most of us travel to our workplaces daily. Then, there are the vacation times or times when we go out of our city to visit our relatives or friends. We have our personal notions or estimates of the amount of money we normally keep on our work days. As for the days when we are traveling , we may have a different amount .The traveling amount would be again different for trips and Family visits . I have a term for this :

“Safe Money Limit”

Now how much is this “Safe” for each person ? A student traveling via public transport between home and School/College may be carrying just Rs. 100/- (excluding the pocket Money if they are getting. In Dollars , it might be $15 or in Pounds : ₤10 . Otherwise you can think the amount for your own currencies ) . An average working person ( is there really an Average working person ? ) might keep an extra buffer for emergency expenses . For him/her , the ‘safe’ limit might be Rs. 500/- or more .

Now,I know some people who think that since they carry an ATM/Debit Card , they need not carry too much cash. While it sounds logical , I prefer keeping a bit more cash. Who knows one might encounter an Out-Of-Order ATM Machine .

Carrying extra cash however may bring another kind of problem : Friends showing up to borrow more. Or one can face the threat of being robbed. But a robber may strike even if one has less cash also .

There are also persons with ‘Very Bulky’ purses even in a private Bus or Train .As years have passed by , I think how has my “Safe” Money Limit changed over the years . I used to feel safe even with a few bucks a few years back ; but no more.

One might need to buy extra things or hire an Auto-Rickshaw / Taxi(less likely) who charge exorbitantly . But many a times , it is more psychological than real-life needs .

What about travel needs ? Would extra cash be safer or should one carry a number of cards ? Here I think it has got to be individual discretion as to how much should they carry or how much Cash- to – Card balance they should have .

---- More thoughts in my Next Blog ---

Christmas Time

2006-12-24T19:03:00.000+05:30

It s Christmas Time - The scent of Festivities in the air and a lot of holidays also . And also the Time to get some inches added to the waistline . With lots of things to eat and Cakes etc. Even Non-Christians in India enjoy this Festival a lot . *********** HAPPY CHRISTMAS *********

Traffic ! Traffic !

2006-11-13T18:38:00.000+05:30

Swish Swish Swash - And another Bike moves past the car I am Driving . If it were any closer it would just have touched the car a bit . This is something that you would also have experienced many times and not only bikes but every kind of vehicle on Indian Roads ( South East Asian countries are not far behind but that I have not researched) . Some of my friends argue that I am new to car driving and that they don't find it maddening . But ponder for a moment . Everyone is a newcomer one or the other time. Apart from that think how dangerous it is when someone jumps a red light or drives at frightening speed. Just 1 mistake by someone and life is in peril. I feel it is time that we get into right driving manners and think about safe driving on Roads . 17 Sep 2007: After 8 odd months,things do not appear to improve much ;except for the fact that my Driving has improved considerably. "Road Safety" - well that is another thing altogether .

A Take on Vegetarianism

2006-11-07T13:15:00.000+05:30

: Blogging seems to have caught the fancy of many on the Net. And today I am a new joinee to the "Tribe" (if you don't mind that Term) of Bloggers. My First Topic is about something for which some people have a very Strong Feeling ;while some don't feel anything and some are quite casual about it . I am talking about the debate as to whether being a Vegetarian is better compared to being a Non-Vegetarian or vice-versa. A number of people say that in presence of abundance of Fruits and Vegetables and Leaves(like Coriander Leaves etc) used for Cooking ; we don't need to be a Non-Vegetarian . Opposed to it is a view that killing a few Animals and eating them may be good for "Food Chain" . One of my friends once said : "A Lot of Products in Markets are Adulterated . So it might be possible that Some of the Veggie Food available in the Market may already have Non-Veg Stuff in it ." But I see this as a desperate comment by a person who was fond of Chicken Soups and Mutton to show that he as a Non-Veggie was Superior. He might have been true to some extent but then if a person were to consume such an Adulterated Stuff ; he or she would do so in Ignorance and you can't blame them . Another one had an even more Laughable comment : "We provide Salvation to a Dead Animal by eating it . " My take is that eating Non-Veg is ok if done in limitation especially in Hot Climate countries of South Asia or in other hot countries. An Eskimo living in Greenland, a person in Cold Desert of Tibet or Mongolia or in other very Remote / Cold Areas are justified in having an almost "All Meat " diet because they cannot grow anything else. Even in England where I have been ; a lot of people eat a lot of Non-Veggie stuff inspite of the fact that they produce a Lot of Vegetables and Fruits . And there are people in India also who eat a lot of Meat ; even in 40 plus Temp Summers !! Then there is the debate as to whether some items fall in Non-Veggie or Veggie category : Egg and Fish are categorized as Veggie in many places . While it cannot be proved that Egg is 100% veggie ;I do relish my cakes and Pastries !
The debate can go on ; so I finally Summarize it as follows:
1: If a person has been Veggie or Non-Veggie due to Family Traditions and has been so for 40 to 50 years of his/her life ; they are most likely to remain so . 2: Climatic conditions play a very important role in a person's dietary habit . 3: A person may be totally unconcerned about this debate . 4: A switchover is always very difficult . Of course,this is unlike those New Scientific Studies that come up and all those Theoretical and Practical debates. Hope you would find it somewhat intersting and may be some comments will just fly in .