Showing posts with label india. Show all posts
Showing posts with label india. Show all posts
Win the battle, but lose the War
I was seeing the Men's doubles QF match between India and Switzerland in the 2008 Olympics. It was interesting to see the Indians face the serves from Fedex and trying to match him. One thing was obvious - the confidence in the game of Fedex could be seen in the grace in how he played the game. His humbleness in the game was also visible. Especially when the Indian duo trying to show off with pumping hands into the air after fighting hard to get a point. The duo were concerned only about that point - Should they not have concentrated to win the war? I suppose their visiblity was only to win the battle and not see anything beyond that.
Calculate your consumption
First, it was BSNL and now it was BESCOM - I always have issues when it comes to billing with public utilities.
I recently shifted from one rented place to another. The previous one was huge but still I got a monthly electricity bill of around Rs.500/-. This new place is just over half of my earlier place - hence I expected my electricity bills to hover around Rs.300/-.
The first month when I was here - landlord said that there was some issue in the sub-meter and he charged me a round amount of Rs.500/-.
The next month the bill came to around Rs.490/-. I was a bit suspicious but still couldn't find out why I was getting it. I searched the BESCOM site and came across this consumption calculator - this was handy - and a great tool. Inputting my usage here - on a very conservative estimate - the bill amount came around Rs.350/-.
But beware, the site is not accessible most of the time - probably BESCOM should see that the link is hosted on a very reliable server.
The next month bill came - and it was a whopping Rs.1040/ - Well this is NOT something I wanted. And sure there was some mistake in the sub-meter. I called the BESCOM linemen who said that the meter was fine. Then I had to get the local electrician to check out what was the issue. There were around 40 apartments in my whole building and this was newly constructed - and my submeter was connected for two houses and hence the huge bill - now after rectifying it, the bill amount is around Rs.300/-
I recently shifted from one rented place to another. The previous one was huge but still I got a monthly electricity bill of around Rs.500/-. This new place is just over half of my earlier place - hence I expected my electricity bills to hover around Rs.300/-.
The first month when I was here - landlord said that there was some issue in the sub-meter and he charged me a round amount of Rs.500/-.
The next month the bill came to around Rs.490/-. I was a bit suspicious but still couldn't find out why I was getting it. I searched the BESCOM site and came across this consumption calculator - this was handy - and a great tool. Inputting my usage here - on a very conservative estimate - the bill amount came around Rs.350/-.
But beware, the site is not accessible most of the time - probably BESCOM should see that the link is hosted on a very reliable server.
The next month bill came - and it was a whopping Rs.1040/ - Well this is NOT something I wanted. And sure there was some mistake in the sub-meter. I called the BESCOM linemen who said that the meter was fine. Then I had to get the local electrician to check out what was the issue. There were around 40 apartments in my whole building and this was newly constructed - and my submeter was connected for two houses and hence the huge bill - now after rectifying it, the bill amount is around Rs.300/-
Just a cakewalk ....
There comes the time of the year when you need to go through your bills to submit your IT returns. This is almost like a D-day for many when they had to gather all their annual accounts into the small form to say this is what I earned and this is what I lost and 'dear Government, here is the part I am paying you for all what you have provided me over the year and what you will provide me in the future'.
Last year I filed my returns through a CA who had come to my office. This year also, I was thinking about going through the same route. But for getting details from Form-16 and inputting them into the ITR form and with no major calculations from capital gains / others, I was a bit hesitant to pay 400 bucks for the simple filling up the form and another 100 bucks for filing the tax returns. Now, that I had to do the same for my wife, it becomes double. And I'm not certain if the guy was going to charge me more for two Form-16s from my employers over the last year.
So, DIY.
It hardly took me 30 mins to get the ITR forms filled out for me and my wife. But, I was expecting a big queue at the IT office for filing. But it was a cakewalk.
There were about 15 counters, in the Bangalore C R Building, for checking the PAN details and an additional one if you are from out of state. Then, according to the Salary Ward and Circle, there were ample counters with atleast two IT officials ready to get the forms, verify the important details and giv you back the acknowledgement form.
Wow, a simple task - finished everything in 5 mins. Bet, the CAs would be making a fortune in this period for an almost no-hassle-no-sweat-no-mind boggling job.
Last year I filed my returns through a CA who had come to my office. This year also, I was thinking about going through the same route. But for getting details from Form-16 and inputting them into the ITR form and with no major calculations from capital gains / others, I was a bit hesitant to pay 400 bucks for the simple filling up the form and another 100 bucks for filing the tax returns. Now, that I had to do the same for my wife, it becomes double. And I'm not certain if the guy was going to charge me more for two Form-16s from my employers over the last year.
So, DIY.
It hardly took me 30 mins to get the ITR forms filled out for me and my wife. But, I was expecting a big queue at the IT office for filing. But it was a cakewalk.
There were about 15 counters, in the Bangalore C R Building, for checking the PAN details and an additional one if you are from out of state. Then, according to the Salary Ward and Circle, there were ample counters with atleast two IT officials ready to get the forms, verify the important details and giv you back the acknowledgement form.
Wow, a simple task - finished everything in 5 mins. Bet, the CAs would be making a fortune in this period for an almost no-hassle-no-sweat-no-mind boggling job.
Back to India ...
Finally, after a long wait, I watched 'Sivaji - The Boss'. First, I was happy that I need not spend more money to get a ticket in black. Second, I found the film to be a good entertainer. Inspite of being on the run for over a month, the moview was spinning money at the box office - a reality that I could see from the show which I attended - tickets had been booked very early and the show was full house.
Being a good entertainer, I liked the gist of the movie. Thalaivar returns from US after a long time, working there as a Software architect. His only thoughts - to put all his hard earned money to good use. But, resistance from well settled dons and 'industrialists' peak up when someone new enters the arena. - and thus goes the movie.
Hats off to the director, Shankar, for bringing in the thought of NRIs returning back to India and making India actually grow. - But apart from this, he had failed in his department. I wish, that many people atleast take this message from the film and invest for a better India.
As the Prez hopes, that India will become a developed nation far earlier that 2020, I am certain that money invested in proper circles by returning NRIs will certainly pull that target more earlier.
Being a good entertainer, I liked the gist of the movie. Thalaivar returns from US after a long time, working there as a Software architect. His only thoughts - to put all his hard earned money to good use. But, resistance from well settled dons and 'industrialists' peak up when someone new enters the arena. - and thus goes the movie.
Hats off to the director, Shankar, for bringing in the thought of NRIs returning back to India and making India actually grow. - But apart from this, he had failed in his department. I wish, that many people atleast take this message from the film and invest for a better India.
As the Prez hopes, that India will become a developed nation far earlier that 2020, I am certain that money invested in proper circles by returning NRIs will certainly pull that target more earlier.
Shocking bill
Oops!!!
It was a huge shock for me when my monthly BSNL phone+broadband bill came. Each month for my Home-500 dataone connection, I usually get around Rs. 750/- as bill, which includes an unused landline rent. But this month it had shot up four fold. Ok, now rather than calling up the customer service and giving them tirades, I wanted to see if I could reason out if the bill was right or not.
A few assumptions that I made had been wrong in my internet usage. I was thinking that I would be charged only for my download bandwidth - but the bsnl website states that the monthly cap is a cumulative of both upload and download traffic. Next, I was assuming that the free time starts from 12 midnight through till 8 am the next morning, but unfortunately, it starts only at 2am in the morning and extends the next six hours.
I went to the 'check usage' in dataone website and then tried to pull out the records related to my usage over the last month. I was able to get the traffic details over all the month with respect to each chunk of my contiguous online time. Seeing the records, I was able to atleast convince myself that the bill was indeed true. Atleast, thanks to BSNL for providing this cross checking facility.
It was a huge shock for me when my monthly BSNL phone+broadband bill came. Each month for my Home-500 dataone connection, I usually get around Rs. 750/- as bill, which includes an unused landline rent. But this month it had shot up four fold. Ok, now rather than calling up the customer service and giving them tirades, I wanted to see if I could reason out if the bill was right or not.
A few assumptions that I made had been wrong in my internet usage. I was thinking that I would be charged only for my download bandwidth - but the bsnl website states that the monthly cap is a cumulative of both upload and download traffic. Next, I was assuming that the free time starts from 12 midnight through till 8 am the next morning, but unfortunately, it starts only at 2am in the morning and extends the next six hours.
I went to the 'check usage' in dataone website and then tried to pull out the records related to my usage over the last month. I was able to get the traffic details over all the month with respect to each chunk of my contiguous online time. Seeing the records, I was able to atleast convince myself that the bill was indeed true. Atleast, thanks to BSNL for providing this cross checking facility.
Citizen No.1
Citizen No.1 is on for a change at India. When five years ago, when there was a change of guard for the post, there was an easy consensus on who would occupy the huge 350+ rooms. The choice was very optimal - a technocrat who put India onto the nuclear map - Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
Dr. APJ was a choice that no one would refute or oppose - a person who had no black mark, a person who had a great education, a person who would glorify the post of Citizen No. 1, etc, etc. A person who well deserved the post, or rather a post which deserved a person like Dr. APJ. Even after being, welcomed to the post and appointed as the President of India, he added more feathers to the post - amazing speeches, still a very accessible President, etc. A few things that are outstanding during his tenure are the opposition to the OoP bill, the speech at the EU, visit to the Siachen , etc.
Now, out of the billion others in the country, there goes the call for the new occupant of the house. With so many able people out there and a person who had glorified the house and the post, now comes a person comes who has not been in known political circles for long. Along with it she brings a lot of allegations. Now, does a country like India need a person with allegations to take up the post? Can't some one start thinking about where we are going? Just because the current occupant of the house rejected the OoP bill and did not co-ordinate with the current ruling party, we have to throw the person out and get someone who would nod her head for the ruling party? Kids play! Someone please save India.
Dr. APJ was a choice that no one would refute or oppose - a person who had no black mark, a person who had a great education, a person who would glorify the post of Citizen No. 1, etc, etc. A person who well deserved the post, or rather a post which deserved a person like Dr. APJ. Even after being, welcomed to the post and appointed as the President of India, he added more feathers to the post - amazing speeches, still a very accessible President, etc. A few things that are outstanding during his tenure are the opposition to the OoP bill, the speech at the EU, visit to the Siachen , etc.
Now, out of the billion others in the country, there goes the call for the new occupant of the house. With so many able people out there and a person who had glorified the house and the post, now comes a person comes who has not been in known political circles for long. Along with it she brings a lot of allegations. Now, does a country like India need a person with allegations to take up the post? Can't some one start thinking about where we are going? Just because the current occupant of the house rejected the OoP bill and did not co-ordinate with the current ruling party, we have to throw the person out and get someone who would nod her head for the ruling party? Kids play! Someone please save India.
A different weekend...
Busy over the weekends still avoid me from contributing regularly to my blog.
A couple of weeks ago, it was a different weekend for from the normal cooking, TV and some odd professional work.
I had been to Parikrama to get introduced to what they do. First, they are a NGO working towards providing better education to children from the slums in India. I took a first had look at the working of one of their schools. They are far better than the lot of Government schools, where most of these kids could, if they can.
These kids have decent classroom facility and dedicated teachers who train them to come to better understanding of education and the society. From the personal interaction we had with the kids in their classrooms, I was amazed at the English fluency some of these kids had, their inquisitiveness to know things more, their confidence in communicating, etc.
It was different way of spending time and I hope that I might spend more time with these kids in the future.
To wind off the weekend, I also attended the Frames of Mind hosted by the Bangalore Photography club.
A couple of weeks ago, it was a different weekend for from the normal cooking, TV and some odd professional work.
I had been to Parikrama to get introduced to what they do. First, they are a NGO working towards providing better education to children from the slums in India. I took a first had look at the working of one of their schools. They are far better than the lot of Government schools, where most of these kids could, if they can.
These kids have decent classroom facility and dedicated teachers who train them to come to better understanding of education and the society. From the personal interaction we had with the kids in their classrooms, I was amazed at the English fluency some of these kids had, their inquisitiveness to know things more, their confidence in communicating, etc.
It was different way of spending time and I hope that I might spend more time with these kids in the future.
To wind off the weekend, I also attended the Frames of Mind hosted by the Bangalore Photography club.
Learning Lessons
Came across this link on the lessons of an MIT education.
A few of the lessons, especially Lesson 6, really made me think. Personally, I feel that I might have made a mistake. After completing my high school, I got a place in a very prestigious college but not in an engineering course - but an allied engineering course. But not being comfortable getting a degree in an allied engineering course, I switched to a very new college but an Engineering course. I'm still not very certain that this had been a definitive advantage/ disadvantage over the years. But like what Dr. Rota states, an education at a more competitive centre would certainly boost the confidence as well as would help us measure to a high performance. At times during my undergraduate course, I have felt that the faculty or the research level was not upto what the student needed at that time. But, well, you go into an institution in India - you have to come out of it - there is no easy way to transfer and move to be a better institution during the course of education.
Being at a well established educational institution gives a lot of opportunities to the students as well as the faculty. Being a centre of excellence, better performers congregate and this leads to higher levels of education, research and learning. Having more better minds, gives opportunity to explore more new fields, more intersecting/ overlapping arenas, etc. Better industry collaboration would be definitely on the cards.
Seeing this article, still makes me wonder how many of the institutions in India measure upto this level. IITs and IISc are a very few. But even at IITs I have been told that "Undergraduates are the products of IIT, Graduates the by-products and Ph.Ds the waste products" - I'm not trying to be critical - but how many great doctoral dissertations have we got from IITs? - how many break through technologies have we seen from students in research at IITs? - I still wonder if we have the numbers to compare with other well known institutions world wide.
Hope that India puts her best foot forward to tune up the level of education at the educational institutions so that one day, we would still be able to write an article on "Lessons from an Indian Education".
A few of the lessons, especially Lesson 6, really made me think. Personally, I feel that I might have made a mistake. After completing my high school, I got a place in a very prestigious college but not in an engineering course - but an allied engineering course. But not being comfortable getting a degree in an allied engineering course, I switched to a very new college but an Engineering course. I'm still not very certain that this had been a definitive advantage/ disadvantage over the years. But like what Dr. Rota states, an education at a more competitive centre would certainly boost the confidence as well as would help us measure to a high performance. At times during my undergraduate course, I have felt that the faculty or the research level was not upto what the student needed at that time. But, well, you go into an institution in India - you have to come out of it - there is no easy way to transfer and move to be a better institution during the course of education.
Being at a well established educational institution gives a lot of opportunities to the students as well as the faculty. Being a centre of excellence, better performers congregate and this leads to higher levels of education, research and learning. Having more better minds, gives opportunity to explore more new fields, more intersecting/ overlapping arenas, etc. Better industry collaboration would be definitely on the cards.
Seeing this article, still makes me wonder how many of the institutions in India measure upto this level. IITs and IISc are a very few. But even at IITs I have been told that "Undergraduates are the products of IIT, Graduates the by-products and Ph.Ds the waste products" - I'm not trying to be critical - but how many great doctoral dissertations have we got from IITs? - how many break through technologies have we seen from students in research at IITs? - I still wonder if we have the numbers to compare with other well known institutions world wide.
Hope that India puts her best foot forward to tune up the level of education at the educational institutions so that one day, we would still be able to write an article on "Lessons from an Indian Education".
What's it like to fall in love?
This nice C&H strip gives the details!!!
Nice thought that goes into the strip and when I read this, nothing but only Indian cinema come into thought. Only in Indian cinema - most of them - revolve around love and flirting. I think Bill could have got the idea from seeing a few Indian films!!!
I have always wondered why Indian movies can't come up with something other than the subject of love and flirting. Like, a comment that I heard - "Indian movies don't have anything but except for the lovers to go around trees singing and dancing" - Indian movies have their own special formula - hero saves girl from villain - fights villain - loves girl get married and live happily!!! - why don't we have movies that try to give more importance to reality. Many youth in India are blinded by the Indian films and their sense of dealing the love affairs. With a growing youth population, and the fact that India is credited with making a large number of movies every year, people from the tinsel world have to come forward, experiment with more better subjects and give more great films. Commercialisation is a fact that has to be cared of when making a film, but exploitation of the general public on a thought and idea that they are hinged to is very bad. Let us have some really worthy films from India!!!
Nice thought that goes into the strip and when I read this, nothing but only Indian cinema come into thought. Only in Indian cinema - most of them - revolve around love and flirting. I think Bill could have got the idea from seeing a few Indian films!!!
I have always wondered why Indian movies can't come up with something other than the subject of love and flirting. Like, a comment that I heard - "Indian movies don't have anything but except for the lovers to go around trees singing and dancing" - Indian movies have their own special formula - hero saves girl from villain - fights villain - loves girl get married and live happily!!! - why don't we have movies that try to give more importance to reality. Many youth in India are blinded by the Indian films and their sense of dealing the love affairs. With a growing youth population, and the fact that India is credited with making a large number of movies every year, people from the tinsel world have to come forward, experiment with more better subjects and give more great films. Commercialisation is a fact that has to be cared of when making a film, but exploitation of the general public on a thought and idea that they are hinged to is very bad. Let us have some really worthy films from India!!!
Applying Thought
After a hectic day of work, I got chance to peep over the hardcopy of the day's Times of India (Apr. 12, 2007). Fortunately, for a change, the paper added some extra info to my brain. It carried a mail from Azim Premji written to his employees. I'm not able to get a link for the same from the TOI site, but thanks to TOI for sharing the same. Managed to get the contents from their epaper ...a nice article, well written. Azim Premji once again demonstrates his leadership and communication skills on paper. A good read....
Applying thought, the Azim way
Over 60,000 Wiproites have received some powerful advice from their big boss, Azim Premji, chairman, Wipro Ltd. In an e-mail sent on April 9, the software czar shared his successes, setbacks and the lessons he learnt during his corporate journey. TOI brings you some excerpts from that as we believe Premji’s message can cut across multiple business domains to benefit millions of employees and employers, and not just Wiproites
Azim Premji
Dear Wiproite,
My own successes and setbacks along the way have taught me some lessons. I wish to share them with you and hope you will find them useful.
Lesson #1: Be careful to ask what you want. You may get it.
What this means is that do not ask too little either of yourself or the others around you. What you ask is what you get. When I look back at the time when I joined Wipro, I was 21. If you ask me whether I thought that Wipro would grow so by someday, the honest answer is that I did not. But neither did I think it would not. We constantly stretched ourselves to higher and higher targets. Sometimes, it seemed possible, sometimes fanciful and sometimes plain insane. But we never stopped raising limits. And we got a lot more than what we bargained for.
Lesson # 2: Respond, don’t react
Always be aware of your emotions and learn to manage them. There is a huge difference between people who react impulsively and those who can disengage themselves and then respond at will. By choosing to respond differently, we can prevent another person from controlling our behaviour. I remember a small story that illustrates this well. There was once a newspaper vendor who had a rude customer. Every morning, the customer would walk by, refuse to return the greeting, grab the paper off the shelf and throw the money at the vendor. The vendor would pick up the money, smile politely and say, Thank you, Sir. One day, the vendor’s assistant asked him, Why are you always so polite with him when he is so rude to you? Why don’t you throw the newspaper at him when he comes back tomorrow? The vendor smiled and replied, “He can’t help being rude and I can’t help being polite. Why should I let his rude behaviour dictate mine?’’
Lesson # 3: Intuitions are important for making decisions
It is important to realise that our intuition is a very important part of decision making. Many things are recorded by our subconscious. Use both sides of the brain. Even that is not enough. Some decisions need the use of the heart as well. When you use your mind and heart together, you may get a completely new and creative answer.
Lesson # 4: Learn to work in teams
The challenges ahead are so complex that no individual will be able to face them alone. While most of our education is focused in individual strength, teaming with others is equally important. You cannot fire a missile from a canoe. Unless you build a strong network of people with complimentary skills, you will be restricted by your own limitations. Globalisation has brought people of different origins, different upbringing and different cultures together. Ability to become an integral part of a cross-cultural team will be a must for your success.
Lesson #5: Never lose your zest and curiosity
All the available knowledge in the world is accelerating at a phenomenal rate. The whole world’s codified knowledge base (all documented information in library books and electronic files) doubled every 30 years in the early 20th century. By the 1970s, the world’s knowledge base doubled every seven years. Information researchers predict that by the year 2010, the world’s codified knowledge will double every 11 hours. Remaining on top of what you need to know will become one of the greatest challenges for you.
The natural zest and curiosity for learning is one of the greatest drivers for keeping updated on knowledge. A child’s curiosity is insatiable because every new object is a thing of wonder and mystery. The same zest is needed to keep learning new things. I personally spend at least 10 hours every week on reading. If I do not do that, I will find myself quickly outdated.
Lesson # 6: Put yourself first
This does not mean being selfish. Nor does it mean that you must become so full of yourself that that you become vain or arrogant.
It means developing your self-confidence. It means, developing an inner faith in yourself that is not shaken by external events. It requires perseverance. It shows up in the ability to rebound from a setback with double enthusiasm and energy. I came across a recent Harvard Business Review which describes this very effectively: No one can truly define success and failure for us. Only we can define that for ourselves. No one can take away our dignity unless we surrender it. No one can take away our hope and pride unless we relinquish them. No one can steal our creativity, imagination and skills unless we stop thinking. No one can stop us from rebounding unless we give up. And there is no way we can take care of others, unless we take care of ourselves.
Lesson # 7: Have a broader social vision
While there is every reason to be excited about the future, we must not forget that we will face many challenges as well. By 2015, we will have 829 million strong workforce. That will make India home to 18% of global working-age population. The key challenge is to transform that into a globally competitive work-force.
This will not be an easy task. Despite all the rapid economic expansion seen in recent years, job growth in India still trails the rise in workingage population. It is important that gains are spread across this spectrum, so that the divide between the employed and the under-employed, is minimised. Education is a crucial enabler that can make this growth as equitable as possible.
Lesson # 8: Play to win
Playing to win is not the same as playing dirty. It is not about winning all the time or winning at any cost. Playing to win is having the intensity to stretch to the maximum and bringing our best foot forward. Winning means focusing on the game. The score board tells you where you are going, but don’t concentrate too much on it. If you can focus on the ball, the scores will move by themselves. I recently came across this story that I thought I would share with you. A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen. He returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal-some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite and asked them to help themselves to coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, you were more concerned about comparing your cups but what you really wanted was coffee. Yet you spent all your time eying each other’s cups.
Now if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to contain life, but cannot really change the quality of life. Sometimes, by over concentrating on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee.”
I wish you all every success in your career and your life.
And more (unwanted) cricket
Cricket, Cricket, Cricket!!!
I'm still bewildered why India and Indians are so ridiculously and emotionally attached to the game. I am not a die-hard anti-cricket fan. But, with such an explicit showcase of politics and play in the game, why should we still watch and harbour cricket as THE GAME?
News had been flowing in saying that coach Greg Chappell had to be changed. - Well, if his term ends, so be it. But, by changing the coach will the game improve - of course not. It is not like American Soccer where coach calls the game while it is on. It is the eleven players of the team who make / break the game.
A few things that India can do to improve the quality of cricket .....
1. Team selection should be by performance - strictly.
2. Captain should be selected after the team is selected.
3. Out of every three matches recently played, if the player has not performed well in more than one game, remove him from the top 11.
4. If the team does not win, do not give compensation to the players.
5. Do not allow players to sign contracts with advertisers and other commercial interest business if the player is not part of the top eleven.
6. When touring overseas, allow only the players and not their family to go abroad.
7. Get a second eleven ready and keep shuffling the players if they do not perform. - Let us not worry about the experience of the top eleven - what did we achieve in this World cup with experienced players like sachin, sourav, dravid and kumble?
I'm still bewildered why India and Indians are so ridiculously and emotionally attached to the game. I am not a die-hard anti-cricket fan. But, with such an explicit showcase of politics and play in the game, why should we still watch and harbour cricket as THE GAME?
News had been flowing in saying that coach Greg Chappell had to be changed. - Well, if his term ends, so be it. But, by changing the coach will the game improve - of course not. It is not like American Soccer where coach calls the game while it is on. It is the eleven players of the team who make / break the game.
A few things that India can do to improve the quality of cricket .....
1. Team selection should be by performance - strictly.
2. Captain should be selected after the team is selected.
3. Out of every three matches recently played, if the player has not performed well in more than one game, remove him from the top 11.
4. If the team does not win, do not give compensation to the players.
5. Do not allow players to sign contracts with advertisers and other commercial interest business if the player is not part of the top eleven.
6. When touring overseas, allow only the players and not their family to go abroad.
7. Get a second eleven ready and keep shuffling the players if they do not perform. - Let us not worry about the experience of the top eleven - what did we achieve in this World cup with experienced players like sachin, sourav, dravid and kumble?
Better employee ...
After a long time, I met with a couple of my friends who had been my course/lab mates during my MS program(s). It was a nice time having a chat about many thoughts that traversed our mind. During the chat, one of my friends pointed towards why you should not employ many people in a project. I liked it very much. ....
1. Employees become productive.
2. Employees get to be more responsible.
3. Employees get to recognised and be given due importance.
4. Profit can be shared among lesser number of employees.
... Net, the employee turns to understand the importance of a project, does challenging things, learns more and is also being rewarded more.
I see this in contrast to many companies who tend to bloat their presence just by increasing the headcount. I hope these companies don't start off a race and contribute towards a Bubble 2.0!!!
1. Employees become productive.
2. Employees get to be more responsible.
3. Employees get to recognised and be given due importance.
4. Profit can be shared among lesser number of employees.
... Net, the employee turns to understand the importance of a project, does challenging things, learns more and is also being rewarded more.
I see this in contrast to many companies who tend to bloat their presence just by increasing the headcount. I hope these companies don't start off a race and contribute towards a Bubble 2.0!!!
Cricket is a religion
Over the past few days, the Indian news channels have shown their inability to analyse and do justification to their purpose of existence. It is understandable that the billions of people are anxious about the results of each and every world cup cricket match. But, does that mean that the other legitimate news have to take a step back?
All 24x7, the news channels are engaged only in talking about cricket. If want to hear the news in the morning / the evening, it is only cricket!!! Why do we want to give importance to something that is only a game - how much does it affect a commoner? Does the win / loss of a cricket match do anything to affect the daily lifestyle of the commoner? Most of us, Indians, are addicted to cricket - well, addictions is not bad - but addictions to the level that cricket is considered a religion, an emotional one is bad - after all, can we have hope on something as a religion when we see things like India losing to Bangladesh?
All the Indian news channels tend to concentrate all their prime broadcasting time on cricket. Why do we want to give importance to the game? - After all, who is the winner - it is BCCI and the cricket team. It is they who rake in all the money from advertisements and broadcasting and the cricketers who get houses from governments and sops for each and every part of their lifestyle. The Indian news channels have understood the weakness of the common Indian towards cricket and have started to exploit it. Why can't Indian news channels stop this exploitation and start doing proper journalism?
All 24x7, the news channels are engaged only in talking about cricket. If want to hear the news in the morning / the evening, it is only cricket!!! Why do we want to give importance to something that is only a game - how much does it affect a commoner? Does the win / loss of a cricket match do anything to affect the daily lifestyle of the commoner? Most of us, Indians, are addicted to cricket - well, addictions is not bad - but addictions to the level that cricket is considered a religion, an emotional one is bad - after all, can we have hope on something as a religion when we see things like India losing to Bangladesh?
All the Indian news channels tend to concentrate all their prime broadcasting time on cricket. Why do we want to give importance to the game? - After all, who is the winner - it is BCCI and the cricket team. It is they who rake in all the money from advertisements and broadcasting and the cricketers who get houses from governments and sops for each and every part of their lifestyle. The Indian news channels have understood the weakness of the common Indian towards cricket and have started to exploit it. Why can't Indian news channels stop this exploitation and start doing proper journalism?
Fair Treatment to all
Recently, I have started to have a feeling that KBC is having a tough time trying to find proper questions for their Fastest Finger First (FFF) round. As most of us know, this is the last elimination round, where in ten participants compete for the Hot Seat. One question is asked which has the four options to be arranged in some specific order.
I have two observations to make ... in one of the recent episodes asked the contestants to arrange the title of a popular Star TV's well known Indian serial. In another couple of episodes, the contestants were asked to arrange the options - the options were either ornaments/clothing in the order of how we wear it on our body.
In the first, I think the question is well below a level for the level of KBC. With such a popularity and the questions compilation team, even, consisting of the well known Siddartha Basu, I am starting to doubt why such an efficient team has come to this level.
With respect to the second question, I'm satisfied with the option - but the choices were only in Hindi. Given that English is the most common language spoken in India, and Hindi not being prevalent everywhere in India, I have the strong feeling that contestants should not be denied their fair chance because of linguistic issues.
A few suggestions that KBC could follow to get some nice questions for their FFF ....
1. Chronological events, age, lifetime - anything date wise, historical
2. Height, weight, etc. anything compared to numbers.
3. Anything related to placement, geographical.
4. Record related - like most numbers in a cricket match, etc.
Hope everyone gets a fair chance!!!
I have two observations to make ... in one of the recent episodes asked the contestants to arrange the title of a popular Star TV's well known Indian serial. In another couple of episodes, the contestants were asked to arrange the options - the options were either ornaments/clothing in the order of how we wear it on our body.
In the first, I think the question is well below a level for the level of KBC. With such a popularity and the questions compilation team, even, consisting of the well known Siddartha Basu, I am starting to doubt why such an efficient team has come to this level.
With respect to the second question, I'm satisfied with the option - but the choices were only in Hindi. Given that English is the most common language spoken in India, and Hindi not being prevalent everywhere in India, I have the strong feeling that contestants should not be denied their fair chance because of linguistic issues.
A few suggestions that KBC could follow to get some nice questions for their FFF ....
1. Chronological events, age, lifetime - anything date wise, historical
2. Height, weight, etc. anything compared to numbers.
3. Anything related to placement, geographical.
4. Record related - like most numbers in a cricket match, etc.
Hope everyone gets a fair chance!!!
Working from home
As I had been WFH in the morning, due to some personal errands, I decided to continue the same in the afternoon and avoided the huge rush of Bangalore traffic. I really appreciate the concept -as it gave me few great advantages ...
1. No tension due to traffic.
2. Time wasted on traffic is avoided.
3. Free from pollution.
4. Helps to calm the mind due to the above.
But obviously the disadvantage is that not much of face-to-face interaction. But if have forwarded your extension/ got a messenger to connect to your colleagues at work, you can almost have the communication link on.
Thinking of trying this option once every week to help me avoid the unwanted stress and time waste due to the nonsensical traffic.
Also, this saving of time, gave me an option to go through two nice articles ....
First, a short one by Steve jobs on opening up DRM. I liked the stats that he gave - and asking the "big four" to come up and open up the DRM model.
Second, was a Sunday morning conversation between the two Indian IT Titans - Premji and NRN - big minds, but humble ones that brought in a lot of unanswered questions into picture.
... Will try to pen up a couple of more articles on what I liked about the two readings in future entries ....
1. No tension due to traffic.
2. Time wasted on traffic is avoided.
3. Free from pollution.
4. Helps to calm the mind due to the above.
But obviously the disadvantage is that not much of face-to-face interaction. But if have forwarded your extension/ got a messenger to connect to your colleagues at work, you can almost have the communication link on.
Thinking of trying this option once every week to help me avoid the unwanted stress and time waste due to the nonsensical traffic.
Also, this saving of time, gave me an option to go through two nice articles ....
First, a short one by Steve jobs on opening up DRM. I liked the stats that he gave - and asking the "big four" to come up and open up the DRM model.
Second, was a Sunday morning conversation between the two Indian IT Titans - Premji and NRN - big minds, but humble ones that brought in a lot of unanswered questions into picture.
... Will try to pen up a couple of more articles on what I liked about the two readings in future entries ....
Devil's Advocate
Recently had a chance to see Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN conducting Devil's Advocate - I liked the concept of the program - questioning incumbent people about their acts vs. their responsibilities and duties. But the way the host behaved was really intimidating - should Indian press go to the extent of harassing the guest by cross-questioning to get the answers? - Do we need hosts who shut their mouth when they are attacked by the guest - do we need hosts who wrinkle their faces when they don't get a proper answer?
We don't want channels churning out their news and interpreting news according to them - say what is happening and show what is there - we don't want your views and your ideas -we want to see what happens in reality and we do not need interpretations. Do not try to change the
perception by binning the answers into your views. No ticker messages please!!! No comments on the screen please!!! Let us get an undivided opinion from the guest - you can have your opinions in another program / section.
If you want to cross question anyone, you are welcome - but why do you want to show unprofessional facial expressions and try to corner the guest on a question which does not have a large impact on the daily life of the people?
Mr. Thapar, a suggestion ... Thanks for the nice program - but try not be unprofessional - because a great host is one who tries to get the best out of the interview in a very prefessional and dignified manner - do not harass - but try to get answers in a more amicable way.
We don't want channels churning out their news and interpreting news according to them - say what is happening and show what is there - we don't want your views and your ideas -we want to see what happens in reality and we do not need interpretations. Do not try to change the
perception by binning the answers into your views. No ticker messages please!!! No comments on the screen please!!! Let us get an undivided opinion from the guest - you can have your opinions in another program / section.
If you want to cross question anyone, you are welcome - but why do you want to show unprofessional facial expressions and try to corner the guest on a question which does not have a large impact on the daily life of the people?
Mr. Thapar, a suggestion ... Thanks for the nice program - but try not be unprofessional - because a great host is one who tries to get the best out of the interview in a very prefessional and dignified manner - do not harass - but try to get answers in a more amicable way.
Toastmasters for Reporters
It was a peaceful day in Bangalore, due to the bandh called for opposing the final verdict on the Cauvery River water dispute - no traffic on the roads, cool breeze coming, bright unadulterated sunlight and a noise free day, virtually. I had to be indoors to avoid any encounter with any sort of disturbance. The only two activities that I had was to enhance the look of my blog and to turn into a couch potato.
On the three Indian news channels that I surfed through - NDTV, CNN IBN, Times NOW, most of the news were either about the bandh, the selection of the Indian Cricket team for the upcoming World Cup, the acquisition of Hutch telecom by Vodafone and finally, the buyout of Novelis by the Birla Group.
Irrespective of the news and the source, all the channels sucked. None of the reporters were fluent enough to express the news properly. All of the reporters had a plethora of filler words and this spoiled the spirit of the news. Second, the choice of words were only from a selection of a few words and were almost repetitive. I'm not certain if these reporters had taken the Journalism 101 class. The way to report a news depends on how you express it and how you present it.
This brings me to say that Indians are at a loss to keep seeing these reporters ain't any other choice, inspite of the huge overflowing population. Why don't some one start a Toastmasters for reporters? - This will bring out better reporters and also make seeing the news channels more effective and interesting.
Being a good reporter does not mean covering the news firsthand. It also has a lot more....
1. How you think and analyse the situation - your choice of words makes a large impact on how people perceive the news.
2. Lucid Presentation - clear thoughts, simple words that can express the situation ditto.
3. Body Language - being stoic while reporting does not add any value to the news. Being a good reporter who communicates through body gestures helps a lot to convey the news.
4. 'Thinking on the feet' - As reporters, it is necessary to think on a different line to present the news, so that the news is well received by the audience.
5. Fluent speech - Avoiding filler words while reporting adds more substance to the news - more effective words can fill the same time compared to that with filler words.
Dear Reporters, join Toastmasters to improve yourselves and make us feel that we see a great and good Indian News Channel!!!
On the three Indian news channels that I surfed through - NDTV, CNN IBN, Times NOW, most of the news were either about the bandh, the selection of the Indian Cricket team for the upcoming World Cup, the acquisition of Hutch telecom by Vodafone and finally, the buyout of Novelis by the Birla Group.
Irrespective of the news and the source, all the channels sucked. None of the reporters were fluent enough to express the news properly. All of the reporters had a plethora of filler words and this spoiled the spirit of the news. Second, the choice of words were only from a selection of a few words and were almost repetitive. I'm not certain if these reporters had taken the Journalism 101 class. The way to report a news depends on how you express it and how you present it.
This brings me to say that Indians are at a loss to keep seeing these reporters ain't any other choice, inspite of the huge overflowing population. Why don't some one start a Toastmasters for reporters? - This will bring out better reporters and also make seeing the news channels more effective and interesting.
Being a good reporter does not mean covering the news firsthand. It also has a lot more....
1. How you think and analyse the situation - your choice of words makes a large impact on how people perceive the news.
2. Lucid Presentation - clear thoughts, simple words that can express the situation ditto.
3. Body Language - being stoic while reporting does not add any value to the news. Being a good reporter who communicates through body gestures helps a lot to convey the news.
4. 'Thinking on the feet' - As reporters, it is necessary to think on a different line to present the news, so that the news is well received by the audience.
5. Fluent speech - Avoiding filler words while reporting adds more substance to the news - more effective words can fill the same time compared to that with filler words.
Dear Reporters, join Toastmasters to improve yourselves and make us feel that we see a great and good Indian News Channel!!!
Affordable Rights
Seems Moser Baer is coming out with a plethora of titles on Indian movies. This is great for two reasons - one the DVD / CD prices of the titles will be very cheap - in the range of 30-50 rupees. Second, at this price, we get the original one with the proper rights for the title. Way to go Moser Baer!!! - I think the company, can go a bit more in extending their presence online by publishing a catalog of available titles, under continuous update process.
If MB can come to this stage where they can give the titles with appropriate rights at this cheap prices, what were the others doing till now? Eating the customers' money? I'm not certain what deals MB made with the title owners, but if MB can bring the titles at this price, any one could. I hope there are lot of DVD/Cd burning companies who can negotiate the price with the title owners and look into bringing more titles in the future. This would certainly generate a lot of revenue, lot of sales of consumer electronics and will certainly bring down the piracy seen in India in the media sector.
Bringing the needs of customers to a stage where they are affordable without any hassles is a great way to capture the market. Hope I'll get a lot more movies in the future from MB and others who might venture into this.
If MB can come to this stage where they can give the titles with appropriate rights at this cheap prices, what were the others doing till now? Eating the customers' money? I'm not certain what deals MB made with the title owners, but if MB can bring the titles at this price, any one could. I hope there are lot of DVD/Cd burning companies who can negotiate the price with the title owners and look into bringing more titles in the future. This would certainly generate a lot of revenue, lot of sales of consumer electronics and will certainly bring down the piracy seen in India in the media sector.
Bringing the needs of customers to a stage where they are affordable without any hassles is a great way to capture the market. Hope I'll get a lot more movies in the future from MB and others who might venture into this.
Unfinished finished work
Daily, I travel through Residency and Richmond Roads in Bangalore. Traffic is at its gruelling pace - especially due to the infrastructure factors as well as the notorious driving of many drivers. Drivers are very proud to show their skills on the roads irrespective of who else is on either side of them on the road. Totally a very nasty civic sense on the roads adds to the already exisiting hurdles and obstacles faced by most of the commuters.
Recently, Residency Road, atleast from Cash Pharmacy to Bishop Cotton Girls School, has seen a sort of makeover on the infrastructure. A week or so ago, the road was inundated with potholes and if you are riding a vehicle, especially a two wheeler, you should know the 'interesting' spots on the road as the back of your palm. Now, the road came with a makeover in the sense that the road was laid with a layer of tarmac. No the problem is that the full width of the road is not fully covered with the new tarmac. Due to the this, about 50% of the road at the centre, seems to have a nice smooth finish, while the rest 25% on either side seem to have th old face.
Due to this unfinished 'finished' work, most of the drivers try to attack the center of the road and sometimes it can be seen that the center of the road is flooded with vehicles trying to outsmart the other, while the sides of hte center are almost free. Second, due the different patches on the road, at any one point, there is a sharp cut in the height - the central new tarmac road is atleast 6 inches high compared to the old one and when four wheelers go with either wheels on each of the patches, they seem to be tilted and the guy at the back seems to wonder if it is sort of a mordernised San Francisco Road to imply that Bangalore is also a Silicon Valley in terms of the road - but in a different sense - not the ups and downs over the length as in SF - but the ups and downs over the width of the road.
This makes me wonder if BDA is really concerned about the pathos the commuters face everyday - nobody seems to care about what the layman experiences - everyone is concerned about if their job is finished or not - I haven't yet seen anyone raising voice about BDA about this unfinished finished work.
Recently, Residency Road, atleast from Cash Pharmacy to Bishop Cotton Girls School, has seen a sort of makeover on the infrastructure. A week or so ago, the road was inundated with potholes and if you are riding a vehicle, especially a two wheeler, you should know the 'interesting' spots on the road as the back of your palm. Now, the road came with a makeover in the sense that the road was laid with a layer of tarmac. No the problem is that the full width of the road is not fully covered with the new tarmac. Due to the this, about 50% of the road at the centre, seems to have a nice smooth finish, while the rest 25% on either side seem to have th old face.
Due to this unfinished 'finished' work, most of the drivers try to attack the center of the road and sometimes it can be seen that the center of the road is flooded with vehicles trying to outsmart the other, while the sides of hte center are almost free. Second, due the different patches on the road, at any one point, there is a sharp cut in the height - the central new tarmac road is atleast 6 inches high compared to the old one and when four wheelers go with either wheels on each of the patches, they seem to be tilted and the guy at the back seems to wonder if it is sort of a mordernised San Francisco Road to imply that Bangalore is also a Silicon Valley in terms of the road - but in a different sense - not the ups and downs over the length as in SF - but the ups and downs over the width of the road.
This makes me wonder if BDA is really concerned about the pathos the commuters face everyday - nobody seems to care about what the layman experiences - everyone is concerned about if their job is finished or not - I haven't yet seen anyone raising voice about BDA about this unfinished finished work.
Endoscopy
Recently, I was at a hospital at Coimbatore for consultation on gastric disorders. The hospital is known for its specialization in Gastro and Endoscopic treatment.
There was a huge crowd of patients that day when I went for the consultation. Even at 9 am, I could see about 100 patients before me in queue. Most of the patients had come empty stomach to have an endoscopy done. But none of the hospital staff do seem to note the inconvenience they cause to the patients. Inspite of the patients' empty stomach, the patients are kept waiting even till noon to get the endoscopy done. I wonder why the hospitals accept so much of appointments and still cause inconvenience to the patients. This is not the only time I have come across this. Even in Chennai and Bangalore, I have experienced the same situation and also seen the public being put in discomfort.
On discussing this with the doctor, during my consultation, he noted the main issue being population. If population is the cause, why still give that as an excuse. I strongly believe that hospitals and doctors should have a heart for service rather than a business acumen. If that is the case, they can take the following steps for better service and treatment to patients....
1. Accept only a quota of appointments per consultation day.
2. For endoscopy related appointments, do the endoscopy and have the consultation later.
3. Finish the empty-stomach related observations (like endoscopy) before starting any appointments related to non-empty-stomach cases.
What I see now in India is the excess flow of money in every sector that the service indebted to the customer is no more seen as a service but as a business transaction. The major reason is that people have become lax with the attitude of most Indians - not responding on time and with proper answers - and second in India, if you give money, things happen - corruption is having a nice dance here.
Unless and until people become more demanding and understand the value for the money they spend, the service sectors will continue to exploit the non-knowledgeable public.
There was a huge crowd of patients that day when I went for the consultation. Even at 9 am, I could see about 100 patients before me in queue. Most of the patients had come empty stomach to have an endoscopy done. But none of the hospital staff do seem to note the inconvenience they cause to the patients. Inspite of the patients' empty stomach, the patients are kept waiting even till noon to get the endoscopy done. I wonder why the hospitals accept so much of appointments and still cause inconvenience to the patients. This is not the only time I have come across this. Even in Chennai and Bangalore, I have experienced the same situation and also seen the public being put in discomfort.
On discussing this with the doctor, during my consultation, he noted the main issue being population. If population is the cause, why still give that as an excuse. I strongly believe that hospitals and doctors should have a heart for service rather than a business acumen. If that is the case, they can take the following steps for better service and treatment to patients....
1. Accept only a quota of appointments per consultation day.
2. For endoscopy related appointments, do the endoscopy and have the consultation later.
3. Finish the empty-stomach related observations (like endoscopy) before starting any appointments related to non-empty-stomach cases.
What I see now in India is the excess flow of money in every sector that the service indebted to the customer is no more seen as a service but as a business transaction. The major reason is that people have become lax with the attitude of most Indians - not responding on time and with proper answers - and second in India, if you give money, things happen - corruption is having a nice dance here.
Unless and until people become more demanding and understand the value for the money they spend, the service sectors will continue to exploit the non-knowledgeable public.
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