Archive for the 'life' Category

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Random thoughts

Published on September 23, 2007 in life and people. 5 Comments

Technically tough

Amma is back and it is really nice to see her make coffee for me, clean the house which was in real mess (courtesy – Karthick Raghavan the great) and make delcious food. Two months ago, bought a 29 inch Samsung telly and opted for the Tata Sky DTH service. In the mid of last month, Sun network agreed to share their group of channels with Tata Sky DTH service. Jumped in and bought the south jumbo pack for 50 rupees extra since Amma cannot live without her favorite soaps (Kolangal, Abhirami etc in Sun TV). Last week, on my way to office, got a call from Amma and she wanted me to help her to watch the regional channels in the new TV. It took ten minutes for me to explain her how to use the TV and DTH set top box together and the nuances of changing channels using the two remote controls. That’s when it occurred to me that all the new gadgets are aimed at people who are technically strong or exclusively at the new generation. For a person like my Amma who has always seen cable TV with a single remote control, it’s kind of tough and takes a while before she understands it fully or at least she thinks so. When we contacted Tata Sky service desk, they said integrating TV controls with the set top box remote control is locked by default. Balaji confirmed that he has used this feature in the UK. How sick to deprive people of a better feature? What is the use of a good technology when it is not user friendly?

Happiness

Watched a movie in Sony PIX and here goes a quote on happiness which I thought of mentioning here.

‘If you are not happy when you are alone, you cannot be happy when you are in someone’s company’.

Partner search

One of my dear friends hinted that I am in need of a partner. I don’t know if I can find one right away. Because all these years, I have not cared about it or had not paid much attention to it. Amma ensured that she is not going to stop me from getting married to a person who I like. In that way, I am lucky. Even if I am unable to find one, she will find one for me thanks to all the matrimonial sites and contacts she has. But the point is, will I get a girl friend who I can share my life with for some years before she becomes my partner? That’s a difficult question to answer.

People who inspire me

Published on September 18, 2007 in life and people. 0 Comments

I met or meet a lot of people in my life and some of them have inspired or keep inspiring me. This is going to be a series of posts where in I am going to write about people who have inspired me. I am going to start off with characters at work and end up with characters at home.Watch out. you may be one of the characters I am going to write about.

At Work

Jagan a.k.a Jillu

Jagan a.k.a Jillu, as I call him is one of my good friends. I admire his silence and especially his anger. Can a person fight silently? Jagan is of that kind. He is one good fellow who feels that one has his rights and does not need to be submissive to anyone. He does not get provoked soon. He can make you laugh with his subtle jokes and at the same time he can make you cry with his toughest weapon silence. I have fought with him ‘n’ number of times but still we gel together well. It’s because we like each other.

Hey Jillu! I admire you for your silence and our little fights.

Magesh a.k.a Magesh Sir

One day I was talking to a colleague about Mr. Magesh a.k.a Magesh sir . He said, ‘Magesh is person who likes to learn all the things he sees. If he sees a man fixing a door, he will stop and watch him fixing. You go for a break and come back to see him fixing the door and the next day he will help others learn how to fix a door’.

Is there anyone who loves office? Is there anyone who spends his weekends at office and does not regret about working? Yes. Magesh sir is there for you. He is a techno savvy person with vast experience in IT which he does not carry them on his head and can mingle with people around him. Such a genuine helper and who thinks so fast on critical situations. Interact with him for a while and he will try to learn new things from you. He can be harsh and rude at times but the next minute you go and speak to him, he forgets them all and helps you again.

Magesh Sir! Thanks for all the help and a big salute. You inspire me to work hard and learn new things.

Sabareesan a.k.a Sabaree mama

Sabareesan a.k.a Sabaree mama is the senior person in our group at work. I can describe Sabaree in three little sentences.

‘Sabaree helped. Sabaree helps. Sabaree will keep on helping.’

One good thing to note is that he does not gain a rupee out of it. He is one of the best counseillors I have met. You can speak to him for hours about anything under the sun. The irony is that we differ on most of our perceptions of religion, God, life, poilitics and much more. But still we gel well together. I love the days where I and Sabaree had drives in bike with radio blaring out of our Nokia ear phones. We scared the hell out of others with our loud singing on the road. Lots of laughter when I think about it now. Sabaree is one person who is good at inter personnel skills and builds a rapport soon with anyone he meets.

Sabaree mama! Be yourself and you will achieve all the things in life.

Sajeesh a.k.a machi

Sajeesh a.k.a machi, as I call him is the most liveliest person I have met at office. If someone can make you laugh for hours together, it is Sajeesh. He is a dictionary of Tamil cinema. Tell him something happened or any instance, he will quote a joke or a scene from Tamil cinema. He does it with sheer enthusiasm that it catches you and makes you join the party. You smile whenever you spot him at work.

Machi! Happiness and smile are your assets. Don’t stop spreading them.

to be continued…

Hiatus

Published on August 6, 2007 in blog, Just for Jolly, life and pastime. 3 Comments

We miss your blog. What happened to you? Why are you not blogging regularly?

One fine morning, I received tonnes of such SMS and emails. I was slowly replying to them all. That is when my dad switched off the fans and reminded me that I have slept for twelve hours straight. Yet another weekend dream.

Pondering over a cup of filter coffee, I was curious to think what made me a irregular blogger or what made people to forget that I own a blog. Here it goes. And what is the purpose of my blogging.

a. No one reads my blog. My blog is a total failure. My blog does not interest anyone. I should not blog anymore.

b.Everyone is busy to have missed it and will start patronizing my blog once I start blogging again.

I always wanted to write diary or a record of my life’s happenings. Would it not be great to look over it again when I get old? I don’t want to fool anyone with such a answer. My intention of blogging started with Umesh and Balaji. I thought if Umesh and Balaji can blog, why not I? It’s kind of egotic. But that is how I started blogging. Through most my posts, I wanted to get attention or rather I tried to seek recognition. So, the whole purpose of my blog was recognition seeking. I don’t want to hide it or feel shy in saying it.

Is it right or wrong?

Some people blog for recognition seeking. Some blog for passing time. Some blog to vent their energy on the things they are passionate about. Which is right and which is wrong? This is again a relative thing and cannot be answered or rather judged. So, I have started blogging again.

What’s your purpose of blogging?

P.S.:- This post is just to break the hiatus and to show people that I do think over a cup of filter coffee and I do sleep for 12 hours straight on a weekend.

Less money More money

Published on July 8, 2007 in life, people and provoking Perceptions. 4 Comments

A friend of mine asked me. ” Can you think of a life without hefty pay packets (thanks to IT) , Weekend cinemas, vacations? ”

Me : ” I am not pro poor and at the same time I am not pro rich.

I am poor when I am really poor and I am rich when I am really rich.

I know to live like poor and I know to live like rich. “

All in all Azhaguraaja

Published on June 10, 2007 in Humor, Just for Jolly and life. 1 Comment

If you are a late night or early morning TV watcher, you might be familiar with shows where people sell gem stones, change names and marriage dates, sell medicines and tips for a robust sex life, rebuild houses etc with the only goal of bringing prosperity and happiness into people’s life. People trust them all because they need instant success in life without hardwork. Last week, was watching one of these shows and there was a conversation going on between the host ( a name or numerologist ) and a participant. (The original conversation was in Tamil)

Participant : You say that you can bring peace and prosperity into life by changing people’s names, is it possbile to change country names too to bring world peace?

Host : Absolutely, it is possible. Take the case of India and Pakistan. India is in 5 and pakistan is in 7. That’s the reason for the enemity between these two countries. If names are changed to match 5 and 6, everything will go smooth.

இதுக்கு தான் ஊருக்கொரு ஆல் இன் ஆல் அழகு ராஜா வேணும்…

Ithukku thaan oorukkoru All in all azhaguraaja venumgarathu…

Mustafa Mustafa

Published on May 28, 2007 in life and people. 5 Comments

March 2000, we were at the end of our school career and were ready to give our 12th board exams anytime. This, after a myriad cycle tests and revision exams. During my higher secondary, my two best buddies were Jagan and Anand. I got introduced to Thirumal through Anand and Jagan. The four of us were classmates. One fine day, after a revision exam, I and Anand went down to Annanagar where Thirumal was put up. Jagan did not accompany us for some good reason of his own.

Thirumal had a Tata Estate car at his home and that was the first time I saw such a big car so close. He said that starting the car and keeping it on idling for a few minutes was a part of his daily routine. Although he knew to ride it, he was not allowed as he did not have a license and the right age for obtaining the same. It was around 2 p.m. Anand and I joined Thirumal in performing the daily routine. With I and Anand around, Thirumal was excited much and we could see the sense of pride in his face. He felt pride in showing off that he knows to drive. Thirumal started the car and explained us the difference between ordinary steering and power steering et all .We were awed by his knowledge and induced him to move a few yards with the car. Thirumal could not resist the push of pride and moved the car a few yards in the cramped street of AnnaNagar. With the glee of school children, we started praising how good a driver he was and he should not stop it there. I suggested going to the petty shop AnnaNagar Roundtana (one of the busiest traffic signals in Chennai) and buying the Rs.10 book. Anand joined me and we planned it seriously. Thirumal was trying to make a right turn and he could not control the steering wheel. Bang! the next thing we could see was that we had rammed into a lamp post, with the post at the car bonnet. The three of us were out in no minutes. People started gathering around us and seeing us in school uniforms, everyone started their own lecture. That’s when I really sensed what is meant by fear. Million things ran in our minds. I feared of getting detained by the police, missing the twelfth grade exams. Thirumal feared of getting belted from family and did not know how to bear the expenses of the broken car. Anand had his own fears.

After a few minutes, we started crying on the road and there was one young fellow who offerred us help. He brought an auto-rickshaw and asked us to board it so that we can go to the Chennai corporation. Anand and I were reluctant and that is when the young chap told to Thirumal - ”Are these guys your friends? Do you now understand what friendship is? ” Thirumal was not in a position to think on those terms. I felt like someone slapping me hard at my face. The auto went away to the corporation office and we were left stranded on the road. After a few minutes, coming back to normal, we caught a bus and went our own houses. I felt feverish and was unable to sleep. Switched on the TV to find the situation song “Mustafa, Mustafa” from the movie Kadhal Desam was aired on some television channel. Could not tolerate it and switched off the TV.

Next day, we met Thirumal at school and he was casual and explained how it all went. He spoke as if nothing happened and said ok to our million excuses for not staying with him. I just could not imagine what a gem of a person he was. I took a oath that If I ever become someone’s friend, I will never leave them when they are in distress. I have succeeded in it till date. Days passed and it was time for us to bid farewell to each other and someone gave his slam book to me to write. It had a question, “What is friendship ?” to which I wrote ,

Friendship is to stay with the person though you know that hitting the lamp post with the car you drove will bring you troubles.

Whenever I see or hear the song Mustafa, this little episode runs as a flashback in my mind. I am still in touch with Anand and where is Thirumal? I am dedicating this post to you my friend.

Spanner number 10

Published on May 1, 2007 in Just for Jolly, life and people. 3 Comments

Once I and my friend had to push a bike, which refused to start, for a mile, to a mechanic. There is a phrase in Tamil slang which tells about the spanner number 10. It goes this way “pattham number spanner”. Mr.Mechanic commanded his sub-ordinate for the spanner number 10 and he used it to fix the issue in minutes. I and my friend, engineering graduates, were amazed to see how great the spanner number 10 was and were discussing how lecturers never gave us spanner number 10 and expected us to produce magic results in labs. We forgot the fact that it is the mechanic who used the spanner deftly to fix our issue. A few months later, we indulged in a conversation which led us to the magic spanner number ten. Here goes our beautiful conversation.

Me : Is it something special with the spanner number 10 or the mechanic?

My Friend : I think it is the spaner number 10. I have heard about the numbered spanners and how they fix problems et all. One can go ahead and do a thesis on the subject.

Me : Really? How interesting it will be. Long live the person who invented the spanners! May be we shall have a spanner number 10 for all our problems so that we can tweak them with a single twist. What you say?

My Friend : Yes! One day we may.

Thinking about this incident puts me in laughter and at the same time I am thinking about putting the spanner number 10 for our day today situations.

I wish I had a spanner number 10

to organise my time in a better way.

How about you?

P.S.:- I heard someone shouting loud for a spanner number 10. Turned back to see that my neighbour looking for the spanner number 10 to tighten my loosened screws. hehe!

CSC to acquire Covansys

Published on April 29, 2007 in life, management and people. 2 Comments

CSC based out of California is to acquire Covansys for $34.00 per share quotes the press release. Yet another acquisition and why am I writing about it?

The former is gonna be my new employer and the latter will become my old employer. As with every acquisition, lots of rumours are going around both in CSC and Covansys. One group of people speculate that there will be a huge job cut exercise. The other group of people are confident with the new employer and they expect a big growth in terms of both monetary and career gains.

Whatever, it is too early to comment on the acquisition. Will be enjoying the rumours till the complete transition takes place and see what is in it for the employee.