Should they be happy?

This is the last month in the XLRI campus for most of my seniors. There are two possible sets of people: Those who feel happy as they would be completing their MBA course and heading into the corporate world with fat pay cheques; Those who are sad as they would be leaving the place where they probably would have spent the best times of their lives. There is also a third set who do not know how to react and do not even realize they would be leaving the campus in a month and spend their last month too in the same way they have spent the previous 20 months. During the completion of my Engineering at Anna University, I was part of the third set. I did not realize that college life is coming to an end and once it did close, there was a sort of vacuum felt as I was not really prepared for it.

The situation is even more daisy considering the fact that the placements happen after the completion of term 6. There would be immense amount of anxiety for the seniors as to where they are headed and want that anxiety to get over as soon as possible. At the same time, the campus life would be over by that time.

Blessed are those who have landed in plum jobs and get to stay in campus with only memories to gather in the last month!

Muni : Money

Here is a local version of organized Word of Mouth publicity. I learn more strategy by going through videos in CNN-IBN Showbizz section than in a Michael Porter book!!

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/30972/you-a-muni-become-a-tamil-star.html

Back to Square One

Many posts in this blog
It was one event that ushered me to blog
You may browse more to see the tsunami
Its effect was short-lived
Now for sure it has no life
The only one I liked since junoon
Got into a tussle thanks to mongers
In this fateful gap I found a dream
Guided to another
Got to it, I am among the cream
Really in a role many dream
Though dormant for more than a year
I didnt change my first dream
Now I have to
I am not sad
I am not bad either
Let everyone be happy
I think focus without proximity
And Windows without Office are same
How should I react
To myself
I dont know, should ponder more
The first June to December out of home
I tend to remember if I try to forget
Should you sympathise
Should you be indifferent
I am clueless
Nothing was there
Nothing is there
Not all dreams come true
I need to dream more

Simmaaa.....Narasimmaaaaa

This is probably the most 'electrifying' moment in Tamil film industry. One that probably changed the destiny of many fans. The one which got the hero an MLA seat. One which is a pride for the electricity-rich Tamilnadu. A stern warning to Gaptun's enemies.....

Saurav Dada aa jao

My friend Vijaykrishna gives suggestions on how to make the current Indian team more interesting by bringing on Saurav Ganguly back.

He raises points like:

• If, perchance, India were to win a game (against the likes of Namibia, Surinam, Burkina Faso etc) .....
• Since the Indian team’s cricket isn’t worth watching, we could at least have some Chappell-Ganguly showdowns .....

Read the full post.

Hindi Vs Tamil (in 1960s)

Anna Durai and Co's rationale:
A staunch opposition to the 'imposition' of Hindi as a sole National language. The rationale for forcing Hindi to become a common language because was 'it is spoken by the majority'. Anna replied that the mere number should not count in such decisions: We have more number of rats than tigers, more number of crows than peacocks - so why should tiger and peacock be made as national symbols. He added "since English is already being taught in many schools in India, why not that be the 'common' national language? Why do the Tamils have to study English for communication with the world and Hindi for communication within India? Do we need a big door for the big dog and a small door for the small dog? I say, let the small dog use the big door too!". This was what Anna told in his 1962 address in the Parliament.

Other snippets: It is to be called 'Anti-Hindi Imposition Agitation' and not 'Anti-Hindi Agitation'. Rajaji, who supported the initial 'Hindi-common-language' principle in the late 1930s, later opposed it. Big names like Periyar, Annadurai, Rajaji, EVK Sampath - all were part of this movement. In 1950, Hindi was made the official language of India, pushing all other regional languages to a secondary status. This is the main starting point of the agitation - spearheaded by Dravidar Kazhagam and Periyar.

I had a discussion (read:argument) with one of my friends here in XLRI about the same. A discussion between him and me is as follows:

He:Look at countries like France, Germany, South Korea, Japan - the main reasons why they have developed is the common language in those places
Me: They would have achieved this development because of various other things. You can't attribute a particular event and a result just because the event is true with respect to the result. Language should not be seen just with the objective of development, language is part of the culture. It is part of the religion, it is ingrained in people's life.
He: China also developed for the same reason. We are quite similar to them
Me: I have read somewhere that there hell a lot of variations in Mandarin, hell a lot of difference in the Politics as a whole between the two countries, culture etc., so again a wrong comparison
He: If any French minister goes to a foreign country, he would address in French; same is true with a German/ENglish Leader; If an Indian leader goes abroad, there would not be any uniformity - some would address in English, some in Hindi, some in Tamil...
Me: That is the beauty of India. We have read all along, "Unity in diversity"
He: Your own leaders like Rajaji and EVR supported the Hindi establishment in Tamilnadu (He was wrong EVR Periyar did not support the Hindi establishment at any time)
Me: They appreciated the concept that people in India should know Hindi also - they saw the benefits. But I doubt whether they supported Hindi at the cost of Tamil which I guess was the proposition when they opposed.
He: Hindi is the national language. If Hindi is made compulsory in all parts of India, people from south can come to north and people from north can come to south.
Me: Hindi is the main language in 4-5 states: UP, MP, Bihar, Haryana - In most other places, it is spoken just because of the size. In each of the other places where Hindi is predominant, there is also a regional language pushed to the background like Marathi, Gujarathi etc.
He: You know Hindi is a progessive language? Tamil is not..
Me: What do you mean by progessive? Number of people or the growth in literature?
He: Both
Me: If you consider the literary wealth, Tamil IS progressive.
He: Even Gandhiji vouched for the benefits of a uniform language
Me: He wanted development all round the country and unity. He thought language would create that unity. If you see, the 4 south Indian states are probably the most wealthy ones along with Maharashtra and Punjab (again another two places where Hindi is not the language of the land), then the Hindi speaking people should learn the southie languages. In a democracy, nothing should be forced on people. If people feel the benefits, if people find the need, they themselves would learn the language. I feel, it is absolutely USELESS to learn Hindi for the sole purpose of communication. One would understand and speak better Hindi by watching TV/Movie and spending a year or two in Hindi mainland. An advantage that I could have had was, in Chennai had I had spoken-hindi fluency, I would have got a lot more pretty girl friends!! (Are Tamil girls less prettier than their North Indian counterparts --- another fresh argument should have come up but for the Business Law class)

For more detailed information on the topic, refer to the Chronology of Anti-Hindi Agitations

Madai thiranthu - a Tamil Rap

I got the link to this video from one of my friends in orkut. I thought it was some virus till I saw the domain name - youtube. I was really surprised to see an Ilayaraja song mixed well with rap (I dont know the differences between rock, pop and rap and I am arbitrarily using the terms). The lyrics, at places where I could decipher the words, is also interesting. Though copying is bad, copying well isn't - as long as it is not plagiarized.


Courtesy: YouTube

Thanks to Sivakumar, I got the lyrics for the same...
Yogi B Natchtiram "madai thriandhu" Rap Lyrics

makkalukku ne eduthu sollu

dam it's going to blow
thaavum nadhiyalai naan
baby u should know
koovum siru kuyil naan
isai kalaingan en aasaigaL aayiram
ninaithathu paliththadhu

dam it's going to blow
thaavum nadhiyalai naan
baby u should know
koovum siru kuyil naan
isai kalaingan en aasaigaL aayiram
ninaithathu paliththadhu

en urai thuvangu mun nalla ullangalukku nanri
nanri thaaye ~ nee idu~thangi thandhai neeyo ~sumaithangi
pasi kodumai nadai pathayil urakam
aasai kidathayil~kaaranam iraivanin irakam
ethanai emaatram anu dhinam avamaanam
edhaiyum thangum ullam thodarum isai payanam
tholaivu vaanam poda vendom natchatiram
thodarndhu poradum kaliganin manam

thotakal thulaikathu anu gundu thagarkkadhu
avamaanam en uyirey alikkadhu
adi karam en kanavai thadukkadhu
karuppina sol isai maidham kidakkatum
sethapin soli isai | selvanthan | pirakkattum
rekkai koondil viruppangal ini nigalum
brahmikavaikkum paatey ini thodarum
pudiya parimaana padai eduppom
natchathirangalin jananamathai mudivu eduppom

dam it's going to blow ----- (2)

angara thanduvom matmajothil~adaiyum neram
aay thiru mugam sen nirumbulee kondu garbam
andha sarasaram adangee alambel vaaai thalam.
sutham nilavaadhu adiga budiga natpu nelabey kolabey sedhapey badhbey sedhabey sumandhu thenna maram aaka naanga neeka
vidabey vidabey vidabey vidabey un karunai kalaivaaney
isai thaayey kalai arul thaa nee
ullai needhi indha rap paaatathil aaga mothatthil
pasuthoppol theeya puli anaindhavanukku unna
we lie vallavn manadhil aasai kottai katti pozhuludupokku avan ivan paathu vetti peychu
peychukku ennada peychu pasangala ippo ennada aachu vandha nasaikkal kai kodi serthadhu
varumo theriyadhu vallavanin maru pagudhi annaney pugal keetu padam vidum thodangumey idhu voru

netren arangile nizhalgaLin naadagam
indren yedhirile nijangaLin dharisanam
varungaalam vasantha kaalam
naaLum mangalam
varungaalam vasantha kaalam
naaLum mangalam
isaikkena isaikindra rasigargaL raajjiyam
yenake dhaan

Evanukkumey theiryadhu, onakku sonnal puriyadhu
now to take you back flashback when i was just little
My senti couple next to a corny temple.
i was a inga gundu paiya...enga appa appa chellam
ottagam maari ponom.ennai malai vandha vellum.
pudhiya palaiya ulagugal maara ..
angilamum tamilum kalacharangal modha
kandu pudichenada indha hip hop
andru mudhal inru varai market dont stop
market dont quit sodhanai vedhanai en kanner thudaikka appam thumbikkai en nambikkai
Kola lumpur ho....chennai london tamilan mc mudhalvan vallavan rap isai kalai vidhiin sambrathayam
madai thirandhu nadi alai puli ka pol nee thaavum


As an after-thought, I am including the video of the original song also. For the lyrics of the original song, scroll down...

Courtesy: YouTube

The lyrics of the original song:
madai thirandhu thaavum nadhiyalai naan
manam thirandhu koovum siru kuyil naan
isai kalaingan en aasaigaL aayiram
ninaithathu paliththadhu ho
Nanananna thananananna nananana

hey ho papappaaa (well sung by SPB)

kaalam kanindhadhu kadhavugaL thirandhadhu
gnanam viLaindhadhu nallisai pirandhadhu
pudhu raagam padaippadhaale naanum iraivane

pudhu raagam padaippadhaale naanum iraivane

viralilum kuralilum swarangalin naattiyam
amaithen naan

madai thirandhu thaavum nadhiyalai naan
manam thirandhu koovum siru kuyil naan
isai kalaingan en aasaigaL aayiram
ninaithathu paliththadhu ho

netren arangile nizhalgaLin naadagam
indren yedhirile nijangaLin dharisanam
varungaalam vasantha kaalam
naaLum mangalam

varungaalam vasantha kaalam
naaLum mangalam

isaikkena isaikindra rasigargaL raajjiyam
yenake dhaan

madai thirandhu thaavum nadhiyalai naan
manam thirandhu koovum siru kuyil naan
isai kalaingan en aasaigaL aayiram
ninaithathu paliththadhu ho

I would be happy to see more music videos like this....

Advertising at its best

No one makes the most of what they have like the Japanese. Not just in electronics and technology, but also in advertising. It's a known fact that Tokyo is one of the most (if not the most) populous city in the world with an extensive rail network. What best place can you capture the eye-balls of the people other than railway stations. Result: All the walls, floors, hand-rails etc. have become some form of billboards - but aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Recently Apple carried out an expensive campaign of having IPOD Nanos stuck on the walls (using some magnetic technique), letting the passers-by to have a look and feel of the product. In addition, they have pasted a Quick Response (QR) code sticker at the back, so that the tech-savvy people can have a look at the code of the Nano. The QR codes are used in all the advertisements to get more information about the advertiser and the advertised product than what is displayed in the actual advertisements.

Know more about Quick Response (QR) code. To see the entire article about the ad-campaigns happening in Japan, go to Pingmag. Wired News calls the same as Madvertising.

Online Ad Networks

With the phenomenal success of Google Adsense, the other players - both global and local - are slowly starting to enter the arena. Though many small ad networks existed/exist, none of them is as close to the excellent contextual ads provided by Google Adsense. Here's a list of some Indian ad networks who 'might' get some market share from Google. The biggies like MSN and Yahoo are already running their beta versions for US users. The day they open their full versions for the international subscribers, the scene would become more interesting. This time, unlike the email wars, we can cash-in on their competitive skirmishes.

1. AdsForIndians
2. Tyroo
3. Ozone Media
4. Sulekha
5. Media Estate
6. IndiAds

In the international arena, the one Ad service which I really admire is blogads, their ads really stand apart, it is like a decoration in one's blog. Unfortunately, it is only by invitation.

To have a look at the type of ads provided by blogads, visit this blog. This blog is an arbit selection after googling.

Catching catching catching

Probably one of the best....



Now the opposite....


How much happy was Tony Greig! He sounds happier than when yelling for Sanath Jaaysuriya's boundary or Sacheeen Tendulkaaar...

Times top 100 movies - One Indian Entry

Got to know yesterday that 'Nayagan' - the Maniratnam directed movie starring Kamal Hasan, is among the Top 100 Movies of All Time as rated by the Times Magazine. This page gives the complete list of the top 100 movies. I was ashamed/happy when I got this piece of information from a northie friend..Nayakan, as they see is the only Indian movie in the Times list!

Dreams

Two days back I had the opportunity to see 'Dreams' - a movie by Akira Kurosawa. I have heard about this director but have not seen any of his movies. There was a decent hype created about the movie on campus. I also started building expectations because of the director's reputation and friends' expectations.

After watching the movie for about 20 minutes ie., by the time of the 2nd dream (for the uninitiated, 'Dreams' is a collection of tales which were Akira Kurosawa's actual dreams - supposedly), I thought I was not intellectually qualified to appreciate this kind of a movie. My neighbour sitting to my left, left after the 1st dream, the one on my right left during the second. I started having my own dreams during the third, I slept!

People here were telling 'Dreams' must be good as it had a great iMDB rating of 7.6, I saw today morning: 'Nayakan' had 9.3, 'Hey ram' had 8.4 though with the total number of votes being around one-tenth of the number of votes for 'Dreams' - an accepted proposition given they are tamil movies.

Awesome Lyrics - Kadhal Oviyam

The following is the lyrics of the small (only in duration) song I have listened humpteen times in the last few days..I could visualize the scene of the song even though I have seen it only once or twice in my life - Ilayaraja is probably one among the few who can convey emotion through His music.

poojaikkaaga vaazhum poovai sooraiyaadal muraiyo
idhu yaar sadhiyo iraivan sabaiyil idhudhaan vidhiyo

ilangaatraith thaangaadha poovin jaadhi
idi veezhndhu sarugaadhal dhaanoa needhi
koavil enraal dheepam engae
dheepam illai needhaan engae
pongudhu manam idhu ragasiya ranam
kangalil gunam idhu unadharppanam
ponnezhir chilai idhu envasam ilai iru kangalil raaththiri vaedhanai
iruvizhi ilaiyenum oru kurai idhuvarai
idhayaththil irundhadhu illaiyae
vizhigalil ulaviya olimagal pirindhadhum
unmaiyil en vizhi illaiyae
kanavu varumboadhu avalin mughadheepam
piriya mudiyaadhu poomugam ninaivinil

I had thought the lyrist for this one is Vairamuthu. I was wrong. It is Panchu Arunachalam

Kannagi Silai - symbol of chastity?

Yet another typical instance of "Whatever you did, I will undo. Whatever you undid, I will do". But this "kannagi statue" issue prompted a discussion with my family friend yesterday. There is no denying the DMK-ADMK spat and I am neither a ADMK supporter nor a DMK basher.

For the record, Kannagi statue was installed in the DMK rule in 1968 to commemorate the "World Tamil Conference" as it was considered a symbol of Tamil culture. Removed by Jayalalitha Govt. after an "accidental" hit by a lorry and a new service lane is operational where the statue once stood. I have not seen the now re-installed statue.

I have nothing against Kannagi or her statue but I have some doubts whether Kannagi really deserves a statue or not. These are some questions that keep pestering in my mind.

1. Silappadigaram is a great work in Tamil, created by Ilangovadigal. Why can't we have a statue of Ilangovadigal instead of Kannagi?

2. Kannagi is definitely a symbol of chastity, but one of my relative contended that Kannagi is hyped up by male-chauvinistic males as she symbolizes that a 'chaste' wife should do anything for her wayward and unfaithful husband who realises his mistakes after sunset.

3. If Kovalan was sinning, Kannagi should have set him on fire in the first place. Why destroy a city for the sake of king's mistake?

4. That Pandian king deserves a statue: He died the moment he realised he has erred in his judgement.

5. That queen deserves a statue: She died seeing her husband die (Not that I am a votary of Sati!) - which shows her abundant and unconditional love for her husband.

6. How can we have a statue for a city destroyer - for whatever reasons she destroyed it - it is like encouraging violence if Madras High court (which is very close to Marina as well) makes a wrong judgement.

7. I guess Silappadigaram is a work of fiction(?!!!!), this statue might hurt the sentiment of Madurai people - remember how the current Ban Drowns the Code! Also, is it alright to have a statue for a fictional character?

How to make voters vote?

The biggest problem in Indian electoral scene is the poor turnout of voters. This is true for many countries and India being the largest democracy should find ways to overcome this problem. Somehow!

Let us see the problems which a voter faces and which discourage him from exercising his franchise.

The first thing that comes to mind is the idle nature of the voters. Some of them see the election as a source of entertainment, the election day as a holiday, the election campaigns as interesting dramas and think their duty is over by mere discussion with other similar idle citizens. I consider this as problem number 1.

Problem Number 2 is the fear factor, ie. the fear of violence at the time of elections, the call of extremists to boycott the polls etc. This might not be true in all parts of India but wherever it is ture, it indeed poses a grave problem.

Problem 3 may sound trivial but it is as serious as the others: Difficulty in reaching the polling booths . The difficulty can be due to the accessibility of the booth - like availability of bus,train services, severe weather conditions, or lack of additional efforts to enable the handicapped vote.

Problem 4 is easily the worst according to me. It is the Lack of Concern from the voters' side. There are sections of people in the society who hardly ever have voted in elections. Their attitude is one of 'Whoever comes, nothing is going to happen', 'whoever comes, they are going to swindle', 'what difference my vote will make in the final outcome'.

Problem 5 is very basic: Missing names in the electoral rolls . I was born in 1982, eligible to vote from October of 2000, but found my entry into the electoral rolls only in 2006, at the age of 24. The ruckus during the enrolling process and the inevitable huge slip-up in the list are only too well known.

Having identified some of the problems, let me throw some solutions as well. The associated problems are in (brackets).

Solution 1. Make people answerable for uncast votes (1,4) . The non-voters should be made to explain why they did not fulfill their electoral duty. They should be made to file the reason with the local tahsildar for their uncast vote. The eventualites for not voting and not filing the reasons would be dealt as mentioned in solutions 7-11. The mere fact that the non-voters have to go to the tahsildar office on a working day, stand in the queue and file the papers would make them feel that voting on the election day would be a far easier job.

Solution 2. Enhance the security at polling booths (2) . This is an obvious solution to problem 2. But in addition to enhancing the security, the happenings around in the polling stations could be telecast in the local cable tv. This would release the fear of most people. Even if there is an unrest, people would be fore-warned and would not add to the chaos there. Showing of election booths in TV has an additional benefit: Voters can find the best possible time to vote, avoiding the times at which the booth is crowded. Also, punishing the poll offenders severely (eg.POTA) might discourage them from committing the crime.

Solution 3. Free commutation facilities (3). It is understood that the polling booths would not be far away from the voters' houses. But in some cases, as in villages, if the distance is more, the authorities can arrange some special buses, share autos, vans etc. free of cost, so that people do not find any discomfort in voting.

Solution 4. Listen to the weather man (3). Listen to the climate would have been better. The elections should not be conducted during times of extreme weather that would cause discomfort to the voters. Elections in north India during Dec-Jan, in Tamilnadu during oct-nov, Central india during may-jun have to be avoided. I think the Election Commission is already trying to implement this.

Solution 5. Postal Votes (3). Exercising franchise through postal votes has to be extended on an on-demand-basis. Government employees like election officers and police officials normally are allowed to do this. But on a payment basis, other citizens should also be allowed to avail this facility.

Solution 6. Special efforts to include names in the rolls (5). A majority of the missing names would that be of the voters who become eligible to vote since the last election, ie. those who have attained 18 years in the last 3-5 years. The EC can make use of the std XII lists, census data to include these people. The colleges can organize special camps wherein all their students are compulsorily made to get enlisted in the rolls. Some companies can also take initiatives to force their employees to get enrolled. A nice example is the TCS way of withholding the salary amount of Rs.10000 till the employee shows his PAN card.

Solution 7. Use of Internet (1,2,3). This I feel is the solution to most of the problems, though it might throw some of its own. The Internet can be a medium through which the voters can register and then vote. The introduction of a national identity card with appropriate security details would be a pre-cursor to the use of Internet in electoral process. The EC can take cues from the various banks which are operating safely through the Internet. May be the banks can chip in with their contribution here.

Solution 8. Incentives 1 (1,4). The Government can give additional litre of kerosene (at existing prices at ration shops) per voter if all eligible voters in that family have voted. Kerosene is just an example, it can be substituted with anything else of importance.

Solution 9. Incentives 2 (1,4). Solution 8 might serve as incentive to middle, lower middle and BPL classes of the society, but what about the educated middle, upper middle and others. Each non-voter should have additional tax rate. For cases where this cannot be applied, those people should be charged extra for electricity, water and other Government supplies.

Solution 10. Incentives 3 (1,4). If a voter stays outside his state, he has to be granted leave from his office, be it Government or otherwise, to exercise his franchise. The companies can give a token 1-2 holidays.

Solution 11. Incentives 4 (1,4). Government employees who do not vote will have to forfeit one month salary. Private sector companies are also encouraged to do so. The funds collected from this would be given to finance the other solutions. Having voted in the last election (or the paper from tahsildar office:solution 1) should be an eligibility criterion for applicants to jobs.

Ghajini -

Please click here for the Hindi Ghajini review

Last week, I ended a six month streak of not watching a movie in a theatre. I saw Ghajini. This 'review' (nice name, eh?) will not divulge the story. You can safely go on.

I was pretty much attracted towards the movie because of various reasons: the director Murugadoss's previous two movies, Harris Jeyaraj, Surya and of course Asin. It has become a habit in Tamil cinema, or Indian cinema, that if a movie gets a lot of hype, invariably it fails to impress. Is Ghajini an exception? Feels bad to say, but it is not.

After a relatively good screenplay (what's direction?, I dont know) in both his earlier movies, Murugadoss has bungled the last half hour - 45 minutes. Even an erstwhile assistant of Balachander, whom his sisters believe is better than Maniratnam, would have done better. The first half was far better than the second, both in terms of the fluent pace and lucid details. I heard somewhere that Murugadoss has spent more than 1 year in preparation for this movie, I pity him.

Surya, I guess, is the only hero in Tamil Film Industry who gets support from each row of the movie audience, fails big time to reveal his acting prowess. After an impeccable performance in Kaakka Kaakka, any Tom, Jerry and Selva would expect a better show from him. If I have not seen Nanda, I might have rated Surya better, but as it stands, his characterisation reminds me of Nanda. Most of the time, he reminded us about his good performance in Nanda.

Asin, aah aah, full marks. As I am a theeviravaathi of Asin, do not expect any negative comment about her. She had a completely different role from her earlier movie. She has done really well in her "role", an extreme rarity in Tamil cinema. Many other actresses would have emulated Jyothika in the "Kalpana's" role, but Asin has done well not to create that impression.

Harris Jeyaraj has impressed in two of the songs: "Oru maalai pani vizhum naram" and "Sutrum vizhi sudarey". These two songs are outstanding. This does not mean the other songs are bad. I would rate them as "Good". BTW, I dont know how to rate BGM.

The nemesis of Ghajini is Nayanthra. Nayanthra should have restricted herself to sarees and never ever dream of wearing any thing else. It was disgusting to see her on screen. Especially the scenes where she runs, you would understand why she should wear only sarees! I hope not to see any other movie in which Nayanthra runs/dances.

This Ghajini might have succeeded the first time itself, but I would say it is not a deserving victory.

Sithappu...

This is easily the biggest day in my brother's life and the most happiest day in our family. My mathini (sister-in-law) has given birth to a baby girl. Both the child and the mother are in good health. I am terribly anguished at enjoying this moment of pleasure, moment of bliss, vicariously. This is probably the first day I regret for not staying in Chennai.

Yesterday my mathini was admitted to the hospital and some medicines were administered to induce labour pain. My brother, obviously, was tense. As things would have it, today morning there was a minor complication and the young one was forced to have a caesarean birth. Everything went on fine and around 9:00 in the morning, the young angel had her first breath out of her mother's womb.

I am amazed (at last!) how quickly life passes and makes most of the events of our past seem not so significant to our present. I still remember the day when my brother's standard 12 marks were released. He did not get the marks as expected and everything was looking bleak. A drop of tear from both the brothers' eyes. Just a year later I shared the tear with my mother when my brother left for Glasgow. Barely three years from the first day, my brother brought me a pair of Nike shoes, Dresses, VCRs, Watches, perfumes et al from London. Now he is a father, I am a small father (I dont prefer the word 'uncle'). Truly stunned to see the pace which time sets. How much ever we plan and how much ever we try to go fast, time beats us, hands down.

By the time, I recollect that I have written some blah..blah in my blog, my brother might have become big father!

Goodvertisements

Anyone watching television would come across a variety of advertisements, some bad, some boring, some irritating and some really interesting. Here I list some of the advertisements which are coming to my mind right away and which I like the most.

The numero uno is the Tata AIG Insurance ad. Though I do not know much about the insurance plan being advertised, the concept of the ad - though very much similar to the Asian paints ad of "Kalakkare chandru" fame - is the one which attracted me. I could not think of a better way to show the benefits of planning ahead.

The #2 is Hutch. Hutch has a set of advertisements. All are equally good. I like the hutch ads for the simplicity with which the message is conveyed. The boy and the dog - jokes - astrology - hats off to you Mr.Danny pope.

The #3 is Happydent white chewing gum ad. SSSmile please. Not the greatest of products to promote, this is one ad which surprised me when I saw it the first time. I knew about the USP of the gum at the time of first seeing the ad - that made me like the ad even more.

The #4 is "dishum" Tata Indica- "Must be true". This is easily the funniest ad I have seen. This ad, like a Goundamani comedy scene, always brings a smile in my face. The best of the lies the model says are, '"Boss, you are a genius" - Dishum',' "Seven humbered and two"-Dishum',' "I love you"-dishum, "I really love you"- Dishum'. The icing on the cake is the person getting a dishum when he thinks what to say next.

The #5 is Maruti 800. The sardar kid playing with a maruti 800 doll, taking it past a dog's tail, into a fish tank, on a black board, roti and finally on his father's tummy. The best part of the ad is the sequence of dialogues between the kid and the father - bus karo yaar - (shit)Champion.

Another one I like very much is the fevicol ad. Infact I remembered this on seeing the Business line article on Danny pope (hutch). This comes in the same category as Tata AIG Insurance and happydent white gum ads.

Best Performer

I know I am among the important persons in our RR (a subset of Telecom) team. But little did I expect to get the Best Performer tag during the annual employee evaluation at FSS. Roughly 3-4% get the best performer rating, around 80% get vital performer tag. This process of evaluating employees is called 'Permasys' at FSS. The permasys was supposed to be completed on 27th May and we get our incremented salary along with May's salary on June 1st. My permasys was not over till 29th. Balaji had had his permasys on 23/24 May and he had got a vital performer rating. On 29th, my manager, affectionately called (or forced to call him as) MAK called me for a meeting. He started lecturing -- you should do this-- that -- show extra interest -- be proactive -- blah blah -- I listened. I had to listen. I thought I would be given only a vital performer rating after hearing his harangue. When I came back to my seat and saw the Permasys booklet mailed to me by MAK, a bit surprised to see the Best Performer rating. hooh hooh. Five minutes later, another mail. Congrats Selva -- your incentive (11k+) has been credited to your bank account!!!Happy happy. Waiting for the increment (how much?) ???

Amma reached Delhi safely

This morning started with , as usual, a snooze of my cell phone alarm. The different thing today was I had to get up because I could not lie down - reason: Haryana electricity board has a scheduled power cut at 600 in the morning from today, I believe. Amma had to reach my relative, Kumar annan's house today. Amma boarded a cab which would drop her at Medical (AIIMS) and from there she had to take an auto to Andrews Ganj. I was a bit worried whether she will reach her destination without any trouble. I went to the meeting, partly forgetting amma. When I came back from meeting, I was informed by my cubicle mate , Nidhi, that amma has reached safely.. Happy.