Puthu Kavithai!!! (Onsite Pogatha Valibar/Valibi Sangam)

(Olimayama ethirkalam tune )

Irulmayamaana edhirgaalam en ullathil therigiradhu.....
adhil onsite/promotion edhuvum illai.......
(night)shift-la work varudhu........
Irulmayamaana edhirgaalam en ullathil therigiradhu.....

naalvagai platform naarpadhu koadi project Engindraar - andha
customer thaanum onsitelirundhae koovi azhaikkinraar
maalai soodi engal PM onsite poginraar
project oothi moodiya piragu benchula poduginraar... [Irulmayamaana]

Onsite chance-u undaendru sonna, HR-u enga - avanga
pona maasam paper pottu poittaanga therinjukka
neeyum paper potta podhum onsite koduppaanga
nambi nambi yaemaarndhadhu podhum escape aayidu..... [Irulmayamaana]

I did a South Africa...CAT Scores are Great..

As usual I flunked @ the end.Tripped and fell on my face in the home stretch.Ended up a chocker chasing a low target.I can eloquently wax my failure in a thousand different ways.But it all means only one thing.I am a LOSER!! :-)...
Here is a guy who attempted CAT last year without any preparation and callously casual attitude and managed to score a decent 88 percentile(Not too decent for many of you.For my level it was decent).This year he puts up one year of hard work and thousands of rupees in investment and ends up getting the same percentile.Sounds absolutely hilarious is'nt it.Thats my story.Let me try and Analyzing this failure with a cool head..

1) Either I am not made for such competitive exams:
This is typical bad loser's line right.But maybe I am right.If you ask a 51/2 foot 70 kg guy to face a sumo wrestler and he loses.He should not feel bad right.But that is not possible because people who are close my caliber in IQ have made it thro before

2) The exam was too tough:
Cat is after all a competitive exams which gives ranking to people.All the freaking 2.5 lakh people wrote the same exam.So if it was tough it was tough for everyone.So thats cant be a reason too.

3) Not enough preparation:
Can't be the case.Because I had been attending regular classed 6 hours a week.from feb 2007.After that I had written all mock cats religiously and solved them all meticulously.But no amount of preparation is enough.I could have done more I guess

4) Exam Tension on the the D Day:
I have never got tensed for any exam.Maybe that was the real reason.Lack of seriousness.Very much possible.

Summing all this up and after deep introspection I am able to zero in on the chinks that lead to my defeat.

1)Lack of focus: Though I spent enuf time solving mock cats my scores din look like improving.I did not spend time on areas/activities that were required.So Although I should have noticed that my efforts were not doing anything to improving ever lowering scores in mock cats, I did not!!!Just thought things will get ironed out themselves.But they just din!!!

2)Poor Quantitative skill: Did not focus on improving speed and accuracy in calculation involving number.The basement was weak so however well I build the building it is bound to fall flat.It did happen.

3)Preparing too much: In some ways I think the intense half cooked preparation only did me in.Either I should have gone all the way(from basics) else should have gone with a open approach.Rethinking now , in many scenarios I found myself trying to fit the problems given into the frameworks I had learnt, in the process of trying to solve them.That should have been the last option.I should have applied common sense to most questions and I would have done much better.In an objective type questions answers and only answers count.Methods don't.

So if someone who is planning to appear for CAT next year is reading this, I have only one line for you.Either go all out or just get out.

my tamil scribblings.

Please double click on the image below to see the full text.

Solution to Attrition - Recruitment Drives or Retension Measures ????

"A reduction in numbers usually as a result of resignation, retirement, or death".This is how Marriam-Webster defines attrition.

But the attrition we all talk about generally is caused only thro resignation.It is a well know fact that IT sector leads the pack when it comes to attrition figures.Especially in India we all know that attrition rates are pretty huge.Even in small organisations with few thousands of employees atleast one person sends in a sweetly worded good bye mail everyday.Few dozens read it and smile @ themselves thinking their D day is not that long away.

Most observer feel that IT sector attrition rates are so high because of the economic boom in recent times.Because there is so much work that every tom dick and harry get offers as "10 more limp hands are better than none at all" is the attitude towards hiring in IT sector nowadays.It is true to a great extent.I feel there are two kinds of people.The perpetual movers.Who move to the next company to before settling down into one.It is because if they settle down they'll have to prove themselves, take up more reponsibility etc etc.These people are seldom productive,whatever be the work environment.The other lot are already very productive and are either learning the ropes well @ the lower levels or are the pillars of the organization at the middle level.The second kind of people leaving will bleed the organization so much more than the first kind leaving.

There is this utopian idea of process oriented organizations where people do now matter much.Many people propose that such a structure will minimize the effect attrition will have on the operations of the organization.But how far is it true?Why are people treating the symptoms while allowing the disease to spread unperturbed??

See any organization today they are recruiting at a hectic pace.Recruiting one 1-2 years expereince candidate costs the organization somewhere between 50-100k depending on the route of recruitment.(except for walkins).Plus the org has to pay for training the candidate if necessary.Plus the pay the candidate for no work he does until he settles down into work and becomes productive(If he works in the first place ;-) ).All this companies spend to keep recruiting people.Many companies are willing to bend down backwards and negotiate on all terms for getting people onboard.But how many companies make such an effort on the employee retention front.I don think companies are doing enough.

As i watch company after company in the service sector recruiting @ a rapid pace while losing employess @ much faster clips, I feel as though I am looking @ a small boy trying to fill a leaky tank frantically with little buckets.How much ever fast the tank is filled it ll keep leaking.Filling the tank is fast,easy and short term job.It can be easily measured and the HR function rewarded with incentives and fancy trips. But fixing leak is dirty job.You are bound to get wet and dirty.But it is most rewarding in the long run.For the money the companies spend on recruiting one person, they can easily retain two people, if they spend it judiciously and the right way.But all companies tend to move away from this view as it is very difficult to acheive and is not easily measurable(although fall in attrition rates can be measured.. employee's job satisfaction is difficult to measure).Hope people wake up to the reality atleast when the next Recession comes.

Prelude to my post on Delhi - Dalhousie Trekking Trip

First Let me start with the itenary for this trip:

Itenary:

1) 20^th Dec 2006 – Started from Bangalore

2) 22^th Dec 2006 – Reached Delhi

3) 22^nd,23^th Dec 2006 – Went around Delhi

4) 24^th Dec 2006 – Visited Agra , Started to Pathankot

5) 25^th Dec 2006 – Reached Pathankot,Started to dalhousie and reached dalhousie

6) 26^th-30^th Dec 2006 – YHAI trekking.

7) 30^th Dec 2006 – Left Dalhousie reached Pathakot,Started from pathankot.

8) 31^st Dec 2006 – Reached Delhi.Started for Bangalore

9) 2^nd Jan 2007 – Reached Bangalore

As this would be a reasonably long account let me split it into 3 parts:

Part1: From bangalore till Leaving for agra:

Part2: The Agra Trip

Part3: Trekking in dalhousie

Part4: From dalhousie to Bangalore

Before that I should tell you who all were part of the trip:

From left to right:

1)Siva Subbiah:
My classmate from school.We have spent around 6 years together in School and College(Who talked abt studying).He is from trichy.Currently working in Hyderabad.

2)Sivamurugan Krishnaraj:

Pollachi maapillai.My friend and collegue.We have sitting next to each other for nearly one year now.(Who talked abt working).

3)Santosh Kanna: My collegemate and ex-Collegue.Although we had not moved closely before the trip,I knew that we shared a lot of common interests and viewpoints.He is from madurai.Currently working in Bangalore.

Ambition (rather the lack of it) Among Software Engineers

The so-called Ambitious Software Engineers ,who switch jobs @ a toss of a hat ,for so called better oppurtunities, are dime a dozen.How many of us are really really ambitious.If 1000 software engineers ask themsleves "Where do I see myself 20 years from now".What do u think the majority will answer??I guess the answer from most would be "I ll be working for Microsoft/Google/xxx/yyy".. Some say "I ll start my own software company"...But out of that some how many actually do it?? Very few only ..sadly.

Consider most average barbers in a barber shop.Their aspiration would be to own a saloon himself.And moist people do it.Consider average helpers in a photo studio.Ditto.. But consider a software engineer, he aspires to work for the most big/prestigious/well-paying software company in the world.Not to own the most big/prestigious/well-paying software company in the world.Why is this the scenario.Are we getting bogged down by the safety net of the monthly salary we get , the monthly EMI we pay towards our home/car/2-wheeler/washing machine/etc etc....
This is one case.. I have one more doubt.

Why do software engineers never leave software line and diversify??

Basically software is something that helps some business x,y,z do their work better.Better may mean , increased effeciency, increases volume , increases customer satisfaction, etc etc.All boils down to increasing profits.So software only betters a business model.without the business there are no clients for software except for research purposes.

Why don't software people think about startig their own core business??India's largest enterprise is still Reliance Industries.Richest group is still TATA group.Although TCS is a part of tatas, no single software company can match these industries.The average IT spending of a company is around 20% maximum.And it does not go to any one single s/w company.This means no single software company can become bigger than the top core companies.

See these links for some info:

http://www.forbes.com/2006/03/29/06f2k_worlds-largest-public-companies_land.html

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/21/biz_06privates_The-Largest-Private-Companies_land.html

These are the list of biggest public/private companies.Not one software company figures in the list.

So I feel its time we people consider shruging the security and the big bucks of our software industry and plan to be more ambitious.We can never grow bigger than our clients in this business.Way say??

Mumbai trip-Vidhya's marriage

Posting after a long time( as usual).Had been to mumbai to attend My cousin sister Srividhya's Wedding.Was in mumbai from 23-30 oct.Had a great time.

These occasions are a oppurtunity to meet all my cousins and interact with them all.Watched Shahrukh's "DON" in thane's aanad theater.Was a decent film.Then on was mostly in home.Eating , sleeping and chatting.Last few days helped in Marriage activites.All small ones only because the marriage event ,as a whole,was outsourced to some marriage contractor.

Went shopping quite a bit in thane streets.Got one authentic RayBan aviator Sunglasses for just 120 bucks.Enjoyed mumbai's panipur and ganna juice.Sriram anna(my bro) had got a superb carrom set(height adjustable stand adn overhead lamp included).It was a tournament board.We all played carrom with losers quit logic.The very fact that we played without fighting is a great thing considering that there were nearly 12 ppl competing for places in a single carrom board :-)...

Finally we arrived @ the marriage hall.It was a beautiful and compact hall.The two striking features were it had no top floors(only ground) and it was fully airconditioned.There was a smaller A/C banquet hall behind the main hall.It was also booked so that we could sleep there.So all through the wedding we were in airconditioned spaces :-)...So it was very very comfortable.

Another highlight was the fireworks we had.There was one single box which sent 30+ rockets of all colours in the air when u light it.. Just like a 1000 wala cracker it was many rockets attached to one single fuse.It was too good to see in the dark starless sky.

Overall it was a very relaxing one week vacation.I am also embedding a few pics of the marriage in this post

Srirangapatna-Melkote Trip (mis)Adventures

Me and three of my friends (Mukunth,Vidhya and Gayathri) had been to pilgrimage/adventure(this aspect not planned ;-)) trip to melkote and srirangapatna.The (mis)adventures that were part of the trip made us think if we were cursed by the almighty.
Mukunth thorugh his group mailing skills,persuation skills,language skills and many other skills he is blessed with tried to organise a gang to people to accompany him on his pilgrimage trip to melkote.Finally he could manage only a BIG gang of 3 other people ;-).So finally after some hectic mail activity among the grp the plan was finalised.
THE PLAN
It was that we all meet @ 6.30 am @ City station.Mukunth's train was supposed to come to come @ 4.45am.I was to get up and go there and meet him and he planned to bath at the waiting room to save time and leave by the 7.15 train to mysore and get down at mandya.Visit melkote.On the way
map of srirangapatna back we planned to visit srirangapatna and balmuri falls if time permitted.
My plan was to cook lemon rice and sundal and buy some chips so we could all eat on our way.I had bought all the stuff required.
HOW IT WENT AWRY
1) I went to sleep @ 2 and set my alarm to 3.30 to cook,pack,bath and start.My alarm failed me.(Or i
failed my alarm i am not sure which one is true)I slept me b4 srgpatna temple on till 5.15 when mukunth after waiting in the station for me for 30 min called me.As usual i lied i was on my way and went there @ 6.10 AM
2)The waiting room in which mukunth was supposed to bath was closed for renovation.He had to go to the busstand to bath .Actually KSTDC has very
good bathrooms(they charge 35 bucks too)so, it was actually a blessing in
disguise.We gave that guy extra 15 bucks as deposit and failed to take it back.So finally when we were back@ the railway station it was 7.10
3)Mukunth,the munujagrithai munusami, had got three tickets to mandya by train.Vidhya and Gayathri arrived @ 7.15.When we went in the train had just left.Next train was only after noon.Another Rs 100+ muk b4 srgpatna temple down the drain.
4)Then we came to Majestic bus stand and found out that some days back all busses to mysore except Point to Point were shifted to the sattellite bus-stand around 10 km away.We got a bus to there in 10 min luckily(very rare lucky moment that day).
5)We went and got down @ mandya around 11.30 only to find that the bus to melkote, sceduled for 10.30 am had not yet arrived.They had no clue
when/if it would come and we knew that the melkote temple would be mostly closed even if by some divine intervention we get a bus.So we had to go the next stop srgpatna.We could have saved 30+ minutes and 20+ rupees had we gone by the same bus directly to srgpatna.
6)Now we went to srgpatna and enquired abt timings temple tank+melkote of the bus to melkote.It was by 1:15.We had 1 hr left.So we hurried to the temple got nice crowd free darshan took some snaps and returned back @ 1.16 just to hear that we had missed the direct bus by a whisker.(When we are on time the bus is usually late..but not vice versa..murphy's law)
7)Now we got onto a bus to some xxx cross and got down somewhere 5 km
Melkote tank(temple above) away from melkote( Its been 1 month thats why so many somewheres). From there we took a share-auto reached the temple finished darshan at thirunarayanapuram(down) and melkote.If u think our misadventures have ended u r wrong.
8)We had to take a circutious route and go back to srgpatna instead of mandya because we din have bus in the correct direction.So that added 1 hr extra to travel time.Then our Bus got repaired.We were seated comfi and calculating accounts of the expenses when we got to know we had to change bus.The new bus was full as we got enroute.Luckily we got 3 seats and had to cram in and adjust to come back to bangalore @ 11.30 :-).. It had taken us nearly 2.5 hrs more.
Thus ended our momentous ans eventful trip :-)(oru maasama eluthi eluhti oru vazhiya intha posta muduchutten he he)

India the software sweatshop: Glorified slavery in name of outsourcing

I know that many ppl reading this blog would be IT professionals working in india and would cringe at the word sweatshop. But come on people we have to face it sometime and call a spade a spade..We have heard many statements like India is -- The knowledge capital of the world , The It hub of the world , blah blah blah...But the truth behind all this is that "India is becoming the software sweatshop of the world."
Think sofware engg what come to ppls mind??
1.Hefty pay package
2.Lots of perks
3.Cozy air conditioned workplace
4.Cool foriegn Trips
5.Flexible working hours

Only people who worked in this sector will know the dark,ugly, unknown side of it.Not many people think abt the follwing things..
1.Average working hours put in in a year.
2.The pressure under which the work is being done.
3.The number of lunches,breakfasts and dinners skipped.
4.The number of close friend's and relative's marriages missed.
5.The meagre number of hours spent happily with our families
6.The activities we have outside work (for most people it is NIL)
7.Number of months spent away from friends and family in some foreign land with no one for company.

Is money all that is required in life. If we are given any arbitrary amount we want and are asked to sit idle the rest of our lives how many of us would opt for it?Not many I am sure. Situation most ppl are in now is just the converse.Why are we taking this sitting.Work is for earning money.Agreed.Earning money to do what? If u r a software engineer try to ask these questions to yourself:
1.When was the last time you had an evening(i mean 5-7) on a weekday to yourself?
2.How many times have you told yourself-"This is new to me.. I am learning thats why I have to stay late to finish the job"
3.When was the last time you learnt something new outside work?
4.What else u manage do u do on weekdays except work?(don say i read newspaper everyday ;-))
5.When was the last time you did something that u enjoyed doing.

I know you don have to enjoy work.U do it for money.I agree.But are u being paid to work 5x12 60 hours a week?Nope.U are paid to work 40-45 hrs. But most of us are stretched to do more hours.Maybe ur employer says u r new thats why initially you have to work hard.He hired you knowing your current skill set is'nt it. So it is his moral responsibility to factor in learning time.Are we getting lured by money,comfort and trips to exotic locations that our job promises us? What do we get at the end of the day.Big pot bellies,unhealthy lifestyles,broken families................. and a good bank balance.Will the last one balance all the others.
The big problem with all the software people in India is basically this:
1.Thinking the work assigned to oneself as "MY WORK"..It is just "SOME WORK" assigned to you right..
2.Not saying NO when they have to.
3.Not knowing to prioritise between business committments and personal committments.

If you are a person working in the software industry please think hard if it is all going to be worth it @ the end of the day....

ps:Guess there are lots of bullets in this post.It is supposed to make it Explosive ;-)..

What is life if full of care...We have no time to stand and stare...

Thinking about the S/W engineer community the first thing that came to my mind was
This famous poem by
Poet William Henry Davies

What is life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and
stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or
cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in
grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at
night.
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can
dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and
stare.

I find more and more people living today happilly thinking abt the promised joys for tomorrow and sorrowfully recalling the pains they faced for it yesterday.So what happens to today?? NOTHING.. Why can't we people think about today and live life on a day to day basis?? Is the weather good today??? go out for a long drive somewhere..Work can wait... Feel down and out.??? Go some place nearby for a long weekend with folks you love to be with. Work is just a means to live not LIFE.. Is'nt it? When will we understand this simple truths of life??

MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!

All my vows to post once a week have gone down the drain.Life is going at a very hectic pace.Two tragic event happened recently.One i lost my bicycle and two my granddad expired.Both were sorrowful but the former was unexpected unlike the latter.So nowadays i have to transport all the way from/to office by BUS.And the traffic just sucks.I used to come faster by bicycle.
As i have to leave home by 8:45 bus to avoid crowd i have to get up early(I mean @ 7.30).But one good thing is i reach office at a fixed regular time everyday(I reach early too).I leave office mostly @ 9.I don like to eat out everyday night.So generally have some bread or a glass of milk for dinner.I used to cook @ night b4.Now am too tired to try that and really don have the time as i have started studying for my MBA everday and that takes time too..
Next big concern looming large in my mind is shifting my house.I have to find a suitable house near to my and my romie's offices ,within the budget andto both our likings.The big trouble is going to be moving stuff.Am not looking forward to it anyways.
Thats my life's salient poi nts as of now.. want to have to general posts.Will do that soon...

My Mumbai+Panchgani Trip & PARASAILING EXPERIENCE!!

Hi,
Had been to mumbai last week full.Had a whale of a time with all cousins and some exclusive time with Priya(My sis living in UK).She always come with kids so her priority is always different.This time she came alone so could spend more quality time with her.
Went and came back by airdeccan.It is not so great but for the money its cost effective.There are no seat numbers so people rush to the borading booth as though it is a bus stand( to get window seat i guess ;-) ).While going i too stood in the queue.But i became wiser on return journey.I was sitting and reading a book till the last person left and boarded as the last person.I was however gonna sleep.So the seat position was not so important.
The week till wednesday went on fine.With all cousins around, playing cards for money(i have grown up now so i am allowed ;-) ), dancing , singing , shopping with/for priya.. was overall very hectic and fun.After the marriage was over on Wednesday we started to panchgani on thursday morning by raj travels volvo bus.The journey was comfi and we reached there around 1.30. Shriram anna had booked us into a resort( comfort inn) with 2 A/C rooms and all facilities like swimming pool gym etc(but we never used all those is a different story ;-)).. First day we went to a nearby plateau called "TABLE LAND".... Really beautiful place.It is the world's second largest flat valley.So they told.It was very beautiful to watch sunset from there. Second day visited mahabaleshwar(25 km from P'gani). and 10 points around it.All points are nearly similar offerring varyingly beautiful views of the valley below.Then got back to hotel later.
Saturday morning was the most exciting part of the trip.Me and priya went parasailing.We were tied to a parachute and a jeep and as the jeep picked up speed we went up in the air.It was a feeling of flying.It was really wonderful.We both went for second trip.It was really great.We could view the whole valley and the mountains from a higher plane!!
Then we got to mumbai by the afternooon bus and on sunday i left by 11 30 flight and came back to bangalore.Here i am now in office as usual.

My experiences on that eventful day

I spent wednesday night(the day Rajkumar died) in my friend's place near office.Started thursday afternoon to my home by my cycle( which i use to commute to office everyday).The roads were all deserted.No traffic at all.Only a few cars plied.All vehicles had The actor's photo stuck on the windscreen.Looked as though the whole city had slept!!!Then i came home and watched TV.Saw all the scenes of voilence and felt very bad.I had a train to catch @ 7 pm.There was supposed to be a procession too.I din want to get late because of the procession.So idecided to start early.

There was no mode of transport.The autowallahs demanded 2-3 times the money it costs me for the ticket home.So decided it was best and safest to cyle down to the station.But the problem was i had to cross the kanteerva stadium(where the body was kept and which was the nucleus of the rioting) to go there.I knew no other route.So i took the bangalore map as a backup and stuck the actors newpaper photo to my knapsack and started.As i went towards the stadium i saw a steady crowd trickle in opposite direction.All walking angrily and most in drunken rage.I juut put my head down,pulled down my cap and made sure not to see anyone in the eye and not to pedal fast.I had no problems with anyone.All through the way i saw the remnants of the riot.Stones strewn all along the road.Glass windows and exteriors broken.Windshield glass strewn all over the roads.The amount of evidence of riot increased as i approached the stadium.
Near the stadium i could see a lot of slippers.. clothes.. some blood..(very minimal though)..smouldering soot on the road(The burnt vehicles had been towed away by then).. Armed police every 10 feet.Not a single building in the vicinity had a unbroken piece of glass.It was as though i had entered a war zone.The eerieness of the place cant be described by any adjective.Felt a knot very sick and sad by the days events.Finally reached the station @ 3.15 pm.Found a bench and slept on it till 6.Then boarded the train as though nothing had happened.Thats what we all are trained to.Dont react to problems

The chaos and mayhem on Rajkumar's death.

A great actor, who has donned a variety of roles , who has the crazy following of a whole state's population , who is demigod to most of them died on the 12th of april, wednesday.He died a natural death.No one intimidated ,threatened , kidnapped or killed him.He died of cardiac arrest and due to old age.But his death claimed at least six lives as tens of thousands of angry fans smashed cars, burnt buses and battled with the police on Thursday.U could ask whats the reason!!The answer would be "NO REASON..ONLY STUPIDITY"..It happens only in india..
Needless voilence wasted crores worth of property and 6 priceless lives.Was is really worth it in retrospection?? No one has time to think.We all just walk in monday morning to work as if nothing happened over the weekend.What else can we do anyways!! All we can do is avoid the mob and shut all doors!!
Did u know what was the most common feature among the rioters(i mean the ones who caused all casualtities).. Guess.. were they all kannadigas..were they all in thier teens.. were they all from rural backgrounds.. were they all uneducated... NO is the answer to all questions.The only thing in common was they were all drunk as a skunk..Some of them were tamil even.Some were educated too.But it was like a free for all.All that mattered was having some fun.Do u have any feeling in some corner of ur mind that all these were due to thier sadness and anger at the loss of their god like figure..U wont have that if u had watched the new channel footage of the burning busses.The rioters were all laughing , giggling, jostling and jumping over one another to get themselves on camera.Do u call this mourning???
Police were dragged out, chased and beaten.The footage was repeatedly shown in all TVs.Now who will respect the Police force in the city anymore when they cant protect themselves??The whole incident was a very sad one for the whole of Bangalore..Even though most people are peaceful the image of Bangalore is already dented beyond repair.What can we do to prevent such happenings..what we think does not matter..The people concerned should think...will they?? lets wait and watch until another such incident unfolds in another place :-(...

I am back..Will post once a week atleast..(vow)

It would suggest from my lack of posts for a long time that i have failed in my third attempt to maintain my blog..But i am not.. I ll try and keep the posts flowing atleast once a week.Thats my vow from this week,Lets see..

My coorg trip!!!(small post only)

Hi , I had been to coorg on 11th and 12th or march.It was a great trip.The following were the places visited.As most of my posts so far have been big I am going to make a conscious effort to make this post a brief one. Places covered:
1.Namdroling Monastery Golden Temple, Koppa..
Its an extremely beautiful temple.Very oriental.U feel u r in china.
Built and maintained by tibetians.U can see a lot of monks here.

2.Abbey Falls:
Beautiful falls.Actually private property.But its open to public.
The roads in coorg.Bit narrow but smooth.Not much traffic anyway

3.Thala cauvery.

Although ppl go with much expectation like seeing a gushing spring
which is the starting point of cauvery, its merely like a small pond
(u can call it even a tank).
There is a small hillock nearby from where the view is wonderful.

4.A small krishna temple in mercara.
A simple temple built in kerala style in mercara,coorg's capital.
View of the road leading to thala cauvery

5.NagarHole National Park:(As u can see in the snap below)
Its a lion reserve.It is said to be the thickest forest in india.General tourists are allowed only on a prefunct visit on a 30 km long trail,which does not cover even 1-2% of the forested area.So we got to see only deers and monkeys.
the board with map.
an atrificial lake inside the park.
A deer in the grass is better than two in a cage ;-)

Some general snaps:
Road throughout are ike this.Covered on both sides with coffee.
Actual cofee plant.They have a very sweet aroma which is nowhere
near the aroma of coffee powder.

That was nearly it.It was a nice and enjoyable trip..

The stupid talk on radio on women's day..

Hi
Yesterday was women's day.Nothing special to me ofcourse.I did not wish even a single person.I remembered this only today:-(.. so nothing can be done anyways..But y day morning I heard a program in radiocity.It had a guest that day from an organisation called blackspot or something..It was a voluntary organisation against sexual harrasment , eve teasing etc etc against women.A woman(the founder of that org) came on that show and said that she used to abused at public places,roads busses etc.. She says she has taken photos of all perpetrators.She also said that its her way of opposing and standing upto all the ..Thats all fine..
She further said some points in response to some smses and calls from listeners that was very bad.I just could not accept it.One listener had said,some girls wear revealing dresses so only they are eve teased.She goes on air saying openly that women have the right to flaunt their sexuality.She went to the brazen level of saying "If i have a cleavage and want to expose it.. look beautiful.. its my choice.. its my defn of beauty.. It does not mean that people should stare at my breasts".. How bad right.. I felt very strongly against her comments.When u say who is the man staring at u to decide what u r wearing is right or wrong for u.. Who are u to decide what he is doing is right or wrong?? my argument is right is'nt it...
basically why do u have to dress attractively(maybe u feel that u look attractive only by dressing revealingly..thats ok..)?? For others to look at u , appreciate u or atleast notice u.But who are u to pick and choose peole who have to look at u?? If in a nightclub or disco the same girl is oogled at will she complain?? nope.. not really.. But she will complain if the perpetrator of the crime(thats what that stupid girl told.. crime ha ha..;-) )is a guy wearing a dirty lungi or a cleaner's uniform.. basically these people have a perception problem.. thats it..I really wonder how come radio city allowed thsi idiot to talk in this brazen a fashion,,
She went on to blabber "As a citizen women have rights to dress the way they want and be anywhere anytime.. there is no such thing called she just asked for it. whatever we do we should be treatesd with respect.."..So wrong.. has not she heard somewhere abt the saying be a roman in rome..U cant change ppl's mindset overnight or even in a year or two.. it will take many years..Say if a girl goes to a local cinema theatre dressed in minishorts and tank tops.. naturally she is asking for it.. the teasing i mean..cant she understand that the people that come there cannot understand or don have enough exposure to behave in a civilized manner to such a girl..So u need to dress for the occasion.. the decorum of the place u r going to,...If u don then be ready to face the taunting and don give a damn abt it... u cant be sensitive and at the same time do this sort of a thing and then complain..I hope u all agree with me..

Please give ur comments openly and freely on this issue..

I Played a traffic cop!!!

I moved out of office this wednesday at around 9.30(after my ususal round of snooker).Luckily I found and boarded a HAL bus which was returning empty via domlur.We were moving slowly and we had to stop at a signal(for bangalore conversant ppl its BTM Advaitha Petrol bunk signal).The time was only 10 PM and somehow the signal lights were blinking yellow(It means its the drivers discretion).
You should have seen the place to beleive me when i say the place was really really chaotic.U could see vehicles going in all possible directions and standing in all possible angles.It was total chaos.
Horns were blaring...
Drivers cursing..
Some Senior citizens holding tight to the steering wheel(dazed ofcourse)..
Vehicles millimeter apart..
Two wheelers nearly moving in slow motion under the Heavy vehicles..

Basically it was so so so unorganised and chaotic..

So I waited patiently hoping the choas would sort itself out.But nothing movcd an inch(not even a mm) for 10 min.. No police also.. People were so mean and self centered.Although they saw that the situation was so bleak and they just could not move,ppl just kept pushing.. inch by inch...corner by corner.. where can ppl go.. Finally I decided something needs to be done..
So i stepped out of the cozy comforts of the bus and stood there in the middle of the road and painstakingly started the task of clearing the traffic.People were so rude selfish and nearly abusive in response to any suggestions to back off to clear traffic.(Ofcourse i was there for the selfish reason of going home soon only.. but i guess thats not too selfish ;-))..I got a comrade in the form of a BMTC conductor.He had a whistle too ..Which gave a semblance of officialness to our efforts..
Slowly but surely we got the traffic going.We first diverted incoming traffic to the junction thro some byroads.Then asked a few stategically ill manouvered vehicles to back off.. No one budged till all ppl around started shouting.. Then finally got into my bus which was the first to leave the jam behind..God only knows how the rest of the traffic cleared.Then talked to the HAL bus driver in hindi tamil and english abt the jam and irresponsible people.From his reaction i could guess he knew only kannada.But human emotions were exchanged.Our minds spoke.So no language was required(Seems very romantic right ;-))..We chatted on till domlur abt lots of public issues like road,traffic,water,pollution,deforestation etc.. That too with no common language or translator between us.But this feat was easier than clearing the traffic..:-)

A few nice quotes worth to put as ur mail signatures..

Was searching for nice quotes to add as signature.The criterias were the quote should be funny,work related,non offfending and should have come out of the mouth of a famous person.So I did quite a bit of googling.Here is what i came up with.Use is as required..

"UNIX is basically a simple operating system, but you have to be a genius to understand the simplicity."
Dennis Ritchie.

"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers."
Pablo Picasso.

By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day.
Robert Frost

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
Robert Frost

The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.
Robert Frost

The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.
Robert Frost

If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.
Muhammad Ali

Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.
Muhammad Ali

Prashanth's Current Hairstyle..

====V
Hey people who care to see this post of mine.. Guess you are not dissappointed by my new looks..I look much better in person.this photo is not bright enough and i cant find a photoed s/w as of now.Shall put up a new edited one asap.Please post ur genuine comments (however awful they might be)..Its awfully late today.Tomorrow got to be here for induction by 9.30 AM.So leaving now.