Mega Bytes

Save the Bellandur Lake

2009-06-17T02:20:00.000-07:00

Renting a property overlooking the Bellandur Lake was a temptation I just couldnt resist. An early morning cuppa tea in the balcony about 100 ft away from the lake, visits from parrots, kingfishers, kites, unhindered beautiful sunset view.. who gets lung space like that in Bangalore! And as I counted myself amongst the lucky few.. slowly the perils of staying close to an unkempt lake started to rear its head!

Bellandur Tank is one of the largest water bodies in Bangalore. Several builders sold premium flats exposing buyers to a lifetime of susceptibility to skin diseases, breathing problems, lung and eye infections. The lovely Bellandur lake is changing its color to a darkish grey, water hyacinths, weeds abound the lake, a foul odor eminates occasionally. At the exit end of the lake, one can see heavy froth which indicates the lake is severely polluted through all the industrial effluents, sewerage being unceremoniously dumped into it. One can almost guess the huge impact this pollution must be having on the ecosystem dependent on the lake. Years ago, people from near by area would fish, even drink water from this lake. A news report from TOI dated early 2006, mentions growing number of health problems faced by nearby villages. Probably a few more years down the line, a similar report will mention residents in building complexes like ours, complaining of health issues due to prolonged exposure to polluted air/water from the lake(our complex survives on borewells for non drinking usage).

The Lake Development Authority of Bangalore, LDA, in perennial fight with the BWSSB over management and maintenance of Bangalore lakes, seems to have rehabilitated Ulsoor, Sankey tank recently. It had also put up proposals to privatize rehabilitation of lakes and invited tenders.. succesfully too as several prominent corporates responded most eagerly. Some like The Oberois were keen on making a eco-hotspot of the Hebbal Lake(a floating restaurant being there idea of eco :-) ). Some apartment complexes near Hebbal Lake are five star/premium areas including the monumental Bearys twin towers. The high and the mighty residing there will soon realize the health risks posed by the area enclosing their resort like haven and will be up in arms pushing for the Oberois, Leelas to reclaim land and build a nice posh hotel there and maintain the lake as a side project. Several of these attempts have been met with criticism and opposition by environmental groups that dont believe the privatization will work in favor of the environment since most earlier attempts have tragically ended up in reclaiming the land for rapid unmonitored growth.

There seem to be relatively few options agreeable to everybody. Bangalore does need its land.. hell, living on a possibly reclaimed land, working in an industry that contributed to the rapid downfall of everything beautiful in this city, I cannot be a hypocrite. But can development work hand in hand with nature and return as much as it takes back?

1. Allow reclaiming land on a promise of contribution to the maintenance of lake shore area near to their property. I have no idea how this needs to be enforced.
2. Why hate privatization? I agree Oberois's attempt to rehabilitate Hebbal lake wasnt exactly unselfish in nature.. but I can take a floating eco-themed restaurant to the foul smelling mosquito haven that the Hebbal Lake is now. There are concerns regarding access to the general public after privatization. Will Oberoi allow public access to the lake once its restaurant is seen floating on it. It might charge fees or worse barricade it off. And that is where the LDA might come into the picture.. forcing regulations on the corporate adoptive parent of the lake.
3. Whose responsibility is it to maintain these lakes? Why is LDA not a part of BBMP or a Govt appointed regulatory body? Where can I get latest information on the pollution levels in these lakes?

There seems to be little that is on a big public stage right now, unlike the 2008 attempt by "Hasiru Usiru" to protest against lake-privatization. I just joined a Praja group online and am asking questions on how you and me can help save our lakes.

You gotta have a heart.

2009-02-27T23:05:00.000-08:00

People, stop it already! I know theres an overdose of Slumdog everywhere before and after the Oscars, but you got to stop being so mean about this whole thing. Its just a movie.. and no I havent watched the other contenders for the best film but maybe Slumdog was the best film of the year. Nobody is saying its the best movie ever. And comeon, so what if Freida Pinto is stealing fashion headlines. Her indian looks are being celebrated elsewhere.. what harm does it do to us average joes. And I just cant seem to get the whole Mumbai being stereo-typed controversy. Its a adaptation of a book and not a Mumbai documentary. Slums are a big slice of life in Mumbai and just because it projects India's poverty, its existence cannot be denied.

Anil Kapoor perhaps rightly pointed out that the controversy in India about Slumdog is a testament to the fact that we debate freely here. True, if you have a opinion about the film, it ought to have touched you somewhere, right or the wrong way.

And now for perhaps the truer questions after the film's aura dies down: Will the Slum kids grow up to a good future? Will they study despite tasting heady success before knowing abject poverty? Will some good regional cinema finally get country wide recognition before we start to talk about Bollywood getting its due globally? Will we mention Resul, Gulzar equally enthusiastically as we celebrate Rehman? The film was fair in its portrayal.. a triumph of good, honest people.. will we be fair in the assessment and judgement of this heart-in-the-right-place saga?

Sanjay Stupid Dutt and his views - keep them off my newspaper!

2009-01-21T21:58:00.000-08:00

Why am I getting so pissed off about a random celebrity with no positive track record, save a adorable on screen character called Munnabhai, guzzling off one view after another on women marrying and not changing names!? Its because I have decided to take it personally! I had decided, way back... when I was probably 13-14 years old, that I would never change my last name as a ode to my parents who raised me as their own.

1) Last names are not something you earn.. they are handed down.. from your parents. After marriage, why does the female have to abandon her family tree altogether? I am pretty sure the family tree can easily be a graph, with a child node having two parent nodes (edge case for a married woman).

2) No... woman who dont change their last names arent trying to prove any point. Just as woman who do, arent. It isnt a feminist thing.. Its a choice of convenience. Its a choice of being the same person. I am trying to disassociate emotion from this whole issue. Because for most of us.. its a pain to get a "change of name" certificate from court and attach it to every identity card you once owned - passport, bank accounts, license etc etc. Email ids change, people you once studied with, worked with.. have a trouble tracing you down. What association do you have with your old name unless you add a "nee" and make it extraaa long! But am cool with women who chose to do that too.. coz again, its a matter of choice!

3) Times have changed for women who are financially independent. They manage their finances, have separate bank accounts, tax records and mostly joint ownership of assets like house or even lease agreements. Why pray would you need a husbands surname to get past financial dealings? And which bank does its business by associating surnames with relationships? Please tell me one benefit of changing my name. And pray tell me what the cons of not changing are too... Am I going to be looked down upon by traditionalists? Then before you harp on my name not changed status.. let me warn you by stating I have been a atheist for as long as I can remember :)

This isnt a open letter of rebellion. I dont consider changing my name to be a conservative move meant to disregard my independence. Most of my intelligent friends have changed their names and dont think it mattered much to them to change it. Just as it doesnt matter much to me to not change it.

So Mr Sanjay Dutt.. if it offends you.. please keep your sorry ideas to yourself. Your sorry incapable self, with a humiliating drug addiction, AK47 past, and despite that entering active politics, offends me no end!

Ring in the new year!

2009-01-01T21:35:00.000-08:00

Friends, readers, bloggers, spammers, trolls and all ye general junta dropping in and reading this and not necessarily knowing me or knowing me only virtually,

Heres wishing you a dazzling, fun filled, spectacular new year! Exercise, sleep right, travel, work hard and stay away from trouble!

2008 was funny for me and my earnest hopes for 2008 have not, as usual, completely fallen through.. yet :) I am excited abt 2009! I am.. I think more sure of what I want to do and what is it that will make me happy. Hope you guys feel the same. Once again, Happy New Year! Keep passing by...

Expecto Patronum!

2008-12-03T23:47:00.000-08:00

Spells in the wizarding world can save you from dark evil forces and call for your protector, saviour through a heart filled with love and your favorite memories. As my country falls into gloom, still reeling from Mumbai attacks, its time everyone invoked their Petronus!

While shows of solidarity, spiteful sms'es, anger ridden youth calling for war against Pak, rule much of India's times today, I cant help but wonder, where is this intense patriotism when beefed up security at malls peeves you, when a traffic rule is violated and theres no hestitation taking a 100 rupee note to get out of the mess, when a packet of chips is devoured and callously thrown out of your zooming car, when you age to the year of 25 and yet dont own a voter registration card, when your friday night-out ends in drunken stupor and you cant find the way to the nearest "Sulabh Shauchalaya"?? My dear angry young friends... its time you realize your duty as a citizen of this country too! If your raging hormones are focused solely on whats wrong with the country today rather than whats wrong with YOU in the first place, I am afraid the future will be dark and gloomy. Every generation fights its own wars..our parents fought the British, we fight terror and our children will fight global warming. But the difference is our parents did give us a better future.. what world are we leaving behind for our children?

Mumbai and everything wrong in the past 3 days

2008-11-29T08:43:00.000-08:00

It just felt wrong to do anything, talk about anything and worry about anything other than Mumbai for the past 3-4 days. I have studied in Mumbai for some part of my student life and being around the majestic Taj constitutes the fondest of memories. The overwhelming feeling of anger directed towards our administration is palpable, esp so in the blogosphere. The current age mantri and the new age indian, educated and free thinking, dont go hand in hand. This current set of old style governance just doesnt do for any right thinking indian today. I will exercise my right to vote in Feb 2009, so that I get my right to point fingers when the Government screws up, but who should I vote???

I have simply missed the Twitter bus so far....

2008-11-24T22:35:00.000-08:00

Twitter is serious. It just reached its billionth tweet a few days back and so far I have not taken this bus to micro-blogging.

Neeraj and me just argued last night about the recently released Magpie business model and looks like every Tech guru is wondering if Twitter can make serious money without irritating customers with ad tweets or ads on the Twitter home.

When it released it felt like a fun way, if you had a close knit group texting each other all the time, to be in virtual touch. But businesses have caught onto it... real time news, market updates, shopping deals, corporate accounts with 1000s of followers.. it doesnt cost anything to tweet right now. And it has made way into peoples desktops and mobile phones too.. I am catching the bus this time. Let me know where you tweet.. I do it here.

Does my Social Network know more about me than me?!

2008-11-18T21:50:00.000-08:00

Its a weird.. almost clandestine movement.. they ask you a few personal questions.. and store them.. maybe even encrypt.. and then they give you privacy controls to manage who should see how old you are and who is it that you think has a "sexy" karma rating?

My social network.. although I think I trust it.. is like a bad bad friend.. who is so powerful.. you just cant turn away from the fun and a feeling of camaraderie when you meet it. It puts you into a instant feeling of not being alone in this world.. even if all of us are behind cubicles at home or work.. not having talked to a soul in the last 3-4 hours.

Its a world where Facebook/Orkut knows so much about your life that if it decides to somehow go rogue and secretly sell your data (even as little as your email) it could be a instant multi-billionaire! And now its not just when you are on Facebook that it knows who you are in-and-out but it allows other hungry marketers(aargh Its a Sarah Palin hangover.. "hungry markets", remember!?) to tap into you and your precious social graph. Facebook Connect, MySpace Data Portability, FriendFeed APIs.. Web2.0 is all about why make people bother about answering the same questions everywhere. Although the intention is perhaps pure.. a ignorant user can really fall prey to how these APIs behave. Social Media, a social network advertising company uses a technique called as FriendRank where it decides which friend is closest to you and uses that persons name or activity to target ads at you. Hmm fair to some.. but likely the targeted person is closest to their spouses or family that they dont have to scrap to! Also some seriously stupid applications wont even tell you what kind of update would go to your social network when you interact with it.

As social networks continue to climb up the top 10 websites on Alexa, educating users about how they can use their privacy controls is far more important! Lest we dump them and go back to the traditional way of meeting people.. personally and face-to-face!

Lead us!?

2008-11-11T22:14:00.000-08:00

On the vein of national leaders to your very own managers.. from homemakers to school teachers.. from literary giants to your favorite bloggers.. everyone is looking for somebody that knows better than them! Somebody you look up to for that validation.. Thoughts make their way through a group of peoples heads and then a person they idolize writes or speaks or blogs about it...either on global political stage, or your very own office team! And thats it... we start following them. It literally becomes a movement however big or small.

With more and more time spent on news and views from others, your very own voice sometimes feels drowned. So you are forced to either be left or right depending on which news channel you watch, which blog you subscribe. Is there a middle ground in these polarized times? When it comes to leaders, atleast in the tech-world, people management skills include being approachable and moderate. But the same doesnt work for non tech world.. leaders are expected to be at extreme ends.. if Congress says Raj Thackeray is BJP-ShivSena cultivated rogue.. BJP says Congress needs the marathi vote bank and wont put him behind bars. If Obama says financial crisis times such as these need government to re-distribute its wealth.. McCain says its socialism and kills american dreams. If Congress says India's economic stability in these times is due to democratic ideals being adhered to, Left says it's opposition to reforms has saved India.

News and views are expected to enrich people to make up their own minds. But we seem to be falling prey to a very cleverly cultivated media-thought of the 21st century. Welcome to the world where there is no middle ground! Our leaders are leading us... right to where they want us to! And we follow them everywhere.. through our T.V channels and our rss readers.

There is ever more need for moderate action and balanced views than ever before. Religious leanings, political beliefs and even your preferred IDE are dictated by your leaders. When you get a chance or a stage where you beg to differ.. even from the ones you feel can do no wrong.. dont forget to say your word confidently and without fear.

Who should be India's next leader?

2008-10-18T23:20:00.000-07:00

There is an overdose of the U.S elections on T.V, news sites, blogs! I am regurgitating now..

Lets talk about our country. In terms of elections, Indian voters are as diverse as chalk and cheese. There are some jumping and riding high on the economic boom with India's growing rise as a quality offshore services sector. And there are those who worry about tomorrows meal, water and fight with floods and disease. Throw in also a mix of radical religion freaks. So what kind of a leader should lead these diverse set of people?

There is no doubt the predominant section of politicians everywhere around the world are ageing historians who rely on old style lobbying, mud slinging and voter wooing to win elections. But taking a cue from the U.S presidential elections, it just wouldnt do anymore for the head of the country (and any country for the matter) to be just 'experienced' in politics. So much of the present world is about business, technology and deft handling of foreign affairs that people will look to someone who is smarter than them. I am not sure much of our school-dropout, divisive politics playing mantris, have a very developed brain and I am sorry I wont vote for anybody who is not a ounce smarter than me. Hell I am not sorry I am saying that either! Wake up you old fools.. we dont need a leader that allows regional politicos to kill growth.. the Singur issue, the 'Marathi Manus' rising cult in Maharashtra, the church burning rampaging goons, growing threat of terrorism! It feels like India struggles with its diversity.. a leader cannot make a speech in a language that 100% people can understand.. our free democracy feels like a farce. Every rise in per capita income of the middle class story is compounded by a much neglected story of the common man.. who suffers every time somebodys religion becomes sensitized.

There are chances India gets another coalition government and much of the struggle of the government is in making every corn in the pizza rise to the topping.. We need a leader that is not only smart.. but rises above these coalition government tactics.. its very very hard! The economic growth will foster with any government I guess but we first need to clean our states and rid them of the regional gang mafia. Every religious issue we make national burning news.. India is put back 10 years on the growth path. And some say India could be a developed nation by 2020.. somedays the news on T.V and papers makes me feel I wont see the day in my lifetime :(

A beauty caught in the beast of US politics!

2008-09-30T23:33:00.000-07:00

Well who doesnt know Sarah Palin by now. Even if you didnt know(as an Indian i.e), I am sure President Zardari's insistence on a hug splashed across page 3 :), must have caught your attention on the beautiful VP candidate for US presidential elections. Well, I am not going to post pot shots on her as most comedy shows airing in the US are doing (they are hilarious though!! :D)... I would say republicans have ruined her political career by depending on her persona more than her capabilities Right Now! I am not supporting her but I do want to sympathise with her for being a national joke during her television interviews for not a whole lot of her own fault. Did the republicans care that she was unprepared?! Nopes, they probably looked for a maverick with strong church leanings, beautiful smile and mostly clean personal life.

So whats a new take on Sarah Palin.. that she is a victim of intense expectations. A beauty who might have risen to power early on due to her arresting looks and smart personality. And why pray a woman is not in support of a woman, coz its not always about supporting your sisterhood.. its should ALWAYS be about caliber and potential. Theres no doubt she is charismatic and a crowd puller (maybe for a whole lot of wrong reasons) but she definitely could have been a potential 10-15 years down the line with more experience and stronger oratory skills. But then can you get smarter without inherently being one? U.S elections much like ours alas are not always about who is the candidate with most caliber.. so maybe she will have better media approval ratings then.

I am just pondering on a related topic though.. women with good looks and working towards a position in power? I have seen instances up-close with several of my good looking friends, albeit in all the cases, the ladies were tremendously talented, struggling on allegations of being unfairly promoted. Its unlikely not to notice what identifies oneself as unique on earth, our facial features. But being discriminated against them.. huh, its tough.

Being Sarah Palin must be really tough right now.. if the only real talent in her is her beauty and persona then that is being correctly refused as a plus point. But if she's got it in her and is waiting to reveal it at the upcoming VP debate, I am sorry for her coz she is being unfairly discriminated against by those who think "beauty is naturally a dumb".

You have a new friend request..

2008-09-22T10:06:00.000-07:00

A typical page view of Orkut/Facebook/BigAdda whatever is your cup of tea.. a pending friend request.. the first name is very very familiar but it could be anybody.. click ..
WHAT!!

Its your parent!! Also net savvy now.. very excited about finding old college friends/colleagues online and loving every moment of "getting back in touch". Well, for a Gen X'er(meaning somebody like me) this probably is not a big concern.. there are not that many skeletons hiding in those profiles. But for Gen Y!! Hmm.. these younglings could have tons of closets worth of stuff to hide away.. now come on.. your profile is your personality.. your fans, scrapbooks, testimonials, umm other sensitive personal profile information.. wow thats a whole bunch of info that takes a lifetime for parents to get out of their children!

Its interesting for the latest fad, social networking, to very quickly be the next hottest argument on family dinner tables..

"I saw that you already watched Dark Knight.. it released yesterday, no? Did you bunk college to go watch a movie!? "

"I dont like your profile pic.. cant you put up that nice saree pic from your cousins wedding? Your papa's friend's son Sameer must be on Orkut too... add him as a friend. Interact with him beta."

"Sit I have something important to talk to you.. since when did you start smoking?"

"Who is this person you are committed to???? The only thing I can have you committed to is your room upstairs with no INTERNET CONNECTION!"

"Sniff.. what wrong did I do to make you like this.. didnt I give you the right upbringing.. Oh god, what if that Mr Sen who sent me a friend request yesterday has seen your profile??? What face will I show to work tomm! You have to like girls if you are a boy. A boy liking a boy is ok only in foren countries.."

Disturbing Orange!

2008-09-12T02:41:00.000-07:00

A recent japanese anime sci-fi addiction led me to a list of all time great sci-fi movies and we (me and Neeraj) landed up on A Clockwork Orange.

Such disturbingly daring is the movie that, even though it being made in 1971, still has great power to shake you, shiver you, gross you and more. Alex, the protagonist, what a character! Hatred is only a very mild emotion he evokes with this portrayal!

The impact of the movie lingers on until you voluntarily do something to start shaking off its tenterhooks. Both of us who witnessed the cult masterpiece last night, have a lingering hang over. I dont know whether to say I liked it.. coz you cant say you liked it, can you? All that I feel right now is that although I do enjoy movies that make me think or question long after I have watched them, I am not sure I want to ever remember the ordeal I went through last night. Yet! As I woke up today morning, I couldnt help but wikiped the movie and read all about its making, the intense controversy surrounding the film, the trivia about a extra quitting the movie after being made to act in a highly disturbing scene!

I know now what I need to do to get over this frightener! Spread the word around about it.. a la Ringu!

define:chrome

2008-09-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

Google baba is out with a new browser! And while I cant wait to compare it with Firefox..it doesnt work for Mac yet. Must say they do know everything about advertising.. this comic gig was kinda cute and it features engineers, managers, testers who worked on Chrome.

I think they had some nervous times during the launch! Grabbed a screen shot of their help pages not working.. hee hee :D the devil in me is kicking hard :D

Am I the only one!!??

2008-08-31T05:11:00.000-07:00

WHO THINKS THIS IS GREAT MUSIC!!???

Wow.. how ingenious is this track!? And oh you know what.. Himesh (the greatest ever btw) should sell CDs with a tandoori chicken leg as complimentary! Umm people will just lick over this track.. yummy as it sounds!

Tan tanna tanna.. Tandoori nights.. tandoori nights.. wow.. this marriage of best of both worlds - music and food. Oh oh and wait.. how about.. Tak tak takka, tikka days, tikka days :) I am getting the hang of it.

I am listening to this one right now.. let me pump up the volume of my fantabulous 2.1 ... umm much better.. wait was that a sound of eggs breaking in my courtyard! Neighbours! If you cant understand the genius of Mr Himesh the ReshamiKebab, I cant begin to tell you how bad your taste (of tandoori food) is actually.

Tan tanna tanna Tandoori nights... tandoori nights.......Tan tanna tanna Tandoori nights... tandoori nights.......Tan tanna tanna Tandoori nights... tandoori nights.......Tan tanna tanna Tandoori nights... tandoori nights.......

Alright! I need help!

2008-04-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

I am addicted! I was doomed the day I knew the contract. I could bet its gonna happen. The game begins and makes you a dummy. And its not a minor suit.. its a major trump!!

Folks.. after 4 hours of burning the screen and my fingers with lightening fast movements over the bridge, here I stand before you with head held down with shame over undone laundry, unfinished grocery, fridge with unidentified packets of the distant past and a functional spec left unread :(

O ye Pondicherry....

2008-03-28T03:28:00.000-07:00

... here we come!

Ever wonder...

2008-01-23T01:21:00.000-08:00

... like you are not doing something that you should be doing? Like some big change is about to happen and that what you are doing now is not the thing you are destined to do? If you are nowhere near to this scenario.. congratulations, you are in your dream job. I once went to some random site online to see where my career aptitude puts me into, the answers, and my manager will benefit most from it, is surprisingly "Fisheries/Forestry/Legal/Law/Media/Journalism". Hmm.. the choices amongst themselves are varied enough to confuse someone who wants to legitimately choose a career. Since I am already decently paid and probably not supremely unhappy doing what I am doing, I shrugged the results off.

Months later, I find myself going back to these alternative career options. Not exactly as in the list though. The year has not exactly started off with a bang.. US economy recessing, Sensex plunging, some decent amount of wealth invested diminishing in a matter of 2 days, bank balance lighter by a significant amount, some work at office getting screwed up because of a communication error.. I feel my head is migrating towards forming a scenario where I could be doing something else.

Tell me you guys, have you ever thought of going onto switch to a drastically different career path? I dont have many options though.. I dont possess any talents that I could build on top of. Cant sing or paint or cook well enough for someone to pay me for it :)

I would certainly want to try to do something different though.. may not be full time. Its sad to think of myself as still coding some 10 years down the line (And no I cant be a manager, product or people or development). Sad to think that growing up the technical ladder is a hard thing and one can only hope to be "Principal Engineer" with much struggle and much application.

Is there such a thing as "soul-satisfying" job or "dream" job?

And we step into another brand new year !

2007-12-30T20:56:00.000-08:00

Wish all of you guys a very very happy new year!

Are you the resolutions kind of person? I used to be one.. :) Now I am a hopeful person.. I just hope I can do the foll in decreasing order of priority:
1) Travel more.. I want to add a trek to Leh Ladakh in our travel itinerary this year. Also a visit to Uttaranchal.. umm.. I would love that!
2) Start a earnest attempt to have our own house. For folks who know about the tragedy of our booked flat in a village further away from Whitefield, you probably sympathize with me.
3) Spend some more time learning clever gardening. Invest cheap, care more and reap greeener rewards :)
4) Find time in betweens to work :D re-engineer some of the stuff we released this year. The launch this year was satisfying but it also took a lot away... all those endless hours at office. I want to dig deeper down to get some motivation going for that!

All this and more folks.. I am hopeful! Hope the new year brings all that you hope for too!

Happppppppppppppppyy New Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyear!!!!!!!!

Deep into music reverie........

2007-12-07T04:05:00.000-08:00

......... Mehki mehki hai raahein, behki behki hai nigahen..
hmmmm... Rehman at his very best in the beautifully composed Zubeidaa. Listening to this one makes you feel 21st century bollywood music is redeemed by some of his kind only. God bless you Rehman.. may you look more towards the indian shores :)

Ain't this song yummy!!?

2007-12-06T21:02:00.000-08:00

Note the delectable "TaNa taNa Ta" in between the song.. cute no ? :)

The science of philosophy

2007-11-25T21:47:00.000-08:00

Spent a lazy Sunday finishing The Alchemist. I didnt know how to react to this book once I started reading. Obviously the work is very famed but if you are new to "Soul of the World", "Language of the World", "Elixir of Life" phrases, you are likely to be a little amused. A work of philosophy is always a tough cookie to crack.. but I just couldnt keep the book down. The story in itself along with its VERY extreme philosophical connotations is very endearing to those who understand why one should TRAVEL (and I fall under that bucket of people).

Also towards the end, I was a little surprised that the book doesnt look at materialism with a frown. A bag of spanish coins for the Shepherd for his journey through the desert to the Pyramids is a reward for following his dreams. I didnt expect the treasure to be a materialistic one.. really I didnt. So theres hope for people who think fulfilling their personal legend means kicking back on a recliner and watching their favorite old movie on a spanky new LCD TV :)

I also read about Coehlo's early life on Wikipedia... hmm.. the torture of his early childhood (being subjected to electric shocks because he was artistically inclined) must have left a scar deep within him to look at world with mystic, hippie, married-to-wandering eyes... Most great works stem from trauma.

Neverthless, this book is something anybody can read.. and at any age. Its bound to leave behind an impression. Whether you buy the whole spiritual, metaphysical, talk with the wind and sun idea or not.. the story of a boy who is street smart, knows how to succeed in business, has a heart that melts on seeing beauty and ultimately succeeds in finding a treasure..is one that will put a smile on anybodys face.

Yet another SNS?

2007-09-15T23:06:00.000-07:00

When this content emerged on my email the zillionth time....."I just joined Shelfari to connect with other...", I was baffled with the crazed Online Social Networking boom this year is facing. And it refuses to die.. it seems like a "beaten to death and reborn" kinda idea but yet somehow startups foster sometimes with Bollywood based themes or sometimes as creative as this. I liked Shelfari because I read books.. everybody reads books and we read new books either because somebody we know read a good book and recommended it to us or the book became a bestseller. This one is a good one.. and I instantly set up a profile. It allows you to import your books from Amazon wishlists, Barnes and Nobles stores, allows you to join online book reading clubs, discuss the books and even promises posts from famous authors! So come on you readers.. join up!

Interestingly, its funded by.. you know who.. Big Book Daddy :-)

Nice girls dont get the corner office?

2007-08-29T01:31:00.000-07:00

Lois P. Frankel, President Corporate Coaching, wrote a book on 101 things women in competitive careers should never do, if they want to rise up in the ladder. Well I got to thinking about this when I received a forward, followed by a interesting discussion with several career women responding to it and realizing it is the truth.

Its strange how we women never mention or discuss openly about struggles we encounter to make our mark in male dominated fields. One of the points in the list of 101 is: playing office politics. As women, we are often blamed for being the gossip mongers (a fact I always solidly fight against though), but when it comes to playing a role in dirty office politics, we often cover down, back out or put up a emotional stand. There are ways (as this book suggests) to play your cards (without selling your conscience) and be a active part of it such that things work in your advantage.

Its a big thing to first get past the "Miss goody two shoes" hang up and "I am here to work hard without expectations" blurb, for we women! But unless we let go of it, we can never be a REAL part of the rat-race (sad but true).

Hair pruning.. :(( baawwwwllll

2007-08-12T23:10:00.000-07:00

I rate this as the worst haircut of my entire life! And no.. I am not going to attach any snaps to allow you a hearty laugh :p

Its more like a "boy" cut with a little bit of a twist.. a horrid one at that.. :( I have no idea why the salon professional (as she calls herself) decided to have her bad day @ work exactly at the same time I sat on her leather cutting chair.. I knew mid way where it was headed towards.. I knew it.. knew it well enuf that the hair terminator had lost sense of whether a boy sat on her cutting chair or a girl. But WHY ME!!? WHY... :(((

Its going to be this attire for as long as it takes me to recover:

How are you going to pay on the net?!

2007-08-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

... the "F" in "FPS" stands for flexible only!... Just to clarify anything else you might have been in your mind :p

What we offer is a easy way for small time developers to transfer the burden of managing payments, even micro at that, to us! We offer, what Amazon is famous for pioneering, a neat set of APIs to build around your application and get money in and out of your own set of customers. Looking at when we launched and the timeline (which was a weekend and it has been 3 days since), we have received unparalleled response for FPS. Its become a story doing the rounds on Paypal, Google hate blogs... its been in news watch, market watch blogs.. you name it. And I am so proud to say.. almost all of it is so positive.

It feels great to be a part of a product that has such a impact. Readers, you will be happy for me if you know me.. since this is the first product that has seen the light of the door in all my previous companies :) I am still not allowed to disclose what part of the product we build in the bangalore office. But I consider it the most exciting, challenging area in this whole payments business. This stint of mine has been the best learning experience. Amazon is one of the companies I consider doing the best work in town.. and now I can finally share what I have been clandestinely doing all this while at work with all my friends.

But with all the bouquets come some thorns... but that is a story for another day.

YIPPPPEEE!!! We have done it!!

2007-08-02T22:33:00.000-07:00

After 1.6 years of silent, furious, mind boggling work, we are out!!!!!

I am super excited and super super happy and much more than that super duper relieved. Its like a labour of love.. ummm more appropriate labour of work!

Catch up more on this blog.. to know more abt how we did it!

ICICI Bank Infinity service down since 2 days!!?

2007-08-02T02:08:00.001-07:00

Wow.. can this happen in this day and age?!! Try this link:
ICICI Infinity.

I use this link at the beginning of every month, almost every 3rd day of the week.. paying my colleagues/friends for treats, gifts. I pay my mobile bill online.. pay my rent.. pay my credit card bill.. I am not a happy person to be around when this site goes down!!!

Aargh.. so what have I done.. I have called ICICI customer care and some really really DUMB customer service guy picked up the call and kept redirecting me here and there. My patience doesnt last so long really..

How can this happen?!! I am dumbfounded.. they are the leading private banks, millions of people receive their salaries in their banks! Most folks I know never visit the bank to withdraw money or deposit checks.. everything works off this site. Dont their software/IT folks carry pagers.. how can they have a downtime of 2 days!!? How are they dealing with this crisis even if the problem is hard to solve? Have they informed their customer care to be prompt, polite and aware of this issue?!!

What age are we living in??!! This seems like stone age for a online bank payments service.. I am terribly terribly disappointed!!

KK - Ur koffee cuppa?

2007-04-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

I have to make a confession here .. umm... I am actually quite entertained watching this show. Karan is surprisingly quite a sensible...often funny, sometimes witty, host. I cringed at a few episodes from his first season.. but he is much improved in season 2 of the show. The show with Tabu, Mira Nair and Farah Khan was hilarious :D. I also happened to watch the one with Mallika and Sanjay Leela.. he knew just when to stop the rampaging talkative Mallika (although I personally feel she is articulate, and tremendously original). He is not a very intrusive host, doesnt get into too much conversation, unlike Shekhar Suman on Movers and Shakers(his guests left talking lesser than him on the show, aargh). If only he made movies I can manage to sit through...

Love2Hate them?

2007-02-05T21:45:00.000-08:00

This gives me renewed hope that music will remain something that I can enjoy for the rest of my life. I really do, really reallllllllllllly do hate this guys music.. barring the tolerable aashiq banaya apne... I have always cringed at the slightest note of his music reaching my ears. And the more he tops the charts, the more I hate it. I think I just love to hate him?!

Theres a science, psychology if you wish, behind this very interesting fact of loving to hate. There are thousands of sites that are devoted to concluding that there are few people in this world, famous only because people love to hate them. Hilton sisters, Britney Spears, our home grown Himesh.. what is their claim to fame other than the fact that they keep topping these lists. And I know they are not complaining, they repeat their guffaws in public, repeatedly sing trash and watch people squirm in their seats and flog to sites as extreme as this. Tell me if we know any kind of publicity is good, we are helping them keep filling their coffers and become the most imporatnt people of this century! I for one should NOT blog about them.. there I go adding one more page that is linked to these keywords hot on Google search! Aargh!!?

P.S: Notice how quickly I update this blog? ;) Welcome back to me.. hope the next ones not in 2009 :D

Mourn Lisa

2006-05-31T00:52:00.000-07:00

Watched the Vinci code yesterday.. must say I am kinda disappointed. The book was so much more thrilling. I hardly felt any pace ... no racy escapes from the Louvre, no exhilaration watching the getaways in planes, threatening encounters near the Templar effigies.. was the director trying to downplay the thrill factor and was preoccupied showing every bit and piece written in the book?

When filmmakers try and screenplay a book.. they should first decide.. who do they want to do justice to? The book.. or the viewer? Imagine the viewer getting a 2 min peek at the life and story of the albino in Vinci code.. the book potrayed his fervent, self destructive faith much more passionately. I was dissatisfied with the potrayal of the Monk.. he is such a important character in the book. Each chapter containing the Teacher and the Monk's interaction is so edgy.

The problem with the movie is not that its poor in direction.. the characters just appear pre-occupied presenting a emotion that is not shared with the viewer. One book adaptation I enjoyed is the Harry Potter series. And look at the character of Harry itself.. the actor is so convincing in his role.

Well.. film-makers.. bring on the creative energy.. audiences have been starving for a blockbuster.. work out the Matrix magic!!!

Code decode

2006-05-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

Who doesnt like lots of good tasty tasty code... but talk about getting it reviewed and you arent so sure your life is a song. Code reviews are bad things for your self confidence. Your bad almost habitual practices like:
var a1=0;
y= foo(bar(a)==1?2:3, zee(ohNo));
if(b==c) print "Error"; //TODO: write to log file.. later :)

come right in your face when your senior sits down looking at what in the name of code have you churned out. You sheepishly grin and say.. "woh to aise hi jaldi main likh diya.. I have to fix it sometime yaar.. been busy fixing that other.. that one you know.. was higher priority".

Ok lets picture this.. you have a urgent fix to make. You try testing your fix and something breaks somewhere.. somewhere in the remote corner of Antarctica. Ughh.. you debug.. debug and after hajaar break points later.. hit upon something like line no 2 of sample code written above!! You bang the enter key twice or thrice.. make the computer complain with beeps, mouth obscenties.. call your dear peer solely responsible for that line number 2! Mind races to questions like why on earth is code written like that doing in the source control!

The thing is code sits around on its ass, in its source control haven...bloating day by day.. as if nobody is ever going to interact with it after its birth. But the thing is.. code does have its day out.. some functional testing day.. some production day.. when it breaks its ass.. and ppl talk to it, dot it with break points.. plead to it.. curse it.. stare at its ugly face at 2 in the midnight. Now they know... why does bugzilla offer so many code review niceties.

Code review is good.. a little pain in the ass yes.. but certainly worth its while if only people wake up to it and forget blaming it as things you do when you have enough time.

Hey!!.... 28? Why arent you married yet...?

2006-05-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

... nearing 30? Why dont you have kids yet?... ugghh.. why do people in some of your social circles end up asking you these highly uncomfortable questions? I had say, these questions and the more often said "hey.. have you put on weight" should be entirely banned from social chit chat! Worse.. these questions are actually quite personal.. obviously you cannot tell them "I used to date this guy and we had a bad break up. Am not ready to mingle just yet.." or ... "no money for the baby honey.. EMI too high" or the worst of the evils .. "A Dominos has opened up close to my house".

There ought to be a book written on "The Best ways to strike a conversation without asking... ". Do you ever go through the routine of rehearsing reactions to any of the above comments when you have to meet acquaintances after a long gap of time. Meeting relatives when you go visting at your native place is the killer!! Why do some uncle's wife's mausi's husband's mother wonder why you are not getting married, or not carrying a baby in your laps! I know when you interact at social gatherings you ought to make that very awkward, quick conversation.. enquire about ppl's kids and their schools, briefly discuss how busy office life is and explain how little time you have left for your vacation because of which you cannot make it to the blah persons house for a visit. Well, stick to all that, refrain from the more personal turfs, please.

Take it or leave it

2006-04-05T02:42:00.000-07:00

Yah yah.. the same old same old.. wanted to blog since ancient times but never got to doing it.

Hoping to have a good time on omegabytes :) see u around! and hey come back.. I might return the favour by aggregating ur blog :D