Those two girls !

I was getting fond of Ann. We called her Annie. She was here for a quick two months duration, and left us feeling as if we knew her for ages. She had good things to talk about - big dreams and bigger ambitions ! Animation it was, she was into the animation stream of NID. Ann and Arpita, Arpita into exhibition design. Annie stayed with me and Arpita with Golu. These young girls were so full of life and creativity, you wouldn't get tired being with them :) I saw their sketchbooks and felt aweful about mine. Those were called THE sketches, amazing handwork and in not much time. They would draw sketches and make animated movies out of that, everything clubbed together and stuffed in adobe as frames becomes a movie - say 120 such frames/sketches make a 12 sec movie - depends on the speed of motion needed. Man, this was news to me. Animation is vast, this is only one bit of the whole picture. They had other projects too in their internships. Annie had six in all - creating animated alphabets book on a monster theme being one of them. This was crazy. Oh and I remember one more. She used to talk about cats some days. She loved cats. When asked to choose a topic for an important project to capture its nuances creatively, she chose a cat :| The cat story supposedly had three phases. The expressions that she got from us after narrating those phases, made her give up the idea of working on a cat project :) Arpita had one project, turning a large empty room into a laser tank gaming studio :O Yes, for commercial use. She started with wall-painting. Every evening she would be back in the same torn jean with half a gallon asian paint on it, with a complimentary pungent paint-warnish smell. We called her yo-types girl :) She is an avid reader, a witty damsel. You name it and she would have read it already. I wanted to take her sketchbooks to my workplace, and cant recollect why I didn't! Watching 2-3 movies everyday to understand the lights and sounds and blah blah was a part of their job. I was falling for their profession :D Interesting, the other side of the grass is always greener. It would however have its own set of sad stories too. Two months passed so quick, we never realized it was time for them to go back. Crazy girls, some days they would sleep for 18 hours, and other days they would spend their days working and nights watching two movies minimum! The night walks for dinners and ice-creams were good too. I miss these girls, they had some good sparks in their eyes and an uncompromising desire to explore the whole wide world! Long to spend some time with them yet again :)

Teenage Dream .. wink !

Loved this one. "Words for teenagers" was the title when published.

Northland College principal John Tapene has offered the following words from a judge who regularly deals with youth. "We always hear the cry from teenagers, 'what can we do, where can we go? ' "
My answer is this: "Go home, mow the lawn, wash the windows, learn to cook, build the raft, get a job, visit the sick, study your lessons and after you've finished, read a book. Your town does not owe you recreational facilities and your parents do not owe you fun.
The world does now owe you a living, you owe the world something.You owe it your time, energy and talent so that no one will be at war, in sickness and lonely again. In other words grow up, stop being a cry baby, get out of your dream world and develop a backbone not a wishbone. Start behaving like a responsible person. You are important and you are needed. It's too late to sit around and wait for somebody to do something, someday. Someday is now and that somebody is you ! "

Judge not !

And today I spoke to her for long. Very long ! Strange but true, I felt good talking to her. The initial opinion about her got washed off. She drinks, n she is so talkative, informal and  this and that.. ohhhh mmm huh ok were the initial thoughts, I wondered if she would be any sensible, so what if she is a light social drinker. Dumb-headed another girl in the crowd. But I was so wrong yet another time !

 Another lesson, and another time - judge not the people around you, for you would be judged with the same measure. Oh well, but I wasn't judging her at all. I was just thinking if she would understand all that I have to say. I think she understood, and understood pretty well. The talkative me was quiet this time, and it was she narrating stories of the whole wide world. Oh the never ending stories :) Work pressure as she calls it! People claiming about destinies after paying a few bucks. Is it really in her hands? What if God says No? Where does she get a role to play? Maybe God has another plan, and for good ofcourse. And maybe He wanted you to lose on a few bucks and teach you something out of that. Why does she in that case has to take the abuses?

 Happens ! Its a lot of give-n take here. Does life come with a guarantee? Is anything absolute (even when they claim it is) ? When you think of deploying an enodeB out there, are you sure there wouldn't be many problems? God's ways are different. He is nice, but His discipline  comes hard. I'm going off the track. Back to her. So full of life and positivity, so chirpy and yet so thoughtful, so bubbly and yet so meticulous. While it was so dark and for so long, she knew there would soon be light. It was a nice conversation, she sounds convincing, and more than that - honest. Honesty makes me fall, over n over n over again :) I look forward to see her someday.

Phulka making Indian wives !

Here we have what Chetan Bhagat has to say about the Indian homemakers. It sure is a controversial read, and many of us would not completely agree to what he puts forward. But an interesting read yes, in an era where the face of India is under a quick transition phase. Twenty years down the line, even if it turns all western here, we would still see the phulka making caring wives and mothers around (and I'm glad we would continue to see them). This doesn't mean women stop working. All they have to do is to cook, clean and wash for all their lives (this also is a full time work btw). Things can be managed. Definitions change over time. There are women who have been hard working professionals and good home makers at the same time. Hiring a cook or a domestic help is a personal choice and may vary from individual to individual. This is not important however, what important is to be happy and content. It may come by cooking, cleaning, helping the little ones with their home work, working hard in your workplace or by doing all of this. Depends !!

But what he writes here is no wrong either. He exalts the working women - and for good reasons. Money talks - yes, but you can probably have upper limits to the amount that is enough to talk maybe. I know this sounds vague :) Though he doesn't use a negative connotation for the other set of women, I couldn't buy the idea of eradicating the traditionally dressed up homemakers completely (he doesn't pen it explicitely though).

Read on !
Recently, I saw the recently released movie,Cocktail. The plot revolves around a philanderer hero who has to make the tough choice between two hot women. The uber-modern movie was set in London. The characters drank, danced in nightclubs and had one-night stands with aplomb. They worked in new-age aspirational jobs like glamour photography, graphic art and software design. And yet, the guy eventually chooses the girl who cooks home food, dresses conservatively, wins his mother’s approval and is happy to be the ideal Indian wife. In fact, even the rejected girl, a free-spirited, independent woman agrees to change herself. To get the guy, she is happy to cook and change her lifestyle to match that of the ideal Indian wife.

While the movie was fun, such depictions disturb me a little. When successful, strong women are portrayed as finding salvation in making dal and roti for their husbands, one wonders what kind of India we are presenting to our little girls.
Really, is that what a woman’s life is all about — to make hot phulkas? Of course, i shouldn’t be so bothered, many would say. It is a Bollywood movie. The commercial pressure to present a palatable story is real. Above all, the makers have a right to tell the narrative they want.
Yet, when our most modern and forward cinema sinks into regressive territory, it is unfair to our women. It is also depressing because deep down we know such attitudes exist. Many Indian men, even the educated ones, have two distinct profiles of women — the girlfriend material and the wife material. One you party with, the other you take home. The prejudice against non-traditional women who assert themselves is strong.
Let us look at another part of the world. Yahoo, a leading tech firm and a Fortune 500 company, recently hired a new woman CEO, Marissa Mayer. What’s more, she was six months pregnant when she was hired, a fact she did not hide in her interviews.
Marissa will take some time off after childbirth and will be back at work later. She can manage both. There is something to celebrate about that. Marissa is a role model for women and even men.
I’d like Indian men to have an open mind about choosing their life partners and revise their ‘ideal woman’ criteria. Having a traditional wife who cooks, cleans and is submissive might be nice. However, choosing a capable, independent and career-oriented woman can also bring enormous benefits. For instance, one, a man who marries a career woman gets a partner to discuss his own career with. A working woman may be able to relate better to organizational issues than a housewife. A spouse who understands office politics and can give you good advice can be an asset. Two, a working woman diversifies the family income streams. In the era of expensive apartments and frequent lay-offs, a working spouse can help you afford a decent house and feel more secure about finances. Three, a working woman is better exposed to the world. She brings back knowledge and information that can be useful to the family. Whether it’s the latest deals or the best mutual fund to invest in, or even new holiday destinations, a working woman can add to the quality of life. Four, the children of a working woman learn to be more independent and will do better than mollycoddled children. Five, working women often find some fulfillment in their jobs, apart from home. Hence, they may have better life satisfaction, and feel less dependent on the man. This in turn can lead to more harmony. Of course, all these benefits accrue if men are able to keep their massive, fragile egos aside and see women as equals.
Sure, there are drawbacks also in being with working women. But the modern age that we are in, the phulka-making bride may come at a cost of missing out on other qualities. Please bear that in mind before you judge women based on their clothes, interest in the kitchen or the confidence in their voice.
My mother worked for 40 years. My wife is the COO at an international bank. It makes me proud. She doesn’t make phulkas for me. We outsource that work to our help, and it doesn’t really bother me. If my wife had spent her life in the kitchen, it would have bothered me more.
Please choose your partner carefully. Don’t just tolerate, but accept and even celebrate our successful women. They take our homes ahead and our country forward. We may have less hotphulkas, but we will have a better nation.

Let there be Light..

An old mail, which you would perhaps see in your inbox every 3-4 months, saying "Please dont delete and forward it to the 110 crore Indians" :-/
I'm not sure if the below mentioned information is true, its just a copy paste :)

1. If you see children Begging anywhere in INDIA , please contact: "RED SOCIETY" at 9940217816. They will help the children for their studies.

2. Where you can search for any BLOOD GROUP, you will get thousand's of donor address.www.friendstosupport.org

3. Engineering Students can register inwww.campuscouncil.com to attend Off Campus for 40 Companies.

4. Free Education and Free hostel for Handicapped/Physically Challenged children. Contact:- 9842062501 & 9894067506.

5. If anyone met with fire accident or people born with problems in their ear, nose and mouth can get free PLASTIC SURGERY done by Kodaikanal PASAM Hospital . From 23rd March to 4th April by German Doctors. Everything is free. Contact : 045420-240668,245732 "Helping Hands are Better than Praying Lips"

6. If you find any important documents like Driving license, Ration card, Passport, Bank Pass Book, etc., missed by someone, simply put them into any near by Post Boxes. They will automatically reach the owner and Fine will be collected from them.

7. By the next 10 months, our earth will become 4 degrees hotter than what it is now. Our Himalayan glaciers are melting at rapid rate. So let all of us lend our hands to fight GLOBAL WARMING. -Plant more Trees. -Don't waste Water & Electricity. -Don't use or burn Plastics

8. It costs 38 Trillion dollars to create OXYGEN for 6 months for all Human beings on earth. "TREES DO IT FOR FREE" "Respect them and Save them"

9. Special phone number for Eye bank and Eye donation: 04428281919 and 04428271616 (Sankara Nethralaya Eye Bank). For More information about how to donate eyes plz visit these sites. http://ruraleye.org/

10. Heart Surgery free of cost for children (0-10 yr) Sri Valli Baba Institute Banglore. Contact : 9916737471

11. Medicine for Blood Cancer!!!! 'Imitinef Mercilet' is a medicine which cures blood cancer. Its available free of cost at "Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai". Create Awareness. It might help someone. Cancer Institute in Adyar, Chennai Category: Cancer Address: East Canal Bank Road , Gandhi Nagar Adyar Chennai -600020 Landmark: Near Michael School Phone: 044-24910754 044-24910754 , 044-24911526 044-24911526 , 044-22350241 044-22350241

12. Please CHECK WASTAGE OF FOOD If you have a function/party at your home in India and food gets wasted, don't hesitate to call 1098 (only in India ) - Its not a Joke, This is the number of Child helpline. They will come and collect the food. Please circulate this message which can help feed many children. AND LETS TRY TO HELP INDIA BE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE IN Please Save Our Mother Nature for "OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS"

The Death of Common Sense: An Obituary

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, ‘Common Sense’, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn’t always fair, and
- Maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense ‘lived by simple, sound financial policies’ (don’t spend more than you can earn) and ‘reliable strategies’ (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

Common Sense ‘lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children’.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense ‘lost the will to live as the churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims’.

Common Sense ‘took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault’.

Common Sense ‘finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement’.

Common Sense ‘was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason’.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers:

- I Know My Rights!
- I Want It Now!
- Someone Else Is To Blame!
- I’m A Victim!

Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone. If you still remember him, spread this message. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Have Breakfast or be Breakfast !

An interesting write-up, worth giving a thought..

Who sells the largest number of cameras in India ?
Your guess is likely to be Sony, Canon or Nikon. Answer is none of the above. The winner is Nokia whose main line of business in India is not cameras but cell phones. Reason being cameras bundled with cell phones are outselling stand alone cameras. Now, what prevents the cell phone from replacing the camera outright? Nothing at all. One can only hope the Sony’s and Canons are taking note.

Try this. Who is the biggest in music business in India ? You think it is HMV Sa-Re-Ga-Ma? Sorry. The answer is Airtel. By selling caller tunes (that play for 30 seconds) Airtel makes more than what music companies make by selling music albums (that run for hours).
Incidentally Airtel is not in music business. It is the mobile service provider with the largest subscriber base in India . That sort of competitor is difficult to detect, even more difficult to beat (by the time you have identified him he has already gone past you). But if you imagine that Nokia and Bharti (Airtel's parent) are breathing easy you can't be farther from truth.
Nokia confessed that they all but missed the smart phone bus. They admit that Apple's I phone and Google's Android can make life difficult in future. But you never thought Google was a mobile company, did you? If these illustrations mean anything, there is a bigger game unfolding. It is not so much about mobile or music or camera or emails?

The "Mahabharata" (the great Indian epic battle) is about "what is tomorrow's personal digital device"? Will it be a souped up mobile or a palmtop with a telephone? All these are little wars that add up to that big battle. Hiding behind all these wars is a gem of a question – "who is my competitor?"
Once in a while, to intrigue my students I toss a question at them. It says "What Apple did to Sony, Sony did to Kodak, explain?" The smart ones get the answer almost immediately. Sony defined its market as audio (music from the walkman). They never expected an IT company like Apple to encroach into their audio domain. Come to think of it, is it really surprising? Apple as a computer maker has both audio and video capabilities. So what made Sony think he won't compete on pure audio? "Elementary Watson". So also Kodak defined its business as film cameras, Sony defines its businesses as "digital." In digital camera the two markets perfectly meshed. Kodak was torn between going digital and sacrificing money on camera film or staying with films and getting left behind in digital technology. Left undecided it lost in both. It had to. It did not ask the question "who is my competitor for tomorrow?" The same was true for IBM whose mainframe revenue prevented it from seeing the PC. The same was true of Bill Gates who declared "internet is a fad!" and then turned around to bundle the browser with windows to bury Netscape. The point is not who is today's competitor. Today's competitor is obvious. Tomorrow's is not.
In 2008, who was the toughest competitor to British Airways in India ? Singapore airlines? Better still, Indian airlines? Maybe, but there are better answers. There are competitors that can hurt all these airlines and others not mentioned. The answer is videoconferencing and tele presence services of HP and Cisco. Travel dropped due to recession. Senior IT executives in India and abroad were compelled by their head quarters to use videoconferencing to shrink travel budget. So much so, that the mad scramble for American visas from Indian techies was nowhere in sight in 2008. ( India has a quota of something like 65,000 visas to the U.S. They were going a-begging. Blame it on recession!). So far so good. But to think that the airlines will be back in business post recession is something I would not bet on. In short term yes. In long term a resounding no. Remember, if there is one place where Newton 's law of gravity is applicable besides physics it is in electronic hardware. Between 1977 and 1991 the prices of the now dead VCR (parent of Blue-Ray disc player) crashed to one-third of its original level in India . PC's price dropped from hundreds of thousands of rupees to tens of thousands. If this trend repeats then tele presence prices will also crash. Imagine the fate of airlines then. As it is not many are making money. Then it will surely be RIP!
India has two passions. Films and cricket. The two markets were distinctly different. So were the icons. The cricket gods were Sachin and Sehwag. The filmy gods were the Khans (Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and the other Khans who followed suit). That was, when cricket was fundamentally test cricket or at best 50 over cricket. Then came IPL and the two markets collapsed into one. IPL brought cricket down to 20 overs. Suddenly an IPL match was reduced to the length of a 3 hour movie. Cricket became film's competitor. On the eve of IPL matches movie halls ran empty. Desperate multiplex owners requisitioned the rights for screening IPL matches at movie halls to hang on to the audience. If IPL were to become the mainstay of cricket, as it is likely to be, films have to sequence their releases so as not clash with IPL matches. As far as the audience is concerned both are what in India are called 3 hour "tamasha" (entertainment). Cricket season might push films out of the market.
Look at the products that vanished from India in the last 20 years. When did you last see a black and white movie? When did you last use a fountain pen? When did you last type on a typewriter? The answer for all the above is "I don't remember!" For some time there was a mild substitute for the typewriter called electronic typewriter that had limited memory. Then came the computer and mowed them all. Today most technologically challenged guys like me use the computer as an upgraded typewriter. Typewriters per se are nowhere to be seen.
One last illustration. 20 years back what were Indians using to wake them up in the morning? The answer is "alarm clock." The alarm clock was a monster made of mechanical springs. It had to be physically keyed every day to keep it running. It made so much noise by way of alarm, that it woke you up and the rest of the colony. Then came quartz clocks which were sleeker. They were much more gentle though still quaintly called "alarms." What do we use today for waking up in the morning? Cell phone! An entire industry of clocks disappeared without warning thanks to cell phones. Big watch companies like Titan were the losers. You never know in which bush your competitor is hiding!
On a lighter vein, who are the competitors for authors? Joke spewing machines? (Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, himself a Pole, tagged a Polish joke telling machine to a telephone much to the mirth of Silicon Valley ). Or will the competition be story telling robots? Future is scary! The boss of an IT company once said something interesting about the animal called competition. He said "Have breakfast …or…. be breakfast"! That sums it up rather neatly.

—Dr. Y. L. R. Moorthi is a professor at the IIM,Bangalore.