happenings..

powered, empowered

2008-03-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

India Today recently released the list of “power people”. This list comprising 50 names, tells us that of all the millions of people living in our country, these are the people who matter, or rather, matter most. Not to their families, or employees or communities alone, but to the whole nation! What these 50 people do daily, directly or indirectly affects our lives.
I tried to envisage what they must have felt in that instant when they saw their names on that list? A smug smile? Or a drive to work harder? Satisfaction? Or redoubled ambition? Or maybe they just don’t have the time to give it a damn! 

Well of course politicians wield d maximum power. But this list has people from various areas of the economy. Predictably, there is a huge presence of the entrepreneurial giants responsible for the meteoric rise of corporate India. Half the list comprises businessmen and industrialists. Ratan Tata gets the numero uno position, closely followed by the Ambani bros. in quick succession (u know which bro comes first!).The rest follow.

We also have media barons, re-iterating the cliché that ‘pen is mightier than sword’. Umm, Television media too is included, we have Mr. n Mrs. Pranoy Roy. And yeah we do have Shah Rukh Khan also, at no.6. and Aamir n others, portraying the power wielded by the entertainment industry in our celebrity-obsessed nation... then cricketers and all…

So well the power list… what makes these people stand where they are? (Apart from the fact that they don’t sit around and waste time writing blogs no one will read anyways! :p). They dared to dream, and also they put their backs into it and DID what they had to. Yeah, we all dream, but it’s the latter where most of us fail.

I’ve read so many such articles, stories n stuff which is supposed to be ‘so very inspirational’, but the fire frizzes out in a jiffy. So these days nothing inspires me anymore. Well, guess it’s time to stop observing and start doing. None of those ‘self-help’ books (there are loads lying partially-read on my shelf) are going to do you any good, until you do something about ur life.

So now stop reading useless blogs ( no, I’m not talking about mine!) and get going. Go and achieve all the glory that you know in your heart that u can achieve!.

vrooooomm!

2008-01-29T07:58:00.001-08:00

Finally, finally, finally, I’ve started taking driving lessons. I’ve been dying to grab the wheel and drive around for quite some time now..
And when I look around, I’m not the only one who’s in this auto-frenzy. The whole world’s going car-crazy!

The Nano episode of course. One man’s dream, a company’s triumph-Tata Motors’ success story. The engineers have achieved the near-impossible, and the marketing teams are at work to figure out the strategy to market this miracle machine.
With one hand cradling this baby, Tata motors’ other hand is inching towards acquiring moving monsters Land Rover and Jaguar from the German king Ford.And the German company Bosch, which had a hand in the manufacturing of the Nano, is now eyeing the small-car market in India.

Umm, all these small cars are cute, they conserve space and all, but personally prefer monster machines. As with bikes, the bigger, the better!

Mahindra & Mahindra is all set to roll out 10 new vehicles in the next 3 years. The company which already boasts of Scorpio and Bolero( my favs, by the way) will be launching 4 new platforms including a multi-utility vehicle Ingenio(now that’s a bad name! ) and a new version of Scorpio.

Tata Indica, the original small car, is getting an all-new avatar with plenty of rear saet comfort and leg-room. it looks familiar to eh original version, but all its features, including the engine, have been changed.

And Fiat is reinventing itself with the Linea,Grande Punto and Palio Stile.
Maruti Suzuki is now increasing the mobile service centers to ramp up the customer experience. Seen that new advertisement?

Too many boring facts? Well I just started to drive an automobile for the first time in my life! So I’m obviously interested! Vroooooooomm!

see it to believe it!!

2008-01-26T08:44:00.000-08:00

you gotta see it to believe it…
I was watching ‘gadget guru’ on NDTV this afternoon, and this particular thing rendered me speechless. “Just awesome!”

A coffee table that can revolutionize your world. Imagine this- you place your digital camera on the table and images come spilling out onto the table. Images you can rotate in any angle, and enlarge by just moving your fingers, and upload them into your mobile by dragging them to it-just like that! Dragging and dropping virtual content to physical objects! Incredible!! All this and more is possible with the Microsoft Touch Surface Table and that with no cumbersome cables, or extra peripherals.

You can look at pictures, videos and just any data, share it with people, upload it, and compare features of two physical devices by just placing them on the table--all in a cool play of fingers!

The Surface machine is networked and infinitely flexible. You could use it to order food in a restaurant. While you wait, you could play games or surf the Internet, and then eat off its surface. And every table in the joint could be a jukebox, a television or a billboard for advertising----an INCREDIBLE experience!!

You can do LOT more things using this amazing, amazing ‘table’.
Check this out:Microsoft Table Video

learn more

jvs all the way

2008-01-16T05:14:00.000-08:00

I was reading 'the economic times' the other day, and all the top news (it was before the 'nano' episode :) ) was about various joint ventures by different top-notch companies.
A joint venture, according to wikipedia, is an entity formed between two or more parties to undertake economic activity together. The parties agree to create a new entity by both contributing equity, and they then share in the revenues, expenses, and control of the enterprise.

JVs have become the new mantra of the economic world. The in-thing today is to join hands with your competitor and become larger. Ambitions are sky-rocketing and expansions on a global level are what companies are looking at. They are now aspiring to leave no land untouched. The corporate appetite is becoming insatiable as new markets are springing up the world over.

And where foreign markets are finding it difficult to enter a territory, they enter into a JV with the local players. Just like Wal-Mart did with Bharti. And in an unprecedented move, Carrefour, a French retail giant intends to enter into a tie-up with Reliance retail, which has no previous history of entering partnerships.
RIL and carrefour
Reliance, which holds a cache of prime real estate and an undeniable clout with the govt., is the perfect choice for Carrefour, which has been trying to enter the indian market for a while.

The other major JV i've heard of is the one between Tata Steel and he state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd for coal mining. And of course, the much publicized Nano had been manufactured with a lot of components made by other major players in the automobile industry. tata sail

And German motor king Ford intends to enter into a partnership with Tata motors for promoting Land Rover in the Indian markets.

well the list will just keep on growing. Bottom line is.. united they stand.. and they know it! the strong players are growing stronger.. and the weaker ones.. well they'll join forces too i guess..

lost and found and losing it again..

2007-12-12T04:28:00.000-08:00

There is no recorded history of the early Andhra Kings. We have very less information about the early history of Andhra Kings whose territory extended up to Central India before the well-documented Satavahana period. The Satavahanas were a dynasty which ruled from Junnar, Prathisthapana (Maharashtra and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh over Southern and Central India from around 230 BCE onward.

The archaeological department did find a key to open the door to the past and unravel the secrets of the ancient kingdom, but sadly no one seems to be interested. And now we are on the verge of losing that key too.

In the preliminary excavations carried out by the archaeological department in 1978-83, 450 coins, gold beads,pottery, decorative art of the pre-satavahana period were found in Kotalingala village in Karimnagar district. These were found at an 120-acre site ay kotalingala with remnants of a fort, stupa, ancient Siva temple and open wells. But shockingly, a re-survey and systematic excavation have not taken place till date.

The discovery of pre-satavahana period coins showed that they belonged to king Gobada who was the first Andhra King and ruled from kotilingala , followed by Satavahana kings. Gobada is acknowledged as the first king who issued inscribed coins in the Andhra region.. Hence the discovery of the coins is considered significant in the numismatics(the study or collecting of coins) history of South India. Also, the coins could be instrumental in proving the antiquity of the Telugu language in comparison with the other Dravidian languages.

LOSING IT

However, there is a chance that this archaeological treasure trove could get submerged by the Yellampally project which is being undertaken to utilize the Godavari waters for irrigation. If this project, which is under progress, is completed, the whole site could be submerged under water. And with that, the sole hope of bringing the lost kingdoms into light. If the site is not protected and preserved, as it deserves to be, the past will be buried forever!!!!!!!

Green Economics

2007-12-10T04:32:00.000-08:00

Debates, arguments, disturbing predictions, alarming facts…all this and more is happening at Bali where 190 countries of the world are meeting to discuss the urgent need to address the problem of climate change. We have finally realized, (or so it appears), the magnitude of the problem. Unless we act immediately, one-third of our plant and animal species is going to perish.

We have known about the greenhouse gases and their effects since ages, ( I remember learning abt it in school)… but now that the apocalypse is looming nearer, everybody has started talking about it..

OK. We need to counter this problem and reduce the emission of harmful gasses. The big question is…
How do we share this responsibility??
The rich nations have been a major source of these emissions so far and have done much damage in order to industrialize and develop their nations. Now the developing nations are being told to cut down on theirs.

Unfair??? Maybe, but the situation now is so dangerous that no country can remain passive and ignore its responsibility. we have to switch to other forms of energy.

And the good news is that it is pretty much possible to check global warming, WITHOUT compromising on growth and development.

The solution- GREEN ECONOMICS.
Look at brazil- it has become one of the biggest players in green economics, drawing 44% of its energy from renewable fuels.

According to some estimates, growth in global energy could be cut in half over the next 15 years by making the existing technology more efficient. The research done by the University of California at Berkeley indicated that US could generate 3 lakh jobs if 20% of electric needs were met by renewable resources. The UN estimates that global investments in zero greenhouse energy will reach 1.9 trillion dollars by 2020.

The scientists have shown the way- its up to the govts all over the world to walk the path towards a greener and safer world!!

nobel!!

2007-10-17T07:05:00.000-07:00

Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine to Americans Mario R. Capecchi and Oliver Smithies along with Briton Sir Martin J. Evans
Nobel Prize in physics to France's Albert Fert and German Peter Gruenberg
Nobel Prize in chemistry to Gerhard Ertl of Germany
Nobel Prize in literature to Britain's Doris Lessing
Nobel Peace Prize to former U.S. Vice President Al Gore
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences to Americans Leonid Hurwicz, Eric S. Maskin and Roger B. Myerson

dats all very good...but sumthing's missing in dat list, isn't it?? INDIA!!
only 8 nobel laureates from india so far!! dats depressing n worrying..even netherlands has produced 18 nobel laureates, and austria 22!

indian people are intelligent , but then why? maybe no one gives a damn! somehow research has always taken a back seat in india. more so in the current "shining" india, with the 9.sumthing growth in economy. all people care about these days is either software or business.. yeah yeah, me too..dreamt of winning a nobel as a kid..wanted to become a scientist initially..then after a couple of years, literature caught my fancy..but wat am i doin now?? engineering in information technology and i also want to do an mba.. pity alfred nobel never thought of including a prize for entrepreneurship..

Alfred nobel

this is the remarkable man from whose idea it all started. The man who invented dynamite, and was called "a merchant of death", ironically it was he who set up this fund to award those "who conferred the greatest benefit on mankind" through their work. initially he intended the prize money(a whopping 10 million) to fund the scientists in their further research, but because of some (a li'l absurd) rules, they end up getting d prize after they've retired, or in a few cases after their death. so in most cases except of those like mr. Lawrence Bragg, (who won a nobel at just 25-the youngest nobel laureate), most of the prize money is given away in charity.

well, whatever..i just wish india would "arise, awake and stop not" until a few nobels are won!

of bridges and bhagwan..

2007-09-25T04:08:00.000-07:00

remember that line in the movie 'rang de basanti' where sue calls india "a place where people are just looking for a cause to kill each other"? that kinda seems true. and ironically, we, who claim to be a secular nation, are always fighting over God!

in the past, it was the babri masjid issue, which led to a bloodshed of a magnitude that must've horrified and deeply saddened both Allah and Ram. now lord Ram's name has again been dragged into controversy with the 'Ram sethu' issue. Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project that aims to create a ship channel across the Palk Strait, would save 30 hrs of shipping time and thus decrease the shipping costs. however, this project could damage the ram sethu , or Adam's bridge, which is sacred for millions of Indians. according to the epic Ramayana, it was built by lord Rama himself with the help of his simian army.

though there have been many arguments about there being proof that the bridge is a natural formation, the bjp led Hindu public is up in arms for the protection of the bridge. and seriously, even though there could be benefits from the project, the sentiments of the people have to be considered. and the govt seems to be thinking about the same lines as can be seen by the congress party taking back the controversial affidavit.

and right after this, mr.karunanidhi went on to make those very irresponsible comments about lord rama. what made him do dat, i wonder, fully knowing what serious repercussions it would have. it led to an unprecedented fatwa released by the hindu community. well, what did he expect?

the protests continue. people fight. nobody knows what is going to happen.

so what will win? pragmatism, or people's faith?
raam jaane!

WHOA!!!!!!

2007-09-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

what a match!!!!

India vs Pakistan has always been a HUGE match, but this was the mother of all matches!!!. a world cup final with India and Pakistan playing, is any cricket lover’s dream and India winning, is our dream come true!!

But what a nerve-breaking match it was. specially the last two overs. Pakistani batsmen played a gr88 innings too. nearly turned d match on its head, but still…WE WON!!!!!!!!
D men in blue truly, totally deserved the win, and of course the 2 million dollars! Such a young team, and they lived up to such a huge responsibility. That took a gr8 deal of courage and commitment, and a fair amount of young-blooded aggression too, as reflected in the face of Sreesanth, who played a spectacular innings.

Mahendra singh dhoni…a gr8 player..a wonderful captain. Shouldering such a huge responsibility with such a cool attitude..simply awesome! The best part was dat he didn’t pressurize any of his team mates but encouraged them to play their natural game, which fetched such splendid results. Beating the world champs and then going on to win the world cup itself.!

and of course..our yuvi must b having quite a ball. The spectacular six sixes were a total feast for the eyes. (Found myself jumping around like crazy) A brilliant innings, a sports car , and a crore rupees. Way to go!

India’s having an early diwali this yr..Firecrackers everywhere! Whoa! Its wonderful to see such passion, fervor and yeah, patriotism. The tri-colour proudly fluttering all over the place. Guess all the hawans and poojas our cricket-crazy ppl have done really paid off!
hmm…. a religious, cricket-crazy nation aren’t we??
Love u india!

dealing with deals..

2007-09-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

hmmm..
the nation has finally seen our mr.Manmohan singh talk tough. he's being uncharacteristically strong , bordering on aggressive, in dealing with the left regarding the nuke deal with the US. looks like he's determined to make his place in the history with this alliance.

but the million dollar question of course is, is India to benefit from it? if it is, why is the BJP, which was so very keen on building good relations with the US, now so adamant abt scrapping this nuclear deal? is it just playing its role seriously (opposing the govt) or is the deal not really favourable to india...

well the nation stands divided about this.

if we do go on with this deal, it'll be the end of our nuclear isolation to which we have been subjected since the pokhran tests. but then, it wasn't such a bad thing, was it? after all, it was partly because of the isolation that our scientists worked towards mastering the use of pressurized heavy water reactors and fast breeder test reactors.

and we do have a severe power deficit in our country. this deal could give us a helping hand. our scientists are conducting experiments on making use of thorium as fuel. and considering the fact that india has one-third of the world's thorium, it does seem silly to run after a few 1000mw plant. however the short time requirements have to be considered. it still is going to take some time before thorium can be effectively used.

Anyways, the US too is brooding about this. Mr.bush too , like our prime minister is facing hell trying to convince his congress about going ahead with the deal.

the very funny irony is...while our opposition parties are furious about the congress "selling out to america"..bush too is facing criticism about "selling out to india!"

so the question remains..do we or do we not..

as i said in one of my previous blogs, "damn these decisions"!

the govt needs to google more!!

2007-09-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

Imagine this.. a hard core terrorist butchers 40 people ruthlessly, creates terror of such magnitude that it results in the exodus of pandits from the valley of Kashmir. Media his interviews where he accepts this on camera, without any trace of fear or remorse whatsoever.. and our central govt. claims not to have ANY information on him!! its so totally bewildering n shocking.. how irresponsible is dat??

Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karatay was released on bail after being arrested in 1990 and after 16 years of custody, Bitta Karatay, the dreaded militant of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is back to haunt kashmir again.. he must be having a real laugh, dat man..in the interview he gave to a journalist from india today, he himself said he might be hanged or given a life imprisonment. and now, inexplicably, he is released after 16 yrs and returns to kashmir where he's being hailed as a hero!!

this happened last year..the reason it came to limelight now, is that an 18 yr old kashmiri pandit, whose relatives had been killed by bitta, and who was baffled by his release, filed an ROI (right to information) application trying to know what had caused the govt to take such an inexplicable decision. and understandably, he was more than shocked when he got a blunt reply from d govt saying they had no information at all abt him!!!! no information?? google gave me 626 results in 0.08 seconds! but of course, no one knows why he's been released though!

well, what's d use of having a 'right to information' if the govt has empty databases??