Ganesh, Robin Sharma and New Generation.

Hope all are doing fine. Looks like rains are playing havoc everywhere in Western parts of India. I remember the July 05 deluge in Bombay. I must tell you that I was very lucky to miss the whole episode of July 05 by just few hours. The night before I was in transit in Bombay for my visit to Aurangabad and flew in to Aurangabad the night before. Yes, I got caught in the after effects of rain at Bombay on the way back home, through delayed flights and mad rush in the airport as well as lack of even basic facilities etc at the Airport. I must tell you that the way Bombay responded to the whole situation is remarkable and seeing many cities in the world, I can bet that many cities would have fallen flat. (Yes, New Orleans was a classic case where things just collapsed).

OK, then, I must tell you that after 20 years, I got a chance to meet my classmate Ganesh in Madras. We did our graduation in Madurai (Thiagarajar College of Engineering in 1983, we passed out) and studied in different colleges for Post graduation in Coimbatore. I met Ganesh last in 1987 when he came to Ankleshwat to meet me. After that we lost track of each other for about 11 years as Ganesh moved to USA. Thanks to internet, I could trace him back in 1999 and we were in touch through email and phone. This time, when I was in USA in March 07, we decided that we would meet each other before the end of the year. So When Ganesh was in Madras for a couple of weeks in May 07, I squeezed in about 4 Hrs to visit Madras and we could meet. It was a great feeling to discuss and to assess the way we had moved forward and where the life has taken us. We could trace back couple of more of our classmates, But still got to plug out for the other 30 guys. It looks like yesterday and 24 years have just passed in a flash since I finished my graduation. Makes you feel a long time.

I am very much impressed with Robin Sharma's writing, I have just finished reading his book the "Monk who sold his Ferrari". Unlike the book written by Western Authors on personal development, he explains and coaches people for personal development with a lot of Indian way which are very practical and you are able to correlate many things with the preaching and instructions heard from Grandparents at our young age. I have purchased the complete set of books and would give my comments. He also has excellent podcasts which you can download from his website. His articles in his daily blog are very thought provoking.

Robin Sharma Podcast

I also wanted to touch up on some aspects of the new generation of students. I was almost surprised with the students turnaround in temples. (Lalitha and myself make it a point to visit the SHIRDI SAI BABA temple and the Sani Bagawan temple in Indra nagar) I am amazed at the number of college and school students who turn up at these temples to seek the blessings. I see many students and their prayers appear genuine ( You can hear them mumbling Hindu prayers which cant come unless you have mastered it with a bit of devotion). This made me feel that, contrary to hype played out in Media about life and style of present day students, things are just as same as it was in my days at Madras, Madurai or Coimbatore. One more reason to stop watching the IDIOTIC INDIAN TV Channels who show the unreal India. Of course, I always tell my foreign friends, when they are curious to know about India, I tell Bombay, Bangalore, Madras and Hyderabad don't even add up to 100 million people out of 1600 million Indian people. My message to them always has been, Quote" So don't go by what you see and these Idiotic things or way life out there don't even count for statistical sampling to consider validity." Unquote.

I am also touched by the Voluntary efforts done by students in community service, Yesterday as I was going to Airtel shop to work out repair for my daughter's mobile connection which didn't work for 3months despite paying all the money.( That's for some other blog some story for customer satisfaction!!!???) I was approached by a III year BCA Students, who is working out charity work like collecting donations for a orphan home. I called him home today and he brought all the documents. I was amazed by the efforts put in by these students for social cause. I even felt kind of guilt feeling that I could never find time to do these kind of social work in my college days. (Of course the economic/social scenario was vastly different). I have always made a point to make up for that by doing my bit through monitory aspects. Of course, over a period of time I plan to find time for that too. The Charity foundation is doing a great cause. Pl see what you can do.

Ok, On to some of the interesting websites I came across this week.

Social Networking and Relationship management software and a good blog site too. You may need to register, I find it good. Let me see how I develop. Jibijobber blog is also good. Check that out.

Hear Subroto Bagchi's podcast. I always admired this man, I never missed his writing on Business world. Here he is at Whartion Podcast.

Marshall Goldsmith is a class. I found his Podcast very thought provoking. His Books are also great. I got to buy them soon.

Finally, The Cranky Middle Manager Show is a must not miss it. Its great show. I have downloaded the 100 podcast. Will have to find time to listen to all like Anna Farmery's. Anna's show is more a closer to home feeling being British and you will be able to correlate many things.

OK so long, I am enjoying the 5th week of my stay with out travel any where and I am really Enjoying this. Its given me time to look deep in to whats happening at home, as well as keep the excercise schedules. Looking forward to another 4 weeks in July as no travel is planned as of today.

Till next time, Take it easy and take care; Live consciously.

Karthik.

Whole lot happening.

The past fortnight indeed was an experience.

1. My Son fractured his leg while playing basket ball there was also torn ligament besides the ankle fracture. He is on plaster cast for 4 weeks, The technology of plaster cast has come a long way. The whole process was done in 10 minutes in the hospital. The plast also affords spraying in powder and moisturizer to make him comfortable from itch. The other great thing was despite medical advice for 4 weeks to rest and not to put weight on the leg, he didn't even think about missing a school for a day. He used the ergo chair to move around the house and hopped around to reach class rooms. Children these days have much more resilience then we did. The good thing in this as I am not traveling, I am able to spend time with him and take care of his needs as much as I can. The last 5 weeks I have spent in Bangalore (NO travel) has helped me to also understand things that happen at home. This is the first time in the last 14 years that I have managed to stay more than 2 weeks at home.
   
2. My Car met with a major accident (First time in 10 years), My driver avoided a certain triple fatality when the school children came in the path on the thoroughfare, and he had no option but to crash the vehicle in the divider as well as hitting a two wheeler(He was safe, No Injuries). Insurance helped out to cover the cost and I realized the value of insurance. That triggered me on thinking to have insurance cover for other possible eventualities which I haven't considered so far.
3. I was also saddened by the death of 5 year old Piyush, son of a Honeywell colleague, Piyush had a rare form of recurring cancer and despite best efforts of doctors in Singapore couldn't make it and passed away Wednesday last due to post operative complications. The only consolation was that we all did our best finacially for the cause. Sometimes, you just wonder whether man has made any headway in tackling and unraveling the mysteries of Science. Its going to be ages, I guess!!.
4. I was also appalled by the Indian media coverage over the Sunita Williams return from Space, looks like News channel have no news or events to cover. It looked like it was as though channels were creating news as well as making every effort to avoid a III world was situation. And by the way She hardly has any Indian connections??.This was more apparent when coverage of news items such as printing mistake in a temple Pamphlet(Dogs to feed Vs Dog meat will be fed) captured headlines. I have stopped watching Hindi/ Tamil films/ movies in 1989. Looks like I need to take a decision to stop watching Indian TV channels in 2007. With Internet available for you to cover news on your desktop at your choice to select, I guess this will be real possibility. I will keep you updated when I make the decision. (Already the time I spend watching TV has shrunk considerably).
5. I am sure guys out there are availing the RSS subscriber to feed information from website to their desktop. I am taking advantage of this update tool to have the information on the websites I track and when They are updated, I automatically get the update on my desktop.
   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format)

Ok, then some of the interesting websites that I came across this week.

http://www.sunrisesunset.com/ It shows you daily sunrise, sunset time on your desktop.

http://www.howtowritearesume.org/ Great site on developing your Resume. Rule is one page. NO More than that.

List of must read books for you and your family(Covers History, stories, Science, technology). Reading all this will take some time so you can plan some books for post retirement.

http://www.heatinghelp.com/reading_list.cfm


I have heard a lot about S Gurumurthy, But I havent heard him speak, This link gives the 80 Minute speech "The Indian Economy is Feminine" he gave in USA. Must listen and as an Indian you should feel proud. There are also other intresting podcasts at the website on India, Hinduism
http://www.theuniversalwisdom.org/category/speakers/s-gurumurthy/

You must listen to ANNA Farmery, this is a UK Based podcast( A rarity), she gives excellant insight in to Management practices besides, she updates her Blog daily, I managed do download 60 of the 88 podcasts. Lot of useful information. She is now in the top 5 of the management podast list.

http://theengagingbrand.typepad.com/the_engaging_brand_/

Yesterday, for the first time I managed to hear Elvis Priestly Album. ( I guess it took me after 28 years of listening to western music) I have listened to his singles, never before Heard him on an album. 30 Minutes went just like that and I could go back in time.

Take care and catch up with you soon.
Till then, take it easy and live consciously.

KARTHIK.

Interview Etiquette( for the Interviewer) /Help needed to save a child

Good to be back on line, As I had not been traveling for the last 3 weeks and dont plan to do for another 4 weeks. There was hardly time to express my thoughts. Besides there were lot of personal travel and lot of issues crept up on personal front. OK Here I go.

www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=b40fe9c6-25dc-44ff-a142-6086dd5a4936

Few tips on interviewing etiquette

The world has changed in the last few years. I still remember a story we had in school in which a scholarly candidate is called to an interview. Though infallible in knowledge, he is at a loss when a panel of interviewers confronts him. He is asked how many buttons he has on his shirt, how many steps he climbed and the number of the taxi he came in. Thus demolished, the erudite professional staggers out of the hall completely shattered. One can safely imagine that he not only counted every step on his way down but the number of the taxi he took home is indelibly branded in letters of fire on his heart.

This incident is history and one can imagine the business executives, who have faced the effects of a "talent crunch" in almost every industry today, laughing derisively while reading the story. And the truth is that, in an interview, the evaluation takes place on both sides. The candidate is probably assessing the organization more carefully than the organisation is assessing the candidate.

First impressions are lasting impressions. The interview is the beginning of the candidate's relationship with the company. Interviewing is central to employee engagement and that brings it directly into the ambit of business etiquette. Since most managers are involved in the process of interviewing, a few tips on interviewing etiquette may be immensely useful to them.

· Introduce yourself to the candidate briefly so that the candidate knows who is talking to him. If it is a panel, the senior-most can take the initiative of introducing everyone else. This sets the tone of the interview that it is a conversation and not an examination.
· Do not jump into questions. Begin with small talk. It relaxes the candidate and makes him or her more receptive to answering. Remember, openness begets openness.
· The interviewer must read the candidate's curriculum vitae before the interview. It is rude to read it after the candidate sits in front of you. The candidate can feel the slow build-up of tension and start twisting uncomfortably on the chair if one takes too long. Some interviewers add insult to injury by periodically looking at the interviewee while reading the curriculum vitae, as if they are examining a protozoa specimen under a microscope.
· Initial questions must be open-ended, focusing on the achievements of the candidate. One must desist from interrupting the candidate unless the candidate becomes too long-winded.
· It is equally important not to ask a set of negative questions that may put the candidate on the defensive. Frightened candidates usually answer in monosyllables and sometimes not at all. In certain countries, there are clear guidelines of what is thought to be discriminatory and hence against the law. But whether the same law exists everywhere or not, its tenets as etiquette are useful while interviewing everyone, irrespective of their location, in a global company.
· One must tell the candidate about the next step, whether it is about another interview or about approximately in what time the decision will be communicated. If it is a senior candidate, it is polite for someone from the interview panel to walk the candidate to the lift.

Finally, do not forget to ask the candidate his or her name before beginning the interview. One interviewer sincerely followed all the rules and ended the interview after an hour with, "Thank you , Ashok." "But Sir, "answered the candidate, "I am Vasant." It was then that the interviewer realized he had been interviewing the wrong person correctly.
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My Response to this sent to the editor.
Very interesting article. Very true of the situation in which how some so called Mighty companies think so much of themselves.

The worst offenders are the professors in college interviews for admission. I remember my interview in Anna university, Madras for Engineering admissions in 1980. I was aghast when the professor was interviewing me started smoking ( I was 16 then). That moment, I decided, that I will never join that college. In fact that gave a sense bad impressions about all the college professors, in Tamilnadu that I carry till this day and I just waited gritting my teeth to finish my college ( I was dependent on my parents, you see) and ran away from Tamil Nadu. At least, now I have made sure that my children never set foot in Tamilnadu for their education. Wonder how one bad behavior can trigger a chain of events.

Thanks for bringing this up, I hope the so called, college professors, anyway these generation professors don't add any value to students,thanks to Internet and networking students are smart and learn on their own, so the professors are just a necessary evil. I can vouch that personally, when I did my MBA from 2003-05 without attending single class sessions ( Thank god attendance was not needed for passing exams). Every material and assignments were prepared from Internet and network of students. Anyway I kind of digresses from the subject.

I have also faced situations like you have mentioned, and I have made sure not only I have joined such third rate immature organisations, also make sure any one known to me does not by mistake join such organisations where people are not valued.

On the other hand, three offers, I took up based on the sheer good impression the interview panel created (all 3 are MNCs and in 2 cases, Foreign citizens who came to India to interview me), and believe me it's been pleasure working for them.

Thanks for bringing this up.
Regards
Karthik.

I hope you had access to the Manager tools website. Great site. www.manager-tools.com
REQUEST:-
I am also putting a request for saving my colleague's son from cancer. See the links below and help as much as you can.

http://aidmyson.com/blog/?p=53
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/health/03_2007/7yrold-battles-cancer-for-2nd-time-35104.html


I am sure people are aware of RSS Feed to let them know the websites are updated by subscribing to that page.

Do a google search for also word "STUMBLE".

Take it easy and take care, Stay Healthy.

Regards
KARTHIK.

Tokyo, Chelsea and some useful Websites

Good to be back to find time for the BLOG, the last 3 weeks have been kind of hectic with travel, personal issues to attend at home as well as some catchup to do at work front.

I got a chance to be back in Japan,during the II week of April. I had seen phenomenal change in even by Japanese standards as you moved through Tokyo towards the outer suburbs. The Narita Airport which was a one building one terminal in 1999, when I last visited Japan, looks drastically different with multiple terminals divided in to wings. The multi story buildings have mushroomed. What has not changed is the narrow streets and rush in the trains. The rush in Tokyo train stations remind of you of the Church gate station.

I also got a first time chance to travel in Famously expensive Tokyo taxis,(I couldn't afford it in the last visit) if one thing can blow your $s away, that will be a ride on Tokyo taxi, even a 3 mile drive will cost you 25$.

The Shinkansen (The Bullet train, Hope, people remember the famous movie in 1980) has monstered growth with multiple decks and amenities. Pl see the Photos.

I was also amazed at the Mobile and Internet revolution in Japan, the 3G telephones makes you feel our mobile phones as puppet, the advance features are brilliant. So much is the Japanese mobile development, that the latest model mobile phones are not compatible there and dont work. You can watch TV, Movies on mobile, download clips at smoking speed, and in the Bullet train moving at 250 Kmph, communication hardly breaks. As for the Internet access, would you believe it, Its ABSOLUTELY FREE anywhere you access. The download speeds are staggering 1mbps, so much so I downloaded about 400Mb of information in less than an hour. What surprised me was that my Korean colleague, who was with me on business in Tokyo, said to me Quote,"Karthik, wait till you come to Seoul, You will download 750mb movie file in less than 30 minutes. Korea is miles ahead" Unquote. I am looking forward to my Korean visit soon.
This trip also helped me to see 10 GB flash drive like thumb size, at a throw away prize, so I grabbed one. My kids were pestering me for a 80 Gb IPOD, which I duly obliged during the Tokyo visit. The price, 30 % cheaper than Indian price.
The food was a pleasant surprise for me I managed lot of veggie stuff, thanks to help from my colleagues, who painstakingly sieved through the menu to get vegetarian choice). So, I managed to survive.
Yes, the disappointment was I didn't have the time to go to Akhiabara, the electronics shop ocean, these days I have planned my travel schedules to be a kind of Last in First out, as travel is becoming mundane.

Ok, then, my son was in tears when Chelsea lost the Champions league semifinal to Liverpool this week. However,he got some consolation and recovered , when Manchester united lost to AC Milan the next day. He is a mad Chelsea fan who watches Chelsea matches with an official Chelsea T-shirt and covers his room with Chelsea flag and Official books, and Official Chelsea month calendar. I am attaching the couplet he wrote for this years EPL. (Looks like Chelsea wont make that too).

Ok, then here are some of the good websites for personal development. I have also started downloading podcasts to fill in 80 Gb in IPod.

http://www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com/cim/articles_alpha.php
http://www.learnoutloud.com/Podcast-Directory/Business/Leadership-and-Management
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/podcast_archive.cfm
http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/links
http://www.careerjournal.com/

The Manager-tools.com (www.manager-tools.com) is also a great website, try that out. I have downloaded about 60 podcasts there, (Most of it downloaded at smoking speed at Japan as I didn't get to sleep till 2 am, which 10Pm our time).

This week I got a chance to read the entire magazine, " The Economist" at Bombay airport as my flight was delayed. It gives lot of information on various issues that happens across the world in politics, science, technology. I also find favourable mention in all business blogs. I am planning to have a personal subscription. ( Got to have a serious discussions with the Finance/home minister for approval though, as price is Rs. 11,000 for 3 years at 52% discount). Man proposes, woman disposes, I guess.

Until next take care, stay healthy and live consciously.

Photos

Mountain, Maiela, Chaiti Province, Italy (400 Kms from Rome)















National Altar, Rome.


















Sign post at westend of Pacific, at Los Angles Port.





















Rome Coloseum view























Karthik and Lalitha 2007, MARCH

















ADRIATIC SEA in ITALY.






Dr VBV Rajan, Ex-GM, BASF, Mangalore. Photo taken on 4th March 2007 at Los Angles, Crown Plaza, Redondo Beach.















Entrance to the Rome old city













Rome Famous Fountain.









This week I am uplinking some of the photos of my trip to Italy, France and USA. I also had a chance to meet Dr Rajan my Boss at BASF, Mangalore, Who has retired and settled in Seattle, USA. It was Dr Rajan, who developed the Managerial Skills in me during 1997-1999.


So I think the Semi Final line up will be Australia Vs Srilanka, and Newzealand Vs South Africa, I don't want to predict further.


Off to Shirdi for 4 days this weekend, we make this travel every year after children's exam.
Take care and live consciously.
Karthik.

One night in Bangkok

I am glad that at the way things have shaped up this week for Indian cricket. I was always confident, that this time it would be a big challenge for India to go to the second round on its own merit and the same thing has happened. I always felt that the team is preoccupied with Ad contracts and other off activities. I am also some times shocked to see the players dashing for various events in between matches, and only 2 weeks back I saw the so called great batsman and so called Gilchrist, rushing to London for 24 Hrs between one day internationals and back. If this is the case god save Indian cricket. I always felt, that westindies lost the world cup in 1983 rather than India won it. So I am happy that the Indian cricket is on its knees. I hope the people learn from this and treat it as a game. No where in the world I had seen such a kind of frenzy.

Ok, I had been to Thailand many times, but never took time to mention that in my blog, may be its so close or common place. I had a the chance to explore the city this week, more so on the weekend for the Honeywell meeting and the weekend was used up for the team building purpose which covered finding exact shops and antiques besides exploring some of the areas. The open shopping market which houses 30,000 stalls and is thronged by 100,000 people at any given time.

Bangkok is a good place to do cheap shopping and there is more there just than the Night life bar and nude shows that go there. I haven't been to those places other than the first time in 2000 to see what its like (I personally feel that everything is to be seen once),but my personal opinion is that you must go there once to see it. There is more than nudity there for some of the tricks that girls perform there are seen to be believed and leaves you dazed.

The transportation system is one of the best I have seen in Asia with subway and sky way. The new international airport will give Narita, Dubai and Changi a run for the money. The Thai currency Bhatt is close to a Rupee (1.3) so you dont feel the pain of pairity.
The greatest fun is in shopping and you can do outrageous bargain on street shops and get away with the product for almost the prize you bargained.
So plan a visit to Bangkok, its good get away as mentioned in the song "One night in Bangkok is always better" by Murray Head.

Patappa and Radha

This week I thought I will go back in Time.

My daughter Radha was offered a scholarship at the Presidential classroom program on Science, Technology and Public Policy at Washington DC during the last week of Feb 07. After program was completed she was to spend a weekend at Ravi's place. In order to explain the connection between us and Ravi, the family tree has to go up three generations to my great grand father Patappa. Then she understood, how we are related. That then provoked me to work the family tree tracing back 3 generations. I could finish the flow chart after 2 hrs of racking the brain.

Radha had a good time in the USA, she learned a lot, she was also excited to visit places in DC and New York. I think this would give her a different perspective of the world, people and herself.
She had been to Ground Zero of WTC, I visited WTC on May 11, 2001 exactly 6 months before it came down. I would try to scan the photo and upload here soon.
She also met my cousin Dhuruvan, whom we haven't seen for about 26 years.

I have not spent time on reading books, got to start that soon.
Take care, stay healthy and As Steve Pavalina says, "Live Consciously"

Italy and France and the week of 25th Feb

Hi,
Sorry No photos this edition, Hope to do that when back home.
Its been ages I had posted the info in Website. As I am sitting in the Los Angeles, Airport, British Airways Lounge waiting for the flight to take back to Bangalore, I thought I would put my thoughts thro the public computer.

Well, I had a great visit to Italy and France in the last week of January. I had been to Atessa, which is 300 Kms from Rome. The food, people were great, so was the passion for football. I also had a great time visiting Rome went thro Colosseum, Ancient ruins, Italian Parliament. I was very fortunate to have the company of Lio, the Guy who picked me all the way to Atessa and back to Rome. Lio was a Italian Canadian with a fluent English. So he was able to tell all the things about Italy. The Bread and Olive Oil are out of the world and I was drinking it in Mini cups soaking it with Bread.

France too was Fantastic, The weather yes at -5 deg was something new. But I got adjusted. The drive from Luxembourg to Epinal in France of 300 Kms was so straight, that if you shoot an arrow it would reach Epinal. I also a good tour of the city and food was reasonable.

The week of Feb 25th was great, I brought my Daughter to the USA for a 2 week Scholarship. She had received this sponsored by Honeywell. (www.presidentialclassroom.org)
She had been to so many places in Washington, DC and met people like Buzz Aldrin, Senators etc. She learned a lot. There were 160 students from Age 14- 18, she was kind of the youngest.
This week also I got in touch with my cousin Dhuruvan, after 27 years, and he met my daughter in DC. I also got in touch with my classmate after 24 years over phone and plan to be the focal point. We studied together in Madurai. I also a good meeting professionally, the purpose for which I came to LA as well as had quick tour with walk on the Redando and Hermosa beaches.

So take care, Will post Photos and other thoughts soon. As I got to leave the Business lounge for security Check. The LAX airport is also a theme for the song, "LA International Airport" which I use to hum in College days.
Take care and Stay healthy.

Bye
Karthik.

The Big Brother

I am in Guangzhou, China this week for 2 weeks on Business travel. I am very excited to be here in this great country which has culture, value and civilisation that is as old as India.No wonder they are the big brother of India.

Guangzhou is in the southeast China and is about 100 Miles north of Hongkong. This is a city with a population of 5 Million. The first impression is China is Huge and the infrastructure is vast. The roads are well developed for transportation. After seeing quiet places in West, it was fun to see people busting on the roads in 1000s. You feel you are in Bombay or Bangalore. The traffic is chaotic, there are 3 to 4 people traveling on 2 wheeler and the bus conductors screaming for passengers / working out negotiations reminds you of the Indian street scenes.

Yes, English is a big issue in streets and even in a big city like Guangzhou is no exception. You struggle to communicate what do you want. In my case being a vegetarian, its a nightmare. Anyway the experience to be in the land of Confucius is great.

Hitting 190 KMPH

Just to let you know that the proverbial Wolf caught up with me after 12 years of international travel, I am talking about the Luggage lost in Transit in international travel.

This happened at Frankfurt airport on the transit via London. My only checked Bag was not loaded in the BA flight to Frankfurt, Sunday.

With all the hand baggage restriction, you can imagine that I didn't carry anything other than Laptop (that too charger was in the checked baggage to reduce weight, you are allowed only 7 Kgs), So it was a hell of a time over the last 48 Hrs.

That's life is it not. Fortunately I managed to buy all the spares that are needed to sustain self in Neunkirchen (closer to France) and yes the positive was a great shopping experience for all your needs and this was done in an Hour. My German colleagues were very helpful all throughout. I think British Airways also did a great job, I tracked the progress thro their website.

Some learning I guess.Let me see how I prepare a better Plan B for future travel.

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I also had a very good 2 weeks trip in Germany, I spent the weekend in Frankfurt and it has changed a lot in 12years since I last visited. I also had a chance to travel on the Autobahn from Frankfurt to Hamburg and the distance of 512 Km was done in 4 Hr flat. At some places we hit 190 Kmph as there are no legal speed limits (See photo) That was fantastic experience. The car I traveled with my Colleague had also Global Positioning System (GPS) which just directs you where you want to go.(You just select destination), Its amazing where technology is going.

This trip was also a good learning for me as it gave broader safety perspective in to German legislation, requirements etc.

Take care and have a great great time and looking forward to Holidays.

Regards

Karthik.

Completed MBA, Bucharest et al.

I hope all had a good festive time.

I am delighted to inform that I had completed the MBA-HR course of IGNOU. It took 3 years, 6 semesters and 19 papers. (1 paper in the second attempt, which delayed the results by a year, Never had a clue as to how I missed the papers, almost all folks who attempted the paper in HR during Dec 2004, had to reappear and complete. I think this was great and I had lot of learning. I now had to complete the project work which I am doing on corporate social responsibility. I expect to hit the steam soon.

OK, Now to my Bucharest visit. I had a great time in Bucharest. Romania is an upcoming nation like India. The situation is no different with the growth. The only difference is unemployment is practically zero and so they are looking at Romanians from outside the country, (Romania is smaller than greater Bombay with 20 Million people, Bucharest is 2 Million) mostly in Spain etc to come back and build the nation. The traffic jams and disorderliness reminds you of Bombay. The accent people speak reminds you of the James Bond movie (Russia with love etc). The hotel Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel was very good.

I hope you are also aware that Dracula has its origin from Romania, so its also called the land of Dracula.

The great thing that attracted me to Bucharest are the Architecture, Bucharest has the world's second largest building which now houses the Romanian Parliament. There are many beautiful buildings. It appears, Nikolai Ceausescu, who ruled Romania in communist times from 1965 to 1989, built and showed many great things to Romanians how great things can be, showed people what better things are and never allowed them to enjoy it.

Of course, one of the other thing of striking nature was the prettiness of the women in Romania. I usually never bothered about that anywhere else to take notice, But this was a striking nature in them. I think there is something that is different and comes close to Indian beauty, I guess. Needless to say, I shared this with my wife as the first email from Romania and to few women friends I have, so the issue is settled I guess.

I had also chance to meet my classmate Krishnan, in New Jersy after 5 years, we met for the second time in the US the first one in 2001 after 18 years. I plan to find the rest of the guys of our college and lets see how it goes. We did our graduation in TCE, Madurai. Pl find the photo with his family taken in Morris town, NJ.

I am reading the book "Execution, the discipline of getting things done" by Larry Bossidy, the ex- chairman of Honeywell. Larry turned the company around. If you want to know about the Honeywell culture, that's the best book to read.

Take care and catch up with you soon

Karthik.

Liverpool

I thought I will do this Blog with the color of the Mersey Derby the football teams of the city, Liverpool and Everton.

So I got a chance to visit the Historic city, which is an hour drive from Preston and went around the city. The Albert dock which is one of the biggest port docks I had even seen extending miles and miles. The Liverpool skyline looks very Victorian the architecture very unique.

I had chance to stand on the banks of the Mersey river which meets in to the Atlantic on the coast of Liverpool.

The biggest moment was the 2 hrs I spent at the Beatles museum, I am sure many of you know that Liverpool is the birth place of Paul, John. It was great going thro the metamorphosis of the group. It was an emotional experience. Especially the last segment with John's Solo career where the song "Imagine" plays out. It is difficult to control your emotions.

This week travel and all the enjoyment was possible to the fantastic effort by my boss Anthony Wareham (He is based out of Manchester). Anthony and Kate took their time off from their busy and Hectic schedule, to take me to football, dinner, lunch as well as to Liverpool. Thanks to them, this was one of the most memorable weekends. It is a dodgy thing to push a weekend in business tour, this one was very different.

PL find the photos of the Mersey River, Albert dock and Beatles Museum.

Have a great week ahead.

English Football League

Today I had a chance to come to terms with the English football league. I had been to a I division English league match between Preston North end vs Sunderland. Preston is the place I stay and so I was in the home team fan club. I sat on the top grand stand view and was in the crowd of 20,000 people for this sold out match. The atmosphere was electric and something fantastic, after seeing cricket crowd in India, I should say this is different, with all the comments etc that come from the stands. It was a great experience to see live about English football over which you hear about Radio and TV of late now.

Preston won 4-1 for the records so there were plenty of goals.

I also visited the national football museum in Preston, This team was one of the premier founder of English football league in 1888, so has lot of historical significance and contributed a lot, It was great to see all the world cup action snap shots, as well as to hear about my English favourites like Linekar, Gascoigne, Cantana, etc etc and see the actions in replay in this huge museum.

I also bumped in to former Manchester United captain and Irish football player Roy Keane, Couldn't get his autograph though. So it was a good time and the 4 hrs went just like that.

Pl find some of the snaps.

Things are going great, I had a good time in USA and I look forward to my Romania visit. I am learning a lot here, and the scale of operations are huge to say the least.

I am reading Tipping point by Malcom Gladwell, Will comment about that book soon.

Take care

Karthik.

Mozilla Firefox

Snap 2.

This was a memorable snap, this was all done with team work at Monsanto Bellary site(The first site I assumed charge in 1999-2000,great team and caring people- ofcourse the travel to that place is another story) the date 5-5-06, is significant as that was the date I put in my papers. My mother and Daughter are in the background.

Snap 1, This was an unexpected pleasant surprise from Monsanto, this came to me after a month of my departure all the way from Australia. I was overwhelmed by this gesture I must say. This was all possible due to team efforts at Monsanto.

Take care
Karthik.

Wasting food and NW 042

It is almost 3 weeks I am in to my new job and I know that there are people out reading this blog who are keen to know how I am doing as well as expecting me post some information on the blog site. I am settling down and I am on a new learning curve, Of course I am still busy with working on some of the peripherals of the job change like arranging for House, Car etc etc so that takes a bit of your time and energy as well as distract you from focusing intensely. But overall, I feel I am entering a new phase and for some time it is time to get know the best practices and inculcate them. I will touch up on this later.

I am touching up on couple of thoughts which I don't know how many of you may agree.

1) I have traveled around the world a bit to substantiate what I say, the amount of wastage we in India do while eating food is simply unacceptable, more so when the food comes subsidised or comes at much less the price. I have seen in plenty of cases where people just fill the plates with food which in normal case can feed two or three and just waste it. Moreover, if probed, the answer is "The quality is not good", so what else to do but to waste it. We thought it will be worth eating but later found that it is not Worth eating it. Do we ever appreciate the fact that some one else is paying for it or some times, the food you waste denies some body who would otherwise you have happily ate that. I wonder. Just because it comes at much less price, we tend to take it for granted. I have also seen the same people, when going to restaurant with family or paying for it in actual, tells the bearer to pack the left over to take home. What a contrast is that because He has paid Evey dime for it?
I also see this phenomenon, where some facility is given, where people tend to take maximum mileage/advantage of it, be it a creche for working mothers, or Internet usage in office, we tend to feel that we should extract maximum use of it, like leaving the child as soon as its opened and pick up the child at couple of minutes before closure. Just because the facility is there and we have paid some money so lets take full advantage of it.(Some times I feel parents dont even think how the child would feel to spend 12 Hrs away from parents) Same is the case in corporate sponsored events, the hotel is kind of ripped as though people had never been to a 3 or 5 star before, taking this and that from the room and not even leaving the folder or wash cloth and some fitting too that were never suppose to be taken, and let some else pay for it when found out. I have heard from my HR consultants / event managers friends who arranged or coordinated the events lamenting about it. Why is this attitude, I wonder. I am not at all talking about the Drinking tamasha that Indians do in international flights, it is too well known fact. I leave it not to describe. Why is this attitude.

2) I am personally not surprised at what Happened in flight,NW 042,I have traveled in NW 41/42, 5 times to USA, I take the same flight every time to US via Amsterdam from Bombay. The Northwest crew are one of the best, polite and most helpful I have seen. So they would have been alarmed by something extraordinary. Please don't mistake me that I am against any religion, My best friends are in Pakistan and I have visited Pakistan 10 times, i wouldn't have traveled there, If I felt otherwise or had some bias.(I always had the option of not going there)

I think,We always feel that the rules to adhered are for some one else. I had been a witness to couple of incidents in which Indian passengers being deported back to India from the destination airport for their rule breaking and misbehaviour with Air hostess. I feel that in the present situation, you need to be really watchful and follow the rules or else pay the penalty. How many times I have seen our guys inside the aircraft not switching off cellphone, moving around aircraft either about to take off or land,paying no heed to the instructions warning by crew. Sadly most of the Indians I guess, feel, you can get Scot free also in overseas like we do here by breaking the law or not paying attention. Unfortunately this is not the case. Please do not mistake me for one minute that I justify what has happened. I too have undergone intense check including intense physical search at least in one or two sectors during my travel to USA every time over the last 5 years when I am picked at Random, (Ask my boss, who was with me last time it happened twice in 2 days in Chicago and New Jersey 3 weeks back, I told him that I get Privilege status and I bypass the long waiting queue by going thro that check). My hand bags go thro the Explosive or dangerous goods scanner. I have also been surrounded by passport control in Germany, on the streets, thrice in one day and answered questions for 20 minutes before being let go. So I know what it feels to come under the scanner. But the thing is you must respect the law of the land and adhere to it at all costs. There are no 2 ways, and you have only hobson's choice. If you don't like it, Don't go West, it's as simple as that. To call it racial or any other way is senseless. I think the countries are doing what they feel is right and actions are justifying results. I agree with Tony Blair's statement that after 9/11 and 7/7 or 11/7 whatever, Human rights and Civil liberties will have new meaning and frame of reference.


By the way this week reflects the 11th anniversary of launch of MS- Windows 95, How far computer usage have come. I remember the use of windows in 1996 when I saw the power point presentation (in Astra Zenecca when I was working)with audio and was zapped.

This week also reflects on personal side completing 21 years of ending college life, I still remember the telegram(Email was unheard, let alone Gmail) from Dr MRB our professor from GCT, Coimbatore sent in 1985,with words" Passed, Pl come and collect Mark sheets" Some events are etched in mind is it not. While I am in touch with some of the classmates, the % is less than 15%. I think the next generation will have more contacts. Speaking of next generation, I have some thoughts, which I will share later.
Take care
Karthik.

Kingfisher

There have been lot of responses to my Blog and People are generally Appreciative of the content. As I am preparing to spend a weekend at home, back from a week in Pune, I thought I would share some thoughts.

The Kingfisher trip this week to Pune and back was a kindof experience,it would Put Indian Airlines to feel great. When I phoned last Friday to telecheckin for the Saturday morning flight, the reply was no such PNR( I had confirmed ticket, I was wondering if I would sign in on Saturday with Honeywell, else Lalitha would say wait till the next auspicious day and I have learned the very very hard and tragic way, never to Ignore her on this, that's for another episode) then they called me after 2 hrs and said they have confirmed me and gave me the seat no 24F). I reached Airport Saturday, told 24 F while checking in and didnt bother to check the Boarding pass,(never did after Jet airways spoiled me well over 250 flights, and when I entered Aircraft, the Horror was Middle seat 8B.Hell of a time, I ordered coffee as Ididnt feel like having breakfast, as luck would have it, due to the turbulent weather conditions no coffee was served. (Cant blame them)

The worst to come and that was when I planned to return to Bangalore,last night. I reached the airport at 630pm for the 710 pm flight, they said technical delay at Ahmedabad and flight would leave at 8, and then 8 become 830, then 9,9.30,10,10.45, 1130 etc. At 945 pm I thought enough was enough and canceled the ticket and managed to get a seat for the Jet flight this morning.

The Station Manager was a poor guy, people mobbed him and he did his best, but he had no higher ups to turn to, looks like, as expected in crisis, all the bosses disappear, I guess. (He told us that his boss is Inside an aircraft, and not reachable !!!! can you beleive that) I am told the flight left Pune at 3pm this morning. I saw first hand, experience of mob hysteria, More men Coat and Suits screaming for attention, but you cant blame the passengers, Can you??This was my 3rd tist with Kingfisher (I have Hobson's choice for this odd route as Jet doesnt cover this sector that much) probably the last for some time to come. But the station manager was a great guy, handled very very well the situation.

I hope Kingfisher would have some learnings and would work plan B in future for such situation as they multiply their fleet. Their services are good and so are the aircrafts, But to win Jet Loyalists, business travelers like me, they need to go extra miles. I was comforted by their efforts that they did their best to accomadate as many passengers for the morning Jet Flight, but very few seats were there for grabs. I had a similar situation with Jet in Calcutta last year, when I had gone for an interview, I got a call that Flight was delayed 150 Minutes late, and thats it, The flight left Calcutta 150 minutes late, an aicraft was diverted and sent to Calcutta for this flight.

The silver lining in the whole episode was I got an upgrade to business class to accomadate more passengers.

By the way, it was great to see the Sun God on the flight back after 6 days, I was so thrilled to see him that I just stared straight back at him for a minutes and tears rolled down, I enjoyed it. It was pouring and pouring in Pune so much so that all my plans to meet my friends went in smoke.

I also bumped in to some of the BASF Mangalore plant guys in the hotel lobby unexpectedly, Met them after 7 years, some of them just look the same, some people dont grow old, I guess, unlike me.

Wanted to leave you with this sad story, How promising lives are cut short.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1763387,0006.htm

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=196303

Will try to Blog before Independence day.
Take care and Have a good time
Karthik.

Hiroshima Bombing week

Before I go in to Hirsoshima,This week was kind of a hectic week, Back from US travel, then Business travel and windup + all the farewell Lunch and Dinner and culminating with me Signing in for Honeywell Saturday here in Pune. The auspicious day and time plays a huge part and influence, I guess.

The farewell messages were very touchy from the Monsanto colleagues, from the way it sounds, I did my best to put things around, and 7 years is a lot of time, in today's context to interact with people and to make an influence.

I received a wonderful parting memento from my Bangalore Lunch colleagues,(The Lunch Lamblasters I should call) we are 12 of us form the lunch team and discuss and examine where the world is heading and find solutions. (How much gets activated is another matter!!). They presented me with a wonderful gift and here it is the slot, the god of good beginning and the goddess of wealth and wisdom.

Overall, I guess I had a wonderful time out in Monsanto, it is a great and vibrant organization and people are supportive and leadership ready to listen to your business and personal needs and try to work out practical solutions. The incentive plan and stock options were delightful carrots. Yes, every organization can improve a bit , I will put my money on, clear Career succession planning for people, they would have created a kind of ideal work place.

Today is the 61 anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. I think this event changed the world for ever I guess.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

http://www.atomicmuseum.com/tour/dd2.cfm

Take care
Karthik.

Heathrow and Jet Airways

I was away to UK/ USA as part of my Honeywell Meeting. Some information on that. I flew via London Heathrow to Manchester, Spent a day and then proceeded to Chicago and was back home after a week stay.

Did you know that London Heathrow airport in the only international airport which has separate immigration counter for transit passengers even for Domestic travel within UK and you don't have to clear customs physically. In my case when I landed in Heathrow, I was asked to move to the terminal to which the connecting flight was proceeding, got my boarding pass for my Manchester flight from British midland flight counter and then went thro immigration. Thus I avoided 100s of Indians / passengers who otherwise would have gone thro immigration.(we were just two of us) This saved lot of time. The baggage arrived at Manchester. The only condition is that your baggage should be thro checked to your final destination.
Not even US ports offer this facility, you need to clear customs and put the baggage in to the domestic flight conveyor. This was great saved lot of time and hassle with immigration.
UK Immigration has also introduced IRIS scan for frequent travelers to UK, just register yourself, after registering just get your IRIS scanned and it is stored in data base. When you visit UK, just walk thro camera and a comparison is made and the gates open to let you out. This is available only at present in Heathrow and Manchester.

JET Airways:-
I am amazed at the service provided by Jet Airways, I flew Jet Airways Bombay-Heathrow- Bombay. The service is world class, so is the new Airbus A-340-400-E with the state of the art digitization. Being a day flight to Heathrow, I flew economy the food and services were outstanding. 3 times they serve lunch and snacks as well as always on call. The alchol flowed like River Ganges, on demand, knowing our guys. There was not a single sullen face in the crew.(Jet guys never do I can vouch after clocking 300,000 Miles with them over time) The inflight movies and sound systems are world class. Moreover, the seating is 2-4-2 so that no person is more than one seat from aisle. This was in sharp contrast to the US carrier I flew Manchester- Chicago and back. Service below average as well as delays.
While returning Heathrow- Bombay, I used my upgrade voucher for Business class (3 vouchers)as the flight leaves Heathrow at 2130 Hrs. The seating and 180 Deg flat bed is state of the art, you sleep like a baby. Besides the seat have massage provisions to relax your back. The cuisine was delecious were world class and stewards no more than a minute away to your requirement. The toilet kit is collectors item, you dont feel like using it. Coincidentally the stewards were the same crew who flew a week back so had a lot of catchup on things happening. Jet will definitely will give every other airline a run for the money soon. This was service to customer at its best and outstanding. The baggage were out in a flash in BBY and British airways which arrived 30 minutes early in to Bombay, BA passengers were looking at us with envy as we moved out thro customs in Bombay. The only place where they can improve is at the transfer / transit check in counter at Heathrow,(I flew in to Heathrow from Manchester) the United Airlines staff help them and they struggle a lot with Indian names, passport details, admin procedures etc. I am sure Jet will maintain and may even improve as they go forward.

Wonderful Mementos and Celebrations

This week was full of travel and Mementos in view of my moving out.

The Bellary Seeds site in south India which was the first Monsanto site I worked on to set up ESH systems in 2000. I was out there for the Global safety award celebrations that the site had won this year (Only site in Asia Pacific and one of 18 sites to have won the global award from 150 sites). My boss Jolanta Paull, flew in from Melbourne for this memorable occaions.She was the guest of Honor.
After the ceremony and special Lunch, there was my farewell celebrations as I would have made my last visit to the site. I got a memorable Memento of Lord GANESH(Pic). This is an apt one as I feel that I need his blessings to take new challenges and responsibility.
There was more surprise in store, I got my long term service award, (5years), this was due in 2005 and I thought Monsanto Had missed the event, So it was a pleasant surprise to receive the Titan watch. It was great feeling.
More, today I had a farewell Lunch with Jolanta, back in Bangalore, and the climax was complete When she handed me A CITIZEN ECO DRIVE WATCH. My wife always wanted to get me one on Birthdays/ wedding day, and I refused. So it was great feeling that the Two cancerian women in my life (Lalitha and Jolanta in Photos) planned and fulfilled it. The only sad part the 3rd cancerian women in Michelle couldnt make it. We all Missed you Michelle.
It couldn't have been a better week in my life, The feeling is great.


Karthik.

Ostrich and My move out of Monsanto.

This week Was very eventful for some things to happen.

My announcement about Moving out of Monsanto was released. It was a tough decision I tell you, in my 21 year career. Seven years just went by, the fact that I will be out of Monsanto in about 4 weeks time in sinking in. Ofcourse, as I will continue to be based in Bangalore for the Honeywell Transportation systems Assignment as Global HSE Manager, without affecting the family interest is a sense of satisfaction that you can go without compromising the needs of the dear and near.

This week, I happen to see live "Ostrich" moving around in the restaurant I had lunch while traveling from Aurangabad to Pune. This place is 20 Kms after Ahmednagar (95 Kms from Pune)and the Place is called "Smile Stone". The food was also very good and so the time to see and feed Ostrich. It relaxes you a lot esply on a long highway journey. See the photos.

See the Profile of the man who downed Brasil. Henry (pronounced Aannrie) master tactician who rose to the demanding occasion. For him,This would also heal some wounds after the European championship final, were Arsenal were given a raw deal by the refree.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thierry_Henry
Also go thro Erin Pavlina website lot of good information.

www.erinpavlina.com

Have a good week ahead.
Regards
Karthik