Roads; Carlton Towers; Budget

I just wanted to highlight the sad state of Roads in Bangalore. The photos above are not the roads in Rural area / Villages in India but at the heart of Bangalore at Malleswaram; outside our home. Repeated request to do something has fallen on deaf ears. What more can you say on governance! To add insult to Injury this road soon be a path to school and 1000s of apartment homes in the next 4 months. Tragedy waiting I guess. 

I am saddened to see the loss of NINE lives in the fire, due to lack of safety norms/ greed at the "CARLTON TOWERS" in Bangalore. This was the building right opposite Diamond District where I lived for 8 years till July 09; always wondered about the mushrooming bill boards and extensions and wondered where it would all lead to. The closure / disappearence of fire passage; the locking of fire exits; rooftop entrance locked for fearing people would use for partying(alchol) were flimsy reasons. Wonder where is the discipline/ governance and compliance to fire safety norms and rules. More so it was the lack of awareness on the employees part on emergency drills; rescue etc was lead to more panic and jumping down. As a safety professional I can only hope that this is a big lesson for companies big and small to learn and put in better fire safety programs in place.They owe it to their people. But would that happen; knowing Indian mentality of cut everything to get profits and business at any cost; I doubt more so with no straight forward legal aspects to enforce. We have one of the weakest/ opaque regulations; so nothing can be expected.

So, the budget is out and looks over ambitious; contrary to what many have showered praise;I stand by Mr Gurumurthy's article on Hindu in which he questions the discipline and brings out more of what the budget evades!!.. Well written...... Yes, the personal tax is ok for middle class; again it misses out the education, medical aspects which are also required to build the future of the country.

Ok; Till next week; take it easy and take care; Live Consciously.
Regards

Karthik

AUTO DRIVER LESSONS----> BOMBAY---->

Exact Narration by Suvendu Roy of Titan Industries, who shares his inspirational encounter with a rickshaw driver in Mumbai:

Last Sunday, my wife, kid, and I had to travel to Andheri from Bandra.
When I waved at a passing auto rickshaw, little did I expect that this ride would be any different...

As we set off, my eyes fell on a few magazines (kept in an aircraft style pouch) behind the driver's back rest.



I looked in front and there was a small TV. The driver had put on the Doordarshan channel.



My wife and I looked at each other with disbelief and amusement. In front of me was a small first-aid box with cotton, dettol and some medicines.
This was enough for me to realise that I was in a special vehicle.
Then I looked round again, and discovered more - there was a radio, fire extinguisher, wall clock, calendar, and pictures and symbols of all faiths
- from Islam and Christianity to  Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism.
There were also pictures of the heroes of 26/11- Kamte, Salaskar, Karkare and Unnikrishnan.
I realised that not only my vehicle, but also my driver was special.

I started chatting with him and the initial sense of ridicule and disbelief gradually diminished.
I gathered that he had been driving an auto rickshaw for the past 8-9 years; he had lost his job when his employer's plastic company was shut down.
He had two school-going children, and he drove from 8 in the morning till 10 at night.
No break unless he was unwell.  "Sahab, ghar mein baith ke T.V dekh kar kya faida? Do paisa income karega toh future mein kaam aayega."

We realised that we had come across a man who represents Mumbai – the spirit of work, the spirit of travel and the spirit of excelling in life.
I asked him whether he does anything else as I figured that he did not have too much spare time.
He said that he goes to an old age home for women in Andheri once a week or whenever he has some extra income, where he donates tooth  brushes, toothpastes, soap,  hair oil, and other items of daily use.
He pointed out to a painted message below the meter that read: "25 per cent discount on metered fare for the handicapped.
Free rides for blind passengers up to Rs. 50.


 
My wife and I were struck with awe. The man was a HERO!
 
A hero who deserves all our respect!!!
 
Our journey came to an end;
 
45 minutes of a lesson in humility, selflessness, and of a hero-worshipping Mumbai, my temporary home.
 
We disembarked, and all I could do was
to pay him a tip that would hardly cover a
free ride for a blind man.
 
I hope, one day, you too have a chance to meet Mr Sandeep Bachhe in his auto rickshaw: MH-02-Z-8508.

 

Blizzard,Buzz; Toyota; Driving License; Gossip.

So it appears that summer is fully in Bangalore; last 3 days are getting warm that venturing out 20 min walk at 2pm is a difficult task. One side there is a huge debate between global freezing and global warming in view of the continuous blizzard in the East coast of USA. The debate is on, and will go on forever. Things were not helped by the so called doctoring of data in favor of global warming.

So, the Google BUZZ is out, unlike the WAVE this just came unannounced (without much of the hype of wave;rather than waiting for the invitation anxiously, As I do for any Google product, just love them) this was sitting in the in box sort. 4 days in to Buzz, I kind of like it. Yes, there are many questions about privacy settings, I am sure that all will blow off over time. I am more in to ERIC SCHMIDT's school of thought, if you don't want something not to be in public domain and has concern over that it will be known, may be you should not be doing it in the first place. 
On the funny side, It was hilarious to see the Driving license application in Bihar. On a serious side, I am glad to see that the state is making progress. It has been backward for long and things have to change. The challenge is to meet expectations and sustain. On the political side on a different note, it was sad to see the bombing in Pune which took lives. But reading international journals, this was not a kind of not unexpected, it was only a question of when rather than whether as this article explains.

The other surprise turn of events is the Toyota Recalls. Some lessons. There have been articles in the recent past about how the company is slipping and this has come as a huge blow. I guess this recall even goes to question the effectiveness of lean manufacturing. I hope for the sake of world class manufacturing the order is restored.
There was an interesting article I came across "How to keep your executives". Practical aspects. On the organization side,Mike and Mark have come out with a gem on "Gossip handling". Again it is all down to behaviours.
Till next week; take it easy and take care; Stay Healthy and live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Back; Computer Engineer; Listorious;Carly.

Good to be back to Blogging; I think this is the best way to put thoughts in to a platform. So off to 167th Post. 4 years have just flashed past.

On the personal side; after ages it was feeling good to fast / starve for some 6Hrs in connection with15th Anniversary ceremonies for my late grandfather to whom I was very much attached. So fasting cant do much damage it seems. 

This post on how to cover the basics how to be a good computer engineer gives a good practical 101. Abhisek Desai has covered all the practical aspects. I am still surprised that people have not harvested the potential of RSS feeds;and asking why, why, why. As a Safety professional, I will be on streets If I dont ask that question to get in to the root cause of the issue, so it has become second nature. 

As the year is well on; it is a good time to take stock on the goals, objectives, targets as well as career etc; This article gives guidance as what should be the right way to plan a career covering transitions, job search, networking, etc all the essentials for a smart career. On the other side, I have been tracking the fabulous realities of Performance appraisal, incentives; no better expressed than in this blog column with good link to grandmother stories by Arun Vemuri. 

On the leadership side; came across from my Twitter following on the best 10 leadership Blogs for 2010. No Surprises are most names are well known. Some of them yes to follow; One twitter application I came across is Listorious which gives a good list of twitters in to follow.

Came across this multiple search engine;Autopedia allows search about 9 search engines and spits out results from 4 of them simultaneously. Good for spread search.

On the political side; Here is an interview with Carly Fiorina; who is likely to run for the Cal Senate seat. The interview "The nation with the best brain power wins, echoes Drucker's ideas of knowledge worker. There is also a great question on Why women should be involved with Technology. Carly is one of the few Business Leaders inspire me; in fact her summary of Leadership" Courage; Capability; Collaboration; Character" I have displayed at my work table to refer. 

Got a copy of SIDIN VADUKUT's DORK' Exciting book; planning delibarately to go through slow; but the first 46 pages makes me that task is difficult. I will give my review when completed.

Until next week; take it easy and take care; Live consciously.
Karthik

Blog update

As I will be updating most of the thoughts thro Twitter, My posting in BLOG will be sporadic with deviation from regular Sunday evening posting till further notice.

Please follow me on Twitter.

Karthik.

MLA,EE; Management,

Today the Renaissance PARK III (Our #APT)Adhoc committee team of which I am member met the Malleswaram(Bangalore Nortwest) Member of state Legislative Assembly(Congressmen in US term) to thank him for helping us to get the Landline Telephone (It took 7 months as there was no last mile connectivity) as well as to request for some better amenities in the area. Dr Aswath Narayan is a medical doctor. This is my first close interaction with elected rep as I usually stay away and great believer that we progress in spite of the Government. The 20 min we spent, I found him to be accessible to people, very practical, down to earth as well as reeling of statistics on welfare measures. Yes, there was a bit of language barrier as I am yet to be well versed in Kannada the local language to fully understand the nuance of the conversation.

I came across an interesting article on Employee engagement, a kind of buzz word some time back but fizzled out in recession times, but still a good concept to work around.The acronym"RAPS" works well. Retention, Advocacy,Satisfaction, Pride. Good basic concept to work and take forward.
On the management side, MT /CT has come out a 2part gem on Admitting mistakes; Admit early and don't beat around bush. The MT podcast on Developing Subordinates (!! most may blink!!) is an eye opener for those not thought of it as necessary.(Org will take care Hmmmm)... On CMM, Wayne has come out 2 podcast (CMM/ Working week). CMM one with Timothy Clark on leadership with volunteering touching the strategic aspects of why/ what you want to be as leader is very thought provoking. On Working week with Dr John Kennedy, the Heart care is a must listen. On the satire/ time pass as we call in India, Listen to Lucy on the awards / Management guff is a must listen.

Here are the list of 15 Most hated companies in USA. No major surprises. Walmart, United,YES DELL.(MY son calls Hell), Yes they do well, the numbers are good but an aversion.

I was fascinated by GOOGLE Squared. Never knew it existed until I stumbled on the site. A good way to tabulate results and compare.

On the books side, Marshall Goldsmith's MOJO is out for release in Feb, cant wait to get a copy when it hit book stores here. Also on the lookout is Sidin Vadukut's DORK. I read the excepts in live mint.

As an avid Non Indian cricket follower, Test Match special BBC was a great site to follow cricket on Audio web for me. Pleasure listening to CMJ, Peter Baxter; Now Testmatch sofa looks equally good.

Pongal came and gone; so Summer (Uttrayan) is not far behind looking forward to move from cold,(20C!) and fog to Sunshine.

Ok, Till next week; take it easy and take care; Live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Newyear, Twitter, Technology, Converters

It is good to be back to blogging in 2010. We had celebrations in Renaissance Park III for welcoming the new year. It was all Women arrangement and they did an excellent job for entertainment, food, logistics as well as for the memento too. Well done. Photo above of the team who did a great job.

I am posting the photos of the Brigade North star which was in news for the first IT Corridor office complex in Northern Bangalore. This place is 50 Feet from my home and is part of complex of office, hotel, Apts, Mall, school. See Photos.

It was also time in the new year to catch up with my EX-Boss from Monsanto, Jolanta was here in Bangalore and took time in her schedule to catch up with us. It is close to 4 years since I left Monsanto and we are in touch. It was a great relation. On the news of Monsanto, I was not surprised to see HUGH GRANT Monsanto CEO, has been chosen by HBR as the top 10 Best performing CEO. I had met him couple of times, Hugh is all about accessibility, Care, compassion and commitment -the hallmark of leadership. He was instrumental as a Sponsor for bringing in World class vehicle safety program in 2002 to turn around driving concept. Congratulations.

On the tech front came across the 69 coolest web applications that changed the world in 2009 and 5 Tech apps that is dictating us. Very practical and we have reached a stage where we are nothing without these apps as they say.

Mr Murali of Netspeak comes with very useful links, He is one of the Tech geeks I follow on Twitter. His latest links on PDF to word Converter and Scribblar a useful web sharing application. My wife used the Scribblar and says it is very useful but not happy with audio for her web coaching sessions.

As indicated, HBR Print in it's new avatar looks different. Time Hangover!!, but good any way. The website too looks rejuvenated.

I leave with a bit of humor on English. Very funny no doubt.

Till next week, take it easy and take care; Follow me on Twitter at Karaikudy.

Karthik

Sunsigns, Best books of 2009, Panama Canal, HBR

Good to be back after the Xmas Holidays. I would make this short post as to catch up on things.

I was amazed to read this post on predicting your boss nature based on his sun sign. I guess this is partly correct in as far as me as a boss as well as with some of the boss with whom I had interacted. Cant take it all the way though!.... On the boss front, I came across this fabulous picture post by Kris Ashok on doing Jalsa and showing Jilpa(Dont know what it means, not that I have heard till 1985, when I left Tamilnad) on how boss react to your sick leave. I also came across the post on Interviewing smart tips for tech folks, who miss the nuance of preparing and working out the job interviewing aspects.

As indicated in my earlier posts, I am trying to understand the essence of Bhagavad Gita thro the Discourse of Chinmayananda. I was fascinated with this post on linking Githa in modern management terms. Very apt and practical explaining Passion, Ignorance, Goodness, the 3 key aspects in human being.

I leave with the thoughts on Best business books of 2009, worth the list. Also I look forward to revamped HBR from 2010.

I was fascinated reading about Panama canal, never knew that you need Millions of gallon of Fresh water to move ship and more so to lift 85 Feet...... Marvel..

So 2009 was a decent year, lot of challenges, well overcome with ways to find a practical solution and move on. Ofcourse, ultimately it all boils down to what your stakeholders feel and that's what matters.

Take it easy and take care; live Consciously.
Karthik

Avatar, Meetings, Despair, Cheques bounce

I am still in daze from the Avatar effect. My son persuaded me that I should accompany all to the movie(My 4th movie in 11 years, Titanic, HP V and Spider man) were the other 3. Also I was pulled in as I wanted to experience the 3D progress from the days of the Poltergeist. my dear Kuttichatan.

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Avatar is a mixture of Indian beleif(Moving soul from body to body, Spirits etc which are well documented in Indian history) and technology. For 160 minutes you are at a different world forgetting traffic jams, Lousy situations etc. The music of James Horner is master piece (Austrian touch of Mozart!) (As good as John Williams in Star Wars, Riders of the last ark and his own Titanic) adds to the thrill. It is a must watch for every one. The take away for me is It might help me to dream better and get better ideas as seed for thought process/ innovation to continuous improvement.

Cheques are going to be part of the history. With all the plastics, Digital aspects happening, Cheques may become extinct as per decision taken in UK. So the term Rain check may become Rain Digital.

With Cynicism at it's height in these depressing work state across,no wonder the site Despair.com, would help to let out the frustration and show out. Slogans, mug, posters etc. This site came to my knowledge in response to the practices of dog and pony show on safety thro behavior change in Let's get real which I shared with friends.

On the management side, 3 of the articles this week caught my attention. 50 Minute meeting by David Silverman on setting tight time and not just stick to calendar timings. 10 min saving can go a long way. The other post was on How to detect if your colleagues are lying.(Very apt both when lied or lied up on!!). The third one was Retaining top performer in tough times. Show your feeling and thank them is key also work out non cash rewards and align career expectations. Also I want to mention Mike and Mark podcast on Making your favourite candidate succeeding in your interview process. Top Stuff.

Google has come with a navigator that adapted to the Indian needs. In India the concept direction like North, south are alien. It is more to do with street, shop, temple, post office and work reference to that. So Google maps have adapted to that. GMAIL language typing in to TAMIL தமிழ் is a cool stuff.
I leave this week with the chart that caught my eye on How web Browser use has changed over years from all MS to Others. This is what they call CHANGE HAS COME TO THE WORLD. Also a quick look at the top 10 Web platforms.

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

Regards
Karhik.

PS: As a favor to my son for taking me to Avatar and giving me good time, I will watch and support CHELSEA his team tonight.

Spousal Jealousy, Drucker, Soft Skills, Password

So the year is coming to an end, 2009 looks like went like a whistle.

Came across this interesting article on Spousal Jealousy arising out of a new term I came across as work spouse. Of course, keeping the relations to the platonic level is the key and to avoid the wrath of home spouse I guess. Very practical article in MI and It covers indepth analysis of various issues at work and has a distinct UK flavor. I also came across lot of good management information at Management today. This also covers practical happening at the Management aspects. From an Indian perspective, Tickledby life is a good website on all updates in management.

I cant help keep writing about Peter Drucker. This HBR Website article just moved me I thought that I should share with all. This covers the personal side of Drucker which we seldom get to know.

Two articles which got Twitted around caught my attention. 1) The soft skills people require to work their way around by Kate Nasser. 2) 10 HR trends of the decade by Susan Heathfield for with web taking over the process. Wonder if HR folks would change their Mindset????

Everyday we use a lot of passwords for various access to websites, machines. A practical way to remember the password is explained here.

A live update of all the trains running in India are covered in the South Central Railway website. This covers update within 20min of current time and give the train status.

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Thumb impressions, Tiny URL, Dictinoary, Gil Schwartz

I am glad to be back on blogging after a week's gap as I was away last Sunday evening for some shopping and couldn't get time to blog. So feels good to be back.

I was amazed to read this story of a Florida, USA, bank insisting on a thumb impression of a man who has no hands to cash his cheque. You think you will hear such stories in this part of the world. Looks like the" crow is black" every where as they say in India, Kawwa Kaala Hi.

Tiny URL is a good feature to use when you have to shorten the URL which are lengthy. More so when you have to use it in Twitter or other microblog or send as link in email. It shortens and cuts it to less than 10 characters.

Google has done it again, The new Google dictionary is amazing to translate meanings. Not only that it gives meanings in various context of word and gives example. I tried features in my mother tongue Tamil and found it fascinating.

Bing, Stanley aka Gil Schwarz, (Bing, not the search engine) has come out with a new book, and has done a great podcast with Wayne on CMM. Give a listen. Bing writes fantastic column on Fortune and blogsite. Wayne in another podcast called Working week has covered the link between environmental sustainability and employee engagement in a conversation with Jagan Nemani. Give it a listen.

Mike and Mark have come out with a fabulous podcast on DISC Behavioral profile downfall and have covered HighC this week. Eureka, that is it.....

Gina Trapani, some time has written an excellent blog post in HBR on throw away your business card and create your GOOGLE Profile. Very true. I have done my Google profile . Of course, GOOGLE exposes you on all about you or what others write about you as this case study "We googled you" indicates.

Ok, Untill next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.

Regards
Karthik

Education, Scandal, Steve Jobs,2611

Education access is an universal right for every one. I recollect reading some time back that Indian government passed a bill making basic education a fundamental right. In that connection, reading goes as a part of education. So I was amazed to see the SLS Planet read effort by subtitling film songs/ programs which would make people read and improve learning. This is common sense as one might say, but how many common sense ideas get implemented??.

So on to some of the scandals I came across this week.
1) 112 Year old man marrying 17 year old girl in Somalia- Mother of all scandals I guess!!..
2)Read the scandal by Tony Young in duping investor funds. The modus operandi was too common and wonder how people fall for it...

You can love him, you can hate him, you can forget him, but you cant Ignore him. Steve Jobs is back. He has been chosen as Fortune's CEO of the decade. You have to agree, the Ipod, The Iphone and Macs.. What is next? Just cant wait, made music a common access. My son was on for a music recording for his school program yesterday and he got a feel of Mac Pro tools 8.0 for that and says that MAC a thing to have.

This week on Friday will be the First anniversary of the Bombay Seize. Time flies. But you wonder any significant learning has happened and the sense of security has improved. It is time to ask the questions and see if we get answers. Meanwhile I share the grief, memory for the departed. Vir Sanghvi has written a great article.

Ok, until next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Drucker,9 ways, Kalashnikov,Fitbit,

This week is the 100th Birth anniversary of Peter Drucker. I am sure we are very lucky that Like Gandhi, Drucker was amongst us and helped us to charter a way forward in management. As I read more and more of other authors on management issues, I see the fundamental concepts all boil from Drucker. We are blessed. Interesting would be his thoughts on today's chaos......

Read an interesting article by Liz Ryan on 9 ways to find a perspective employer. Yes, some of it are common sense and practically known in this part of the world like reaching early to find latent aspects, linkedin aspects. Good thoughts.....

With Google wave mania catching here is a practical guide written by Gina Trapani. She covers practical aspects in office work in HBR as well as in her blog called Lifehacker which is a good read. On HBR this article why parents make a great manager, was a good one.....

This week marks the 90th Birthday of Mr Kalashnikov the inventor of AK 47. The weapon yes, has taken lives, but brought more peace I guess. He was my childhood hero.. So salute.....

Yes, It is good to see Linkedin connected to Twitter, but no use in this part of the world as many service providers don't provide twitter connect so just dream.......Also many company firewalls bar twitter.....

Just got the fortune print article which has recognised Steve Jobs as Fortune CEO of the decade. Great accolade. The man has revolutionised digital waves.... Hopefully he takes it to next level on digital reads.....

I leave this week with FITBIT the device that can measure your movements and give feedback. Wish it comes sooner to this part of the world.

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Qacks, Disagreement, Students, Readit forme.

When I was 12 years old in my 7th Grade, I had allergic rashes on my body (reason never known) and my grandmother immediately suggested that I go the Quack to get it treated. Nothing came out of the roadside treatment after 12 hrs, my dad decided to take me to alopathic Doctor in Karaikudi(Far and few that time) and I was Ok in 6 Hrs. This CNN article on the quacks reminded me of that. The other side is the way the medical costs are skyrocketing this way of treatment would be beyond reach for many average Indians.......

Mike and Mark again have done it again. While you may have disagreements with your boss and it will be big joke if you had not had one over time(then it is career derail). They have come out with a fantastic podcast on how to disagree with your boss. I would even take this to work out over my children and family and friends based on this article when to shut up.

Here is an interesting piece on advice supposedly given by Bill Gates to Children. (of course now confirmed that he is not the source). Good thoughts to pass on to children regardless of source.

Came across this website Readitforme gives summary of best books released to go thro on a video. Also liked the web page Aggregated Alltop as a good source to read all threads in one page.

OK, till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.

Regards
Karthik.

Wave,Online Hazard, 100 working, Slip, Sleep.....

I received yesterday morning the email invite for the Google wave, the collaboration tool and a communication tool from Google Inc. I must admit that I am pretty excited about it as it leads to explore on topics and people whom you would never have known. It looks good, let's see. The only hitch is there are only 20 Invitations to give away to connect to your wave. I hope the number increases as the system stabilizes.

I have heard people working till 70s, 80s that is all fine, here is a story of an Attorney in Texas coming in to office and working, guess his age!! Yes, 101.... Read on. At half his age, I am already feeling on some days that office is boring and what could be done differently to bring excitement in to work.
This is a shocker of a story in which a person who was doing online dating was killed.... I am sure many such incidents of fraud, cheat etc must be happening, but to kill some one for gain is horrendous!... Never thought that online could be such a hazard.

This is a classic case of slip between the cup and lip. Recently heard a interesting experience from a friend. After attending a job interview a job offer was received. Up on discussions, with not being very happy on terms and conditions and benefits and further negotiations, the company sent revised terms in which the cash component was much much less than initial offer as well as what is offered in present job. Both stuck to their guns and offer vanished!!!... Classic slip case.... So watch out.......

I leave you with the sad story of the passing away of the SAP India CEO aged 42 due to massive cardiac arrest this week. What kind of saddened me was his belief that 4 hours of sleep was enough to keep going. I recollect reading HBR article on sleep deficiency- a killer. Wonder if there are connections?...... May his soul rest in peace. I guess corporate needs to focus on this and do something as well as CEOs set an example. This is also a case for work life balance or choice.....

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Diwali 2009. Articles with Impact.

Glad to share snaps of the DIWALI Celebrations at Renaissance Park III. We had a great time at our home on this joyous occasion. This time it was a simple get together as less than 20 families have moved in. We hope others move in soon.....

I thought of listing 5 articles I read which has an impact on me.....

Managing Oneself Peter Drucker.

What great Managers do? Marcus Buckingham

Manage your energy not time. Tony Schwartz

Who has got the MONKEY
Lary Bossidy- Honeywell. (Allied Signal). A Job No CEO should Delegate

Bonus
Process audit Michael Hammer.

Overwhelmed, Leap, Portfolio,Charity

I am just pondering:-

1) Barrack Obama Nobel Prize, this was totally a bolt from the blue. I agree with the school of thought that the president is yet to deliver on results. Anyway, the decision is made as they say, past is history as is this year prize and we need to move on to await the Next Nobel Peace prize winner.

2) I was listening to Bahgavad Gita discourse by Swami Chinmayananda in my IPOD as I do every weekend 2 to 4pm. I was listening to the Chapter 11, in which Lord Krishna takes VISHWAROOPAM to show his full form to Arjuna. I am still to recover from the explanation and its manifestation. If hearing only makes me go in AWE, I just wonder what it must have been for the Mighty solider on the battle field.

I listened to Wayne Turmel on chat with Rick Smith on LEAP. It is a very thought provoking podcast. It covers three aspects as interface of Creativity, Excecution and Leadership. I undertook the test.

Came across, intersting info on the hedgeable award for worst investment fund award.

Also this article touched me on charity being done by N KRISHNAN at Madurai. He feeds about 1000 invalid/ mentally handicapped people in and Around the temple down. I am doing my best to contribute.

Looking forward to DIWALI celebrations less than a week away.

Till next week, take it easy and take care; Live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Ambulance, KS Mangalam, Subramaniam Siva, Roads.

Whenever any government is involved, I usually criticise them or find that the quality of service is pathetic or poor. For a change, I witnessed something positive and here how it goes. Last Wednesday, when traveling from Bangalore to Trichy by train, a fellow passenger who boarded the train at Mysore,complained of Symptoms that could possibly lead to paralytic stroke. The Passenger's family members informed the railway traveling ticket examiner, (TTE) who in turn, communicated the situation to the Bangalore city station and sought an Ambulance to be brought around to the Platform 6 (Which is crowded, congested more so being holiday season!!!) when the train reached Bangalore city station. This is how I saw Ambulance in the platform while waiting for the train to arrive. As soon as the train arrived, the Ambulance crew swung in to action and worked first aid and shifted the passenger to nearby hospital. The family decided to discontinue journey to be with him. I am not sure of the outcome, but this effort by Railway authorities is indeed commandable.


We went for our annual pilgrimage to our family deity at KariSuzntha mangalam( Means Temple surrounded by Elephants) which is 25Kms from Tirunelveli, corporation in South Tamilnadu. It was a memorable experience to spend a day in the midst of greenery, on the banks of the river Tamira bharani and away from daily chaotic life. I felt recharged and good to go on at high levels for some time. The weather was indeed surprisingly mild, (It has started raining since we left). The decoration done on the deities makes you wonder, that the people who do that may be blessed......








On the way back we spent a couple of hours at Lalitha's home town Trichy and for dinner we went to Hotel Sangam. There at the Chembian resturant, we were treated to melodious Flute music by Subramaniam Siva, a 3rd Year Engineering student from Coimbatore.( He is native of Trichy). The 45 Minutes, we spent were simply great. Again you need besides talent, skill and attitude, a special blessings from almighty to render such enthralling performance. The team was great.......
I am also attaching a video which My son shot thro his mobile. The song is Kurai onrum illai. (Lord I have no grievances, composed by Rajaji, the First Indian Governor General of Independent India). Take a listen.











I was also impressed with the road conditions in Tamilnadu. Vast improvements with an average speed of 60 Km/hr. A far cry from days when 40 is superfast. Yes, that do bring the issue of severity being high when things do go wrong, like the near miss we had when our driver managed to avoid the state bus entering in to highway without a watching to his right!!....

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik

Women as better managers, Email, Glassdoors, Gmail

Here is wishing all a Happy Dasserra. It is the only day of the year, when I sit behind the wheel of my car and drive the 30 yards, (of course my driver sits beside just in case!!)as an auspicious beginning for the year ahead.

Interesting article posted in New York times,in which Carol Smith of Elle group which says women are in all sense Better Managers than men. After working for a Female manager and the female manager had a woman manager. I cant help to agree with the statement. They give you more head room and tend to seek and take your opinion more than male managers do. Of course, the issue is only that some times conversation can go a bit longer and you need to master the time management skills.

Here is an interesting website, Glassdoor which gives inside information on all companies thro opinions posted. Of course, this only perceptions of individuals who post what they feel.

Read last night on the HBR article in Sep issue on death by information overload. A must read article for those drowned by information, more so from Web and dont know how to manage. The article talks about thebrain and Twine as source of tools to help manage information overload. Let me see start using and see how it goes.

Hmm, Again Gmail had trouble this week, when I couldn't access my contacts for couple of hours. Wonder, where the invincibility disappeared?? Yes, again Mike and Mark are right, Always take a printout of contacts.....

Ok, Looking forward to catch up the next 2 days holidays with lot of catching up to do on reading.....

Until next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik

Eid Mubarak,Internet Kills, Tragedy, Art of living, Navaratri.

I am posting this blog in a more relaxed manner as tomorrow Monday is a public Holiday for the Islamic festival Id-ul-Fitr. I pass on warmest Eid greetings to my Muslim friends, more special greetings to my friends in my second HOME, Lahore; Pakistan. (Special friends in Monsanto Pakistan, Dr Rahman, Rana Rafiq and Zahid Islam, the last mentioned was instrumental in getting me to visit Pakistan) I am really amazed that in every religion the path to spiritual greatness are done thro sacrifice, discipline, (I am not an expert, this is my initial views, still a long way to go).

Saw an interesting web piece on 50 things that Internet has killed. I will add one more thing is looking at Dictionary or writing the correct spelling.

I found the web page History search engine Infoaxe cool, It helps you to search the web pages you visited and restores. Cool..... So no struggle for pages visited and lost.

I have posted a poll on linkedin on work life balance, a topic that is very close to my heart. I find it very irritating and frustrating to see many Indian companies and managers don't try to do a bit or walk the talk to enforce this important concept!!. I posted my brooding on this topic about an year back in my blog. Seems nothing has changed. They seem to live in a different plane(t) on this as compared to companies like bp, Honeywell. As much as we don't understand the western divorce concept as I was explaining to my wife.

I am listening to Malcolm Gladwell's Blink Audio Book. A must listen for every one to get a sense of thinking on feet as well as go by hunch. Gladwell also explains the concept of Contempt/ criticism which is a big take away for me as well as the concept of THIN SLICING...

It was heart rendering to read that a 12 year old girl died in labor in Yemen. It shook me to the core and it took me a while to regain composure. Where the world is going??????

I had a chance to examine my pulse thro Nadi Pariksha( Pulse Diagnosis) thro AOL. Some of the concepts and treatment are akin to grandmother's remedy in a core sense. (Pita, Kapa, Vatta).

Yes, navarathri, 2009 has commenced from Yesterday. It will fun filled 9 nights. Of course, We have not kept the Golu(Doll arrangement at home, I have been pestering Lalitha for one, may be next year!!). How much I miss the Gujarati Garba/ Dandiya Rass of Bharuch, Ankleshwar which are etched in my memory even after a dozen years of moving away from that wonderful place and people.

Yes, leave you with "GREED IS GOOD" saw the movie after 22 years of its release. What a theme and very relevant in present day context. Vintage Michael Douglas.

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.

Regards
Karthik.
Amritkala,Bangalore, India.