HAL; Interesting thoguhts.

A tribute to the HAL Airport, Bangalore which was closed after so many years(45 Years!!) of service yesterday (Saturday). I made all the business trips and Personal journeys from this Airport and got a chance to see the world from door step. We reside very near this airport and used to watch aircraft land and take off. (Yes the noise during midnight is sleep breaker, that is OK) The new Airport is situated 40 Kms from home and the road conditions are so bad that it would take 3 Hrs to reach and then take a 40 min flight to nearby cities like Mangalore, Madras. That is some planning for our politician. Yes, the newly launched bus service looks cute for the ride to the New airport. I will get a chance to see the new airport after 2 weeks.

This week was also kind of memorable as it brought me to a stage where parents run for children's school admissions. My daughter's ICSE 10th Standard(Grade) results were announced Tuesday. From that day, it is running pillar to post for every college in Bangalore for Pre university( 2 years). The fact that there are affirmative action programs in schools don't help you, if you are in General category. (My home state is worst off one, so any where else in better!!!) Lets keep our fingers crossed and see what comes out this week when the colleges will release the admissions list. Far cry from the old days when merit alone is enough to get admissions in to what you wanted.

On a political note, I am happy that the new government is formed in the state after all the chaos of the past 4 years. I am glad that people have given mandate for a stable government. It is another matter that I didn't vote, nor bothered to see if my name is in the voting list. It has become a joke. The election day was one of the day when our servant maids and house helps are treated as VIP, by political parties wooing with Cash, BOOZE, utensils etc as a pay off for their vote.

I was reading couple of HBR articles written in the 1980s, and nothing has changed over the last 28 years. Very practical aspects covered in Boss relations as well as Managing work life balance. I am giving link below.

Must success cost So much

Nobody trusts the boss completely- Now what?

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

Karthik.

Jobs, Plastics, UAE.XOBIN

I wonder at the recent Number of jobs that are being moved out of USA/ Europe. While this was thought as a IT Phenomenon, it is fast catching up in the Manufacturing/ supply chain. This is evident from calls I receive from Overseas placement companies requesting for help in locating candidates through my network in India. While the staff costs may be low on comparable terms (Of course less liability issues in this part of the world !!) I wonder the other costs like travel for business requirements, competency aspects would be an issue. More so the Operating budgets do not take in to considerations these aspects when these positions are created and causes lot of heartburn in job content and job satisfaction or value add from incumbents perspective. This also creates an uneasy time for the person who fits in the job. I guess it all evens out for people at every part of the world. Looks like a ZERO SUM GAME.

I am amazed at the resistance to the use of plastic bags etc by school children these days as well as their commitment to protect general environment. My Kids have made sure that the Sunday market we go to, we return with no plastic bags with fruits and vegetables. We now make sure that we carry enough cloth bags to fill in all the vegetables that we purchase at the market. The kids constantly monitor the house for leaky taps and promptly orders maintenance if required without even telling us(It costs a bit its OK). They also decided to look for eco friendly features in whatever they purchase.They have also made sure that 80% of the lighting in the house is the CFL

I listen to Wayne Turmel's Cranky middle manager show for the past 12 months. He brings in to conversations with a lot of diverse issues. Please listen to this episode in which he gets the middle east perspective with Ms. Sarah Shaw. It is very informative and gives a flavor of different perspective. I request all of you reading this blog to give a try at Wayne's podcasts as well as to sign for his free news letter.

Yesterday I downloaded the Tool XOBIN (Inbox spelled reverse), it is a great tool for indexing and statistics of outlook inbox. This also separates out attachments, time at which the mails were received as well as many other features.


Finally I want to bring in J Murali who contributes to the Weekly tech column Netspeak in Hindu( Every Monday). In my early days I used to try the softwares he mentions in the article and it was of great help. I only wish there are RSS feeds to such useful column to directly tap in to the browser.

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

Regards
Karthik
Karaikudy@gmail.com

Empty House, Life is so uncertain, Great Advice.

It has been a different week, the house looks quiet, things are orderly. Time just stands still. No one to shout at or order, everything you got to do yourself. WHY?. Because the children are away for a week on vacation to Bombay on their own. The accrued miles helped to get flight tickets for them on redemption. (Thanks to Jet Airways) So myself and Lalitha are alone for the past 4 days (after exactly 16 years) at home. It kind of gave a different perspective as to how life has moved on. This will also prepare us for the time in future as to kids will go their own way. So you can say a dress rehearsal for the time ahead!!!. Also I remember the time when we used to go for Holidays it will be 2 to 3 days travel by train and ofcourse spend 15 to 20 days!!. Now a days that is a luxury as well as rude to your Host I guess!!!.

Life is so uncertain. I was listening to the Podcast on Anna Farmery's The engaging brand show on Emotional Intelligence by Galba Bright. It was great show (2 sessions) on the practical approach to EI. 2 weeks later as I was listening to other podcast on the show, I was shocked/ saddened to hear Anna paying tribute to the memory of Galba. Makes you wonder about the uncertainties of life. What saddens me is that with so much uncertainty, we take life for granted and show or own egos/ like/ dislike/ hatred etc...!!.

Came across 3 fantastic articles on Leadership recently. After reading that I concluded that Leadership is all about you having the ability to have

VISION
AUTHORITY
STRATEGIC DIRECTION
ENERGY

I also came across interesting aspects which cement the traits; these are

Expose your weakness
Have Intuition.
Show Empathy
Differentiation in style.

Fabulous summary of leadership.
Also, came across this article by Larry Bossidy (EX Honeywell CEO) on How selection plays a great part in talent management.

Ok, till next week, take it easy and take care; Live Consciously.

Regards
Karthik.

BMTC; Lenovo; Foxmarks; Docking station.

Today, I had the chance to board the BMTC bus for a 2 mile shopping trip for our weekly visit to the vegetable market. This was my first encounter in city bus for travel. (8 years!!!!) I usually take a cab or Autorixa if the need arises. I was kind of pleasantly surprised with this air conditioned Volvo bus. The fare Rs. 10 (25US cents) was worth it. Bus service has come a long way I guess.

My Son was convinced me that he would need a laptop more than a desktop for his day to day use. (Kids have come a long way I guess). I had to bow in and the selection of a good value for money laptop was difficult. I could manage to get the Lenovo Notebook. Looks like value for money with the Office 2007 software (basic) bundled in. The Laptop world at Indira Nagar here is a good shop and offers value for money. Yes, With FIFA 08 being used for games, wonder How long before the plan starts with the functionality?. ( I am told games affect computer performance!!)

Thank god I had downloaded foxmarks, the web browser synchronizer for my web use. My Official laptop crashed last week and the hard disk was replaced. While I had all the back up for the work data, the web pages I browse and store as favorites couldn't have survived but for the tool which helps you store your favorites in the server and helps you synchronize or help you retrieve favorites from any computer.

I also moved away from ITUNES in my laptop. I got a Ipod docking station to listen to the podcast. This is cool gadget, this also helps charging the IPOD as we listen. I got rid of 31GB space from my Laptop.

Came across great article in HBR on level 5 leadership by Jim Collins. How level 5 leaders, put personal aspects aside and build a great company. Interesting.

I came across a word which struck me a lot. Employee Embededness in a HBR Management update on retaining talented employee. New Jargon!!. Would HR learn to think differently!!! I wonder??.

Till next week; Take it easy and Take Care; Live consciously.
Karthik
Karaikudy@gmail.com

Chelsea, Marriage. Heart rendering, resume updates

I had never seen my son so overjoyed, emotional and elated as yesterday when Chelsea beat Manchester united 2-1 to keep their premiership title hopes alive. He now says, even if they dont win the EPL, it is enough that MU were beaten, that is good enough. Reminds me of my days as a school boy that beating Pakistan in cricket is good enough. Winning against Rest all teams does not matter.

I attended a marriage ceremony in the family today. The boy is from our community and got married to a girl from the local community (Kannada) in their tradition. It was different style and it was an experience to go through the protocols and rituals. Yes, the food served was also different.

I was appalled and outraged to read that tourists are paying money to see cows being killed by Lions as entertainment. Where we have come to. I think the moral and ethical values are hitting a lowest of low. I believe, god sees the truth, but waits. Every one who was part of the event as a witness or organizer, have to answer him one day!!!. The pity is that they wont realize that when their kith and kins suffer, they cant correlate that to their deeds (Or misdeeds??) as usually the kith and kin pay for their misdeeds. God help them.

I am glad to see that Mike and Mark have fulfilled the long standing need of folks form the manager tools forum. They have commenced the resume review service. At 50$ it is worth every penny as even the mediocre resume companies in India charge 40$ for review and comment on resumes. Some Indian sites charge 200US$ (Thats eye opening even for an Indian!!!!) Worth the try. I plan to get my done in the I week of May.

I was delighted to see now you can search for specific file type in google. (PDF, DOC etc). So should help pick some useful files to read or save.

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

Regards
Karthik.

Praveen Angre, Strengths Finder 2.0, HBR green, Whiskey, 100,000

I wanted to thank Mr. Praveen Angre, one of the Chef at the BA Terminal Four BA Gate 1A Lounge at Heathrow. Praveen dishes out the requirements of the passengers based on their needs, thus customizing the food. Considering Hundreds go thro the menu and request, this is great service. More so, when there are vegetarians like me whose special needs are to be attended to (Like he prepared a Schezwan noodles with Veg ingradients when the menu item is under Meat). Great customer service. Thanks Praveen.

Sorry to see the heads roll at Terminal 5 fiasco. Read an interesting article by Vir Shangvi in livemint as to how BA is fast loosing its market share and that Indian Airliners are making a dent in to the west. I agree with him, the Jet and Kingfisher are making huge wave with their great customer service. I am also seriously contemplating the switch, it just the fact that No international flight of Jet Airways flies out of Bangalore that is holding me back to BA.

On the other front, I completed the Strength finder 2.0 yesterday, though I purchased the book 4 months back, I could find the time yesterday. This is an updated version with more practical and customized inputs. There are 34 Traits from which the top 5 manifests.

My Top 5 Clifton strength finder Characters (Talent)were
Consistency
Harmony
Input
Learner
Discipline.

The Top5 Strength finder 1.0 when I did in 2006 were
Focus
Achiever
Input
Learner
Self Assurance.

So more or less consistent. I guess I have mended a bit with more responsibility of family and stability taking the priority !!!!.

Read a very interesting article in HBR by Daniel Goleman which made me think a lot, this was on Reawakening your passion for work.

Also read / heard a very thought provoking podcast / article on HBR Green by Rakesh Khurana on "Should managers take a Hypocratic oath?. Kept me thinking. I think the MBA degree or universities are slowly loosing the final objectives. They tend now to focus on short term aspects rather than long term vision and gains for the individual as well as to the society.!!!!.

I was appalled at the news article that the Wine and Whiskey lobby is pressurizing the government to resume serving alcohol on Domestic flights. Knowing the way our folks behave and having personally been a witness to the misdeeds of couple of folks on international flights with Air hostess, this will be a disaster. Many of the Indians have an attitude that when it is free, you may as well rip it. So I hope the common sense prevails and nonsensical decisions on the affirmative don't happen.

Finally, I was amazed to hear that my wife's colleague paid Rs. 100,000(US$2600) as donation for her 4 year old baby for admission in to Lower Kinder Garten (LKG). WOW!!!!. That was at least Rs. 35,000 more than the entire amount I had spent for my Education from 1st standard in 1969 to my masters degree in 1985 in India (From Madras to Coimbatore). I just did a quick check and 65,000(US $ 1700) was the total expense as education fee. Add may be another 20,000 for the Hostel fees and the bus travel expenses!!!!. Still less than Rs. 100,000 (We call 1 lac in India). So as economy prospers, so are the educators who form the basis/ foundation. Make the hay while the sun Shines I would presume.

I also look forward to spending the next 4 to 6 weeks at home as no travel is planned.

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

Regards
Karthik.
Karaikudy@gmail.com

Trieste, Pizza, Terminal 5, Day of the Jackal

I was away on Business travel to Trieste, Italy. Trieste is a beautiful small town of 250,000 people on the Adriatic coast near Slovenia and Austria and 140 Kms from Venice.
The town is famous for its long unspoiled beaches of the Adriatic sea. It was an undivided stretch of atleast 5kms. Great to walk and enjoy the dashing waves.
The castle of Miramare, is located, built by Maxmillan the emeror of Mexico. It is worth spending 30 minutes there.
The visit also gave me the chance to taste, Italian Pizza। I never had time or chance to visit such resturants to order one. When I expressed a desire to my Italian team, they immediately fulfilled it. The famous story of Margarita Pizza.(The colour of Italian flag of Red, Green, white by tomato, Basil, and Cheese) was a classic innovation. Trieste has some very good restaurants too.

With great reservations/ skepticism of delays and chaos in Terminal 5, I worked this trip through London Heathrow(Via Munich to Trieste). It was not as bad as I thought, as more than 10 days has passed since the fiasco of March 28th Inauguration nightmare. Still some of the elevators didn't work so were some of the toilets. The terminal 5 is good 25 minutes by bus from Terminal 4 where most International flights land. No wonder! they have postponed the Full move of other BA flights from Terminal4 to 5 till June. You should keep good 150 minutes for flights connecting from terminal 4 to 5 or vice versa. Yes, the shopping experience, Galleries Lounge are all too good. I guess it is a question of couple of months before order would be restored. The Lounge at Madras (I took the flight from Madras to London)

By the way, 30 years after, Reading the classic by Fredrick Forsyth's Day Of the Jackal, I got a chance to watch the movie during the flight back from LHR to Bangalore. This is also a case where the essence of the movie was captured fully. I also watched the movie Kite Runner a story set in Pre Taliban Afganistan. This movie is also from a book from the same name. Worth watching.
Ok, then till next time, take it easy and take care; Live Conciously.

Karthik.

Kumbakonam Fire Tragedy

I post this special post to pay our homage to the Children who perished in the Kumbakonam School fire tragedy in 2004. We visited Kumbakonam (See last post) and took time to visit the school in which 93 children lost their lives. Our anguish was indescribable seeing the unsafe way the school was allowed to run. I hope this is the last of such incidents. Will the authorities learn a lesson on implementing school safety norms? I doubt!!!!!!.
I reproduce the poem of APJ Abdul Kalam, the then president of India.

Prayer for departed children of Kumbakonam

Oh dear little ones! Oh dear little ones!
For you, parents had glorious dreams !
And you were all immersed in your own dreams
Yet, Agni engulfed you and all of those dreams
Taking you to Almighty's divine presence
Usually, departed old parents are buried by sons
Whereas, Kumbakonam, saw a sad scene!
Crying parents burying their little ones!!
Oh Almighty! show Your grace on those little ones
And keep them all in Thy Holiest Presence!!
Oh Almighty! bless those parents wilting in grief
To have the strength to bear this great loss
May Thy compassion and grace pervade all souls
And bring down the pain and wipe away the tears
Oh Almighty! show Your grace on those little ones.

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Karthik.

Swamimalai, KS Mangalam, Vellankani.

Ok, It is Good to be back to Blogging. I am planning to make up for the last time this week.

We had a good holiday time. We had been away to our home town, Karaikudy. En route we visited some of the interesting places.
Our first stop was Swamimalai, a small temple town about 10 miles from Kumbakonam. (Near Tanjore). We had to offer prayers there for my son. There is a form of worship called taking Kavadi which my son performed. My son is named Swaminathan (Family name) after the Lord here.

The hotel we stayed in Kumbakonam, (ARK Lodge) was mediocre. The services was below average. Added to the insult was some construction work from which the noise was unbearable.

We then left for Vaideeswaran Koil which is about 75 min from Kumbakonam. This visit was also long overdue(17 years) and from there we proceeded (after a long debate in view of time constraints) to Velankanni. The road to reach the place was a traveler's nightmare.(Potholes and diversions). The town like The small Church over the years has grown in to a big shrine. (I visited Velankanni then a small unknown hamlet in the early 1970s). I always have secular outlook to religions and we offered our prayers to the virgin Mary there. The 4 Hour drive to Karaikudy was good, the roads were excellent. Karaikudy wore a festive look in view of the visit by Sonia Gandhi that week. I experienced the frustration of being stuck in a traffic jam of 1 Hr the day she visited on 5th April.(An impossible event in a town of 100,000).

We also visited the Family Deity at Karisuzhntha mangalam which we try to visit atleast once a year. The photos of the deity Kalahasthiswarar (The temple was inagurated recently) and Godess Ganambigai. The town is 20 Km from the famous Halwa sweet making Tirunelveli town.

I plan to post more posting for the day.
Karthik.
0945am.

Sorry being away

All,
I was away on Holidays and business travel out of India to Italy. Sitting now in Terminal 4 in Heathrow on the way back home. Passed Thro Terminal 5.
Will catch up this weekend and would make up. Lot of thoughts to share.
Take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Karthik.

Releif, Appeal, Movie.

This week the school exams for the kids got over, needless to say it was a great relief for me and Lalitha. More so when last Monday, my daughter took the math exam,(She is in Grad 10th school final) I was never more never as anxious waiting to hear how she did it. The past 4 weeks was mostly spend following their progress of their performance. The sad part was the Indian school exam system has not changed much over the last 30 years, (The time I took the school final exam) it all boils to memory recall and vomiting it on the answer sheet. The real test and practical aspects come much later and the kids are confused in the absence of good guidance and maturity. The syllabus was far too much and it all boils down to luck that questions are straight forward. Wonder, when this will change??

So much engrossing was John Grisham's Appeal, that I burned midnight oil and finished it within 24 Hrs of purchasing the book yesterday evening. Wonderful story how agencies, justice can be manipulated by the power be. Wonderful book, brings out more questions!!.

With Kids enjoying their first day of holiday from today, they rented a DVD and watched the movie Tarae Zameen Par(Star on earth). I was invited to watch the second half of the movie and I obliged. (after I finished Appeal). It was a touching movie touching up on Dyslexia of a 9 year old kid and how it is handled by the Teacher who takes special interest. Good effort worth spending time.The kid has acted very well. Will it get Nominated for Oscar??, lets see.

By the way, At last for my forthcoming Europe trip,I got two year Schengen entry visa, This should remove my agony and grouse of endless documentation submission every time I plan a Business trip to the region and applying for visa, with a need to meet unique documentation requirement of Each of the member countries.!!!. I wonder, when the visa free travel or some biometric effort would materialize for genuine Business traveler?. Not in my life time, I guess!!!.

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

Kichadi, Innocent Man, Playing for Pizza, Terminal 5.

3 days holidays have just flown it is time back to business. Of course, I have had a busy and anxious week with kids having their exams(Both kids have the dreaded Maths exam tomorrow, Monday) and exams get over this Friday.

After ages(almost 5 to 6 months) I had been inside the kitchen to cook lunch for the family as Lalitha was busy coaching children for the exam. I usually cook the Gujarati Kadi and Kichadi with Lijjat Pappad turned out well. Yes, Lalitha must be complaining of inventory management as the stocks must have plummeted.

Ok, I finished the book Innocent Man by John Grisham, It took me 10 months to finish the book and it was always lying near my bed all the time (with 90% to finish) and I decided enough was enough and finished at one shot (350 pages) last night. If you beleived that law is an ASS(H...) your views would be consolidated by this. To imaging this as non fiction is more horrendous. What a tragedy!!!. Yes, It might be still happening in the great US of A and everywhere else in the world. Yes, at the same time, I believe that if you stay away from evil, you are not affected. Ron was not doing that, things took a turn for the worst. Excellent must read book. Ofcourse, Grisham takes the plot in a masterful way.

Of course, Friday was a holiday, I had finished Economist, Fortune, HBR (Skimmed thro) (The week was of less sleep due to heavy jet lag). I took the book "Playing for Pizza" by Grisham and finished in 3 Hrs. Since I had seen a bit of super bowl during US visits and had been to Italy 3 times, I could visualize the scenes. A thoroughly enjoyable book. Ofcourse, Grisham also takes us through the Italian cities to give a tourist's overview. Agree totally on the good Italian food, even as a vegetarian, I had enjoyed the Olive oil, Bread and the Parmesan cheese. Of course the Egg plant roast in some of the restaurants (Eggplant Parmigiana) are a delight.

With the Hyderabad new International Airport opening last night, and Bangalore in limbo (expected in 7 weeks!!!!!) both will have connectivity issues with the mess of the traffic jam. In that situation, I look forward to the opening of Terminal 5 at London Heathrow, this week on Thursday(27th). This brings all BA flights under one roof and no longer the steeple chase (for the last 12 years for me) to catch the terminal bus, rush for security checks from Terminal 4 to 1 or vice versa for connecting flights to USA and European cities. I hope the terminal lives up to the pre opening hype. Let's see. I must be hitting there in the next 2 to 3 weeks for my next European visit.

I leave you with some of the thought provoking articles I read this week.

Does your commitments match your convictions, has generated some sparks and Aha Moment in me. Very insightful article from HBR.

Local Memoirs of Global manager Gurcharan Das of P& G. Think local and act global. Yes, the local way is some times the best way. great Article.

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

3 in one.

Today is a very significant day for people with secular outlook.
Today is Holi the festival of colour. This marks the beginning of Spring in India. Today is also Good Friday. Also the Islamic festival of Miladi Nabi (Birth of Prophet). While we have 10s of festivals every year, cant think of any time when all the 3 religious festivals coincided on a day. I take this opportunity to wish you all a great festive time.
Regards
Karthik.

32 Years wait, Artisanal, Lounge value.

Sorry about the late posting, I was away on a 48 Hour Personal trip to New York city and was back Monday Morning.

It was a wait for about 32 years and when it ended it was worth the wait. While traveling on the BA flight Thursday. I accidentally scanned the movie library and to my delight found the movie "The Godfather" (sequel 1,2,3). I read the famous book by Mario Puzo in 1979(Heard about it in 1976) when I was an annual school vacation to Bombay during my 11th grade. After that never had the time or opportunity to see the any part of the famous movie and things just drifted. So it was great delight to watch all the 3 parts in the 4 legs of flight to and from NY. Al Pacino and Marlon Brando at their sublime best. It also gives a great exposure to Italian way of life which I had seen in person during my travel to Italy. More so it also reflects a quite a lot of similarity to approach issues.( The scene in which Robert Di Nero(GF II as Don Carleone) pleads with house owner to let her neighbor stay. That is exactly the way we would do it in India.)

The direction by Francis Ford Coppola is fabulous with the right mix of present and past in the movie and bringing out the best in actors. I guess a good director is like a good leader, bring out the best in people. The music by Nino Rota is classical.I also could sense where Kamal Hassan picked up hints in his role in Thevar Magan. (The tamil movie has lot of resemblance to God Father).

If you want to see various kind of cheese on display at one place, I suggest you visit the Restaurant, Artisanal on park Avenue, NY. I never seen so many varieties. I was there for lunch,Friday. WOW. The food itself was very good.(Even for a vegetarian!!).

I fully appreciate and value of the Business lounge that Airlines offer. As this was a personal trip, I was always looking to see if I can save a penny or two. ( I always consider that any business travels are not worth the extra effort to save a penny or two. That is the price the organization pays for we being away from our family of dear and near ones for the time we are away!!. I also don't buy the BS of considering official spending as considerate as personal spending. I guess official and personal styles are different and they should not and could not match. I think I am the other way around as personal spendings are more liberal than official ones!!).

So, I could use the BA lounge Gate 1, coupon, Sanctuary, shower spa facility etc as well as helped myself to sumptuous food in the lounge. My guess is that I would have saved anywhere about 100US$ for this trip as well as the indirect benefit of overcoming the jet lag quickly too. That is some saving from personal expenses. I am thankful to them. I look forward to seeing the BA Terminal 5 which opens in 10 days time.

Ok then, Till next week, Take it easy and take care; Live conciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Ronaldo Lapuz How to Manage your boss, Lemon Tree

I am sure many of you would have seen the performance of Ronaldo Lapuz, in American Idol. I was accidentally sitting in front of the TV while kids were watching the show, during the III week of January. This guy got my attention. Out of curiosity I watched his performance. It was great,, he was very passionate in what he did. Although he didn't make it to the next round (I am not sure if judges were consistent, I wonder!!). This is also a case for where you don't have to be a winner to remembered for Stellar performance.

I Came across, a practical management article, How to manage your boss in the HBR(1980 collection). Although the article in about 30 years old, all the aspects like synchronizing your goals and objectives, understanding your boss's work style etc are very fundamental aspects to your success and still hold very relevant.

During my visit to Pune, I happened to stay in the Hotel Lemon Tree, (More by again accident as the reservation at the hotel I usually stay was goofed up!!!). They are chain of hotels coming up all over India. The hotel is away from the city traffic if you are to visit Software firms which are in Hinjewadi area. The food is good and room amenities are reasonable and value for money. (Tariff around US 130$ a day which is cheap by Pune /Bangalore standards). Only one issue was that the walls were too thin that I woke up in the middle of the night when the telephone in the next room rang!!.

Because of travel over the last 3 weeks, I am way behind on catching up on podcasts and reading magazines. Hope to catch up soon. The fact that Europe Internet access are very expensive and my data cord was charged in MB download charged in Euros. I didn't download much of information in the last 2 weeks.

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

Sujatha: May his soul rest in peace.

I was trying to overcome the Jet Lag, from my Rome trip at home, early this morning and was surfing the web to catch up the web news updates in India over the last 2 weeks when I stumbled up on the passing away of the great scientist/ genius Tamil Writer Rangarajan alias Sujatha last week at the not very old age of 73.

Not only he was a great scientist who was one of the mastermind behind electronic voting machine but a great Tamil writer who brought science to the illiterate. His story telling was amazing and riveting. I still remember his weekly serial "Nirvana Nagaram"(Naked city)in Dinamani Kadir, in the Mid 1970s,the suspense was no less thrilling than a Stephen King or Lee Child. He gave insight to the people of that generation an opportunity to understand science and literature. His story telling interesting but well within limits in everything. Too bad that Tamil journalism has stooped so low bordering yellow journalism,that I cant recollect when I laid my hand on Tamil weekly magazine( Good 10 -12,years I guess!!!!).

Yes, Time comes for everyone Death needs to be faced. But people like Sujatha would live for ever through their creations and characters. (Jeevarasi, Ganesh, Vasanth etc). He was also classmate in St.Joseph's college, Trihcy with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. He was 3 years senior to my father at the same college.

May his soul rest in peace. It is always an irreparable loss to a wife and Sons.

Karthik.
Camp: Pune.

Italy, No country for old man.

I am back home from Rome this morning. It was a great trip in a business sense. We had good network sessions and worked out stock take as well as way forward.
I had a fabulous experience at Rome Restaurants, being a vegetarian finding food itself is difficult. My Boss, Anthony Wareham made sure whatever I missed out during the day sessions in terms of average food, he made it up by working out exploring Rome and find top class, affordable restaurants. Yes, 100% he also took care of the food bills too.!!!!.
The Otello ( I had been there before in October last) is a good place. So is the Costanza near the theater of Pompy. Try it out great food when you go next time.

I am attaching some of the photos of Rome visit. This is my third visit to the great place and I never got tiered seeing them again and again. May be that is the secret of History. You always learn new things and are able to correlate events.

On the flight back home, I took time to watch the Oscar winning movie "No country for Old man". I had decided that I will not watch movies and spent time on catching up on reading Economist and Fortune ( More than 2 issues piled up). The temptation to watch the movie was so much I did that at the fag end of the 9 hr journey.(Didnt watch one on the way to London!!!). A must watch movie and a classic theme, though not new.
My video of Vatican.



Ok, Then till next week. Take it easy and take care; Live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Vatican, Sistine Chapel

I am in Rome at the Four point Sheraton Rome West. My Home for the 11 day trip. Reached late in to Rome last week after chaos in Heathrow. Missed connecting flights and delayed flight was almost canceled. (Reached 2am Thursday).People are confused by the Four Sheraton four points Hotels in Rome and Taxis as expensive they are can cost up to 150 Euros for a trip from Airport (Against 50 Euros from Airport) if you dont know the exact name and location as happened to my colleague this week. The good news is the Hotel allows you the option charging the taxi charges to your room payment.

Yesterday, As indicated in my previous room posts, I had the privilege of visiting the Vatican. The visit was made more significance by the physical presence of Pope, Benedict XVI conducting the service for the Feast of St. Peter the Chair. It was a great visit to the Vatican, Sistine Chael. The paintings of Michael Angelo in the chapel are amazing to say the least. It was a great day and as usual, we made contact with Jason our guide.
I will uplink Photos next week of the visit as I didnt bring the file transfer from my camera to the laptop to up link.

I was amazed to read in economist that George Bush presented the Budget from A tablet PC.Wish Our PC can do it. (P Chidambaram the finance minister can do this weeks budget!!!) I guess our politician would cry foul as it may be released / leaked before.!!!!. I would expect a dull/ dumb budget. Middle class cant expect much can We?????.

Just wanted to put in a quick update on Matrix mobile and WIFI data access card for internet. It works good and looks economical for international travel. I have used their cell phones card for ages. This trip I am trying their global WIFI card for internet access.(This blog is from that.) Looks reasonable in Europe where it is 20 Euros a day for internet access in hotels. For US it may not be needed as most hotels offer free and many public places too have Free wifi access.

OK, I will put my thoughts in details next week.
Till then take it easy and take care; Live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Choclate, Bee Story, Road Rage

I am spending the time for this BLOG on some key Issues.

I was touched so much by the Fortune Magazine cover Story on the USE OF CHILD LABOR in the cocoa Beans making ( A key ingredient in Chocolate making) in Ivory Coast that I have decided that NO More Brand chocolates buying from my side indiscriminately. As a frequent international traveler, I spend a good sum at shopping at airport duty free. I will rethink and look for some kind of aspect to make the chocolate child labor free before I buy them.I may not buy any more, so be it. This is a small gesture from my side. It could be a drop in a ocean, I am doing my bit. Told my kids to study the article. Looks like Blood Diamond, Blood chocolate.

Another sweet aspect is Honey and thus reminds Bee. I saw the Bee movie on the flight back from USA last week. It made me think a lot. Sometimes, we take things for granted, I guess. What If we really step back and look at things and make live and let live. A must watch movie for all.

Recently,I was away to Delhi for a day for a personal event. I was amazed at the growth in Delhi of sky scrappers in Gurgaon Area. This is my first visit to that area as I usually used to go to Delhi for Visa interviews. At the same time I was appalled by the Road Rage out there. I was aware of it in TV news etc, but when you experience first hand, it sends a shrill down your spine. I haven't felt so threatened before. Wonder why people are in such a hurry and impatient!!!. This could even lead to them loosing their lives.

I read the rave review on the movie Katyn, a polish movie. Expected to win an Oscar this time for the best foreign film. Let us see what happens??. This is about the true story of massacre of 20,000 polish officers during the immediate aftermath of WWII.

I read a fantastic article, by Marcus Buckingham in the Harvard Business Review that great managers are not Checker players, but chess players. They anticipate various aspects of people involvement and take their team to great heights. I got access to hard copy. I am glad I could get the link to the soft copy free version. Delighted to share this.

Ok then, till next week, Take it easy and take care, live consciously.
Regards
Karthik

-15 DegC, Grit, Coutryard, DISAPPOINTMENT

I am back from my Mexico/ USA, Sunday, this time the Jet Lag was so terrible it took me more than 4 days to be back to Normal. So missed the last week blog. Some days, I cant even recollect having Lunch, ( I believe Lalithas word for it). This dispite a Shower at Gate 1a Lounge at Heathrow and plenty of water in the 22 Hr flight. I guess the body has its limits.
So then, I faced the coldest day of my life in Salt Lake city at -15 deg C. Pl see the photos. The snow was also insult to Injury. Yes, for my friend Bob Buccafusco, used to -40 Deg this was a warm day. Bob Brushed the snow of the car(Picture) with Bare Hands!!!!.


I saw some Mexican tradition, every place has this farming equipments I am told as a symbol of good luck and hope. I think people think the same. The Snap shot of Hotel Araiza which I mentioned in the last column.
















I must say I found the Courtyard, Marriott, very comfortable. I stayed with them in LA, Athens, Ga and the service was very good and room tariff value for money. So was the breakfast as well as lot of coffee. The good thing in the most American hotels are the coffee makers in room and unlimited access to coffee in the lounge 24 by 7. By the way one reason I look forward to my American visits are the Waffles. I can have that for breakfast every day, I did that this time.( All the 11 days in the USA I had the waffles and corn flakes, missed that in Mexico, But Mexican food was good enough!!). My next visit I plan to bring back a waffle maker with me.

I was delighted to find all Veg resturant, Grit at Athens, Georgia, (100 Miles from Atlanta, I stayed there to visit the facility at Elberton, Ga). No worry about Meat contamination. I enjoyed the food and I must thank Bob for finding that. They don't accept AMEX card.

I have a bit of disappointment too, I had subscribed to the HBR and the first copy arrived last week. The first advertisement on Page 1 is Jhonny Walker Blue label Whisky. Do the managment magazine need such ads, more so when the adverse effects are well known. Especially for Indians, who we know what happens when a couple of pecks go inside.!!!!. I wonder???, where are norms and yard stick for journal/ Advertisement ethics, I wonder!!!.

Ok, I will for sure pen tomorrow, with more thoughts.
Till next time, take it easy and take care, Live consciously.
Karthik.