Friday, November 12, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
COMMONWEALTH GAMES : IS THE PICTURE AS ROSY AS IT SEEMS?
Kudos to the Indian athletes who have made the country proud by winning 101 medals in the commonwealth games. It was really a great achievement. And it becomes even more significant since it was achieved in spite of, rather than because of the various mismanaging sporting governing bodies of the country, who tend to bring unforeseen levels of incompetence every time they are given some responsibility.
So I was very happy going around celebrating the achievements, when I came across one of my friends, always the eternal pessimist.
Me: So, did you hear about our medal haul in the CWG?
EP: Sure, I did. But what’s the big deal about it?
Me: Big deal? Dude, we came in second among 72 nations, only behind Australia. We had a record haul of 38 gold medals. A total of 101.
EP: So what? What are the events in which we won the medals?
Me: Shooting, Wrestling, Archery, Boxing, Athletics, Weightlifting, Badminton, Table tennis and tennis.
EP: Hmmm...
Me: What Hmmmm...
EP: Mate, I don’t deny the fact that we won those medals. Good work. But this is no time for celebrations. Put things in perspective. Let’s start with shooting. 11golds, is it? Apart from Abhinav Bindra, how many Olympic champions participated in the event? And since it was the Commonwealth games, none of the Europeans, generally the medal winners at these events, participated in it. So of course we were bound to win those medals, competing against countries like Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Gurnsey, Isle of Man, Kiribati, Malawi, Montserrat, Nauru, Niue etc. Only Australia, Canada and England have any sporting credentials, and they came with a second rung team, with most of their top athletes pulling out. It’s like India winning the cricket World cup with only Bangladesh, Ireland, Afghanistan, UAE, Holland, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Same is the case with Archery. Now onto boxing. The much lauded Vijender managed only a bronze, that too without Cuba and Kazakhstan not in the picture. Canada too, came without their top three boxers. Still they managed only three medals. Great going, eh? And weightlifting and wrestling? No Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, South Africa... Hmm... Still we won two medals. Great going. :P Badminton? Agrreed, Saina Nehwal is probably a class apart. But without any Indonesians testing her skills, it was a bit easy for her. And Jwala Gutta in doubles? Well, for somebody who did not even qualify to play in the Olympics two years ago, it was a very easy entry into the CWG fray.
Lets take table tennis. No China, the Koreas, Japan or Poland. Hmmm.. A bit easy, I guess. And we almost lost the Gold in tennis. Somdev Devvvarman saved us. Add to that the majot pull outs due to security reasons. The field was too shortened.
And what about the major disappointments? Jyotsna Chinnappa, Dipika Pallikkal, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Susheel Kumar, Sania Mirza (this point is debatable, though).. The list is endless. So my dear, celebrate all you want, but come the Olympics, and we will be back to square one. Well have a wager. I say we will have at most 5 medals in the Olympics. What say?
Me: well it’s a bit too early for a wager. Let’s see.. I’m game.
I guess he was a bit too pessimistic, but whatever he said was right. Once the dust has settled on the games, we need to have an introspection. No doubt we have improved as a sporting nation. But this medal haul should act as an inspiration to all the athletes to improve upon their own performances. Yes, this win is great. Yes, we need to celebrate. But it is also true that we have a long way to go. Lot of hard work to put in, lots of toil, lots of time practicing, lots of money spent on upgradation. Only then we can compete among the best in the world, and win more and more medals in the years to come.
And me, my wager.
So I was very happy going around celebrating the achievements, when I came across one of my friends, always the eternal pessimist.
Me: So, did you hear about our medal haul in the CWG?
EP: Sure, I did. But what’s the big deal about it?
Me: Big deal? Dude, we came in second among 72 nations, only behind Australia. We had a record haul of 38 gold medals. A total of 101.
EP: So what? What are the events in which we won the medals?
Me: Shooting, Wrestling, Archery, Boxing, Athletics, Weightlifting, Badminton, Table tennis and tennis.
EP: Hmmm...
Me: What Hmmmm...
EP: Mate, I don’t deny the fact that we won those medals. Good work. But this is no time for celebrations. Put things in perspective. Let’s start with shooting. 11golds, is it? Apart from Abhinav Bindra, how many Olympic champions participated in the event? And since it was the Commonwealth games, none of the Europeans, generally the medal winners at these events, participated in it. So of course we were bound to win those medals, competing against countries like Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Gurnsey, Isle of Man, Kiribati, Malawi, Montserrat, Nauru, Niue etc. Only Australia, Canada and England have any sporting credentials, and they came with a second rung team, with most of their top athletes pulling out. It’s like India winning the cricket World cup with only Bangladesh, Ireland, Afghanistan, UAE, Holland, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Same is the case with Archery. Now onto boxing. The much lauded Vijender managed only a bronze, that too without Cuba and Kazakhstan not in the picture. Canada too, came without their top three boxers. Still they managed only three medals. Great going, eh? And weightlifting and wrestling? No Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, South Africa... Hmm... Still we won two medals. Great going. :P Badminton? Agrreed, Saina Nehwal is probably a class apart. But without any Indonesians testing her skills, it was a bit easy for her. And Jwala Gutta in doubles? Well, for somebody who did not even qualify to play in the Olympics two years ago, it was a very easy entry into the CWG fray.
Lets take table tennis. No China, the Koreas, Japan or Poland. Hmmm.. A bit easy, I guess. And we almost lost the Gold in tennis. Somdev Devvvarman saved us. Add to that the majot pull outs due to security reasons. The field was too shortened.
And what about the major disappointments? Jyotsna Chinnappa, Dipika Pallikkal, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Susheel Kumar, Sania Mirza (this point is debatable, though).. The list is endless. So my dear, celebrate all you want, but come the Olympics, and we will be back to square one. Well have a wager. I say we will have at most 5 medals in the Olympics. What say?
Me: well it’s a bit too early for a wager. Let’s see.. I’m game.
I guess he was a bit too pessimistic, but whatever he said was right. Once the dust has settled on the games, we need to have an introspection. No doubt we have improved as a sporting nation. But this medal haul should act as an inspiration to all the athletes to improve upon their own performances. Yes, this win is great. Yes, we need to celebrate. But it is also true that we have a long way to go. Lot of hard work to put in, lots of toil, lots of time practicing, lots of money spent on upgradation. Only then we can compete among the best in the world, and win more and more medals in the years to come.
And me, my wager.
Monday, August 9, 2010
WHATS THE POINT OF IT ALL!!
It feels as though nothing is working out,
Your life has turned upside down, inside out,
What you thought as being your destiny,
Was nothing but a mirage, your life its testimony.
What you thought as being yours forever
Turned out to be just a temporary shelter
When you really don’t know your place
In others lives, if they need you or not, care for you or not
Everyone blames you, questions you, derides you
And you are not sure what you are going to do
They call you a loser, say lighten up, and get a life
What do they know, how deep is your strife.
But it doesn’t really matter what others do or think or say,
If you have all your happiness taken away
You know yourself, better than most
Find your own happiness, which seems to have been lost
After all you came into this world alone
And you are going to leave it alone
So what’s the point in love, friendship at all?
Your life has turned upside down, inside out,
What you thought as being your destiny,
Was nothing but a mirage, your life its testimony.
What you thought as being yours forever
Turned out to be just a temporary shelter
When you really don’t know your place
In others lives, if they need you or not, care for you or not
Everyone blames you, questions you, derides you
And you are not sure what you are going to do
They call you a loser, say lighten up, and get a life
What do they know, how deep is your strife.
But it doesn’t really matter what others do or think or say,
If you have all your happiness taken away
You know yourself, better than most
Find your own happiness, which seems to have been lost
After all you came into this world alone
And you are going to leave it alone
So what’s the point in love, friendship at all?
Saturday, July 24, 2010
REALIZATION OF THE SELF
The modern man is greatly in need of an effective guide to light. He is groping. He sees only problems everywhere and no solutions are to be found anywhere. He does not know which way to turn, what course to adopt and how to move towards a better state of things. Therefore, his life is filled with restlessness, unhappiness and complication. The only way this world can progress is for each and every human individual to help himself to solve the vexing problem of overcoming the present and progressing towards a bright future. Every human being has the divine wisdom within himself in order to help human beings face and solve the ever-present problems of birth and death, of pain, suffering, fear, bondage, love and hate. It enables man to liberate himself from all limiting factors and reach a state of perfect balance, inner stability and mental peace, complete freedom from grief, fear and anxiety. This is the experience of everyone in this world, the drama of the ascent of man from a state of utter dejection, sorrow and total breakdown and hopelessness to a state of perfect understanding, clarity, renewed strength and triumph.
Man is a composite of three fundamental factors, namely, will, feeling and cognition. There are three kinds of temperament—the active, the emotional and the rational.
You can become liberated by annihilating the ego and the currents of likes and dislikes; by annihilating desires and cravings and destroying their residual potencies. Thus, you can rest in your true essential nature as Existence-Knowledge-Bliss and still be active in the affairs of the world. Now you will not be bound by your actions since the idea of doership has been destroyed by the attainment of knowledge of the Self.
Hence we can say that the knowledge of the self is the most important of all learning, as this leads to a knowledge of your world and everyone associated with it.
Man is a composite of three fundamental factors, namely, will, feeling and cognition. There are three kinds of temperament—the active, the emotional and the rational.
You can become liberated by annihilating the ego and the currents of likes and dislikes; by annihilating desires and cravings and destroying their residual potencies. Thus, you can rest in your true essential nature as Existence-Knowledge-Bliss and still be active in the affairs of the world. Now you will not be bound by your actions since the idea of doership has been destroyed by the attainment of knowledge of the Self.
Hence we can say that the knowledge of the self is the most important of all learning, as this leads to a knowledge of your world and everyone associated with it.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
MONSOON NOSTALGIA
Nostalgia can be a cruel reminder, sometimes. It hits you like a whiff of breeze while sitting in the rickety old KSRTC bus. It caresses you while wading through waist deep waters on the roads. It teases you with thoughts of the good times gone by. It takes you back to your childhood. It brings an involuntary smile on your face when you see students of your alma mater trying to stay dry in the torrential rains. It nourishes your mind like the first drops of the monsoon does to the parched Earth. It touches your heart in a way only it can. It brings back memories that you have hidden deep within you, reminding you that those times will never come by again, whats gone is gone, and that every human being always carries the burden of the past along with him. It gives a new meaning to your future. It reminds you of the cyclicality of life. No matter where you are in life, where you end up, one day you will end up face to face with your maker. Thats life. A journey from Birth unto Death.
Its really strange how the monsoons are related to Nostalgia. Well, for anyone who is from the part of the country I hail from, its really a very important phenomenon. many peoples' lives revolve arount it and its vagaries. its time for sowing your next round of crops, mainly rice, Kerala's staple diet. It brings with it the holy month of karkidakom, also the beginning of the festival season. And most recently, it brongs with it Chikungunya, Viral Fever, Rat fever, Dengue and malaria. Its always associated with schools reopening after the summer vacations, advertisements of umpteen varieties of umbrellas, droplets of water racing against each other to form a puddle in the smallest of deppressions in the soil, and what not. Its always associated with life, always with fresh energy and vigour. But there is more to it than mere nostalgia and a feeling of exhilaration.
The monsoon is a huge natural engine, driven by the temperature differences over sea and land; in summmer the air around the alnd grows hot, expands and rises, so cool sea air must flow in to equalize the pressure. This sets up an aerial current from the Indian Ocean. It heads for india, and th evaporating water it picks up over the oceans falls as rain when it reaches the land. This vapour cpndensation releases latent heat which warms the air, pushing it upwards and allowing even more wet air to come in from the sea. But it also cools the land, always driving that heating and upward convection further into India. That is why the monsoon is a travelling phenomenon, always folllowing a stringent path, very much like a train following an itinerary.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE AS AN INTERVIEWER
The best part of doing summer internships is that sometimes you end up doing something that you have never done in your life. My internship was in Mumbai. Apart from doing other things, I got the chance to don the cap of an interviewer. (YES, interviewer, not interviewee). So this was how my first time as an interviewer pannned out:
I was sitting in my hotel room (paid for by the company, of course),after having a healthy breakfast of Sandwiches and Pineapple juice (paid for by the company, of course). There was a knock on the door and in came the first candidate, Mr. Bolti Band (name changed to maintain privacy).
BB : Hi, I come for interview.
Me : Yes, Good morning, Mr BB. Please come in and have a seat.
BB : Thank you. (Sitting) Actually you should not be interviewing me.
Me : Im sorry?
BB : I having 27 years of experience. You give me direct appointment.
Me : (Yeah, right). I understand, Mr BB. But we have a process in place and I will have to follow that. I wont take too much of your time. Let me start with your experience. You have 20 years of experience in Naphtha Cracking. So could you explain me the process.
BB : Explains some shit in totally broken English that I dont understand. I play along and nod my head as if I have understood each word. I even manage to ask a couple of intelligent questions. He is surprised. He thought that I knew nothing about his line of work, and started talkink as an all knowing authority. But being a Chemical Engineer has its advantages, after all. Then sudddnely, out of nowhere, he changes the subject.
I am expecting 10,000 USD per month as saving.
ME : I beg your pardon? (Did you just say $10, 000? Do you even know what the hell that means?)
BB : Yes, I have lot experience. So I am negotiating now. I want saving atleast 10, 000 dollars.
Me : (Seeing where this was going to head) That is not really in my hands. We can discuss that when you have your final interview with the techincal and HR heads.
[In the meanwhile, Im going through his credentials.Diploma holder, did engineering for one year (then dropped out, I guess), first salary was Rs 100, 27 years of experience alright, but in unknown companies and that too for not more that 4 or 5 years in one organization. Add to that terrible English. And you want 10, 000$ in svings. You must be kidding me.]
Me : (Realizing Im wasting my time) Anyway, good talking to you, MR BB. I think I have all the necessary information that I need. If you could fill this travel reimbursement sheet, we can credit the amount in your account.
He fills it. Its an axis bank account. But there are only 6 digits.
Me : Doesnt Axis bank give 15 digit account numbers? You have written onyl 6 digits written. The amount will not be credited into your account, this way.
BB : You are young. You dont know anything. the last 6 digits are enough for money putting in account.
Me : Fine.(Its your money,I dontn give a damn) Okay then, I think Im done. Do you have any questions?>
BB : Yes, I want salary 10, 000.
Me : Yes, I know. Apart from that.
BB : When I wil get admitted?
Me : (Admitted? Hospital or school?) That would be decided by our HR head in discussion with the techincal head in the site. We will intimate you through e - mail in the next two or three days. Is that okay?
BB : OK. But you losing very good employee if you not take me. Salary can negotiate. Give me job. I do very well. I am a good experience.
Me : (Sure you are) Yes, Mr BB. We will have that in mind. Have a nice day.
To this day, his salary is under negotiations. He has come down to 5000$ now. But the poor guy doesnt know that we have closed his process. And as to his travel reimbursement, well, the Axis Bank lady just gave our peon a huge stare and tore the cheque into pieces when he went there with the 6 digit account number to deposit the amount. So we are still wating for his "Full" account number. I dont think its going to come. His pride is hurt too much in front of a "young" guy.
This was only one candidate. There were more.But more on that later. I am just happy that when I go for my next interview, I know what all NOT to do. It was a real summer 'training', indeed. I thank my college for this lovely experience.
I was sitting in my hotel room (paid for by the company, of course),after having a healthy breakfast of Sandwiches and Pineapple juice (paid for by the company, of course). There was a knock on the door and in came the first candidate, Mr. Bolti Band (name changed to maintain privacy).
BB : Hi, I come for interview.
Me : Yes, Good morning, Mr BB. Please come in and have a seat.
BB : Thank you. (Sitting) Actually you should not be interviewing me.
Me : Im sorry?
BB : I having 27 years of experience. You give me direct appointment.
Me : (Yeah, right). I understand, Mr BB. But we have a process in place and I will have to follow that. I wont take too much of your time. Let me start with your experience. You have 20 years of experience in Naphtha Cracking. So could you explain me the process.
BB : Explains some shit in totally broken English that I dont understand. I play along and nod my head as if I have understood each word. I even manage to ask a couple of intelligent questions. He is surprised. He thought that I knew nothing about his line of work, and started talkink as an all knowing authority. But being a Chemical Engineer has its advantages, after all. Then sudddnely, out of nowhere, he changes the subject.
I am expecting 10,000 USD per month as saving.
ME : I beg your pardon? (Did you just say $10, 000? Do you even know what the hell that means?)
BB : Yes, I have lot experience. So I am negotiating now. I want saving atleast 10, 000 dollars.
Me : (Seeing where this was going to head) That is not really in my hands. We can discuss that when you have your final interview with the techincal and HR heads.
[In the meanwhile, Im going through his credentials.Diploma holder, did engineering for one year (then dropped out, I guess), first salary was Rs 100, 27 years of experience alright, but in unknown companies and that too for not more that 4 or 5 years in one organization. Add to that terrible English. And you want 10, 000$ in svings. You must be kidding me.]
Me : (Realizing Im wasting my time) Anyway, good talking to you, MR BB. I think I have all the necessary information that I need. If you could fill this travel reimbursement sheet, we can credit the amount in your account.
He fills it. Its an axis bank account. But there are only 6 digits.
Me : Doesnt Axis bank give 15 digit account numbers? You have written onyl 6 digits written. The amount will not be credited into your account, this way.
BB : You are young. You dont know anything. the last 6 digits are enough for money putting in account.
Me : Fine.(Its your money,I dontn give a damn) Okay then, I think Im done. Do you have any questions?>
BB : Yes, I want salary 10, 000.
Me : Yes, I know. Apart from that.
BB : When I wil get admitted?
Me : (Admitted? Hospital or school?) That would be decided by our HR head in discussion with the techincal head in the site. We will intimate you through e - mail in the next two or three days. Is that okay?
BB : OK. But you losing very good employee if you not take me. Salary can negotiate. Give me job. I do very well. I am a good experience.
Me : (Sure you are) Yes, Mr BB. We will have that in mind. Have a nice day.
To this day, his salary is under negotiations. He has come down to 5000$ now. But the poor guy doesnt know that we have closed his process. And as to his travel reimbursement, well, the Axis Bank lady just gave our peon a huge stare and tore the cheque into pieces when he went there with the 6 digit account number to deposit the amount. So we are still wating for his "Full" account number. I dont think its going to come. His pride is hurt too much in front of a "young" guy.
This was only one candidate. There were more.But more on that later. I am just happy that when I go for my next interview, I know what all NOT to do. It was a real summer 'training', indeed. I thank my college for this lovely experience.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
A great Group Discussion
All of us must have heard the expression ‘a group discussion (GD, from now on) should never be a fish market’. Well, some GDs are much more than that. They make fish markets look like the most decent kind of markets around. Well, I just recently had such an experience.
An institute that incidentally shares its name with one of the greatest examples in detergent marketing in India had conducted its annual Management fest. I decide to participate in it to get a different ‘perspective’. The event was innocently termed ‘War of Words’, and was touted as a debate competition. The first round was an out and out debate round where we were given 5 minutes to talk on a topic, for and against. Thanks to my teammate, we managed to qualify into the final round. It was supposed to be surprise event. And what a surprise it was! The final round was a group discussion. Now that was a gem of an idea. Whoever would have thought of having a group discussion as the final round in a ‘debate’ competition!
The event was a disaster from the moment it started off. We were given 10 minutes to talk, or make ourselves heard, or whatever. The topic had something to do with the movie three idiots and the Indian educational system. But no one seemed to have a clue as to what they were talking about. We had people talking about VVS Laxman and the Kolkata test, (I would have loved to talk on this topic for hours on, but on another forum), some guy talking ‘for the sake of mankind’,(as though he had the task of saving it from this evil world) and we even had a member threatening a walkout ala the Indian parliament). As you might have guessed, yours truly was unable to make any significant contribution, as I was just laughing away at what was happening. I personally had not seen a fish market, being a vegetarian and all that, but my respect for that kind of place grew tenfold after seeing what happened in that room. Rajdeep Sardesai and Karan Thapar are not dead, but if they were, they definitely would be turning in their grave. When the judges finally got tired of all the screaming, they asked everyone to stop and gave a minute each to each group to sum up, individually. This was the only time most of the audience knew what was actually going on!
I have been to many events, but this one ranks as the funniest one that I have attended. Hope to attend more of this kind, but next time as a spectator rather than a participant.
P.S : Our certificates for the event are still pending. Wonder why they are getting delayed. Maybe they are still debating about it.
An institute that incidentally shares its name with one of the greatest examples in detergent marketing in India had conducted its annual Management fest. I decide to participate in it to get a different ‘perspective’. The event was innocently termed ‘War of Words’, and was touted as a debate competition. The first round was an out and out debate round where we were given 5 minutes to talk on a topic, for and against. Thanks to my teammate, we managed to qualify into the final round. It was supposed to be surprise event. And what a surprise it was! The final round was a group discussion. Now that was a gem of an idea. Whoever would have thought of having a group discussion as the final round in a ‘debate’ competition!
The event was a disaster from the moment it started off. We were given 10 minutes to talk, or make ourselves heard, or whatever. The topic had something to do with the movie three idiots and the Indian educational system. But no one seemed to have a clue as to what they were talking about. We had people talking about VVS Laxman and the Kolkata test, (I would have loved to talk on this topic for hours on, but on another forum), some guy talking ‘for the sake of mankind’,(as though he had the task of saving it from this evil world) and we even had a member threatening a walkout ala the Indian parliament). As you might have guessed, yours truly was unable to make any significant contribution, as I was just laughing away at what was happening. I personally had not seen a fish market, being a vegetarian and all that, but my respect for that kind of place grew tenfold after seeing what happened in that room. Rajdeep Sardesai and Karan Thapar are not dead, but if they were, they definitely would be turning in their grave. When the judges finally got tired of all the screaming, they asked everyone to stop and gave a minute each to each group to sum up, individually. This was the only time most of the audience knew what was actually going on!
I have been to many events, but this one ranks as the funniest one that I have attended. Hope to attend more of this kind, but next time as a spectator rather than a participant.
P.S : Our certificates for the event are still pending. Wonder why they are getting delayed. Maybe they are still debating about it.
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