Cellphones

There are some inventions that make you wonder not just at the 'Power' of that invention but also at the 'Added Features' to that invention(In all the wrong ways,though!). The cellphone, invented by some xyz is one such technical gizmo that make you go sane & insane at the same time depending on which part of the world you live in at that particular moment.

How will someone explain the so many noises or the 'technically correct' word called as ringtones? Someone has a noise of a baby crying, that of a dog barking, an alien smiling and whatever noise that they could lay their hands (or ears) on is made into a 'Ringtone'.

Here is a person who walks unto you and asks about the various features of your cellphone as though these features make the 'Lifeline' of your everyday existence. Does it have a radio? A torchlight? A camera? A pacemaker? A remote to control their brains? Why should a cellphone have anything other than the ability to talk with people is something that always beats me.



Then there is this person talking seemingly to thin air making me wonder about the technological advances in 'Wireless Technology' till I was brought down to earth (And further below as well) by my friend who explained me about the concept of 'Hands Free' to me. Technology DOES drive people insane for sure!!!!

And the purpose of having a video ringtone is also something that my primitive mind always fails to comprehend. Will the person having this video ringtone be watching the video and forget to attend to the call before the caller disconnects because of frustration?(And who would like to pick a call from your friend when 'Aishwarya Rai' is dancing for you!!!!!!) Maybe that is the whole point of having a video ringtone.

And last but not the least of the insanities of a cellphone user is the ubiquity of the device itself. Every person on earth seems to have ATLEAST one cellphone that you are left wondering whether you should be giving your old cellphone to your dog and buying a costly model (One with all the 'Features', video ringtones and other 'Useful' stuff). But the only problem with that approach is that I would never be able to tell whether my dog is talking(barking) to me or whether I am getting another call(Well, I have a dog barking as my ringtone!!!)

Excuse me folks. I have to finish my article at this point. My cellphone is ringing!!!!!!!

The Search Begins.......

Have been thinking a lot of late about some really complex issues that I have been facing (And when I come to think of it, "Thinking" by itself is a complex task for me!!!). Been trying hard to understand people around me, their behaviors, their likes, dislikes and everything inbetween. Probably I should try to learn "Rocket Science" for that should be much simpler than the "Bewildering" task that I have undertaken.

There seems to be no 'Predictability' about people & their behaviors. Then I started thinking about why people are like this & what could be the possible reason for these "Random Outcomes" from people. What could hold answers for this? Psychology? Culture? Social Upbringing? Freudian 'Something'? Is there something very obvious that my pea sized brain (Thank God, I have that atleast) is missing? A 'Clue' perhaps that is always present but which I am over-looking out of my ignorance or otherwise? Maybe yes. Before I even ventured on to 'Predict', 'Analyze' & 'Understand' others, do I know myself?

Hmmm. There it is. I think I have hit the nail on its head. I am not sure on whether I know myself well. With such limited understanding of my own self, I had no chance whatsoever of understanding others. What is needed is an introspection, probing deep into my inner self & finding hidden meanings about myself.

It is the understanding of my heart that holds the key to the heart of others. Knowing fully well the arduous task that I have undertaken, I am determined to go the full distance to get the answers. The search has begun.......

Editorial On Culture

This is an article that I wrote for my company's newsletter. It was published as the editorial for the November 2005 edition.

"By culture we mean all those historically created designs for living, explicit and implicit, rational, irrational, and non rational, which exist at any given time as potential guides for the behavior of men" -- Kluckhohn & Kelly in the book 'The Science of Man in the World Culture'.

The roots for the evolution of a culture could be traced back to the evolution of the human race itself. Culture, when applied to companies, educational institutions & universities form the organizational culture. When we talk about organizational culture, it can be described as the shared set of values, goals, behaviors & beliefs of the people working in an organization that get exhibited in their day-to-day working style.

With studies indicating a strong relationship between the culture of an organization & its success, it becomes imperative for people leading organizations to pay close attention to the culture that exists in their organization and on ways to improving it. The steps that can be taken for making the shift towards a culture that would lead to high productivity include

(1)Gauging the culture that exists presently in the organization
(2)Having a clear idea of what the culture of the organization should be in the future
(3)Taking a positive step towards that cultural change

The culture that exists in Chrysler & British Airways (BA), the cultural change programs that these companies introduced to bring about the present culture serves as a case in point for the importance of culture for an organization, its relevance to the organization's growth & the growth of its people.

Chrysler of the 90's, for example, had a bad reputation for customer service & press relations. The company was incurring huge losses & its market share was falling drastically. Bob Lutz, the president of Chrysler at the time of this crisis, had a vision of making Chrysler the technology leader in the cars & trucks segment. He introduced a cultural change program called as 'Customer One' to enable Chrysler to move towards his vision. The basic areas in which the 'Customer One' change program focused on are: involvement of people, agreeing on objectives, learning & emphasis on quality. This cultural change brought about results that were astounding by any yardstick. Chrysler's stock value increased by close to four times & it had moved from an organization on the verge of bankruptcy to a profitable organization.

Cultural changes take a long time to sink in & the transitions are difficult. But the fruits of the change are very significant. The culture that a person imbibes from the organization and his individual culture are so closely interwoven that the manifestations of one is noticed in the other.

Subramanya Bharathi's Poem

I am a great fan of Subramanya Bharathi & during one of my trips to Chennai was presented with a copy of Bharathiar's Poem collection by my sister. Though I have not been able to read all the poems in that book, I did read some of them & there are very few words to describe my feeling.(Well, I wouldn't consider myself qualified to describe the poems themselves & hence would like to limit myself to describing the feelings!!!!!!) There is one particular poem that impressed me a lot & hence thought would put that poem here in my blog. Have tried to come up with an english translation so that non-tamil speaking people can also understand and appreciate Bharathiar's poems. (And let me add that it is nowhere close to what Bharathiar has said in Tamil)

Tamil Version

Senrathinee MeeLathu Mudare! Neer
Yepothum Senrathayae Sinthanai Seythu
KonraLLikum Kavalai Yennum KuLLiyil VeeLLnthu
Kumayadir! Senrathanai Kurithal Vendam
Indru Puthithai Piranthom Endru NeeVeer
Ennamathai ThinnaMurra Isaithu Kondu
Thindru ViLayaddi Inbudrinthu VaaLLvir;
Theemai Yellam ALLinthu Pom, Thirumbi Vaara.

English Translation

What has gone will not come back! Do not

Always think of things that has gone

And fall into a pit of sorrow that destructs and kills.

Do not denote things that are gone

Firmly think in your mind that

You were born newly today and

Eat, play & live happily;

All bad things will die, not return.

Swami & Friends: Book Review

Ever thought of going back to your school days & re-living those good old memories? Do you still want to be a part of the carefree life as a school kid? DO NOT wait for the invention of a 'Time Machine'. Go & grab a copy of “Swami and Friends” by R.K.Narayan (RKN) to re-enter the world of school children.

RKN weaves magic through his writing & leaves the readers spellbound yearning for more. The book, being more of a collection of episodes rather than a novel per se, describes the incidents in the life of the main character, the ten year old Swami in the most interesting fashion possible. Each chapter in the book narrates an interesting tale of the pranks of Swami. Be it the joining of the new kid Rajam to their school and Rajam's induction into Swami's 'Gang' or Swami's ill-fated participation in the 'Political Rally' or Swami's bowling skills & Rajam's MCC Club and Swami running away from school, RKN transforms the reader into a 10-year old kid through his beautiful story-telling capabilities.

How could a review of 'Swami and Friends' be complete without mentioning the 2nd hero of the book, the beautiful town of Malgudi? The descriptions of the slow flowing Sarayu river, the Lawley extension, the Nallapa Grove, the Market road & various other landmarks brings life to the town of Malgudi. It will be no fault of yours if you are unable to locate the town of Malgudi in a map of India for there is no such place called as Malgudi!!! The lively (and lovely, as well) description of the imaginary town speaks volumes about the narrative skills of RKN.

If at all there is something to crib about the book, it would be the lesser number of episodes on Swami!!!!!

Final Cut: Beg, borrow or steal to get a personal copy of this book.

Thiruvasagam by Ilayaraaja: Audio Review

Me & a music review? The thought itself provoked some kind of strange feeling in my heart. I had a hundred questions in my mind, the main one being whether I am qualified enough to write a musical review itself & that too on a monumental work as the "Thiruvasagam". Should I be proficient in classical & western music to write musical reviews? Should I know the nuances & differences between rhythm, beats and various other 'Technical' jargons associated with music? Should I be Subbudu's (A veteran musical critic) disciple to do reviews? Hmmmmmmmm. The conclusion that I could finally reach is that I could still give musical reviews as a layman with not an iota of musical knowledge but simple appreciation of God's beauty in playing with sounds.

Now let me get down to the business of doing the review itself. If there is one sentence that could describe my feeling after listenening to this CD is " I am lucky to hear this music". It could also be described as 'Out of the World' & 'Brilliant'. The genius that Ilayaraaja is, he has put his heart & soul (And everything else inbetween) to this compilation.

The CD has 6 musical pieces & each one has been carved into a masterpiece.

Blow Out Your Candles

Have been sick for the last 3 days & with nothing else to do, have been reading "Manase, Relax Please" (Ohh Mind, Relax Please) for the 3rd or 4th time. There is one story that never misses my attention & this time also I was impressed by the simplicity of the story & the power of the message. The message is something which is very blatant & still we neglect to follow in our day-to-day life.

I am talking about our 'Ego'. The expansion of EGO is "Edging God Out". Our vedas equate God to Happiness. And when we have Ego, we edge out our happiness. Our egos come into picture every time there is an argument & at the end of the argument, we have edged out our happiness.

The story that I mentioned goes about like this: One night Rabindranath Tagore was traveling by a boat over the river Yamuna. He was having a candle light on his desk & was trying to write poems. But even for him, on that particular day, he was having a tough time to find suitable words for his poems. However hard he tried, words were not flowing in the way he would have liked them to. After trying for sometime, he decides to blow out the candle. The moment he does that, the beauty of the full moon & the serenity of the river in that light become visible to him. And lo, words for his poems start flowing like a river. The candle light had actually hidden the beauty of the river & the moon from Rabindranath Tagore.

Our Egos are like that candle light. If we can blow out our egos, we can see the beauty of the world in its full bloom. Shall we blow out our candles?

If Tomorrow Comes: Vis(t)a to the Modern World

Vista. Wondering what it is? It's the name (Originally codenamed Longhorn) of the next release of Windows Operating System, expected to be released somewhere around summer of 2006. And NO, there is no typo here. It is indeed 2006. The next logical question that might pop up in your brains is why I am talking about something that is going to be released in 2006 in 2005. There is a good reason for me to do that. The Beta 1 version of the operating system just got released & is creating some buzz around the Computer World. Any new release from Microsoft creates a buzz (Of course, a whole lot more controversies as well) & the release of a new operating system is no exception. This article will briefly talk about the features & enhancements that are expected in this new release.

According to Microsoft, the design goals for the latest operating system fall into broadly three categories:

(1) Improvements in security, privacy, performance, reliability & ease of deployment. (Please take good note of the ‘Keywords’ security & reliability. This will be something we all will be re-visiting a whole lot of times once the operating system is released. According to one recent report, an Austrian programmer has already come up with a virus for Vista!!!!!!! And as usual, Microsoft has denied it. Sigh)

(2) Bringing clarity to the organization & use of information. (Did Microsoft lack clarity till now on what they wanted to do???? Maybe when organizations grow bigger, lack of clarity is probably one of their ‘Strong’ points)

(3) Seamless integration of people & devices ( I am sure that this is something that Microsoft was forced to take up as their design goals. If they did not take this up, their competitors would have easily swamped the market with various devices & software that does this)

Now let’s take a look at some of the features that have been introduced. The Beta version does not have many of the user-oriented features with which it will finally ship & hence this Beta version could be considered as a sneak preview of what one can expect when the final version arrives.

(1) Graphics: The graphics looks great & it should be a wonderful experience to work on the final version of the operating system. Doesn’t this look great? (Is there someone else who gets a feeling that we are looking at a desktop from one of the Linux clones? Or is it just me? Maybe this is what they mean by ‘Convergence of Technologies’. Linux wants to ape the GUI’s of Microsoft & Microsoft wants to ‘Reproduce’ the feel of a Linux desktop. I give up. Technology is not my ‘Cup of Tea’ after all)

(2) Search capability: Each & every window seems to be associated with a search field & even the ‘Start Menu’ has a search window at the bottom. This search lets the user type in the starting letters of an application & the results display the list of matching executables. It looks cool, isn’t it? (Did you folks try out the Google Sidebar? It would beat out any search capability anyone introduces. Oops……. Did I blurt that out? )

(3) User Account Protection: There is the creation of a new type of user account called as the “Limited Account”. This has more privileges than the normal Windows XP guest account but fewer privileges than the administrative account. What this means is that users logged in as “Limited Account” will be able to perform all the regular functions but cannot install new programs. This feature will be highly useful in preventing spyware being installed in the PC’s (Network administrators, are you paying attention?)

(4) Other features: Some of the other features that are expected to debut in Vista are Internet Explorer 7 with tabbed browsing capability (as in Firefox, so to say) & a new display engine, support for 64-bit computing, a new restart manager (This, they promise will reduce reboots by 50%!!!!!!!!!), new tools for diagnosing & dealing with crashes, hardware failures & networking issues

How To Name It?

Will I get third time lucky with my blogging attempts? After 2 unsuccessful attempts to keep blogging continuously, I am returning with a vengeance to keep it going this time. Now that I am firm on continuing with blogging, (Will I get the time to do it is something else about which I have to think) my thoughts went to the things about which I can brag in this infinite space called as the 'World Wide Web'. (When I did think of it, there weren't a whole lot of things about which I can actually blog :-( )

A few thoughts did crystallize in my mind & I am listing them in no particular order. I also thought of giving each one a unique name so that it makes it interesting for the people who do end up in this blogspot by their own luck/misfortune

(1) The stories that I have heard/read or interesting experiences that happened in my life. I would like to call this "Total Recall"
(2) The latest in technology. I should confess here that I am not a techie/geek but I do follow the latest in technology & this, I feel, qualifies me for blogging on this. And I decide to name this "If Tomorrow Comes"
(3) Interesting images. (Taken from the web, photos taken by me & by my friends) Would also like to include a small description of the image/photo itself on its history & other aspects. With tongue in cheek, I christened it as "Flash Memories"
(4) The music & book reviews that I am planning on taking up when I do find the time. What shall I call this? For lack of the ability to think hard, I decided to call this "Amalgam"

Hmmmmm. Not a bad start after all

Have fun........................... See you all soon.