Horlicks or Complan

TV channels are raking in the moolah!...come on.. who else will benefit from this no-holds barred slug fest ad campaigns of Horlicks and Complan health drinks. Now, two similar looking ads [responsible looking moms, enthu kids , shopping bags, Horlicks/Complan boxes] are running. All along, they were claiming to be superior but have changed tracks and now directly say the other is inferior. Last heard both the companies (GSK, Heinz) are battling it out in the court too.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Ever since I remember, the first rhyme is 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'...just dug into the wikipedia to know more..
** The poem was published in 1806!!! in Rhymes for Nursery, a collection of poems, by Jane Taylor and her sister Ann
** The tune is based on the French song ‘Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman’
** There are three more para-s to the popular song - Full Song

Rosy Picture

Amidst all the concrete & chaos....

Spouse - Shobha De

Read Spouse - By shobha de. Nice book.
Marriage is an interesting topic for a never ending discussion. The way Shobha De has approached the topic is too good. Has split the idea, on relevant topics giving a nice hindi song as title for the chapters. There is a certain clarity in her thought [ I'm talking abt this book alone ;-)]. The book is more for the upmarket- couples but there is something for everybody. She has gone into the nitty gritty of the matter- I was surprised to find her mentioning abt blowing the fuse when toothpaste is pressed in the middle. [I for one get irritated to find the toothpaste in that structure!!]. But I was wondering how all her friends, contacts keep pouring their marriage woes to her!!To her credit, the book doesn't get too preachy..Overall a good read.

Free Pongal

Already - the gas is free, Now the ingredients for making sweet pongal (a traditional dish that is made on pongal day in TN) - raw rice (500 gm), sugar candy (500 gm), moong dhal (paasiparuppu — 100 gm), cashew, dry grapes and cardamom (20 gm), would be given for free, through ration shops between January 1 and 14.
Simply amazing..Wonder how they get such ideas? Now, what abt the utensils for making sweet pongal????

Kizhaku - O pages

Kizhaku Padhipagam is the 'latest star' in tamilnadu's the publishing world. I actually liked the corporate-kind-of way they operated. But somehow felt let down after reading that Gnani's O-Pakkam-gal - part 3 would be published by them. Never had a good opinion abt O-Pakkam-gal - a weekly writeup on current affairs. I found it to be too sensational and it was more of a publicity gimmick. Initially it was on Ananda Vikatan, after an article abt the CM, there was lot of brickbats. AV withdrew the article and the author!. After that Gnani shifted to Kumudam. But sure O-Pakkam-gal would sell like hotcakes. [I think AV started this trend of publishing the weekly articles as books - good marketing move. ]

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Back to chennai politics... PMK & DMK are moving closer. So what's the olive branch?
The govt is withdrawing the criminal case [ filed under national security act] against kaadu vetti guru, whose arrest was a precursor to the split between DMK & PMK. The police dept is now a laughing stock!

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Terrorism rears its ugly head again

Switched off the TV at around 10.30 p.m yesterday in the night after seeing TV headlines that screamed random firing in Mumbai - 3-4 people killed..may be gang wars.
Thanks to the never ending downpour in chennai, electricity was off till morning. Flicked on the pocket radio to know if Isha had crossed us, was shocked to hear about the terror attack. This is definitely on a very large scale. We have to rise to the challenge and defeat terrorism at its core. ATS chief and his team members were also killed fighting these cowards. Sad. Putting aside petty politics, Politicians should realize that they should take some serious unanimous decisions to fight terrorism. It is a welcome move that PM & advani are talking together.
Hope, Mumbai springs back to normalcy soon.

Gandhi - The film

For the ...teenth time, Gandhi film is being shown on the TV along with a program where comedian karunas talks abt his fav. comedians. Vaazha Gandhi!
A trivia.. Approx. 300,000 extras were used in the opening sequence of the film - Gandhi's funeral sequence. - A world record at that.

Spouse program in soup

IIT's alumini meet has a special ' Spouse Program' and rightly, it has come under fire. Via Nanopolitan

Prof Priti shankar's EMail excerpt

"The offensive piece relates to the programme for spouses of "IIT" alumni. When the rest of the developed and developing world is making a concerted effort at gender fairness, IIT-M a prime center of excellence in Science and Technology has chosen to ignore, in one sweep, women IIT graduates, many of whom have made sterling contributions to industry, teaching and research. The underlying assumption seems to be that all "spouses" are women. Even more surprising is the programme charted out for the spouses!

The Mystic trail with its promises of insights into astrology, palmistry and the like, promotes obscurantism, totally out of place in an institution devoted to science and technology."

Prof Rama Govindrajan's EMail excerpt

"I was unhappy to see the program for spouses in the PAN-IIT get-together, to try and make them "complete women". My spouse does not want to become a complete or incomplete woman. He will therefore of course not accompany me. I feel that spouses who are female would expect a more intellectually stimulating program as well."

Hope the organizers realize their folly !

Dad & Child's IQ

Its all in the genes..but we keep coming out with new 'findings'. The latest "Kids are smarter if dad help in upbringing"..What a path breaking finding! Parents spending quality time with kids would do them good in the long run, is plain truth. The way they have put the 'discovery' is also not in good taste, what abt the kids where mothers play a bigger role?

Saroja travels

Venkat Prabhu (or is it the production camp?) has hit upon an innovative & powerful medium of advertizing his current hit movie- Saroja...Bingo ..the movie gets it due on the MTC bus tickets (local bus transport). Cool idea!!

Western sight

Hmm...a different perspective from a foreign tourist. Edward Wong has a painted a rosy picture of TN tourism..but he has left out the pitfalls..

A very interesting beginning to his article - Temples where gods come to life. (nytimes.com)

The god was ready for his night of conjugal bliss. The priests of the temple, muscular, shirtless men with white sarongs wrapped around their thighs, bore the god’s palanquin on their shoulders. They marched him slowly along a stone corridor shrouded in shadows to his consort’s shrine. Drumbeats echoed along the walls. Candles flickered outside the doorway to the shrine’s inner sanctum. There, Meenakshi, the fish-eyed goddess, awaited the embrace of her husband, Sundareshwarar, an incarnation of that most priapic of Indian gods, Shiva.

Wonder how this would sound to a devoted pious guy ;-))

The Real Big Bang

Wow! Human power!! The scientists at CERN (with scientists from world over pitching in) are recreating the original Big Bang today. I'm most eagerly awaiting the results..Rediff Link
While browsing the channels, I moved from this 'real earth shattering' report to our own Vijay TV ..just in time to see a Gem Stone Specialist canvassing the people with finance problems to wear topaz ring to clear away their debts...

We live in a real special world ;-))))

Naaku Muuku

If you have not heard THE song - Adra da Naaku Muuku, you don't belong to Tamilnadu. This kuthu song from the movie Kaadhalil Vizhundhen (this movie is eternally under production..waiting for its release)..is a 10000 waala dhamaka. Vijay Antony (music director) must be a pleased man. TimesofIndia has correctly sensed the pulse of the audience and they have made this the signature tune of their latest ad - a wonderfully shot extensive ad for promoting their chennai edition. what more..they are beaming the ad in TimesNow channel ..giving it a wider reach at national level. The Song & the Ad rock!!
But ..hey don't ask me the meaning of this 'tamil' song..I don't know.

Office Ganesha

Poor guy! My friend was a readymade ganesha for vinayagha chaturthi celebrations in our cubicle!

cha..missed the live action!

Saravana Stores Fire

Fire at Ranganathan street, T.Nagar was a tragedy waiting to happen...Just because the fire broke out in the wee hours of the morning, the death toll is very less..can't think of the numbers if it had happened later in the day. Rules simply doesn't exist in the jungle out there... the complexes are built wall to wall with no proper exit facilities..leave alone emergency exit.
What was the action taken ? the floor manager & supervisor have been arrested!!!!! I wonder why they didn't arrest the watchman?

News in News

Hmm..Nowadays..Sun TV news looks very similar to Jaya TV news...
Sign of fast changing equations.. Anything can happen in TN!!!

Washington-il Thirumanam

For long, I kept this book by Savi pending..finally managed to finish it. Man..for the hype surrounding the book, I found it boring. Its a story abt a US lady wanting to conduct an Indian marriage in US - Kind of West meets East line. It failed miserably on its USP - Comedy. I have heard my grandpa saying that AnandaVikatan made roaring business while serializing this story...May be the humor worked in those times..Every single joke was stretched to the maximum. I found the cartoons by Gopulu interesting..thats it.

Boxing Bout

Never gave a second glance at any boxing match on TV..But the hype, for the silver medal match between India and Cuba had me watching it...To my big surprise, boxing matches are held for only EIGHT MINUTES..4 rounds of two minutes each. These eight minutes make or break one's career.. thats a close call..having been used to marathon cricket & tennis matches, this was an eye opener. The cuban was a better player in the end.

Golden Moment

Definitely a golden moment in the era of Indian sports. Abhinav Bindra claimed India's first individual gold medal in the 10m air rifle shooting event in the Beijing Olympics.
I'm hoping that Saina also reaches the podium for badminton (she has reached the quarters now)

United Nations and Potato

Well..The year 2008 has been declared the International year of the Potato by the United Nations.
Ukkaandhu Yosipaanghalo!!

Sobriquet TN

Anything can go scarce in TamilNadu, but not giving sobriquets. Esp. in Tamil Film industry. The latest that got my attention today was the one given to Ilaiyaraja - Isaignani 'Swamigal' !!!!

Johnson & Johson baby products

What do you do with the umpteen number of Johnson & Johnson baby pack products that people present the new born with. It is high time, people realise the fact that one pack itself will last a long period of time and the baby will soon outgrow these baby care products!!!!

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The Congress denied allegations of the United Progressive Alliance government indulging in “horse-trading” or “hobnobbing with power brokers” to shore up a majority during the trust vote in the Lok Sabha on July 22. - Hindu

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History at its best

Re-Re-Reading Ponniyin Selvan. Amazing stuff. Every time you read it, you are hooked to it..This is what is called immortal classic.

Swiss Master takes a bow

At, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6, [6,6] the match could have gone either way, but inspite of being a Federer fan, I have to say that Nadal deserved to win. Nadal has created history by becoming the newly crowned king of Grass Court and Clay court in the same year. But the emperor has promised to come back next year.

FedEx or Ex-FedEx

Toughest Job

"Doing Nothing".
Trust me, taking a break may sound great. But, after a week, things gets crazy.
Wonder how, many people pass time, without any constructive job? It really requires a different mind set and a great effort to simply sit through the day. Grrrr..

Lifeline Restored

Finally got the Net working at home...Feels like 'Life again'.

IPL Balance Sheet

If you are going by the figures given in ET, the country's top business men - Ambani & Mallaya have taken a beating & while SRK has emerged as a shrewd guy with a strong business acumen.

Kolkata Knight Riders - Net Profit - 8 Cr
Rajastan Royals - Emerging Media - Net Profit - 5 Cr
Kings XII Punjab - Preity Zinta - Net Loss - 3.4 Cr
Chennai SuperKings - India Cements - Net Loss - 5 Cr
Delhi DareDevils - GMR Holdings - Net Loss - 8 Cr
Deccan Chargers - Deccan Chronicle - Net Loss - 20 Cr
Mumbai Indians - Reliance - Net Loss - 21 Cr
Royal Challengers - UB Group - Net Loss - 45 Cr

Grunts

Using a digital sound level meter, The Telegraph recorded maximum decibels of 103.2, louder than a motorcycle or a lawnmower.

From whom..you might wonder??

Well it was from Maria Sharapova. She went on to lose the Wimbledon match to fellow Russian Alla Kudryatseva in the second round.

How to read Newspaper course - USD 15

Was definitely taken aback...

Vikas Kamat [of kamat.com] actually paid USD 15 to attend 'Smart Reader' - one hour program on how to read newspaper He has justification too..

Newspapers in America are the classic case of "information overload". They are so thick, with so many pages, and so many advertisements. It is so hard to find the information you need, and so hard to distinguish important stuff from trivial stuff. So, I had to do what I did -- pay someone to teach me how to survive the information overload

Ignorance is bliss

Am currently reading Katradhum Petradhum - a series of articles written by Sujatha in AnandhaVikatan. Somewhere along the book, Sujatha traces the quote 'Ignorance is Bliss'

The quote is attributed to English Poet - Thomas Gray

The quote is seen towards the end of the poem - "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College"

To each his suff'rings: all are men,
Condemn'd alike to groan,
The tender for another's pain;
Th' unfeeling for his own.
Yet ah! why should they know their fate?
Since sorrow never comes too late,
And happiness too swiftly flies.
Thought would destroy their paradise.
No more; where ignorance is bliss,
'Tis folly to be wise.

This gloomy poem speaks abt a group of students who are playing in the college grounds..ignorant of the fact that sorrow is going to come soon & their happiness is going to pass away swiftly..till then they can be blissfully happy..

Another good thing abt Katradhum Petradhum is most of the articles are interesting & I'm playing 'book cricket' with it - savoring any article that comes along while randomly opening the book ;-))

FedEx or Ex-FedEx

This Wimbledon would be special for Roger Federer. He has to re-ascertain his supremacy especially after the French Open debacle. Nadal is in excellent form following his recent Grass court victory..

Interesting times ahead, I'm looking forward to yet another Federer Vs. Nadal clash..but Novak Djokovic could spoil the party......Wimbledon kicks open this Monday.

New Jain Sites, rock art - Gingee, Tamilnadu

Over the last three months, two rock art sites, two caverns with Jaina beds, and dolmens have been discovered within a radius of 25 km on the hillocks behind the Gingee fort in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district.

The rock art consists of a painting of a deer done in white kaolin with outlines in red ochre.

“This is really rare,” Mr. Gandhirajan, an explorer who specializes in art history said. While this figure of a deer is about 3 feet by 3 feet in size, there are tiny drawings of deer and lizard (udu mbu in Tamil) on the adjacent rock surface, as if to contra-distinguish their size. He estimated that the paintings might belong to circa 1000 B.C. “These paintings were done by pre-historic men — by hunter-gatherers who used to live in this cavern. Much later, the Jain monks occupied them

More in this Hindu report.

Endaro Mahanu Bhavulu

Endaro Mahanu Bhavulu [YouTube] rendered with gusto by the musical stalwart M.S. Subbulakshmi has almost become my staple morning dosage of energy booster. Even for a carnatic music novice, this Thyagaraja Pancharatna Kriti has a strong appeal. Pure Eternal Bliss!

Commendable Effort

For 120 days, they travelled through some of the more remote regions of Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, carrying around 600 kg of equipment.

S. Krishnaswamy of Krishnaswamy Associates and his wife (and producer) Mohana Krishnaswamy have made‘Indian Imprints’, a nine-hour documentary that traces the impact of ancient Indian culture and civilisation on South East Asia, historically.

“We’re not talking about the Mariamman temples built 150 years ago by Chettiars who settled there,” says Krishnaswamy, who has won four National Awards for his short non-fiction films “The temples and monuments we’ve covered go back all the way to an unspecified pre-Christian era, with authentic documentation from the first century A.D. onwards. The monuments offer a fascinating study in cross-cultural pollination such as the Pandava Chandis, temples for the Pandavas and Draupadi dating back to the 8th century in Java, Angkor Wat, the massive 11th century Vishnu temple in Cambodia, or sculptures dedicated to Karaikal Ammaiyar, a 9th century saint from Tamil Nadu scattered all over the region.

More interesting info at The Hindu - Metro Plus

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Vice-Chancellor turns marriage counsellor:

Anna University vice-chancellor D Viswanathan seems to seize any opportunity to impose his views on an audience. Reporters were not surprised when he came up with a ‘logical’ explanation for the institution’s good placement record. Addressing students at a function organised to distribute offer letters for students recruited through off-campus placement, he said, “Today you have landed good jobs because you did not use your cell phones due to which there were no diversions. Now, when you start working, you should send money back to your parents and not to your girl friends. (He assumed he was talking to an all-male audience.) You should listen to them, be responsible children and have an arranged marriage.” If this did not seem ludicrous enough, his speech was greeted with applause from the audience while his two staff members looked on with admiration.

Not able to get the direct link to TOI - EPaper link

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King Khan might not like it

He had, just moments ago, in response to another question, said he had only seen three Hindi films in his life. [Wife Bhavna, whom he met when both were students at New York's Tisch School of Arts, and proposed to through a fortune cookie, is the expert, he said].

"What's that guy's name, we were talking about him at lunch, Shah Rukh Khan, yeah, I think all three movies had him in them. There was this thing, he is touching her in the rain, what was the name of that movie, Kabhi something... [UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala, co-producer of Night's upcoming film, helpfully supplied Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham]... right, that one; that was kind of cool. And I remember there was an old one, it was supposed to be very salacious at the time, wait, Shivam something? [Satyam Sivam Sundaram, supplied the ever helpful Screwvala]... right, that one, right there, that was smokin', that one. I don't remember the name of the third one -- wait, Devdas, there you go."

Manoj Night Shyamalan

Rare photo

TN CM Karunanidhi without his trademark dark glasses ..clicked by vikatan during his Bday celebrations.

Interesting Evolution

Bdelloid Rotifers - It sounds greek to me...But these species seem to have achieved something that no creature in this world has achieved.

The bdelloid rotifers are ancient asexuals: they appear to have been living entirely without sex for more than 85 million years.

NYTimes - Olivia Judson's blog - Wild life - The Weird Sisters, has more such startling revelations.

"..evolving asexuality isn’t the hard part. The hard part is making an evolutionary success of it.....asexuality evolves often, but rarely persists for long: asexuals typically go extinct soon after they appear. The swift extinction of asexuals, and the absence of big asexual groups, suggests that sex is essential for long-term evolutionary success: giving up sex is a Bad Idea, a kind of evolutionary suicide.
..
How are they managing to flourish despite this epic period of abstinence? For they do flourish: bdelloids are everywhere
..
It now looks as though the bdelloids do acquire new genes from time to time — that mutation isn’t their only source of genetic novelty. Yet their means of getting new genes is unlike anything previously known for an animal. Namely: they seem to pick up genes from the environment, and add them into their genomes.
..
No one knows how the bdelloids pick up these genes. One idea is that it may be due to another oddity of their lifestyle: their ability to dry up and blow away. When the piece of moss they are living in dries up, these animals often dry up, too. It’s a state of suspended animation — add water and, all being well, they come back to life as frisky, or even friskier, than before. (This isn’t unique to bdelloids — some other small animals have evolved to endure dessication. But most of these others can only do it at particular stages of their lives. The bdelloids can do it at any time. They can also — probably as a consequence of their dessication abilities — survive high levels of radiation. Much higher than other animals can.) During the drying and rehydration, cell membranes may become disrupted, and their DNA fragmented. Perhaps all this makes it easier for stray bits of foreign DNA to get into the cells that will become eggs.

What to say...Nature has more than its share of surprises!!

Business School business in India

Not very surprising... esp. when we have more than 1600 business schools in India!
From Business Week:

The Business Barometer study was issued last month by the the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (Assocham), the country's leading chamber of commerce organization. It found that beyond the top 30 institutions, most business school professors and lecturers in India's business schools are ignorant of the world's major economic trends and key developments, such as the subprime crisis in the U.S. Few read business publications.

The study found that only 6% of the 258 faculty members she surveyed read any business newspaper on a regular basis, with steady readership of business magazines "negligible."

Setting a high standard for Indian business schools by satisfying a quality accrediting agency is an important step for Indian business schools, said Assocham's Bhutani. An improved accreditation process would have a ripple effect on all Indian business schools, he continued, forcing them to improve the quality of teachers, materials, and professional development.

Quite true...but all this accrediting business can spin off a business by itself..like engineering college accreditation.

Kurinji Malar - Na Parthasarathy

Finally finished reading Kurinji Malar purchased at the Chennai Book Fair. It is considered a classic among Tamil novels. It quite lived up to its name.
Na. Pa moves ahead of just telling a captivating story - the novel is more of moral science in disguise. The lead characters - Aravindan & Poorni are described as epitome of goodness. The keywords - Ozhukam, thuimai, nermai, mangalam, kolghai are constantly seen through the narrative. It has this old world feel...the money is discussed in annas & paisas..;-)) Good one time read.

Trivia: M.K.Stalin, the Tamilnadu C.M in waiting, acted in the DD - Serial Kurinji Malar as Aravindan. I still remember flashes of it.

Parenting - Poem

Good One!

http://www.cgcreations.org/poems/forgets.html

GuruBhai - Gurumurthy

Yesterday - saw the tamil version of Guru. Good film with a terribly shallow climax..One character that made me go & do a G-Search was Gurumurthy - Shyam Saxena played my Madhavan.
Have read few of his articles in the papers but never knew the kind of power he could exercise.
Gurumurthy.net has a vast collection of his articles in Indian Express, interviews, speeches etc.
Rediff has a nice story on how Gurumurthy mediated between the Bajaj-s to settle their family feud.

Welcome relief!

Rains have decided to rescue chennai from the scorching sun [ now-a -days..40 degrees plus was the norm].. owing to the sudden downpour ..things have cooled down a bit....
But wonder..whats the state of velachery roads..!..Guess..u can't have the best of both worlds!

New Age of Innovation

Should read this book sometime...The New Age of Innovation: Driving Co-Created Value Through Global Networks -C.K. Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan

An interesting example for innovation

Executives at Madras Cements, a division of India's Ramco Group, decided against deploying sophisticated—and expensive—GPS technology to track the movement of its trucks and goods. Instead, drivers were issued $30 cell phones and instructed to communicate their whereabouts via SMS text messages. The company designed an infrastructure that could process these raw data and give regular, timely insights into driver performance, helping executives identify areas of improvement for both individuals and the company at large. To date, the simple, innovative solution has led to recurring annual savings of more than $4 million

Cornflakes Dangerous?

Well...Things are not going to be easy in the coming days!

MSN - A scientist has cautioned that climate change can actually lead to "killer cornflakes" having the most potent liver toxin ever reported. ....the effects of the toxins, called mycotoxins, have been known since the Middle Ages when rye bread contaminated with ergot fungus was a staple part of the European diet. [ This reminds me of 'Acceptable Risk' - Robin Cooks novel that traces the salem witch trial to a happy drug discovery & its aftermath]

In Australia, the most important group of mycotoxins in maize is aflatoxins and Bricknell said that their spread was possible in right kind of temperature and moisture conditions and it could also affect crops including maize and peanuts and in some milk, dried milk products and some spices.

She added that recently, high levels of aflatoxin outbreaks have occurred in Australian crops. In addition, global warming may act as a new threat to food safety, with temperatures expected to rise and rainfall drop in inland areas of the eastern states.

Breast Cancer - ways to reduce the risk

A very useful writeup in NYTimes

True, immutable factors like genetics, a family’s medical baggage and just being born female determine much of the risk of breast cancer.

But there is now solid evidence that lifestyle can play a role as well. Choices that have an effect include how much alcohol a woman drinks (none is best), the amount of physical activity she gets (the more the better) and whether she takes hormones (the less the better). Doctors also urge women to keep their weight down, as obesity increases the risk of developing breast cancer during the postmenopausal years.

“There are things you can’t change, like when you got your first period, or your family history,” ...“But you can change a lot about you. Empower yourself with knowledge and information.”

• Know your family’s medical history
• Cut down on alcohol, or avoid it altogether
• Exercise, exercise, exercise.
• Breast-feed if you can
• Try not to take combined hormone therapy.
• Have regular mammograms
• Become familiar with your personal risk factors.

Riot of Colours

Cool!

gods & guarantees

IBM vs. Tata: Who's More American?

Business Week has an interesting answer!

Based on where they make their sales, and the answer is surprising. TCS, India's largest tech-services company, collected 51% of its revenues in North America last quarter, while 65% of IBM's were overseas.

This juxtaposition helps explain investor reaction to the companies' most recent earnings reports. TCS stock declined by more than 10% on Apr. 21 after it reported that earnings for its fourth fiscal quarter fell short of expectations. IBM, by contrast, beat estimates on Apr. 16. Its stock is up 3% since then and 25% since mid-February

Hamm, the senior writer ends it on a positive note

Meanwhile, the Indian companies aren't in a terrible spot; after all, their services are designed to help clients simplify their businesses and save money. Until the U.S. economy pulls out of the doldrums, though, they will have to sell more aggressively and plan carefully so they don't end up with too many employees, which would pinch margins.

WhiteField, OMR - Vacant deals

India Syndicate reports that

In Bangalore’s Whitefield suburb, once a magnet for IT firms, supply outstripped absorption by 300,000 sq ft in 2007 and about 8% of the developed area remained vacant. In the first three months of 2008, the demand-supply mismatch was more than a million sq ft.
If Whitefield is in a bad way, the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) technology cluster on the outskirts of Chennai is deep in the doldrums, with just nine deals in the whole of 2007. Of the four million sq ft that came into the market last year, only 1.7 million sq ft were absorbed even as rentals fell by 18% and the vacancy rate was up to 11%, according to C&W data.

Tanishq - Jodhaa Akbar jewellery collection

Do you have tons of money..Head to
http://www.tanishq-jodhaa-akbar.com/

Chennai Photowalk - OMR Road

As part of Chennai - Photo walk (a group in Flickr) - last sunday, we had started off from Madhya Kailash and walked along the Old Mahabalipuram Road/OMR/Rajiv Gandhi Salai/IT Corridor (!) - trying to capture the scenic beauty & structural marvels. The end point was NIFT. A good 2 hours !

Unlike the movies, we had police barging in at the starting point itself. Things were solved amicably.

A mundane sunday morning turned out to be interesting;-))

http://www.flickr.com/photos/suganthis/sets/721576 04466070272/
[Trials Set]

U, Me aur Hum

A movie title that has profound meaning - U, Me aur Hum [U, Me and Us]
A pat on the back for Ajay Devgan for having zeroed in on this title.

TOI enters Chennai

Times of India was on to a good start at chennai on April 14th. There were lots of news & special editions on the first day- found the content to be interesting. Lets see how they move forward! I found the local promotion better than state launch promotion. At velachery, I could see 'Kolams' that read- Vanakkam Tamilnadu - Times of India at the doorsteps of most houses. Very Innovative! The state launch promotion was the stale mysterious campaign-Next change? with newsprint all over - revealed as TOI after sometime.

Newspaper domain is really hotting up in chennai. Just last week Indian Express had a transformation [ie]. Sometime back Hindu gave itself a 'youthful' makeover. Deccan chronicle has also found a strong foothold here [ new series of sexy promotions were all over the city, 'alas' all that came down with the 'pull-down-the-hoardings' drive]

Knife politics in TN

I was quite shocked to read Tha.Pandian, CPI's secretary's interview in Ananda Vikatan. The interview goes on the usual lines like congress bashing [interestingly, he lambasts Sonia for having picked up Manmohan Singh & Chidambaram] , nuclear deal bashing...etc.
The last Q:

''கம்யூனிஸ்ட் தொண்டர்கள் கையில் சிறுகத்தி வைத்துக்கொள்ளுங்கள்!' என்று அறிவித்திருக் கிறீர்களே, வன்முறைப் பாதைக்கு நீங்களும் மாறுகிறீர்களா..?''

[Why have you advised cadres to have small knife with them.Have you also resorted to violent path?]
Answer:

''இந்திரா காந்தி, ராஜீவ் காந்தி, ஆலடி அருணா, தா.கிருஷ்ணன், பூண்டி கலைச்செல்வம் போன்றவர்களைக் கொன்றவர்கள் கம்யூனிஸ்ட் தொண்டர்களா? மதுரை சன் டிவி அலுவலகத்தில் உயிர் பலி வாங்கியது கம்யூ னிஸ்ட்டுகளா? மணல் திருடர் களைத் தட்டிக்கேட்ட எங்கள் தோழன் ஜெயக்குமாரை வெட்டிக் கொன்றிருக்கிறார்கள்! எனவே, தற்காப்புக்காகத்தான் எங்கள் தோழர்களைக் கையில் கத்தி வைத்துக்கொள்ளச் சொன்னேன்.

சமூக விரோதிகளிடம் கம்யூனிஸ்ட்டுகள் வெட்டுண்டு விழுவது கட்சிக்கு அவமானம். எங்கள் தொண்டர்களுக்கு கத்தி, லத்தி என ஆயுதப் பயிற்சி அளிக்க இருக்கிறோம். ஆயுதங்கள் இல்லாமல் இனி தமிழ்நாட்டில் அரசியல் நடத்த முடியாது! சமூக விரோதி யிடம் இருக்கும் கத்திக்கும் சமூகத் தொண்டனிடம் இருக்கும் கத்திக்கும் வித்தியாசம் உண்டு!''

[Imp. point in the answer: I have asked them to have knives for their own safety. We have planned for knife, lathi kind of arms training to our cadres. Without arms, you can't do politics in Tamilnadu. There is a difference in the knife that a social enemy has and the knife that social loyalist has]

Long live Democracy!

Pondy thro foreign eyes

On the southeastern coast, about 150 miles south of Chennai, Pondicherry is, for an Indian city, tiny. Just about a million people live there, mostly in the types of charmless, three- and four-story concrete buildings erected all over the poorer parts of Asia. But near the Bay of Bengal, the cityscape changes drastically. Soon you see tile roofs and wooden shutters, balconies and colonnades, wide brick streets and pastel Catholic churches — the neighborhood once known as the Ville Blanche, or White Town, where the colonists lived.
...

The air-conditioning was blasting, and when I turned it off, I heard something I’d never heard before in India: nothing. No traffic or honking horns, no vendors’ cries, no heavy machinery whirring from within a neighbor’s home.

Peace pervaded the neighborhood. In a neatly subdivided park, office workers on lunch break napped in the shade, and along the waterfront boulevard, couples and families — mostly Indians, the women in stunning yellow, orange and teal saris, along with a smattering of French tourists — ambled past the too-rocky-to-swim beach, the stately Hôtel de Ville and a statue of Gandhi.

More interesting observations in NYTimes

Old habits die hard

'Nav Shristi' - an NGO working for women and child rights - was shocked when two police stations in the capital demanded Rs 12,274 each for disclosing information on missing and kidnapped children in Delhi under the RTI.

More info - NDTV

“Om lingalingalinalinga, kilikili….”

Missed the pleasure of viewing this program on TV..Anyways..more programs of this kind is the need for the hour. With 'poli' samayars & ammas mushrooming at the same pace as new IT companies on old mahabalipuram old, it is high time people come face to face with truth.

On 3 March 2008, in a popular TV show, Sanal Edamaruku, the president of Rationalist International, challenged India’s most “powerful” tantrik (black magician) to demonstrate his powers on him. That was the beginning of an unprecedented experiment. After all his chanting of mantra (magic words) and ceremonies of tantra failed, the tantrik decided to kill Sanal Edamaruku with the “ultimate destruction ceremony” on live TV. Sanal Edamaruku agreed and sat in the altar of the black magic ritual. India TV observed skyrocketing viewership rates.

Everything started, when Uma Bharati (former chief minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh) accused her political opponents in a public statement of using tantrik powers to inflict damage upon her. In fact, within a few days, the unlucky lady had lost her favorite uncle, hit the door of her car against her head and found her legs covered with wounds and blisters.

India TV, one of India’s major Hindi channels with national outreach, invited Sanal Edamaruku for a discussion on “Tantrik power versus Science”. Pandit Surinder Sharma, who claims to be the tantrik of top politicians and is well known from his TV shows, represented the other side. During the discussion, the tantrik showed a small human shape of wheat flour dough, laid a thread around it like a noose and tightened it. He claimed that he was able to kill any person he wanted within three minutes by using black magic. Sanal challenged him to try and kill him.

More on Rationalist International

[Via Abi's Nanopolitan]

Raghuvaran - a great actor

A sudden & early end to a great actor. Raghuvaran would always remain as one of my fav. actors. Had a great potential - heavily under used by the film industry. Most of the films, he was a caricature villain, but there was a certain spark that came out even through mundane characters.

A huge loss to filmdom ;-(

Chennai Super Kings

Not everyday, you can see a vijay's photo in Business Standard's website. Well..he & Nayantara have been signed up as brand ambassadors for India Cements' IPL - Chennai Super Kings.

Sins 2.0

Vatican is on the move...new sins list

The Catholic Church on Sunday updated the 1,500-year-old list of seven deadly
sins, publishing the new list in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.
Now, the souls of drug-pushers, the obscenely rich, environmental polluters and
“manipulative” genetic scientists will go to Hell, unless they repent and seek
redemption.

Just in case you forgot what the original seven sins are : lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, anger, envy and pride

Zoho People

Zoho's latest offering is an on demand - People Management and Recruitment Solution - Zoho People. It is basically targeted at SMBs. Zoho just keeps adding to its stock. Web is an interesting place to be in.

Jodhaa-Akbar

Saw Jodhaa Akbar last saturday - Satyam - Full house.
Quite impressed ..I should say. As a film, it stands on its own. Hrithik & Aishwarya (After HDDCS, I liked her in this) have come out with a flamboyant performance. What a difference between Dhoom 2 & this movie. A.R.Rahman rules. Ashutosh Gowariker can be commended for having brought in a terrific team, but the story is not in the league of Lagaan. The film was a lengthy one..the fights could have been toned down. There are the customary Hrithik scenes - Wild Elephant taming, bare torso sword fight practice, etc..But who is complaining? ;-) Aishwarya looks picture perfect, the costumes & jewelry adding to her beauty. In one of the reviews, somebody had mentioned, the director's master stroke was to give minimal dialogues to Aish. I agree. Can definitely see it once.

Jayalalitha Songs

Good compilation of songs sung by Jayalalitha...Dhool.com

Indian S/W Product Company

Zoho at its best - rediff coverage. Feels good to be associated with the company!

Belief in god - 1.9 Million pound research

IBN Live

A research team at the University of Oxford will be shelling out 1.9 million pounds to find out the reason behind why people believe in God. The Oxford academics have been given a grant to try to discover whether belief in a deity is a matter of nature or nurture. The team said that they would not examine the question of whether God exists but will look at evidence in an effort to prove whether belief in God bestowed an evolutionary advantage to mankind.

'm waiting for the result!

Marriage Jitters

Icarus Prakash jots down a do's and don'ts list just ahead of his marriage..

படிவங்களைப் பூர்த்தி செய்யும் பொழுது, மறக்காமல் married க்கு பக்கத்தில் இருக்கும் டப்பாவை ‘செக்’ செய்ய வேண்டும்.
..
சுரிதாருக்கும், சல்வார் கமீசுக்கும் என்ன வித்தியாசம் என்று கேனத்தமாகக் கேட்டுக் கொண்டிருக்கக் கூடாது.

More..

Blog to read

Not many Tamil writers have their own blogs. Jeyamohan is a very articulate person - he writes at http://jeyamohan.in/. Worth adding to your feeder.

Most productive debate - TN State Assembly

With umpteen number of people issues screaming for Government's attention and action, the MLAs & Ministers found Shriya's & Namitha's dressing sense dangerous enough to warrant a debate in the state assembly.

With PMK taking a hardliner stand on this issue, wanted the government to intervene & save the 'Tamil Culture'. The DMK discussed in 'length' on where all the government could not pass the regulations. Wonder what the next scene would be?

This just adds to the list of all shameful incidents & speeches at the Assembly.

New Aathichudi

Dieting made simple!!


A olleague of mine had gone to the exhibition at Island grounds, chennai. He had taken this photograph.

BCCI, IPL & Tons of Money

A new chapter in Indian Cricket! - Indian Premier League

Mumbai IPL - Mukesh Ambani - $111.9
Million Bangalore IPL - Vijay Mallaya - $111.6
Million Hyderabad IPL - Deccan Chronicle - $107.01
Million Chennai IPL - India Cements - $91
Million Mohali IPL - Preity Zinta & Ness Wadia - $76
Million Calcutta IPL - Sharukh Khan - $75.09
Million Jaipur IPL - Emerging Media - $67

Million U thought, how they are going to recover the money? - it seems nearly 60-65% of their costs have been covered through sale of television rights to Sony-World Sports Group for $1.026 billion, including $108 million by BCCI. All of them are confident that they will break even within 2 - 3 Yrs.

ET : Originally conceived as a riposte to Subhash Chandra’s rebel Indian Cricket League, IPL is set to become the biggest money-spinner in cricket today. The league has been modelled on other professional sports leagues like the English Premier League (EPL) and National Basketball Association (NBA). But in the years to come, it will emulate EPL and NBA when it comes to trading players and club buyouts. Some of the biggest names in international cricket today, such as Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara and Sachin Tendulkar, have all signed up to play in IPL, and so have Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. The top 80 players in the ICC rankings will be playing in IPL, according to BCCI officials

59 matches would be played over 44 days , which would be broadcast live on SET Max. All in all BCCI is said to have raised a total off $ 1.749 billion (Rs 6996 crore) through the team auction alone...

Chennai Book Fair

Had a good harvest of tamil books in the ongoing chennai book fair. The crowd was decent. Was able to move around leisurely. Some of the books in my kitty
Madan's Ki.Mu.Ki.Pi -Kizhaku Padhipagam
Madan's vandhargal vendrargal - Vikatan Padhipagam [ half way thro..a great book!]
Washington'il thirumanam -Vikatan Padhipagam
M.R.Radhayanam - Kizhaku Padhipagam
Jeeva -Kizhaku Padhipagam
Ponniyin selvan
Na.Paarthasarathy's Kurinji Malar
U.ve.Swaminatha iyer's autobiography - En Sarithiram - Aiythinai Padhipagam
Sanga kaalathil Tamizh Samayam

520Sqt Apartment in London

Space doesn't matter...All you should have is the Big M - Money!!

Richard Adams, an interior designer, turned this 520-square-foot apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood of London into a pied-a-terre for himself - NewYork Times