Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Futuristics

10 am, 13th Aug, 2047
The Times of India Office,
Mumbai...

Being the chief editor for the most awaited article of the year is so rusty. The intriguing guesses on how good the melodrama would unfold were eating on me. Perhaps, not the best thing to do when you are at 63.Nevertheless, just the mere thought of the date ‘15th august 2047’ pulls me into a tapestry of invincible governance.
5 2 4 9 dialed my trembling fingers,"Yes MR.Imteyaz"sounded the juvenile voice of Megha.
"Could you please drop by my desk with the manuscript,I’ll appreciate if the whole team accompanies you with their copy of the same.."
"Right away Mr.Imteyaz" came the reply.
Before I could finish the age old dialogue..
“This generation is very fast” I found all my colleagues at my desk


On the same day, 10 p.m
The Enigma (pub),Hotel JW Marriott,
Mumbai…

“TO THE EDITOR” chorused the 10 member voice...
“TO THE TEAM” it’s me this time, gulping the rich ‘Louis Roederer Cristal champagne’.
We partied,
It’s never better than to celebrate success. I had to say thank you to those wonderful cynosures who put their heart and soul in getting this 2000 liner look eximious!
I started speaking,
“I couldn’t have imagined better. Thank you for helping me with my master piece. I owe you. I owe my life for this work. Love you all”
Megha interrupted my emotional speech with a hug and a kiss on my cheek...
Oh My God!! I felt butterflies in my tummy.
Seems the flirt in me is still alive even @ 63.The whole team partied till 2 am.
As I drove back home,I said to myself..
"the article lacks Killer Instinct”
The line“Dedicated to the numerous citizens who fought/fight before/after 15th august 1947” that concludes the article didn’t give me the expected impact.
I was breaking my head, I wanted to change it, I wanted to create a revolution, I want to make people think, I want my India realize.
Thug!!
I felt something in my head.


15th Aug 2047
The Red Fort

The prime minister speaks...
“I promise, my government will live up to to the pleas of Mr.Sayed Imteyaz”
Hurray!!
The line “Dedicated to your inspiring words Mr.Imteyaz.We wish you are here to see this happen. We hate to accept, you were assassinated at 2.30 am 14th Aug 2047” which actually concluded the article, gave the necessary impact.
Thanks to my team for having changed the line at the very last moment before it was published.
And of course thanks to the guy/girl who shot me dead.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Trivia on Indian Independence!

(Though I originally collected these snippets for an 'Independence day' special article of my office based newsletter, I felt posting it to my blog on a Republic day wouldn't be less appropriate...)
The Sepoy Mutiny (1857) became the first Nationwide struggle for Independence. What many don't know is the fact that, India came under the direct control of the British Crown as a colony of the British Empire as a result of the Sepoy mutiny.

Struggle for Independence resurfaced again in the form of Indian National Congress. What many don't know is the fact that a retired British civil servant, A.O.Hume is the brain behind forming the Indian National congress in 1885.

The partition of Bengal in 1905 sparked agitations in the Northern part of India. What many don't know is the fact that the partition created two provinces: Eastern Bengal & Assam, with its capital at Dhaka, and West Bengal, with its capital at Calcutta.

Calcutta served as British India capital until 1911. Later in 1931 New Delhi was made the capital of India. What many don't know is the fact that prior to New Delhi, Delhi (old) was the capital of India between (1911 through 1931). New Delhi is a town south of Old Delhi planned by a team of British architects led by Edwin Lutyens.

What many don't know is India's contribution to the British war effort during the world war I, by providing men and resources. About 1.3 million Indian soldiers and laborers served in Europe, Africa and Middle East.

Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian/Asian to be honored with a Nobel prize. What many don't know is the fact that he renounced the title as a mark of rebuke to the rulers, post the Jallianwala bagh Massacre in 1919.

Mahatma Gandhi emerged as the leader of the Indian Independence struggle. He Formulated the civil disobedience movement and the Salt Satyagraha. What many don't know is the fact that Gandhiji was imprisoned to six years Jail, but had to serve only two.

While peacefully protesting against Simon commission, Lala Lajpatrai was hit with a lathi (bamboo stick) on the head several times by an officer Scott. He succumbed to the injuries. Bhagat singh vowed to take revenge and with the help of Chandrashekhar Azad, Rajguru and Sukhadev, plotted to kill Scott. What many don't know is the fact that Bhagat singh killed Mr. Sanders, a junior officer, in a case of mistaken identity. As a result, the British - under the Defense of India Act, gave more power to the police to arrest persons to stop processions with suspicious movements and actions. What many don't know is the fact that the act brought in the council was defeated by one vote. Even then it was to be passed in the form of an ordinance in the "interest of the public." Bhagat Singh threw a bomb in the corridors of the central assembly where the act was to be passed and courted arrest after shouting the slogan "Inquilab Zindabad!" (Long Live, Revolution!). Bhagat Singh thought the court would be an ideal place to get publicity for the cause of freedom, and did not disown the crime.

Gandhiji marched about 400 Kilometers from his commune in Ahmedabad to Dandi between March 12 and April 6, 1930 in protesting against British taxes on salt, he and thousands of followers broke the law by making their own salt from sea water.

In 1939, the Viceroy Lord Linlithgow declared India's entrance into World War II without consulting provincial governments. In protest, the Congress asked all of its elected representatives to resign from the government.

Gandhi launched the Quit India movement in August 1942. However, almost the entire Congress leadership was arrested within a span of 24 hours after Gandhi's speech. What many don't know is the fact that the call “to do or die” was issued in a meeting ground at our very own Mumbai. Previously referred to as the Gowalia Tank Maidan, the ground is now renamed as “August Kranti Maidan” for its significance.

Mani Bhavan, where Gandhi stayed whenever he was in Mumbai, is organising various functions on August 9 to make the younger generation realise the importance of the occasion. Besides, it will screen Richard Attenborough's Gandhi.

An interim government for India was formed in September 1946 with Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister. Jinnah declared August 16, 1946 as Direct Action Day, which brought communal rioting in many places in the north. Partition seemed preferable to civil war. Thus, Louis Mountbatten announced plans for partition of the British Indian Empire into secular but Hindu-majority India and Islamic Pakistan.

Gandhi was not known to be too happy about the substitution of the Gandhi Charkha (Khadi Wheel) by Ashoka Chakra(Wheel) in the Indian National flag. Jawaharlal Nehru later convinced him. In fact when the Indian national flag was first designed by Pingali Venkayya, Gandhi first approved it, then thought about it and asked Venkayya to redesign the flag by adding a white band in the middle (the flag already had the Saffron and Green bands).

What many don't know is the fact that Gandhi pressured Sardar Patel to give Rupees 55 Crores of Sterling balance to Pakistan after Partition.

Prime Minister Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel invited Lord Mountbatten to continue as Governor General of India. He was replaced in June 1948 by Chakravarti Rajagopalachari. What many don't know is the fact that he was the only Indian Governor General of India. The office was replaced by that of President, first held by Rajendra Prasad after the announcement of the Republic.

What many don't know is the fact that the constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any independent nation in the world, containing 444 articles and 10 schedules (later 12), as well as numerous amendments. It runs to a total of 117,369 words in the English language version.

Goa (liberated from Portuguese control in 1961) and Pondicherry (which the French ceded in 1954). In 1952, India held its first general elections, with a voter turnout exceeding 62%; in practice, this made India the world’s largest democracy.

We might also want to know of the existence of the following URLs:
http://presidentofindia.nic.in/
http://pmindia.nic.in/
http://india.gov.in/

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Rebates

"MAIL-IN-REBATE"
I bumped into this term for the first time, only in the US.
                      Misson: Laptop hunt
Venue: Circuit City, Bellevue, Nashville
The configuration tag: Intel core2duo, 250 gig HD, 3gig RAM
     Now, the price tag: $850 - ($100 + $50) Mail-in-rebate
                                  (This is some 8 months back. 1USD = 38 INR)

'RE BATE' - The word sounded familiar but the concept was a jargon. For those of you, who are either unfamiliar or new to shopping in the US, there is this concept called Mail-In-Rebates where one gets a stipulated amount discounted from his purchase amount after the purchase is complete. To avail this, one needs to submit by mail the bill of purchase, upc code and a rebate form. The rebate amount declared will usually be sent to the customer via a check. It kinda didnt make sense to me (still doesn't) so I walked up to the counter with the laptop pack and while billing..

ME:
"Y would u not discount the 'Rebate price' N bill me the rest"

SALES GUY:
"Sir, your $50 rebate should come from the manufacturer"
(hp in this case..)

ME:
(Trying to be a smart ass,counter questioned the poor sales guy)
"Well, if that is the case,
What about the $100 rebate dat circuit city is offering me?"

SALES GUY:
(Scratchin his head,came out with d most constant answers)
"The sales policy in Circuit city prevents us 4m discounting the rebate price with the bill"

ME:
(With the satisfaction of hearing bullshit yet another time)
"Nevermind, I was jus curious. Lets go ahead bill the $850"

SALES GUY:
(To hell with your curiosity) Sure, let's do...


Rest assured is the standard drill...
1. Swipe
2. Sign
3. Pickup and head to home wondering how to clear the credit card bill

Friday, January 2, 2009

New year resolutions... Me too Brutus...

 Yennakku vevaram therincha vaiyasularnthu... 
(now dont ask me wat i mean by vevaram)
I have always had New year resolutions!

To name a few <<< flashback >>> <<< mosquito coil suthufying >>>

Long Long ago(please note: 'Long' 2 times)when I was 10 years old
        I swore on a New year eve to become a cricketer...
   Long ago when I was 15 years old
        I swore on a new year eve to top my school ROTFL
Some 5yrs ago when I was 20
        I swore on a new year eve,
         to keep my girl friend the happiest girl in the world
         (I am trying na)

Junx-u-BOODHam(My historian) says,
"All resolutions ended like Ajith movie typo flops"
(Now that's a worstu statistic)

So Junx-u-Mani(My Idea Mani) racked up his idea moolai...
Comes out with an immaculate solution (err.. Idea)
"Instead of PETERing a resolution list of TO 'DO this',
                   do that,
                   taztaz,
                   tuztuz...
   why not make a resolution list of NOT TO 'do this',
                       do that,
                       taztaz,
                       tuztuz"

Junx-u-Madan (My official critic)
though calls it a 'Soorai mokkai', approves the idea..

So Junx-u-Mike(1 2 3 Mike testing)
announces the resolution list...
<-> Laziness "NO NO"      (actually the most challenging)
<-> Procrastination "NO NO"
<-> Thoppai "NO NO"      (athaavathu gymming)
<-> Career Stagnation "NO NO" (Certificasons)
<-> Atheism "NO NO"      (daily prayer)
<-> Idle blog "NO NO"        (ahem ahem)
<-> porNO "NO NO"        (:p)

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The 'junx' way of killer instinct to 2008

When the creative head behind this blog racked his brains, here is what came up, “Year-end-edition, let me give my readers a head fake". So here goes it…

2008 - The year that has been…

2008 - A year that witnessed the first Afro-American candidate to be elected as president of the United States - Barrack Obama’s stellar victory was hailed by many as an event that turned Martin Luther King’s dream to reality, A year that witnessed India launch its first Spacecraft to the Moon, A year that witnessed the world nations come together and express staunch solidarity of oneness during the Olympic games.

2008 - A year will be notoriously identified by world history for having unfolded the greatest global economic havoc of all time. A year that jeopardized Wall street and the fallacies of those who believed to have mastered it.

2008 - A year that witnessed multiple terror attacks on the Indian sub-continent. Who can forget the Mumbai-attacks? Inhuman acts disrupted peace and caused loss of lives. Perhaps the ones who render it find pride in the word terrorism. It is high time we stop calling it terrorism, humiliate it with a word analogous to “Cowardice”.

2008 again – A year that witnessed major climatic shifts, Mother Nature unleashed a glimpse of her enraged personality. The cyclone at Myanmar - an estimated death toll of over 100,000 people, the earthquake at southwestern China - killing more than 69,000 people, the Hurricane Gustav - rendering thousands homeless. The numbers - surely look scary, don’t they? And we call some unrest in economy a crisis! Terrorism – a crisis! We need to be more sparing with our definition of crises. A real crisis would be, in not knowing where ones next meal will come from, and how ones children may be fed or sheltered. A real crisis is something that challenges the core of our very existence and threatens ‘life as we would like it to be’. The real crises will creep on us when we are not looking. Now, how much concerned are we at a possible natural calamity? Does anyone remember Climate Change? The soon to disappear Polar Ice Cap?

Did you not get the head fake yet?
It’s not about “2008 - The year that has been…”

It’s about 2009 and the years to come.
It’s about leaving a world (if not, with as much beauty as we were bestowed with… but at least with the beauty that it posseses now) to our future generations. It’s about emphasizing on the environmental responsibility we are obliged to. It’s about urging people to do those little things that will continue to keep this world a wonderful place to live in.
So here comes the junx way of signing the year off... “Let us not build our reality upon the frenzied drum beats of Spin, but the soft, mixed, everyday sounds of Truth.”


Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Aamchi Mumbai to America's Nashville

Life offers numerous instances which make us wonder "Why is the clock ticking?" Ironically, there are those instances in life which makes you turn around every minute to have a final glance at the moment that just passed by. I too got to experience this irony...

Soon as I was told of an onsite assignment, I wished I had a time machine that would race me forward to the scheduled arrival date in the US of A. Well… Time machines for goodness sake is just sci-fi (till date) so I gradually descended to reality and started with my shopping’s, VISA stamping blah blah blah...

With each passing day, I started to realize that I will be missing all the fun that I continued to have in my workplace and the city in which I have been working in for the past year and a half, Mumbai. I started my career with this account and I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed working under the Mumbai based healthcare/USGS leadership. What has defined my stay at the Mumbai based USGS account for this 20 plus months? For me, it would have to be the people I have met in the form of Leaders and Peers. Much of how I have mellowed from being a fresh college pass-out to a professional is because of the people I have met. And for that I can never thank my fate enough. I don’t know how I got so lucky that I came in contact with some unbelievably talented individuals, I managed to make some lifetime pals too. It was difficult for me to leave this place - which I already knew. Will my future workplace offer as much freedom? This is a question for time to answer.

The city is worth a mention too, the attitude of the city is contagious; I had already fallen in love with the city. I wished I could somehow be stuck in this time frame forever - but that’s wishful thinking on my part. But yes - the memories I carry will remain etched in my heart.

Thank you, MphasiS for everything you have given me.

Thank you, Destiny for bringing me here.

Thank you, Lady Luck for smiling upon me.

The thought that I am gonna miss all of these made my heart grumble. Looks like, I am sounding a bit too passionate!! Let me clarify, I am just trying to contemplate the genre of a different world waiting to be unveiled. Here's me looking forward to the next edition of my professional career.

As the D-day dawned, I could already feel the nostalgia and that’s when I turned behind to glance at every single minute that passed by. I had to tell myself that I cannot crib anymore, for I have to grow up, accept responsibilities and deliver. I bid adieu to my colleagues.

I was emotionally down and for this manifestation not to last long I should either walk or talk to lift the morale up (Weird me). That's when a person walked up to me "Excuse me, Can you help me fill this immigration form" unfamiliar though, who cares...especially after you figure out that you are gonna sit next to that person for the whole of your travel. I started to chat... continued in the flight... "blah blah... When blah... Yeah blah... Completely blah...” I paused only to stuff in whatever’s been offered in the flight. People around got up and stared at me... feels like they're saying " u blasted sleep stealer!! " :-D eventually, the sleep stealer (me) slept.. Zzzzzzzz...

Gosh!! I landed in New Jersey and managed to reach on time for the security check to board the next connecting flight to Nashville. Let me narrate a funny/embarrassing event that happened to me at the security check. Every time, I walked through the metal detector, it beeped. When there’s nothing in my pockets, no belt and no shoes either... I just wondered what was causing the beep. I was taken to a cabin aside and frisked carefully. Eureka!! The security officer figured it out. I was wearing a waist chain made of silver ;-) I had to explain to him, the south Indian tradition of wearing a waist chain. I looked like an Idiot and I could see a pretty co-passenger girl giggle as a result of witnessing the turnout of all these events. Embarrassed, I reached Nashville just to narrate the incident for everyone to laugh their hearts out.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Confused!!

No matter where I turned,
I was constantly reminded that I was not good enough in more ways, than one.

Consequently, I tried to live perfect..
I did believe Perfectionism would drive me up the wall,
But to the contrary, I realised that I had been living under the constant pressure to be perfect.
I did expect nothing less from others.

B'coz of this tenacious focus to be perfect,
I did lose moments of relating to people and doing things.
I strive not to regret but things like these are hard to confide and i absolutely regret.

The torment in being perfectionists is that you never find anything perfect,
simply because "perfection does not exist".

gOOd !!, that i have now realised the subtle difference between aiming for a successful life and trying to acheive perfection.

Glad, that I am out of the perfectionism-trap.

Just when I have something figured out, along comes another,
These days,

<-> My time-management is out of date (not that i was punctual then)
<-> I am detached from the core of who I am,
<-> Im 2 conscious not 2 show up wid fabricated self 2 gain approval.
<-> I always felt my accomplishments are never good enough
<-> I seldom achieved personal satisfaction
<-> I am afraid to show my flaws
<-> I am very vulnerable to rejection
<-> I am hard on myself
<-> I expect perfection of others

That's me and it gets worse.just to conclude,
I AM ANOTHER IMPERFECT HUMANBEING, HAPPY FOR WHATEVER I AM.