Is it my mistake?

It was my boy Lohaan’s first birthday last 20th. I invited some of my friends and well-wishers from Logica with their family to celebrate my boys birthday on 21st to my home. And my wife who works in Wipro also invited some of her friends for the function. We had also arranged a magic show for the children who would be attending. I invited all of my friends saying that I would wanted to cut the birthday cake by 12 in the noon and will have magic show after that. And also will have lunch followed.


All the people from Wipro who my wife invited were there in at my house before 12. But to my surprise not even one person came from Logica. I was worried and wondered why. I started thinking if there is something wrong I did that people did not wanted to come and attend. I started calling each one of them and all of them said that they are on the way and will reach in 15 minutes. I waited for another 15 minutes and decided that I should start with the magic show now or the guest who is already there would feel bad. I thought that by the time we have the magic show running all of my gusts would reach. Yes some of them reached by 12:30 but there were others who did not come. And then the magic show got over. It was 1:00 and people were already hungry. Then we went ahead and did the honour of cutting the cake. While I was cutting the cake I was still looking at the gate, failing to see my invited guests are still not coming in. Once we have done with the cake cutting, and started with the lunch I still had my guests coming in.

I was happy that they all came and we had a nice time. After seeing off all of them, I was back in my house wondering why this did happen. It has got to do definitely with something about me. Then I went to my wife and started discussing about the same thing. To my surprise my wife invited people by 11:00 for the function which has got to start by 12. She said “You will never change, we have to understand and accept that we Indians will come a little late than the expected time”. She continued, “We got to call them keeping a buffer time. And since people know that there is a buffer time they would come by the time we wanted to start the function, how many times do I need to tell you this?” I did not want to this each time she said this to me. And I am sure that I will not do this also.

Freezing Finland and Warm Finnish

I had been to Finland to get KT on a new project. The trip was for three weeks. And today I return. This is the first time I came to a place where I could see snow all around. I was in Logica Lahti office which is further north to the main office in Helsinki. It was so freezing the time I got out of the flight that I really understood why Logica pay for winter clothing once in three years when someone has got to travel to a freezing place.

I got a message from Sari, an employee from the administration department of Logica Finland, mentioning that the stay is arranged in a semidetached house and the owner of the house will let me know the way there. I got his number also from her. She also mentioned that, there would be a cover in Helsinki Airport which will have a SIM card for me to use while I am in Finland for the official purpose.

It was very easy to find the SIM card and I walked out to find a bus which goes to Lahti. It is some 100 KM north. I reached Lahti at about 4:00 in the evening. I called Jussi, the house owner who told me that he is also in the town and will pick me up. When I got out of the bus a man called me my name and walked towards me. It was Jussi, for the obvious reason that I am the only one in the near 50 KM who looks different, he recognized me. Before taking me home, He took me around Lahti and showed me all the pride of Lahti, which includes the high skieig towers and the ice-hockey stadium.

He took me to his home and showed me the place given for me to stay. Oops it's a four bedroom house near the lake with a private souna in the basement. The water in the lake is just Ice. It was difficult for me to walk as I was wearing a leather shoe with no grip in the sole. It was a kind of circus for the next one day to walk on the ice in some portions. Next day morning Jussi dropped me in Logica office. I saw Ossi who helped me in and gave me a place to sit. While I was getting comfortable I found that the adapter of my laptop will not work in the socket there. Rikhard (Riku) got me an adaptor. A few minutes from then Marko, who is the key contact of me being there, found me and took me to a comfortable seat where I could sit for the next three weeks. There were only a few people in the office, and I started interacting all those who sit next to me. Veli-Pekka helped me in the first day in understanding the system and the initial work. Marko gave continues help thought my stay in there.

It was the lunch time and I started talking to more people. Marko Oja, Ari Rämö, Tiina Utriainen, Jaakko Reinman were some of them who I used to be with while going for lunch most of the days. Rikku took me to a shop where I bought a new pair of shoes which helped my survival in Finland. He also took me to the bus station where I bought 30 days valid bus coupon. Second day he took me to his home in the evening and gave me a muffler which I could wear to protect my neck from cold. You could just imagine my condition where there is a 10 minutes' walk through the side of the lake after getting down from the bus. This is where there is a good wind which could freeze your ears and you could also see tears flowing out of your eyes. Third day morning when I came to office I wore a pair of gloves that Rajesh Jampana gave me before I started from India. It was so freezing that I could not even know that whether there is a glove in my hand or not. While walking through the side of the lake I found that there is only one gloves in my hand. I went all the way back searching for it but most probably it would have been lost in the bus.

Third day I found a pair of gloves in the table with a note "Keep your hands warm" it was Riku who brought a pair of gloves from his home for me. This was a great feeling of friendship and care.

The third day, Prabhat joined me in Lahti. He stayed there for four days and we made nice food at home. We were invited for a evening to play billiards and to have some beer. There we played and I lost all the games I played against Marko and Ari. We enjoyed the day and it went very well. We talked for some time and then Marko Oja dropped me back at home. Most of the Finnish people are seen to be a little shy to start talking, but once you are comfortable with them they start getting so warm with you. This was happening with me while the day passed.

I got help from Ari, and Jaakko in the next task. Jaakko was there available most of the time when ever there was a need of help. Saturday I invited Rikku and family for having dinner at home and I made sure that there is not much of spice. I made Pepper Chicken and Egg Masala. It was not so tasty for me but Rikku said it was.

Ice hockey is one of the biggest sports people enjoy in Finland. It is like how cricket is considered in India. Jussy invited me for a match and we went together to the ice hockey stadium. It was a match between Pelicans, the local team of Lahti and Karapats one of the team from the northern Finland. My seat was just behind the Pelicans team box and there were Jussy, his wife and children and also his brother in law. It was a great successful match for the host team we enjoyed the game and Jussy got me some hamburger and other foods to enjoy the game. It was great and all the people were in great mood. We made it to the best as we could supporting the team shouting

Days passed and there came Brilliant Friday (The annual day in Finland) we had a nice time there. Talking to so many people, and the mood was great. We end up doing arm wrestling and got someone and someone got me. We all exhausted all our beer coupons and then came sponsored drinks. We were all so high and left the party after 11 in the night. Anncy told me that I am going to have a nice hangover next day and will wake up only in the afternoon. We made a bet, I said morning 6:30 I will send you a message saying "I am still alive" if I managed to send it, Anncy would get me a beer. If not then I will have to get him one.

After the party there was one more coupon which was given which enabled us to enter another pub. Some of us went there and did not like it as there were only young people in there. By this time it was only Marko and me. Marko helped me to get a taxi and I left home.

This is one great day ever for me outside India where I made many friends in a day. I am sure that I have made a place in each of their heart. Well forgot to mention Ari, got an award of being exceptionally innovative.

Saturday I invited Jussi , his wife Sanamaria , Marko and his family for a dinner at my place. This time I was more careful while preparing the dinner and made pepper chicken fry, Chicken masala, and Kerala style Egg curry. This time I made it good and I was proud of me myself. All the guest were on time but I was still cooking it took another 30 minutes for me to finish with cooking even though I started cooking in the morning. We had a nice time and they got some gift for me. Marko's child Veeve made my day. I felt so happy with her she was doing exactly the same things that my child Claire do at home. I and Marko went to sauna after the dinner and had some more beer. This was another day which I would like to remember for the rest of my life.

Sunday Jussy and Sanamariya invited me for skiing. We went skiing on the frozen lake and found a man fishing in the lake by making a hole in the lake.

Marko continued helping me in clarifying my doubts and Jaakko helped me in solving many difficulties. This week Marko Oja was assigned to help me understanding the third side of the system and he was so simple in making me understand things.

This was the last week for me in here. I am now considered as one of them. And it was a great feeling. Wednesday Marko invited me to his home for dinner. I was so excited to see Vive his 4 year old daughter. He has a very beautiful house near the boundary of the forest. It is an old Finnish model house. And the dinner was also so tasty. I spend time talking to him and playing with his children. I asked him if he could drop me in the nearest bus stop. He came to drop me to the bus stop and changed his mind and drove all the way to my home and dropped me at my home.

The next day I Marko Oja, Ari and Jaako we went to Herald, a Finnish restaurant and had our dinner there. We enjoyed our meal and kept on talking till it got late. Said bye to all and started to go back. I also met Marko Oja's girlfriend who offered me a drive home. I said would walk and started walking. But then I found that it all looks same. I had no clue where to go. I asked some of the people and they showed me the route. I was confused once again and asked one more person who passed by. I heard a sound, "Joe are you looking for the way home"? , It was Jusi. He dropped me home.

This is the last day, Moring Riku came with a gift for my child. Jaakko brought mämmi, a traditional Finnish food, It was nice. And later in the evening Marko dropped me at my home and we said good bye to each other.

I think I have made a good relationship with the very good people of Finland. It is so nice of each one of them. They take you as a good friend if you managed to keep the right relationship.

We say Athi Devo Bhava, but they do. I loved each day I stayed there. A give big salute to Finland which has birth to people I met.

Gone Green, long way to Yellow

From the last week while getting ready to come to office, one thing makes me very proud. Each day it is like a new achievement and recognition. Logica recognizes it's employees many ways. LORE awards , Diamond awards, Star awards, Project level awards etc. Each of it has got great value. But the latest recognition "Loyalty award" is carried around all the day around the neck. I felt it as if a star is getting added to the shoulder flap. It was a great way to recognize the people who have served the company for many years. It is not always money which could make someone happy but is the recognition that you receive in the society which makes you happy and proud.

I felt very proud when my Line manager Rajesh Roy and my staff Manager Asit Mishra gave me the personalized letter from Abhay in front of my wife and children. I am sure that my family would have felt proud about me. It was also a great moment for my wife to receive the silver coin. And when she was told that the company is proud of her as it is very important for the support of the family for a person to give a long run in a company, I could see that she felt so proud that she is also recognized for her efforts. It is true. Each of us needs the support of the family to excel in the official work. They might not be helping us in the office works but the support is very important.

If you get chance certainly do listen to your parents, spouse, children or your siblings talking about Logica to some third person. They would sound as if it is their own. I have seen the great feeling that they have about the company. It is not just about you and the company. When you are associated with a company for long it becomes part of your family's interest. I just got a green tag as I have done 6+ years. Look at those who have got blue, purple and yellow tags. I can imagine how proud they would be feeling wearing their tags around their neck every day morning. I am sure that each one who have got this tag when wear it every day morning their family would be very proud of them.

It’s great to be Santa

This year Great parents Club of Logica India  asked its members to help their children to write letter to Santa. There were many objectives behind it. Letter writing is a culture which is getting vanished from the society. With phone’s  to emails then to mobile phones. Now facebook. Communication is so fast that we have almost forgotten about the postal department. Address is Santa Claus, Great Parents Club, Logica.

To let our children know about post office, stamp, postbox and so on. This would give parents an opportunity to spend time with their children and to talk to them on many subjects like post office, Santa Claus, Christmas, and so on. Mukesh, me and Yash made the plan for the event and approached the Rajesh, vice president, Syntillations. He was happy and told us that the budget is only 6000 -8000 rupees. As the rest of the money is all planed for the family day. 

We agreed to find the best 10 letters and send them the gifts that they have asked for. We were amazed by seeing the letters that we have got from children. We called up the parents and also reached the children and wished them. Unfortunately we couldn’t reach some of the children. Children were so exited to talk to Santa. On the last working day before Christmas we gave gifts to those children who’s parents we could reach on that day. Now our budget was almost over. But there were so many nice letters we got from small children. Didn’t feel good to break their heart. Mukesh and me checked with Raj. He said that his budget is done for the year. We went to Prabodh Sirur and showed him all the letters, he was so exited in the concept and those innocent letters made him so happy. Then we told him that we have got some more letters but have no budget to give gifts to children.

He immediately called Chinnappa, who is helping Syntillation to handle it’s account, and got the budget sanctioned. We were so thankful to him while leaving his room. On family day Mukesh with the help of the Nandu  arranged the setup for Santa to meet children. Mukesh and Yash went and purchased all the gifts. I went to Anish Joseph and borrowed his Santa’s dress. We were all ready by four.

I was dressed as Santa. Sulfy clicked all the pictures of children, who came to Santa. All those who have send letters to Santa got their gifts on that day.  It was a great feeling when children approach you and take away their gifts. Thanks to all the people who made it happen.

Yarcha gumba, make 450’000 Rs in a week

We have six security guards in the layout. All of them are from Nepal. Yesterday two of them asked leave for two month. I was surprised as it would be very cold and snowing in their place now. While checking with them one of them told me that he is going to collect insects. I got curious. Gave a bit of talk and asked him about the insect.

He told me that there is an insect found in the grass in this season which they would go and collect. This is sold in the market for high price. One Kg of this insect is sold for 100'000 India rupees. He said that it is not allowed to bring in to India, as it has got high price in India. He continued saying that these insects are not killed if found alive. It head is broken and found between the grass.

He continued to say many stories about this insect which attracted my interest to know what it is. Asked a few people but, none of them had idea on any such insect. I thought that the guy might have been saying something. But why should he be saying something?? Let me google it. I searched with all the names which he told me, but did not find any thing. It is also that the accent in which they speak pronounce some other word for some other. I continued searching to find this interesting information about Yarcha. Caterpillar fungi are the result of a parasitic relationship between the fungus and the larva of the ghost moth genus Thitarodes, several species of which live on the Tibetan Plateau (Tibet, Qinghai, West-Sichuan, SW-Gansu & NW Yunnan, all in China, and the Himalayas India, Nepal, Bhutan). The fungus germinates in living organisms (in some cases the larvae), kills and mummifies the insect, and then the fungus grows from the body of the insect.

Ophiocordyceps sinensis is known in the West as a medicinal mushroom and its use has a long history in Traditional Chinese medicine as well as Traditional Tibetan medicine. The hand-collected fungus-caterpillar combination is valued by herbalists and as a status symbol;[3] it is used as an aphrodisiac and treatment for ailments such as fatigue and cancer, although such use is mainly based on traditional Chinese medicine, anecdote, and a limited amount of research. Clinical trials have not established its efficacy.

The fungus is a medicinal mushroom which is highly prized by practitioners of Tibetan medicine, Chinese medicine and traditional Folk medicines, in which it is used as an aphrodisiac and as a treatment for a variety of ailments from fatigue to cancer. It is regarded as having an excellent balance of yin and yang as it is apparently both animal and vegetable (though it is in actuality not vegetable, but fungi). Assays have found that Ophiocordyceps species produce many pharmacologically active substances. They are now cultivated on an industrial scale for their medicinal value. However, no one succeeded so far growing the larva cum mushroom artificially. All artificial products are derived from mycellium grown on grains or in liquids.

Read more about this in Ophiocordyceps sinensis in Wikipedia

A great evening in Logica

I depend on some one or the other to reach a bus stop in the evenings as there is no bus in this route after 5:30 in the evening. Sometimes I get lucky enough to be picked up by some of those people who stay near to my home. Yesterday it was the same. I got a call from Rajesh Jampana. Rajesh's house is near to my home. He works late in office most of the days. Whenever he leaves by six he checks with me if I wanted to join him. I reached him, near the gate where he was waiting for me. When I got into the vehicle, I got a call from Raghavaraju (Raju) one of my teammate. He said his tire got punctured in the parking and would need some help, if I am not in an urgent. I told Rajesh that I would take time and asked him to carry on by himself. I called Srinivas Shanmugam (Srini), our teammate, who normally drops me in a bus stop in his bike to wait for me. Srini was already in the parking with Raju.

I know how would Raju be feeling inside when he saw the tire of his car flattened when he wanted to go back home after a whole days work. It was the front tire which got flattened. We did not want to pull the car out because it might spoil the tube. There was only a small gap between the cars. We got the tools and were installing the Jacky. I was fixing the Jacky liver sitting in between the cars.

"Come on you can bring a little front and do it…". I heard a voice from my back. It was a very familiar voice. The voice sounded as if it came from a speaker. Or is it that I have heard this voice through a speaker many times which made me feel that it is from a speaker. My second conclusion was right. It is because I have heard this voice through speakers many times. I turned back to see Abhay Gupte, CEO of India standing with the HR Director Pramod Fernandes. "Nothing would happen if you bring it a few feets ahead", Abhay completed the sentence. Since I have already screwed Jacky I sat down to loosen it, so that Raju can take it a little forward. As there was not much space in between the cars, I was struggling to rotate the liver.

Abhay came and sat next to me on his legs and tried to show me how to do it easier. He took the liver from me and started rotating it. He then handed it over to me and I continued the work. To make all of us comfortable he then told us how he had to change the tire in the middle of a forest and that too in the night. I saw Pramod an old rallyiest watching us. I asked Pramod if he was going through his old memories of Rally days, Pramod said that he never in his life had to change a tire. Both of them stood there for some more time watching us. When they understood that we guys know what we are doing they left. Before leaving, Abhay came back to me and said, "Well the minimum time I have ever taken to change a tire is three minutes". This was a motivation factor for me to do it faster. We changed the tire. Srni and I said bye to Raju and left. Srini dropped me in a bus stop.

Abhay just changed the evening in to a so exciting one. It was so simple for him to change the mood of we people who were stressed. The greatness of a person is the simplicity he carries. I do not know, at least not heard of any CEO who has helped his employees changing a flat tire. His last minute comment of his record speed in changing the tire not just made me make the complete thing in a sporty way but also made me surprised to see a man who has checked the time even for changing the tire. When time becomes so important and when you start respecting the time, the rest of all the things follow. I remember that some were I have read that it is this which was also one of the reasons for Steve Jobs to become what he had become.

Great Parents Club Proved its Greatness

There is something great about the great parents club (GPC). This was clear when we all saw the crowd of one hundred plus people in the visitors dining room for the last GPC meet. The word great in the name of the club is added by Prabodh Sirur who said if you are aiming to make a great club the name itself should say that. This Logo is designed by Ravikant Rahul Pandey who made the objective of the club visible to the world by a simple and very meaningful logo. The most difficult part is administrating and continuously bringing the club to the next level to reach the expectations of the members. A great salute to Mukesh Rijhwani and Yash Save who took up the challenge to administrate the club. Mukesh was already doing similar things in the company. He is one of the few fathers in the company who have raised the concern of having the importance of paternity leave in the company.

Coming back to the event, Preetha Bhat made the event so exiting and made it so lively. I think each parent in the room would have agreed to what she had said or would also agree that she was doing all those talking for all the people in the room. The room was full of energy and parents were turning in to children. It was the feeling of owning a status of a proud father/mother which made all those people to actively participate in the meet. Everyone in the room had something or the other to say or to take away for their children. Inspired from the event I thought of adding one column in my blog "Model Child of the Week" where I would be publishing the pictures of children if some parent is interested in publishing. I would also add some of the comments of the GPC members who have send their comments. I would also thank Syntillations SIG to make such a wonderful event happen. People were so proud to be part of the event. And also so proud in wearing the t-shirt which had pictures of their child printed on it.

It was one of my objectives to when I became Special Interest Group Administrator of Syntillations in 2010 to make personalized clubs for people in Logica. This is when the importance of a parents club struck my mind and worked on making it. Talked to many people and nothing was actually happening. I would also thank Nandakumar Kirupanandam (Nandu), who gave me all support in making the clubs. This is when Prabodh Sirur came up with his initiative of making videos of children. The idea was that parents have got to spend time with children and prepare them to present about some subject. This made me talk to him and got some ideas from him. It is then he said the name needs to be great parents club and not just parents club. Even after that, the club was not getting formed in to a shape. This is when I remembered a person who went all the ways up to make Logica India understand about the importance of having Paternity leave option in India. This is none other than our favorite Mukesh Rijhwani. Once talking to him there was no stop. He was so exited in taking up this challenge. And the one great parent I know personally was Yash Save. Both of them made up a pack. When these two people took up the challenge of bringing up this club, there was no turning back. But there is nothing.

Any club becomes great by the people who manage the club and the way it is managed making it the way expected of much above expected by the members of the club. And of course the members of the club are the one who make it truly great. I wish the club a great success ahead.

Save, Yash	excellent
Pasupuleti, Dharmaveera	It is a good event, well organised.Wonderful Idea A big thanks to organisers and SYNTILLATIONS.
Gangadhikar, Arpitha	Thank you for organizing such an event. It was great to know about different things about kids and their upbringing.
Kottur, Satish Chandra	This is the first time I attended an event related to parents. It was a great experience. Administrators and hosts have done a great job. Looking forward attending more events from GPC which would help me in being a better parent. Thanks you very much.:)
Shukla, Reena	Its interesting :)
Bommineni, MohanKumar	It was so informative and helpful to brought up my child which don't know and not following some useful tips. Thank you very much for Preetha and Latha Srinivasan, especially for Mukesh and JO for organizing such an event. I hope this will be continuing like this in future also. Regards Mohan
Guruvareddy, Poongodi	It was a great event to be part of. It's very important in this mechanical world to have forum like this to discuss and share our feelings, suggestions about our children and see that we bring up them in the right manner. We don't live in big families to get to know lot about parenting in this Era. Only way is through such events.
Verma, Vivek	Well organised event and we should be doing it every month now onwards and should include the schools feedback and any good thing any parent has adopted for betterment of kid. Big tahnks to Mukesh, Yash Jo and Preetha.
Chebrolu, Taranath	Thank you all. it's a wonderful event. But I felt fewer topics. Preetha's presentation is very impressive. Gifts are good. Thank to everyone who has contributed in this event.
Nonis, Noreen	Excellent with lot of energy. Thanks for your effort.
Kannaiyan, Indumathi	Nice to see Logica parents at one place. Thanks to GPC administrators for organizing such a memorable event. Iam sure kids will be also happy to see the goodies and their pictures in T-Shirt. Overall very good initiative.
Ramakrishna, Deepa	I just joined yesterday and some of points for the parents are new learning experience for me. I really look forward to future events to more about parents and parenting. Thanks for everything
Ghosh Dastidar, Tania (GO IN Application Management)	It was wonderful  Thanks
Noordeen, Faisal	This was the first time I am partcipating this function. It was nice  experience for me. I wanted to join all the meetings in the future if convenient. Whishing you all success and be proud to be a great parent of my child
Balan, Sheeba	I loved the way this event turned out ... Good start, wish that we have more of these sessions. Kudos to Mukhesh and the team for organizing this event. Your efforts are highly appreciated !!!
Seetharama, Rakesh	Firstly, a very big thank you for all those you were involved in organising this infomative & fun event.
Dasari, Madhu	Really a very decent and fantastic show by the GPC and we all have a good bonding now together as parents and starting to build ourselves as GREAT parents in near future. Congrats to JO and Mukesh and Yash as well for making their imagination, thoughts, time and more important patience which makes great parents in making. Wishing them Great days ahead with more activities to come. Have a wonderful days. Madhu Dasari
A-KMI-PulipatiR	Very nice to see so many parents gather to know about the group, sure people are interested to know, learn and share experience. THANK YOU
Govindan, Venkatesan	Fantastic
Pallapothu, Bala	The event was nice and the first one for the new joiners. I expect to learn lot more things on parenting being a member of this. and Thank you All.
Dabadi, Shankar	I was able to attend only part of this presentation. I was really nice to have this type of programms where we come out of work and share information and enjoy.
Annamalai, Srinivasan	Very nice event.
Mathivanan, Karthik	One of the most active and the best community this year.. Keep it rocking
Kasireddy, Vinatha	It was great and happy to be part of it as a great parent
Salim, Sulfy	A nice program and informative too. Please share the videos, ppts if the copies are available. A big thanks to the Coordinators :)
Janardhanam, Bhuvaneswari	Wonderful Idea and thanks to GPC Team.
Meyyappan, Ramanathan	It was awonderful event. I enjoyed it. It was useful
Govindan, Venkatesan	Thanks lot  to you and SYNTILLATIONS for such events
Parambil, Prakash	Jomon, Thanks for the T-shirt, certificate and the chocolates which I collected from you.
Sirur, Prabodh	Great show; Hope more and more members start networking/ contributing.
Nair, Suraj	Congrats Mukesh, came to know that the event was a grand success.
Seshagiri, Balaji	Thanks a lot for organizing these events ….
Bhuyan, Subrat	I am not in Bangalore now..But I can feel the success of GPC.
Verma, Vivek	A big thanks to you and SYNTILLATIONS for organising such events.

  

Taj Mahal could collapse within five years?

If some one of us has not yet seen one of the seven wonders of the world then it is the time. A very sad news has come out from geospatialworld.net, stating that The Taj Mahal could collapse within five years. The Daily Mail, a British tabloid, reported that the Taj Mahal is in danger of collapsing. Following the report, a twin bench of Supreme Court justices D.K. Jain and A.R. Dave issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh State Government, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Ministry of Environment, ordering probes.

The results of the probes are slated to be examined by the Supreme Court on November 15, 2011. Amid this panic situation, Krupali Krusche and her team completed a research using photogrammetry, 3D scanning, GigaPan Systems and hand-measuring. She claimed that it is absurd to conclude that the Taj Mahal will collapse in next three to five years. Krusche is Indian chairwoman of the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism, as well as an archeology professor at the University of Notre Dame in the US. She agreed that the water level of the Yamuna River is receding but she disagreed with the conclusion that the memorial might collapse altogether. My conclusion is based on two major stands. First, recent claims of the mausoleum's minarets tilting are untrue.

Architects of the Taj Mahal deliberately instituted the four minarets at an outward angle. In modern architecture, such a technique is called an optical illusion. If the minarets were to tilt slightly more than intended, mammoth cracks would immediately surface on the memorial's base and surrounding walls. Second, the pier-shaped foundation of the Taj Mahal is similar to that of a skyscraper. The foundations of the mausoleum are buried deep in the earth's crust. If its base were to shift or decay, a substantial section of the tomb would sink inside the earth or bear evident signs of erosion.

Source:

1. The Wall Street Journal
   
2. geospatialworld.net

Reading Shapes

Try reading the following paragraph. If you can read this you have a strong mind…!!!

7H15 M3554G3 53RV35 7O PR0V3 H0W 0UR M1ND5 C4N D0 4M4Z1NG 7H1NG5! 1MPR3551V3 7H1NG5! 1N 7H3 B3G1NN1NG 17 WA5 H4RD BU7 N0W, 0N 7H15 LIN3 Y0UR M1ND 1S R34D1NG 17 4U70M471C4LLY W17H 0U7 3V3N 7H1NK1NG 4B0U7 17, B3 PROUD! 0NLY C3R741N P30PL3 C4N R3AD 7H15.

PL3453 F0RW4RD 7Hi5 L1NK 1F U C4N R34D 7H15 :)

Horrible Day vs Wonderful Day

What a horrible way to end a week end!

Late in the evening we found that there are some essential house hold things finished. Me my wife and two of my children, all four of us took got in to my car and went for purchasing it. Have to come to Total Madiwala from electronic city. Got on to the Elevated toll bridge which runs all the way to silk board from electronic city. Nearing Bommanahally on the top of the bridge, left front tire got punctured. Got the triangular shaped reflector from the boot and kept it on the road 25 meters behind the car and switched on the parking light to protect from speeding cars. Checked the spare tire to see there is no air in it.

Called Hyundai helpline and told the problem. Sorry, this is Sunday late evening and we cannot help if there is not air in the spare tire. Called a mechanic just to hear that he is not in town. Called some of my friends, where all of them were away. One of them was in a hospital. No help around. Got a number of a tow vehicle's driver. He came and tow away the car. Had to stop the car in the bridge for an hour every second was horrible because of the fear of possibility of getting some vehicle to come and hit the car. Not easy to sit inside a car which is getting towed with wife and children. Reached Hyundai showroom to park it there. Had to pay 1200 Rupees to the tow service. Hired an auto to home reached home by 9:30 since it was late he took 150 rupees. Could not buy anything. Went to sleep worried.

-- Me

 

What a wonderful end of a great weekend. J

Late Sunday evening my father took all of us took in his car for a ride. He got on to the Elevated bridge which runs very long. Half the way on the top of the bridge, he stopped the car in the side He got a triangular shaped red light from the boot and kept it on the behind the car He illuminated yellow lights on both the sides of the car. He stayed out of the car while we all watched cars. He then drove his car on top of truck. Then he did not drive but the truck was moving. We had great fun. It was a wonderful feel to sit inside the car while the car is inside a truck and the truck moves. Reached a place where he parked his car and then he took us in an auto to home. It was a long time dream which came true for me to travel in an autorikshaw. Just to have fun we went out and came back. Slept happily.

-- Claire, my three year old child

printf(“Thanks Dennis Ritchie”);

What would your life be like without C or Unix?

/*
The man who made us earn with his technique is no more, the creator of the C programming language and a key developer of the Unix operating system. Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie (September 9, 1941 – October 8, 2011) is no more with us.
Thank you, because of you I keep my family well today.
*/
#include
main()
{
printf("Goodbye World");
}
May his soul, by God's mercy rest in peace.

Another Loss, Jagjit Singh

There would not be any one in India who would have not enjoyed the gazals of Jagjit Singh. His sound and worlds touches our heart. Not just once, every time we hear it, it gives you the same fresh feel. Jagjit Singh 70, underwent a surgery at Lilavati Hospital in Bandra on Friday after he suffered a brain hemorrhage. Doctors at the hospital performed an emergency surgery on Singh. Popularly known as the 'Ghazal King', Singh gained acclaim together with his wife, singer Chitra Singh. The couple was considered to be pioneers of modern Ghazal singing and regarded as most successful recording artistes outside the realm of Indian film music. Chitra stopped giving public performances after their only son, Vivek, died in a road accident in the early 1990s.

 

Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho

Kya Gham Hai Jisko Chhupa Rahe Ho

Aankhon Mein Nami, Hansi Labon Par

Kya Haal Hai Kya Dikha Rahe Ho

Ban Jayenge Zehar Peete Peete

Yeh Ashq Jo Piye Ja Rahe Ho

Jin Zakhmon Ko Waqt Bhar Chala Hai

Tum Kyon Unhe Chhedhe Ja Rahe Ho

Rekhaon Ka Khel Hai Muqaddar

Rekhaon Se Maat Kha Rahe Ho

 

 

Let his sole rest in peace.

It is indeed sad.

I got this message from Facebook and could not stop sharing it.

A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said: 'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even 1 year old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together. So the doctor said: 'Ok and what do you want me to do?' She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this.' The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: 'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.' She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request. Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care 2 babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms. The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child! 'I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be OK with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution.' The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point. He convinced the mom that there is no difference in killing a child that's already been born and one that's still in the womb. The crime is the same! If you agree, please SHARE. Together we can help save precious lives! "Love says I sacrifice myself for the good of the other person. Abortion says I sacrifice the other person for the good of myself..

Thank you Steve, We will miss you.

One last salute to one of the greatest person lived in his time. Steve Jobs.

.

May his soul, by God's mercy rest in peace.

You have done a great contribution to the industry and to the mankind. We all will miss you. You have brought happiness and joy to many people.

My Ego and My Smile

Monday morning, most of the things go unexpected. I love admitting it. I was walking to the bus stop and saw that the bus is already moving. I ran to catch it. The driver of the bus saw me, at least I thought so, but did not stop it. I kept on running but he was not stopping it. If I leave this bus I will have to wait for another 30 minutes to get the next one. This thought made me not to stop. I kept on running. I realized that I am getting older and also have got a nice family pack belly. I ran till the next stop and got the bus. Increased blood pressure, the loud heart beat, heavy breath, and the anger to the bus driver who did not stop made shout at the driver. I got in to the bus and shouted "Why did you not stop" Then both of us started to shouting each other. There is no conductor in the bus. It is he himself who need to give tickets also. He asked me Ticket or Pass? I said Ticket and sat down in the first seat. I was still taking heavy breath. He started moving the bus slowly.

I while taking money from my purse thought. The whole day is going to be spoiled with this and looked at him angrily. He had his eyebrows raised and driving talking to himself. "Wait if it is going to spoil my whole day it is going to spoil his day also" I told myself. I went near him and gave money and rubbed his shoulder and told him with a smile," Sorry brother, I couldn't run that long. This made me shout, sorry". He turned to me and gave me ticket and said, "Sorry sir I did not actually saw you, and smiled". Both of us lost all the tension in mind and felt so nice. And when I got down from the bus, he smiled at me and waved his hand to say bye. I felt so nice that I not only took me out of a bad start of the day, but also gave the driver a nice beginning. A tensed driver would also have chance to make road accidents. It could have been a very bad day and anything that I do that day could have been affected with this. But now with a smile I could change the whole world. We all like to smile and to be smiled at. My ego rubbed his ego and was going wrong. My smile could bring smile on his face and also gave me a great day.

“Onam” in a different point of view

Onam is the national festival of the Indian state of Kerala. This is celebrated by the people of all the religion in the state with no difference. This the only celebration which is celebrated for an Asura(Demon) king. All the other celebrations are in favor of the Devas(Gods). In the fifth avatar of Lord Mahavishnu as Vamana, he pushes the Demon King to the Pathala(the underworld). The myth is that Indra, king of gods out of jealousy approached Lord Mahavishnu and seeks his help in destroying the king Mahabali. Lord Mahavishnu took avatar of a Brahmin youth and request for three foot of land. King Mahabali, known for his generousness, immediately grant's the wish and asks the young Brahmin boy to measure and take it himself where ever he wanted. Vamana grows in to huge and covers all that Mahabali has got in two feet. When asked for the third foot of land king Mahabali shows his own head to be stamped on. Vamana pushes him to Pathala, the bottom most land, and grant him a wish that he could visit his people once in every year. Onam is the day he visits Kerala to see his people.

"Varaha Purana" talks about ten avatars of Mahavishnu. Vamana is the fifth avathara of Lord Mahavishnu.

"Matsya: Koormo Varahascha Narasimha: Atha Vamana: Ramo Ramacha Ramascha Krishna: Kalki: iti te dasa"

1. Malsia (Fish)
   
2. Kurma(Tortoise)
   
3. Varaha(Pig)
   
4. Narasimha (half man half animal)
   
5. Vamana
   
6. Parasurama
   
7. Srirama
   
8. Rama
   
9. Krishna
   
10. Kalki
    

Each of these avatars are taken to destroy the demon king at that time. According to Holy Bhagavath Gita, Load Krishna says:

"Whenever righteousness wanes and unrighteousness increases I send myself forth.
For the protection of the good and for the destruction of evil, and for the establishment of righteousness, I come into being age after age."

Gita 4: 7-8

Being in GIS I thought of mapping the avatars in to the map of India and it resulted in a Visible Migration. I felt that it has also got something to do with the Aryans pushing the Dravidians to the south. The middle four avatars found to be much interesting. In each of the avatars the demons are getting pushed to the south and the next generation moves still further. Look at the map of India and the numbers in it. The numbers represent the following explanation. And arrows represents the movement.

1. Narasimha - Conquered Hiranya Kasapu (Indus, Taxila) Kingdom of Kondakpors
   
2. Vamana - Conquered Kingdom of Mahabali (Great grandson of Hiranyakasipu) Ruled all Dravida. Vamana met him at the banks of Narmada (Present Gujarat) and pushes him to Pathala(Present Kerala)
   
3. Parasurama - Conquered kingdom of Keralaputras (present Kerala region) and hand over the land to the Brahmins that he brought from the north India.
   
4. Rama - Conquered Kingdom of Ravana (Great grandson of Mahabali) at Present Sri Lanka and returned.
   

The Indian subcontinent is the only place considered. Starting from Kailasa (Heaven) the topmost place to the pathala,(Kerala) the bottem most place and the Lanka which is out of this world. So the Asuras who still are left back in the region of Kerala celebrates the good time they had when they were with the king. This celebration is called Onam. It is a harvest festival in the first month of the Malayalam calendar.

  

One Coin Please, Hey I am not a begger

While going through one of the comments of my previous post (I am sorry), one incident happened in my life flashed through. This is when I was 10 years old. I was studying in fifth standard. One of my hobbies was collecting coins of different countries. Being a small child the only option was to get it from the foreign tourists or by exchanging coins from others who collect it. Alappuzha, being a tourist place, there were lots of foreigners in the city. Some of them would take Indian rupees and give coin of their country. But some of them would not even talk. This used to happen for a while.

One day, near to my school I saw two foreign ladies. I checked my pocket. I had five rupees in my pocket. I thought that I could give five rupees and get the coin of their country in exchange to add coins to my collection. I did not want to miss the chance I ran to them showed them five rupee note and asked, "Could you give me some coins of your country please". The lady without saying anything frightened me away. I felt so insulted and walked back to school pushing five rupee note back into my pocket. I was very angry with the lady. One of my teachers found me and asked me what happened. I explained to him why she was frightening me. He took me to the staff room, gave me a glass of water and told me "Listen Joe, all white people are not English, many of them do not even understand English". He continued, "There are Finnish, French, Dutch, Russian, Swedish and so many. But people were from all over. " 

What happened was that those ladies who I asked coin for didn't knew English and thought that I was begging for money. I felt ashamed of being frightened away by a lady thinking that I was a beggar. From that day I stopped collecting coins.

As a child I assumed that all white speak English. So never understood why they behave so until this incident happened to me. I felt sorry and realized that I should not judge people by the way they look.

I am sorry

It was a hot Friday morning. Right in front of Electronic city Wipro office, there is one famous tender coconut shop. This is the nearest tender coconut shop to my home and is near to the bus stop from where I get bus to office. I reached there and asked for one and was waiting for my turn. I saw an old lady. She was holding the hand of those who passes near her and pleading. Some gave her money some scolded her and some just walked away. She was wearing a dirty torn dress and would be some were in late eighties.

 

While I was watching this the tender coconut guy gave me one. I turned to him and got the coconut and started drinking. After taking the first sip, I felt some one holding my hand. To my surprise it was the same lady. She was telling something to me in Kannada in a low voice. I reached my pocket and took a two rupee coin and gave it to her. She refused and told me something again. I asked one of those who were standing next to me to ask her what she wants. He asked her in Kannada. He told me that she is speaking some old Kannada which he is not sure about and told me that she is asking for a coconut. I asked the shopkeeper to make one for her too. He gave me one which I gave it to her. She touched and rejected it. I was in a hurry because my bus would reach there any time. However I got another person and asked him to enquire what she wants. He asked her in Kannada and took her to the side of the road and made her to sit. He came back to me and said, "She is not a beggar, she was just asking to take her to the side of the road so that she can sit down, she is a blind".

It touched my heart. I felt so sad. An old, blind, helpless, lady was pleading to just help her to the side of the road. We did not even do that. I would plea to my nation to please take care of our elders. I would not mind if the government takes flat 30% tax from my income but please make sure that the elders are treated well. They all have contributed enough to bring up our nation to what it is now. Remember all of us are getting old every day. And all those who stop you wearing dirty clothes on the road are not beggars. Listen to them also.

NB: The picture of the lady in this blog is not the real lady I wrote about. I got this picture from internet.

Wear Black Dress on 19th August 2011 to show your support to Anna

To show your support for Anna Hazare and Janlokpal Bill – employees of various organizations have decided to Wear Black Dress on 19th August at work. Let us also wear black dress on 19th August when we come to work. You may also wear a black arm band if you wish. Show your support against Corruption.
This is the least you can do even if you can join the protest because of your office work. Let us make it successful. The Government has put condition to get 25 crore people to support JanLokPal. To give your support call 02261550789 (as given by Kiran Bedi) from your mobile no. Your Call will disconnect after 1 ring and your no registered automatically. You will get an SMS confirming this. Do it along to all your friends. Forward to as many people as you know... Verbally, by mails, by messages.

Supporting Anti-corruption campaign lead by Anna Hazare
Jai Hind.

Claire made it clear to me

A few days before Lohaan, my boy, who is just 3 months now, was crying loud. I heard my wife who was in the kitchen telling Claire, my daughter, to attend. She ran to him and on the way she said that he wants amma to be with him and that is why he is crying. We both thought that she would go to him and just talk. All of a sudden to our surprise he stopped crying. Out of curiosity, we both reached to see what happened. TO our surprise we noticed that Claire was sitting next to him and her thump is in his mouth. Seeing us she again said "He wants amma to be with him". We have been trying to stop Claire sucking her thump. And a few months before while visiting the hospital, I told the doctor that she is still sucking the thump. To which the doctor just asked her not to do so. She did not like me telling this to her doctor and decided not to do so. I did not know she could be so determined. The power of her will was so clear that day night. I saw her holding her thump with the other hand while she was sleeping. From that day she stopped it. But from this incident she brought it to light that why she was doing so. I then remembered that I have read this some were that children suck their thump when they feel lonely and unsecured. Definitely it is not her mistake. It was we parents who should have not let her feel so.