My Personal Blog - Sarada Ramani

the Indian economy - an analysis

2011-12-22T04:02:00.000-08:00

Thanks to chandru, who always gives us good articles, I found the following article about our Indian economy being analzyed by Raghuram Rajan & TN Ninan. A real food for thought.

With my inlaws coming from a village where the primary activity is Agriculture and having experienced first hand how year after year, we had to spend money with no returns but a lot of debts, I agree with this article fully.
I have also given the link to this article at the end.
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Explaining India’s economic troubles

Posted: 17 Dec 2011 08:28 AM PST

The most lucid insight comes from Raghuram Rajan and TN Ninan

This is perhaps the best way to understand what went wrong with Indian economy in the recent years under the UPA. The insight comes from noted economist Raghuram Rajan:

Rajan said the problem in India was due to low growth in rural productivity, unlike China where rural entrepreneurship was the biggest growth driver for years. According to him, India has simply shifted resources to rural areas through transfer programmes like the guaranteed rural job scheme and minimum support price for crops, without the concomitant rise in farm productivity. That has fuelled demand for goods and services and led to high inflation.

“We don’t have the luxury of high growth (any longer) to indulge in populism,” said Rajan[BS]

TN Ninan builds on the argument in his column.

The professor of finance at Chicago, who is also an adviser to the Prime Minister, argued that productivity growth in Indian agriculture had been poor, so rural incomes were not growing fast enough. In its effort to deal with this, the government was pumping subsidies and income transfers into the countrywide, to put money in people’s pockets — which the recipients were spending. Since this expenditure was not matched by productivity growth, it was causing inflation.

…It is a line of thought that is worth staying with. If you look for the root cause of the power sector’s problems (high losses, disincentive for investors), it boils down to the virtually free electricity provided to farmers. That can’t be corrected because farmers don’t earn enough to be able to pay a higher electricity tariff. And there is a limit beyond which it becomes impossible for other users to cross-subsidise power to farmers; high electricity tariffs are already a burden for exporters who compete against rivals in countries that enjoy lower power tariffs. So you can’t fix the power sector’s problems without fixing agriculture. That argument can be taken a step further: Land revenue has virtually disappeared as a source of money for state governments — farmers can’t be taxed because they don’t earn enough. Irrigation charges cannot be levied at any reasonable level, for the same reason. Fertiliser prices cannot be raised, diesel prices have to be kept down because farmers use it for their pump-sets, and so on.

The bald truth is that half of India’s workforce toils in the fields to generate one-sixth of GDP. Since the other half produces the remaining five-sixths, non-agricultural incomes are typically five times agricultural incomes. The way to even out the imbalance is to get people off the land, and into non-agricultural occupations. But urbanisation and the growth of non-agricultural employment have been slow in India, an important reason being the stifling of industries that can provide entry-level, low-value work.

…The answer to the problems of high inflation and slowing growth, and low farm incomes, would lie in addressing the basic reforms that India is still to attempt – like labour laws. Instead, we have a food security Bill that will create irrational incentives which end up threatening agriculture itself. Talk of committing hara-kiri.[BS]

Who will explain this simple economic truth to the NAC and its chairperson, Mrs Sonia Gandhi?

http://pragmatic.nationalinterest.in/2011/12/17/explaining-indias-economic-troubles/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PragmaticEuphony+%28Pragmatic+Euphony%29

So what should our next step be?

ITSME Meeting - Opportunities for ITSME in UK

2011-12-08T03:58:00.000-08:00

ITSME Association is glad to invite its members for a breakfast meeting with David Dunn, Chief Operating Officer and Tom Hurst, Chief Investment Officer Sunderland Software City, UK for exploring new business opportunities in UK.

The meeting will take place in Savera, Radhakrishnan Salai on Tuesday 13th of December 2011 at 9:00 am with the following agenda:

9:00 am to 9:30 am- Breakfast and Networking
9:30 am to 9:45 am - Welcome by President
9:45 am to 10:15 am - Opportunities for ITSMEs to expand in UK -
Presentation by David Dunn
10:15 am to 10:30 am - Q&A Session
10:30 am to 10:40 am - Vote of Thanks

Looking forward to seeing you at the event.

ITSME Association

Coming together of 2 SMEs from US & India

2011-12-02T04:06:00.000-08:00

I am very very happy to write about my faviourte topic : SME to SME Synergy from different countries.

Our company, for the first time, signed an MOU with another SMB organization in Maryland to take things forward for both the companies. This coming together by differnt parties will not only have a large positive impact on the topline, but would also extend the capabilities for the US organization while at the same extend the market reach for the Indian company.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING was signed between Computers International & Angarai International at Taj Krishna Hotel, Hyderabad, India on Monday, 28 Nov 2011in the Presence of Honorable Martin J O’Malley, Governor of Maryland, USA & Honorable Rushern L Baker III, County Executive, Prince George’s County, MD, USA during the Trade Mission 2011 by State of Maryland to India.

The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is to establish a mutual framework governing the respective organizational relationships, responsibilities, and activities between the Angarai International, Inc. Greenbelt, MD, USA (ANGARAI) and the Computer International and CI.COM (P) LTD, Chennai, TN, India (CI). This agreement is primarily for utilization of Technology Solutions including but not limited to Mobile Solutions, Web Applications, and Product Development and reach out to different sectors

Angarai provides holistic solutions encompassing Business Transformation, Program & Project Management and Oversight for Transportation, Health & Human Services, and Defense in the Government Sector. Angarai is the proud winner of 2008 MIBRT Young Professional of the Year, 2009 Inc500, 2010 Top100 MBE, and Prince Georges’ Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year. Please visit www.angarai-intl.com for additional information about Angarai International, Inc.

Computers International (CI) is an Outsourced Software Development company based in Chennai, India. CI solution offerings comprise of Mobility, Cloud Computing/enablement, Outsourced Product development, Application development & maintenance, QA &Test automation, Professional services, e-learning content generation and Functional & Technology consulting.

CI’s products and services are aimed at the key industry verticals like ERP (Accounting, Inventory Management, Sales & Purchase, Point of Sale, HRMS &; Payroll etc.), CRM, eCommerce, SCM, etc.

Soon after the sign up, both the companies have already started to layout the strategy for quick wins.

Here are the links to this event:

http://www.thebaynet.com/news/index.cfm/fa/viewstory/story_ID/25217

The Hindu

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2670039.ece

Times of India
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIH&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&AW=1322659158946
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIH/2011/11/29&PageLabel=2&EntityId=Ar00202&ViewMode=HTML
The new Indian Express
http://expressbuzz.com/cities/hyderabad/AP-and-Maryland-sign-%60Sister-State-agreement/338180.html
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/maryland-signs-first-sister-state-pactap/456914/

http://www.gazette.net/article/20111128/NEWS/711289992/1124/india-mission-s-early-fruits-include-road-deal-prince-george-s-call&template=gazette
http://twocircles.net/2011nov29/us_maryland_signs_sister_state_agreement_andhra_pradesh.html
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/2011/11/omalley_claims_successes_on_in.html
http://mdbizmedia.wordpress.com/

cloud computing

2011-11-21T15:39:00.000-08:00

This is one of the best articles about cloud, which explains in simple terms the different between the cloud solutionns and non cloud solutions. As soon as I read it, I wanted to share it as I found it to be written with a lot of experience in doing up the cloud applications.

http://gigaom.com/cloud/what-cloud-boils-down-to-for-the-enterprise-2/?utm_source=%23frankguillen&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=~~FrankGuillen~~+Buzz

Indian Software industry the way forward

2011-11-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

Two weeks and two travels to Bangalore for 2 different reasons - an experience in itself. of course, both on official purposes to attend conferences

The first was to Mobile Developer Summit - what a different kind of energy there was in the crowd. A young crowd of geeks - who took pride in their apps milling around with enthusiasm and very interactive too. The venue was IISC and while things were very professionally handled, it was with no frills.

the second was to Nasscom product conclave - A professional high end kind variety conference right from the venue to the conference rooms, the presentations, etc. Here also the crowd was going around with enthusiasm and very interactive too.

the difference lies in that while it was geek squad, this was the entrepreneiural bug bitten crowd. It was amazing to hear that in this is the decade of the Indian Products show and there are 4 billion $ products out in the market All made in India.

Though the travel itself was tiring, as both events were on mid week days, the recharging happened so well that I came back mentally refreshed both times, feeling very proud of being part of the Indian crowd making waves.

I could see, feel the power of India - whether in development or sales or the growing of the Indian consumers and their appetite for technology both as producer and consumers.

Lets see how this Indian Software Manufacturing picks up in the coming years.

getting back to writing

2011-10-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

back to active work after a long time had kept me away from even visiting this site, as once I visit, I cannot resist writing.

The next thing was what to write. There were a lot of things happening around me both in personal, organization and social life around me so every time I would think, a nice subject to blog about, but the work overload would make me to push it to the next day.

Ok, after having started back : Let me term this as a confessions of about Daily5 goal setting.

Let me start with the context : In our office, we are reading through the Robin Sharma's book : The leader Who had No Title - a really wonderful book with every chapter, every page, every sentence and every word - a very very meaningful one. If only we get to practice all those said in the book, then the whole world would be totally a different world. Anyways, I hope some of us are absorbing at least 10-20% of what he has written - which would by itself create a vast change in the atmosphere.

Coming to the point of Daily 5 : One of the small tips or tricks he writes about is that everyday set up 5 goals(tasks) that you want to accomplish. Having discussed this in the group, I started practicing it in right earnest. Voila! On those days, in which I had spelt out in the xl sheet the 5 tasks, I could accomplish on an average of 3 at least, but when there was no entry, I couldn't even remember what I had done. I find that this tool is really very very helpful in terms of accomplishing my monthly goal. Yes you are right, like the work breakdown structure (WBS) talked about in Project Management, I have split my long term goal into short term and from that I have derived a monthly model too. From which this daily5 is slowing taking shape. I know that this will become a great game changer. let me work on this small trick and I will definitely come back to let the whole world know how much this tool has helped me in the long run.

Thats all for now.

Talk to you soon

Elevation in life

2011-07-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

Last month I got a promotion in life..... and it was indeed a momentous occasion for all of us. I have now become a proud grandmother of a baby girl Shayna, (the beautiful) who has turned one month old today.

What it meant... It was last year, during the end of one of my trips that I learnt the good news about the upcoming arrival of the baby. It felt very very wonderful and that meant that my priorities were about to change. I started preparing a long stay with my daughter to help her during this wonderful time. So began a long stay options in US. While the first trip of this year - it was business and family and it became one week of business trip and one week of stay with my daughter. it was pretty tough doing all these together, but it was worth it from both the ends. Then I had to go back to Chennai to take care of year end work and other things. So again, the next trip back here so that i can be with my daughter in the final trimester. Now I am on my grandmaternity leave please. So just attending the mails now and then is all I do. It is family time.

To hold the baby and see how our tribe is growing is a wonderful feeling. Now I have in our family 4 generations of women in our house - my mother, myself, my daughters and now my granddaughter. I am waiting for the day, the baby would come to India and I want to take this wonderful picture of all of us together.

New Borns are a lot of work, but it is a pleasure to do it and you dont feel the strain. it is so lovely to hold the child in your hands, but of course, it is a lot of responsibility. Now when it is your daughter it is just what you do - whether it is good or bad - but when it comes to your granddaughter you need to be more accountable of what you do as you have to answer so many people and so there is an extra caution in all things you do. But everything is worth doing just to feel that soft bundle in your hands, the caressing touch with the tiny fingers and the most enchanting smile you get to see. while my time to come back to home and to my work is nearing, it is going to very tough since I would miss this little bundle of joy and see/watch/participate in her growth every day. I will probably looking for business reasons to come back to US and get to spend at least few days with Shayna.

it is indeed great to be a daughter, a mother and now a grandmother. Blessed are we to give birth and enjoy the pain and joy at the same time.

May our happy tribe increase many fold

one size doesnt fit all

2011-07-18T02:39:00.000-07:00

While my earlier post was about the farmers plight in India, here is another, this time taken from the letters to the editor from The Hindu. This is about different kind of problems faced by the farmers in Tamil Nadu.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/letters/article2236334.ece

I am totally in agreement with this write up and I have seen how in our village the NGERA work is being misutilized with just the sole objective of providing work for the people and no gain from the work for the village. One day I saw few people cleaning up the road - clearing off the grass and other weeds from the side. Of course, this would help, but these people were doing in when it was about the rain the next day and also when the farming season was in full swing - where more agricultural hands are needed.

Thats why what is good for one region cannot be applied to other region. In fact, in Trichy and Tanjore district, there is work on the farm lands year around what with the sugarcane, banana being cultivated, but the cost of cultivation has gone up so much compounded by lack of people to get the work done on time.

So we need to come up with a different solution for these regions.

My agricultural country

2011-07-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

It was a poignant statement about a mother from a daughter, when asked the question - what is the enduring memory of your mother and the daughter replies"

More than anything, I would like to remember her when she was not working at all. When I slept, she was working and when I woke up she was working"

What a statement about a farmer who has committed suicide ( yes I havent written as a woman farmer - because I dont believe the gender has anything to differentiate between the work you do as a human being). Of course, Sudha mani, the daughter didnt get any state compensation, because the Indian society doesn't recognize woman as a farmer, but only as a farmer's wife. dont get me wrong, this article is not about the gender inequality. This article is about the sorry plight of Indian farmers across India, who commit suicides day in and day out. I was most touched by this documentary in NDTV and wanted to share it within my circle, as nowadays we talk about so many things in India and the sum quoted in each of these are mind blogging ( I honestly admit I dont know how to write down the figures that these people are talking about how many zeroes will be there), but there are these people - including a Progressive Farmer of the year 2004 award winner taking this extreme steps. This is from a land where there are 311 Rupee Billionaires and also the 4th Placed country in the World Happiness Index - My incredible India.
Titled Nero's Guest" this documentary by Deepa Bhatia is about the Farmers and their flight

Over the past 10 years, more than 200,000 farmers in India have committed suicide. This drama has had a huge impact on the rural community, but the matter is not being taken up by the authorities or the media. Journalist P. Sainath makes it his business to increase awareness of the fate of the victims (both the farmers and their families) by publishing their stories. He exposes the distressing lack of social justice in India and the hypocrisy of neoliberalism. He paraphrases Tacitus for his somewhat apathetic highly-educated audience: Nero burned prisoners to provide light at night. His guests stood alongside and watched.

Hereditery Profession

2011-06-07T06:23:00.000-07:00

While everybody in India is talking about the corruption in high places, the amount of money (how many zeros will be there to denote the huge amount that is being touted), I found it very refreshing to have met this young boy last month.

A tiny one room on the top of a old building - climbing up the stairs strained with pan spittings on both sides, somebody taking a nap on the landing - Not a definite winner of a Great Place to work. But this guy Tanvir was enjoying his work and was so proud of what he and his other coworkers were doing..

"Polishing Silver and Gold articles"

Yes this was the profession he was undertaking as a family business and which has been traditionally done by his ancestors - What was refreshing was the pride he had and the happiness he found in this calling. He was proud of the fact that they were dealing with almost all the major jewellers in TNagar.

So like Robin Sharma talks about Being the Best in what you do in his Leading without a title book, I found a perfect replica of the Anna character of that book in Tanvar.

This is what makes my country to become great was what stuck me the other day, not those drawing huge salary working in great comfort and still saying that the company they work for sucks or they were bored with their job. What a contrast to this young man. There are a lot of things such kind of people can learn from Tanvar.

What a way to go Tanvir. I am sure that you may not make a huge money in your profession, but you would be a great person in your profession. I would like to see you again and again and enjoy your happiness at work.

May god give you all the good things in life

common body language for women in workplace

2011-06-01T03:55:00.000-07:00

A good and educative article, which I have taken from the connectitnews website and sharing

10 common body language traps for women in the workplace

31 May, 2011

By Mark Cox

A female executive was having problems dealing with her male colleagues. "They like me, but they never take me seriously," she complained. "It's as if they think I'm flirting with them. Which I definitely am not!"

After watching her interact with various men on the senior management team, I saw the problem. She was trying to discuss work-related issues while using a "social gaze."

Here's what I mean . . ..

It all depends on where you look If you create an imaginary triangle on someone's face, with their eyes as the base and mid-forehead as the apex, you will have mapped out the "look of business." When you keep your gaze in that area, you non-verbally signal a no-nonsense, business-like approach. But when you invert the triangle and move your focus to the area between the eyes and mouth, you turn your gaze into one more appropriate for social encounters. And a social gaze can be misinterpreted as flirtatious --even in a corporate setting.

It's a small thing, really. But as this woman found out, one small non-verbal signal can change the dynamics of an entire business interaction.

There are two sets of non-verbal signals that are especially important to all professionals. When first introduced to a leader, followers immediately and unconsciously assess him or her for warmth (empathy, likeability, caring) and authority (power, credibility, status). "Warm" leaders connect with staff in a way that makes them want to do a really good job because of that personal connection, affection and respect. But employees also look for leaders who project stability and authority, who make them feel secure, and whom they believe can follow through and achieve results.

Obviously the most appealing leaders are seen to have both qualities, and the least effective leaders are those regarded as uncaring and insecure. Perhaps not so obviously, many of the non-verbal signals for warmth and authority are divided along gender lines. Although I know several leaders of both sexes who do not fit the stereotypes, I've also observed that gender differences in body language most often do align with these two groupings. Women are the champions in the warmth and empathy arena, but lose out with power and authority cues --mostly because they fall prey to 10 common body language traps.

TRAP #1: Using too many head tilts.
Head tilting is a signal that someone is listening and involved --and a particularly feminine gesture. As such, head tilts can be very positive cues, but they are also subconsciously processed as submission signals. (Dogs tilt their heads to expose their necks, as a way to show deference to the dominant animal.) TIP: Use head tilts when you want to demonstrate your concern for and interest in members of your team, or when you want to encourage people to expand on what they are saying. But when you need to project power and authority, you should keep your head straight up in a more neutral position.

TRAP #2: Physically condensing.
Women tend to condense their bodies, keeping their elbows to their sides, tightly crossing their legs, stacking their materials in small, neat piles and contracting their bodies to take up as little space as possible. High status males do the opposite: They expand into available space and take up room. TIP: Remember that status and authority are non-verbally demonstrated through height and space. So stand tall, pull your shoulders back, widen your stance and hold your head high. And at the next meeting, instead of keeping your belongings in a neat little stack, spread them out and claim your turf!

TRAP #3: Using girlish gestures.

Everyone uses pacifying gestures when under stress. They rub their hands together, grab their upper arms and touch their necks. But women are viewed as much less powerful when they pacify with girlish behaviours (twirling hair, playing with jewellery, etc.). TIP: Keep your hands on your lap or on the conference table where they can be seen --and where you will be reminded to keep them still. And when you do use gestures, notice if they are reinforcing your statements. If so, you are probably showing your palms when indicating openness and inclusiveness, "steepling" (finger tips touching, palms separated) when being precise, and turning your hands palms-down when you are absolutely sure of your position.

TRAP #4: Speaking "up."
Women's voices often rise at the ends of sentences as if they're asking a question or asking for approval. TIP: When making a declarative statement, be sure to use the authoritative arc, in which your voice starts on one note, rises in pitch through the sentence and drops back down at the end.

TRAP #5: Smiling excessively.
Excessive or inappropriate smiling can be confusing and a credibility robber. This is especially noticeable if you over-smile while discussing a sensitive subject, expressing anger or giving negative feedback. TIP: Employed at the right times (for example, during an initial meeting with a potential business client), smiling can be one of the most powerful and positive non-verbal cues, and especially potent for signalling likeability and friendliness. But when the subject turns serious, you need to look serious.

TRAP #6: Nodding too much.
When a man nods, it means he agrees. When a woman nods, it means she agrees --or is listening to, empathizing with or encouraging the speaker to continue. In fact, women tend to nod so much that we've been accused of looking like bobble-head dolls. TIP: Constant head nodding can express encouragement and engagement, but not authority and power. To project authority, especially when stating your opinion, keep your head still.

TRAP #7: Waiting your turn.
In business negotiations, men take control by talking more than women and interrupting more frequently. TIP: One perspective on the value of speaking up comes from former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who --when asked what advice she had for up-and-coming professional women --replied, "Learn to interrupt."

TRAP #8: Flirtatious behaviour.
Women gain likeability but lose the competitive advantage in a negotiation when they flirt. That was the consensus of a University of California Berkeley study in which female actors played the roles of sellers of a biotech business. Half were told to project a no-nonsense, business approach. Half were instructed to flirt subtly (using the non-verbal behaviours of smiling, leaning forward suggestively, tossing their hair, etc.). The outcome of the Berkeley study was that the "buyers" offered the flirts, dubbed "likeable losers", 20 per cent less on average than what they offered the more straitlaced sellers. TIP: In business, it's better to come across as competent and professional.

TRAP #9: Being emotionally over-expressive.
While a certain amount of movement and animation adds passion and meaning to a message, women who visibly express their emotions with hand gestures that rise above their shoulders can quickly overwhelm an audience (especially if that audience is composed primarily of males). TIP: To engage and motivate people, an emotional presentation can be very effective. But in situations where you want to maximize your authority, you'll need to minimize your movements and keep your gestures about waist high. When you appear calm and contained, you look more powerful.

TRAP #10: Having a delicate handshake.
Even more than their male counterparts, women with a weak handshake are judged to be passive and less confident. TIP: Take the time to cultivate your "professional shake." Keep your body squared off to the other person, facing him or her fully. Make sure you have palm-to-palm contact and that the web of your hand (the skin between your thumb and first finger) touches the web of the other person's. Look your partner in the eyes, smile --this is one place where a smile is a business asset --and start to speak: "So good to meet you . . ." or whatever. Most of all, remember to shake hands firmly.

Your body language only half of the equation

Of course, increased awareness of how you stand, gesture, shake hands and employ other non-verbal signals is only half of the equation. The other half is the ability to accurately read the body language of others. And it is here where women leaders really have the advantage. Women are more attuned to relationship dynamics and more skilled at picking up non-verbal cues. It's a skill that gives them insights that men sometimes miss about what is really going on in a meeting or during a negotiation.

This column is based on research from Carol Kinsey Goman's latest book, The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help --or Hurt --How You Lead, published in April 2011 by Jossey-Bass. Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D., is an executive coach, consultant and international keynote speaker.

Here is the link to the above article
http://www.connectitnews.com/usa/story.cfm?item=4892

Men & Women - The perspectives

2011-05-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

These two pieces are one again lifted from something which came into my mailbox. The first one is from the Changegear's weekly newsletter (written by men at the editorial board) and the second one was forwarded by good friend viji from eWIT and is based on the current political situation in India. Enjoy my friends!!!!

Life is Like That

The Etiquette of Barbecue Season

After the long months of cold and winter weather, we will soon be coming up to summer and BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking as it's the only type of cooking a real man will do, probably because there is an element of danger involved.

When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:

Routine...

1) The woman buys the food.

2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.

3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill -- beer in hand.

Here comes the important part:

4) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.

More routine....

5) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.

6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he deals with this dangerous situation.

Important again:

7) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.

More routine.....

8) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces and brings them to the table.

9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

And most important of all:

10) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.

11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed her night off. And, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.

And here is the second one

And they say it is a Man's World

India now ruled by..

Amma in South;

Didi in East;

Bahenji in North;

Aunty in the Capital;

Madam in Center;

Nani on the top (the president)..

"Wife At Home" …………………………………………………..

And yet people say.. It’s a Man's World!

Hope you all enjoy as much i enjoyed both the 2 items

Is this the tipping point for India

2011-04-08T04:50:00.000-07:00

Padma Bhusan Anna Hazare - My salutations to you Great Sir. What most of Indians wanted to do, but didnt have the will power or courage to do, YOU HAVE DONE IT Showing us all the way.

It takes a great soul to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. As people say, I am sure Gandhi would be happy that you are also being called Gandhi of 21st century.

For the viewers : I am giving below a small write up about Shri Anna Hazare.

Anna Hazare is a 72 year ex-Indian army man , who had Fought in the 1965 Indo-Pak War. A Army veteran, he made sure that he is contributing to the society through his guidance and hardwork. He was solely behind the building up of a Self Sustained Model village - Ralegaon Siddhi in Ahamad Nagar district, Maharashtra. Energy is produced in the village itself from solar power, biofuel and wind mills. Prior to having Anna Hazare working along with the villagers, it used to be a poverty clad village. Now it is one of the richest villages in India. It has become a model for self-sustained, Eco-friendly & a harmonic village.

This is not the first time that Anna Hazare has undertaken a Hunger strike : In August 9, 2006 in Mumbai, Anna Hazare has begun an indefinite hunger strike to protest against changes to the RTI Act , through which we are now getting to at least some transparent insights into Government functioning.

Today the Hunger strike is all about the the amendment of a law to curb corruption in India. He is advocating for a Bill, The Lok Pal Bill (The Citizen Ombudsman Bill) that will form an autonomous authority who will make all politicians including the ministers and the bureaucrats (IAS/IPS) accountable for their deeds. This bill was first proposed in 1972 by then Law minister Mr. Shanti Bhushan and it is yet to see the light of the day.

Going on hunger strike this is what he wants to achieve:

The government should come forward and announce that the bill is going to be passed.
A join committee should be formed to draft the Lok Pak bill - 50% government participation and 50% public participation
Make the Law tough and finish the culprits

The following what would be happening once the bill is passed

A Lok Pal will be appointed at the centre. He or she will have an autonomous charge; like the Election Commission of India. In each and every state, Lokayukta will be appointed. The job is to bring all alleged party to trial in case of corruptions within 1 year. Within 2 years, the guilty will be punished.

Baba Ramdev, Ex. IPS Kiran Bedi, Social Activist Swami Agnivesh, RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal are the ones who along with Anna Hazare to start this hunger strike.

Lets support this Noble person, who has woken us up out of our slumber. May he have a good health. May his message be taken forward by all of us and help to Make India a great country known for its integrity.

Looking through a colored glass

2011-03-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

There is this Tamil movie in which Vadivel the comedian plays a local dhada role and Madhavan is a youth residing in that locality. The scene goes on like this, after a few encounters between them : Madhavan comes out of Vadivel's house and tells a lie that Vadivel is being corrupt or something to that effect. The whole crowd believes whatever he say despite Vadivel protesting his innocence, where one of the person in the crowd saying aloud that " a white skinned person will not lie". I was reminded of that scene, when one of our friends was recounting a true happening in US.

Of course, this happened a few years earlier in one of the suburbs of Washington where my friend and his friend were working for a US company providing late night support to the organization to run through the various batch jobs. These two people were living close by the office as their work hours were out of ordinary. When my friend left for home late in the night around 103.0 pm, he saw his friend starting out from the apartment a few blocks away. The traffic was close to nil with just one or two other pedestrians on the road. On the same side of the road as this guy walking from the opposite side was a huge black guy. Seeing him, this guy crossed over the road to walk on the other side walk where a white guy was walking from the opposite direction. As the white guy neared this guy, he suddenly started mugging him asking him to give away all his money. Seeing all this commotion, the black guy started running in the help the indian while my friend also ran to help his friend. When the white guy saw two people coming to help his victim, he turned turtle and ran away. What an irony, the Indian who feared the black guy and thought the white as harmless was totally proved wrong.

Our lives are so full of such perception : if the above story is based on color, there are some which are based on misunderstanding people based on their background. The con men hoodwink their victims by making sure that their victims trust them.

The life teaches us to look beyond the externals and look into the inner core, but we never learn our lesson at all, isnt.

At this point, I leave my musing for the readers to ponder on

euthanasia - Part II

2011-03-08T10:49:00.000-08:00

In my last post on the same subject, I had written about how court would decide the case and here is the newspaper report on it. Aruna get to live because the hospital staff who have been caring for her for so long wish her to live and hence the Supreme court has rejected the case filed by her friend Pinky,

Here is the full news items from Hindu

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed passive mercy killing of a patient in a permanent vegetative state (PVS) by withdrawing the life support system with the approval of a medical board and on the directions of the High Court concerned.

A Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra, however, did not accept the plea of Pinky Viranai seeking permission to withdraw life support to her friend, Aruna Ramachandra Shanbaug, who has been lying in a PVS in the KEM hospital Mumbai for 37 years. Though it dismissed the petition filed by Ms. Pinky Virani of Bombay on the ground that she did not have the locus standi and that only the hospital could make such a request, the Bench allowed passive euthanasia and laid down guidelines.

The Bench, however, held illegal active mercy killing of a patient suffering acute ailment with a poisonous injection or by other means.

Writing the judgment, Justice Katju said: “There is no statutory provision in our country as to the legal procedure for withdrawing life support to a person in PVS or who is otherwise incompetent to take a decision. We agree with [senior counsel] Mr. T.R. Andhyarujina that passive euthanasia should be permitted in our country in certain situations, and we disagree with the learned Attorney General [G.E. Vahanvati] that it should never be permitted.”

The Bench pointed out that in the absence of a law against sexual harassment at work places, the Supreme Court in the Visakha case had laid down guidelines. Similarly, “we are laying down the law in this connection which will continue to be the law until Parliament makes a law on the subject. A decision has to be taken to discontinue life support [to a patient in PVS] either by the parents or the spouse or other close relatives, or in the absence of any of them, such a decision can be taken even by a person or a body of persons acting as a next friend. It can also be taken by the doctors attending the patient. However, the decision should be taken bona fide in the best interest of the patient.”

The Bench said: “If we leave it solely to the patient's relatives or to the doctors or the next friend to decide whether to withdraw life support to an incompetent person, there is always a risk in our country that this may be misused by some unscrupulous persons who wish to inherit or otherwise grab the property of the patient. Considering the low ethical levels prevailing in our society today and the rampant commercialisation and corruption, we cannot rule out the possibility that unscrupulous persons with the help of some unscrupulous doctors may fabricate material to show that it is a terminal case with no chance of recovery.”

In the present case, “Aruna Shanbaug's parents are dead and other close relatives have not been interested in her ever since she had the unfortunate assault on her. It is the KEM Hospital staff, who have been amazingly caring for her day and night for so many long years, who really are her next friends, and not Ms. Pinky Virani, who has only visited her on a few occasions and written a book on her. Hence it is for the KEM Hospital staff to take that decision. The KEM hospital staff have clearly expressed their wish that Aruna Shanbaug should be allowed to live.”

I totally agree with our esteemed Judge in the way these people have thoroughly analyzed and given a great judgement on the subject of Euthanasia in general

Here is a True Indian or should I say a true Human being

2011-02-26T12:10:00.000-08:00

When I saw this news item, I was really overwhelmed by the great Heart of Kochousheph, who is the Managing director of the well known consumer product group V Guard. Like his company's ads, he has done something, which will make a fellow human who has been very near the Eternal gates of Death has been given a new life.

My Salutations to you Noble Sir, You are a true great Human being, who has shown the world the joy of gifting life, even when living. You are truly a Godly person and may all the happiness, health, wealth and peace be with you all the time.

For my readers, the below news item will only make them wish with me Mr Kochousheph the above along with me

KOCHI: VGuard Industries managing director Kochouseph Chittilappilly's deed of donating his kidney has given a new lease of life to Joy Ulahannan, who had been suffering from endlife renal failure. The surgery was done by a team of doctors led by urologist Dr George Abraham and nephrologist Dr Aby Abraham on Wednesday. The kidney was transferred to Joy, whose wife donated her kidney to another.

Fr Davis Chiramal, whose act of donation inspired Kochouseph, said that in all, six persons will receive kidneys from the kidney bank which was inaugurated recently by Kochouseph, by donating his kidney.

Following this act of goodness, many are coming forward to donate their kidneys to help not just their relatives, but strangers as well.

Both the patients are well and are in the postoperative ICU.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/chittilappilly-brings-smile-back-on-joys-face/250856.html

Beauty pagents

2011-02-24T11:46:00.000-08:00

Anybody reading this would be going over to the Beauty Queen contest, where in young girls walk on the ramp displaying - beauty, pomp, elegance, figures etc.

Yesterday, I saw one such program. Oh No go on visualizing beautiful girls in exotic locations, what I was

seeing was really distressing me - No dont take me wrong - It wasnt the bodies were exposed, it was very vulgar, etc. It was all for wrong reasons, the beauties were extremely adorable, everyone whether a woman or a man would love to cuddle these beauties and give a good kiss full of love - Hold your breath - these were all aged 2 1/2 to 4 years old. and the next group was above 5. These children were made to undergo the following as per the explanation given by the TV show program The toddlers & tiaras.

On any given weekend, on stages across the country, little girls and boys parade around wearing makeup, false eyelashes, spray tans and fake hair to be judged on their beauty, personality and costumes. Toddlers and Tiaras follows families on their quest for sparkly crowns, big titles, and lots of cash.

The preparation is intense as it gets down to the final week before the pageant. From hair and nail appointments, to finishing touches on gowns and suits, to numerous coaching sessions or rehearsals, each child preps for their performance. But once at the pageant, it's all up to the judges and drama ensues when every parent wants to prove that their child is beautiful.

And the small child, who wasnt crowned says that she will do it again and again till she is crowned. But why put small children through this. Is it not abusing the childhood. The same country talked left right and center when a underage boy become a Hero having climbed the Himalayas as the youngest ever to conquer the mountains. Why are they allowing this. More than the TV show, I would berate the parents - is your child not precious why are you putting her through this grill at such a young age. What would happen to these children when they are growing up - will they not become too self centered. I really pity these children.

My request is to stop this practice please and please.

euthanasia

2011-02-20T16:01:00.000-08:00

This post was sitting in my drafts section for more than a year and I wanted to post it at least now when there is case which has gone to the Supreme Court as a Mercy petition on behalf of a patient Aruna Ramachandra Shanbaug, who has been lying in a vegetative state in a hospital bed for 37 years. After a heinous crime of molestation which turned violet left for dead, she had been living in her hospital bed with no improvement currently she lives on mashed food being fed through a throat tube till all these years. But the panel of doctors report states as follows:

But the 60-year-old likes fish and chicken soup, calms down after listening to devotional music and dislikes crowding in her hospital room, said an expert panel report submitted recently to the court. Being the first-ever euthanasia plea before the judiciary, a bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra was extremely careful and set up a panel of eminent doctors to examine and report her medical condition to the court. The report confirmed her pitiable physical condition — permanent vegetative state. But it said fish and chicken soup brought a smile on her face and devotional music calmed her down.

Shanbaug, a nurse at KEM Hospital, was assaulted on November 27, 1973, and she never recovered from the trauma and brain damage. On her behalf, Pinki Virani pleaded for euthanasia, saying Shanbaug be released from the trauma of living. But the court asked the panel comprising Dr J V Divatia, Dr Roop Gursahani and Dr Nilesh Shah to examine Shanbaug when KEM Hospital's Dr Ramaji Pazare said she "accepts food in normal course and responds by facial expressions. She responds to commands intermittently by making sounds. She makes sounds when she has to pass stool and urine which the nursing staff identifies".

Justices Katju and Misra feel it is one of the most important issues ever placed before the SC. The panel made this report to the court:

* She meets most of the criteria of being in a permanent vegetative state

* Her dementia has not progressed and has remained stable for the last many years and it is likely to remain the so over the next many years. At present, there is no treatment available for the brain damage she has sustained

* She has developed a non-progressive but irreversible brain damage consistent with the known effects of strangulation (she was strangulated with a dog chain before being sexually assaulted)

* Hospital staff provided her exceptional nursing care, so much so that she has not developed a single bed-sore or fracture

* She makes her likes or dislikes known by making certain types of vocal sounds and by waving her hands in a certain manner. She appears to be happy and smiles when she receives her favourite food items like fish and chicken soup

* She was able to take oral feed till September 16, 2010, when she developed febrile illness, probably malaria. After that, her oral intake reduced and a feeding tube was passed into her stomach via the nose

* Entire nursing team and hospital staff do not feel she is living a painful and miserable life.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Brain-damaged-for-37yrs-but-fish-still-makes-Aruna-smile/articleshow/7536683.cms

So what will the judges decide - to end her life or allow her to continue in the same vegetative state.

Life is precious and no one has the right to take the life away from any body, even if they are suffering, but what do you to this lady, who will continue to remain in the same state till natural death overtakes her. If I were to be her, then I would be honestly wanting to be put to death.

I understand that Euthanasia is very difficult thing to do and every time it has to be done very very cautiously s in this materialistic world, there are may people instead of spending money on someone indefinitely, would like to put an end too. So we need to be extra careful too.

Here is the reproduction from wikipedia about

Euthanasia may be classified according to whether a person gives informed consent into three types: voluntary, non-voluntary and involuntary

There is a debate within the medical and bioethics literature about whether or not the non-voluntary (and by extension, involuntary) killing of patients can be regarded as euthanasia, irrespective of intent or the patient's circumstances. In the definitions offered by Beauchamp & Davidson and, later, by Wreen, consent on the part of the patient was not considered to be one of their criteria. However, others see consent as essential. For example, in a discussion of euthanasia presented in 2003 by the European Association of Palliative Care (EPAC) Ethics Task Force, the authors offered the unambiguous statement:

Medicalized killing of a person without the person's consent, whether nonvoluntary (where the person in unable to consent) or involuntary (against the person's will) is not euthanasia: it is murder. Hence, euthanasia can be voluntary only
Voluntary euthanasia

Euthanasia conducted with the consent of the patient is termed voluntary euthanasia. Voluntary euthanasia is legal in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. When the patient brings about his or her own death with the assistance of a physician, the term assisted suicide is often used instead.

Non-voluntary euthanasia

Euthanasia conducted where the consent of the patient is unavailable is termed non-voluntary euthanasia. Examples include child euthanasia, which is illegal worldwide but decriminalised under certain specific circumstances in the Netherlands under the Groningen Protocol.

Involuntary euthanasia

Euthanasia conducted against the will of the patient is termed involuntary euthanasia. Voluntary, non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia can all be further divided into passive or active variants A number of authors consider these terms to be misleading and unhelpful
Passive euthanasia entails the withholding of common treatments, such as antibiotics, necessary for the continuance of life.
Active euthanasia entails the use of lethal substances or forces to kill and is the most controversial means.

Some governments around the world have legalized voluntary euthanasia but generally it remains as a criminal homicide. In the Netherlands and Belgium, where euthanasia has been legalized, it still remains homicide although it is not prosecuted and not punishable if the perpetrator (the doctor) meets certain legal exceptions.

So lets see what the court decided. I know that it is going to be a monumental decision, as far as India is considered.

Guess What and where is the World's largest Skating rink

2011-02-18T10:34:00.000-08:00

Recently I had been to Ottawa - Oh Just less than 24 hours. I flew into the city in the night and left the next day evening, but still whateve I saw of it and heard about it, I wanted to pen it donw. These few lines I had taken from internet to get the correct facts.

Some facts about Ottawa:

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, and is the fourth largest city in the country. Ottawa is situated on the south bank of the Ottawa River, and contains the mouths of the Rideau River and Rideau Canal. The oldest part of the city is known as Lower Town, and occupies an area between the canal and the rivers. Across the canal to the west lies Centretown or the downtown, which is the city's financial and commercial hub. Situated between Centretown and the Ottawa River, the slight elevation of Parliament Hill is home to many of the capital's landmark government buildings, including the Peace Tower, and the legislative seat of Canada. As of June 29, 2007, the Rideau Canal, which stretches 202 km (126 mi) to Kingston, Fort Henry and four Martello towers in the Kingston area was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Rideau Canal, which starts in Kingston, Ontario, winds its way through the city. Just past Mooney's Bay the waterway splits into two separate channels. The western channel is a navigable canal which flows through the core of the city and terminates at a large and dramatic set of locks between Parliament Hill and the Château Laurier Hotel. The eastern channel is kept in a natural state and meanders through the eastern side of downtown, terminating at the beautiful Rideau Falls, after which the river itself was named. Rideau is a French word that means 'Curtain' in English, and the falls resemble a curtain, hence the name. During the winter season the navigable west canal is usually open and is a form of transportation downtown for about 7.8 kilometres (4.8 mi) for ice skaters (from a point near Carleton University to the Rideau Centre) and forms the world's largest skating rink. Many residents use the canal as a way to get to work instead of taking cars or public transportation. This is what makes its get the distintion of having the worldest largest skating ring.

The picture attached is the actual canal which is used for skating and see the fun the poeple are having.

And if you go to the official website of Ottawa today, you would see the notification from the council about
Ice breaking services advisory for the residents "Ice breaking operations set to begin on Rideau River"

What fun isnt.

Gifting

2011-02-16T00:50:00.000-08:00

Recently my mother in law passed away. She was 84 and had a good life. At the time of her death, I was the only one in the family who was talking about Eye Donation - who didnt happen, because, the others overruled me in larger numbers and I had no say. But please, the readers of this blog dont let this happen to your near and dear. Make sure that eyes are donated. You will be more than convinced after reading this through

India’s Total People- 118 Crore,
Each Day Death - 62389,
Each Day Born - 86853,
Total Blinds - 682497.

If each Death People Donate their Eyes,

Within 11 Days, All those will be able to See.

Then in India there will be NO BLINDS.

If nothing else convinces you, then the above should.

Reusable is not just for plastics and paper but also for our Body Parts. Help others See, even if you blinded by love of the your beloved person who is dead

Patriotism

2011-02-15T17:09:00.000-08:00

This one word makes everyone have goose pimples, who ever they are, what ever they are, isnt. And for every countryman, their Country is Best.

One great appreciable thing with US citizens is their amazing patriotism which I would rate it very very high. Everyone of them is made to think of serving their country by joining the Services. Recently, I was having a conversation with a young boy who was going back to his Military Academy school. all of us were taking the shuttle to the airport from Lawrenceville to Atlanta Airport. I was so happy and proud to be talking to this young boy. He belongs to a real military family - his grandmother had 20 years of service. Both his parents are in Service. His mother has 20 year of Service and she is now currently in Afghanistan. The pride in his voice was so heavenly when he talked about what he wants to achieve in life - he wants to get into Navy as his first goal. We were talking about drugs, the way the other countries prepare their soldiers, his fear of death, his life time ambitions, spending on credit cards - a variety of topics which made the 1 hour to fly off as just 5 minutes.

What a lovely boy. Let him be blessed with Gods grace and may he win all his battles that he is fighting on behalf of his country and come out unscathed and life a full life.

This is just one example of how the American citizens want to serve in the Services for their country. In India, we don't look at Services as an option except in few pockets of the country. Especially in Chennai, I haven't heard of anybody in the Services. It has been a long time since I had seen/heard the passion that people have for the Services, I was doing my college and I had friend who used to take the same bus as me. She used to say that She will marry only a Service Person as she had a highest regard for those serving our country. I hope she found a good match and both of them are happy living a full life. I wish there were more people like this Young American and this friend of mine.

I salute American for their true patriotism for their country.

Getting the best of the weather

2011-02-04T01:35:00.000-08:00

On travel in US during a bad weather is a very very terrible experience whether they are residents of US or people from far off countries like me. It throws the entire travel schedule and especially if you have a back to back appointment in couple of cities, GOD be with you. It is a terrible nightmare. Thank God, in all my earlier travels, especially in Jan/Feb, though I criss cross the US, I didnt face any such problem. This time around, I am lucky to base myself out of Jersey city and then do the travel plan.

The best thing, I like about the weather prediction, is it is 95% reliable, unlike Ramanan, of weather Station fame, in Chennai, who has to make a ambiguous statement that it is likely to rain, drizzle, pour etc either throughout the states or the coastal region and you can safely leave your umbrellas in home and it is 90% opposite of what he says. The almost near forecasting of the weather helps me to plan my trip nicely avoiding travel during that region or those dates.

One more commendable thing is that despite the weather, the normal life is almost there. People under law are required to clean up their part of the walkway in front of their homes clean and so have to shovel the snow and the city makes sure that the roads(at least the primary roads are motorable in terms of cleaning up the snow. Despite the bad weather, the cold, I am amassed at how people go about their work normally and these people have to be really really saluted for taking things in their stride and still be productive.

Though for many of us, US is the end of the rainbow, like Delhi or any metro, there are a lot of people who live on the platform. Here also there is a blanket collection drive, to enable these homeless people or poor people to get the used blanket. During my last visit, I had ordered a burrito, but to my dismay saw that there was egg in it and so couldn't eat it. But at the same time, I didn't want to simply through a good food into the dustbin. You know what I did, there was a homeless lady on the sidewalk and so asked her whether she would take some food, which i couldn't eat, and she took it with so much gratitude. And surprise was on me that she was a follower of Yogi Paramahamsa. This happened in Encinitas the people where there is a huge mediation center.

This land is so full of surprises, but I love the way the people overcome things and go ahead.

This is true religion true Indianess

2011-01-22T01:57:00.000-08:00

The below mentioned article as reported in Hindu Newspaper stands testimony to the whole world that :

This is our Indian Spirituality at work. This is the real worship to GOD. Thank you Gayartri Parivar

I am reproducing this article from Hindu :

RAMANATHAPURAM: It was indeed a model of selfless clean project, involving many octogenarians, septuagenarians, women and professionals who travelled several hundred kilometres from different parts of India to Rameswaram. A group of north Indian volunteers have spruced up the Southern shrine with sheer hardwork

Staying in two hotels, which offered rent free accommodation for a noble cause, the 500-plus volunteers from All World Gayatri Parivar, Haridwar, enjoy each and every moment from dawn to dusk in beautifying Rameswaram, which attracts thousands of tourists and devotees daily from different corners of the country.

Though the five-day programme has reached the half way mark on Friday, the town, agnitheertham shore and the premises of Sri Ramanathaswamy temple, which earlier looked unclean and muddy, suggest that their work is dedicated service.

Though the “Clean and Green Rameswaram” project, which is being taken by the AWGP as part of centenary celebration of its founder Sri Ram Sharma Acharya, was initially intended to clean the highly polluted Agnitheertham, the organisers extended the area of operation upto Bus Stand and in and outside the temple premises. Besides the logistic support to the ambitious drive, the Rotary Club of Rameswaram has coordinated the project. During the last 3 days, the volunteers cleared more than 75 trucks of garbage, abandoned cloths by pilgrims, polythene bags, food packets, human waste and others. Besides several tonnes of mud accumulated in and around corridors and holy theerthams, the volunteers also cleaned the layers of dust around the pillars of third corridor, one of the longest corridors in the world.

“Cleanliness is the need of the hour. We feel it is a great way of worshipping. The aim is not only to clean the holy town but also to create a positive mindset among the stakeholders,” says Dr. Brij Mohan Gaur, in-charge, South India, AWGP.

K.P. Dubey, in-charge, Youth Movement, said 25 engineers, 20 IT professionals and 8 doctors were among the volunteers involved. It had been planned to form a construct pathway, a toilet complex and install 100 dust bins in Rameswaram.

A permanent maintenance plan would be handed over to the Collector at the end of the project. R. Saravanan, President, Rotary Club, and A. Shanmuga Rajeswaran, former President, Rotary Club of Ramnad, said it was a model of service project and their relentless work would be remembered by the people of Rameswaram for long.

My only request to the residents and visitors to Rameshwaram, now that you have been shown HOW to keep your environment clean, make sure that is maintained. Let there not be another such project to show that Cleanliness is Godliness

Do we THANK ENOUGH, let alone Thank at all

2011-01-19T03:09:00.000-08:00

I liked this article sent out by Mr KN Rajan, Pondicherry and wanted to share how we miss out to Thank people, whether it is God, our friends or family or Clients or any one who helps us to go through the challenges in life and succeed in whatever we do - whether it is profesional or personal things. So let me walk the talk. First and foremost my thanks to Rajan for sending this article.

Acknowledge your blessings

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels.

My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, 'This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.' I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section. The angel then said to me, 'This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them.'

I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the Door of a very small station to my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. 'This is the Acknowledgment Section,' my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed 'How is it that there is no work going on here?' I asked.

'So sad,’ the angel sighed. 'After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments.'

'How does one acknowledge the blessings?' I asked.

'Simple,' the angel answered. Just say, 'O Lord! Let me be grateful to You for all Your blessings upon me

So May I take this opportunity to thank the Great God, all my family members, my fellow ciians, all my clients, my friends, my advisors, my guides, my teachers and all those known and unknown persons who have enabled me to come this far in life, for being with me at all time, supporting me through thick and thin, giving me valuable advice and guidance, sharing my joy and sorrows, whines, my anger, my frustrations, my grumblings, my troubles, etc., etc. THANK YOU , THANK YOU THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING

eWIT Excellence Award - Call for nominations

2011-01-18T01:26:00.000-08:00

eWIT is conducting its Excellence Award for the fourth consecutive year. Every year, we see the number of registrants increasing and the quality of participation has been outstanding. We look forward to an enthusiastic response this year as well!! .

Dates to save :

Last Date of Registration Friday 28 January 2011

Submission of Written Presentation Monday 21 February 2011

Oral Presentation Saturday 12 March 2011

About eWIT

eWIT was formed with the vision: "To be the preferred forum for exchange of ideas and for pioneering initiatives so as to unleash the potential of women and drive their growth in the IT/ITES industry" with specific objectives of:

Expanding the women workforce at all management levels and sustain and flourish
Enabling women to tread the career path by equipping them with necessary skills
Facilitating women's quest for a better ‘work – life' balance in IT/ITES Sector

Since inception, eWIT has organised various activities for spearheading growth and excellence among women professionals in the IT/ITES industry.

About eWIT's Excellence Award

"The eWIT Excellence Award" for women professionals in the IT/ITES industries is designed to provide an opportunity for women IT/ITES professionals to showcase their talent and expertise in their respective areas. There is also a separate contest for students studying to be in the IT/ITES industries. Over the last few years, we have had an excellent participation by women professionals and students for this competition. Leading corporates like Accenture and Cognizant have come forward to sponsor the awards.

Topics for 2011

Category A: Technology

Mobile Computing - Problems and Solutions

What we witnessed in Desktop computers back in the 80's, we are witnessing in mobile technology now. Every day, the mobile phone manufacturers are coming out with more powerful devices; actually, these little devices are much more than just phones that are mobile. Smart phones, as they are called, are packed with several features like cameras, mp3 players, FM Radio, games, and much more. They come with bigger memory and better processing capabilities, more efficient batteries, with capabilities of 3G, 4G, etc. These advanced capabilities have led software companies to come up with more robust operating systems and millions of applications for these devices.

On one hand, there is no doubt that the convergence of communication and computing has come to stay. On the other hand, any new technology, when it comes with advantages also comes with limitations, constraints, and threats. We invite candidates to present their papers discussing just this. Where do you see mobile computing heading? What are the current and future threats and challenges? Are there any possible solutions to overcome the challenges? Where is the future headed? Candidates are encouraged to discuss mainly from the technology perspective and also the application perspective.

Category B: Quality

Lean Software process

The manufacturing industries have witnessed significant efficiencies by putting lean process methods into practice. This methodology has become a time tested one and this is also now being tried in the IT industry. Lean process addresses identification and analysis of existing processes, understanding the value created in each process thereby identifying wastes in the system, eliminating them, and enhancing efficiency by improving processes that create value.

What does creating a lean software process environment involve? In a software services environment how can we track the value of processes, what kind of metrics can be collected to understand the values, how are the wastes eliminated and how can software quality be enhanced through these improvements? Participants are encouraged to show a case study which demonstrates that lean software process brings value to the industry.

Category C: Human Resources

Managing Gender Diversity for Success

Gender Diversity, more than anything else, is driven by a business need today. The rise of global corporations means that the workforce is composed of diverse races and ethnicities. Women, in particular, are being recognized as an integral and indispensible segment of the workforce especially in the IT/ITES industry. In such a scenario, companies are doing their best to ensure that women are well taken care of and their organizational expectations are fully met.

If managing gender diversity is crucial to success, how can companies develop a diversity strategy that yields the necessary results? Participants are encouraged to come up with strategic as well as specific suggestions to initiate and foster gender inclusivity in an organization.

Category D: Student

What can colleges do to make students employment ready?

There is a lot of talk about shortage of suitable talent and skills at the entry level in the IT/ITES industry. Companies wanting to recruit often find that students are not ‘employment-ready'. They find that students are sometimes not technically qualified or do not have the necessary soft skills to take up challenging jobs. And companies are unwilling to invest time, effort and money on such basic training.

In such a scenario, what is the role that colleges can play in making their students more readily acceptable to the IT/ITES industry?

As a student yourself, w hat and how do you propose colleges can enhance employment-readiness amongst their students?

Guidelines for participants

Eligibility

Women professionals in the IT/ITES industries and students are eligible to present one paper in any one of the topics as appropriate. Students can only pick the topic given specifically for Student category. Working women cannot pick the topic given for Students.

Please note that past Excellence Award winners are eligible to participate only if they become individual members of eWIT .

In order to encourage younger women to participate, only those with less than 10 years' experience in the IT/ITES industry can participate

Registration Deadline

Please register on or before 28th Jan 2011

Registration Fee

Members FREE for individual eWIT members & students

Corporate members can nominate two employees . If more than two employees wish to participate, then the additional number will have to become individual members.

Non Members

Individual non members can either pay Rs.500/- and become a member first and then register for FREE

Corporates who are not eWIT members can encourage their women employees who wish to participate to become individual members or become corporate members themselves. Regular eWIT membership fees for corporates (as indicated in our website) will apply

Please make the cheque favouring ‘Empowering Women in IT' and courier to No.6, Kalakshetra Avenue , 2 nd Street , Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai 600041. Ph: 044-42120706 044-42120706 .

Please mail to Admin@ewit.co.in or contact the given no. for any queries on the contest

Scope and Rules for Written Presentation

The written presentation on the chosen topic must be submitted on or before 21st February 2011

Presentation Topic should be clearly mentioned

Presentation should have a cover page containing your name, designation, company/college with full address and Topic

Your brief profile and a photograph

Executive summary not exceeding 250 words

Total paper presentation should be between 2500 to 3500 words

Should be typed, double spaced leaving 3 cms margin all the four sides

Font should be Times New Roman, 12 point

Pages should be numbered

Charts, diagrams, etc. may be included to support any research work or data collection

Plagiarism – inclusion of other peoples' work to substantiate a point being made should be appropriately acknowledged. Source & name of author will have to be mentioned in the Bibliography. However, no direct 'cut and paste' is allowed. If 'cut and paste' from sources acknowledged or not acknowledged are found, the paper will be rejected.

Should contain a Bibliography at the end stating actual sources of references

Evaluation Criteria for Written Presentation

Presentation Format
Originality & Creative Thinking
Accuracy and depth of content

Top 4 written presentations in each category will be selected for oral presentation

Scope and Rules for Oral presentations

A jury of eminent persons from the corporate world and academic field will evaluate the written presentations

Based on evaluation of written presentations, selected individuals will be called for the oral presentation before the panel on March 12, 2011. The panel will evaluate the oral presentation and choose the winners based on the scores of their evaluation of both written and oral presentation. Results will be announced on the same day or the following day.

Those selected for oral presentation in each category will be informed 1 week before their scheduled presentation

Each participant will get a total of 30 minutes for the oral presentation as well as the discussion. First 15 minutes will be used for presentation and the subsequent 15 minutes will be used for discussion with the panel of judges

After the first 13 minutes of the presentation, there will be an indication of remaining 2 minutes to complete the presentation. If any participant stretches the presentation beyond the time limit of 15 minutes, there will be negative marking for same.

The LCD projector and Laptop will be provided

Order of presentation will be drawn by lot

Evaluation Criteria for oral presentation

Clarity and substance
Ability to communicate with, and respond to questions effectively
Contribution to effective managerial thinking and performance.
Originality & Creativity

Registration process

Log on to http://www.ewit.co.in

Click on Excellence Award 2011

Click on Registration

Fill details

Submit

The written paper is uploaded using same website www.ewit.co.in

Award Details

The winners of the contest will get a certificate, cash prize of Rs.10,000/- and Free eWIT membership for one year as a complimentary.

The runners up of the contest will get a certificate, cash prize of Rs.5000/- and Free eWIT membership for one year as a complimentary.

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL PARTICIPANTS

Temples & Computerization - the best fit!!!

2011-01-14T02:22:00.000-08:00

A very interesting article, which was circulated in our office. So pardon me for not mentioning the source.

How temples are becoming tech savvy

PUNE/CHENNAI/HYDERABAD: Temples and religious institutions across Maharashtra , Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are among the latest to join the tech-savvy tribe, as they seek to automate and integrate complex processes by deploying sophisticated solutions like enterprise resource planning.A growing number of devotees expecting quicker religious services and the pressure to become more transparent are key drivers for these temples to seek the help of business software solutions, used traditionally by large corporates like Bajaj Auto, ONGC and Maruti Suzuki.

Temples have evolved into a service industry; expectations of devotees have increased,” says Kishor More, CEO of Shree Saibaba Sansthan Trust at Shirdi in Maharashtra. A data centre will come up inside the temple campus and first modules of the popular ERP software will go live later this month. “We updated all transactions manually, which hampered productivity. It was impossible to manage records of over 1,000 vendors. Redundancy in work and duplication of requisition was common,” an official , who now maintains the IT and ERP systems at the Sansthan, said. “After the ERP installation, all branches are linked. The management knows the amount of donations received and raw material used and instantly decides on the allocation of resources for each activity,” the official said.

All activities at the Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple, for example, are recorded with IT help. The temple’s main festival , the Chithirai festival, can now be viewed online. Even the Meenakshi Amman Tirukalyanam — the festival of god’s marriage — has also been made online and has had 10,000 hits.

Not just that, e-darshan of every pooja is possible. Also, anyone can retrieve a specific pooja and see it online. There is a video streaming server at the temple, which can perform live poojas at any time. The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, which manages temples across Tamil Nadu, wants to replicate this model in temples at Rameshwaram and Thiruthani. The temple also manages all it accounts with the help of an ERP solution. “
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), the largest religious body in India, has decided to upgrade its IT systems to streamline the pilgrim ecosystem and called for request for proposal from system integrators . It has also appointed Ernst &Young as consultant to carry out a detailed study to assess the cost and fix the implementation.

“The plan is to start IT upgradation by April. We will finalise a vendor by March after getting the E&Y report. Though we have adopted technology a few years back, there are some glitches. Once the upgradation is over, we will be able to process pilgrim applicationsaster. Besides , we wanted to bring all our departments under one platform through ERP so that co-ordination is easy,’’ said an official of TTD.
He says right now the pilgrim application process is slow. “We also need to upgrade our hardware and network infrastructure and need to rectify our existing software applications ,’’ he said. As part of its technology adaptation efforts, it has already introduced unique platforms like e-seva , e-hundi and edarshan where pilgrims can book services online through its portal. All the security installations of TTD are manned by HCL Technologies while portals are configured and supported by TCS.

With the upgradation of technology, we will be able to make use of biometric technology, where a pilgrim can get a unique ID to book services and cash transactions . We are working on introduction of pre-paid smart cards, which would provide payment gateways for all services at all counters,’’ said the official. TTD had established standard systems and procedures for discharging the various functions efficiently . But with the phenomenal growth in the number of pilgrims visiting Tirumala, there is a considerable pressure on all the systems , which are substantially based on manual operations. TTD maintains 12 temples and their sub-shrines , of which the major pilgrimage centre is one located on the seventh peak, Venkatachala of the Tirupati Hill. The temple gets 70,000 devotees a day and generous donations making it the richest in the country

What a way to go for the customer comfort

Interactive Workshop on Marketing and Sales for IT MSMEs – Myths, Tricks, Tantra and Mantra On 5th January at Savera Hotel, Chennai

2011-01-03T04:40:00.000-08:00

Marketing and sales is often most misunderstood role in IT business. More so in ITSME circles, which face a never ending anxiety on top- line, bottom-line, scalability and cash flow sustainability. While big companies can never match the agility and close relationship based support of the ITSMES s to the clients, yet we suffer scalability and resistance from big buyers. Small bandwidth does not give enough flexibility and thinking cap to strategize and fine tune on a routine basis. Neither we can afford to copy biggies in marketing nor can we depend on innovation alone, with constraints of discovering right audience. Disruptive technologies being released so frequently, presents an ever chasing market landscape, making change management a difficult task. Competitors who move faster add to our woes. How do we handle the dilemma and challenges?

So for the question: For the sustainable business success, how do we modify our organizational DNA for vibrant marketing and sales : Attend this session on Marketing and Sales for IT MSMEs – Myths, Tricks, Tantra and Mantra, An Interactive workshop for IT-SME CxOs

Takeaways from this session would be :

• Role Play in marketing and sales, varieties, alignment, automation etc

• Designing my market ; Discovering models that works for me

• Right people, right strategy for target market segment for right performance.

• Googling Vs Maturity and wisdom

• Possible remedy and lessons for smart success

Target Audience: CxO s, Directors, Owners, Investors and Thought Leaders of IT SMEs, and Micro IT cos in Chennai

Anchor

Mr. V B Rajendra Raja is a specialist analyst and evangelist active with Nasscom and IT circles. He has 35 years of business experience having worked with L&T, India Cements, Ramco Systems, Maersk, Bitech etc. He is currently with Coromandel Infotech India Ltd at Chennai. In international business, he has held positions of CEO as well as CTO. He is widely traveled and brings with him the harsh lessons of domestic and finesse of international marketing and sales.

He tracks changing marketing and sales models for SMEs. He will attempt to demystify the business development goals of marketing and sales, with practical and doable case studies.

VENUE: Hotel Savera, Chennai

DATES & TIMINGS: 5th January, Wednesday 3pm to 6.00 pm

Program details:

3.00 Pm – 3.20 Pm Registration

3.20 Pm – 3.30 Pm Welcome Address by Mr.V.Subramaniam, President

3.30 Pm – 5.30 Pm “Marketing and sales for ITSMES – Myths, Tricks, Tantra and Mantra” by

Mr.V.B Rajendra Raja, Sr. Consultant, Coromandel InfoTech India ltd

5.30 Pm – 6.00 Pm Concluding remarks/Vote of thanks

PROGRAMME FEE: Rs. 400 per person

For registration of 3 or more persons from the same organization, a discount of 10% will be offered.

REGISTRATION: Registration will be done on “FIRST COME FIRST SERVED” basis.Registrations accepted at the venue, however prior telephonic confirmation is required . DD/Cheque to be drawn in favour of IT SME Association” and payable at Chennai. For further details contact
Ms Sujatha
ITSME Association
T1A 7TH STREET VSI Phase II
Thiruvanmiyur
Chennai 600 041
Phone: 044-2454 2858/98401 81295

Very interesting & good advertisement

2010-12-17T07:26:00.000-08:00

In the recent times, I enjoyed these following advertisements:

The incredible India ads being done by our Tourism ministry is scintillating. That too the portrayal of the North east regions are so good and it also lets us know what we have missed seeing those beauties just because they are under our noses. What a lovely portrayal of the rich colour and tradition and culture of those regions. I am sure that I want to go to these place asap.

The second one I enjoyed was the recent ads by idea cellular - where Abishek Bacchan in reply to the other person saying " No idea" says that's is the reason for their problems and so " Get Idea" - very creative ad indeed.

Kudos to both the agencies for bring our nice ads.

Calling everyone to gift somebody a life

2010-12-14T03:38:00.000-08:00

Save The Tiger Campaign

2010-12-13T16:41:00.000-08:00

My hearty congratulations to NDTV, Aircell and Amitabh bacchan for coming together to create a Fund raiser yesterday for the SAVE THE TIGER campaign. The total collection as at the end of 11.00 pm yesterday was Rs. 4,48,60,002. While the public contributed half of it, the rest came from this gentleman Mr Hemadra Kothari. he had promised that upto a ceiling of Rs. 2..50 crores, he would give the same amount that was collected from the general public. What a wonderful gesture.

Amitabh Bacchan lend his hand in terms of placing his Cartier watch for auction, which went for Rs. 7.00 + lakhs,

Good work by all the great people, which shows how united we stand, we can do wonders.

Thank you NDTV, Aircell, Amitabh, Mr Hemdra Kothari and all the unknown faces who have come forward to donate liberally.

What is this Project Tiger all about

Some excepts from the Project Tigr website :

Project Tiger: Project Tiger, launched in 1973-74, is one of our most successful conservation ventures in the recent times. The project aims at tiger conservation in specially constituted 'tiger reserves', which are representative of various bio-geographical regions falling within our country. It strives to maintain a viable tiger population in the natural environment.

An estimate of the tiger population in India, at the turn of the century, placed the figure at 40,000. Subsequently, the first ever all India tiger census was conducted in 1972 which revealed the existence of only 1827 tigers. Various pressures in the later part of the last century led to the progressive decline of wilderness, resulting in the disturbance of viable tiger habitats. At the IUCN General Assembly meeting in Delhi, in 1969, serious concern was voiced about the threat to several species of wildlife and the shrinkage of wilderness in the country. In 1970, a national ban on tiger hunting was imposed and in 1972 the Wildlife Protection Act came into force. A 'Task Force' was then set up to formulate a project for tiger conservation with an ecological approach.

http://projecttiger.nic.in/

However, according to the blog save-tiger.blogspot.com :

Initial results from the Wildlife Institute of India Tiger census (released on 24 May 2007) are warning that India has far fewer tigers living than had been previously thought. Complete stories on avaibale on BBC & Discovery Channel. The next five years are going to be extremely critical if we are to save India's Tigers & forests. This is a small attempt to mobilise people like you & me to connect with conservationists out there with plenty of energy but very little money Visit this blog spot for a beautiful video on this topic.
http://save-tiger.blogspot.com/

Lets put our hands together to preserve the nature and all its creatures

Hats off to Sachin

2010-12-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

It is very rarely that we come across people in Public, who exhibit a clear stand of Standing up for their principles. More than his batting credentials, this one act of Sachin declining the ad revenue that he would have got for endorsing a private liquor brand, will be something that would make youngsters to look up to HIM. He has shown to his fan following is that Principles and personal integrity is much higher than money. This is what Subrato talks about in his book The Professional"

May God give more and more to Sachin, for this best thing that he has done.

Nature & You

2010-12-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Chandrakumar, who sends a lot of interesting articles on Health tips, I found it be very interesting and wanted to share it in my blog.

The unknown Great Man

2010-12-05T16:38:00.000-08:00

This is a post about another Age defying personality. Very much known to people in his circle, but unknown elsewhere, I wanted to write about him because of his abundance of energy and the very dedicated service orientation that we have felt in him.

Shri Sunderasa Gurukal is from Kumbakonam, a temple town in South India. Aged more than 80+, the kind of activities he does is amazing. He runs a finishing school for the Priests and helps these people to conduct all the Yagnas properly. He manages the temple of Kasi Vishwanathar in his street. Apart from this is the most wonderful thing he does, he runs a Magazine called Thirukayelai. The cost of this wonderful 36 page booklet is just Rs. 8. Probably the postage costs are more. The kind of information it contains is very exhaustive. It is not just the printing of this booklet every month but how he collects the subscribers is pretty interesting.

Let me narrate how I came to know him. My father, with his vastu practice visits lots of places and he was invited by one of the priest in Swamimalai temple ( my father fame spreads through word of mouth and there are a lot of people who have benefited out his vastu divination including us personally and on our business front too). During that visit, he was introduced to Shri Sunderasa Gurukal and they became admirers of one another as both of them give more to the society than what they receive each in his own way. So when we went to Swamimala, my father made us contact his friend and thus began a good relationship. When we heard whatever he was doing, the first time, we gave Rs. 1000/- towards his various activities. He promptly allocated it to towards the pooja being held at Karaikal and then towards the Pradhosa pooja at Kasi Viswanathar temple. Not just that, he made sure that the acknowledgement was sent to us promptly and then after the event was over, makes sure we receive the prasadam too very very promptly. Every year, he makes a trip and goes to most of the patrons house and makes sure he collects the amount sometime more sometime less but promptly acknowledges it. When we receive the monthly copy as well as the diwali special, we are amassed at the kind of wide variety of ads he carries in his magazine. Look at the tireless work he does going around and asking/demanding (with people known to him only) AND THEN ACKNOWLEDGES the contribution. If ever you are planning to go to Kumbakonam please make sure you take his help to go around the temples and also please contribute to his noble activities ( he doesn't ask for a large amount too)

His address is
K Y SUNDERASA GURUKAL
96 Solaiappan Street,
Kumbakonam 612 001
0435 - 2423310, 2423610

My salutations to you Great Person Guruji. May your service to the society continue.

In such respects I am so proud of my country and those unknown/lesser known people who make sure that our culture is kept going come what may. May the tribe of such people increase.

Some positives out of Negatives in the Indian context

2010-12-05T07:21:00.000-08:00

So many things land up in my inbox. I dont know how this landed up, but it was very interesting to read through.

There are two news items - one is about the HIV cases coming down and another is about Bill & Melinda foundation supporting the prevention of HIV cases by donating a huge amount to a bio tech company

Here you go:

New item 1:

New HIV cases down by half in 10 years

By Sanchita Sharma, Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 24 November 2010

INDIA'S DONE WELL BECAUSE HIGH-PREVA- LENCE STATES HAVE CUT DOWN NEW INFECTIONS DRAMATICALLY

New HIV infection that causes AIDS has halved in India over the past decade, reported the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Global Report released on Tuesday.

The UNAIDS report uses newly-generated data that factors in the change in methodology that led India to slashing its HIV estimates from 5.7 million in 2005 to 2.5 million in 2006. “With 2.6 million new infections worldwide in 2009, the report records the reversal of the AIDS epidemic for the first time since it peaked with 3.1 million new infections in 1999-2000,“ said Charles Gilks, UNAIDS country coordinator, India.

“The report has used the same methodology to go back and recalculate country estimates for the past decade. New data from 183 countries shows that infection has fallen by 20% in the last 10 years, AIDS-related deaths are down by 20% in the last five years, and the total number of people living with HIV has stabilised,“ said Gilks.

“India's done well because high-prevalence states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra have cut down new infection dramatically, and Nagaland and Manipur are showing progress,“ said K Chandramouli, secretary and director general, National AIDS Control Organisation. India is among 11 countries that report more than 75% condom use for high-risk sex.

New infections have fallen steadily since 2002, prevalence among adults falling from 45 to 31 per thousand. However, 2009 showed a marginal increase in India over 2008, going up to 23.95 lakh from 22.7 lakh.

News Item No. 2:

NanoBio gets $6 mn grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop intranasal vaccine for RSV

Source: Pharmabiz.com, 02 December, 2010; Ann Arbor, Michigan

NanoBio Corporation announced that it has received a $6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the development of a safe and effective intranasal vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

RSV is a highly contagious viral disease and is one of the most common causes of bronchiolitis and pneumonia. It is the number one cause of childhood hospitalization both in the United States and around the world. Nearly all children are infected with the virus at least once by the age of 2-3 years. The disease is particularly dangerous for premature babies, children with other health conditions and the elderly. Many children develop persistent pulmonary disease and/or asthma that persist throughout adult life making them susceptible to re-infection as adults. Currently, there are no approved vaccines for RSV.

“An RSV vaccine is a tremendous unmet need today,” said Ali I. Fattom, PhD, NanoBio’s Senior Vice President of Vaccine Research & Development. “Pneumonia is a leading cause of childhood death in sub-Saharan Africa and new research suggests that RSV infection is the most common cause of viral pneumonia in parts of Africa. Our intranasal vaccine technology is unique in that it safely elicits very robust disease protection, limits the need for refrigerating vaccines and is administered without the use of needles. Each of these advantages is critical to efforts to improve health in the developing world.”

NanoBio’s lead vaccine candidate is NB-1008, a seasonal influenza vaccine administered via a nasal dropper. In a recently completed Phase 1 clinical study, NB-1008 was safe, well tolerated and elicited both mucosal and systemic immune responses following a single intranasal vaccination in a study of 199 healthy adults. Other NanoBio intranasal vaccines have elicited robust immune responses in animals vaccinated against pandemic influenza, hepatitis B, HIV, pneumococcal, anthrax, smallpox and other diseases.

The company’s platform technology has demonstrated numerous advantages over traditional vaccines, including the ability to generate robust mucosal and systemic immunity; antigen-sparing qualities; cross-protection against non-vaccinated strains; ability to adjuvant multiple antigen types without inducing inflammation; thermally stabilizing the vaccine; and removing the need for needles.

“We believe our program holds tremendous promise for addressing a number of global health challenges,” said James R. Baker, Jr., MD, NanoBio’s Founder & CEO. “In various studies, our technology has shown a unique ability to elicit robust mucosal, systemic and cellular Th1 immunity following nasal vaccination. These advantages could prove essential in the development of an RSV vaccine, as well as other new mucosal vaccines for widespread respiratory and sexually transmitted diseases.”

Baker also commented, “Our partnership with the foundation provides a unique opportunity to develop selected vaccine targets that will address significant health needs globally. With the support of the foundation, NanoBio would continue research efforts and retain the rights to market the agreed-upon vaccines in the developed world, while the foundation would have access to the vaccines for the developing world.”

NanoBio Corporation is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing dermatological products, anti-infective treatments and intranasal vaccines derived from its patented NanoStat technology platform.

Workshop on Cloud Computing

2010-11-24T03:39:00.000-08:00

Here is the invite for the Cloud Computing Workshop organized by ITSME Association on 7th December 2010 Tuesday

Today the two most widely used industry buzz word are Social Media and Cloud computing. Our Association having understood the need of the hour, had organized the Seminar on how to use Social media for our benefit, we now have pleasure in announcing the One day Workshop on Cloud Computing – starting with the basics of Cloud computing to understand different platforms available for development to hands on demo of building a business application for the cloud, we will end the day with talking to people who have already done it

PROGRAMME DETAILS

0900 - 0930 Registration

0930 - 1030 Cloud Computing - The basics Mr.Dorai Thodla, President,

Imorph Technologies

1030 - 1115 Detailed analysis of various Platforms Mr.Prasanna, Director Product Engg Orangescape Technologies

1115 - 1130 TEA BREAK

1130 - 1245 Building a Cloud Application on GAE -Hands on Mr.Shrikrishna Shrin, Founder Sarukai

1245 - 1300 Lunch Break

1330 - 1430 Building Platform independent App - Hands on Ms.Jyothi ,Project Lead

Orangescape Technologies

1430 - 1500 Security Challenges in Cloud Ms.Pamela Ramalingam,Consultant

1500 - 1515 TEA BREAK

1515 - 1615 Building for the cloud – How it was done Panel discussion Mr. Vijay Venkatesh Syscon Solutions Private Limited & Mr. Ravi Ramachandran Amtex Infotech Pvt ltd

1615 - 1630 Concluding remarks/Vote of thanks

Who Should Attend?

• SME organizations head

• Project Managers

• Application Developers

Venue

Savera Hotel , Chennai

Registration

Member: Rs.1000/-

Non Member: Rs 1250/-

Payments can be made vide Cheque / DD favoring ITSME Association, Chennai For further dettails contact:

Ms Sujatha

ITSME Association

T1, A, 7TH STREET,VSI Estate

Phase II,Thiruvanmiyur,

Chennai 600 041

Phone: 044-2454 2858 /2454 2958/

Accountability

2010-11-18T15:07:00.000-08:00

I just didnt want to write this week at all, as having started with a very positive write up, whatever was unfolding in the political arena was making me sick and was draining out the positive spirit. But the comment by Uma about how as ordinary people tend to slog and slog with just hope, made me to finally write this one.

When a building collapses or a cinema hall catches fire or a small time employee takes a bribe, immediately, we see the headlines that the owner or the employee is arrested. Of course, after the initial news item, I dont know whether they are convicted or let loose or their case doesn't see the light of the day - that is another matter. Here we see politicians indulging in creating wealth.( the amount that is talked about is so much mind blowing) So what happens when it comes to light, the concerned person resigns, it becomes the news for one week analyzing what happened, etc and then the next story catches the public eye and this becomes old and forgotten news.

Have we in this country, ever seen any politician being convicted and the ill gotten wealth confiscated. So does the whole thing end only in resignation ( which is only temporary - as soon as the common people's memory fades they once again come back to take some other juicy spot and this continues). As I had written in my earlier blog about Ramalinga Raju's arrest & about accountability in Public office - he can be arrested and tried in the court, because he is a private citizen ( I am taking a high profile public figure and the case is that the investing public lost money because of his acts of commission, omission, etc, etc.) - the Public citizen that is our rulers need Sanction, CBI enquiry (what comes off it, no idea), various commissions (the report will be made public, a few outcries and then goes back to storage to be forgotten for ever)

So what do we do to change this apathy and total lack of fear of prosecution, I dont know. Our Prime Minister, for whom I have so much respect, feels that Silence is Golden not wanting to let down their coalition partner. Is holding office more important that protecting the country's interest. How can he not know what has happened in the communication ministry and still choose to keep quiet all these years.I also have a question to these people I can understand that money is a great attraction - but what will you do with so much more money that even 100 generations of the family can live comfortably with that money. Why so much clamour to keep that money. What will they teach their children - grandchildren - that is is OK to make money at any cost. how will these children grow up will they have any values left in them. I really dont know.

Hope & Positiveness

2010-11-14T15:35:00.000-08:00

Last week I was in Bangalore attending the NASSCOM Product Conclave. What a climate it was - filled with hope and positiveness - so many people coming into Entrepreneurship (of course, many were youngsters). While there were quite a lot of B2B, B2C applications, there were also some new things that are being created too. The whole 2 days was filled with a a sense of great feeling of having arrived and also wanting to Succeed.

Following these 2 days of energy upliftment, Saturday once again was another occasion, which lifted up the spirit of wanting to Go forward with all Hope & Positiveness. This was brought out by the 2 young achievers Meera Krishnan & Raj shankar, Founders of Ichiban Consultants, releasing their maiden book " Entrepreneurship: A life of commas, Not full Stops!" - being focused to their goal.

The 3rd one was reading an article in " Aval Vikatan" - a publication by Vikatan group for the women - Determination thy name is Valarmathi . This article is a portrayal of Valarmathi, a woman from a small village called Silamalai in Theni district in Tamil Nadu. What made me to read this article with interest was her statement - " For those people who are earning Rs. 40,000 per month, I am a News article, but at the same time for those who are earning Rs. 400 per month, I am HOPE" - What profound statement isnt. This lady who has passed only 4th standard does not just one business, but 5 business throughout the day. Her day starts with her tending to her goats as part of her goat rearing business. Then after tending to the kitchen and her school going children, she then gets down to make Files until evening. In between she also handles the IOB rural Commercial Help Kendra through which the rural populace do banking transactions through ATM like device. Then she starts grinding batter for sale in midst of becoming busy preparing for the night dinner. Putting her children to sleep, she then sits on her tailoring machine to stitch clothes for the next 2 hours. Thus ends her long day at work. So how does she handles it - she says If there is a will there is a way". A perfect example for people to succeed with determination

The fourth one is an person who was speaking about how and his wife go about everyday. He was one of the speaker in the Makkal Arangam on Jaya TV, which I chanced to see today. I am very sorry that I didn't get this great Hero's from Erode name. But here is his life as described by him. He goes out at 5.00 am in the morning to distribute Newspapers till 7.00 am for which he gets paid Rs. 500. Then he returns home to take care of his two children and prepares them for school and drops them at their school. From there he goes over to the local courier office to deliver packages to various clients. He gets paid Rs. 1500 per month. At 1.00 pm, he meets his wife at the Market, where she after finishing the cleaning at 5 offices joins him. Both of them purchase things needed for their snacks business and return back home. After about half an hour rest, both prepare the snacks. At 4.00 pm, while he leaves to pick the children from school, his wife pushes the cart to the roadside where the business stall is set up to sell bajjis, bondas and vadas on the wayside. He tends to his children's needs and make them do their home work and then takes them to the business place. The children when it is time to sleep, are made to sleep close to the cart. Around 10.00 pm, they wind up the business and put the sleeping children on the cart and bring them home. After late dinner, they go to sleep by 11.00 pm. If this is not enough, this person also is part of an Orchestra group and goes out for late night performances and in those days he gets less than 2hours sleep. The fire in the belly is driving this couple to do all these things and still be positive and hopeful that they will be able to bring a see change in their lives. What a way to Go

The last one is what I saw once again in TV in Star TV - The movie Erin Brockovich starring Julia Roberts which also got her the Oscar Award is based on the true story about an unemployed single mother who becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply. This person fighting for her survival, still goes forward with finding the truth and helping the law firm to file the class action suite. of course, it is not about entrepreneurship, but about how as an employee you have to be committed to your work and do justice to the people dependent on your work.

All the above stands for the following Hope, Positiveness, Determination, Grit and Hard work &last but not the least not giving up at all.

So now my mind is all set to take on the world. If ever you are feeling depressed, tired or becoming negative, look at the above 5 people and you will be brimming with Hope. If these people can do all that they want to do, So can you. So go ahead and Dream and make your dreams into reality.

Freedom at last

2010-11-14T04:52:00.000-08:00

It is a defining moment for Myanmar when Suu Kyi was released on Saturday evening for the first time since 2003 being in jail and later under house arrest for the last 15 years since 1989. What a determined Lady this person is. The Woman of this Century definitely. Especially having to overcome the personal problem of not being able to be with her Cancer ridden husband during his last moments. The Government refused the visa for the husband and she was warned that she cannot enter the country, if she were to leave to be with her husband. This woman, chose to be in Myanmar, placing the nation's interest over her personal need. A through and through Patriot indeed. Myanmar is really blessed to have this lady as her daughter.

May she live long and see that proper democracy is restored in Myanmar. For me Myanmar always invokes a sense of patriotism, as I know that there were a lot of Indians who got killed during the fight against the British and then later the other oriental forces. For me, it is a land filled with tall beautiful trees, filled with abundance of nature's love. One day, I would love to visit this country and enjoy myself to my hearts content.

While you receive, you can also give

2010-11-09T08:22:00.000-08:00

While you get a value out of a life changing program, you will also be give to a Noble Cause. What a way to do Self Help. Attend the Born to Win program by Only success, you will also be part of the efforts of the
Fund raiser for our Rotary Club of Chennai Thiruvanmiyur. Here are the details in the link:

http://onlysuccess.net/immortal/

Please help yourselves and help us to serve the society

In service to the society
A humble Rotarian

Rs. 450 Crores sales

2010-11-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

A sales figure of 92 crores in a day !!!! Good strategy and implemntation done to avoid loss of customers - WOW is what everybody will say when they read the headlines and how I wish it was my organization sales that was being talked about like this.

But wait a minute, this sales is not something that I am proud to be writing about, but most concerned. It is the Government sales during Diwali - Not the Handicrafts, not the textiles or Crackers or Food grains. It is the sales done by TASMAC, the chain that sells liquor. And the TV Channel touts it as an achievement by the Government. Where are we heading. Should my government earn by this method. I would rather pay higher state tax, but not this way please. How many households had to sacrifice their diwali bonus towards something some imporatant than this sales.. What misery it would be to see your beloved consuming this much of increased quantity and make themselves ill....

May this situation change please

Flying on the Clouds

2010-11-06T01:28:00.000-07:00

Yes this person is definitely flying high on the clouds - but his feet are firmly on the ground. I am talking about none other than Suresh Sambandam, CEO of Orangescape which is offering Platform as a Service for the companies which want to go to the cloud. Every time, I meet him or talk to him, I am amassed at the simplicity of this person while what he has achieved in life is of Himalayan proposition.

His is a story worth talking about how Determination & hardwork can lift you High in life. A person who admits that he wasnt even a college graduate, but was forced to get into Real Estate business along with his father when he was young, has made his company get featured amongst the likes of Amazon, google, Microsoft etc when it comes to Cloud offering. What a way to go.

I thought I was one of those few people for whom technology was daunting - but he also confesses that he was also afraid of technology initially, but got interested while he was learning typing during his free time, between his real estate business Once the bug bit him, there was a change in his entire focus itself. He along with few friends first started a training company in Cuddalore, a small town ( my birth place !!!!) and then got into software development as part of his offering.

Having seen success in a small town, this kid wanted to see the world and hence relocated to the most happening city in the computer world, which was Bangalore. Once again, he had establish his credentials in this city first as a trainer and then as a developer - first in HP and then in Selectica.

When Selectica was bought over, that is when, realizing that he has the potential to be a Founder of his own company, he along with another partner started Orangescape. What set apart this company from not becoming yet anther company was the Thought Process of wanting to produce a Software Product which will have an easiness of use. Thus Orangescape started delivering their first product as a XL based solution and there were quite a few early adaptors of his software who were large corporates. This is the basis of the success of Orangescape -

Suresh stands for grit, determination, hard work, creativity and daring to be different and a single minded focus - I can go on and on like this. But believe me, within a short time, We are going to see Orangescape scaling unimaginable heights and Suresh will become a household name for young entrepreneurs.

Despite all these, Suresh still remains down to earth, with no airs, easily approachable and more than anything wanting to help everyone around him.

May God help him to realise all his dreams faster and easier.

Bangalore & Buffalo

2010-11-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

I liked the Open letter written by Mr Som Mittal, President of

Nasscom in yesterdays Economic Times addressed to the visiting President of US, Mr Barack Obama.

I am reproducing the entire write up which got published in Economic Times of 4th November 2010.

Dear Mr President,

For years now, America has stood for and exported to the world, all the technologies and free-market axioms that created this increasingly flat, global economic playing field. You have a domestic constituency to serve, but you also have inherited a larger role of global leadership. America’s success is important for the world economy including India.

Your vis It to India indicates the need for enhancing strategic partnership between the two economies. It is necessary for political leadership in our two countries to develop a long-term strategic vision and nurture it.

There could not be reasons more compelling for the two nations to work towards a strategic partnership based on the commercial relations. With 1.2 billion people and a growing economy, India is a potentially an important market for US exports. US goods exports have already quadrupled over the last seven years to about $17 billion. And service exports have tripled to about $10 billion a year.

Indian companies are the second-fastest-growing investors in the US. They now support about 57,000 jobs in the country. About 239 Indian firms have invested $21 billion in the US through 267 acquisitions between 2004 and 2009. In recent years, Indian FDI in the US has been growing at a much higher rate vis-à-vis US FDI in India. America will do what it is great at. Yet it will have to bank on others to do things that they excel in. Please allow us to convince you through facts.

One in five jobs in America depends on global trade. For the US to retreat into shell or to resist globalisation is damaging to growth and dangerous.

For every job outsourced, it creates two new ones. In the past too, companies based outside the US have doubled the number of jobs created in America. And, those workers at US-based subsidiaries of foreign corporations earn significantly more — 31% — vis-à-vis their counterparts at competing firms based in the US.

India exporting IT-BPO services and bidding for IT contracts in the US is no different from America participating in the nuclear, retail, defence and aviation deals here.

Long-term demographics indicate that most countries will have shortage of working age people — we need policies that facilitate quick movement of highly skilled resources and not the ones that restrict movement.

While in India, we would strongly urge you to revisit the Indian IT story and why it is the most compelling case study on how the two countries have contributed to each others’ success — how Bangalore has helped Buffalo to become competitive. Mr. President, you must view us as a part of a solution the US problems. We are looking forward to building upon the existing relationship and wish your visit a resounding success

By som mittal, president, NASSCOM

Here is the link to the article

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/How-Bangalore-helped-Buffalo/articleshow/6868722.cms

What a fantastic written Som, which expresses all our sentiments very very nicely.

integrated transport management

2010-10-23T16:35:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best things of USA. The metro travel system goes like this:

Amtrak is the basic train system which runs throughout America like our Railways
Each major city or metro has its own metro train system
Then there is a metrolink which connects to the distant suburbs from the city
There is also the buses system which serves the cities linking the suburbs to the rail system

For eg to go to San Diego from Los Angeles You can take the Surfliner - The Amtrak service which runs between Union Station, LA & San Diego. This service is available throughout the day and it takes about 2 1/2 hours to reach San Diego. In case you want to go to say a place in between then there is the Metrolink which runs from Union Station to say Oceanside (which is approx midway between San Diego & LA) you have the the metro link and from Oceanside to San Diego you have a coaster.

The best thing is the integrated travel systems that are in place the trains stations have buses which come into the station close to the arrival of the trains so that commuters can take the buses from the stations to the close to where ever they need to go.

The best part is which ever mode you are taking whether it is a bus, Amtrak train or a metro train, you have the printed timetable available and you can calculate the time you need to start or need to arrive into your destinations based on these time given in there. A 9.21 am train or bus reaches the scheduled stop at 9.21 am (something of a wonder for a Indian, I suppose). More than anything the easiness to commute using both the train and the bus which comes into the bus bay in the station. Each of these stations have atleast a small retail outlet which serves coffee, fruits and sandwiches, etc.

When I see the Adyar or Thiruvanmiyur stations, which are huge commercial property without being put to proper use, I only wish, these people take a lesson from America or Japan and utilize the space much better which can be local hub improving the number of people using the station and also make it useful to the community. But integrate it with buses so that people can make use of the public transport system more and more.

Of course, even in America there is still need for improvement for eg take Washington Dulles airport - the only way to reach the city from the airport when you travel with bags is to take the shuttle or a private taxi. Though there is a good metro train system well established and over a century old in Washington, it doesnt serve the airport. You need to come to West Falls Church and then take a shuttle from there. The only other option is to take the route No 5A bus from airport to Rossilyn metro. You travel tight and then and only then this bus is the best option and not otherwise.

However, I am seeing that in Chennai the metro lines are going to be linked to the airport too. But my request is that make it differently abled friendly and Senior citizen friendly. Let the metro have a escalator or a lift into the airport so that bringing over bags into the trains will be easy. Also please make sure that each of the station the same kind of arrangement is available.

I know that our Indian systems are improving, but I would like to see the day where the ease of travel and regularity of travel is assured.

Individuals make all the difference

2010-10-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

This is all about how each individual has to contribute to the Customer Experience for any company.

I travelled back to India from US starting on Wednesday by Lufthansa which has 2 flights to be taken to reach Chennai via Frankfurt

The first half There was a delay in departure of the aircraft - guess what was the reason - the delay in arrival of the crew - Not it wasn't their fault - they were caught up in a traffic jam in NJ turnpike due to an accident. So to make it quicker to reach the airport, the shuttle driver took another route and believe me -there was another accident in that route too - So for a ride which just takes half an hour - it took them two and half hours to reach the airport. Despite all the delays the crew was so cheerful and was serving all the passengers with SMILE creating a feeling of being taken care of. The German gentleman who was attending to me, was so apologetic about me not able to get a vegetarian breakfast as I had slept through and just with only 20 mts to landing was fussing with trying to get me something to eat. He even apologized for just having only ham sandwiches and brought out another fruit bowl to make sure that I had something to eat.

The second half : This was the flight from Frankfurt to Chennai. - The crew were fresh to look at - but something was lacking in them - it was the SMILE from their faces. The way they went about was as per the rule book nothing missing in their process in terms of serving. But it was just that they were doing a job and not really interested in the guests to whom they were serving their food. This is what we have - so take it or leave it. They were going here and there - but with no warmth.

I was thinking to myself - Lufthansa HR please teach them to smile first. No this crew is not a trainee crew - it was a well experienced crew and still there was no warmth in them.

So will it change me in switching my loyalty - Yes all these are negatives that add up to the total experience with the carrier itself and who knows what will happen if any such thing becomes a last straw on the camels back, but such things are negated by the positives the other crew created too...

Just to add a note : I have a gold card and I fly at least 5 times in a year to US and back and so you can imagine the travel experience I would have.

Hence my advice to all the people who are dealing with customers - please put yourself in the customer's shoes and see how you would like to be taken care of and make sure that every touch point leaves only a positive experience so that the loyalty towards your company builds up all the time. Each of your action counts for your company all the time. As Gandhiji said, Customer is the reason why we are here and lets make the customer to bond with us all the time through our positive actions.

News items that catched my attention

2010-10-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

There were 3 news item which catch ed my attention and which I wanted to highlight in my blog
The first was about Commonwealth Games and continuing gold medal tally that India is gaining. What a way to Go showing the world what we are despite all our execution weakness, politics, corruption, etc.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/13/stories/2010101358870100.htm

The second was India getting into the UN Security Council. This is true arrival and the number of votes in favour of India getting this status - speaks about the popularity of our beloved India - 187 out of 192.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/13/stories/2010101359360100.htm

The third was Hindu highlighting the religious harmany in its front page of how our Indian citizens are united at all levels with religion helping us to unite

http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/13/stories/2010101362370900.htm

This is my country, My India. Hail my motherland

Seeing the world again

2010-10-13T07:04:00.000-07:00

This blog is about the 33 miners trapped in the mines in Chile and their successfully passing 62 days inside the mines and slowly coming out one by one.

What a tremendous effort was made by the Chile government to make sure that they get the expertise of professionals from various countries to enable them to get the miners out. Watching the moment in CNBC was as if I watching the Neil Armstrong keeping his first foot on the Surface of Moon. It took about 16 mts for the miner the first man rescued, a healthy-looking Florencio Avalos aged 31, stepped out of a torpedo-shaped capsule that lifted him over 2,000 feet to the surface.

I understand that last miner out would be 54-year-old Luis Urzua. He was the shift chief when an explosion caused the mine collapse on Aug. 5 - and is credited with keeping his men in line amid the darkness and despair. Urzua kept his colleagues alive until food could be sent down by doling out to each miner just a spoonful of tuna every 48 hours. He said that before he goes up, he'll try to clean up the space in which they have been living as they dont have any place for the garbage. "We had to be strong," Urzua said in a phone interview with The Guardian of London earlier Tuesday. "I hope to never live again like this, but that's the life of a miner."

What a wonderful Captionship it is. A truly admirable man and his team members who have come out as heroes from this tragic mishap.

One more notable thing is that when interviewed, one of them said that we are not 33 miners living in here, but 34 as God is always living with us". What a wonderful statement.

God, religion is a faith which creates the positiveness and keeps us going in this world isn't.

May these miners enjoy their second lives which has come through their own perseverance, grit
& determination of Chile government to get them out alive and the tremendous hard work of all the global experts

Well done India

2010-10-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

So with lot of negatives about the Commonwealth Games - with questions about whether it will take place or not, now we all rejoice the way India is doing well in the commonwealth Games with 29 gold and gets the second position ahead of England with is 26 Gold. Here is the tally at the end of 8th day.

AUS 61 39 37 137

IND 29 22 22 73

ENG 26 45 33 104

CAN 22 12 25 59

RSA 11 11 9 31

lets enjoy

Touching people's lives by simple gestures

2010-10-10T16:38:00.000-07:00

What a personality he is .. At his age, at his position - how can he be so simple, humble and so hospitable. I am talking about the great Dr Bala Balachandran. There can never be such a noble soul at all.

We were in Chicago on Friday to meet up with a client in the morning and my husband wanted to meet Dr Bala to get himself charged and motivated to tackle things head on. So Ramani wrote to Dr Bala on Wednesday saying that he would like to meet up with him. Pat came the reply immediately asking him about the whereabouts of our meeting. Once Ramani wrote back, Dr Bala wrote back, it will take you around 3.00 PM to reach my place after your client meeting and is my house is just 30 mts from the airport.
So you can come over to my house and we can get together over a cup of coffee. So Ramani calls up Dr Bala's residence after the meeting is over to find out how to reach and believe me his wife picks up the call and tell him to take the train and be at the station where she said she would come and pick up, though Ramani said he will come to their home by taxi. She said a big NO and when we got out of the station, there is this black car with Dr Bala himself coming over to pick us up. He who hosts top business leaders and people like MGR, plays a perfect host to little unknowns like us in the same manner treating us as royalty. His wife, not to be left behind, makes us delicious dosas, packs them up so neatly saying that in US flights, you dont get anything to eat, and I dont want you to be hungry. What an extraordinary couple. Not only that he drove us to the airport and when he said he would make sure he would drop us at 7.00 pm, he made sure that even this promise he kept.

The ability of Dr Bala to treat each and every other person like he or she is the King or Queen is something very rare quality you can see. He is so genuinely interested in people around him to succeed in life and makes it a point to give time to any one who wants to take his guidance. Few years before, when we asked for his guidance, he readily agreed to be an Advisor to our company and Year on Year he comes on January 1st to address our leaders. Sir, we are very very fortunate to have you as our advisor

There are a lot more things that I can go on writing about him - his humility, his great reverence to his Motherland, his dedication to his profession, his love for humanity, his ability to spot the best things in each and every person and encourage and foster to bring that to the fore, etc.etc.. I can go on like this........................

You are the Great Lakes. Thanks a lot for all the support you extend to all of us. We owe you a lot in life Sir and we promise to follow in your footsteps and give back to the society whatever we can.

Some emotional musings

2010-10-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

First itself, let me admit that I dont know this movie name or the name of the actors in this movie, but I wanted to write about this movie because it was a question of "when is the time to let go?" that got posted throughout this movie. Sitting in a hotel room on a Saturday with no appointments and with severe tooth ache, it was left to do channel surfing for me to pass the day. So thats how I started watching this movie which turned out to very emotional for me

The setting is a family consisting of 3 children - the second child being a cancer patient. The 3rd girl is a perfect match donor for her elder daughter and has already undergone a lot of surgeries for the sake of her sister. The mother is a fierce parent always fighting for her daughter's survival even at the cost of the other family members. So the younger daughter who is just 11 year old goes to court saying that She has a say whether she can donate her kidneys or not, which is crucial for her sisters survival This is because the elder sister requests her to let her die peacefully and not to donate. Very nicely portrayed family drama - where even the doctor says that the child can be taken home for some quality time before she dies, the mother insists that the daughter be kept in the hospital for the next surgery so that she can survive for some more time. Here is the dilemma of when to let go of her daughter to die peacefully comes.

Can a mother ever give up hope that her child cannot survive - I dont think so.

I was reminded of the kind of similar situation one of my relatives had - They had a son who was suffering from the disease whose name I dont know where the muscles becomes wasted one by one and so the movement becomes restricted. Through all that she was going on wanting him to read his lessons with the hope that if a cure is found out and her son survives, then he should not be left without an education. Finally the boy died. Of course, it was a blessed relief for the son as well as the mother as she was suffering from seeing her son suffering. Be a mother or a father - it is very difficult position to be in - when your own offspring is suffering there is nothing you can do about it.

Whatever may be the age, it is very difficult to see your children die before you which is very very tragic isnt. In our residential complex, a month ago, a 27 year old died. He was living in Boston, and it took his body 6 days to reach home where his aged parents of 60+ and his grandma of 83 was waiting to see his face one last time. There are no words to comfort these people. The whole family is plunged into grief.

Death is so final and though we know it, we still go on as if we are going to be everliving - fighting amongst ourselves over petty things, postponing doing all good deeds, serving the society thinking that it is now our prime time to earn and there will come a time for me to do the good deeds, etc..... As Dharma replied to the Yaskaka - The most funny thing is even when we see death all around us, we still think we are above it and carry on the life with no remorse.

Enthiran

2010-10-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

So, a cancelled dinner appointment at the last minute and the desire to see my motherinlaw on screen, made us to go to the local movie theatre at Toronto to watch Enthiran, the new blockbuster from Rajini - Shankar stable.

Before I go to actual review of the movie, I just want to narrate the perfectionist streak of Shankar - which I had the fortune to see. We were in the sets of Rajini, as my sister in law is doing small roles in movie and she had taken permission from the producer to bring over my mother in law and my husband to see Rajinikanth in the sets. When we entered, it was the making of the betrothal scene in the movie. Shankar, though such a famous man, was so humble and he took the blessings of my mother in law by touching her feet. What a sight it was. For me it was unbelievable as I never expected that a very famous man would touch a feet of unknown elderly person in his workplace. I was amassed at that itself. This particular scene just comes in the movie for about few minutes that's all. But the number of times Shankar had that shot done, with emphasis on the other actors on the frame, controlling each and every action - It was perfectionism at work. We just criticize and comment on the movies just like that, but the hard work that goes into making each and every scene is so much in magnitude. During this screen shot was when he invited my motherinlaw to sit as one of the visitors for the betrothal function. If any one of you watch the movie, look out for the old lady in the chair opposite to where the marriage party is sitting. Thats is my beloved motherinlaw.

Coming to the movie as such, What an imaginative film this is. A true sci-fi film in our Tamil movie style with song and dance and romance woven around it. The graphic work is truly mind blowing. A full and full enjoyable film for the first of its kind sci-fi film in Tamil. An entertainer movie. While Rajini's style is as usual very enjoyable especially the Chitti party, the original scientist as a romantic Rajini is like Oil & water not mixing at all. AR Rahman's scores are good - but I still miss the melodies that are part of Rajini's movies. The locations of songs sequences are extremely good - but you dont know whether you need to enjoy the locale or Aishwariya Rai or Rajini's dance steps or the song. What I liked most was, always in Rajini's movie whether by design or by the accident - he always conveys that there are a lot more meaning in what our elders did whether it was the rituals or any belief in God or supernatural powers. Here also he demonstrates how our elders were able to help women to have normal deliveries even when there were complications - the scene at the hospital where chitti helps to deliver the baby safe. This method is still practiced even today by older doctors and midwife.

If I were to rank the last 3 movies of Rajinikanth namely Chandramukhi, Sivaji and Enthriran - it would be the same order while my husband's ranking is Enthiran, Sivaji & Chandramukhi.

On the whole, this is a good entertainer and my appreciations to all the crew members.

Father of Indian's green revolution

2010-10-05T06:18:00.000-07:00

This the about the new item in The globe and Mail newspaper in its Monday October 4th edition from Toronto. While waiting in the lobby for our client meeting, I happened to browse through the new paper and this item on the 4th page made me sit up and read it with more vigour.

This is about Dr M S Swaminathan - who the paper says is that is due for a Nobel Prize for his work towards the improving the Indian agriculture. He en route to Montreal to receive another Honorary doctorate ( already has 60 honorary doctorates from around the world) from the University of Alberta, his first Canadian honour.

In his interview he talks about using cellphones and uptodate genetic strategy to make the small and marginal farmers in the developing country to become more productive using technology as an enabler.

Hats off to Dr Swaminathan, who had done yeomen services to our country by introducing short term rice varieties, which has helped India in its Goal of self sufficiency to Global Exports.

May I request all of you to pray for a Nobel Prize for our own MS Swaminathan.

Noble Prize to Robert Edwards - Father of Test tube baby

2010-10-05T03:38:00.000-07:00

The whole world is talking about Nobel Prize for Medicine for Father of Test tube baby Dr Robert Edwards given to him when he is 85 and who is too ill to even comment "quoting Hindu". I dont know why it took so many years for the Nobel Prize committee to award this man this recognition for the yeomen service he rendered to the humanity.

In Indian society, where there were second marriages on accord of No child bearing ability, this is one which helped many a women enjoy the Motherhood and joy of creating a new life and delivering a tiny tiny creature into the world which is a has come from her own flesh and blood. That particular moment when you hold the new born in your hand, that is such a defining moment. Forget about the pains you had to undergo and also the later day pains and problems in bringing up the children parenthood is a different pleasure in life.

My only regret is why wait for so long to award this man, when the same noble committee could award President Obama the award even before he could deliver going only by the public election campaign speech.

May so much path breaking Scientists be awarded early in life to become an inspiration to others.
My next blog is about one more scientist who is predicted to win the nobel prize.... Guess Who.. keep waiting..........

ayodhya

2010-09-29T23:34:00.000-07:00

This is the link to a good blog from my friend, Umashree, a prolific writer, poet, a multi faceted personality in a nut shell.

http://umasreeraghunath.blogspot.com/2010/09/ayodhya-verdict-babri-masjid-vs.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UmasreeRaghunath+%28Umasree+Raghunath%29

The Indian agriculure - Whats new

2010-09-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

I got married into a very conservative family which hails from one of the villages on the banks of Cauvery. Our family had good land holdings which they were cultivating on their own + giving it for lease to people. Over the years, I have seen that somehow or other, we have been only loosing our money and it is not that much profitable. Our family has been growing Sugarcane, banana and Paddy. Each one had its own story about profitability. Even today India weather spins the fortune wheel so your can have a fortune or deep loss. The cost of cultivation has been going up, but the remuneration for the land owners is not that every attractive in this traditional method though nowadays I see a lot of machinery being used in cutting, thrashing, etc in the village sides.

So anything that brings a profit for the farmers always used to be hearting for me, so when I got this link, I wanted to share it with my readers so that the word can spread as much as possible. If only, every farmer in India, takes his or her cue we will have a very robust economy in villages where it matters most.

Precision Farming

SCIENTISTS AT the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, have developed a technology called precision farming, said to be a first of its kind in India.The technology is being presently implemented in several major areas of Tamil Nadu. At present precision technology is implemented in about 200 hectares in Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu. More than 100 farmers have been benefited by this project. Under this farming concept, the University gives technical advice to farmers on soil and water conditions, weather mapping, forewarning of pest attacks and also supplies water soluble fertilizers to be applied along with drip irrigation.

Mr. P.M. Chinnasamy, is one such beneficiary farmer in Dharmapuri, who has harvested about 135 tonnes of tomato from his one hectare field in nine months using this technology.The yield is almost triple that of the farmers growing tomato under the conventional system of planting.The first harvest was done on the 65th day after planting. The fruits were uniform in size and the skin colour was deep red. The fruits were sold at the rate of Rs.10-20 per kg. Mr. Chinnasamy, has earned a net income of about Rs. 5 lakhs from tomato cultivation in nine months.

http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=209960138&gid=1857898&type=member&item=30854908&articleURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eyourstory%2Ein%2Fresources%2Frural-innovation%2F4600-entrepreneur-chinnasamy-earns-rs5-lakhs-in-9-months-from-selling-tomatoes&urlhash=fHM2&goback=%2Egde_1857898_member_30854908

The next news item is:

Mr. C. Boopathy, a farmer of the precision farming technology (PFT) in Morappur village of Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu has grown musk melon in his one hectare farm.

“I had spent about Rs. 90,000 as cultivation cost and was able to get a gross income of Rs. 3,60,000. Deducting the expense I have earned a net profit of Rs. 2,70,000 solely from musk melon,” he says.I was able to harvest two fruits from a single vine he said. Each fruit weighed 1.25 - 1.5 kg. About 45 tonnes of fruit was harvested from a hectare and sold at Rs. 5 to 12 a kg,” said Mr. Boopathy.Though it is mainly a summer crop it is now being cultivated throughout the year in Tamil Nadu.

Thank you Scientist at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University for all the innovation and taking the concept to the field - The lab to field Success is very very heartening.

The two sides of a coin

2010-09-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

In today's Hindu, there in the center page are 2 particles one next to the other about Pakistan. The first one is about an constructive activity and the next one is about the destructive activity. What a contrast.

The constructive activity is all about an Pakistan Solider Mr Muhammad Yousuf Jamil, a Lance Naik in Pakistani Army planting 20,101 saplings in 24 hours to enter into Guinness World Record. What a news it is especially an Army solider doing this is more heartening.

the other news items is " CIA intensifies drone strikes within Pakistan".

So we see good and bad together at the same page side by side.

Happy reading

Utilizing the power of Social Media

2010-09-28T05:27:00.000-07:00

ITSME association invites you to a breakfast meeting for “ Utilizing the power of Social Media" on October 6th at 8.30 am at Hotel Savera . The target audience for this program will be CxO and all those involved in the sales & Marketing functions in your company.

About the Program :

That social media has caught on with a large segment of today's marketplace. A 2010 Nielsen study in the U.S. found that it now occupies roughly 25% of online activities--and that's nearly double from just a year ago. So it's fair to say that this is an activity that's already being embraced by your existing customers as well as people with whom you'd like to do business. Your challenge, therefore, is to find ways to make social media part of your client-attraction system.

Learn from the Business leader who has successfully utilizing this forum for building up his business – Mr Dorai Thodla, CEO, iMorph Inc – a Serial Entrepreneur with about 40 years of experience in the industry, Chief Mentor for a Research Lab at Congruent Technologies and and Innovation Cell at KCG Tech, Adviser to several startups

While this program is free for the members, an gate fees of Rs. 400 will be charged for Non members. Please RSVP for this session calling Sujatha at the contact info below. Prior registration is mandatory for attending this program

The agenda

8.30 – 9.00 Breakfast

9.00 – 9.10 Welcome address -Mr V Subramaian, President, ITSME Association

9.10 – 9.40 Utilizing the power of Social Media - Mr Dorai Thodla

9.40 – 9.55 Q & A

9.55 – 10.00 Vote of Thanks

Thanks and looking forward to your participation

Sarada Ramani

Program Incharge

ITSME Association,

29 Dr. VSI Estate Phase II

Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai 600041.

Ph: 44 2454 2858/ 2454 2958

http://www.itsmesindia.com/

getting into the public eye

2010-09-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

This post is all about me.... No dont get me wrong.... It is not about me personally, but about a woman next door going on to become a Role model for many a people in terms of Entrepreneurship. Hindu has featured a article about this in their Sunday supplement Down Town and here is the link:

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-downtown/article796019.ece

Happy reading.

The corporates come out

2010-09-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

This is a belated post, but wanted to write the good thing about India and the spirit of Nationality that is in everyone. while we had been honest and exposed the way things were moving around commonwealth games getting criticized that we dont have the Indianess in ourselves, see what has happened.

Many a corporate house has come forward - Sahara Group, GMR group and ITC and others in the hospitality sector - putting men, machine and their Nationality out so that things are getting better for the athletes to land up in New Delhi.

My hearty thanks to all these people to Make India Stand up with Pride

Sarada

Why this sad state

2010-09-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

While we are nearing the hosting of the Commonwealth Games, I am really saddened and ashamed at the kind of scandals and shoddy work that is being brought to limelight with each passing day. My India is a growing Super power capable of great things and has taken a very great stride in terms of its infrastructure building throughout this nation. Despite all these, to get these kind of news items and is really demeaning for every Indian. Mistakes happen everywhere and if we find that there has been problems lets acknowledge it and make it up such that the visiting participants and these people go back to their country with having experienced the best of India, the India, I am very very proud of it for its culture, for its people, for its capability and expertise.

This event has been so much in the news for all wrong reason in the recent past - whether it was the unearthing of a the committee having paid 150,000 pounds Sterling to a unknown company in London, the leaking roofs or the collapse of the overbridge near the main stadium just yesterday. More than anything, when a high official refutes the complaint about the cleanliness of the place saying that our,meaning Indian standard are different from their (foreign countries) standard, I wanted to tell him on his face - Sir you dont have my concurrence from me and million other Indian citizens, on whose behalf, you are speaking that there can be two standards in cleanliness. We also maintain high standard only. So please clean up fast and prove my(our) point.

May our Government step in where there are problems and not be a silent spectator as it is the Image of India.
More than anything, after the events are over, Let the Government fix up the accountability for this debacle and punish all those where lead to this sorry state of affairs. If we dont do this, then God Save India as we would be repeating all these over and over again in another time and in another event.

New Frontiers and Friendships - the 19th Commonwealth Games

2010-09-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

These are some of the abstract from the wikipedia and also the official site about the commonwealth games.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 19th Commonwealth Games, is scheduled to be held in Delhi between 3 October and 14 October 2010.

The games will be the largest multi-sport event conducted to date in Delhi and India generally, which has previously hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi. It will also be the first time the Commonwealth Games will be held in India and the second time the event has been held in Asia (after 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).

India won the bid to host the event against Ontario, Canada. by a margin of 46 votes to 22, confirming India's first successful bid for the Games, with the bid motto of New Frontiers and Friendships. India has promised that it would provide US$100,000 to each participating country, along with air tickets, boarding, lodging and transport. The Indian government stated that it would underwrite the total cost of the Games

There are 17 sports streams and a total of 260 events. 71 member countries are participating in these games. The official website is http://www.cwgdelhi2010.org/

The Mascot is Shera - the name comes from the Hindi word Sher – meaning Tiger. Shera embodies values that the nation is proud of: majesty, power, charisma, intelligence and grace. His athletic prowess, courage and speed on the field are legendary. He is also a reminder of the fragile environment he lives in and our responsibility towards the protection of his ecosystem.

The Logo

The logo of the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi is inspired by the Chakra, the national symbol of freedom, unity and power. Spiralling upwards, it depicts the growth of India into a proud, vibrant nation. Her billion people coming together to fulfil their true destinies. India`s journey from tradition to modernity, her economic transformation into a super power… reaching out to the world and leading the way, even as she enthusiastically embraces all the 71 CGA nations and territories of the Commonwealth to become one and host the best ever Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

The Theme : Come Out and Play:

The logo tag line is in an invitation to every person across all divides – Indian and Commonwealth - to let go of themselves and participate in the Games to the best of their abilities, in the true spirit of the Games.

Colour Palette:

The colour palette for the Delhi 2010 logo programme combines two of the distinctive colours of the Delhi 2010 Emblem with the official colours of the Commonwealth Games.

Green: The colour that signifies life, energy and high spirits also represents the fact that Delhi 2010 will be the first ever Green Games.

Purple: Combining the stable and calming aspects of blue with the mystical qualities of pink, this colour satisfies the need for reassurance, while adding a hint of mystery and excitement.

Red, Yellow & Blue: Commonwealth Games colours, representing the ‘Trinity of Values’ that symbolise the games; unifying Humanity (Red) giving all athletes a chance to realise their Destiny (Yellow) and promoting Equality (Blue).

Pink: This colour has also been introduced to the palette adding an element of surprise and luxury to the Games look programme. It plays to the crowd and truly reflects India in all its resplendent glory.

Baton

The Games baton has its own tales to tell:

The baton was designed by Michael Foley, a graduate of the National Institute of Design. It is a triangular section of aluminium twisted into a helix shape and then coated with coloured soils collected from all the regions of India. The coloured soils are a first for the styling of a Queen's Baton. A jewel-encrusted box was used to house the Queen's message, which was laser-engraved onto a miniature 18 carat gold leaf – representative of the ancient Indian 'patras. The Queen's baton is ergonomically contoured for ease of use. It is 664 millimetres high, 34 millimetres wide at the base, and 86 millimetres wide at the top and weighs 1,900 grams.

The Queen's baton has a number of technological features including:

The ability to capture images and sound
Global positioning system (GPS) technology so the baton's location can be tracked
Embedded light emitting diodes (LEDs) which will change into the colours of a country’s flag whilst in that country
A text messaging capability so that people can send messages of congratulations and encouragement to the baton bearers throughout the relay

Currently the baton has reached Agra, Uttar Pradesh and will be reaching Delhi on 3rd for the Opening Ceremony after having visited the 70 other countries starting first from the Buckingham palace on 29th October 2009.

So Lets Go out and Play/see and enjoy taking the invitation

Role of Stakeholders in Increasing the Share and Sustainability of Women from Tier-2, Tier-3 and Rural Areas in IT/ITES Industry

2010-09-17T01:56:00.000-07:00

This time I am pasting the invite from the eWIT (empowering Women in IT) regarding the upcoming program on the Women that we want to be part of the IT landscape from the other than metros and rural areas.

Greetings!

It gives us great pleasure to inform that Empowering Women in IT (eWIT) and Computer Society of India (CSI) are jointly conducting a one day event. We are happy to extend you an invitation!

Date: Friday, 24th September 2010

Time: 9:30 am – 5:00 pm

Venue: Muthaian Auditorium, Anna University , Chennai

Theme : Role of Stakeholders in Increasing the Share and Sustainability of Women from Tier-2, Tier-3 and Rural Areas in IT/ITES Industry

This is a FREE event. The seats are limited so we request you to please confirm your participation on or before 22 nd September by replying to this mail.

For More Information / Confirmation email: admin@ewit.co.in

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Vijayalakshmi Rao

President – eWIT

Director - Scope eknowledge Center , Chennai

&

Wg Cdr M Murugesan

Director - Education, CSI

Program

9:30 am – 10:00 am Registration

10:00 am – 10:45 am

Session 1a

10:00 – 10:10 am – Welcome Address

Ms. Vijayalakshmi Rao, President, eWIT

Wg Cdr M Murugesan, Director - Education, CSI

10:10 am – 10:15 am – Inauguration

Honorable Minister for IT, Government of Tamil Nadu,

Dr Poongothai Aladi Aruna

10:15 am – 10:25 am – Keynote Address

“Attractiveness of Tier-2/3 cities and rural areas for IT/ITES industry” - Mr. PWC Davidar, IAS, Chairman, ELCOT , IT Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu

10:25 am – 10:40 am – Inaugural Address

Honorable Minister for IT, Government of Tamil Nadu,

Dr Poongothai Aladi Aruna

10:45 am – 11:15 am Session 1b

“Emerging role of women in our society” - Presentation by Mr. Mohan Ram, an EnterTrainer

11:15 am – 11:30 am Tea Break

11:30 am – 11:50 am Session 2a

"Challenges faced by women from Tier 2/3 cities in IT/ITES industry"

DR. Vijailakshmi Stephen, MD, Vijailakshmi Hitech Solutions, Madurai

11:50 am – 12:10 pm Session 2b

"Experience with employment of Women in Tier 2/3 cities"

R.Venugopal, GM (Centre Head), Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Ltd, Coimbatore

12:10 pm – 12:30 pm Q & A

12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Lunch Break

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm Session 3 – Interactive session on the Theme of the seminar

Moderator – Ms Jamuna Swamy, Head / Information Security Practice, Hexaware Technologies, Chennai

3:00 pm – 3:15 pm Tea Break

3:15pm – 4: 15 pm Session 4 – Panel Discussion on the Theme of the seminar

a. Infrastructure Needs – Mr. Oscar Breganza, Executive Director, Marg Ltd.

b. Government Initiatives – Mr. ‘Americai' V. Narayanan, Ex - Honorary Advisor, RBH – Panchayati Raj, GOI

c. Social Transformation – Prof. Hemalatha, Women Empowerment Cell, Anna University

d. Educational Needs – Ms Latha Ramesh, Past Chairman, Chennai Chapter, CSI

e. Industry Initiatives - Ms Sumitra Gomatam, Sr VP, Global Head - Testing services, Cognizant Technology Solutions

Moderator: Mr S Ramanathan, Regional Vice President, CSI

4-15pm – 4:45 pm Valedictory Address

Mr. J Parthasarathy, Director, STPI

perceptions

2010-09-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

Here I am quoting the leading Newspaper Hindu on its article which talks about an accident

http://www.hindu.com/2010/09/16/stories/2010091657830100.htm

So what is that's different here. Accidents are caused by all - so why should the paper in its headline itself say that a woman driver caused an accident. Aren't there 22year olds from the other gender cause accidents. this is what I was talking about when I wrote about the perceptions about Woman.

ITSME Association AGM invite

2010-09-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

i am reproducing the invite for the members for our AGM

ITSME/3rdAGM /2010 September 1st, 2010.

NOTICE FOR THIRD ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)

TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION

Notice is hereby given that the Third Annual General Meeting of the members of the ITSME Association will be held on wednesday, the 22nd September, 2010 at 1900 hrs at Hotel Savera, 146, Dr.Radhakrishnan Road, Chennai – 4 to transact the following business :-

ORDINARY BUSINESS

a) To receive and pass the Annual Report and Audited Accounts of the Council for the financial year 2009-10.

b) To appoint the Auditors to audit the Accounts of the Council for the financial year 2010-11 and to fix their remuneration.

Members are requested to kindly make it convenient to attend the Annual General Body Meeting and also join us for the Dinner thereafter, at the same venue.

Mythili Parthasarathy
Secretary
Chennai

Promoting Arts

2010-09-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, I was called for the Prize distribution function arranged by Columbia Kannan Trust and Jayadhaarini Trust for the youngsters who had participated in Classical music/semi classical music light music under vocal and instruments category in the competition held on 5th and 12th of September

Here again, I went with the question - what a IT company head has to do with Music competition. Everyone in my family was looking at me with wide eyes when I told them where I am going. I told them, to enjoy a movie, you dont need to be a movie maker so to enjoy music you dont need to be necessarily a singer and also they are calling me to a function where I dont need to sing, but to distribute the prizes to the winners.

I came to know of these trusts only recently.

Columbia Kannan Trust is a very young trust just one year old instituted in memory of Late S Kannan, who is famously known as columbia kannan who has served his life with music and musicians while working as recording Officer in saraswathi stores a unit of AVM Ltd .Columbia Kannan has helped lot of musicians has come up in their life His sons K Sridhar, K Govindan & K Balaji all are in different field, have promoted this trust to continue the good work of their father.

Jayadhaarini Trust is also because of one man - Late Cheeni Krishnaswamy who having served as a Tamil Teacher has contributed to the Tamil literature by translating one the 5 great epics of Tamil namely Seeva Chintamani in a dramatized form titled Raasamadevi. It had taken him 35 years of hard work to bring out this publication which has been well received. The Government of Tamil Nadu has recognized the good work and this book has received the Best Publication Award in 2002. This trust now being taken care of by Mr K Padmanabhan son of Late Cheeni Krishnaswamy aims to work towards promoting arts and literature with public recognition of the services of various people in different walks of life and Mr

Here I found two great things to write about -

An individual takes up the cause of promotion of Arts and Literature for the sheer love of things
The siblings take up the great work of their father and carry forward things in their names

WOW I admire these two fathers - who have inculcated their love into their children, & the Sons - who with their own work schedule are spending their personal time, effort and money towards something that their fathers started.

May these two trust continue their good work so that lot more youngsters get their talents recognized by the whole world.

A committed work force

2010-09-13T02:34:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I had gone over to Captain TV, one of the private channels started quite recently by Actor turned Politician Vijayakanth in Tamil Nadu. I had been invited to their studios to do be in their Success Stories called Sigaram Tottavar - meaning those who have reached the Summit. ( while I feel that I am yet to reach Mt Everest in terms of my professional career, I do admit that in my own rights there is something I have achieved in this second innings of mine. Having a started a Software Training industry at a mature age of 36ys and also after years of being just a homemaker - with no financial, technical and entrepreneurial background and out of which have spawned this living entity called Computers International and sustaining it against all odds is quite an achievement)

Oh No, I am drifting from what I was trying to write, this post is not about me - but about what I observed in Captain TV was astonishing. It is just a 6 months old entity and the work force is mostly less than 30 years, but I found that each and everyone was working with so much commitment to the job they had at hand, feeling proud of whatever they were doing and more than anything they were working without supervision. What a refreshing change. There was also this feeling of camaraderie amongst the team - each one was teaching or correcting the other one with easiness and without creating the feeling of superiority or inferiority. I am sure this organization will go very far in the days to come by the sheer force of this committed workforce.

I really admire the Organization to have created this kind of very wonderful environment. My best wishes to Captain TV to scale high.

The Federal and State Government of India are doing good and great things - Part II

2010-09-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

This part is about the State Government of Tamil Nadu. In India, when a patient gets admitted to the hospital, more than the worry about the state of health of the patient, the relatives worry about the amount that will be needed for the treatment ( Of course, we dont have the worry about how much will my insurance cover, and beyond which how do I treat - here it is about how we manage to get the money for the treatment from our various sources, as most often the medical insurance may or may not be there)

The next biggest worry is about how to get the food that needs to be given to the patient and also how the people who are staying along with the patient get their food. Many hospital nowadays provide in-patient food, but to make horlicks or hot water - the helpers have to run to tea shops nearby or make sure that it is brought from home.

Now I am proud that the Government has seen this need to be an area to be addressed and opened up the community kitchen in couple of hospitals. What a pioneering work. Congratulations to Government of Tamil Nadu, the Chief Minister, the Health Minister and the support provided by the Oil companies, especially BPCL. Many people will be relived with a facility being made available like this and they will definitely be praising the Governments' good effort.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/19/stories/2010081958330300.htm

May we look forward to more such community kitchens in other hospitals soon

The Federal and State Government of India are doing good and great things - Part I

2010-09-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

Here I am once again. There were a lot of things that I wanted to write about everyday, but couldn't find time to blog. So once again, I am starting again. This time, there are couple of news items about which I wanted to write about.

First is about The Federal Government revoking its permission given to Vedanta Mining company that was mining bauxite from the tribal areas of Orissa. This issue was highlighted as something akin to Indian Avatar happening where the Hill which is very sacred to the people is going to be mined for commercial exploitation. See my earlier post on this story.

Now I giving the extract from Hindu about the press conference statement made by the company where it claims that the State Government has promised the company to provide alternate site and that Supreme court has not found anything wrong with the mined area. Lets see what happens next as the Orissa Chief Minister has said the same day that he hopes there was no political decision that was made by the Federal Government in its revoke order

http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/17/stories/2010081755720100.htm

Here is the link to the news item from economic times which talks about the revoking of the permission to mine.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/oil--gas/Vedanta-suffers-another-green-blow-in-Orissa/articleshow/6527398.cms

Please also refer to my earlier blog on this same item

http://saradaramani.blogspot.com/2010/02/witth-permission-of-owsa-and-south-asia.html

Lets wait and see what happens

Perceptions about a woman

2010-09-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Quite recently I was on travel along with my husband. Since I travel more than my husband, I have a Gold membership card with few airlines and hotel chains, while in most cases, my husband either had a silver card or no membership at all, as we travel to different destinations most of the time.

Everywhere I went, whether it was US or India or any country for that matter, the person in the front office will always assume that he is the person who is the Gold card status holder and I am his companion. I had an hearty laugh in Vancouver, on the day we were flying to Washington through Seattle from that airport. From Vancouver to Seattle it is a small aircraft and so both our class of travel was same. But from Seattle to Washington, mine was first class and his was economy class. The airline representative was telling me that I don't know how a silver card holder has got an first class upgrade while a gold card holder is travelling in economy at the same time. I had to tell her that I am the Gold card holder and immediately she apologized for thinking differently.

This is not just airlines or hotel experience - Whenever we both go together, it is always assumed that he is the entrepreneur or head of the company and I am accompanying him. So we always start off the conversation that "this is Ramani my life and business partner and he reports to me both at office and home". This also helps me to break the ice with the new acquaintance very fast and everybody in that meeting will have a hearty laugh and depending on the gender will say "lucky you" or "Oh really" and become sympathetic with him.

Why is this happening - is it because such kind of situation are abnormal from the given patterns or what else is the reason? This post is looking for the answer to my question. Can anyone answer.

My mother in law

2010-08-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

Last month was a pretty bad month for me - both in official and personal terms. While I was on my business travel triggered by an emergency situation of my business being at risk, I had to return back urgently to India as my mother in law was battling for her life.

With Gods grace, both my self and my husband could travel from different parts of US to be with her for at least one and half days before she breathed her last.

This is a tribute to her - Not because she is my mother in law - but being a Very Great Woman she was. It is a tribute to all those women who silently struggle to bring up their kids and retain a family value in all that they done.

She was a treasure trove of information. She was 84 when she died, but what an intelligent brain she had. It became frustrating for us to answer her intelligent questions. She was an avid reader of books, magazines and news paper. She could tell what was happening in US markets to my husband just by reading the Tamil newspaper.

She lost her husband when her kids where in school and college. Of course, being a person coming from a landed family, she wasnt exactly in poverty, but she had to ward against the schemes of others to take over the lands. She individually managed the farming activities. When her body was kept outside the house before she could be taken to the cremation grounds, the whole village irrespective of all the caste came to pay homage to her. This showed the high esteem she has earned with one and all - despite coming from a conservative brahmin family and not stepping out of the house at all. How many people she would have helped in their times of need - whether feeding them when they are hungry or helping them with money for their studies or children's education or giving help for the marriage as well as conducting many a functions of others in her house. In all these times, she was fair to all the people rich or poor. She doesn't have the habit of gossiping at all, in fact we were feeling little bit unhappy with her because she didn't even confide in her children. She used to keep everything bottled up within her.

In all, she lived a Royal life, died in royal manner ( with all the relatives coming and seeing her during her final days) and all her after death rituals being performed in a royal manner by her sons and daughters.

I miss her very much, as she was keeping me much above her own daughters. She was even discussing the kind of stress and tension and the troubles I undergo at this age because of the business needs with my father feeling very concerned with my travel when I was having viral infection. In fact, every time I spoke to her from US, her concern was about my food and my travel only.

One thing I dont like in our Hindu religion is the fact that women who lose their husbands are considered to be unlucky and inauspicious. But they are the ones who serve their husbands and the family till their last breadth without getting any recogniziton from the society. While giving even a small amount of Rs. 5.00 to an woman with an husband is considered to be auspicious, it is considered to be unlucky if you see an widowed woman.. What a foolish thinking it is. These are the people who needed to admired.

What a woman she was and she is. My salutations and to Her and all such women of this world, who are the unsung heroes of our society.

May she be happy in Heaven

Dealing with crisis

2010-07-23T01:32:00.000-07:00

Here is another sharing - The article from connectITusa which takes a game to teach about how we need to behave in public as a professional owning up moral responsibility for acts of commission omission or error.

Quote:

Three lessons for dealing with a crisis
22 July, 2010By Liz Guthridge

Baseball and big oil have been very good to me, to paraphrase the late baseball great Roberto Clemente. Baseball and oil both run in my blood.
My first job was hawking peanuts, popcorn and crackerjacks at Tulsa Oiler Park, home of the Triple A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. As the first female vendor dubbed "Goober Girl," I broke the gender barrier back when Tulsa, Oklahoma was still the "oil capital of the world" and teenage girls babysat to make money.

My first professional communications job was a paid internship in the Public and Government Affairs Department of Amoco, now part of BP, in its Chicago headquarters. Over the course of two academic years in college and one summer, I served as the assistant editor and writer for four publications.

So recent events -- the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the imperfect perfect baseball game -- have captivated me, especially their juxtaposition. They've also illustrated that men who play games can be better role models and leaders than captains of industry.
What more can be said about BP CEO Tony Hayward with his tin ear and loose lips who said he would like his life back? (By the way, where are the members of the BP Board of Directors? What are they thinking and doing?)

Now contrast the BP executive's words and actions with Jim Joyce, the established baseball umpire who blew the most important call of his career. He immediately apologized to Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga for calling the hitter safe at first base, which robbed the young pitcher of a perfect game. Joyce also apologized to the Tiger's manager and the fans.
Granted, the bad baseball call took place in the "toy store of life," as one of my professors called sports. The adverse impact of the call is an almost invisible asterisk compared with the economic, environmental, and emotional damage the BP oil spill has inflicted.
Yet, this baseball botch can teach business three key lessons about dealing with crises, especially crisis communications.

1. Be fast. Once Joyce watched the videotape and saw that he missed the call, he took responsibility immediately. He not only apologized to the pitcher in the Tigers clubhouse, but he also expressed his regrets to the media. Joyce didn't wait for others to tell him to act like an adult, be responsible, and move quickly.
2. Care about others. By taking immediate responsibility, apologizing, and showing concern for Galarraga and his teammates, Joyce demonstrated that he was the player in this drama, not the focal point. Galarraga was the victim of Joyce's bad call. Rather than wallow in self-pity, Joyce stepped forward to show that it's dignified to admit a mistake, show vulnerability and express sincere interest in others.

3. Get back in the game. The very next day Joyce worked as home plate umpire. He decided to work rather than take the day off as he was offered. By being in close proximity to the players and coaches, he demonstrated respect, integrity, and responsibility.
These were simple, yet extremely powerful, significant and memorable actions. They also provide a teachable moment for the rest of us.
In both the substance and manner of his communication, Joyce was direct, respectful, and responsible. "

Unquote:

What a profound lesson this is and how many of us learn from our mistakes. so go ahead and whoever can learn take this seriously.

Here is the link to that article

http://www.connectitnews.com/usa/story.cfm?item=4489

Managerial Excellence award

2010-07-21T02:07:00.000-07:00

This post is about the celebration of our company winning the Madras Management Association Excellence award under the SMB category.
The selection is based on the following criteria:

Company's Key Performance

Company KPI vs Industry performance

The Marketplace

The Internal Processes

Learning & growth initiatives of the company

CSR activities

All the above in relation to how the company as a whole performs as a team rather than just the performance. In fact, the title itself is Managerial Excellence and all the companies have to showcase how they have done all the above from the perspective of collectively we achieve more.

So it was with pride that we got the award from MMA on 2nd July as this goes to prove our capabilities of being focused on what we are doing as a team.

For press coverage please visit the following link which shows all the 3 winner - under Manufacturing, Services and SMB categories.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/03/stories/2010070353980400.htm

My sincere thanks to our clients, who have been always with us and my team which is the greatest assest I have apart from all my other supporters and well wishers who have been encouraging, guiding and helping us at all times. Last but not the least, is my sincere appreciation of Gods kindness is always Showing the Path to us and carrying us through it always.

Thank you all.

Netiquette

2010-06-29T23:38:00.000-07:00

I find that whatever I do, there is a climb and then there is a lull and then once again the journey starts. Of course, every time the climb is higher than ever...

So is the case with my blogging too, though there are no peaks that I climb here. But the effort is larger every time to create a good blog.

Coming back to my blog, I wanted to write about a lot of things, but I didn't have that mind space to log in to the site and write the post. So breaking out of inertia, I am here with a post about the etiquette that most of us forget or dont even know in the first place with our emails. (I admit this is also a copy paste from something that landed in my email, but let me do some value adds too)

Mind Your Manners:
Salutations
Think of the basic rules you learned growing up, like saying please and thank you. Address people you don't know as Mr., Mrs., or Dr. Only address someone by first name if they imply it's okay to do so. Today’s forum indicates that people normally use first name and surname during introductions. Hence it is expected that you start addressing emails now days by using their names rather than Dear Sir etc.

Aim to address with full name as indicated when writing to them first time. While as an Indian, we need to use Mr or Ms or Dr as a prefix, one of my clients told me that when I first sent him an email addressing him as Mr... he got a little jittery since as an American he wasn't used to being formally addressed. So know the country too when you are using the prefix
The next time around you can start coming on first name terms.
Internally – you still need to put salutation with at least the name if not the prefix, according to how it is being followed in your company.

Avoid the impulse to Rushing to Reply

All of us tend to send the reply immediately. Many a times, I have regretted the impulsive reply I had sent. Take time to write, read and reread and then click send. ( What I preach I am trying to follow though there has been many instances of wanting to recall the message after the damage has been done.

I like the suggestions that this article give on Replying and hence reproducing it verbatim.

Take a few moments longer to carefully draft your messages to project your right image; meaning someone with a deliberate and accurate business sense
Use your "queue" function, which lines up your messages but doesn't send them. This creates one last opportunity to be sure that what you've said is appropriate, before it's unleashed upon a colleague or customer.
Build-in a practice to review your Important Emails after few minutes after writing them –rather hit the send button
If you are writing while you are in an emotional state, save your message and review it later before sending it – This is a must.

Yes the last part is the most important than all the rest.

An email is mostly misunderstood

An email written by you in a mood setting need not be received in the same mood set by the receiver. So Choose your words carefully and Watch Your Tone Tone is defined as an expression of a mood or emotion." It is very difficult to express tone in writing. You need to come across as respectful, friendly, and approachable. Your email should not be construed to be curt or demanding. Phrasing your thoughts are very important. Use care when sending a message with sarcasm in it. Let the person know that is how you intend the message to be read.

There are a lot more to this and I intend to write this out in parts so that my blog doesn't become too big to be read and so avoided.

See you with more net manners.............

Mount Everest

2010-06-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I came back to these pages, penning what is catching me in interest - it can be anger, anguish, pride, info - anything of value. When I am away from blogging for quite sometime, I feel very very guilty within myself. But inertia takes over and prevents from coming back. I have to fight that resistance and get back to it.

If writing, within the comforts of a table and chair itself needs so much mental work, just imagine what it would require to climb the highest peak. so this post is all about some known facts about my most fascinating topic MOUNT EVEREST

Recently amongst all those heart rendering scenarios about Mangalore Air crash on the same day, there was yet another Human Endurance tribute that happened

On 22nd May, 2010 Early Saturday morning, 16-year-old Indian schoolboy from the National Capital Region, Arjun Vajpai, became the youngest Indian to successfully climb the world's highest peak, 8,848-metre-high Mount Everest, via the traditional South Col route in Nepal. Arjun equalled the record of a Nepalese Sherpa Temba Tsheri, who also climbed the peak when he was sixteen. Arjun's team was led by Apa Sherpa, 50, who broke his own record to become the first man to climb the peak for a record 20th time. It also broke the record of Krushnaa Patil, 18, from Maharashtra, who became the youngest Indian to reach the highest peak in 2009. Along with Arjun, also making it to the top was an Indian woman Mamta Sodha, who reached the summit at 10:24 a.m.

The story doesnt stop here it continued beyond

The same day within hours, this record was taken over by the most youngest person to climb the Everest.

A 13-year-old American Jordan Romero on Saturday became the youngest climber to ever summit Mount Everest.

what a role model for the youngsters that the whole world will be at your feet, if you want to achieve your dreams. Just go for it. WOW. My congratulations to these two youngsters from different countries to motivate their generation to achieve the best results in life for all.

Coming to some facts
1. 29th May 1953 - Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to officially conquer Mount Everest.
2. In June 8th, 1924. George Mallory and Sandy Irvine were sighted just 400 meters below the summit. After which the pair weren't seen at all. It is also believed that both of them might have climbed the summit and would have perished on the return back to the Camp V. While George Mallory's body was recovered finally in 1994, Irvine body is yet to be located.
3. Till date there has been a total of 2249 + successful summits

4. 20th May 1965 - A.S. Cheema and Sherpa Nawang Gombu were the first Indians to summit the Everest. Gombu becomes the first person to summit Everest twice Out of the first seventeen summits of Everest. Additional summits were achieved by Sonam Gyatso, Sonam Wangyal, C.P. Vohra, Ang Kami, H.P.S. Ahluwalia, H.C.S. Rawat, and Phu Dorje during the same expedition.

5. . May 16 1975 Junko Tabei of Japan became the first woman to reach the summit via the South-East Ridge. May 27, Tibetan woman, Phantog becomes the second woman to summit Everest, losing this honor to Junko Tabei by only a few days. She is the first woman to summit from the Tibetan side.
6. August 5 1978: this day becomes First Ascent without bottled oxygen by Peter Habeler and Reinhold Messner.
7. August 20th 1980 Reinhold Messner does the Solo summiting the North Col to the North Face and the Great Couloir. He climbed for three days entirely alone from his base camp at 6500 meters without the use of artificial oxygen via the North Col/North Face route.

8. May 22nd, 1984 - Bachandri Pal became the first Indian woman and the fifth woman climber to scale Everest
9. 1996: Ang Rita Sherpa (born 1947), Summits Everest for the 10th time. (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995,and 1996 all ascents without bottled oxygen.)

Of course, while Mt Everest has given the world many achievers - there are also known tragedies. The latest is the following new item

"Everest team forced to leave sick British climber to die. This story was reported on June 10th." For the full article follow the link

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/everest-team-forced-to-leave-sick-british-climber-to-die-1988979.html

But all said, it is the passion which makes people climb their own peaks in life. My only prayer to God is "Please give me another life to enable me to climb this great peak and say my prayers there on the summit"

The New kid gets the best of all

2010-05-17T01:39:00.000-07:00

When I first read the headlines, I was surprised as how a new player can become the Telecom Player of the Year. But reading through the article, I got all the answers and I am reproducing herebelow some excerpts from the article.

Softbank Mobile has just become the first Japanese operator to report more revenue in data than voice. Since it began business out of the shell of the old Vodafone KK in 2006, Softbank Mobile has done things it own way in the clubby Japanese market. Softbank Mobile wins the trophy of Best Asian Telecom Carrier for having "changed the rules" of Japan's wireless market. .

It focused on data, it cut prices, it shut down its 2G service, it pioneered the iPhone - dismissed by some as bound to fail in Japan. It started with just 4.8% of the 3G market; it now has more than 20%.

The first thing about this mobile operator is it doesn't consider itself a mobile operator.

As senior executive vice president Ted Matsumoto puts it: "We are not thinking of ourselves as a network operator period. We're a value provider. Value comes from the combination of networks and network capability, handset and services. The three things all come together."

In Japan, mobile operators are the leading integrators and in the best place to create value - that's why Softbank entered the mobile business.

"We came from the internet world knowing that the marriage of internet and mobile will create the biggest future value. We knew the mobile telephone would become the mobile internet; that's why we bought Vodafone."

Unlike every other telecom operator, Softbank is comfortable facing the future.
"Many people came from the telephone companies and are afraid of the internet. We are probably the first company to become a serious mobile operator from the internet world. We are not worried."

For the full article please go the following link

http://www.telecomasia.net/content/breaking-mold-japan?page=0%2C0&section=TELECOM+ASIA+AWARDS+2010&utm_source=lyris&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=top10

What a way to Go. A great reading for all those who look for success!!!

Mothers day

2010-05-07T03:16:00.000-07:00

One more article that landed up in my inbox -

The story of Mothers Day is a long one. It is neither a recent phenomenon as many people believe it to be. Nor it is the creation of card and gift marketers syndicate as assumed by cynics of Mothers Day festival. To the surprise of lot many people Mothers Day celebrations are first said to have taken place in the time of ancient Greeks and Romans hundreds of years ago. Even Mothers Day celebrations in UK began much before the tradition saw the light of the day in US. In US the efforts of Ms Julia Ward Howe and Ms Anna Jarvis are greatly recognized for starting the tradition of Mothers Day but several other women too made remarkable contribution to further the cause of Mothers Day holiday.

Celebrations in the time of Greeks and Romans

The tradition of Mothers Day started with the ancient Greeks who celebrated their annual spring festival in honor of Rhea, the mother of many Gods and Goddesses in the Greek mythology. Ancient Romans too celebrated a spring festival by the name of Hilaria in honor of Cybele, a mother goddess, some 250 years before Christ was born.

Celebrations in UK

In UK, Mothers Day celebrations started by the name of Mothering Sunday, several years before the tradition found its roots in UK. Mothering Sunday came to be celebrated following the practice in UK of 17th century wherein children of poor families were send to work as apprentice and domestic servants with the rich. These children were allowed to visit their 'Mother Church' or the Cathedral of their home town annually in the middle of the fasting month of Lent. Children met their mothers after visiting the church and presented them with flowers and special 'Mothering Cakes'. The custom received a set back with the advent of Industrial Revolution when the lifestyles changes. American soldiers contributed in the revival of the tradition after the World War II.

Genesis of the Festival in US

The story of Mothers Day in US began with the efforts of a dynamic writer and poetess, Julia Ward Howe in 1872. An activist to the core Julia utilized her potentials to further the cause of Mothers Day. She wrote a powerful Mothers Day Proclamation in Boston in 1870 and demanded declaration of official holiday and celebrations on Mothers Day. Her idea gained popularity but she could not get the idea implemented. Julia is also credited for penning words for Civil War song, "Battle Hymn of the Republic".

Struggle of Anna Jarvis

A loving daughter from West Virginia, Anna Jarvis is recognized as a 'Founder of Mothers Day' and 'Mother of Mothers Day'. Anna kept the word of her activist mother, Mrs Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis who once expressed a wish that someone should strive to provide mothers their due recognition. After her mothers death in 1905, Anna's determination became strong and she along with several supporters started lobbying for the official holiday on Mothers Day by writing letters to the people in power. To celebrate Mothers Day, Anna began to send her mothers favorite flowers, carnations in her local church requesting people to wear them in honor of their mothers. The idea gained immense popularity over the years and in 1910, West Virginia became the first state to recognize Mothers Day holiday. On May 8, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a Joint Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day

Happy mothers day to all Mothers in the world

Are we too fast in our life

2010-05-06T03:57:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful article this is: Of course, the full credit to the email that brought it to my inbox. please ponder over your lives in relation to you, your family and your friends

About ten years ago, a young and very successful executive named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his sleek, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.

As his car passed, no child darted out, but a brick sailed out and -- WHUMP! -- it smashed into the Jag's shiny black side door! SCREECH...!!!! Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car.

He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. "That's my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"

"Please, mister, please...I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!" pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed around the parked car. "It's my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."

Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long walk back to the sleek, black, shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE -- a long and slow walk. Now, Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar.

He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention.

IPL

2010-04-23T03:05:00.000-07:00

Admitting frankly that I am not the originator for the material given below and in the table. I have sincerely copied and pasted it since IPL is in the news for all the wrong reasons.

The Indian Premier League (often abbreviated as IPL), is a Twenty20 cricket competition initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and supervised by BCCI Vice President Lalit Modi, chairman & commissioner for IPL, and CEO, Sundar Raman. It presently includes 8 teams (franchises) consisting of players from different countries. It was started after altercation between the BCCI and the Indian Cricket League.

It was the first sporting event ever to be broadcast live on the popular video sharing website Youtube.[4] The Indian Premier League's brand value was estimated to be around $4.13 billion (over Rs 18,000 crore) in 2010.According to global sports salaries review, IPL is the second highest-paid league, based on first-team salaries on a pro-rata basis, second only to the NBA league. It is calculated that the average salary of IPL over a year is £2.5 million

For more Info :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Premier_League

Happy reading

ewit Anniversery Celebrations

2010-04-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

Srimushnam

2010-04-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

This time I am going to write about a temple which is far away from Madras. I had been to Neyveli in connection with a family function this weekend. So on saturday, due to the insistence of my brotherinlaw we went to this temple after having visited Vallar's place of Siddhithi. I write about it separately in my next blog.

Srimushnam, which has the temple of Bhuvaraghava Perumal, a Vishnu temple, is located just 20 kms from Virudhachalam where from you get lot of buses coming into the town. To list the importance of the place one by one here it is

This is one of the 108 Divya (sacred places) Sthalams for the Vaishnavities
one of the eight Vaishavas shrines where the idol is Swayambu (found as such)
The idol represents the Varaha Avatar ( the 3rd avatar of the 10 avatars of Vishnu). It represents the Boar form. The body is that of a man and the head is of boar form
While the temple itself is so huge, the main idol of the Lord is such a small one.
It is believed that Vishnu brought back Goddess Earth after killing Asura Hiranyaksha who had folded the earth and taken it to the underworld.
This a temple in which people pray for getting a child. It is believed that after taking bath in the temple tank and going round the Arasa tree and praying to the God, will make the childless people to get children.
There is a the Saptha Kannigai temple in here, who as close friends of Goddess Amrithavalli came along with her when she got married to the Lord. The Lord granted the wish of his wife and has provided them with a separate sanctum sanctorum.

The story of the temple

Hiranyaksha, the brother of Hiranyakashipu, rolled over the earth and took it into the nether world, from where he ruled. Bhoo Devi undertook penance seeking help from Lord Vishnu to free her from captivity. Lord Vishnu took the form of Varaha (a boar), went into the sea and killed the asura. He brought back the earth on his Adisesha and appeared here as a Swayambu idol. It is believed that the temple tank or Pushkarani was formed with the sweat emanating from his body after his battle with Hiranyaksha. On his death bed, Hiranyaksha prayed to the Lord and as his final wish wanted the Lord to turn to his direction. Accordingly, Lord Vishnu turned his face in the seen turned in the direction of the asura towards the South. That is why while the body faces west in the direction of West while the head is turned towards South.

More than anything, the grandeur of the temple, the beauty of the Boar shaped Lord and the attention capturing Lord’s Utsava idol the Yagya Varahaswamy with conch and chakra. ( Goddess was worried that people may turn away from here because of the Lord’s pig face. Hence, she undertook penance and requested him to display his handsome stature. and so the story goes for the existence of utsava murthy) and the peaceful nature are all a must for anybody to see and enjoy.

You really become one with nature and enjoy the goodness or blessings of the Lord hear.

Happy journey to this town of peace.

Tamil New Year's day

2010-04-14T21:17:00.000-07:00

It is so funny that in Tamil Nadu, we celebrate the Telugu New year, Malayala New Year etc during the month of April, while the Original Tamil New Year, which was celebrated on Chitirai 1st, has been shifted to January 16th because that is when, according to the Party which is running the government of Tamil Nadu says is the beginning of Tamil New Year. So what does this make of chitirai and other tamil months to be - are they all different tamil months. What gives the right for a party to change the practice of majority of the poeple. Dont the people have a say on all these things. It is not just the declaration of holiday on the Old Tamil Years day, but also stopping the practice of special puja on that in the temples. When someone who says openly that they dont believe in God, and then goes ahead and changes things in the temples because it is under the H R& CE, what does it mean. No every channel and papers are careful not to utter the word Tamil New Year, but say it only as Chitrai Thirunal. Why this hypocracy. Doesnt the Government have the responsbility to get the consent of the people and not the party MLA in these matters which are followed by the masses.

The Atheists in Tamil Nadu will sound funny - they dont believe in the festivals of the Hindu religion saying that there is No GOD, but will partake merrily in the festivals of Muslim and Christians, which two religions believe in GOD with more fervour. So there is Muslim God and Christian God and No Hindu God, isnt.

Also I have a question - these same people go Garland all the Heroes who are dead now, on their Birthday and death day. Why because all these Heroes lived in the contemporary times. A child which is born about 10 years before will follow what his parents say that So and So was Hero. For example, I havent seen Gandhi or Nehru but I have heard of them and when the whole country pays its respect to these leaders I also do so with reverence for the great deeds done by these people, based on what my parents have told me.

Same is the case with Rama and Krishna and all other Gods, somewhere, sometime millions or thousands or hundreds of years ago, my ancestors have witnessed the deeds done by these people and so have started doing Hero worship and I am simply following it by revering these people. so how can the Atheist claim that what I am doing is not based on intelligence.

My request is dont call me a fool just because I am following what my parents have taught me which they have learnt from their parents and their forefathers. Am I not respecting your intelligence to do what you want to you in your own way. Same way, dont interfere in my practices. With this request, I am signing off this post

Enjoying what you do

2010-03-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

" Enjoying what you do" is what sprang up my mind when I happened to watch the Food program on Podigai TV this Sunday. Mr Damodharan was demonstrating very simple and common food like Puliodharai, Potato fry, Coconut rice, etc. What was impressing all of us ( mind you the whole family which includes my mother in law, my husband and my younger daughter and our cook) were fascinated to watch him perform. No nothing great about the items that he was demonstrating, which all of us know. But the obvious pleasure he had in making these items and the relish with which he was talking about the various combinations that will make this meal a fantastic one - was what was worth watching. It was forenoon and we happened to watch this program - but when a person is involved and excited in what he does, then that spirit catches on to the viewers was the conclusion that we all came.
What a fantastic host. Great work Damo.

India's competitive edge

2010-03-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

India is known in the world till the recent times as the most competitive country for outsourcing due to currency and labour arbitrage.

But how long can we sustain this advantage is the key question that I have today.

Today India is fired by the passion of Entrepreneurship, which is a good sign of the growth for the society as more and more jobs are created and people become employed sooner. Lets see below the scenario one such entrepreneur faces.

I had a visitor today whose cousin is having a manufacturing ancillary unit for automobiles and this person was sharing the how his cousin's entrepreneurial venture is going.

This young man has lot of orders and he has his customers - all leading brands - picking his company for specialized services that they require. Oh! what a enviable position - was the first thought I had. I wish I could be in his shoes - here I run or rather fly ( already crossed 100,000 miles with Lufthansa since this year beginning) burning up a lot of air travel time, money, physical strength and run behind my clients for just a small order....... But look at this company being pursued by the clients.

Immediately, my visitor said STOP. STOP.. Dont start your envying act. Just wait to hear the true situation. So saying he continued .....

To meet up the extra demand, this entrepreneur went in for 2 more expensive set of machinery. and the eager question from me was - That's great So capacity expansion in answer to demand - What a way to Go!!!

Once again, my visitor cried STOP....

The machines are lying idle gather dust!!!!!

What ???????? I asked. He answered

My cousin dreads to go to his plant on Monday morning as all the customers procurement managers will be waiting there for me and there will be lot of calls from the Production manager because I cannot deliver on time.

Why??? When you have extra capacity - was the next question. He answered......

Because of 2 things ..........

1. Power Problem - I interpreted he can always go in for Generator ... Ha..Ha... came the reply. Doesnt he know this. My cousin cannot run these machines with generator because the output that comes out from the generator does not sit well with the imported machinery and the precision is lost in the final product.

Then he can go for another shift .. This was me... with all my eagerness. My visitor replied... Sarada - he is already paying a penalty for drawing excess power and so the question of another shift is ruled out.

I didnt have any answers.

My visitor continued........ Sarada you haven't asked what is the other problem. Now I know better than to preempt and kept my quiet allowing him to continue. He said

The second important constraint is the Labour problem. My cousin is not sure whether the people who operate the machines will come on Monday and it is becoming difficult to get new people.

Now I can nod very wisely, because we are all facing the same problem. Only thing is we are working with different collar - white or blue - today the demand is more than supply and that is where the problem arises.

From this year beginning, I am fighting for my survival, because of attrition and mind you I am not alone in this. It is with regret that I have to say that I have lost few projects because of No shows & attrition. In fact, during the downturn, we made a policy decision not to let go any body for the sake of downsizing, but see now how these people are hurting us when we need them most. The whole media was making a hue and cry of the downsizing effect that had affected so many people - how they were treated, etc. But the same media is silent about the pains of the companies when people switch jobs putting the companies into jeopardy.

This is where our labour arbitrage goes down as we need to incur cost to fight attrition, which makes our cost go up. In fact, the eastern countries are growing faster than India, because they have no overheads in terms of attrition control, accent training, transportation cost, etc. There are lot of opportunities that have gone their way away from our country, because they are able to give the services at half our cost. It definitely hurts.

So how do we overcome these 2 problems which are beyond our circle of influence is what the thinking that I was left with when my visitor finally left.

Anybody have any answers?

Giving back to Society

2010-03-28T05:11:00.000-07:00

When I joined Rotary Club of Chennai Thiruvanmiyur, I didnt understand what changes a club can make to somebody unknown. Our club had taken up Adult Literacy program in a very remote village near Pondi, which is quite far away from our city. While the project objectives were good, the distance and the way the then President had taken this project unilaterally, made all of us not to think too much of it. But a Project is a Project done with a Goodness. This is a such a remote village, where the main occupation of the people is fishing in the nearby Pondi reservoir. That is also halted when the Krishna waters comes into the reservoir.

When the program was started it was with reluctance that the people joined. The President came up with the idea to give one kg of rice to the people who are attending the program, whenever he visited them. That became the great motivator as for people who dont know when their next meal will be or where it will come from - it became a boon that some organization is giving them one kg of rice apart from teaching them to learn the alphabets. It was a double joy for them. They now know how to sign their names too. Now the club wanted to provide them with sustained income by promoting some activity. Lot of discussions took place. Finally our President, Mr Karunanidhi, came up with the brilliant idea of providing them saplings of Lemon, Pomegranate, Drumstick and other trees, whose produce can be easily sold and make them get some income or other.

So the whole club with the Annettes leading the way, went out on a Sunday and did the handing over of the saplings and helped them to plant too. Within one to two years, each of these household, have some income getting generated in their backyard.

What a fantastic transformation indeed.

I am glad to be part of this movement, which encourages people to do Service to humanity, which is Service to God. This is just one of the programs, there are innumerable other things that happen because of the goodness of the Human Spirit, whether it is Rotary Club or Lions Club or any other club which mandates that service projects become the talking point of the club activities.

May all those who take part in the upliftment of the poor people or render service to his or her brethren, be Blessed with all Happiness.

Long live the spirit of Human kindness

America - The land of opportunities

2010-03-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

America - The land of opportunities - This is what everybody says like that and everybody (at least in India) believes that it is the end of the rainbow.

yes - definitely this is a correct saying - each and every one finds an opportunity here - but for whom is this land the end of rainbow - for the young and not so young middle aged people. If you are ready to work and slog you can earn some money. I find that most of them here in America is kind of middle income group. At the same time, there are also neo rich - people who wear fashion clothes, drive BMW, stay in fancy houses, eat in great restaurants and it is party time for them. But for many others, it is like working all day standing manning the counter, lifting, loading heavy things around, etc.

While on one hand, I am thrilled to see Senior citizens not thinking that their Age is a delimiting factor and continue to work, go out and do all things, but at the same time, I also pained to see that a 70 year old is driving a shuttle in a hotel in Irvine. Even the day before, I was been driven to the airport from Lawrencevile ( a one hour drive) by a woman driver. Only thing was this woman must be definitely a Senior citizen. I imaged in my country, a retired person, ( who may be 58 or 60 according to the company they work for) saying that they have retired and behaving as if they are retired from all activities.

All these people are not working for the sake of spending their time, but for keeping alive. This is this part, which is really really paining me. A land of opportunities but no security. On Sunday, I read a news item about what happened when the the textile factory closed down. People who were working in that company for more than 15-25 years were suddenly without any job. They had no other skills too. Now it is up to them - the 50 year olds needing to take up a course to get trained for another job. What a pity.

But all this leaves me with a big Question - Why is this happening. Anybody can answer me.

Sarada

Age & Maturity

2010-03-01T20:47:00.000-08:00

Does Age and Maturity have any direct correlation. I would say NO. The other night I was fortunate to watch the Vijay TV Supersinger Juniors elimination round. In this round, Balasarangan was the one who was eliminated. Personally, I felt that he deserved to be in the team and the other guy should be the one who was eliminated. But the Judges decisions are always final.

What a wonderful and mature boy, or should I say, MAN he was. When asked his reaction to the elimination, the way he spoke about with lot of innate maturity and hope, I really wanted to stand up and applaud. I learnt a great deal from this boy. For Sarangan, I know this is just a beginning for him and not the end. You just mark my words, he will go very far and reach great heights, what ever profession he chooses. He will be an asset to his family, his company and to his country too.

HATS OFF TO THIS LITTLE BOY WITH A HIGH MATURITY.

Sarada

Avatar Movie in Reality?

2010-02-21T23:34:00.000-08:00

witth the permission of OWSA and South Asia MDG Watch's e-bulletin no. 69 dated
Feb 1-15, 2010, I would like to paste this link to thier bulletin to enable the readers to see the Reality of the Avatar Movie happening in India.... This caption was what attracted me in the first place to this link.

http://southasia.oneworld.net/todaysheadlines/indian-tribe-seeks-avatar-directors-help-to-protect-land

Some people fight for what they beleive in.....

awards & social recognition

2010-02-21T08:47:00.000-08:00

This is more a outpouring of my anguish about how the society is not recognizing ( I should say recognizing enough) the entrepreneurs.

This write up is borne out of the way the Government is focused towards arts and culture and not business environment. Be it the Central Government in terms of Padma Awards and the State government in terms of giving out Kalaimamani awards - the entire focus is towards the people in the limelight of public. Please dont misunderstand me, I have nothing against recognizing the Artists for their work. I also enjoy when my favourite actor gets an award. Also, even when a new award is instituted it is given to all the well known people - why is this. Is it because the awards needs to be branded that it wants the celebrity able to endorse its brand in the initial years.

I saw in the papers last week that our State Government is going in for Awards for the Small TV screens. I also saw the Kalamamani awards ( translated into those who have done great service to Arts). But even a actor who has just put in few years gets this awards - So what is the great service that person is rendered I dont know.

Why cannot the Government give annual awards to the industries under different categories the State level. I feel it has to start with each Town or city level and then the finalist should come to the State level. The classification should be from Agriculture, to trade to industry. Even a small tea shop vendor should be recognized for the service he or she does. I would even want to include the Mobile Ironing persons into their categories - it should be based on their quality of work, efficiency, customer focus etc. If the society starts recognizing these small time entrepreneurs it would be a very positive trend.

One pitfall in India is that our society condones or should I say shuns the failures. So if an entrepreneur fails then the whole family suffers the social stigma of failure. It is ok to fail, but it is not ok to give up. This concept should be spread far and wide and everybody should be allowed another chance. The BIFR is for the major failures what about small vendors failure - who is there is help restructure. I really admire the social climate in America where one day the person may be a big business person, but the next day he or she may be working in an ordinary work place. The society accepts it. Also you can file chapter 11 and do the restructuring and try to bring back your company to track. But such support is not available.

There is no recognition and no support - But still people by their own power succeed in their entrepreneurship. This is the spirit of Entrepreneurship. I am touched by the multitude of small business owners who may be fruit sellers or flower sellers or tea shop owners - They toil hard to bring up their family with very little support from the system. My hats off to these UNSUNG HEROES. I draw my courage and determination from these people.

Sarada

Talent acquisition workshop from ITSME Association

2010-01-05T21:34:00.000-08:00

Here is the announcement from the ITSME Association about the forthcoming progrtam on

“Talent Acquisition Workshop” on January 7th, 2010 at 5.30 pm at “The Accord Metropolitan”, # 35, GN Chetty Road, T Nagar, Chennai – 600 017.
This workshop is aimed at
- CXOs and other stakeholders/decision makers who deliver the HR functions
The agenda is given below:
5.30 - 6.00 Networking and High Tea
6.00 - 6.05 Welcome addresses – ITSME President
6.05 - 7.00 “Talent Acquisition Workshop” by Srikanth Ganesan, Associate Vice President at Wipro BPO within Corporate Business Services
7.00 - 7.15 Q & A
7.15 – 7.25 Introduction of a Member Company
7.25 - 7.30 Vote of Thanks

See you tomorrow at Accord Hotel

Sarada

Marketing Challenge for ITSMEs

2009-12-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

I am reproducing the mail from ITSME associaiton about their forthcoming session

ITSME association invites you to an interactive session on “Marketing Challenges for IT SMEs” on December 21, 2009 at 5.00 pm at The Accord Metropolitan, # 35, GN Chetty Road, T Nagar, Chennai – 600 017.

The agenda is given below:

5.30 - 6.00 Networking and High Tea
6.00 - 6.05 Welcome addresses – ITSME President
6.05 - 7.15 “Marketing Challenges for IT SMEs” by Raghavendra Prasad Venkataraman
7.15 - 7.25 Q & A
7.25 - 7.30 Vote of Thanks

For further queries and registration please contact the ITSME association.

See you on 21st.

Sarada

Sustainability and Success for Women in IT’

2009-12-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the write up about what was shared by each individual speaker on 13th November at Bangalore IT.BIZ - women in IT track

‘Empowering women in IT’, known as eWIT, a Chennai based IT forum that focuses on women empowerment programs was the brain behind the entire workshop on ‘Women in IT’ track of BangaloreIT.Biz2009.

The track focussed on ‘Sustainability and Success for Women in IT’ as the theme.

Ms. Vijayalakshmi Rao, President, eWIT, and Director, Scope e-Knowledge set the stage for the track. She said that given their skill sets and inherent strengths, women have the capability and potential to build successful careers for themselves in the IT industry. To a large extent, there is no gender discrimination in the IT industry. While there is scope to enhance the basic share of women it is sustainability that is crucial and the most important determinant for success. In one of eWIT’s research initiatives, it was found that close to 90% of the companies interviewed had some women-friendly policy or the other in place, whether formal or informal. It made business sense for companies to focus on Gender Inclusivity with the objective of ensuring sustainability. Hence for an enlightened audience consisting of working IT professionals, it was felt that ‘Sustainability & Success’ would be most relevant as the theme for this track.

Women as Transformational Leaders

Women possess certain unique strengths that make their leadership style some what different from that of their male counterparts. Is their collaborative style of leadership for instance more relevant in steering organizations today? How have women leaders transformed organizations by their vision, innovation, art of negotiation and employee-oriented approach? Given the unique leadership skills, women can make excellent transformational leaders. The women who were invited to speak on this track were believed to have made a significant contribution to the enterprises they serve.

Ms. Rajalakshmi, Director, STPI-Bangalore & Development Commissioner – for IT /ITES SEZs in Karnataka expressed concern that the women participation in the top and middle tier has only marginally increased. As per statistics, she said that there is a definite need for women to sustain in their careers. She said that various amenities are being provided by the government and forums like eWIT are playing a major role to help women. She said that women need to network, take advantage of these facilities and make the most of opportunities available.

Ms. Chitra Kasturi, Vice President-IRPC, Alcatel - Lucent India Ltd. wanted to know how many of the women in audience actually have a set of goals. She emphasized on the importance of setting career goals by discussing the same with superiors and consciously working towards achieving them. Starting life as typical Indian woman focussing primarily on marriage and family, Ms. Kasturi completed higher education in the US after attaining motherhood and started her career thereafter. She said that women have to be assertive in the workplace. Citing from her own experience, she mentioned the various women leaders within the organization that she considered as her mentors who have helped her to get where she wanted to be. She highlighted the need for women to take up assignments and jobs that others cannot do and did not want to do. By doing such jobs well, one can earn the respect of the organization and be counted as an invaluable resource. Exhibiting firmness where required, being thorough in what one does, and having the humane touch were other key takeaways from her speech.

Ms. Farzana Haque, Global Head – Large Accounts, TCS, highlighted that Indian women have skill sets that are difficult to find and replicate. Most of us are hardworking but to be successful, one needs to look within oneself and evolve strategies for achieving set goals. She was of the view that the attitude decides the altitude to which one could grow. She emphasized on hard work and passion as main ingredients for success. She also recommended maintaining one’s own identity, planning and prioritizing daily activities, and not sacrificing family and personal life. She also emphasised that to be a leader, one must help others to grow.

Panel Discussion on Enabling Self-Empowerment

No one can do it alone. To ensure success in the corporate world, women need to empower themselves by seeking help and support from wherever they can, from within and outside.

Some of the avenues of support are accessing coaches and mentors, being part of forums and groups, establishing a supportive family infrastructure and tapping other creative avenues of organizational support. Ms. Sashi Rajamani, COO, Development Enablers moderated the session. She expressed that while women need to seek support they must also have the courage to seek help.

Ms. Sunita Cherian, General Manager-Talent Engagement and Development, Wipro Technologies, shared the approach Wipro has taken to support women in order to help them sustain in the industry. Wipro identified 3 stages of attrition for women – up to 5 years of experience, 5 to 10 years of experience and above 10 years of experience. For the first group, up to 5 years, Wipro discovered that they should provide as much exposure and learning opportunity for women as possible so that they do not think of giving up the profession and instead feel inspired to continue. For the next stage of up to 10 yrs, Wipro has provided extended maternity leave, work-from-home option, crèche facilities etc so that women are given the necessary flexibility and motivated to come back to work. As per the statistics, 70 percent of the women availed of this. For the third group, it is the stage of empowerment where they are groomed and empowered to take up higher responsibilities on the business front.

Ms. Rama Sivaraman, EVP & Global Head, Quality, Polaris, talked of the immense family and infrastructure support available in India. She also touched on the feeling of guilt and how to overcome that. She said that there is nothing wrong to seek out support if one is committed to one’s family as well as career. Support could be in the form of mentoring/coaching/networking. It could also be from family or outside the family such as hired help like maid and care taker etc. The key is to assess exactly when and what kind of help is needed and make sure it is available. At the workplace, she insisted that while work from home options & other women-friendly initiatives are being tried out by companies, it is up to women to utilize them appropriately and not misuse them. Work life balance expectations differ between men and women in Indian society and women should be able to tackle situations effectively with a positive attitude.

Ms. Aparajita Sen, Co-site Director, Dell International Services, gave her own example and to illustrate how women can succeed if they do not allow challenges to overcome them. She touched on collaborative leadership approach as a form of support system and said that as women, we need to strive for the best. In terms of work life balance her view was to look at the family as a joint enterprise, so that the goals were common and the family members became stakeholders and played a participative role in achieving the targets. She felt that women can add a lot of value to organisations and they must be action-oriented to make sure this happens..

Mr. G. Inbavanan, Founder & Chief Practice Officer, People Dimensions@Work, touched on important aspects like self, empowerment, and leadership. He highlighted the difference between a mentor and a coach and the importance of having access to both sets of people. According to him training must not just focus on technical skills but also address issues of time application and work values. Work-life balance was an issue for men as well but women get affected by it because of ‘guilt’. Finally he felt that women need to find answers themselves to the problems they face.

Making it to the top

Exciting entrepreneurs share their stories and experiences of building their businesses. Do you desire to grow a business from start-up? Work solo or manage a diverse set of employees? Buy a going-concern or turn one around? Three enterprising women from diverse backgrounds explained how they did it which gave valuable ideas for the participants.

Ms. Rina Vivekanandan, Managing Director, RevenueMed, started her career in the airline industry and then shifted to health care. She joined Revenue Med as the first employee and was instrumental in growing the company from 1 to 1200 employees in a short span of 5 years.
She advised women to take up everything with a sense of passion and determination. She also shared the tough times she had in implementing processes and bringing about change in an already existing set up which was used to operating in an adhoc manner. She highlighted the need to be friendly and trusting with the team at the same time, to be aggressive where required as this would in fact be well appreciated by the team.

Ms. Sarada Ramani, CEO, CI.COM (P) Ltd, explained her entry into the career by accident, coming from a very conservative background, solely to help her daughter’s computer science subject in school. Later she found herself competing with the younger counterparts as an IT person. With determination, she pursued her higher studies and took up entrepreneurship based on the trigger by one of her mentors. She shared the turbulent times of bringing the business to a sustainable position despite the financial and business challenges faced. Her key messages were to realize that life would not always be a bed of roses, to keep augmenting the level of knowledge, to understand ones strength and capitalize on it and not fear failures but learn to overcome the same.

Ms. Vanitha Narayanan, Vice President Sales-India/South Asia, IBM, highlighted that the challenges women face are all the same - be it in the US, China or India. Having chosen sales as her career option and excelled in it, she recognizes that this area throws up different kinds of challenges for women. She suggested that boundaries need to be laid down clearly and insisted on learning and seeking guidance from male colleagues and managers wherever required. She shared her experiences of having progressive men in her team including her managers. Her observation was that women tend to give up easily, if they are not heard. She highlighted the need to be assertive, winning the trust of customers and peers by showing commitment and conviction and involving the family in career moves and achievements.

Each session was chaired by eWIT executives, Ms. Kalyani Narayanan, Ms. Sumitra Seshan, and Ms. Kala Balasundaram respectively, who introduced the speakers and concluded the sessions.

ewit handles the " women in IT track @ Bangalore IT.BIZ 2009

2009-12-01T12:55:00.000-08:00

It it with great pride and joy that we would like to share with our viewers that ‘Women in IT’ track of Bangalore IT.biz which was conducted by eWIT and was a great success in terms of the quality of topics and speakers, the participation and the support that we got from the industry. Mr Askok Kumar Manoli, Principal Secretary to Govt-Dept of IT, BT and S&T, Govt of Karnataka graced the occasion and pledged to offer his government’s support to the cause of eWIT.
The launch of the Bangalore Chapter of eWIT with Ms. Sudha Selvarajan, GM Mindtree as the Vice President of this Chapter was also announced on the occasion. We are sure that under Sudha’s leadership and with the help and unstinting support of Ms. Rajalakshmi, STPI Director-Bangalore, this chapter will be quite successful in the city of software!

My next blog will have a brief write up about what was shared during the event by each speaker.

Happy reading

technoology advances

2009-11-25T05:37:00.000-08:00

Today the technology is taking us places - of course, there are positives and negatives of its use.

While a century ago, even to send a message to somebody living in a far off place, we needed a bird to carry it over to them, today, we get instant connectivity through telephones, online chats, etc. You can see your near ones, even if they are continents apart through webcams and hold a daily conversations through Skye, VOIP, etc.

I am typing this blog from the aircraft flying over the skies of East coast of America. I am currently on board the flight from Atlanta to Newark and there is this availability of wifi connectivity which enables me to do this.

Yesterday, we were having a conference call with 5 participants - each participant from different locations - Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Phoenix and Chicago through gotomeeting. What a amassing technology it is isn't. All our teams have regular conference calls and scrum meetings with people from different locations every day, when they said that for distributed teams scrum cannot be implemented, it is working well through use of technology.

Even take the everyday usage, how many things we do with technology, right from gas cylinder booking through sms to ticket purchasing for either travel or entertainment - how far we have come. I only look forward to the day in which our farmers will be able to totally use technology to increase the farm yield

But at the same time, we need to take cognizance of the way in which technology is also misused take for example, passing on through MMS obscene things, a common enough example, to the use of unmanned war equipments which can create havoc in an enemy land, etc.

Lets all be like the proverbial Anna Patchi or the legendary Swam, which can take only milk and leave out the water behind. Lets all join hands to prevent global warming, find out more and more ways to make life easier and world a beautiful place to live in

Staying Positive

2009-11-08T02:45:00.000-08:00

At one time, I was a very avid blogger, I probably got into a hole where I wanted to write, but wasnt in the mood to pen down and there has been a lot of gap. But one thing I have learnt is that it has got me great friends, it has got my friendships strengthened, it has opened up new avenues etc.

Now these days, I am very much bogged with whats happening within my office. There has been small, medium, large issues with each teams. One of our friends used to say that - what your power is determined by how many number of issues you can face head on in your daily life and still continue to go ahead. Life hasnt been great these days with so much tension - all of course related to business - with competitor being very aggressive and trying to eat into our business ( this is the pain of being small - that you cannot counter the biggies aggressiveness every step of the way), taken by surprise by these attacks, recruitment pressure, operations pressure - Oh life is so sweeeet...................... isnt.

But all this is teaching me the value of remaining positive - if you are positive, nothing shakes you for long, you get back to your form very quickly, think of what steps to take. I am pretty sure that I wont lose my business however much the other party tries. I am a very firm believer in the Supreme Power - the love of God for me is so great that HE is taking care of my every step with infinite gentleness, protecting me from pitfalls, making me grow, and also have Peace within myself. At my core,I am calm. What more do I need.

Isn't this what The Secret teaches you - isn't it what Law of Attraction is all about. I want to shout from the top of the hill that It is for you to Ask and there you get it (whatever it may be). So make sure to ask the right things.

The final take is " Believe in Yourself and Be Positive all the time - Only Good things will happen to you.