tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74942702024-03-07T16:26:35.266-07:00The MuseSome views, opinions and a whole lot of musings on things that affect me.Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1781162488252570412007-05-06T09:54:00.000-07:002007-05-06T10:37:21.903-07:00Are you busy?<div align="justify">The other day, I was talking with a friend of mine after a while and she was asking me what I was upto. While talking with her, I realized how much of a slob I had become. I realized how important it us for all of us to keep ourselves occupied and be motivated all the time to keep striving for that something extra.</div><div align="justify"><br />My psychology classes (yes, I took a couple), taught me that basically, motivation for an individual exists in two forms - intrinsic and extrinsic. As you probably guessed, intrinsic motivation involves striving to achieve something because you want to - the work is in itself the reward. Extrinsic refers to doing something for what you get in return - but externally (your paycheck, recognition, promotion etc)</div><div align="justify"><br />When people say "I get paid to do what I love", they are referring to the fact that they have a win-win situation, they are both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to achieve the same goal. When I think back to about a year or so back, I was enrolled in 12 credit hours of PhD coursework, I was doing research, I was writing a journal article, I was working a consulting job and I also used to go work out 3 times a week at the gym. In addition, I would take Sunday off and just not do anything except read something, watch football and/or sleep late. Its obvious to me that I was internally motivated to a really high level as there were almost negligible external rewards - no pay, no promotion, no recognition, nothing. I enjoyed doing whatever I did and I made the time to do all those things.</div><div align="justify"><br />Now, anyone who tells me that doing all of that is equivalent to a day in the office better be joking. I think the two most overrated words in business today are "time management" and "multi-tasking". They are important, no doubt, but a lot of people abuse those terms and end up being less productive and becoming lazy jackasses. Nowadays, I work and do my PhD work and that's it. The difference now is that I get rewarded more for doing much less. Because my external rewards are so good, I find myself not being as motivated as I was to do a lot of things. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />A lot of people express the opinion that they worked their butt off in school, and that they are now enjoying the fruits of that hard work. That's fine, it that's what you want. But I don't think everyone wants to chill out and relax, and take it easy as they start their career and think about family and all of that good stuff. I think that's when a lot of us want to keep ourselves occupied, keep ourselves active and keep ourselves motivated.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />Anyway, my intent in this post is to just get you to think - are you really that busy? Can you not take that one hour to go walk the beach? Or go have lunch with that friend who you haven't met in ages? Or take up that one course you always wanted to? Or are you, like me, just too lazy to admit it? Go do something, screw being busy :)</div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-74020839957528687652007-03-02T18:37:00.000-07:002007-05-06T10:29:54.434-07:00Back from exile...<div align="justify">I've been on a self imposed exile for over 5 months now. Its one of those things where you actually have no excuse...just needed a break, needed to take care of some commitments and just unwind. Everyone is busy, and I am not lame enough to use that as an excuse. I've had my share of free time, just been using it to read, listen to music, travel.<br /><br />Anyways, just wanted to appease those screaming, frustrated fans (all 2 of you). Me back.<br /><br />-------------</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Virginia Tech.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">What a horrible horrible tragedy. I was a little early into my office and was drinking some coffee and perusing CNN when I saw the breaking news. I tried to dig up some additional information, but everything was sketchy at best. I left for a couple of meetings, then came back and was totally shocked to see the count at 32. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">The last few days have seen the news channels here cover the event from every possible angle. What has stayed with me, and what will stay with me for a long time, is the spirit with which students from VT and others around the country have rallied around the families of the victims. I think the problem with occurences such as this is that you have no outlet for your anger. Who do you vent on? The killer - Cho Seung Hui - is dead, and had been diagnosed as mentally ill. His family is suffering as much, if not more, than the families of the victims. Some people in the media were wondering about the grieving that is happening for these 32 victims, and asking why that is not happening for the soldiers and civilians dying in Iraq everyday. I guess the only explanation I have is that a school campus is a sanctuary, not a battlefield like Iraq is today. Its just not right to hear about shootings and killings on a campus, where young minds go seeking knowledge. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">The students and professors gunned down were at VT hoping to make an impact in the world in some way. We can all think about them, include their families in our prayers, and hope that their short life is turned into a testament of something beautiful and meaningful in some way.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">-------------</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">On a personal note, I've moved into a beautiful - and small - house by the beach in sunny San Diego. I still need to get the house set up, but I'm getting there slowly. My parents are frustrated that I'm living alone and keep advising me to get some roomate till they find me another kind of mate :). Their argument is that having someone else ensures that one way or the other I get to eat and do not sit at home hungry. All you guys living in the US, you know how that works. Other than the obvious advantage of being able to run around the house naked, being alone is kinda nice. Have my space, can set it up anyway I please and have total control of everything. Also helps to have a place on your own if friends or family visit - which I expect to happen pretty regularly.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">-------------</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">I've been travelling a bit. Other than being in India in Novemeber to attend my sister's (cousin) wedding, I was again in India over the last 3 weeks on business. Had a great trip, work was good, and also got to spend some time with my folks in Mumbai. My grandpa was visiting, so we had three generations of Vadivelu's in the house. My parents live in a gated community at Grant Road in Mumbai. The place is really nice, and my grandpa goes for regular walks in the garden we have inside. In the morning, he goes to a small but really nice temple within the complex and the 5 days I was there, I accompanied him. Also, after dinner, he is outside for around 30-45 minutes and it was really enjoyable walking with him, talking, getting advice, hearing about his thoughts on so many issues and just basically enjoying being around him. You rock grandpa! Also visiting were my brothers from Chennai. We had our usual arguments every now and then, but I miss them a lot and was happy to be with them. Love you Guru and Amu! Obviously my mom was going all out to ensure that her poor, starving son living alone in the barren US was well fed. I played it up for all it was worth, believe me!</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">-------------</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">On a sidebar, I've bought a new car - Corolla S. I've named her Sneha (don't ask). </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">All right people, I'll sign off and will try to be back to my regular self. Hope all of you are doing good at home and at work. Keep the faith.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">PS. Special thanks to Srijith, Ponnarasi, Hastobeme and all of you who touched base with me when I dropped off the face of the earth. Very impolite of me, I apologize guys. Life's good with you guys around!</div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1163573713187965692006-11-14T23:54:00.000-07:002006-11-14T23:55:41.166-07:00Where am I?In India right now, #9 8 1 9 4 0 2 2 8 9Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1159859099570984882006-10-28T00:02:00.000-07:002006-10-28T19:39:05.950-07:00Tag Six<div style="text-align: justify;">Tagged by <a href="http://srijithunni.blogspot.com/">Srijith</a> - <span style="font-style: italic;">six weird facts or habits about yourself</span><br />(Ok, where do I start? Just six? I need to prioritize then :) )<br /><br />Stubbornness<br />I am very open in a lot of ways, but in certain things I have strong opinions. And people have said it is very very hard for me to change my views, and I agree. I do not change opinions unless there is hard enough data or information to back it up.<br /><br />Books<br />I love books. I think they build character, provide you with the ultimate escapism and are one of the greatest pleasures in life. However, I do not read a book to pass time or to help me fall asleep. When I get my hands on a book I like, I do not put it down till I finish with it. I have lost count of the number of times I have got into bed with a book and completed the book at the expense of my sleep. Sometimes, when I'm in the middle of exams or when I am doing some other work, I take some time off by reading books...obsessive I guess.<br /><br />Eating Decorum<br />I simply cannot sit down and eat without being involved in any other activity. I can't just sit quietly somewhere and enjoy the food, concentrate on its flavor and all that stuff. My family keeps scolding me, and rightly so, as it appears rude to be not paying attention to the food or the great care with which it was prepared and so on.<br />Frequently, I will be doing one of the following while eating any meal:<br />a) Reading a book<br />b) Watching TV<br />c) Having a serious conversation with someone face-face or over the phone.<br /><br />Freezing People Out<br />I have this weird, annoying and sometime cruel habit of freezing people out for obscene amounts of time at a stretch. Its not that I don't like them or something, its just that I don't have the tendency of just dropping in one of those obligatory <span style="font-style: italic;">how are you</span> calls or emails. I form friends easily, but I form close friends very slowly. And if I am close with someone, then I tend to think that they are also like me - you don't need to just call up every two weeks to stay in touch etc. If you need to, you should be able to call friends after being out of touch for months and be able to start talking as if you just called up the day before. This annoys a lot of people no end, but that's how I am...<br /><br />Eating while traveling<br />I have this insane craving for food whenever I am traveling. It doesn't matter if I've just eaten before getting on a plane or train or if it is 1:00 AM in the morning. Something about being on the move makes my stomach rumble. My absolute favorite thing is to travel on a comfortable clean train with plenty of food, books and music available. I loved traveling on the train when I was younger (traveled often to Varanasi, Kanpur and New Delhi), and I made sure that I got something to eat at every major station along the way.<br /><br />Open Face<br />People can see when I am angry, when I am upset or when I disagree by looking at my face. I am simply unable to hide whatever I feel. If I am meeting someone and I disagree with something they say or talk about, it shows up plain and simple on my face. People who are arrogant, people who exhibit a sense of entitlement etc make me angry. Leads to a lot of awkward situations.<br /><br /></div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1161132195930967462006-10-17T17:37:00.000-07:002006-10-17T17:47:11.983-07:00Various ~ TP<div align="justify">Its been a while since I posted, and my apologies to h2bm and Ponnarasi for not getting back to them earlier. I'm working on Srijith's tag - nice one, made me delve a little deep...My sincere apologies [a public one] to Sattvic, for not making it to Lansing. Some plans fell through, and with the time we had, it was a big problem :(...<br /><br />I started writing this post as I was sitting at Dallas Fort Worth, waiting for my ride to San Diego. At the risk of sounding condescending, I must say that this waiting at the airport has become a familiar feeling these past few weeks. In the past three weeks I have traveled to Pittsburgh, to San Diego, to Chicago, to Milwaukee, to Phoenix, to Dallas and then back to San Diego. My Dad was here for a week to meet some bankers in New York, and if it wasn't for a scheduling conflict, I would have traveled there too! I've had to travel for various reasons ~ meeting friends, conferences, work etc, but its been all fun. Especially since I rarely force myself to travel and visit new places, seeing 4-5 cities in the space of 3 weeks has been a unique experience to say the least.<br /><br />In the middle of all this travel, I have also recently transitioned into full-time employment with <a href="http://www.qualcomm.com/">this</a> company. I'm part of their Learning & Organizational Development group, working on a varied range of initiatives and projects [could tell ya, but would have to kill ya]. The challenge now is of course to transition from a full-time to a part-time student. I have to work on my dissertation proposal etc from San Diego moving forward. God willing, I'll be able to meet this challenge and keep working towards my degree.<br /><br />Anyways, I went to Chicago to meet my undergrad buddy Veera. We were joined by Pras, and the three of us spent a couple of days driving around downtown, going to Milwaukee and generally taking in the sights and sounds of the two cities. Pras is an avid photographer, and he took a ton of pics with his big badass Cannon Rebel. Veera and I were generally serving as male studs/models on whom Pras was able to practice his skills. Pras has them on his amazing Flick account <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/without_flash/page2/">here</a> [page 2 onwards...damn I look good...too bad no one can recognize its me :)]<br /><br />Veera is off to India pretty soon to tie the knot. Best wishes to him and fiance' may your lives change in many ways, but still remain the same in many other ways!<br /><br />I was in Dallas, TX to present part of my research for a conference. Once that was over on Fri, I spent a couple of fantastic days with my school buddy and partner in crime Sanj and his wife Priya. I'm meeting Priya for the first time, but I guess we have known about each other for a long while. I was truly happy to see them together, and it is always sweet to see the love people have developing, transitioning, working out and blossoming after marriage. Touchwood.<br /><br />Priya is an awesome and unassuming cook. I have rarely eaten such good food during my stay here. I think I did Joey's imitation quite well, and warmed up with idli's and dosas before moving on to chappatis and puris and to rice. Priya would always grumble about me and Sanj eating nothing/less [sample, only 17 idlis], and I would give the standard chinta kai ko? main hoon na! I even got some rotis to-go!<br /><br />I also met up with my school buddy Anusha and her husband Ananth. Super smart people these. I guess their children will have a lot of things to live upto :0 [both of them are going for their PhD's]. It was nice to spend some quality time, going through photos, laughing at familiar yet forgotten faces and memories. In between all this, they found time to drill me on all "gossips", which invariably always tended to be directed on me. Hearing them talk, you would think that I dated every single girl in school.<br /><br />Well, lots of things happening. Lots of changes to come, so will keep you guys posted.<br /><br />Be good! Be beautiful!<br /><br />Ram </div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1158677444604707172006-09-19T07:10:00.000-07:002006-09-30T17:30:11.433-07:00Holy Pope!<div style="text-align: justify;">You have undoubtedly heard of the recent furious reaction and threats against His Eminence Pope Benedict XVI. I wanted to take a snapshot of what is happening today and hence this post.<br /><br />Some Turks have suggested that the Pope be <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/09/19/pope.turks.reut/">arrested</a>. Others want the Pope to <a href="http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2000964,00.html">convert to Islam</a>. The Vatican has been scrambling like a deer caught in the headlights, and it is <a href="http://www.voanews.com/english/CN-POPE-ISLAM-19sept06.cfm">sending its envoys</a> to Muslim states to explain the Pope's remarks. Of course, al-Qaeda has said it will <a href="http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20437681-401,00.html">take over and destroy Rome</a>, while Iraqi's <a href="http://people.monstersandcritics.com/article_1202766.php/Pope_burned_in_effigy_as_Muslim_anger_simmers">burnt effigies</a> of His Highness. To make matters worse, it seems that we are nearing the anniversary of the infamous Danish cartoons that were published to a furious Islamic reaction.<br /><br />While the Pope has apologized (somewhat), people are saying its still <a href="http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/anas_altikriti/2006/09/an_insufficient_apology.html">not sufficient</a>. Perhaps the worst thing among all these is that the Pope has been lectured on the differences between <a href="http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&hn=36615">Islam and radical Islamism</a> by, of all people, Jacques Chirac.<br /><br />I was trying to find out what exactly he said, and here is an extract of the speech he gave at the University of Regensburg on Tuesday, 12 September 2006. You are free to reach your own conclusions on whether or not his remarks have been taken out of context :<br /><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >...In the seventh conversation edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the holy war. The emperor must have known that surah 2, 256 reads: "There is no compulsion in religion". According to the experts, this is one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under threat. But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Qur'an, concerning holy war. Without descending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the "Book" and the "infidels", he addresses his interlocutor with a startling brusqueness, a brusqueness which leaves us astounded, on the central question about the relationship between religion and violence in general, saying: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached". The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. "God", he says, "is not pleased by blood - and not acting reasonably is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death..".<br /><br />The decisive statement in this argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God's nature. The editor, Theodore Khoury, observes: For the emperor, as a Byzantine shaped by Greek philosophy, this statement is self-evident. But for Muslim teaching, God is absolutely transcendent. His will is not bound up with any of our categories, even that of rationality. Here Khoury quotes a work of the noted French Islamist R. Arnaldez, who points out that Ibn Hazm went so far as to state that God is not bound even by his own word, and that nothing would oblige him to reveal the truth to us. Were it God's will, we would even have to practise idolatry...</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />In case you are wondering, India also had protests. In apna Srinagar, well, all business establishments, government offices, school and colleges <a href="http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=140829">remained closed</a>...public transport too remained off the roads.<br /><br />Please note that I am not being funny here, and no offense is intended. As with all sensitive issues and religion, this has already taken an ugly turn as there are reports that a Somalian nun has been <a href="http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20436107-5001021,00.html">shot down</a>, and the intensity of violence is truly sad and frightening. On a brighter side, Iran seems to be taking the lead in quelling the outcry, and the anger seems to be <a href="http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2006/September/theworld_September624.xml§ion=theworld">cooling down</a>.<br /><br />My only thought on this is simple: If I am secure in my faith, why the hell should I care about what anyone else is saying as long as there is no <span style="font-style: italic;">direct insult</span> or injury to my religion? It is obvious that the Pope was trying to be an academic, and using obscure quotes that historians love. Why bother then? No matter which religion you are from, I am sure that everyone would have been blessed by their God if the protestors had used all this energy and time to help a few poor kids, or provide a few meals to the hungry. To each his own...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update:</span> On a related note, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idomeneo">Idomeneo</a> - a Mozart opera - has been <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5382554.stm">cancelled</a> due to security risks in Berlin, as the show reportedly depicts the severed head of Prophet Mohammed. There has been a lot of discussion on this cancellation and the line between disrespect and free speech. Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel has already said that she thinks the cancellation is a <a href="http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-09-27T172651Z_01_L27167228_RTRUKOT_0_TEXT0.xml">mistake</a>. Is the opera coming back? Let's wait and see.<br /><br />You should note that this opera also shows severed heads of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, Muhammad, Jesus and Buddha [don't ask me, my only experience with operas involves catching a glimpse on PBS while switching channels]<br /></div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1157530586696413752006-09-06T00:17:00.000-07:002006-09-06T02:41:31.730-07:00Educating our Future<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="textblack">It is a fact that education is the key to solving tomorrow's problems, and it is the key to breaking the vicious "cycle of poverty" that is confronting millions across the world today.</span></span><span class="silver12"> </span><br /><br />Some sobering facts:<br /><br /></div><ul style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;"><li><span class="silver12">An estimated 110 million children -- 60 percent of them girls -- between the ages of six and 11 will not see the inside of a classroom this year. Another 150 million are likely to drop out before completing primary school.</span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="textblack"> </span></span></li><li><span class="silver12">Two 1999 World Bank studies found that closing the education gender gap in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa would have led to faster economic growth between 1960 and 1992. </span></li><li><span class="silver12">Another 63-country study attributed 43 percent of the decline in malnutrition achieved between 1970 and 1995 to more productive farming as a result of increased female education.</span></li><li><span class="silver12">An extra year of female education can reduce infant mortality by 5 percent to 10 percent. </span></li><li><span class="silver12">In Africa, children of mothers who receive five years of primary education are 40 percent less likely to die before age five than are children of uneducated mothers</span></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">These observations are from a stunning piece on PBS - <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/school2/index.html">Back to School</a> - that I caught recently. The show tracks seven children in seven different countries as they go to school. The programme reports that the cost for providing universal education has been estimated at <span class="silver12">perhaps $7.5 billion to $10 billion per year.</span><br /><br />I'll leave you to check out the report yourself, but do look at this <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/school2/map.html">map</a> that shows the current status of global literacy in the world. 36% of the world's out of school children are reported to live in South and West Asia.<br /><br />People better than me are doing what they can to help spread education, and here are two instances that caught my attention recently:<br /><br /></div><ul style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;"><li>The Ramanujam School of Mathematics is run free of charge by <span class="f12">Anand Kumar, 33, a local mathematician, and Abhayanand, 52, a deputy director general of police. This school provides housing, coaching and free lessons to 30 underprivileged children from the state of Bihar. Over the past two years, 16 and 22 students, </span><span class="f12">respectively,</span><span class="f12"> out of the 30 have graduated from this school and made it to the IIT's. They expect all 30 to get in this time [full article through Rediff <a href="http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/16iit1.htm">here</a>.]</span></li><li><span class="f12">At a cost of over $40 million [and counting] Oprah Winfrey, opened the doors to </span>The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls<span class="f12"> in South Africa. She interviewed more than 3000 applicants herself and decided on her first batch of 150 students. </span>The academy will offer training in leadership skills as well as traditional academic subjects, and will prepare its students to attend the "best universities in the world".<span class="f12"> [<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/08/26/btsc.koinange/index.html">Report on CNN</a>. I know everyone is busy, but do watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--sHGPSb5S4">this video </a></span><span class="f12"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--sHGPSb5S4">on Youtube</a>, and go to 2:30 if you want to skip the early parts. </span><span class="f12"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">I'll tell you, I was jumping with those girls at the end!</span>]</span></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1155012269178582602006-08-25T21:03:00.000-07:002006-08-26T17:58:25.963-07:00The Art of Delegation<div style="text-align: justify;">I am just back after wrapping up my summer work in San Diego, and boy, has it been an experience and a half. I will take away many things from my stint there - great work experience, a lot of on the job training, a few good friends and above all, insight into how one of the most successful companies in the US operates.<br /><br />I attended a summer party at my Director's office, and it was at her house in a beautiful locale called Rancho Santo Fe. I would love to describe the scenery, the place and how it was, but then I would need a separate post for that. Needles to say, this is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rancho_Santa_Fe,_California">high-end place</a> in an already high-end San Diego. Forbes ranked it the second most expensive zip code in the US in 2006. You step out to the backyard, and well, you then realize the house is almost on the edge of a <span style="font-style: italic;">canyon</span>. Some of my colleagues had a lemon throwing contest to see who could throw the lemons the farthest from the yard. I saw a flag way off at the bottom of a canyon, and I was told that someone practices <span style="font-style: italic;">teeing off golf balls</span> from the backyard! Talk about enjoying nature and talk about having a big yard. And I found out that a lot of the neighbors usually take a ride on their very own <span style="font-style: italic;">hot air balloons</span> in the evenings. I kid you not, I saw five-six passing by...When I say that <a href="http://www.philmickelson.com/facts/bio.php">Phil Mickelson</a> is a neighbor, you pretty much get the idea right?<br /><br />The party itself was awesome. We had a <a href="http://www.santalady.com/xmasgame/whiteelephant.html">white elephant gift exchange</a>, and I was a little nervous about what to take and how low to go...I don't want to get into how dirty some of my prior experiences have been. So, there I go, taking a bunch of plain ol" magnets, that have status updates like "Wingman", "Lover". "On the market" etc...pretty boring and dull huh? Well, guess what I got? A "<span style="font-style: italic;">Pimp my Cubicle</span>" set and "<span style="font-style: italic;">Wee-wee Boy</span>". The Pimp set was complete with leopard print skin, some serious bling bling, gold thumb tacks and a lot of other accessories. Now, with wee-wee boy, you pull down his shorts and he "wee-wee's"!! That's right, he wee-wee's water! I love these people!! I must tell you that poor wee-wee boy has had an accident since then. I was playing with his shorts a little too often, so he is standing there with his shorts around his legs, shameless in front of the world.<br /><br />To get to the point, I was sitting there with all these senior management folks, laughing and having a great time, and I realized <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> is what team building is. This is how you gel with your office workers. This is how you identify what each person is made of. You hang out in an informal atmosphere, act a little crazy, laugh a lot, and along the way shed some inhibitions and get to know your team a little better. You can hire all the smart people in the world, but unless these people realize the importance of a team, you cannot achieve squat. And its in situations like these where you can accurately gauge how comfortable a person will be in an environment that requires effective communication and team work.<br /><br />Its not about forming friendships, its more about trying to see what an individual is like underneath and trying to develop the ability to trust others with regards to work. Especially with us engineers, I've found that one of the hardest things while working on any task is developing the ability to <span style="font-style: italic;">delegate</span> work. There is this strong mentality where you tend to want to do everything yourself as you do not trust the other person as much as you do yourself. This skill is especially critical when you are running your own business, or working in a management area, as I have experienced first hand. Perhaps its this inability to delegate tasks to others that accounts for why most of us are comfortable sitting in front of a computer and writing lines of code, but are at a loss when we have to stand up and lead a team. Something to think about I guess...<br /><br />Be good!<br /></div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1154327052823912432006-07-30T22:39:00.000-07:002006-07-30T23:27:22.306-07:00Movies and Priorities...<div style="text-align: justify;">I caught the brilliant "A River Runs Through It" - again - on cable the other day. This is a true work of art, and the movie follows the life of two sons of a minister in a rural town. The sons are obviously different, but all share a common love of fly-fishing. The setting of the film is lovely - serene locals of Montana, the plot is simple and the acting is brilliant. As is the case with me (and probably many of you), I tend to remember certain scenes and certain dialogues. Here are a few that stood out:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things - trout as well as eternal salvation - came by grace; and grace comes by art; and art does not come easy."</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span>Dear Jesse, as the moon lingers a moment over the bitterroots, before its descent into the invisible, my mind is filled with song. I find I am humming softly; not to the music, but something else; some place else; a place remembered; a field of grass where no one seemed to have been; except a deer; and the memory is strengthened by the feeling of you, dancing in my awkward arms. "</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span>Like many fly fishermen in western Montana where the summer days are almost Arctic in length, I often do not start fishing until the cool of the evening. Then in the Arctic half-light of the canyon, all existence fades to a being with my soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a four-count rhythm and the hope that a fish will rise. Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters."</span><br /><br />A good movie makes you smile, a great movie makes you think. I was thinking about how I have grown up (well, I have grown up in <span style="font-style: italic;">some</span> ways :)), and its almost funny to see how my priorities have shifted with time. Everyone says that schools days were the best, and that is probably because life was simple. I think that a richer and more fulfilling life is achieved not when life is simple, but when we try and succeed in not making our life more complex as we grow up. As we become older, as we become more capable and develop the abilities and the strength to aspire for bigger and better things, we run the risk of getting entangled with issues that are not really aligned with our priorities, and before we know it, life passes us buy.<br /><br />I also think that the our lives are characterized by the decisions we take and the people we meet when we are confronted with situations that relate to our priorities. Do we stick with our priorities and align our decisions with them, or do we end up changing our priorities? When I was in undergrad, we had a group of people who were all into GRE/TOEFL. The other group, of which I was a part of - was into CAT and the whole MBA thing. Now, obviously my interest was to get into Management. But I ended up thinking that this interest was in some way linked to the whole India/US thing, and one of my priorities was to not go to the US for studying! When I did not get into a good MBA school I ended up taking a software job with the idea that I would try for the CAT again. But joining work, I was able to realize that being here or there had nothing to do with my goals, so here I am...doing what I've always wanted to do. Did my priorities change? Not really, they just became a little clearer. Without meeting the right kind of people and getting the right kind of advice, I could easily have ended up confusing and convincing myself that I did not want to study in the US when that was really not the case...<br /><br />In any case, I think I've been thinking too much. I forgot to mention that I also watched the brilliant "Pokiri". Now this is a Telugu film, and as I hardly understand a single word, you would think that I would have a hard time following it. Not really...Mahesh Babu is a rowdy, who kills all these baddies, and ...SPOILER ALERT...gasp...he is actually an undercover cop! Seriously, I really like these kinda movies too. Sometimes, movies are all about escapism too...and you can hardly beat Pokiri or a Rajini movie or a Vijaykanth movie for sheer entertainment value. I think its awesome that they stick to their "core competency". Whatever works right?<br /></div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1153885489002680612006-07-25T20:12:00.000-07:002006-07-25T20:45:36.576-07:00Just browsing...<div style="text-align: justify;">As I've mentioned earlier, I'm in California for the summer under the guise of doing some work. In reality, its more of a forced, high paid break as I'm just chilling out. I was out to this great place called <a href="http://www.simon.com/mall/mall_info.aspx?ID=765">Fashion Valley</a> with my friends here, over the weekend, and while roaming the shops I realized something profound - I love shopping! There, I said it...I know it sounds very un-macho [what is being macho anyway?!], but I really do.<br /><br />I like getting good clothes, I really like visiting bookstores and coffee shops, and if a shop sells books and has a cafeteria, well, bye bye then. I could spend hours inside a Borders or a Barnes & Noble. Something about coffee and books...works all the time.<br /><br />I also enjoy tracking the high end stuff. I'm still not personally comfortable buying stuff for myself at the real high end places, but I do enjoy visiting them. I browsed a lot of great stores and looked at some really cool stuff - Coach briefcases [damn], Mont Blanc pens, apparel at Armani stores, suits at Brooks Brothers, went in to a Godiva showroom too! Ah, the good stuff...of course, there were the smaller, lesser known, but more exclusive boutiques. Surprisingly enough, I've found that I am not really that big on cars or on electronics. I could care less about engines and horsepower and all that, and I care even less about GB, GHz and other configurations.<br /><br />Whenever I go to such places, I used to be overwhelmed at the prices, and my mind would be contemplating the irony of it all. This much money on shoes, when people don't have anything to eat? What is wrong with this world? But with age has come the maturity to deal with it. And there is no logic in such thoughts is there? If I wear $20 shirts instead of $50, what am I achieving? I would rather spend the $50, and spend another $50 helping others too. One does not have to be mutually exclusive of the other. That's what most people don't do. We hesitate to spend a lot on us, thinking of others. We spend less on us, end up spending nothing on others. Everyone loses huh? Besides, there is a line when one transitions from being a good spender to a snotty jackass. As long as we keep track of where we are, its all good.<br /><br />Its not about buying stuff, its more about just checking out the shops, the ambiance - I'm sure you girls know what that's all about. And of course, the food. My friends were amazed at my tendency to unerringly go from one food court to another, and put away substantial amounts of food. Even though my stomach is not in the shape of its life [I am recovering from a bout of food poisoning, so I'm very sensitive to undercooked stuff], my genes enable me to eat without putting on anything appreciable [so far]...who wants to be Superman...I'm all about being Jughead.<br /><br />The sad thing is that I know jack about shopping for or with girls. I would be totally lost at stores that sell shoes or candles. But I'm always willing to learn...any takers? :)</div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1152679310322674432006-07-11T21:06:00.000-07:002006-07-11T21:46:18.663-07:00Mumbai 07/11<div align="justify">I don't even know what I am writing...I woke up early today, as I had a busy day at work. Early appointments and some work to take care of before going for a five hour dry run of a new process we are implementing. I was brushing my teeth when I got a SMS from my friend at NDTV in Delhi, something about serial blasts in Mumbai. I switched on to see Rajdeep Sardesai on CNN World and was horrified to see the images that I am sure you have all seen with agony by now...</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />My mom was out of town, but my Dad was there and so were my uncle and aunt. Thankfully, everyone is safe, but I was horrified to hear that my uncle was in the 5:30 train, while the explosions started at around 5:45...Seems there are still some neighbors and friends unaccounted for. God willing...</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />At work it was all India this and India that, we received an email that accounted for all of our employees there and it was kind of gratifying to receive emails from people higher up, asking me and people like me who have a base in Mumbai, if they could do anything to help.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />All day I'm sure many of you have the same feelings I have had. Anger, a feeling of being insignificant, a constant musing of what the hell am I doing here? Above all its pure anger for me. Say what you will, but I will never understand how anyone can justify or even try to justify deliberate harm to innocent commuters who are just trying to get home after a hard day's work. I mean the blasts were in the peak of the rush hour for crying out aloud! I guess its times like these where we need to keep focused and calm, but it will be hard if people start hearing about how Lashkar-e-Taiba [they have denied it according to the Hindu] or some other group of jackasses is claiming responsibility...</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />With all the attention India has been getting, I'm sure the next few weeks will be filled with cross comparisons to Madrid, London and the inevitable Hindu-Muslim tensions. I can already start to hear the terrorism experts start giving their opinions on how terrorism has roots in the subcontinent and all that yada yada yada...CNN/IBN was almost tooting the fact that their images were being spread all over the world live.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />I have seen India's growth into a rising star, I have watched feel good videos about India's rising, I have choked up at hearing Lata Mangeshkar sing Vande Mataram, I have celebrated countless Indian cricket victories, I have laughed at our politicians various antics, when living there I have complained long and hard about everything from the traffic to the water to the weather...but I have never felt more Indian than I do today...and that I guess is no accident...</div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1149224582071651902006-06-01T21:29:00.000-07:002006-06-05T00:38:43.223-07:00Sunny California!<div align="justify">I'm over here in San Diego for the summer, and I've been settling into work and getting to know my surroundings and of course, finding a place to live for three months. I've just passed through this city before, and undoubtably, this is one of the most beautiful places I've been to. The weather is probably what makes it so, plus the beaches. I was roaming around with my friends over the weekend, and as you can see it was a sight for sore eyes...especially for someone from Phoenix!<br /><br /></div><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7271/464/1600/IM000595.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7271/464/320/IM000595.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7271/464/1600/IM000556.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7271/464/320/IM000556.jpg" border="0" /> </a><p align="justify"><br /><br />We went to a place called <a href="http://www.sandiegan.com/temeculawineries.html">Temecula</a> where there are vineyards. Unfortunately we could not taste anything as we reached a bit late. We did taste some coffee though!<br /><br /></p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7271/464/1600/IM000597.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7271/464/320/IM000597.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7271/464/1600/IM000606.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7271/464/320/IM000606.jpg" border="0" /> </a><p align="justify"><br />Work is good here. Most of the time I'm in meetings and trying to catch up on the groundwork that has already been done for a lot of projects. More later guys, just touching base. </p>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1147975067484584682006-05-18T10:56:00.000-07:002006-05-18T12:15:56.206-07:00Videos to waste your time<div style="text-align: justify;">With the proliferation of YouTube and Google Video, I've been watching a lot of videos lately. I just thought it would be neat to link some videos that have caught my attention. Of course, I'm not going to link Koffee with Karan episodes [though I do watch them :)].<br /></div><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzoNInZ2ClQ">World on Fire</a><br />Music video by Sarah McLachlan ~ 4:23 mins<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A crash course on global inequalities. I would weep if I could.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxJNYP9umqY">One.org Ad</a><br />Advertisement for one.org ~ 1:00 min<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Make poverty history advertisement from Live 8 for one.org. </span><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/rxforsurvival/video/index.html">Rx for Survival</a><br />A preview video of the Rx for Survival Series on PBS ~ 7 :01 min<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A stunning and powerful series on our medical heroes. More details on the homepage </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/rxforsurvival/series/about/special.html">here.</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program.html">Introducing String Theory</a><br />A series of videos on NOVA ~ each video is around 6-7 min<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The host is Brian Greene, a physicist from Columbia. You will see interviews with some of the most significant brains of our times along the way [mostly from the US]. String theory is trying to explain how the universe works...pretty straightforward :)</span>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1147413285188196852006-05-11T22:53:00.000-07:002006-05-14T00:08:05.243-07:00Population Issues and India<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">When I was in school at Delhi, I remember reading in Civics or Geography about India's challenges for the millennium. It was drilled into my head, and probably yours too, that one of the most important issues facing us was our population. I don't know about you, but the perception I got was as if the poor Indian's were uninformed, uneducated folk who used no contraception, hence procreated like rabbits to result in such a huge unplanned population explosion. What a shame! We all had to spread "awareness" and control our growth rate else we were surely headed for doom. All I heard was that China had put forth its "one-child" plan, and we needed to do something similar, albeit less drastic. The fact that India would overtake China's population was often a sense of great mirth among my friends and myself. No foresight, no analysis, no discussion - population growth was bad. End of issue.<br /><br />Well, its been 10 years since I finished schooling, and the world order is undergoing a paradigm shift. What is China trying to do today? Increase its population. What is the number one problem faced by Japan? Lack of people. What is happening in much of Europe? Lack of people. People are being asked to procreate. Immigration reforms are the top priority. What did Vladimir Putin announce in his State of the Union Address? That the demographic shift of Russia would be their number one problem, and that mothers would get $110 for their second child. And what is India saying? That even though China is way ahead in terms of its growth, foreign investment and infrastructure growth, India will overtake China purely because of its one crucial advantage - its population.<br /><br />That's right, India's strength is its population. Our middle class alone is more than the population of the entire United States. Organizations that were thinking of India in terms of cost benefits are now drooling about India as a pure market. Take the example of the telecom industry. India's rate of mobile subscribers grew by 47% in 2005, we have somewhere around 75 million mobile subscribers and this is expected to increase to 280 million in 2010. That means around a quarter of India will be linked through mobile phones. More importantly, 3/4 of India will still remain untapped. Can you imagine the opportunities for telecommunication companies?<br /><br />Further, the demographic shift is such that India is set to have the most number of young people as compared to any other country in the world for the near future. This directly translates into India having a more eligible workforce [although whether they will be qualified is another issue altogether]. Simultaneously, population is decreasing in China, and in most of the developed countries. The UN estimates that the population of the developed countries will decrease by 10 million by 2050. So much so, that China will have the exact opposite problem - dealing with the world's oldest population.<br /><br />Now, its obvious that sheer numbers are not enough. We need to improve the quality of life for the 800 million poor, not just focus on the gains of the 350 million middle class. Around 25% of our population is estimated to be mired in really really bad living conditions. There is another issue of religion that we need to address too. India has the highest number of Muslims after Indonesia. While that is something to be proud of, the fact that 40% of those Muslims are in poverty as compared to the 22% Hindus is definitely not something to brag about. Numbers cannot lie, so obviously there are some issues that we need to address here. As the country grows, one sign that we are in the right track is when the middle class keeps swelling.<br /><br />It has been forecast that China will overtake the US economy somewhere around 2035, with India taking over China around 2050. So while China faces issues due to ageing, India faces issues relating to the quality of our workforce. Just because we have a million college graduates does not mean that they will all be productive. But the good news is that increasing quality is an achievable, although an admittedly difficult, task. I'm sure everyone realizes that its better to have a workforce and try to fix it, rather than not having one at all. The efforts need to stem from the education system, it needs to start from our schools and colleges, where students are taught to think critically and logically...can you imagine being taught that India's population needs to be reduced if we ever need to become developed or something silly like that....oh wait....<br /><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><em><u>Update: 05/13</u><br /><br /></em></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><em><u></u></em></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><em><u></u></em></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><em>Not really related to the context of this post, but I came across <i>another</i> video from BharatBala that depicts how India is overcoming the rest of the world (remember the Vande Mataram video with Rehman?). Does the video depict the true India? Probably not. Does it make you feel kinda happy? Hell yeah!.<br /></em></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><em></em></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br><b><a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5446091014702365336&q=%22I+am+India%22">I am India </a></b>on Google Video.</div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1146782423235455742006-05-04T15:35:00.000-07:002006-05-04T15:52:24.680-07:00Premji and Aron - II<div align="justify">In one of my <a href="http://rvadive.blogspot.com/2006/04/premji-on-wipros-future.html">previous posts</a>, I had talked about an interview between Premji and <a href="http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/faculty/aron.html">Ravi Aron</a> of Wharton. This is the concluding part of that session. I must say that it is no wonder that Wipro is one of India's most successful brands. He is extremelely knowledgeable and current, and his replies are incisive, thoughtful and very cogent.<br /><br />I had remarked earlier that one of India's challenges would be to transition from a service oriented model to a product oriented one. Premji and Aron discuss the very same issue in this concluding session.<br /><br />Excerpts:<br /><br /><em><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">"...one reason why India has focused on services is that products require an intimate, ongoing understanding of the customer. This requires a strong localized presence in countries where these products are going to be used, which has not been India's global delivery model. Second, most product companies have to invest a lot of resources in brand-building and marketing and you need to have the scale to do this. Many Indian companies could not afford to do this. Third, the service business has provided clear-cut, strong positioning, good profitability and tremendous growth for Indian companies. So these companies chose a path where it was easier to succeed rather than one that was more difficult."<br /><br />"...let us look at the way our business is distributed. About 75% of our people work in India or India-equivalents, by which I mean low-cost centers. In contrast, if IBM has 50,000 or even 80,000 people in Asia, that is just about 20% to 25% of its total employee base. This is a distinct cost advantage that we will continue to enjoy. Even if companies like IBM move to global delivery models, it is unlikely that their employee base in low-cost regions will go beyond 30% to 35% of their total headcount. This is because their execution model -- which is primarily based on consulting -- does not permit them to do that. The kind of work they do requires a much deeper onsite presence..."<br /></span></em><br /><br />Aron is, of course, not the everyday interviewer. His questions are on the money...<br /><br /><em><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">"...the proposition they (consulting companies) make to the customer goes as follows: "We will come in and diagnose the problem," which is management consulting. "We will find a solution," which is management and process consulting. "We will design, develop and maintain the solution," which is technology. And finally, "We will operate the solution," which is BPO. So the promise to the customer runs the gamut from diagnostics through formulation, design, development, maintenance and operation..."<br /><br />"...consultants earn about six to eight times what the technology delivery people do. As a result, they (a company Aron consults with) are trying not to have a two-caste system form within the company, where higher-earning, suit-wearing, laptop-toting, airport-hopping consultants lord it over the geeks who write code in C-plus-plus and Java. This is proving to be a much bigger challenge than expected... "<br /></span></em><br />Get the whole interview at K@W <a href="http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1450.cfm">here</a></div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1145860244188060892006-04-23T23:24:00.000-07:002006-05-02T22:44:36.573-07:00Of Tags and TageesThis has been tag week or tag fortnight. So I'm just linking stuff for those want to read my responses. Basically, I think tags help people get to know people they would like to get to know a little better [as if I've done 68 tags, but still]. <ol><li>I did Maya's (because I'm scared of Doctors) <a href="http://rvadive.blogspot.com/2006/03/this-is-all-maya.html">here</a>. </li><li>MC's is <a href="http://rvadive.blogspot.com/2006/03/tag-two.html">here</a> (hey, even if it was typo, he called me a great writer so of course I'm going to do it.) </li><li>Ponnarasi writes stuff I relate to very easily, and <a href="http://rvadive.blogspot.com/2006/03/tag-three.html">here</a> is her tag on <span style="font-style: italic;">ma three</span> superpowers. </li><li>Raz, simple and very straightforward, caught me with a tag on life's 10 pleasures <a href="http://rvadive.blogspot.com/2006/03/tag-four.html">here</a>.</li></ol>So far, <a href="http://tvamevasarvam.blogspot.com">Sattvic</a> has been my lone tagee.Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1144781326633723312006-04-11T11:41:00.000-07:002006-04-11T11:49:43.123-07:00A Profound Thought...Had to share this with you:<br /><br /><strong>"We must do what we conceive to be the right thing and not bother our heads or burden our souls with whether we will be successful. Because if we don’t do the right thing, we will be doing the wrong thing and we will just be a part of the disease and not a part of the cure"<br /></strong><br />E.F. Schumacher (1911 - 1977)<br /><br />More on Schumacher <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._F._Schumacher">here</a> and the E.F. Schumacher Society <a href="http://www.schumachersociety.org/about.html">here</a><br /><br />Credits: Obtained via <a href="http://www.deeshaa.org/">Atanu</a> via <a href="http://www.mykesweblog.com/">Myke</a>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1144293060575500242006-04-05T19:53:00.000-07:002006-04-05T20:46:21.306-07:00Premji on Wipro's Future<div style="text-align: justify;">As the Indian economy grows, one of the key challenges will be how our companies manage to transition from the current <span style="font-style: italic;">service oriented</span> model towards the <span style="font-style: italic;">product or developmental</span> model. Basically, we don't just manage testing, maintenance and low-level development, but take the lead in innovation and the design of next generation services and products.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wipro.com/aboutus/azim_profile.htm">Azim Premji</a> [fact: Premji quit during his final semester at Stanford to take over Wipro at age 21, sometime during the 1960's. He came back after 35 years, presented his dissertation and got his degree in the late 90's] and <a href="http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/faculty/aron.html">Ravi Aron</a> [<span class="subhead2">Assistant Professor of Operations and Information Management at Wharton, UPenn] </span>are having a fascinating conversation, where Premji reveals some of the key strategic goals of Wipro and what his thoughts are on the future. His take is important and illustrative, as many of the challenges Wipro faces are equally applicable to Infosys, TCS, CTS and the others.<br /><br />Some excerpts:<br /><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"...Moreover, the business we do now is evolving to models where we take turnkey responsibility for deliverables such as the design of end products -- next generation products. We don't just make subsystems for customers or work as part of a project team. We are also trying to build similar skills in some of our other businesses. We use the competencies developed in practices like technology infrastructure as well as in enterprise platform implementation to differentiate ourselves from others.<br /></span></p> <div> </div> <div> </div> <p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">..<span style="">.Turnkey projects allow us to set Wipro apart because very few companies have the depth of knowledge to be able to tackle such work, whereas in projects such as billing software, we are exposed to much wider competition. Another thing that makes us unique is that we started our company designing hardware for the Indian market after imports were banned in 1980. That is how we built the competency platform which we transitioned into serving the global customer.<br /></span></span></p> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">...You don't demolish a cash-cow business. You just simultaneously try to build the business of tomorrow, which really differentiates you.<br /></span></p> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <p style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">...The mundane business is also extremely profitable. It has a tremendous annuity value, and you don't ignore businesses like that. For example, maintenance of software and hardware are tremendous annuity businesses. If you build strong efficiencies into execution, they make very good margins. It is like a yin-and-yang situation: How do you build these strong annuity businesses and at the same time build other businesses that will establish certain differentiators in the marketplace, so that your image as a partner takes on a different dimension? That is the question..."</span></p>You can directly link to the whole interview <a href="http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1439.cfm">here</a>. This is through <a href="http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/index.cfm?fa=aboutus">Knowledge@Wharton</a>, the Wharton school's online and free business journal.<br /><br />What do you think of this interview? More to follow.<br /></div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1144134544436763762006-04-04T00:08:00.000-07:002006-04-04T00:28:10.470-07:00She is smiling<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7271/464/1600/images.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7271/464/400/images.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Will you smile?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The night is dark, the wind is howling</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The curtains blow, the rain starts drizzling</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">What should I do? Should I believe?</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Is this life? Is this love?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I sit in a corner, I am waiting </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">My heart is restless, I am searching</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I think of days past, I hear your laughter</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I think of tomorrow, Its just tears and rain</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Memories come flooding</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">With pain my heart’s searing</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Why did you leave? What did I do?</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I have everything, I have nothing</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The rain stops, my heart pauses<br />Time stops, and the wait is haunting<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The tears start to flow<br />My heart is letting go</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />I look up, I see you looking down<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I see you, I feel your touch<br />I know you’re near<br />Are you smiling?<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span></div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1143873124121967222006-03-31T23:27:00.000-07:002006-04-01T00:02:48.423-07:00The Joy of WordsDo me a favor, and read the following lines from Emily Dickinson....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" > The heart asks pleasure first, </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" > And then, excuse from pain; </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" > And then, those little anodynes </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" > That deaden suffering, And then, to go to sleep; </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" > And then, if it should be</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" > The will of its Inquisitor,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" > The liberty to die.<br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: left;">What do these lines tell you? Don't just read them, <span style="font-style: italic;">read</span> them, <span style="font-style: italic;">feel</span> them.<br /><br />Now tell me how your thought processes differed from the the interpretation of Lilia Melani, a professor of English Literature at Brooklyn College, CUNY <a href="http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/heart.html">here</a>. This is the beauty of the arts. This is how we develop the ability to think beyond our limits, how we stretch our imagination and how we learn to innovate.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" ></span></div> </div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1142107782238407822006-03-30T23:04:00.000-07:002006-03-30T23:29:39.046-07:00Labor Issues and India<div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">In keeping with my recent thoughts on India, here's another one on a critical issue we are likely to face in the near future - <em>labor</em>.<br /><br />India is supposed to the labor capital of the world. Indeed, much of the brouhaha about India has revolved around its seemingly unlimited supply of human capital - its high tech engineering graduates, who are proficient in english language skills. Well, I'm here to tell you that while we might have a lot of people, we're reaching a plateau and things are going to level off pretty quickly. The balances and checks of supply-demand processes will ensure that there is some level of stability in terms of hiring needs and graduates available, but India is floundering in terms of the classic <em>quality vs. quantity </em>paradigm.<br /><br />McKinsey did an analysis of the Indian labor pool and came up with the amazing statistic that India will face a labor shortage as early as 2007 in some areas [previous post <a href="http://rvadive.blogspot.com/2005/09/problems-for-indian-managers.html">here</a>].<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">A quote from the McKinsey <a href="http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1661&L2=21&L3=33">article</a>: [free subscription required]<br /></div><div align="justify"><em><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />"Yet rather surprisingly for a country with one of the world's largest labor pools, they (<em>Indian managers</em>) see the high cost and low availability of talent as the single greatest constraint on their companies—a problem that worries them much more than it does their counterparts around the world..."</span></em></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><em><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></em></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />Another quote from Kiran Karnik, president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies [NASSCOM]:</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><em><br />"The root cause is certainly the adequate number of people with the right skill sets. In my estimate, only a third of the pool has the right skills to be absorbed into the industry right away."</em></span></div><div align="justify"><em><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></em></div><div align="justify"><em><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></em></div><div align="justify"><br />There have been all sorts of studies on this issue, some interesting ones from the NY Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/16/business/worldbusiness/16cnd-INDIA.html?ex=1297832400&en=b9fcbd416d93b147&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss">here </a>and from BusinessWeek <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2005/tc20051216_530300.htm?campaign_id=rss_tech">here</a>.<br /><br />This argument seems to appear a bit ridiculous when you think back to your engineering days [hyper-competitive colleges, populated classrooms, mile long queues in admission offices]. There are also a huge number of colleges that are opening shop - seemingly by the hour. India produces 2.5 million college graduates and 350,000 engineers a year! It almost seems as if every Indian who passes high school has the option of becoming a professional if he/she wishes. How can we possibly have labor shortages with these kinds of demand for technology and professional colleges? Even our society has a tendency to push us towards these occupations and careers.<br /><br />While all this appears to be a good thing in terms of equality of opportunity and all that, think a little deeper and you will see the problem. Half these colleges don't have quality instructors. Most of the time students who graduate come back to teach because they couldn't find a better job. Seriously, I can't imagine someone graduating from - oh I don't know, let's say a college near Madurai - with the ambition in life to actually <em>teach</em> there.<br /><br />Besides the quality of teaching, we are not using accurate methods to gauge the suitability of students who we admit in colleges [entrance exams are a joke]. Once the right people are in place, we need to determine the necessary aptitude and attitude skills that are being demanded by corporate India and provide education that is aligned with these requirements. <div align="justify"></div><br />NASSCOM is <a href="http://www.nasscom.org/newsline/issue50/In_focus.asp">calling for a deregulation </a>of India's education industry. This kind of makes sense, as our education system needs to become leaner and meaner if we are to be able to provide talent in accordance with the demand. This could be reflected in several different ways, not the least of which would be bringing in much needed multidisciplinary facets to engineering as it exists today. There is scope to bring in research based activities, much like educational models in the US. Faculty members need to be provided with policies [and facilities] that will allow them to work closely with the industry [consulting, training and so on].<br /><br />Another offshoot of this has been the efforts being undertaken by the industry itself. In yet another illustrative example of India overcoming issues <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">despite</span> the government, companies are starting to fill the skills gap by starting training initiatives on their own. There has been a spurt in training and certification trends, HR processes are getting increasing attention, and performance improvement is now a buzz word. Perhaps those of you reading this in India are even recognizing these trends in your workplace. I predict that the next few years will see a huge push towards trends like corporate learning/training, instructional design and eLearning, all of which will help companies put raw engineers through focussed and intensive training sessions that will fill performance and skills gaps.<br /><br />If you are one of those people with skills that are readily applicable in certain areas, India is the place to be. Wages are skyrocketing, and with this labor shortage there is a huge demand for true talent. Have you read about the market for pilots? I would be hardpressed to name an industry where salaries or headcount have actually gone down.<br /><br />Ultimately, all we have are people, technologies are just tools. India needs to focus on leveraging this human capital by providing its technology workers of tomorrow with the necessary knowledge today. I would be interested in hearing how you think we can improve our professional colleges - what features would have made your education more relevant and effective in terms of the work you are doing today?</div>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1146293566116766022006-03-28T23:52:00.000-07:002006-04-29T01:03:27.440-07:00Tag FourTagger: <a href="http://heartmindconflict.blogspot.com/2006/04/pleasures-of-life-tag.html">Raz</a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Name 10 of life's simple pleasures that you like the most and then pick 10 people to do the same (optional). Try to be original and creative and no to use the things someone else has already used.<br /><br />Well, I've already talked about family, books and music in previous tags, so I'll try to answer this one a little differently. The following might not all be <span style="font-style: italic;">simple </span>in the literal sense of the word, but they are simple pleasures in a lot of other ways. So, here goes...<br /><br />10. The feeling I get when I enter a restroom after holding back the need to pee for over twenty minutes.<br /><br />9. Serendipitously finding songs I can relate to.<br />[<span style="font-style: italic;">Aside from a few favorites, I don't remember or follow bands, artists or music directors. So its awesome when I suddenly hear a song then go searching for its artists and finally get it.</span>]<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">8. Discussions on the global economy, business trends and other big-picture issues with knowledgeable people.<br />[<span style="font-style: italic;">I just go huh...ah....ok....yeah...ah-huh...right....and feel smart :)</span>]<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br />7. Going shopping with someone [<span style="font-style: italic;">ok, anyone</span>] and getting done sooner that I expected.<br /><br />6. Getting to understand statistics, or just finally understand some convoluted concept.<br />[<span style="font-style: italic;">Really, not to sound too geeky, but I'm fascinated when my bulb goes on</span>]<br /><br />5. Seeing a girl walking down the road, and getting a smile and a nod.<br />[<span style="font-style: italic;">You can get a smile, or a nod, but its damn hard to get both :)</span>]<br /><br />4. Eating in a pricey hotel or a coffee shop with people I know pretty well.<br />[<span style="font-style: italic;">Bit snobby I guess, and the food usually sucks or is too little. But I like the ambience in such places</span>]<br /><br />3. Eating in a roadside dhabha or kaiyendhi bhavan with people I know <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> well.<br />[<span style="font-style: italic;">You can only go to such places with people who you are in sync with, and you can be totally messy with how you eat, and the food is awesome!</span>]<br /><br />2. Go to places where nature is at its most powerful, and be spellbound.<br />[<span style="font-style: italic;">Yosemite, certain villages, some areas near my hometown and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to name a few places where I have experienced this recently.</span>]<br /><br />1. The feeling I get when I am about to step out of the arrival lounge at an airport, and have my parents, brothers and family waiting on the other side.<br />[<span style="font-style: italic;">Yes, this is not a simple pleasure...but for people away from home, it just cannot be valued. Just seeing them lights me up</span>.]<br /><br /></span>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1145688900308350502006-03-28T23:34:00.000-07:002006-04-29T00:47:17.190-07:00Tag Two<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tagger: <a href="http://talkingimages.blogspot.com/2006/04/wag-tag.html">Mindcurry</a><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Both of you make me sick". She started to wrap her terribly de la Renta scarflike thing about her, preparatory to rising.</span> The Deer Leap by Martha Grimes.<br /><br />Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I hit the half open door that opens into this room.</span><br /><br />What is the last thing you watched on TV?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The final scene of a movie called "Cellular". Had some great sounding background music, that's why I ran over to see it.</span><br /><br />Without looking, guess what time it is?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">23:44.</span><br /><br />Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Wooho, its 23:54. How clever am I huh?</span><br /><br />With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Random dialogues from the movie "Crash" (Yeah its movie night at my place). Also listening to random music, with my iTunes on shuffle mode. Currently playing Kaisa Lagta Hai from Baaghi.</span><br /><br />When did you last step outside? What were you doing?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Earlier in the day. Took out the trash.</span><br /><br />Before you started this survey, what did you look at?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Some cartoons on India forwarded by my friend Jack.</span><br /><br />What are you wearing?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Black Side Striped Old Navy Track Pants and a black T-shirt from a company called Crazy Horse (I'm getting dizzy trying to peer at the back of my neck to read the tag).</span><br /><br />Did you dream last night?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Nope. Slept like a log.</span><br /><br />When did you last laugh?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A few minutes ago when I read an email from my friend. He was congratulating another friend who is on his way to becoming a Daddy with this quote "Advance wishes for your son to come and p** in your mouth". Yes, we guys have very eclectic ways of saying "Congratulations! I am sooo happy for you and your definitely better half".</span><br /><br />What is on the walls of the room you are in?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">My roomate's upside down Tennis racquet (its been untouched by human hand for the past 14 months), some wires running to who knows where.</span><br /><br />Seen anything weird lately?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">My Apple powerbook crashed. How's that for weird huh?</span><br /><br />What do you think of this quiz?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Its getting popular. Is there some way people can make money off this tagging business?</span><br /><br />What is the last film you saw?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Random sequences from Dum Dum Dum, Alaipayuthe and Kaakha Kaakha. Also portions of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Red Eye.</span><br /><br />If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Naah, the very possibility of being able to buy basically anything I want would keep me happy and content.</span><br /><br />Tell me something about you that I dunno.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I finished my 12 years of schooling in 8 different schools.</span><br /><br />If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Remove all this visa business. Dude, its all one world. Let people come and go as they please.</span><br /><br />Do you like to dance?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Like? Hell yeah! Can I? Hell no! I can move either the top half of my body or the bottom half. Both do not move well together.</span><br /><br />George Bush.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Who dat? Oh...you mean Dubya? Hmm...</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Mr. President, what is your take on Roe vs. Wade?"</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">(Wide stare. Smirk. Frantic search for Karl Rove. Slow head nodding. Then..."heh heh heh, well I don't care what people do, but as long as they get out of New Orleans and the evil water, I am fine.")</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Three way tie between between Meghna, Krithika or Nisha.</span><br /><br />Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Bhujaprasad Alexis Kamal. Mera bharat mahaan, and what better way to show it?</em> <em>And we can call him BAK Baby too! [PS. Girls always have the sweet sounding sexy names. We guys are done for, so why bother?]</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Would you ever consider living abroad?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Standard response would be: Whaaat? No, never. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">But since I'm honest, sure. Why not? Doesn't matter where I live, I'm home all the time. Besides, everything is just a plane ride away anyway. </span><br /><br />What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Well! You took your time allright.</span><br /></div><em></em>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1145859823728303502006-03-28T23:23:00.000-07:002006-04-29T00:47:34.936-07:00Tag ThreeTagger: <a href="http://princessofgold.blogspot.com/2006/04/tagged-by-aravind.html">Ponnarasi</a><br /><br /><em>What kinda power(s) would you choose, if you could undergo bad-ass mutations? You can mention a maximum of 3 powers you'd like. And try to be imaginative.... </em><br /><br />Ok, this is a weird tag, but makes me think a little. So here goes...<br /><br /><ol><li>Be able to see five minutes into the future. <em>Too much information would be too much to handle. A little insight might be fun.</em></li><li>Run like The Flash.<em> Super fast. Always wanted to do that, no one can come near me, its as good as flying and I can run away from anything.</em></li><li>Telekinesis</li></ol>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494270.post-1143566539722912722006-03-28T10:20:00.000-07:002006-03-28T10:25:41.236-07:00The Knack...A forward from one of my non-engineer friends [opens an audio file, everything's clean]<br /><br /><a href="http://home.pcisys.net/~tbc/sounds/dilknack.wav">Little Dilbert</a>Ramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04979045896481223163noreply@blogger.com4