Do u call this selfishness?

Sometime back I saw the trailer and a few scenes of the film “POSEIDON”. One particular scene affected me a lot. First of all, for those who haven’t watched the film and don’t know anything about it (I think most of u would know, but still for my satisfaction), the main storyline is that a big ship turns fully upside down when hit by a giant wave and only a couple of them finally escape death. Well, I also haven’t watched the film but have heard the story. Coming to the point, in a particular scene, a lift would be about to collapse and two guys would be trying to save those caught in the lift. One of the servants aboard will help an old guy to stand on a plank kind of thing so that the rescue team can pull him up. Suddenly the lift will go further down and the plank will also fall down. By then both the servant and the old guy would be hanging in the air with the rescue team holding the old guy’s hand and the servant clinging on to the guy’s leg. Since both of them together would be too much of a weight, the rescue team would ask the old guy to let go of the servant. Otherwise all of them would have to die. First, the guy will hesitate as the servant had helped him out initially. But when he sees the lift going further down and realizing that his life is endangered, immediately he will kick the servant. The old guy would be pulled up safely at the cost of the servant’s life.

Why this scene had an impact on me was that when a do or die situation comes, we cannot think about the pros and cons of what we do or how our deed will affect others. We just go ahead without second thoughts even if it means an ultimate harm to another person. I was just wondering whether the old guy would have a peaceful life after this or would he be constantly haunted by the guilty feeling that he killed a guy who saved him. On second thoughts I feel that I would also have done the same thing if I had been in that guy’s place. Our life is more precious than any value or virtue that we might hold. Of course it doesn’t mean that we need to compromise on our values or virtues always. Only if such do or die situations occur or our life is at stake, the above stand holds good. What do u feel?

Disclaimer: I haven’t watched the movie and I don’t know the context in which this scene comes. So if I had made any mistake in explaining the scene, just leave it. I want your opinions on my view more importantly.

Idhellaam romba too much!!

Oru 4 to 5 weeks aa indha airtel super singer contest vijay tv la paathutruken. Indha post adha pathi ennoda review illa. Adhula oru over enthu participant panna velaiya pathi thaan indha post. Andha contest la I’ve seen people ranging for teenagers to old people participating. Aana most of them avanga age and range ku thagundhaa maadhiri thaan paaditrukaanga. Aana adhula oru “brihaspathi” oda lollu thaangala.

Between 45 to 55yrs(probably more than that also) vayasula oru aunty vandhu paadinaanga. Modhalla avangala paathona enaku avanga mela oru mariyaadhai vandhudhu. Paravaa illa indha vayasulayum she wants to showcase her talent and avanga husband um adha encourage pannirkaangale nu sandhosha patten. Aana koncham avasara patten. Paada sonnaanga namba judge(I think it was Anuradha Sriram). And u know what this lady started singing??????????????????????? “azhagiya asura azhagiya asura athu meera aasai illayaa”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! Naa kekardhu kanavulayaa illa nejathuliyaa nu enaku thooki vaari pottudhu. Odane vayasaanavanga andha paata paada koodaadhaa nu kekaadheenga. Nalla paadina paravaa illa, namba “kanni raasi” janakaraj, “amman koil kizhakaale” senthil ivangala vida mosamaa irundhudhu . Veetla avanga husband kitta paadina, avar kashta kaalam, avar rasikaraa maadhiriyaavadhu nadichi aaganum, aana viewers a dhandikardhu endha vidhathula nyaayam. Atleast pazhaya paatu edhaavadhu paadirundhaa paravaa illa, ivanga ketta ketuku “azhagiya asura azhagiya asura athu meera aasai illaya” vaan. Idhellaam too much aa illa?

Idha vida oru kodumai ennanaa, paaditu select aagala. Velila vandhu petti tharaanga indha amma. Ennanaa, naa andha paata seriya practice panla. Naa nalla practice panna paatu “Dailamo Dailamo”. Adha paadirkalaam pola iruku!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, u heard me right. Nalla velai, avangala recall laam panni paada sollala. Thanks to Anuradha Sriram!!!!

Rail Snegam

I had a beautiful experience when I was twelve years old. It is still very vivid in my memory. My parents and I had gone on LTC to Ooty. We went by train till Coimbatore. In our compartment, there were two girls named Charulatha and Niveditha. They were quite elder to me and nearing twenty, I think. Since I love making friends, I started conversing with them. I immediately took a liking to them. They also enjoyed talking to me. We were talking non-stop till we reached Coimbatore. They noted down my birthdate and address. I also noted down their birthdate and address. The only difference was that they noted it on paper, but I noted it on my hand. That made the big difference. When the station came, I felt so bad to part with them. They also felt the same but assured me that they would keep in touch. The bad feeling was momentary. I brightened immediately since I was going to Ooty and have a nice time there. I soon forgot about them totally. For me it was just a passing cloud and so it didn’t make a big difference for me. Since I had noted their details on my hand, after a few washes, there was no trace of anything written on it.

My birthday arrived four to five months later and as usual I went to temple and then went to school in new dress. That was my usual way of celebrating my birthday then. I didn’t have any close friends to wish me or get me gifts or ask for treat!!! Anyway, why I mentioned this is because at that time the only heartfelt wish I got for my birthday was from my parents. At school, everyone used to wish me when I distributed chocolates. Nothing more, nothing less. Since this was a routine, there was nothing very special about my birthday, except that I can wear color dress to school instead of the school uniform on that day. But this birthday was something special. When I arrived from school I got a greeting card by post. It was such a beautiful and colorful card. The card had the shape of a pussy cat which was very cute. The card is still in my eyes. That was the first time I had received a greeting card for my birthday. And it was sent by my long-lost train friends, Charulatha and Niveditha. Only then I realized what an impact I had made on them. They had remembered me and have sent me a card though it was quite a long time since we met. I was jubilant. I preserved the card like a treasure for such a long time. I felt so guilty not to have noted their addresses properly. I just knew that they lived in Tambaram. But that information alone is of no use. The card also did not have a from address. But they had just made my day. I was feeling sooooooo special. If only I get to meet them, I would like to fervently thank them for their sweet gesture which had a huge impact on me.

Naa appdi mean panla pa!!

Ennoda friend oda team la within a year, three of her colleagues(three guys) got blessed with a baby. Hence she made this casual comment to one of those colleagues.

My friend : Naan inga vandhadhuku approm thaan onga moonu perkum kozhandhai porandhurku
Her colleague: Aaahaaa.. romba thappa pesara

Idhellaam too much.. namba indha maadhiri thaan edhayo mean panni sollrom, aana kekaravanga mind sometimes "corrupt" ;-) aagardhunaala vera maadhiri eduthukaraanga.

small technical defect :-p

Before I start the essence of this post I fervently thank all my blogger counterparts who remembered my birthday and wished me. I had lots of surprises in store for me and had a great day.
Now coming to the post, two of my friends PK and PP got into the lift from the first floor to go to the second floor(romba lollu, but avangaluku lunch unda mayakam, sari thookam). But the lift went down to the ground floor. Ivanga romba surusurupu la.. they realized they reached the basement and did not get out of the lift. Again the door closed and one of the occupants of the lift(en friends maadhiriye oru somberi party) had pressed the first floor button. Adhu theriyaadha indha rendu jeevinga, when the lift opened in the first floor, erangitaanga. Idhula enna lollu vera naa, they saw another friend V in that floor pantry. They were puzzled as V's cabin was supposed to be in the first floor.En first floor la cabin irundha second floor la irukara pantry ku vandhu tea kudika koodaadha nu logic vera pesite V kitta poi comment vera.. "nee yen naa irukara edathukellaam vara" nu. V oru maadhiri oru look uttu poytaaru. Enga office la ground floor is basement. First floor la center la azhaga irukanum nu fountain laam vechirpaanga. Ivanga ippdi nakkal adichite thirumbi fountain a paathutu, idhu enga inga vandhudhu nu rendu nimisham yoscha approm thaan they realized that they were still in the first floor. Kadasila padi eri second floor ku vandhu sendhaanga.

B Sc before BE!!

When I passed out of school, I thought I had a long vacation ahead of me and that I could enjoy and relish it. However my parents had other plans for me. I had written my TNPCEE and the results were out. My parents were afraid that for my percentage I might not get into a proper engineering college(though they were ready for payment seat). That too, I was particular about the ECE discipline and my parents were particular that I wouldn’t go out of Chennai for my studies. Hence, as a precautionary measure they made me apply to all the arts and science colleges here, Meenakshi, Stella Marys etc. I remember only these two very well as I had to wait for a long time in the sun to get the application in these two colls. There was a big queue. But I met my school friends there and so the wait wasn’t very boring. Finally I got a call from Meenakshi for BSc Maths. My parents asked me to take it up as the Engineering counseling had been postponed to August from July just then. The coll started on June 27th and I started attending it. Just before I joined many of my friends and acquaintances said that it would be very strict. So I felt that all my plans of enjoying the vacation was down the drain. But it was just the opposite!!!!!

Right from day one, I started to enjoy the atmosphere there. First thing about the college was that it was a girls college and the classroom had some 120 girls nearly, most of them like me, waiting for the counseling to know their fate. I had been in a co-ed school and this was very different for me. I felt I had more freedom here. I love to make friends and so right from the first day I got to know most of my classmates. Next good thing was the course I had taken. I love maths and it was great to pursue the subject further. Any problems the staffs used to give us, I was so excited about it and would complete it as soon as possible. One of the staffs there, named Kamala, was an excellent lecturer. She used to handle the subject so interestingly. Whenever she came to the class, I was very attentive and answered her questions so enthusiastically. On the second day itself I was asked to be the class rep. It felt great, not because I was selected for this responsible job but because this meant that I would be interacting with all the girls of the class and I would get to know them all. Just as I thought, I got a chance to converse with each one of them in the pretext of collecting some assignments, distributing test sheets etc. One kadi thing was that I had to take a third language. I took telugu just for the sake of taking it. Vivek comedy la vara maadhiri avanga board la “varaiyum” bothu enaku laddu jilebi nyaabagam thaan varum. Anga kathukitta ore vaarthai “Gaadidha” meaning donkey. Yaarayaavadhu telugu la thittanum naa use aagume. Seri romba pazham nu nenaikaadheenga. I’ve had great fun too.

Another important thing that I loved there was “Parota Kurma” at the canteen. Though my mom would pack lunch for me, as soon as lunch time arrives, my friends and I would rush to the canteen. This was because, if I am late by a few minutes, there will be a heavy rush and I would have to forego the delicious Parota. Vaarathula moonu naalaavadhu saaptruven. But the most memorable thing about that college was, I had been there just for two months. But on the first Sunday of August, it was friendship day and all of us decided to celebrate!!! We decided on a dress code(either blue or green). We bought a cake and the fun started right from the first hour. All the staffs who came that day cooperated so well. We cut the cake, played music, danced, sang, made fun of each other and did all kinds of “vaaluthanam” and there was no one to stop us. Yes!! We had so much of fun at the so-called strict college. The best part of it was, all 120 of us had equal participation in it and everyone were soooooo cooperative. I will never forget those two months in my life. After I got into an Engineering college, I did not meet any of my classmates at Meenakshi College to bid farewell. I could just meet the staffs and inform them. I did feel bad about it but I couldn’t help it. Hence through this blog, I thank each and everyone of them who made my college life very interesting at Meenakshi college.

Tagged

Was tagged by Gopalan Ramasubbu and Shuba..hence this post..

1.Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.
Ans. I found

2.Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.& catch air?
Ans. Caught a mosquito that was disturbing me for quite sometime

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Ans. “Kannukulle unnai vaithen kannamma” from Pennin Manadhai Thottu

4. Without looking, guess what time it is?
Ans. 8.00 pm (can hear sun tv news from the adjacent room)

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
Ans. 8.10pm

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
Ans. A Child shouting at the top of her voice

7.When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Ans. I stepped out of my room to watch “Oru maalai ilaveyil neram” being shown on t.v

8.Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
Ans. The computer screen (my desktop)

9.What are you wearing?
Ans. Salwar

10.When did you last laugh?
Ans. While coming home, in the office bus, after hearing a “thathuva” paadal on suryan FM

11.What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Ans. A poster with the saying
“Winners are
too busy to be sad
too positive to be doubtful
too optimistic to be fearful and
too determined to be defeated”

And another poster with the saying
“OPTIMISM
In the confrontation between the stream and the rocks, the stream always wins..not through strength but through persistence”

And some cute baby pics.

12.Seen anything weird lately?
Ans. Sometime back my friend was sitting along with me waiting for an event to start at the office. Suddenly she started singing in a funny manner(thaalam laam pottu)… getting engaged and falling in love really changes a person!!!!!!

13.What do you think of this quiz?
Ans. Madhichi answers ezhudha vekkudhu

14.What is the last film you saw?
Ans. Thirutu payale

15. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?
Ans. Would like to help my friends and relatives in need(pul arikudhaa.. there is no pressing need that I can’t get now and have to wait till I become a multimillionaire.)

16.Tell me something about you that I dunno
Ans. I love India :)

17.If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Ans. Replace hatred with love so that there is no violence and only peace prevails in the world

18.Do u like to Dance
Ans. Dancing is my passion

19. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Ans. My daughter :-p

20. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Ans. My son of course :-p ( sorry I can’t think of any good name right now)

21.Would you ever consider living abroad?
Ans. No way. I cannot bear the thought of not being able to see my parents and friends when I wish to.

22.What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
Ans. Welcome to heaven :)

I pass on the tag to all those who read this blog and haven't already been tagged!!

I love giving surprises!!

One memorable incident during my school days was the surprise birthday party that I gave for my best friend. I started my preparation during the weekend before. I prepared some “clues” to make it look like a treasure hunt. The venue for the treasure hunt was her house!!! I took her mom into confidence and with the help of two of our other friends, I made a plan to surprise her on her birthday. One of my friends had to take her out and I planted the clues at various places in her house. Her mother, another friend and me decorated her room and placed the cake and candle in place. My friend and I stayed inside the room locking the door so that the final destination of the treasure hunt would be the room. We enjoyed each and every moment after she entered the house. She couldn’t realize what was happening. Dutifully she followed the instructions in the clues after her mom instructed her to do so. She had to search her house and also her vehicle for the clues. Finally she came near her room. In the final clue she was asked to knock at the door of her room and shout “I am a barbie girl”. She did just as she was told(we had to control our excitement which was very difficult). Lo and behold! We opened the door and shouted “Happy Birthday” at the top of our voice. The look on her face made me feel that the efforts we had put in weren’t wasted at all. In fact we were rewarded with an earnest smile from her. She was speechless. She was extremely happy. I just can’t forget that “u-are-my-best friend” kind of look that she gave me that day. We had great fun after she cut the cake and took a whole lot of pictures. That was the first birthday party I ever attended and it was a wonderful experience.

Dr Kalam,tujhe salaam!! (Part II)

I had read an article about Dr. Kalam, in New Indian Express today. I couldn’t resist highlighting a few points about him mentioned in the article since he is my role model.

1.A young sales manager had gone to DRDO to peddle some technology. There, he ran into the Chairman of the organization, our President, who was truly interested in what this guy had to say and had spent 30 minutes with him. He is very gentle, doesn’t give himself any airs though he was the undisputed father of India’s missile program. However he doesn’t allow anybody to dominate him.

2.Be it his speech, or articles or any other way to reach out to people, it is very motivational and tells the students that anything is possible if you put your minds to it. What sets the President apart from others is his ability to connect. He is accessible and he related in a remarkable manner with the youth of the country.

3.At a meeting recently a young person wanted to know the secret to elimination corruption. The President answered that by saying three things are essential to do away with corruption-a father, mother and a teacher with good values. How true though it sounds simplistic!!

4.In one of his recent meetings addressing some senior academics and businessman he mentioned about the days he worked with Prof Satish Dawan at ISRO. When the first Prithvi launch had to be aborted, Prof Dawan asked Kalam not to bother and he faced the media alone. When the next launch was perfect he asked Kalam to address the media. Thus Kalam tells the gathering, a leader should take responsibility for failure and any success should be attributed to his colleagues.

pudhu dress mogam

Earlier I had mentioned that I was obsessed about “Masala Dosai”. This post is about another such obsession I have since my childhood. I have a very bad habit. I always get excited when my parents and I go out for purchasing new dresses for various occasions. I just cannot wait for the occasion to arrive. As soon as we get back home after the purchase, even if it is late in the evening, I have to wear the new dress atleast for five minutes. My parents tried to tell me that the basic purpose for getting a dress for an occasion is to wear it “new” on the day of the occasion. But I never used to listen to them. Finally they thought of a plan. My parents used to buy the dress and lock it safe in the cupboard. They’ll tell me that they haven’t bought the dress. They will “release” it only on the day of the occasion. Poor me!! This was when I was very small and I was not smart enough to realize their “master” plan. Later on this did not work out as I would find out the “treasure” by rummaging throughout the cupboard. Later when I started buying salwar materials, they made sure that the tailor didn’t stitch it till the occasion. Even if I get the dress stitched one day before the occasion, I will wear it once before the occasion.
Finally my parents gave up on this matter. Hence to this day, I am following the “ritual” of wearing the new dress (atleast!!!!) once before the occasion. Many a time, I have purchased long before the occasion and hence before the occasion arrives I would have worn the dress two or three times. In that case I’d get a bonus dress to wear for the occasion on the pretext that the dress I’d bought earlier has become old(not literally, but can’t be called as new anyway). Even now I have a new dress at home as my birthday is coming up in a few weeks time. Since I wanted to get rid of this habit, I’ve been trying real hard not to get tempted. But I don’t know how long I can control myself!!!!!!

Nyaana Sooniyam

One small karpanai..Actor Goundamani Team Lead aavum,Actor Senthil Goundamani keezha velai seyyara Programmer aavum irundha eppdi irukum..

Goundamani overhears Senthil talking to a fellow programmer.

S: Ennaya indha TL ku onnume theriya maatengudhu. Techunical Dejign(Technical Design) paathu codu pannunga nu sonnaaru. Andha dejign la pichi pichi irundha coda onna serthu pota error adikudhu. Avaru thaana andha dejign a pereparu(prepare) pannaaru.
Fellow programmer: Design la full code epdi yaa irukum, adhula important part of the code, changes to existing code thaan irukum. It is just to give us a headstart and guide us in finishing the program.
S: Vevaram theriyaadha aala irukiye yaa. Avaruku en mela gaandu. Adhaan inucompuletu(incomplete) coda kuduthu maata vekkalaam nu paakaraaru.

Ivaroda logic a thaanga mudiyaama andha programmer edho excuse sollitu escape aagidraaru. Ivlo neram indha conversation ketutu, onnum kekaadha maadhiri Senthil cubicle kitta varaaru Goundamani.

G: Ennayaa panra?
S: neenga amcha Techunical dejign vechi codu pannitruken saar.
G:Rendu naal munnaadi kuduthadhu innum mudikalayaa
S: Illa, enaku onga dejign padika rendu naal vendi irundhudhu saar. Iniki thaan codu panna aarambichen
G: Appo ennaya solla vara, naa romba complex aa design prepare pannirken nu sollriya?
S: Illa saar, avlo kashtamaa laam illa
G: Appo ennoda design la onnume illa nu sollriya?
S: Thappa nenaikaadheenga saar. Enaku adha padichi purinjika rendu naal aachu avladhaan
G: Appo nee enna maramandaiyaa, kenaiyaa, muttaalaa?? Onaku edhuvum sulabamaa puriyaadha?
S(Kovathula moonji “beetroot color” panni maadhiri aagi..) : Saar ippdi laam pesaadheenga.. neenga thaan inucompuletu coda dejign la potrukeenga. Elaathayam sethu potta error adikudhu
G:Appo enaku onnum theriyaadhu. Nee oru maha medhai. Naan oru adi muttaal appdi dhaana yaa?
S(aaaahhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaa!!): Appdi laam sollave illaiye..neenga thaan thappa purinjikareenga.
G: Naa ellaathayum thappa purinjipen, nee ellaathayum seriyaa purinjipa. Appdidhaana?
S: Illa saar, indha vishayathla thappa purinjikitrukeenga nu sollren?
G: Ennayaa error varudhu?
S: Neengale paarunga saar.

Senthil keyboard la edho thedi thedi type panna try panraaru. Adhukulla Goundamani avara velaga sollitu avare enna matter nu paakaraaru.

G: En yaa #include header add pannaama matha code ellaam ezhudhinaa error adikaama enna pannum. Onna laam evan yaa sethaan indha company la?
S: Appdi paatha, onga dejign la kooda dhaan neenga idhellaam add panla.. directaa furste “cin” nu aarambichirkeenga.
G: Naan technical design la ella codeayum add pannita approm programmer ku ennayaa velai?
S: Dejign la ella line ku nadulayum andha codu enna panradhu nu irukum, andha commentu ellaathayum eduthutu codu ellaam onnu sekardhu thaan enga velai
G: Ada paavigalaa!!!! Sondha budhi ellaam use panradhe kadaiyaadha?
S: Edhu codu line edhu commentu line nu correctaa pirikarom la. Adhukellaam periya theramai venum saar.
G: Appdingala saar. Ongala romba korachi eda pottuten. Neenga evlo arivaali nu theriyaama ongala thappa pesiten. Indha arivaali ku naan kandipa oru treat veche aaganum. Koncham kooda vareengala saar.
S(perumai la rendu kombu molacha erumai maadhiri): Velai iruke.. venaa evening polaame
G: Aahaa work la evlo sincere aa irukeenga. Pul arikudhunga. Paravaa illa TL naan sollren, neenga vaanga polaam.

Thaniyaa kootitu poi as usual oru nalla “treatment” tharaaru namba Goundamani, senthil ku.

G: Odi po naaye. Inime indha company, en inume endha s/w company layum onna naan paaka koodaadhu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Odane senthil thunda kaanum thuniya kaanum nu odidraaru. “Appa, kaatu erumai inniyoda tholanjidhu” nu namma Goundamani seat ku sweet oda vandhu ella employees kum distribute panraaru. Avar mailbox open pannona PM kittendhu oru mail. The contents are as stated below.

Goundamani,
How dare you order Senthil to leave the company? What will happen to the money we spent on training him, the infrastructure and the loans availed by him? Since you are solely responsible for this, you are liable for all the money spent on him. Hence we will deduct the amount directly from ur salary for the next two years.

Regards,
PM

G:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vote for Lok Paritran

Edho ennaala mudinja oru nalla kaaryam. I see an "Ayutha Ezhuthu(Yuva)" in the making. Since I was not able to volunteer for their campaign, I thought I will have a post about them. After reading Prabhu Karthik's blog, I wanted to do my bit too.

Check out this to learn more about their plans and election manifesto from Sudhish himself. I have a strong belief that these people will make a difference.

When I was discussing about this party to my father, he expressed his doubts because of the past experience. It seems that when Chezhiyan(a veteran politician) stood opposite to Vaijayanthimala(who knows nothing about politics) in South Madras earlier, he lost to her by a margin of more than two lakh votes. Ithanaikum south madras includes areas having "well-educated" people in the majority. People, do give Lok Paritran a chance. I am sure we will not regret our decision at any point of time. If people are skeptical about what a small group of youngsters can do, I just quote the dialogue between a news reporter and Surya in Ayutha Ezhuthu.

News Reporter : Oru naalu per naala enna change kondu vara mudiyum nu nenaikareenga?

Surya : Cricket la 100 runs edukanum naalum one run lendhu thaan start pannanum, naanga naalu per aa start pannirkom.

If given a chance..

If I could get back to the past and live a few selected days again, which of the 8395 days I would choose?

Would it be those days when I was a year old and I used to be the center of attraction for all those who come home? I used to love all the fusses they make over me, pinching my cheeks, trying to make me smile and trying to make my little hand hold their fingers!!!

Would it be the day when I first started going to LKG without making a fuss about the new surroundings I had to get used to? In fact I got adjusted so well that I started disturbing other students and gaining the teacher's wrath!!!

Would it be the day when I proudly showed my report card to my parents after scoring excellent grades in the first exam I ever faced in my life? The remarks filled by my class teacher were also very good and my parents were happy(whether the standard was maintained after that is another matter)

Would it be the days I spent with Meghna, my first best friend? We used to get along with each other so well and I used to spend my holidays also at her house. We can't remain without talking to each other for long even after "big" fights.

Would it be the day when I got a prize (third place) for the first time in a “lemon and spoon” competition? I got a plastic box and I treasured it for a long time.

Would it be the day when I first got on stage for my “Dance Arangetram” along with four others? We were very nervous during the Prayer song that is sung before any program but when we were on stage, nothing stopped us from earning accolades from the crowd.

Would it be the days spent with my best friends at my college, cutting classes, being “outstanding” students, doing combined studies on the day of the exam and still getting expected marks(thanks to my friends for the so many detailed answers that I was able to reproduce from the last minute learning). I learnt the importance of friends only during my college days(not because of the above mentioned situations but they were all of the type “A friend in need is a friend in deed”).

Would it be the day when I got selected through campus interview during the final year? This happened when I least expected. I never prepared seriously for it and just the day before my future seemed to be a big question mark. Lo and behold!! My career path was set and my future seemed to be clearer and more secure (all my preparations for GATE was futile, as I stopped preparing after this). I just loved the expression I saw on my parents’ face when I informed them about it.

Well, I guess I have written a small autobiography but I surely would like to live all these days again and I can’t choose between any of these as all are equally important for me. I was also thinking of adding those days which I would like to change if given a chance. But I am not able to think of any such situations. Each and every happening was for a purpose and had a learning of its own and hence should not be changed.

CUG paduthum paadu

Indha CUG oda rousu thaangala da saami!! Veruthu poi sollala, but CUG iruku nu edhukellaam use panradhu nu venaam???????

Dining hall ku poi oru table la settle aana apparom thaan nyaabagam varum spoon venum nu. Odane queue la nikkara friend ku call panni “innuru spoon kondu vaa” nu solluvaanga.. ithanaikum spoon vechirkara edam avanga utkaara edathulendhu koopadra dhooram thaan irukum.
Lunch vaangarthuku queue la ninutrupaanga.. avanga friend oru figure oda pesitu irukardha paathona porukaadhu, queue la ninnutu call panni otta vendiyadhu.. ithanaikum saapaadu vaangitu avanoda thaan poi utkaara poraanga..adhukulla enna call vendi kadaku?
Ivanga cubicle lendhu rendu cubicle thalli thaan ivanga friend irupaanga. Ezhundhu koopta nalla kekum. But call adipaanga.. adichi “Enna busyaa,tea ku polaama” nu kepaanga.. idhellaam koncham too much aa illa? Of course sometimes extensions irukum..adhuvum use panlaam, but ellaroda cubicle liyum extension irukaadhe.
Evening vandi eduka povaanga, avanga friend a gate kitta wait panna sollitu, parking lot lendhu gate oru 2 min walk dhoorathula irukum, ivanga vandi eduthutu vararthuku kooda wait panna mudiyaama, oru call panna vendiyadhu ”Enga iruka, seekarom vaa” nu.
Morning avan avan kashta pattu adichom pudichom nu office bus pudichitu, appo thaan bus la settle aagirpaanga, appo radio mirchi la edho oru paatu odum, odane innuru bus la irukara avanga friend ku call panni, “Indha paata pathi thaan nethu sollitrundhen, evlo azhagaana lines” nu aaraaichi pannitrupaanga. Innum oru half an hour wait panna office la meet panna poraanga..adhukulla ennathuku indha thevai illaadha call?

Idhellaam oru sila instances thaan. Indha maadhiri abathamaana situations neriyaa paathurken. Naanum CUG thaan vechirken. Aanaa naa indha maadhiri loosuthanam panna maaten…appdinu solla maaten. U see, all ore kuttaila oorina mattainga thane!!!

Friends like me!!

I was talking to my friend and he narrated an incident hearing which I immediately decided to make a blog out of it. As usual oru mega bulb incident thaan(en friends enna maadhiri irukardhula aacharyam enna?!!)

He had gone along with two of his friends to Forum. He wanted to get a gift for one of his friends who was married. He always believes in gifting some useful item than some showpiece or wall-hanging. So when he was searching for an apt gift he saw kitchen gloves. He immediately picked them up and saw the price. It read Rs 200. He was satisfied and walked towards the bill counter. With credit card in ur hands any purchase is just a swipe away!! As usual, he passed his credit card across the counter. The person at the counter looked at him in a peculiar way, smirked and said that credit cards are valid only for purchases above Rs150!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The price of the gloves was just Rs20 and he had read the “dot” wrongly.

He narrated this to me when we were dining out at a restaurant. After we finished eating I offered to pay but before I could take out the money he took his card to pay. The waiter took the card and the bill. While waiting for the waiter to return, my friend was explaining about how useful the card was and how easy it is to purchase goods without having to carry lots of money around. Just then the waiter returned and informed my friend that cards are accepted only if the bill amount exceeded Rs200 and we had eaten only for Rs185!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had a good laughing fit that day.

Idhuku summa irundirkalam

He and She r good friends for a long time….
Today in chat

He: Hi da…Good Morning

She: Hiiii da….A very Good Morning 2 u

He: So enna iniki bayangara happy mood’la iruka pola??? (vera eppadi arambikanu theriyala….)

She: Appadi onnum illayae…..

He: !!!!!!!

She: Yaen unaku appadi thoonudha??

He: yaah adhan kaetaen….(happa avalae edho kaetuta….thapichom, with a happy smile)

She: Adhuva……….(romba lollu dhan…..avan ippadi kaekanumnu dhanae appadi enthuva avanoda msg’ku reply pannadhu madam)

He: any issues in telling me…..sonna naanum sandhosha paduvaenla (ada romba dhan….)

She: cha appadilam onnum illa.,…..naan X pathi sollirkaenla….avan iniki morning enaku vandhu GM sollitu, ennoda dress iniki nalla irukunu sollitu ponan….(criminal’a irukangapa…..avan idhula tension agardhae parkanum enna bhudiyoo cha…)

He: (kovatha konja illa rombavae control panitu) Wow….so work out aga arambichiduchunu naenikuriya??? Congrats da……

She : po da !!!!! (seri bulb!!!!)

An Experience with Mixed Feelings

During last Jan, when it was just a few months since I joined this company, I saw a mail which made me very excited. It was an announcement that a sports meet is going to be held at the office. I immediately enrolled for the throwball match and few of my friends from my area also enrolled. All of us were so enthusiastic that we found a place in our area to practice with the ball we had newly bought for the tournament (enga area oru village maadhiri..city outskirts..adhula ippdi oru place kandu pudichadhu oru periya vishayam). After all the practice we had, we were very confident and we were informed about the fixtures. We were very happy that there are so many people as enthusiastic as us (there were four teams of 6 members each). On the d-day, we started from our place in three vehicles. The ground where the match was going to be held was in Vadapalani and it was very far off from our place. But we didn’t mind the distance and we were just waiting to get there. We reached there at 9.30 AM only to find that we were the first team to arrive!!!! Later we found out that we were the last team to arrive too!!!!!!!! Anga court ellaam superaa irundhudhu. Paatha adhula pasanga volley ball velayaaditrundhaanga!!! We were so damn disappointed.

We waited for sometime. The volleyball match ended. Ivlo dhooram vandhutu verumna thirumbi poga mudiyuma? We started practicing in the court and oru game aadi mudichitom. Appo one of my friends suggested that we’ll go to a movie. As vadapalani is full of theatres we thought we will surely get to watch some movie or the other. So we started from there at 10.45. We reached Kamala first and we found that we were half an hour late. We didn’t lose hope. Next we went to Udhayam. Again we were late by 15 min there. We then thought that we could’ve avoided the practice at the court. Adhaan oru ee kaaka kooda varla illa..pinna ennathuku practive vendi kadaku. Appdiye engala naanga thittikittu we started from Udhayam. Then we saw Kasi theatre. Enna padam odradhu nu kooda paakaama we just went in to get the tickets. Paatha angayum 15min late. Seri just 15 min thane. Inga enna padam nu paatha “Ayya”. It was not a Mani Rathnam or Gautham film..edho first 10min miss pannita appro paakardhu waste nu laam illa. After all, the usual Naataamai style film. We were soooo desperate to watch a film that we thought we’d get the tickets. But andha theatre kaarane idhu onnum avlo nalla padam laam illa. Udhayam la laam nalla padam oduthu. Anga ponga maa nu thorathaama thorathitaan.

Finally enga “village” la sila theatres iruku(not “tent kottaai”). Anga edhaavadhu padam paakalaam nu we started from Kasi theatre. But by the time we reached our place we were so exhausted that we had to call it a day. We just went straight home, had a good lunch and slept peacefully. Later the matches were re-scheduled and we played in a court near our office itself during office hours!!!! College cut adichitu poi velayaadina range ku scene potom. It was a memorable experience.

Why is the media here so negative?

This blog is an outburst as a result of going through the first page in the New Indian Express today. Headlines read “Militants strike at seven places”. Just above this headline is a picture of a lady crying uncontrollably while speaking over the phone from a hospital bed. On the right side reads another news “Twin blasts in Jama Masjid”. On the left side of the page, in the Breaking News section, the first news read “Bangalore riots ‘caused $160 million dent’ ”. If u go down, last section reads "Restoring virginity for Rs 20000"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a quote from our president’s speech which I have already mentioned in length before.

“Why is the media here so negative?

Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them.Why?

We are the first in milk production.

We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.

We are the second largest producer of wheat.

We are the second largest producer of rice.

Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into aself-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of suchachievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters. I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings,bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.”

I see a live example here. I know that it has been happening for a long time. But today I was very irritated because there was not a single positive news item in the first page and all these news had so many things which aroused my anger.

1. The main picture in the front page is a gal crying which is what everyone wakes up to here. Not only that, this kind of a projection will make the tourists frightened and they will have second thoughts to visit Kashmir. Just now tourism has been revived in Kashmir which will go for a toss with this kind of a projection. It is as if the media is helping out the terrorists in achieving their goal of frightening off the tourists.

2. Again on the right side, the news about the blasts in Jama Masjid, as such there has been no big damage. 13 are injured but within couple of hours, lots of devout people went back to offer prayers which means that the damage should have been very less. The mosque also hasn’t suffered any damage. When this is the case why should such a news make a headline in the first page?

3. In the breaking news section, they mention that, Software companies have lost around $40 million in revenues in Bangalore because of the riots. Well, this is a very small amount compared to the money earned by the software companies each year. And what an irony, in the same paper, in the Business section, they have mentioned the Infy revenue has crossed 2Billion mark. But what will capture everyone’s eye most prominently is that Software companies are facing a huge loss, that too Bangalore being a pioneer in the software industry, this will be taken as a serious issue, when it is actually not even worth to be given a second thought.

4. Finally comes the worst part of all the news. Already the values and virtues set by our forefathers have gone down the drain in most parts of the country. Now to add to it, these kind of “initiatives” will bring down whatever leftover culture and ethics remain. Yes I am talking about the section that reads “Restoring virginity for Rs 20000”. What a start to the passage? It reads “A scientific triumph or a regressive procedure that further compromises the position of women in conservative India?” It seems Gujarat surgeons have found a way to restore a woman’s virginity. Let the invention be true or false. I am least concerned about it. But look at the kind of patients who get admitted to undergo the operation.
a.Most women queue up mainly to keep their virtue intact in the eyes of their future in laws and husbands.
b.Sex workers who want to get married
c.Some don’t want their husband to find out about their premarital affair.
They say if such an operation succeeds they will strike gold!!!!! They are making business at the cost of destroying the ethical values that a woman should possess. Already not many hesitate in having a pre-marital affair and it has become so common. If this succeeds the count will go on increasing and there will be no difference between US and India in this matter(India should become a developed country like US, they say, developed in such atrocious things??). How will a guy or the guy’s parents trust a girl whom the guy is going to marry if such a thing works out? I think Express themselves found it was too much to project such a news item so outrightly, that they have added at the last saying, “Instead of educating the society by spreading information about sex, doctors are making money out of such backward mindsets”. I sincerely pray that this initiative fails miserably!!!!

News items like Infy’s revenue raising to $2 Billion, the process of building the aircraft version of a supersonic cruise missile, Komagan of Autograph ovoru pookalume fame has done music for a film ( a guy who is physically-challenged achieving such a great thing) and the successful test firing of a multi-barrel rocket system feature somewhere in the middle of the paper which can be spotted only if someone can sustain interest in reading till the last page of the paper and also has a magnifying glass. Not only this newspaper, most of them are like this. We should detest such newspapers and read only those with valuable news items in it. The problem lies with both the media and the readers. Just because most of them prefer “Hot” news to informative news, the media is obsessed with projecting such news. For them it is just business. They need not be patriotic. After all they have to earn their living. Only if the readers show that their real taste lies in relishing the achievements of India rather than its black spots, will the media stop being so negative. I sincerely wish that this change in trend happens soon.

Presentation kalakitomle

Seminar, session, presentation ... indha vaarthai ellam enaku nu kettaale podhum ... "manasukulle bayam vandhucha ? vandhallo vandhallo"
college le lam eppavachum seminar eduka vendi varum .... (adikadi vara maadhiri naanga vechika maattom le ! ;-) ). but appolam veliya bayame illadha maadhiri eduka try pannanalum(succeed aanalum), ullukulle bayam ingeyum angeyum poondhu velayadum ...

but office vandhadhuku aprom, adhuvum oru moonu naalu presentation kaprom ippo dhaan thonudhu - over coming this stage fear, rather public-speaking fear, though may seem to be very difficult or impossible , is not really that difficult ....

ppl who r already gr8 speakers, I do not know how u would feel abt this post .... but this is how i feel ...

today i had to give a presentation on a technical topic ...

'cos of this very fear of having to deliver a session to an audience of 13-15 made me not do so many of my love-to-do activities .... I would spend a lot of time thinking abt how bad a scene it would be if I mess up the session ???!!!

but as i was becoming technically more knowledgeable about the topic, I felt some confidence build up .... it did last for a long time .... but jus the day before the presentation, ie yesterday, I do know where all that confidence vanished ?! I suddenly started feeling as though I had not prepared enough & was gonna mess up .... I went home in the same state of mind .... full of tension....

early this morning , I realized ther's no point worrying .... & that the best way out of this thing was through it - i just had to do the presentation well..... was it that difficult a job ???
I put in some more ppt slides that i had kept pending .... did a good amt of practising just like how i would have to present in the session.... believe me , at the end of the practice, I felt the whole world's confidence in me !!!

idhe mood le office ponen .... pona odane paatha ... oru assessment review ku en manager kooptaru ... i'm sure this is the best ever interaction i've ever had with my manager ! I felt myself so optimistic, positive, confident and all the positives possible on earth ! i'm sure the scene would hav been so different without that practice session in the morning ....

but this "gethu" feeling dint last long .... :(

after some time , wen i was discussing the presentation topic with my tech lead, he asked me a doubt abt which i had no clue at all ..... i felt sick ! back to square 1 ! i fell into the same mood that i was in last nite ....
after some analysis of that doubt, i realized that it was not a big deal ... but then it had already flattenned my enthu & confidence .... I had to do something to change the situation , else i knew i would do a flop show ................

Hmmm.... I spent about 15 minutes in solitude .... talking to my myself .... telling myself all the good things ..... explaining to myself how easy the job was ..... how i knew almost everything about it .... how ignorant the ppl attending the session would be abt the topic .... what good a feeling it would bring to me if i did the show well ... worst case - enna thalaya seeviduvaanga ?!

My self-motivation did work out ! I did end up boosting up my morale !

The best part was when the ppt file that i had prepared dint open up from the system in the presentation room ! :-O

so i was asked to give a white board presentation - for which i was least prepared .....
but i did manage the show very well with some help from my tech lead ....
the show went on smooth ! very smooth ! I could feel that i was relaxed .... & the audience were also interacting, which meant they did pay attention & also understood the stuff !

Today I kinda saw a practical example of "You are, what you think you are" ! :-)

Mega Bulb!!

Yesterday, the project account I am currently in would have been closed, thanks to me. Well it wasn’t my mistake totally. My TL never informed me. Suddenly, late afternoon, a guy entered our ODC. I hadn’t seen him before. Still I assumed that he must have been newly recruited lateral. When I initially joined in Chennai there were just 40 of us in our department. Now it has grown to a whooping 300 or even more. I don’t recognize most of them in our department nowadays. Hence I thought that he must be a new joinee. He was talking to my TL for sometime and then my TL pointed to my place and they both started walking to my cubicle. He asked me to unlock the system ( I was at another cubicle discussing something with a colleague). I was puzzled but I did as I was told.

The Guy : I need a few screen shots which I will store in a file. Please send it to me after I leave the place.
My TL : Sure.
Me : I have a software called zapgrab with which u can easily take screen shots.
The Guy (Blinked at me, smirked): Its ok, I will use print screen.

The Guy (opening IE and checking out the history which consisted of various blogsites mainly and some front end applications related to the client) : Can u access any email sites from here?
Me (again looking forward to help this guy) : Actually..(looking at my TL) browseatwork.com also doesn’t work? Else we can access mails from that right?
My TL (glaring at me) : No mail sites can be accessed from here.
Me(thinking to myself) : Why is he lying? I can access my AIM mail. I will tell this guy once my TL leaves the place.

The Guy (checking the users created) : Why is there a second user created apart from the admin user?
Me (as a matter of fact) : To share files
My TL(giving me a dirty look) : Actually we can share files only within the specific network allotted to the project and it is very secure. Only project related files are shared.
The guy vigorously searched for the files shared, checked the permissions and went through some of those files. Then he left it at that. Only then I realized that there was something wrong and never opened my mouth after that. My TL answered all his queries after that. After the guy left, my TL told me that the guy had come for a SECURITY AUDIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First thing, we are not supposed to have any unlicensed software. But I was happily asking him to use an unlicensed software!!!
Second, we are not supposed to have access to any of the mail sites. I was about to tell him that he can access AIM mail (helping tendency..huh!!)
Finally we are not allowed to share files across the network which is another security violation. I was not supposed to reveal the fact that we share files across the network. But I did just that (honesty at its best). If my TL hadn’t been there, the project would have gone for a toss!!!! Later when I narrated the incident to my friends, they had a great laugh (naa superaa bulb adichadhula avangaluku avlo sandhosham).