A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere

Imagine your life is a story and you…the author, with complete creative control. There are no boundaries so you can live out every dream and fantasy; color outside the lines; be outrageous and courageous; and leap tall buildings in a single bound. Why don’t you cozy up in your chair, grab a pen and begin writing?
 
“A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere,“ Joyce Meyer

Ok, maybe you scratch the #2 pencil and grab your iPad instead!

What if …You let your imagination run wild?
What will you write?
What is your story?

And…what if…everything you have already written in your wonderful, horrible, tidy, messy past led you to this fresh, new page today? I’m a firm believer that your past doesn’t define you but instead it prepares you for your future. And speaking of your future:
What will you create today?
Who are the supporting characters?

And…what if…time, money, commitments, etc weren’t an obstacle:
Where will you live?
What will you do?
Who will you surround yourself with?

Every day is a new opportunity for a fresh start; an opportunity to paint on our canvas of life. A chance to turn the page and write our new chapter. Everyday is an opportunity for a make-over, a do-over, a re-boot.

So what are you waiting for? Turn the page!!!

Whatever you want to call it, claim it and go for it. Write your mission statement. Go after your dreams. Make new dreams.

Djokovic at UN

One of the truly inspiring sportsman, Djokovic on his country, rise and inspiration. Excellent Talk.

"Improvement in success comes with hard work and that you won’t get anywhere if you give up in the face of adversity." - Djokovic at UN

http://webtv.un.org/watch/novak-djokovic-world-no.-1-ranked-tennis-player-international-day-of-sport-for-development-and-peace/2625079646001/

Novak Djokovic (World No. 1 ranked tennis player), International Day of Sport for Development...

webtv.un.org

Statement by Mr. Novak Djokovic, World No. 1 ranked tennis player, on the occasion of the adoption by the General Assembly of the “International Day o

One of the most inspiring poems read in my childhood

లక్ష్మణ కవి కలములొ నుండి జాలువారిన ఆణిముత్యం :

ఆరంభింపరు నీచ మానవులు విఘ్నాయాస సంత్రస్తులై 
యారంభించి పరిత్యజించుదురు విఘ్నాయత్తులై మధ్యముల్ 
ధీరుల్ విఘనిహన్య మానులగుచు ధ్రుత్యున్నతొత్సాహులై 
ప్రారబ్ధార్ధము లుజ్జగింపరు సుమీ ప్రజ్ఞానిధలల్ గావునన్ - ఏనుగు లక్ష్మణ కవి. 

ఏదైనా పని మొదలు పెట్టినపుడు ఎన్ని అడ్డంకులు ఎదురయినా వెరువక తుదికంటా లక్ష్యం కోసం శ్రమించడమే కార్య సాధకుడి నైజం. అలాంటివారు ఉత్తములు. ఎప్పుడో ఎదురయ్యే అడ్డంకులను తలచుకుని ఏ పనీ చేపట్టనివారు అధములు. ఏదో చెయ్యాలన్న తపనతో మొదలు పెట్టినప్పటికీ మధ్యలో ఆటంకాలు ఎదురవగానే వదిలేసేవారు మధ్యములు.

Which translates to - People in the world are classified as three different kinds.
The first kind is those who do not start a work for fear of facing obstacles/ difficulties who are those of the lowly kind, the second kind, who start a work and leave it in the middle the moment they face an obstacle - they are medium kind and finally those who despite all difficulties stand up to the task and finish it - who are the noble ones.

To Autumn

I looked out of my window...Saw the beautiful autumn transcending the surroundings...An enthralling happiness filled my senses and who else can describe my feelings better than Keats...Quoting my favorite poet's line - Autumn beats from Keats!!!

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

   Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

   With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

   And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

      To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

   With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

      For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Ohh Keats - You can change the perception with your words…Always a big fan – Take a bow!!!

Zeal to Perfection!!!

A rush, a complexity, an idiosyncrasy...What else I can say.  What Felix did may not be a world changing one. What he did may not change the plight of billions of people around the world. He may not put a presumptuous step to take the human race, a leap ahead. But this dude’s made of balls of steel. Some excerpts from his upshot speech which echoed every bit of his exasperating emotion when he’s inside an ominous-looking flat spin that Baumgartner went into around 90 seconds into the descent.

"Because I have a manual push button where I can release a drogue [stabilization] chute which pulls me out of the flat spin, but at the same I time I knew if I push that button, this thing is all over, we're not going to fly supersonic."

Losing out the comfort zone, tackling the adrenaline rush to sooth out the right decision…What not. Felix had not only shown his incredible panache but also his flamboyance in reaching out his goal no matter what the condition is. Even though his prime motivation is to come back alive (as said in his interview after the dive), he never wanted to compromise in his calculated risk to go for an extra mile. Such is his knack, such is his compassion and above all, he still want to challenge himself.

Vince Lombardi said -  “I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfilment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious. “ Incomplete. Incomplete. The man’s finest hour, his greatest fulfilment lies in his ability to challenge himself to the extreme and give his heart out to raise the bar of human spirit. History might have been written by the victors, but to be one of them…Look beyond the written lines. 

Ramblings of a whimsical fatso…!!!

A moment on your lips, forever on your hips…As Joey does, I too once used to hate this line. Without second thought I was offended as well. I am not giving an embodiment or an activist based view here. I am just speaking as a Tanuj who lived in my very own body till 2011 February. The one who’s living at present or lived after Feb 2011 had lost more than 13 units of adipose tissue (as bios like Shravya used to call it) or Kilos as British metrics call them. Frankly speaking, nothing changed. Not even an additional testosterone level increase or an added percentage of freaking activeness.

For this transformation to a mirror fitting material, the process included woeful humiliation from every quarter. I do not remember the whole story as it is exactly happened, but jus some jottings from broken words from my admirers (yeah who made my life miserable by looking at my rice plate as if I am responsible for global food shortage). The evolution of this pain started before I came to this world I guess. I remember my grandma telling me that I was born a kilo overweight. They called me healthy and damn everyone was worried when I am not having my food properly and losing my weight at that time. And there was the bomb. They saw an appetizer increasing tonic or some prescribed medicine ad on TV and experimented on me. The results were successful and I have started eating as if the world’s gonna end after my meal. I guess my admirers were very happy coz they found a 2 year old chubby kid, cute. Scene cut, dozen years later they were having all problems with my eating/fattening habits. Has the world turned upside down in a dozen years? We just not eat to satisfy our souls. We are major driving factors of retail foods. I bet none of my skinny admirers would dare touch the sugar coated calories in the shelves even though their heart pound for that. After all we encourage new restaurateurs by visiting them. We are the source of information, critical reviews and GDP growth (retail food combustion rate is directly proportional to our fattening…lame calculation…:P). Considering the fact that Warren Buffet and Mukesh Ambani are over weight, be careful while you comment on the next one you see on the road. 

Welcome back!!!

One classic which never grows old and can sustain over the ages...A lyrical masterpiece fitting in my party log of welcoming 2012...From the pen of Phil the Master...Its just another day in Paradise!!!

She calls out to the man on the street, "Sir, can you help me?
It's cold and I've nowhere to sleep. Is there somewhere you can tell me?"
He walks on, doesn't look back, he pretends he can't hear her
He starts to whistle as he crosses the street, seems embarassed to be there

Oh, think twice, it's just another day for you and me in paradise
Oh, think twice, it's just another day for you, you and me in paradise
Just think about it

She calls out to the man on the street, he can see she's been crying
She's got blisters on the soles of her feet, she can't walk, but she's trying

Oh, just think twice, it's just another day for you and me in paradise
Oh yes, think twice, it's just another day for you, you and me in paradise
Just think about it, uh - huh, just think about it

Oh Lord, is there nothing more anybody can do
Oh oh Lord, there must be something you can say

You can tell by the lines on her face, you can see that she's been there
Probably been moved on from everyplace, cause she didn't fit in there

Oh yes, think twice, it's just another day for you and me in paradise
Oh yes, think twice, it's just another day for you, you and me in paradise
Just think about it, uh - huh, just think about it

It's just another day for you and me in paradise
It's just another day for you and me in paradise
It's just another day for you and me in paradise
It's just another day for you and me in paradise
It's just another day for you and me, it's another day for you and me
It's another day for you and me in paradise
In paradise, oh, oh, oh, oh yeah

A tale of cat and mouse

Before starting the actual engravings on my blog wall, I want to clear the air. I am neither a feminist nor a women’s rights activist. I am neither a social reformer nor a modern Raja Ram Mohan Roy. I am just jolting down my thoughts on an article which caught my attention a month ago. This is probably the most serious post of my blog so far and I don’t want to tone down the intensity of the issue to follow my usual suite. My mom used to tell me a famous saying which goes like – “A pet kitten can attack like a tiger, if tortured in a closed room”. I guess the saying has different levels of meaning, but after going through the domestic violence/abuse statistics last month I found it completely wrong. A Colorado court had given a domestic violence convict much debated freedom by basing the act on temporary insanity. One might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb. Sad part is morality can never take a chair when insanity prevails. What’s law is planning to prove. Violence against an intimate partner, in most of the cases - women is just an act of insanity???

Let’s start with numbers – Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime. Most often, the abuser is a member of her own family. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women—more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. Men aren’t spared either. About two in five of all victims of domestic violence are men, contradicting the widespread impression that it is almost always women who are left battered and bruised, a new report claims.

More than 30% victims of domestic violence around the world never comes out of their - in this case, the Lion’s den raising their voice because of their fear of shame rosen from the contraceptive decision making in terms of choosing their partners. If the partner is brutally injured and the convict hence proven guilty, the convict is punishable to the maximum of a jail term of 5 years. If there is a kid in the scenario(as a product of their unfruitful relationship), the convict can escape with much lesser possibility of punishment. According to UNICEF’s statistics, more than 75% of children who are grown in these kinds of abusive environment will grow up with psychological disorders which can mutate to trauma and depression that can carry for their life time. The convict of the Texas Chain Saw massacre is a product of one such incident in his childhood. Domestic violence is a widely known dark secret. It’s more brutal than a Sexual Homicide. As a matter of fact, in a homicide the victim is killed on the spot with a one time suffering. Domestic violence perpetuates, influence and disturbs the intensity and defoliates the life. This is not a social message. A society in which every human being is ought to be survived, one should never let down oneself to undergo this pain. It’s very difficult to undergo a cross pollination phase when two human beings coming from completely different backgrounds merged under one roof. Differences do exist. Violence is not an answer and is a severely punishable crime. Law should be stringent to leave any reservations for the convicts. Do not close the door. Ring a bell!!!

COKE 'n me

Black – A colour that represent extreme vacuum in the universe, A colour which showcases deep down emptiness, a colour that defined the darkness and the very own colour of highest point of attraction. I don’t have a squad about how the name COLA came up with this colour, but as a kid I never really tend to pose myself with a bottle of coke in my hands (It was coca cola at that time and people used to call it, with its very own name). The childhood fascination was all about colours and even grayish Limca couldn’t fit into my bottle of wine. It started with Gold Spot. The addiction to orange had grown with age and transformed from long T’d 330ml bottles to mini skirted 300ml cans. Though the cylindrical cans which belonged to cooler gen next, just got themselves confined to my math calculations and couldn’t fit in my hands.

So all the intro above is jus to prove my first love wasn’t with Coke and as the saying goes that Love stories started at a tender age can never last longer than they seem to be. By the time I have started using the phrase I am a grown up now, orange coloured Fanta/Mirinda (Did I mention that Gold Spot evolved into much cooler versions like above) were successfully replaced with world’s best soft drink - Coca Cola. And its an age where my teenage dreams jus subdued and I need to show my prowess of so called male ego of a grown up man. I never liked the smell of beer and alcohol was still considered as a sin thing (I totally disagree with that logic, but cmon consider the Indian so called ethical environment which suppressed the logic behind any belief). First shot at coke did gave me an awesome feeling of sliding through the throat which was parched due to a hot Indian summer. It was heaven. Since then, coke had been my strength and weakness and successfully kept me away from beer.

Coke is just a symbol of realtime addiction, atleast for me. What do I have for breakfast – bread, cheese and coke(a modern French combo); Lunch – Pasta and coke; Dinner – rice and coke; Dessert – vanilla coke; Reduce weight – Diet coke; Need to sleep – Zero Coke; Coke delivered every product to suit my life style. It did complete me. This love story did lasted for a while before I found my date and entered a polygamy with beer. A date with beer has a sense of kick but coke always gave the much needed satisfaction for which I am still an addict. Everything in life has a beautiful ending. And if it is not beautiful, then be sure, it is not the ending. Beer showed the side effects (belly especially) and I had to get back to the love of my life. As U2 sang with or without you in my ears coke defined the perfect sync of my life with a They lived happily ever after climax. This time it’s a happy ending and Maniratnam’s dialogues in Geetanjali did came true – Nobody knows how long they gonna last, but they will be happy as long as they are together. Coke will last forever by giving justification to the core for every addict and I am no Chuck Norris. I did opened my happiness…(Damn coca cola isn’t gonna pay me for this heart felt marketing…L)

A journey of unbuttoned knickers and torn shirts

When driven back in those memories, there were no egos, there were no night outs, there were no tensions and there were definitely no running and waning outs behind life. But there were egos because I had fewer pencils than my best friend, there were tensions because I never knew how to explain my social studies marks to my mom and there was tiresome running because of hard hitting dodge ball. There were sweet kisses on cheeks which were not coincidental, then there were half eaten carriers and scolding moms along with brain eating dads. In my case its 6 days of grandma and grandpa along with 1 day of mom and dad. There were power cuts, blood rush jumps from buildings to buildings when spider man exists only in comic books and cartoons. There was also Chitrahar and Chitralahari along with Ramayana, chandrakantha , Mahabharata, and Disney hour with Ducktales and Talespin.

There was a time where dancing with a girl means love – a mere misnomer from famous tollywood movies, ofcourse it wasn’t tollywood too at that time. There were puppy shames whenever I used to forget zipping my knickers and a blush despite you are a boy. There was this Sunday bathing ritual with dad and mom running behind me to get the process started. There were summer holidays where I don’t have to worry about getting tanned or sun burnt. All I can think of was loads of cricket and badminton with pretentious acts of mischievousness. There were night outs on new years eve to beat the best rangoli in the street and saving the pocket money to buy cosco balls for weekend cricket. There were broken glass windows, woken maniacs (all elders in street) and preaching neighbors. The best screwed up punch line was “Please study Tanuj. You have plenty of time to play.” Oh please who can get me back my childhood. I will pour in all my savings along with my shares I bought. Please get me back my childhood and same feeling where two rupees was a treasure. Despite consistent outburst of worsening marks, even the worst injuries along with empty homework books used to make my day. I was proud to be called an adamant kid but I never looked back and regret. I broke the flower pots in school, destroyed the garden and even fought with my friends and tore their shirts. But never a dull moment or a moment of hypocrisy. I can still feel the same, but with an added tension of growing old.

There was an old telugu song in which ANR sings to a crying baby which gist to why do you wanna grow up so soon. The life beyond this sucks. Yes practically it sucks. But at the same time the enjoyment is taken care at every step. So everyone’s life was a summer of 69. It goes like “But when I look back now, summer seems to last forever and if I had the choice, Yeah I always wanna be there. Those were the best days of my life.”

C'est la vie Murphy!!!

Murphy’s Law says “If anything can go wrong, it will definitely go wrong”. It seems so discouraging for asking oneself to give up on fight when it’s not actually started. Seems too preemptive isn’t it? When you actually know the circumstances and give it an open heart it doesn’t matter. But showing a white flag before the battle starts is pathetic. Even if it is, amidst ruins. We all hear about great battles won on the split second decisions and courageous face offs. What if the battle is lost in mind beforehand? I have a small story to share

“ Decades ago a Chinese army going for a battle stops in front of a temple and started praying to god for their win despite the reality says the chances are less. The major of the battalion talked to the soldiers about destiny’s role in win–loss situations and how we cannot overcome it. He asked soldiers whether taking the chances straightaway is worth it or not. None of them could answer. So he decided to flip a coin in front of god to take the matter of fact whether it’s destined for them to win, or lose the battle. He called heads for win and tails for loss. Strangely it turned out to be heads. The army with an overarching enthusiasm and confidence fought as if they are ordered by almighty itself and against all the odds won the battle.”

The story talks about odds, risk and doing what is invincible against all of them. The twist in the tale is that the coin tossed by major is a two headed one. Moral is simple. Win the battle in mind and heart before entering into the ground. Life is more of cross roads and taking decisions in the periods of utmost uncertainty. In my first ever post, I have tried explaining a process based approach in taking decisions. Now when I see it down the line, it’s YUCK. My current bottom line - Take the decisions that drive the hell out of ya and back them up with logic. Vince Lombardi quoted “man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle.” I have just clipped the last word of the quote Victorious coz it makes no sense. Win or lose when exhausted and lying down on the ground fighting the battle gives a sound of HELL YA, rather than giving up taking the odds into consideration. And as the myth says the heaven is always reserved for the people who fought and died in the battle, but not the ones who watch it as a mere spectacle. I found a battle today which is calling for an unwanted humiliation as a reward for loss. I was blank, destructed and petrified by the way it turned up. But a warm heart asked me for a restoration of pride and for a kick ass journey. And here I am to defy Murphy’s Law, if it has actually decided for some worst odd!!!

The evolution of a geeky cook!!!

I still remember my first day of cooking. I was standing beside my grandma seeing her, artistically rotating the egg yolk over the pan and flipping it so cleanly. Even though its a cake walk and a nobrainer for her stature, I was awestruck and looking for a rehearsal of the same feat and asked for my turn. That's how it started. Although the start has been a miniatured version of omelette, it did gave me pleasure at that time to try it in front of my guru (though the flipping did spilled some oil on my hands). It did showed me some kind of achievement. But the talent went few folds...

I am not writing this for starting a gender war or for who is the best cook or how to perfect the art of cooking. I am just trying to relate some basic human behaviours with an example of culinary. I have started my full length cooking after coming to Engineering and it was a roller coaster ride. It was more of a survival act rather than a talent display. For example, 90% of students (especially male and I dont term geeks alone here) start their first hit on cooking with either egg or noodles coz it doesn't involve cutting or piercing anything. Believe me male counterparts are more scared of blood and needles than their female counterparts.

Once we get used to the basic cookery we try to transform from being a Human Resources manager to an Operations manager. Initially it was more of shielding ourselves from cuts and bruises, more concerned about what happens to us rather than how well it taste. But later its about how well it tastes and how to make it more tastier. Its a pure operational and quality process. Then a transformation to change management and trying new recipes. Its all about innovation and swimming through new channels of waters. There the resources like google and youtube comes into picture. Then the process slowly starts to emerge and perfection comes into picture. It gives a complete picture of how to make a better cook and how well each new addition add value to the final product. I have seen this uncanny evolution completed successfully in my friend Hari who has a greater kink of using knives, as smooth as a paint brush.

It is the evolution of any cook no matter whether he is a professional chef or a student who becomes one without a professional training. Infact I have just taken cooking as an example. We will come across these kind of stuff of learning from mistakes and blah blah blah. Right from the bicycle fall to car driving or placing a sweet chorus on class benches to actual drummers or a implicit lines on a white paper to a professional drawing, everything transforms from a survival instinct to an art. Some people may differ on Darwin's evolution of species but what we are doing is a terrific live proof of the one in our own lives.

I will end with a sweet note - Worlds best cook is none other than our own mom. So lets not compare ourselves with the masters of universe...:P

A tale of hits and misses!!!

The worst things hit harder when the chips are down and the mind is torn between integrity and logic. The diligence will rise...!!!

It started when I first heard Geofrey Boycott's kinky voice describing Amir Sohail's wicket in 1996 world cup quarters when Prasad bowled him clean..."You miss it, I hit it." Since then these words described every single unfortunate attempt I have come across to try hard but resulting in the sweet sound of croak of stumps behind. The incidents varied from much hyped Lagaan's oscar miss and when I saw Zidane shattering the hopes of entire hostel in my college in the final vs Italy to my own experience of missing my flight while falling asleep in the Sydney airport(:P).

The biggest test of nerves will come into action when all the chips are down and when a human or a system undergoes this phase. When I was testing a system of simulation of noise of an engine in IC lab in IIT chennai, I made the entire system to undergo the phase called breakeven point, which means the phase where the system starts to showcase the whiteflag attempt of breakdown. It is tested against the vulnerability and code is written to improve the efficiency whether it is 100% perfect or not. These situations are simulated to see the effect of one system over other which is a chain reaction. When the systems are linked together an upheaval in one part will form a continous effect over the entire system. We cant neglect the wear and tear but can reduce the disambiguity or upheaval by finding out the root cause and reverse engineer the process to undo the error. Human networks are no different.

When these kind of situations rise and when one misses the oppurtunity, the decision making abilities are struck and human brain will seize to function automatically. Different emotions will start to surface especially temper and heart breaks. In 90% of the situations Managers seek to find new methods to motivate the people around them externally and neglect the root cause of the problems. The theoretically impossible but practically proven "Butterfly effect" states that no matter how large the effect is, the root cause still follows the basic natural disturbances in the system. Its difficult to counter human emotions rised during these kind of circumstances. It will have a high on effect when these things are uncontrollable. All predictions and formulae blast off.

These kind of dynamic behaviours showcased are highly sensitive to human conditions and result in chaos such as financial crisis. However the mathematical models which are highly dependent on the past data or experiences will be dealt a blow when an entirely new phase in behaviours surface. How to predict that is a million dollar question. Systems and humans adjust to stability or comfort zone once these kind of imbalances occur.It's all about how effective is your damage control when you really miss what you are supposed to hit. After all it is technically impossible to generate a pure signal without noise!!!

RIP Ramana garu...Adios The Jewel of Telugu Literature...!!!

I never knew that my post will start as an RIP note to the author I have been worshiping from past so many years. Mullapudi Venkata Ramana is no more. Its an obnoxious sentence. He is alive. He lives as long as the telugu literature lives in this world. He lives as long as the language lives. His literary works are contemporary and had tough notch sarcasm attached to what we call heavy dosage social issues. My teacher used to say the sentence " Ravi Ganchun cho Kavi Ganchun (The poet sees the world the sun cannot see). Ramana garu is one such an audacious writer whose pen has drilled down greatest mines of telugu literature with a flow.

His Sahiti Sarvasvam is a bible for modern Telugu Readers and Writers.His characters " Apparav " and " Budugu " will remain in telugu hearts forever. He never missed an opportunity to highlight the so called Ramana Touch to the most of the social issues. His works will take us to the world of 80's which are precious bridges between the old times and new generations.

He along with Bapu marvelled some extra ordinary movies like Sakshi,Pelli Pustakam, Muthyala Muggu, Sita Kalyanam etc. His Sita Kalyanam along with Bapu is a poetic recital of Ramayana and is taught as a lesson at London Scohol of Arts. After reading a few literary works by Mullapudi Venkata Ramana, one will know where does the characters from Bapu movies get their irony, satire and sarcasm from ..... The magic his words has created with Bapu's lens on screen is beyond any words ....Some of the jewels fallen from his pen...

"Asuya ghataina prema ki thermometer " says a character while trying to reason his possessiveness in Budhdhimantudu Movie.

"Cegatri, akasam lo murder jariginattu ledu, suryudu nethuru gadda la ledu" says villian in introduction and the way we perceive the character changes from there on in Muthyala Muggu ...

Take a raw emotion, add right amounts of sensibility, throw in capability for good measure, mix it up well with a humorous lightening rod, allow it to settle in a volatile container. The concoction sums up Sri Ramana's characters. His characters usually spread out on the far sides of the colorful spectrum. Either they are truly sensible, looking at the world without any hang ups or they are completely outlandish bordering on biting sarcasm, fantasy and cynicism.

Its too sad that his works are not published in any of the websites. Recently Chiranjeevi was furious over Padma awards jury of neglecting Bapu - Ramana. They delayed the awards for mighties and gave it to Dasari, Mohanbabu etc. I am not criticizing the winners, but now the award lost its colour. Ramana is no more...

Let me finish off this post with a dialogue between Budugu and Ceegana Peesunamba .....

budugu walks in front of a mirror, looks into it, folds his hand (in namaskaaram fashion) and starts singing:

okkade mahaanubhaavudu, aa okkadiki vandanamulu...

Pesoonamba rushes into the frame and starts yelling:

mashtaaru,veedu, paatanu khooni chestunnaadu

budugu looks at Peesunamba, obligingly and corrects his song, this time turned toward her:

iddare mahaanubhavulu,aa iddarikee vandanamulu...

Ceegana Peesunamba is pleased!


Meeru velli povachchu sir....mee sahityam mimmalni eppudu maa mungitlone unchutundi...

Badha tapta hrudayamtoh - Mee,
Tanuj

Culture Change...naaah...what a joke...!!!

I have joined Hexaware as a Software Engineer back in 2006. The core values of the company being customer satisfaction by adding value, honouring commitments and instilling entrepreneurial attitude in the employees which is more or less a market type culture that can be seen at every corner of IT Services Company in India. But there was a little team inside the organization which is more aggressive and a type of Adhocracy behaviour, an R&D division known as Innovation Labs. Although we mainly focus on experiential learning and contingency oriented approach, organization’s level of interventions will be more as they are more inclined towards business processes rather than culture change which became a fooling around idea. Though we tried to behave more agile, we came to know company tried to understand the underlying value but not willing to change so we were forced to meet more market oriented and process driven approach where clients were driven ahead of employees. This type of behaviour will exert a sense of ownership and will make every employee more process oriented rather than an out of box thinker.

The three specific ‘dynamics’ of the organization culture that have the most influence on those organisational members’ behaviour are the enacted values, Sense-making device and Adhocracy type behaviours. Using enacted values the organization can strive for supportive and collegial kind of work environment with the employees which will enhance the value addition to the company. These approaches will be driven by managerial kind of teamwork and support. The paradigm shift has to happen with in the company by enacting the employee behaviour. According to McGregor’s Theory Y, management strive to make employees more ambitious and self-motivated and exercise self-control. So, by shaping the behaviour of employees by making the sense of their surroundings i.e., by making them understand why and what the organization does, employees becomes more visionary and will indulge them in a sense of ownership. Finally, instilling innovation in a company’s DNA is always a prized catch. It requires an unwavering, wholehearted leap of faith—backed by a major investment, not only of money, but of people, processes, and infrastructure. It also requires audacious goals, evangelism, consistency, education, training, diversity, expert tools, expert processes, and an environment conducive to creating sustainable innovation results that are aligned with financial outcomes. The world's most innovative companies are authentic in word and deed. And it all starts at the top.

The Google's leadership team's faith in their innovation initiative is real—individually and collectively. And because they believe, they evangelize. You have to believe—as they do—that this new way of doing business will lead to success. You have to believe—as Wall Street does—that innovation is essential, not just important. (The difference is simple: The important, you put on a to-do list; the essential goes on a to-die-for list.) IBM tried and still trying to instill the so called out of box culture which is a more adhocratic one. IBM can't be google, Google can never become IBM...

Chance pe Dance!!!

After finished watching an awe inspiring Invictus, I never thought of writing a review nor even thought of posting a comment on any aspect of the movie. I am not even a legitimate source of reviewing legends like Morgan Freeman or Clint Eastwood or anyone who is related to the movie. The movie is an excellent depiction of Nelson Mandela ...AGREED... What I am trying to do here is to just trying to post my thoughts based on my friend's comment at the end of the movie. We both are business students and infact we were enjoying the movie in our own ways, but still I couldn't formulate the concept in the way he did at the end. Infact I was just enjoying the after effects of the movie the tastes and the heights of inspiration. The comment was..."A legend lived, his story ofcourse inspired. How good it is to formulate a book in the most inspiring way and how great it is to select this particular episode of his entire life to make a movie and make millions of business out of it." Definitely true. The movies right from the days of Ben Hur to Slumdog Millionaire were inspired on small episodes or small factors of human life but they all had one thing in common. That is human spirit and compassion. Aamir Khan said in an interview that he will do any kind of movie which will lift the human spirit. It's not like people will become Gandhis or Ghodses after watching movies, but its entirely other side my issue here. He just picked the ROI value of these human values, the spirits and compassions.
They caught the right ideas and implemented in right ways in right times to finish in profits. As a business student looking through that way is always advisable and profitable. I dont know how much this financial handling of creative inputs work, but true the Chance pe Dance works everywhere. No matter what and where it is. I was going through an article the other day about a normal Taxi driver becoming an Internet Enterpreneur. Here's the link
http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Auto_driver_turns_web_entrepreneur-nid-65220.html
I dont want to give anything how ideation works or how people come up with some sparkling ideas. There are tons of books for it and more number of courses to study and specialize. But do the process enhance up on bookish knowledge? I want to revamp my Head's words once stating an example of John Nash getting an idea of game theory in a party and he told me that ideas sprang up after so much of efforts put forth in the past failures...definitely true...Patience is definitely one virtue of an intelligent ideation process. Reaping benefits in a second or an hour is definitely impossible...So all the John Nash's or Clint Eastwoods are not a day wonders...no matter what the back ground is...

Disaster! Destruction! Roland Emmerich!

What's in the destruction of colossal structures that is awe-inspiring (awe is probably the wrong word here, but still...), leaving people agape looking at behemoths bite the dust? The sight of massive constructions, like the ones on the famous Strip in Las Vegas, razed down to the ground by controlled demolition experts setting off sequential explosive charges, and being watched on by hordes of cheering onlookers, makes a good case study for the psychoanalysts.2012...I suppose this movie could provide some amusement as an accompaniment to a slow evening where a drinking game is involved. Beyond that, the only thing this movie gives me cause to fear is the very real possibility of death by boredom.As long as world destruction is all just pure popcorn fun, here are top 10 ways of surviving in a Roland Emmerich's disaster movie

10. The lightning rule - never stand too close, or in fact, never stay in the vicinity of tall structures. Aliens, Godzillas and even natural disasters, like terrorists, have serious identity crises. They cry for attention attacking tall buildings, in the delusion/hope of making a serious statement. So, avoid tall structures, for the safety and the well-being of the character

9. The obscurity rule - never live in famous cities that has many landmarks. Chances of survival in obscure cities, like Wichita, Kansas, Rampachodavaram, Andhra Pradesh, India, are much more in an Emmerich movie, compared to a New York, LA, Tokyo (in exactly that order) etc.

8. The hyphenate rule - Be a somebody, who can do a lot many things, like writer-driver-computer technician-swimmer-part time pilot etc, as these skills would certainly come in handy in diverse difficult situations that the script..er..computer throw along the way. A one trick pony is destined to die.

7. The divorce/separated rule - Never be a third wheel in a 'blow hot - blow cold' relationship. That would greatly diminish the chances of the survival. Remaining in a divorce/separated situation is an ideal case that would keep the couple alive in question alive till the end of the movie, for the 'awwww.....' inducing heart-warming kiss and hug makeup in the climax.

6. The age factor - Hollywood, as a general principle, never kills off kids in disaster movies, as that would seriously hurt the box-office demographics. And for the rest of the folk, age acts like a half life, with exponential deterioration. The older a character is, the quicker he is going to die.

5. The pet factor - Animals are treated much more humanely than humans, as PETA watches Hollywood with a hawk-eye. So better off being a quadra-ped than a bi-ped.

4. The affirmative action exception - Exceptional minority candidates always make it till the end of the movie. Mediocre majority candidates MAY make it, but it is a given that mediocre minorities become the first casualties of invading aliens, stomping Godzillas or oncoming deluges.

3. The Blonde Identity - Blondes may have all the fun in real life, but not so in disaster movies, and the peril factor proportionally increases with their beauty. So the choice is quite clear, to dye or die!

2. The Uncle Sam rule - the benefits are great, they say, working for the Fedeal government, and that includes, quick quarantines, immediate evacuation in Air Force One/ Marine One / or any other motor vehicle bearing the suffix 'One', and round the clock military protection. So what if the take home pay is a little low!

1. The top billing rule - the one that trumps all the above. Receive top billing for the movie, and the character gets to see the end credits.

There is a definite 'David' trait (of David-Goliath fame) in every human being that rejoices when the mighty (men or structures) are brought down to their knees; their constant sense of insecurity, particularly in the face of the unbeatable/insurmountable, that gets soothed watching the mighty humbled. There could be no other logical reasons than the above for people 'enjoying' destructions, which reminds of the famous dialogue from the yester-years classic, 'Mayabazar' - "peLLi chaeyamanTae chaeta kaadu gaani...paaDu chaeyamanTaenaa....".