Sometimes fairy tales come true.
Sometimes you get incredibly lucky
Sometimes time seems too fast and you wish there was a pause button
I am just passing through this fairy tale phase.. Oh God, please press pause!
Ciao till next time...Harsha
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Thoughts.. After thoughts
God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
The courage to change the things I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Ciao till next time...Harsha
To accept the things I cannot change;
The courage to change the things I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Ciao till next time...Harsha
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Boxing the golden goose :-)
Three Indian Boxers - Akhil, Jitender and Vijender have surprisingly reached the quarter finals in Olympics.
MAY THE COLLECTIVE FRUSTRATION OF ONE BILLION PEOPLE FALL AS PUNCHES ON THEIR OPPONENTS........... AMEN [:-)]
Ciao till next time...Harsha
MAY THE COLLECTIVE FRUSTRATION OF ONE BILLION PEOPLE FALL AS PUNCHES ON THEIR OPPONENTS........... AMEN [:-)]
Ciao till next time...Harsha
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Gold hunt: Mission accomplished.
No piece of gold was awaited so eagerly by so many people in the history of mankind. I wanted to update my blog on a lot of different things, but somehow the news of a Olympic gold is simply unbelievable. Hence I am not waiting any longer.....
The statement 'beyond wildest expectation' is truly applicable to this. But looking back.... a faint ray of hope always existed... one of the nicer things to happen to India is the way we have been concentrating on the non-favorite events (events where US, Russia and China are not very very focussed): Games like shooting, Archery, Wresting, Boxing, etc..
People have been consistently winning medals in world championships, Commonwealth and Asian Games- consistency always bears fruits. Sooner or later. A silver in last games was always a pre cursor to greater things to come..
India is on the path which China followed.... it was only in late 80's that China started winning medals consistently. The focus again was on non note worthy events... probably we will get there too.
Whatever happens, we will always remember Bhindra.... the first piece of gold won by an individual in a 1 billion plus populace.
Ciao till next time...Harsha
The statement 'beyond wildest expectation' is truly applicable to this. But looking back.... a faint ray of hope always existed... one of the nicer things to happen to India is the way we have been concentrating on the non-favorite events (events where US, Russia and China are not very very focussed): Games like shooting, Archery, Wresting, Boxing, etc..
People have been consistently winning medals in world championships, Commonwealth and Asian Games- consistency always bears fruits. Sooner or later. A silver in last games was always a pre cursor to greater things to come..
India is on the path which China followed.... it was only in late 80's that China started winning medals consistently. The focus again was on non note worthy events... probably we will get there too.
Whatever happens, we will always remember Bhindra.... the first piece of gold won by an individual in a 1 billion plus populace.
Ciao till next time...Harsha
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The New Bangalore International Airport: Crib, crib, crib... the best crib story of the town!
Indians crib. No doubt. We crib about anything and everything. The roads are not good, the government is bad, petrol prices are high, water problem, people around us (read 'you') are bad, facilities are bad, corruption is rampant, yadi, yadi.. yadi.
In short everything around me and you is bad or insignificant or unimportant. Yes, may be that is the reason we are still one of the under developed countries in the world. We never get finished with our problems- to start fixing them.
I landed in Bangalore International Airport on 24 May 08' (a day after the opening). There are 2 versions to my story:
1. Crib story:
I calculated the space that was cribbing about the airport in TOI on Sunday: whopping 1.5 pages.. with at least 25% of the front page reserved for this (the rest was exclusively talking about elections: that is another topic for my next blog post).
Now, let me summarize my own cribbings with the common ones till now:
- The airport is too far (too far are you crazy? its like traveling to a different city altogether.. OMG its 60kms from my house!)
- Roads are narrow (now tell me where in Bangalore you find broad roads!)
- The airport is unorganized (ever heard someone wait longer to collect baggage than it takes for the entire journey!)
- The airport is small (OMG why do we need a Changi airport in Bangalore?)
- The ground staff are inexperienced..
- Taxi rates are high (whopping Rs 15/km)
- Announcements are bad, immigration check still takes such a long time, security check is still the same..
- The bus service is bad! The journey is so long!
- The information desk is not operational fully..
blah... blah... blah!
2. The good story:
Whopping 4,000 acres (World's best airport, Changi Airport, S'pore has 3,200 acres). There is potential. Its a sad story that there is only 1 terminal with 8 aerobridges; but I do hope that the sheer size will come in handy.
Ok, summarizing the good side of things:
- 12 million passengers a year can be handled!! Where was the scalability before
- NH7 to expressway. I know it is not enough but... i still feel this is great start
- A metro connection to city planned... I know it takes time. But, all failings will go with this one move
- Entrepreneurial potential... what else could have offered so much freedom to develop services sector (transport- taxis, buses, metro; food, luggage handling, more hotels in outskirts, etc)
- Outer Ring Road, Peripheral Ring Road, Express ways... more and more roads... how else could so many roads come up..!
All in all, its ok. Sooner or later the airport located on outskirts will drive more infrastructural work. It offers an excellent opportunity for a small city to dream of becoming a well planned international city one day!
Ciao till next time...Harsha
In short everything around me and you is bad or insignificant or unimportant. Yes, may be that is the reason we are still one of the under developed countries in the world. We never get finished with our problems- to start fixing them.
I landed in Bangalore International Airport on 24 May 08' (a day after the opening). There are 2 versions to my story:
1. Crib story:
I calculated the space that was cribbing about the airport in TOI on Sunday: whopping 1.5 pages.. with at least 25% of the front page reserved for this (the rest was exclusively talking about elections: that is another topic for my next blog post).
Now, let me summarize my own cribbings with the common ones till now:
- The airport is too far (too far are you crazy? its like traveling to a different city altogether.. OMG its 60kms from my house!)
- Roads are narrow (now tell me where in Bangalore you find broad roads!)
- The airport is unorganized (ever heard someone wait longer to collect baggage than it takes for the entire journey!)
- The airport is small (OMG why do we need a Changi airport in Bangalore?)
- The ground staff are inexperienced..
- Taxi rates are high (whopping Rs 15/km)
- Announcements are bad, immigration check still takes such a long time, security check is still the same..
- The bus service is bad! The journey is so long!
- The information desk is not operational fully..
blah... blah... blah!
2. The good story:
Whopping 4,000 acres (World's best airport, Changi Airport, S'pore has 3,200 acres). There is potential. Its a sad story that there is only 1 terminal with 8 aerobridges; but I do hope that the sheer size will come in handy.
Ok, summarizing the good side of things:
- 12 million passengers a year can be handled!! Where was the scalability before
- NH7 to expressway. I know it is not enough but... i still feel this is great start
- A metro connection to city planned... I know it takes time. But, all failings will go with this one move
- Entrepreneurial potential... what else could have offered so much freedom to develop services sector (transport- taxis, buses, metro; food, luggage handling, more hotels in outskirts, etc)
- Outer Ring Road, Peripheral Ring Road, Express ways... more and more roads... how else could so many roads come up..!
All in all, its ok. Sooner or later the airport located on outskirts will drive more infrastructural work. It offers an excellent opportunity for a small city to dream of becoming a well planned international city one day!
Ciao till next time...Harsha
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Weekend checklist
Sundays are ideal. This is that period of the week which is ideally spent. Doing not what is demanded from me, but what I want to do.
The day begins not so late, and not that early. Just ideal. 7AM. A short jog around NMK park- I love the spring time flowers that have bloomed... I like that particular tree which has started shedding its pink flowers. The flowers which have fallen form a pink circle encircling the tree. I want to take a pic of that before its gone come summer..
Newspaper seems like bliss along with a cuppa coffee. Deccan Herald and TOI. I like to read the paper backwards. With IPL taking all the back pages.. I usually skim through them nowadays. Swaminathan holds me spell bound usually making me think. Shoba De, Chidananda Rajghatta, etc are glanced through too. I totally love the travel and living sections. I should write them someday. Now its usually 10AM.
A full breakfast and a round of sleep usually is enough to take me to afternoon. A evening meet with friends, a short outing and a fresh exchange of ideas and arguments keep spirits rolling for next week!
Now, what are the 3 things I want to do?
1. Make a visit to the friendly bookstore to pick that book which I can skim through in a day.. I think I can afford Crossword/Landmark or Strands now.
2. Travel. Trek. I want to make more frequent treks around Bangalore.. shed that laziness and get more physical!
3. Put some thinking into the week ahead. I remember this saying.. better think about future- you would be spending quite sometime there..
Well.. there goes my weekend checklist. Now let me get back to my day time reverie...!
Ciao till next time...Harsha
The day begins not so late, and not that early. Just ideal. 7AM. A short jog around NMK park- I love the spring time flowers that have bloomed... I like that particular tree which has started shedding its pink flowers. The flowers which have fallen form a pink circle encircling the tree. I want to take a pic of that before its gone come summer..
Newspaper seems like bliss along with a cuppa coffee. Deccan Herald and TOI. I like to read the paper backwards. With IPL taking all the back pages.. I usually skim through them nowadays. Swaminathan holds me spell bound usually making me think. Shoba De, Chidananda Rajghatta, etc are glanced through too. I totally love the travel and living sections. I should write them someday. Now its usually 10AM.
A full breakfast and a round of sleep usually is enough to take me to afternoon. A evening meet with friends, a short outing and a fresh exchange of ideas and arguments keep spirits rolling for next week!
Now, what are the 3 things I want to do?
1. Make a visit to the friendly bookstore to pick that book which I can skim through in a day.. I think I can afford Crossword/Landmark or Strands now.
2. Travel. Trek. I want to make more frequent treks around Bangalore.. shed that laziness and get more physical!
3. Put some thinking into the week ahead. I remember this saying.. better think about future- you would be spending quite sometime there..
Well.. there goes my weekend checklist. Now let me get back to my day time reverie...!
Ciao till next time...Harsha
Thursday, April 24, 2008
A Flower
Somehow the time seemed right. For the first time, it seemed ideal. No words, no expressions, just the presence.
The sweetest flower that blows,
I give you as we part,
For you it's a rose,
But for me it's my heart.
Ciao till next time...Harsha
The sweetest flower that blows,
I give you as we part,
For you it's a rose,
But for me it's my heart.
Ciao till next time...Harsha
IPL- A dash of bollywood, cheerleading and some cricket
Its here finally. Indian Premier League. Its now official- the final trial of the bollywood gyrations, baseball cheerleading and some cricket is here.
Will it succeed- I would want to say yes. But, logic says no. DLF paid 200Crs for title sponsorship, Shah Rukh Khan, Mallya, Preity Zinta + Ness Wadia combo, etc have spent $100M odd each. Can they recover this all?
I think not. Why- I will give you an example. This is the oft quoted example of 'Law of diminishing returns' in economics. If a person is thirsty- he drinks a glass of water. If he is very thirsty, may be 2 glasses of water. Very very very thirsty? May be a third glass. Can someone drink 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 glasses of water? No. May be if you are participating for the Guinness records :-)
We are a cricket crazy nation. No doubt. But, the question here is - are we that crazy to watch Warne, Mc Grath, Hayden, Kallis, Ntini and co. fight it out day-in and day-out? Will we be as passionate when we cheer them as we usually are when it is Sachin, Dravid or Ganguly? Donno.
This will decide if IPL is a success or no irrespective of the naach gaana, cheer leading and the accompanying dance sequences.. Or am I wrong?
Ciao till next time...Harsha
Will it succeed- I would want to say yes. But, logic says no. DLF paid 200Crs for title sponsorship, Shah Rukh Khan, Mallya, Preity Zinta + Ness Wadia combo, etc have spent $100M odd each. Can they recover this all?
I think not. Why- I will give you an example. This is the oft quoted example of 'Law of diminishing returns' in economics. If a person is thirsty- he drinks a glass of water. If he is very thirsty, may be 2 glasses of water. Very very very thirsty? May be a third glass. Can someone drink 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 glasses of water? No. May be if you are participating for the Guinness records :-)
We are a cricket crazy nation. No doubt. But, the question here is - are we that crazy to watch Warne, Mc Grath, Hayden, Kallis, Ntini and co. fight it out day-in and day-out? Will we be as passionate when we cheer them as we usually are when it is Sachin, Dravid or Ganguly? Donno.
This will decide if IPL is a success or no irrespective of the naach gaana, cheer leading and the accompanying dance sequences.. Or am I wrong?
Ciao till next time...Harsha
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Muthukrishnan - A prof remembered
Somethings make you feel you should have attended classes properly! Especially if the prof happens to be the best guy for the subject in the country. Muthukrishnan- the best prof for Operations.. ever volatile.. spirited.. ethusiastic.. humane.. but now will remain only in our memories. He died of a massive heart attack recently.
One of the regrets I would harbor from NITIE days is missing out on attending lectures and interacting more with Muthu sir. I remember the time when he asked if I ever attended his classes in module 1. Another incident which I would remember is about the time when I asked him if I could skip his lectures for the week- I was going to some B School debate/case study competition (I do not remember which one, though I vividly remember Muthu sir's reaction- 'Kya IT job karna hai kya?').
You see for Muthu- there are only 2 jobs where worthless people can end up- IT or Banks :-) His impression about me considerably improved towards the second year after he came to know that I was a guy who did not get through 13 interviews in summers after clearing all GD's. I even ventured to borrow couple of books (one of which I never returned- never read as well... I need to read it someday).
One of the things that hits you is- How would people remember you after you are dead? Most people would not even be worth remembering (aam junta... usual feeling is chalo.. 1 person less in the world).
With couple of recent deaths in family- I have come to the realization that wantingly / unwantingly people in their old age become "don't cares" or "its only a matter of time" types. Also, old age is like time bomb. You know its going to end.. you know you cannot live on.. everytime you fall ill- you feel its time (only to get a small reprieve).. the wait is tantalizingly painful.. god save people from old age!
Yeah, probably that is the reason they say that good people die young. Its better to leave with a feeling that the promise was yet to be complete than leave with a feeling of living beyond expiry date!
This is precisely why one feels so much for Muthu- lots of unanswered questions like 'who can fill his shoes', 'can there be a more commanding guy with Ops?', 'will the companies have the same awe when it comes to Ops recruitments.. now that the pillar is gone'.. these and many more! The condolences seen for Muthu is also worth mentioning- right from old students (dating back two decades) to all the present lot, colleagues, industry friends, everyone has a small tale/story to share about their association with the great man. They say legacy lives on..
A small thought does pass by- 'will we be remembered at all when we are gone?"
Only time will tell.
Ciao till next time...Harsha
One of the regrets I would harbor from NITIE days is missing out on attending lectures and interacting more with Muthu sir. I remember the time when he asked if I ever attended his classes in module 1. Another incident which I would remember is about the time when I asked him if I could skip his lectures for the week- I was going to some B School debate/case study competition (I do not remember which one, though I vividly remember Muthu sir's reaction- 'Kya IT job karna hai kya?').
You see for Muthu- there are only 2 jobs where worthless people can end up- IT or Banks :-) His impression about me considerably improved towards the second year after he came to know that I was a guy who did not get through 13 interviews in summers after clearing all GD's. I even ventured to borrow couple of books (one of which I never returned- never read as well... I need to read it someday).
One of the things that hits you is- How would people remember you after you are dead? Most people would not even be worth remembering (aam junta... usual feeling is chalo.. 1 person less in the world).
With couple of recent deaths in family- I have come to the realization that wantingly / unwantingly people in their old age become "don't cares" or "its only a matter of time" types. Also, old age is like time bomb. You know its going to end.. you know you cannot live on.. everytime you fall ill- you feel its time (only to get a small reprieve).. the wait is tantalizingly painful.. god save people from old age!
Yeah, probably that is the reason they say that good people die young. Its better to leave with a feeling that the promise was yet to be complete than leave with a feeling of living beyond expiry date!
This is precisely why one feels so much for Muthu- lots of unanswered questions like 'who can fill his shoes', 'can there be a more commanding guy with Ops?', 'will the companies have the same awe when it comes to Ops recruitments.. now that the pillar is gone'.. these and many more! The condolences seen for Muthu is also worth mentioning- right from old students (dating back two decades) to all the present lot, colleagues, industry friends, everyone has a small tale/story to share about their association with the great man. They say legacy lives on..
A small thought does pass by- 'will we be remembered at all when we are gone?"
Only time will tell.
Ciao till next time...Harsha
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