A servant enrolled his donkey in a race and won. The local newspaper reads “SERVANT’S ASS WON”.

The king was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the servant not to enter the donkey in another race. Next day the local paper headline read: “KING SCRATCHES SERVANT’S ASS”.

This was too much for the king, he ordered the servant to get rid of the donkey. He gave the donkey to the queen. The local paper headline the next day was “QUEEN HAS THE BEST ASS IN TOWN”.

The king fainted.

Queen sold the donkey to a farmer for 10$. Next day paper read: “QUEEN SELLS ASS FOR 10$”.

This was too much, king ordered the queen to buy back the donkey and lead it to jungle. The next day headline : “QUEEN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE”.

The king was buried next day!

1) Are Gujarat and Maharashtra rival companies cause of which they can’t invite Brand Ambassadors of each other? Where is national integrity then? Why is it that two states ruled by opposite parties are considered to be opposition or rival states? Is the ruling party only identity of the state?

2) In many countries, especially European countries, Amitabh Bacchan is seen as face of India. Unofficially he is one of the Brand Ambassadors of India. Or for that matter, every Indian is a brand ambassador for India cause every Indian represents India. So can Congress decline this fact?

3) Mr Bacchan was earlier Brand Ambassador of UP. Later he became Brand Ambassador of Gujarat and there are news that he will soon accept to be the Brand Ambassador of Kerala. So where does Mr Bacchan exactly belong? Or is it just the money where he belongs? Pay me and I can be brand Ambassador for your state.. Wondering if he would have accepted offer to be brand Ambassador of Taliban ruled Afghanistan..

4) Mr Bacchan has lived in Mumbai for 41 years, can speak Marathi and is an international icon. So what prevents him from being part of a ceremony taking place in Mumbai?

5) Isn’t congress indirectly agreeing to “Gujarat = Narendra Modi” and also accepting that their presence is wiped out in Gujarat by Mr Modi when it says Amitabh is Brand Ambassador for Mr Modi and not Gujarat Sate?

6) Talking of Brand Ambassadors, Why does Gujarat have a brand ambassador who does not live in Gujrat and is not even a Gujrati? Isn’t a brand ambassador supposed to represent Gujarat in some way? Gujarat can have a better Brand Ambassador in the face of Ambanis.. What does Amitabh do anyways being a Brand Ambassador other than reading out lines scripted by the rulers? Remember the “UP me dum hai kyunki jurm yaha kam hai” campaign?

7) Is the fuss about Amitabh being Brand Ambassador of Gujarat or is it about the differences between Gandhi family and Bacchan family? Mr Bacchan was a close friend of Rajiv Gandhi and was also Member of Parliament once upon a time. Later he parted away from the friendship and got attached to Amar Singh. Is this the reason Congress has issues with Amitabh?

_____________________________________________________________________________

We Indians are the products of one of the oldest civilisations. We need to be really proud of our ancient history and cultural heritage. However, during the British Rule, we developed an inferiority complex, which adversely affected our quest to unearth facts relating to our glorious past. But our young and educated men and women, born and brought up in independent India, are capable of unearthing the true facts and are confident enough to evaluate these objectively.

Shri Ram being most basic to Indian “ethos”, it is necessary to know who is Shri Ram? Was he really born? If yes, when and where? As is believed by crores of people did he really put his feet on the Indian territory from North to South, reducing the sufferings of mankind and ensuring victory of good over evil? Let us take a look at historical facts:

The story of Shri Ram’s life was first narrated by Maharishi Valmiki in the Ramayana, which was written after Shri Ram was crowned as the king of Ayodhya. Maharishi Valmiki was a great astronomer as he has made sequential astronomical references on important dates related to the life of Shri Ram indicating the location of planets vis-a-vis zodiac constellations and the other stars (nakshatras) . Needless to add that similar position of planets and nakshatras is not repeated in thousands of years. By entering the precise details of the planetary configuration of the important events in the life of Shri Ram as given in the Valmiki Ramayan in the software named “Planetarium” corresponding exact dates of these events according to the English calendar can be known.

Mr Pushkar Bhatnagar of the Indian Revenue Service had acquired this software from the US. It is used to predict the solar/lunar eclipses and distance and location of other planets from earth. He entered the relevant details about the planetary positions narrated by Maharishi Valmiki and obtained very interesting and convincing results, which almost determine the important dates starting from the birth of Shri Ram to the date of his coming back to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile.

Maharishi Valmiki has recorded in Bal Kaand sarga 19 and shloka eight and nine (1/18/8,9) that Shri Ram was born on ninth tithi of Chaitra month when the position of different planets vis-a-vis zodiac constellations and nakshatras (visible stars) were: i) Sun in Aries; ii) Saturn in Libra; iii) Jupiter in Cancer; iv) Venus in Pisces; v) Mars in Capricorn; vi) Lunar month of Chaitra; vii) Ninth day after no moon; viii) Lagna as Cancer (cancer was rising in the east); ix) Moon on the Punarvasu (Gemini constellation & Pllux star); x) Day time (around noon).

This data was fed into the software. The results indicated that this was exactly the location of planets/stars in the noon of January 10, 5114 BC. Thus Shri Ram was born on January 10, 5114 BC (7121 years back). As per the Indian calendar it was the ninth day of Shukla Paksha in Chaitra month and the time was around 12 to 1 noontime. This is exactly the time and date when Ram Navmi is celebrated all over India.

Shri Ram was born in Ayodhya. This fact can be ascertained from several books written by Indian and foreign authors before and after the birth of Christ – Valmiki Ramayan, Tulsi Ramayan, Kalidasa’s Raghuvansam, Baudh and Jain literature, etc. These books have narrated in great detail the location, rich architecture and beauty of Ayodhya which had many palaces and temples built all over the kingdom. Ayodhya was located on the banks of the Saryu river with Ganga and Panchal Pradesh on one side and Mithila on the other side. Normally 7,000 years is a very long period during which earthquakes, storms, floods and foreign invasions change the course of rivers, destroy the towns/buildings and alter the territories. Therefore, the task of unearthing the facts is monumental. The present Ayodhya has shrunk in size and the rivers have changed their course about 40 km north/south.

Shri Ram went out of Ayodhya in his childhood (13th year as per Valmiki Ramayan) with Rishi Vishwamitra who lived in Tapovan (Sidhhashram) . From there he went to Mithila, King Janaka’s kingdom. Here he married Sita after breaking Shiv Dhanusha. Researchers have gone along the route adopted by Shri Ram as narrated in the Valmiki Ramayan and found 23 places which have memorials that commemorate the events related to the life of Shri Ram. These include Shringi Ashram, Ramghat, Tadka Van, Sidhhashram, Gautamashram, Janakpur (now in Nepal), Sita Kund, etc. Memorials are built for great men and not for fictitious characters.

Date of exile of Shri Ram: It is mentioned in Valmiki Ramayan’s Ayodhya Kand (2/4/18) that Dashratha wanted to make Shri Ram the king because Sun, Mars and Rahu had surrounded his nakshatra and normally under such planetary configuration the king dies or becomes a victim of conspiracies. Dashratha’s zodiac sign was Pisces and his nakshatra was Rewati. This planetary configuration was prevailing on the January 5, 5089 BC, and it was on this day that Shri Ram left Ayodhya for 14 years of exile. Thus, he was 25 years old at that time (5114-5089). There are several shlokas in Valmiki Ramayan which indicate that Shri Ram was 25-years-old when he left Ayodhya for exile.

Valmiki Ramayan refers to the solar eclipse at the time of war with Khardushan in later half of 13th year of Shri Ram’s exile. It is also mentioned it was amavasya day and Mars was in the middle. When this data was entered, the software indicated that there was a solar eclipse on October 7, 5077 BC, (amavasya day) which could be seen from Panchvati. The planetary configuration was also the same – Mars was in the middle, on one side were Venus and Mercury and on the other side were Sun and Saturn. On the basis of planetary configurations described in various other chapters, the date on which Ravana was killed works out to be December 4, 5076 BC, and Shri Ram completed 14 years of exile on January 2, 5075 BC, and that day was also Navami of Shukla Paksha in Chaitra month. Thus Shri Ram had come back to Ayodhya at the age of 39 (5114-5075).

A colleague, Dr Ram Avtar, researched on places visited by Shri Ram during his exile, and sequentially moved to the places stated as visited by Shri Ram in the Valmiki Ramayan, starting from Ayodhya he went right upto Rameshwaram. He found 195 places which still have the memorials connected to the events narrated in the Ramayana relating to the life of Shri Ram and Sita. These include Tamsa Tal (Mandah), Shringverpur (Singraur), Bhardwaj Ashram (situated near Allahabad), Atri Ashram, Markandaya Ashram (Markundi), Chitrakoot, Pamakuti (on banks of Godavari), Panchvati, Sita Sarovar, Ram Kund in Triambakeshwar near Nasik, Shabari Ashram, Kishkindha (village Annagorai), Dhanushkoti and Rameshwar temple.

In Valmiki Ramayan it is mentioned that Shri Ram’s army constructed a bridge over the sea between Rameshwaram and Lanka. After crossing this bridge, Shri Ram’s army had defeated Ravana. Recently, NASA put pictures on the Internet of a man-made bridge, the ruins of which are lying submerged in Palk Strait between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka. Recently the Sri Lankan Government had expressed the desire to develop Sita Vatika as a tourist spot. Sri Lankans believe this was Ashok Vatika where Ravana had kept Sita as a prisoner (in 5076 BC).

Indian history has recorded that Shri Ram belonged to the Suryavansh and he was the 64th ruler of this dynasty. The names and other relevant particulars of previous 63 kings are listed in Ayodhya Ka Itihas written about 80 years ago by Rai Bahadur Sita Ram. Professor Subhash Kak of Lousiana University, in his book, The Astronomical Code of the Rig Veda, has also listed 63 ancestors of Shri Ram who ruled over Ayodhya. Sri Ram’s ancestors have been traced out as: Shri Ram, King Dashratha, King Aja, King Raghu, King Dilip and so on. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Bengal to Gujarat, everywhere people believe in the reality of Shri Ram’s existence, particularly in the tribal areas of Himachal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the North-East. Most of the festivals celebrated in these areas revolve around the events in the life of Shri Ram and Shri Krishna.

The events and places related to the life of Shri Ram and Sita are true cultural and social heritage of every Indian irrespective of caste and creed. Therefore, it is common heritage. After all, Shri Ram belonged to the period when Prophet Mohammed or Jesus Christ were not born and Muslim or Christian faiths were unknown to the world. The words Hindu (resident of Hindustan) and Indian (resident of India) were synonymous. India was also known as Bharat (land of knowledge) and Aryavarta (where Aryans live) and Hindustan (land of “Hindus” – derived from word Indus).

During Ram Rajya, the evils of caste system based on birth were non-existent. In fact, Maharishi Valmiki is stated to be of shudra class (scheduled caste), still Sita lived with him as his adopted daughter after she was banished from Ayodhya. Luv and Kush grew in his ashram as his disciples. We need to be proud of the fact that Valmiki was perhaps the first great astronomer and that his study of planetary configurations has stood the test of times. Even the latest computer softwares have corroborated his astronomical calculations, which proves that he did not commit any error.

Shabari is stated to be belonging to the Bheel tribe. Shri Ram’s army, which succeeded in defeating Ravana, was formed by various tribals from Central and South India. The facts, events and all other details relating to the life of Shri Ram are the common heritage of all the Indians including scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, Muslims, Christians, etc.

Prophet Mohammad was born 1,400 years ago. Jesus Christ was born 2,000 years back. Gautam Buddha was born 2,600 years back, whereas Ram was born 7,000 years back. Hence, discovering the details relating to Shri Ram’s life would be lot more difficult as destruction caused by floods, earthquakes and invasions etc., would be far greater. But, should that stop our quest for learning more about our cultural heritage?

As Indians, let us all take pride in the fact that the Indian civilisation is the most ancient civilisation today. It is certainly more than 10,000 years old. Therefore, let us reject the story of Aryan invasion in India in 1,500 BC as motivated implantation. In fact Max Mueller, who was the creator of this theory had himself rejected it. Let us admit that during the British Rule, we were educated in the schools based on Macaulay school of thinking which believed that everything Indian was inferior and that entire “Indian literature was not worth even one book rack in England”. If there were similarities in certain features of Indian people and people from Central Europe, then automatic inference drawn was that the Aryans coming from Europe invaded India and settled here. No one dared of thinking in any other way. Therefore, there is urgency for the historians and all other intellectuals to stop reducing Indian history to myth. There is need to gather, dig out, search, unearth and analyse all the evidences, which would throw more light on ancient Indian civilisation and culture.

There is need for the print and the electronic media to take note of these facts and create atmosphere which would motivate our young and educated youth to carry out research and unearth true facts about the ancient Indian civilisation and wisdom and would also encourage them to put across the results of their research before the people fearlessly and with a sense of pride!

Everyone defines Love in own ways. Everyone compares it with different things, mostly the purest kinds. Everyone tries to emphasize that love is the purest of feeling. Even the writers, poets and great philosophers underline the word “Pure” when it comes to describing love. However, no one really defines the term “pure”.

When I think of love, I tend to think on the purity part of it. As every great philosopher says, love is only love. There is no lust involved in it. Do you agree with this? I don’t. I was in love in my teenage with a very sweet girl. We always termed our love as pure love. But I must confess that secretly I was attracted to her body as well. I always wanted to hug her, kiss her and do all the things a male would do to a female. Though I did never tell her about my feelings cause I always believed “Love has to be pure. There is no place for lust in it”.

But as I grow older, wiser and mature; I realize that lust is a very natural tendency in every human being. May it be a male or a female, they both are attracted to opposite gender and they all have sex on their mind. The only thing is they fear the social norms. This may appear to be a very generalized statement from me but you can ask your mind if you never thought of sleeping with the guy / girl you are dating. I’m sure no one will have the answer “No. I never thought”. Some people might not have thought of sex but everyone wants to do little romance with his/her partner.

So is it wrong to have these thoughts on mind? No. Not at all. I will say there is nothing wrong in the thoughts. The nature has divided us in male and female. And it has naturally given us the tendency to attract and get attracted. All I will say, if you feel like doing something, just ask your partner. Chances are he/she might be thinking the same.

Remaining now:
Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir, Andaman & Nikobar Islands, Goa and seven Sister States.

www.sharmashop.com : bole to buy and sell second-hand item only!

Now that 25 years have rolled by, my intelligence is at all time low. I decided to marry without realizing where it leads to.

Suddenly there is a spate of happiness..
The phone bills shot up..
My free time is a thing of past..
My hangout are long forgotten..
From torn jeans to trim suits..
Dhabas to candle light dinners..
Saturday night thrillers to Friday evening temples..

And I’m feeling good about it.

Anyways, she is an M Com joining me for a dream life together. You see, it needs an M Com to manage accounting of my wasted life.

So my dear friends, I would love to have you around on the occasion when I take this BIG turn.

“The secret of a happy marriage is still a secret,
I swear I will let you know when I find it out”-Another Victim of the fatal-attraction towards marriage.

Date
Friday: November 20th, 2009

Venue
Balaji Temple Gardens,
Latur

Where is it?

View Larger Map

How to Reach Latur?
By Plane:
Kingfisher Fleights Fly regularly between Mumbai and Latur.
Leaves Mumbai at 10:25 AM. Reaches Latur at 12:45 PM.

By Train
1005 Latur Express Runs everyday between CST to Latur via Pune.
20:55 CST Mumbai, 00:05 Pune, 07:10 Latur.

Alernatively, Pune Hyderabad train runs via Latur. Leaves Pune at 14:15 and reaches Latur at 22:50.

By bus:
Hundreds of buses run between Mumbai and Latur via Pune. Just catch hold of any of it and reach Latur.

Contact
Dinesh at 9890774748, Ashish at 9970040338

Invited By

We the lovebirds

An Irish boy put his hand up and said, “It was St. Patrick.” The teacher said, “Sorry Paddy, that’s not correct.”

Then a Scottish boy put his hand up and said, “It was St. Andrew.” The teacher replied, “I’m sorry, Hamish, that’s not right either.”

Then a Jewish boy put his hand up and said “David”, The Buddhist boy said “Gautama Buddha” and the Muslim boy said “Mohammed”.. They all were not successful.

Finally, a Gujju boy raised his hand and said, “It was Jesus Christ.”

The teacher said, “That’s absolutely right, Jignesh, come up here and I’ll give you the 10 pounds that I promised.”

As the teacher was giving Jignesh his money, she said, “You know Jignesh, since you’re a Hindu Gujarati; I was very surprised you said Jesus Christ.”

Jignesh replied, “Yes. In my heart I knew it was Krishna , but Bijness is Bijness !!!!!!”

I am very happy to inform you that I have fallen in love with you since Tuesday, the 20th of June 2009.

With reference to the meeting held between us on the 20th of June 2009 at 1500 hours, I would like to present myself as a prospective lover. Our love affair would be on probation for a period of no less than three months and depending on compatibility, would be made permanent.Of course, upon completion of probation, there will be continuous relationship training and relationship appraisal schemes leading up to promotion from lover to spouse. The expenses incurred for coffee and entertainment would initially be shared equally between us. Later, based on your performance, I might take up a larger share of the expenses. However I am broad-minded enough, to be taken care of, on your expense account.I request you to kindly respond within 30 days of receiving this letter, failing which, this offer would be canceled without further notice and I shall be considering someone else. I would be happy, if you could forward this letter to your sister, if you do not wish to take up this offer.

Thanking you in anticipation.
Yours sincerely, Max

The reply

Dear Max,

Please refer to your letter dated today. I am pleased to inform you that I hope to accept your proposal for romance.However, you should be informed that there are certain conditions of acceptance. Promotional prospects are to my satisfaction. However, please enlighten me as to your retirement benefits. Gratuity should be generous.I also need to be assured that there is sufficient security with regards to this commitment. If there is any chance at all of retrenchment or consequent disinterest on your part, then I should receive monetary compensation according to union standards.

Due to the nature of my position, I am sure you will agree that an expense account should be arranged for my access in light of the ‘VIP’. I shall be entertaining. In addition, housing and transport allowances should be in order and nothing less than a Jaguar is in order.

Please also note that there should be no moonlighting restrictions placed on myself. If you are still interested in the relationship, please reply on an urgent basis as other prospective lovers have sent indications of interest.

Please also note that my sister is happily employed.

Yours perhaps, Samantha!

Kafar Bhanda, Maran Ramro (It is better to die in Valour than to live like a Coward) says 3rd Gorkha Rifles. And they truly live to it. The armed forces. May it be Army, Navy or Air Force. They all live with the possibility of death any time. It can come in any form. A bullet, a granade or natural calamity. And still they never hesitate to take another foot ahead and kill the enemy. They spend sleepless nights so that we countrymen can sleep peacefully at our home. They sacrifice their family, their luxuries, their wives and children, their peace. And their life too. Just to see the countrymen smiling. And the smile of countrymen is the only thing that makes them die with a smile at their face.

Lt Nawang Kapadia was one such great soldier who sacrificed his life at a very young age. The age where a normal kid is busy dreaming about his to be wife, his soon to start family and his newly starting career. Nawang had much higher dreams though. He dreamed of making his countrymen sleep peacefully. He dreamed of guarding the country from enemy. He dreamed of keeping the Tricolour high always.

Being a mountaineer’s son, the love for mountains was in his blood. And he sacrificed his life while saving Himalays from the enemy. 10th November, 2000 was the day when Nawang sacrificed his life in the notorious jungles of Rajwar near Kupwara. 25 was his age when he died. An age when a normal kid like me has no understanding of life, Nawang had made his life worthwhile. When people say life is graceful, I look at the faces of the armymen. They accept death so that we can call our life graceful. And they accept it with spread arms and broad smile. And the only words they offer to their family are

I know that me writing on this blog is not going to bring back Nawang or not going to help anyone in any ways. All I want to say in this article is

“They have sacrificed their life to make our life graceful. Let’s prove that their sacrifice isn’t waste. Let’s keep ourselves away from any activity that will make them shameul when they look at us. Let’s be the True Indian and make the sacrifice worth it.”

1) Why do the companies think bloggers are vellas who have lots of time just to attend those promotional meets?
2) Are bloggers running out of topics to write about, so they have to attend the promotional events for the material to write about?
3) Why do companies think their products are something *amazing* and everyone would like to write about it?
4) If the companies are taking help of bloggers to spread word about their products, shouldn’t they also consider providing due remuneration for the same?

The 4th point was something i thought more about. Some people take this as a case of bribing. But believe me, bloggers are not someone who will accept bribe just to write good about something. They will test the product and provide valid feedback. If thats what the companies really want. And if you want us to write good just like that, I don’t really see that happening at all..

Your views?

Update
A wonderful discussion on facebook notes happening on same topic. Putting up for reference.

Rajesh Dnyandeo Dhawale
Valid points, indeed.

Manan Kakkar

a) companies never give anything. Except if its a paid event.
b) the response given by the company rep was arrogant & if I were you I would have ripped that company apart on my blog.
c) I don’t mind attending such meets as it is an oppurtunity to directly interact with the company reps.

Abhishek Thakkar

My blog are not relevant to any company, so I dont get invited to events like these.
If they want me to blog abt them, the least I expect is a free tshirt

Bhanu Prakash

Well. I truly agree to what dinesh has pointed out. I also agree to Abhishek Thakkar – a token of appreciation which can be retained for a long time. This is something more than any thing. I do agree, that corporates think that bloggers would come anywhere. I think its a strong point Dinesh made is Bloggers should be made feel special as they are … Read Morethe strong influencers online and most of the product success relies on their reviews. In that case, even they have equal rights to reserve their space in the communication industry.

Idea Smith

I received an invitation to the same event, though I daresay they made it appear more like charity that was thrown my way. Obviously I didn’t even bother replying to them or writing about them – publicity is what they want, why should I give it to them when they treat me so shabbily?

I realised (esp. after the Marketers Toolkit summit earlier this… Read More year) that ppl are absolutely clueless about social media. Not just the technology but more importantly, its implications. The organisers of such events are probably used to running after newspaper journalists and figure that an individual blogger is a nobody. Beats me why they’d be interested in having me write about them but I guess they’ve heard that social media is the new buzzword so are trying to ‘get with it’. Never mind understanding the universe and its etiquette.

I’d say just ignore such people. We don’t have to bother with teaching them, it’s their loss if they haven’t figured it out…and they’ll have to, eventually.

Baishampayan Ghose

I am not surprised. The problem here is that there are too many mediocre bloggers around who feel privileged to attend some event in some 5 star hotel and eat fee lunch and get a T’Shirt, maybe.
As a result the companies treat everyone equally. That’s not going to change unless the better bloggers rise to the levels of someone like Michael Arrington.

Harish Iyer
yes, it is so damn silly. and yes, they make it look like charity. hahhah. But it will be fun to attend. We all love to blog about aweful moments. dont we???

1. Start early
T20 does not reward late starters—teams need to start scoring early in the innings. If you don’t have enough runs on the board, your batsmen will always be playing catch-up.
Similarly, you need to start investing and saving early. The sooner you begin, the more time you get to compound your capital. Also, all batting sides take advantage of the fielding restrictions early in the innings. In the same way, when you are young, there are many things you can afford to do as compared to when you grow older. One of these could be to start building your financial resources when you have few other financial obligations.

2. Risk and reward trade-off
T20 is all about taking risks and ensuring that the team gets rewarded for them—whether it is aggressive opening batsmen, field placements or trying out new bowlers.
Similarly, financial planning is all about risks and rewards. It is important to understand that taking risks equals high returns, just like a batsman faces the risk of being caught at the boundary if he is trying to hit a six. You should not be surprised if you get out trying to reach for extraordinarily high returns on investments because these would be of the most risky kind. Also, just like not every ball can be hit for a boundary, not every investment will turn out to be a goldmine. Sometimes, singles are equally important.

3. Be ready for the unexpected
The Duckworth-Lewis method, which is used to determine targets for rain or weather-affected matches, can at times adversely affect the chances of one team. It is, therefore, important to always have enough runs on the scoresheet.
Similarly, you must also always be ready to deal with unexpected situations. The margin of safety in your investments should be able to protect you against the proverbial rainy days.

4. Strategic break
Teams take a strategic break to review their progress after 10 overs and chalk out a strategy for the rest of the innings. Such strategy breaks are important for your financial road map as well. If you don’t regularly review progress and look at ways to address the problems and challenges, you may end up falling short of your financial targets.

5. Balance
Just like a team needs the right balance of big hitters, anchors and effective bowlers, your investment portfolio, too, needs the right balance of investments. Too much of growth or aggressive funds, without adequate support or backup, might make your portfolio shaky. You must recognize that your investments should be diversified across sectors and different assets, and not be concentrated in any one area.

6. One bad over
One bad over can change the direction of a game and can often make it difficult to recover if a team does not have enough runs on the board (if you are batting), or enough wickets already (if you are bowling). In life too, a “bad over”, in the shape of job loss or serious injury or illness, could throw plans out of gear. If you do not have an adequate safety net, it would become very difficult to recover from such mishaps.

7. Consistency gets rewarded
In T20, the top-scoring batsman and the largest wicket-taker are awarded the Purple and Orange caps respectively. You can win these caps only if you perform well consistently. When it comes to personal finance, you too must be conscious of staking a claim for these awards. What matters most is that you have consistent performance over a long period of time. There is no point in investing in a fund that is really hot the first year, but comes a cropper thereafter.

8. Coaching helps
Whether it is a specialist bowling or fielding coach, T20 has shown us that some guidance and direction, especially an objective view from the outside, can help improve a team’s performance. Your investments too can benefit from such guidance and expert view. This is important to avoid making silly mistakes that could cost you dearly later in life.

9. Distractions can be entertaining, but ultimately the score matters
T20 is highly entertaining not only on the pitch, but also because of all the music and dancing. But ultimately, a team wins or loses on the back of its performance. Similarly, while you are securing your finances, distractions such as the hottest investments or the flavours of the month will come and go, but what matters most is that your “investment scorecard” should show a healthy average. You must focus on what matters and ignore the distractions.

10. Winning attitude
The IPL has shown that even young players with less talent or resources can do well if they bring the right attitude to the pitch. Similarly, investing is not just about being rich or already having lots of money. You can start with meagre resources and little experience, but over time, make a fortune with a positive attitude and willingness to learn from mistakes. You should not get disheartened if one investment loses money. Just like a young cricketer who believes in himself, you should believe in what you have invested and stick it out. If you have put in the right kind of preparation, you will also come out the winner in the long run.

Elections are always full of lot of political jokes. But this one has to be a classic one. A fast that lasted for 4 hours. Which stated after breakfast and ended before lunch. And the man had two ACs to keep him cool during this *long* fast.

Makes me wonder if we are in the same country where Gandhiji had days of fasts for their countrymen..

But still there is a different fun in the paper communications too. The old generation people may tell you the fun in writing the love letters on paper or the fun of waiting for the reply to letter you send out to a friend.. We are missing out on lot of excitement for sure.

Writing letters to each other would really be a lame idea now. But how about sending postcards to friends telling about the place where you live? You can even create a small 2-3 page document about youself and the place where you stay. Take a print of his and send across to your friends.

So to start with this, give me your address through comment here / DM on twitter or mail and expect a letter from me. And I assure that your adress won’t be shared with anyone.

Finally I can keep all three mobiles together, thanks to the Bean bag i got from Ocricket. Thanks Ocricket team..

Yesterday I had to go to Vashi to meet a friend. The odds started when my friend already left her house and I was not ready to leave. As I was getting ready, could not find any jeans to wear. Somehow managed to find a jeans and left. Leaving from Bandra was well ok getting train in time. But as I reached Vadala where I need to change train, I could see a train waiting on another platform. Happily I got down from my train and ran towards it, the train left. Just with a difference of couple of seconds, I missed the train. Waiting for 15 minutes, I got another train and reached Vashi somehow.

As I entered Center one mall in Vashi and took out my cell to call her and ask where she is, I realised bloody airtel had no coverage. No issues. I’ve extra mobile. So I took out another mobile just to realise it was switched off due to low battery. I walked around whole food court, visited every single store to look out for her and finally after 15 minutes saw her at ground floor going towards exit. Ran immediately to exit just to find her no where.

Finally somehow managed to locate her and we met. And the meet was as interesting as the number of odds.

The process can be through E-polling booths situated at maybe the election office at different places. We can have one per constituency. The voting process can briefly understood from following diagram. {Click on image to view full size}.

Through this plan, we can maintain the secrecy of voter identity and yet allow people to vote from their current location. Election commission should take up such initiatives for voters’ convenience.

This time my friend Annkur {From OnlyGizmos} came up with a fantastic prank where he first put up a post about a very shameful job which he was doing for long while. He mentioned how he is feeling guilty for the job and how he badly wants to come back to being normal person in a descent job and how he is expecting his friends to support him with this. Many people actually replied to his blog post and it became a topic of discussion among his friends. Then on 1st April, he put up a post about the prank behind the post. I would proudly claim that I did not fall for the prank. However, I had given a thought to the post once. The only thing is I took it as some imaginative story so I did not comment on that. So in a way I was fooled and in a way I wasn’t.

The recent Mumbai attacks have once again highlighted the need for individuals with a high level of personal integrity to provide effective leadership for our country. It is well known that across party lines, a number of individuals with criminal antecedents are given tickets to contest elections. There is little public pressure on political parties to not give tickets to such individuals. In 2004, about 20% of those who were elected to Parliament had criminal antecedents. This problem is prevalent across most political parties. This tears into the moral fabric of the country and has an impact on governance.

The ‘No Criminals’ Campaign Idea

The upcoming general elections offer citizens an opportunity to make an appeal to political parties not to give tickets to persons with criminal antecedents. The core idea therefore is to launch a nationwide campaign to enable citizens to express their opinion on this issue in a visible way.

The Campaign

The campaign will cover the whole of India. It will build on the public mood in the country to appeal to all political parties. A series of efforts, including widespread use of audio-visual media, print, internet, mobile phones, etc., will be made to reach out to a large number of people across the country. Efforts will also be made to leverage the strengths of existing groups that have done work in the area of not having people with criminal antecedents contest in elections such as the Association for Democratic Reforms, the National Election Watch, etc.

The Timeline

It is expected that general elections will be held in phases beginning in April 2009. This gives us a short window to reach out to citizens across the country.

The Desired Outcome

No political party to give tickets to people with criminal antecedents in the 2009 general elections.

For more information, kindly visit the website of No Criminal Campaign.

1. The newbies: Every person joining twitter starts from here. He has either heard of twitter from a friend or seen a friend twitting and so joins out of curiosity. Some of them do survive in long run but most of them get lost in the crowd after first 20-30 tweets. Those who stay glued, get divided into some subcategories.

2. I need followers: They are constantly on look out for new ways to get extra followers. They will follow random people so that those random people too follow them. They will use those tools to increase number of followers, will RT any damn tweets thinking it will give them more followers and they will ask everyone to follow them whenever meeting anyone online. The first thing they will say to fellow twitter is “I’ve got 1500 followers. What about you? How many you have?”. Only apparent reason being opportunity to cash in the number of followers sometime through sponsored twits or apps like magpie.

3. I want to follow: They are not really concerned about who follows them. They just go ahead and follow hundreds of people. Trying to gain maximum knowledge through tweets of these people. These people won’t twit much on their own but will read others’ tweets very regularly and consciously. Not sure if they end up learning much stuff.

4. I need to follow that chick: The first question they will ask to a fellow twitter is “Whats twitter handle of that girl we met in last tweetup?”. They will follow each random girl on twitter and immediately add everyone on facebook, linkedin, orkut and possible every social network available. Probably even hi5 and wayn too… I suppose girls are smart enough to recognise these types quickly.

5. I don’t follow whom I don’t know: They will start following you only after you meet at some meetup and speak for atleast 5 minutes. Following someone they don’t know is big NO NO for them. I wonder if they got real meaning of twitter or probably they are the only ones who got *real* meaning of twitter.

6. The protected ones: Simple way to identify them is by the lock that appears next to their snap. They keep the account protected by the fear of either employer reading their tweets or by the fear of partner. Or they think they are celebrity. You never know, some of them might actually be celebrities in their own field.

7. I want to maintain the ratio: They are always concerned about their follower:following ratio. And they make every effort to keep the ratio at particular level. As soon as ratio goes below the level, they will start unfollowing people and ask people to follow them. Other times, they are cool and will twit in their own ways.

8. The divine ones: They don’t care who or how many are following them. They will follow whom they feel like following and they will twit what they want to twit. They won’t ask any friend to follow them. They won’t even follow someone just because he is a friend. And they will surely not think twice before twitting something. They will go ahead and twit whatever they feel like without thinking what the followers want to read.

For those who don’t know what Gudi Padwa is, here’s what Wikipedia says about it.

“Gudhi Padwa (Devnagari: गुढीपाडवा) is celebrated on the first day of the Chaitra month, and is celebrated as New Year’s Day by Maharashtrians and Hindu Konkanis ( called as Samvatsar ( Sausar ) Padvo or Yugadi by Konkanis ). It is the same day on which great king Shalivahana defeated Sakas in battle.

This is also first day of Marathi Calendar. This festival is supposed to mark the beginning of Vasant (spring). According to the Gregorian calendar this would fall sometime at the end of March and the beginning of April. According to the Brahma Purana, this is the day on which Brahma created the world after the deluge and time began to tick from this day forth. This is one of the 3 and a half days in the Indian Lunar calendar called “Sade-Teen Muhurt”, whose every moment is considered auspicious in general to start a new activity.

While the people of Maharashtra use the term Gudhi Padwa for this festival and the Konkanis use Sanvsar Padvo (sanvsar derived from samvatsar meaning year) the people of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka term the same festival, observed on the same day, Ugadi. The Sindhi festival of Cheti Chand is celebrated same day.”

1) When everything was planned and smooth, and when government had accepted security to the championship earlier, how come all of sudden Home Minister realised that the championship is not secure in India; exactly the same day when Sharad Pawar indirectly suggested he won’t mind being Prime Minister?

2) How come Cancellation of a series or relocating it become a national shame? And if it is, what about the Riots? Aren’t they supposed to be national shame?

3) When Gujrat government says it is capable of providing security to all the matches in IPL, why were they not capable of providing security to handful of muslims in the state?

4) Are politicians like Arun Jaitley and P Chdambaram out of any topics on notional interest that they are debating on IPL?

5) If we can’t host IPL on security norms, are we really ready to host CommonWealth games coming next year?

In India, being homosexual is considered as a highly disgraceful act. The homosexual person is considered to be someone out and away part of *normal* society. I don’t understand why doesn’t the world accept them as people with own preferences?

I find the route deeply engrossed in our education system. Firstly we lack sex education in our education system. I had previously written a post about need of speaking about sex. The post had landed me in some troubles but nevertheless, I still support the need of sex education in schooling. And the education has to start with frankness and clarity. There should be no nicknames for the body parts. If eye is eye and ear is ear, a penis is penis and vegina is vegina.

Second reason for the disgraceful look is bollywood. Bollywood has never shown homosexuality as a normal part in movies. Its always considered as yet another reason for creating laughter. Thats one reason people fear to accept their homosexuality openly. They always think that their being homosexual will be a reason of comedy and mockery among the friends.

Many in India are still confused about the sexuality. They have attraction towards other boys but deep inside, they are complete straight. The attraction comes as a natural phenomenon and has nothing to do with their sexuality. This commonly happens with the guys who grow up playing with sisters at home. They have always seen and interacted with a girl and so pick up few things from her. However, this rarely affects their sexuality but their behavior at times appear like being homosexual. We need to keep this in mind before stereotyping or terming anyone as homosexual.

“I observed families riding two-wheelers — the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family,” Ratan Tata said when he unveiled the Tata Nano in 2008.

Ratan Tata announced his dream project of a $2,000 car on March 11, 2003 at the Geneva Motor Show.

Six years down the lines, it is a dream come true as the company plans a nationwide roll-out today (March 23, 2009). With millions of people eagerly waiting to buy a Tata Nano, it is expected to turn around the fortunes of the company.

1) Politics is about your name. The party always gives image of the person. How many of us know name of one more leader from MNS? Or how many of us know of another member of AIADMK? BSP is always Mayawati for us and RJD is Lalu.
In social media, its about your work. If you meet another guy from social media and introduce you by name, first question will be “Where do you write?” or “Oh.. you are the one who writes at xyz.com”. There are many people who are known more by their blog name and people don’t even know their real names.

2) Politics is too much about false respect. Even an 80 year old man have to bow in front of a 35 year old kid just cause he is a minister. In social media, you don’t care about age of another person. A 13 year old kid will call 50 year old man by his first name. And btw, social media does have 13 year old kids unlike politics.

I remember of having mailed them about the issue of Misuse of name bigadda but that doesn’t imply me being interested in their lousy social networking site. Specially not this way.

Bigadda Team? Listening?

That’s how Nasik is called. More than 15 years have passed since I visited the city for the first time. I guess it was 1992 when I had visited the place along with Shirdi with my family.

And now, I’m going there again. After 17 whole years. At times I find it weird that I’ve visitied places in Rajasthan more than 4-5 times and had been to south for more than 10 times. But how I haven’t visited Nasik for even second time.

So anyways, I’m going there again this Sunday. And unfortunately I’ve only 6 hours with me to spend in the city. Totally dependent on Sushrut to show me the city. I remember having visited Panchvati, Kalaram Temple, Trimbakeshwar last time. Had missed out Pandav Caves as my family isn’t very much into historical sculptures. And neither was I that time {That’s not really something you can expect from a 8 year old kid right?}

This time around too, I guess I won’t be able to visit Those magical caves as I’m gonna be in Nasik in afternoon time and that’s not the best time to visit the caves due to heat and temperature. But am sure of taking some time out again some time to visit the caves.

Nasik… Here I come…

1. Both were direct attacks. No planting of bombs, no hidden blasts. Just face to face. As if the terrorists are giving a message. We will hit you right on your face. What will you do?

2. Both India and Pakistan had faced many bomb blasts in the past. But hardly any was discussed at the Global level. The terrorists had to make it Global and they did it. In India by attacking the world famous hotel, and in Pakistan by attacking a foreign sports team.

3. Both attempts were aimed at making the places feel unsecure. Notice the kind of Sandbags and police behind it in Mumbai at every corner of city. Same will be situation in Lahore after the attack. The local people fear of another attack and so they don’t want to take chances. Terrorists are successful in spreading their terror.

4. Not just local. Even foreign tourists will think twice before visiting these places now. And I’m sure thats one aim th terrorists must be having in their minds.

5. Mumbai is India’s financial capital and Lahore second biggest city of Pakistan. An attempt to attack on financial importance places to disturb the economy?

6. Attacks in Mumbai took place when England team was playing in India and in Pakistan, attacks were directly on the team itself. Are they trying to prove that playing in Indian subcontinent is not safe? A way to disturb the micro-economy built around the sport?

7. India had been major destination for foreign investments. Pakistan was also slowly taking a lead in achieving foreign investments. Both the attacks have disturbed the foreign investment movement. Was it one of the purposes behind the attacks?

8. Mumbai attack received lot of blog posts, tweets, media hype dedicated to them. And people forgot about it within weaks and life got back to normal. Except for the sandbags and policemen with guns. Will Lahore people also forget within weaks?

I may b a slow walker..
but i ll never fall back
i know that the journey wont b that easy
many hurdles,many difficulties will cme on my way
but i have to face it,as i accept dis as ma fate..
and i do believe in me
but still a long way to walk..
left wid no choice except walking..
so
i m still walking
i ll b still walking!!

Courtesy: Sxoop twitter

–>Alok Kejriwal – CEO Games2win.com
–>Beerud Seth – Co-founder & CEO of Webaroo
–>Mahesh Murthy – Founder and CEO of Pinstorm
–>Sameer Guglani – Founder – Morpheus Ventures

As a part of MumbaiBloggers team, me and @unitechy were live twitting from the event for the benefit of those who could not attend the event. Here is the discussion in form of the live tweets.

# Recession is a gr8 time to start a company..
# No business plans survives in 1st contact with consumer. Continue innovation is necessary..
# We need online companies that solve real problems. Like irctc
# We need to break the commission system to extract better from digital media.
# The courage of stupidity is very necessary
# not all digital media spends through agency’s
# Money is not the way to get good results from online media.. Brains is the way..
# There isn’t enough ecommerce in india. Thats one reason for no big success
# internet will evolve much in mobile platform more.
# You can’t just copy ideas from west.. You need Indian pattern..
# By virtue of not using online media, the marketing people are actually missing the big opportunity..
# Orkut and twitter is much bigger than IPL in India.
# Sasteme kardenge is what has so far worked in online media
# product needs culture.
# One difficult thing for entrepreneur is knowing culture of ur audience
# Teenpatti is big deal in India than poker. You need to know the people for whom you building apps
# Just staying online is not the best thing unless its some site line traveling based
# Having data is not enough. How to monetize it is also important.
# Pure online can’t be the buzz word in India
# work for bread and butter don’t care about jam
# Venture capital is new in india and not very positive results. So they are still worried about investing money
# only pathetic product needs to spend. good product grows
# You need to spend on advertising only if you are pathetic product. If you are good product, you don’t need advertising
# User generated content is good thing. Creating money from it is important.
# Getting funded at the top of the buzz raises expectations and can be harmful
# Markets have cycles and you need to understand and live with that.
# High valuations come with high money and high expectations.
# A loss making company can not go public in India by law. This restricts opportunities for entrepreneurs
# what happened on web will happen on mobiles
# open platform FTW
# india still in voice penetration state. operators still selling voice
# Its a big challenge to change the ecosystem in India
# India VAS much behind in terms of software
# The consumer thinks of what he is paying and not what are company’s internal charges
# There will be more money coming if you can deliver through by platform
# never go to bigger companies. go to companies who want to make it big.

Also check unitechy‘s post about the panel discussion here.

Mumbai’s politics is basically controlled by two groups. 1st group is people who live in slums. More than 10 lakh people stay in Dharavi and other slums in Mumbai. And they are major chunk who decide next MP by their heavy vote force and easy influencibility..

And the second group is millionaires who provide chunks of money to the politicians during elections. The money that is used to influence the 1st group.

And what about the rest of Mumbai? Well, rest Mumbai is the middle part of “Slumdog Millionaire”. The Dogs. Thats how the rest of the chunk in Mumbai is considered.

Just think.. Whose problems get solved in first priority by the leaders here? Firstly its Millionaire group and then the slum group. What about the problems of remaining chunk? No.. They won’t get solved unless you upgrade yourself to the Millionaire group or degrade yourself and start living in slums.

So, that’s Mumbai for you and thats “SlumDog Millionaire” for you.. The award winning combination of Slums, Dogs and Millionaires.

Whatever might be the reason, We are proud of you.

Mumbai is made up of Slums, Dogs and Millionaires. The mixture of the three is always an award winning combination. Just like Mumbai..

Just a random thought..

Joining the 700 Club

I can’t believe this. I have actually written 700 posts on my blog. 700 is like big number. Atleast for someone like me who started with blogging just because Hardik was poking me to do so. He was the one who always forced me to scribble something on my blog. Thanks Hardik for introducing em to the concept of blogging.

In the course of time as I started writing on a regular basis, I got introduced to community events such as BlogCamps, Barcamps, Startup Saturday. And with the socialisation process, got introduced to many other bloggers. I know I’m not very regular in updating my blogroll, but believe you me I have always enjoyed and will continue to enjoy reading every on of you. Thanks for putting up so nice posts on your blogs, which often provoked my thought process and I got some contents to scribble through the thought process.

Way back in 2006, there were some issues related to a blog post on one of my other blogs. I had to delete the complete blog following the issue and political pressure building up. In the tough time, my friends and family stood behind me and supported me. Though I still feel bad for not fighting enough and having removed the blog, I am proud of my family and my friends who stood behind me in bad times of mine. I am grateful to my family and friends for the same.

I also got couple of friends to write guest post on my blog. Thanks Unitechy and Raxit for the guest posts. You provided me fantastic contents and my blog will always be thankful to you.

I can’t really boast of a huge reader base. I mean a base of 85,000 {I reseted the counter once it touched 50,000} in 4 years is not any big achievement to boast of. But I’m always lucky enough to get some geniune readers who bookmarked my blog, subscribed to RSS and kept coming back to my blog. They often commented on the posts, dropped me mails and SMSes of appreciation and criticism. Some of them called me to criticise what they did not like in my post or to appreciate what they enjoyed reading in my post. I am always thankful to all the people who have visited my blog in the tenure of last 4 years. Please keep supporting me and my blog in the same way.

The first one said,” During my latest show, I made three women from the audience disappear, it was so convincing that their relatives started panicking, no one could find the trick”

The second one said, ” Hey, that is nothing, during one of my open air shows I made the Municipality building disappear and the entire town was searching for it”

The third one sighed and said,” Both of you are so local, I went to Paris and made the Eiffel Tower disappear for a full one hour, it was live on the TV, entire France was searching for the building & no one had a clue”.

Just then an Indian walked into the bar and the three magicians suddenly turned quiet, gave each other fugitive glances and started to slip towards the door.

A Bartender watching this got curious and asked one of the magicians, “Hey what happened ? Who is that guy ? ”

One of the magicians whispered, “He is the World’s greatest magician, he has done the biggest disappearing trick of all times, we are all mere amateurs compared with what he has done. His name is Ramalinga Raju. He has made USD 1.5 billion disappear from his company’s balance sheet in front of everyone’s eyes, and the entire world is still looking for it “

• if you want to start a company, get fired..
• entrepreneurship is a journey with no start and no end.. Its about constantly challengin urself and fulfilin the challenges..
• being an entrepreneur is like being pregnant. You have to deliver in the end..
• be ready to do jugaad if you wanna make it big..
• entrepreneurs are disrupters
• journey for an entreprenr is tough full of failers n rejections n lonely
• you need a destabilizer in form of mentor
• don’t fall in love with ur idea.. Develop several ideas and compare to get the best..
•  find a hole that needs repair and that you can do well. Get out of technology comfort zone and enter sales..
• have fun while working on ur vision.. Money always follows..
• its about a dream to succeed.. The success should not be defined in terms of money..
• don’t talk of valuation before value creation..
• you need to find your washing machine to make lassi..
• don’t always go for new tech. At times you can use existing in better and efficienet way..
• failure is entrepreneurship.. Blame is on you if you fail and its ur responsibility to rise up..
•  you are brand ambassador of ur company as entrepreneur..
• entrepreneurship is not an event.. Its a process.. A longer one..
• don’t generate problems just to provide solutions just cause you want to be entrepreneur..
• entrepreneurs knows how to handle problems.. If you think you need to exit, you are not entrepreneur…
• ideas can be simple.. Ideas can be silly.. But they will pay more money than serious ones..
• observation is the key to any entrepreneurship.. You can’t succeed without observation..
• simple observations add to the biggest of the breakthroughs…
• value is always about the benefit over the price for customer.. An entrepreneur is to provide that..
• Entrepreneurship is about always betting on something new.
• Stability is dangerous for any enrepreneur.
• If you can’t implement any idea in a better way than the existing one, better don’t implement the idea.
• Early success is necessary to keep the team motivated. The team have to have trust in the entrepreneur and his beliefs.
• Being an entrepreneur is like being pregnant. In the end, you have to deliver.
• Do with speed what you can’t do with strength.
• Making mistake is ok. Repeating them is crime.

Original source unknown…

when Getting High meant on a swing
when Drinking meant Orange Juice
when Dad was the only hero
when love was mom’s hug
when dad’s shoulder was the highest place on earth
when your worst enemies were your siblings
when the only thing that could hurt were skinned knees
when the only things broken were toys
and when goodbyes only meant “till tomorrow”…

I want to go back to that time..

Security Officer -> Announcement started, “Dear Employees – With melting heart I am making this announcement that for many of you it will be a last evacuation drill, as we are laying off almost 80% employee. While moving in who-so-ever’s ID card won’t work are laid off & all their belongings will be couriered to them tomorrow. We followed this approach as we don’t want to fill email box size with layoff mail in thousands & also to avoid any fight inside office”. Hope you have nice career ahead. Please move in & try your luck.

Source: E-mail forwards..

A creation of: xkcd

I first met her in quite unusual and embarrassing way. In our college computer lab. She said something to me which my friends took as an offense. But I stayed cool which was embarrassing for her. She, like my friends, was expecting me to bounce back and answer which I didn’t do.
She corrected her wrong action but did not say sorry. And neither did I talk any further.
For few days later, she often tried to avoid any eye contact with me. In fact she used to change her path whenever she saw me coming. And neither did I ever tried to cross roads with her.
Whenever by any chance we came across each other, we just passed a passive hi to each other.
Even today, if ever we come across, we just smile and pass a hi. We never spoke a word beyond a hi. I don’t yet know her name even after passing hi for 6 months. And I really doubt if even she does. I don’t know what made me to write about her. Am not flattered by her looks for sure. And I don’t know anything about her beyond her face. Maybe some people just deserve a blog post from Dinesh, even without impressing him in any way. And *that girl* is one of those lucky ones.

Happy Republic Day

1. When real @lkadvani uses a smartphone in public to tweet.

2. When autowallah’(auto-rickshaw) tweet a joke you just cracked..

3. When my techtard GF asks me about twitter

4. When my boss fires me through a tweet and later hands a official confirmation letter.

5. When Twitter is used as a source in mainstream media to validate news like Rajdeep Sardesai using twitter as source in media.

6. All early twitter adopters & lovers leave twitter when everyone’s distant uncle also uses it & pesters you on HOWTO use it.

7. When you get DM like “Hi. wanna be friends . I am good in school”

8. When you set twitter as your homepage of your computer.

9. When you hear girls talking about Twitter in #CCD and how they keep a check on their BF’s with it.

10. When a beggar tweets 4 begging; you RT instead of asking him to go ahead, then one user offers him help and reply his tweet!!

11. When newspapers have a separate section called “What’s Hot from Twitterverse”.

12. When agencies coming out with internet usage report have a twitter usage section.

13. When even *lala* companies have a genuine twitter handle.

14. When Amitabh Bachchan or Shahrukh Khan is caught tweeting in public and people start stalking them on twitter and newspapers splashes it.

15. When report suggests that “Mobile sales has gone up because of this unique geek service called Twitter”

16. When a movie called “Kaho na Tweet hain..” releases and its a major blockbuster hit.

17. When people around you uses WTF, #FAIL, ROFL, FTW terminologies to your surprise.

18. SS, MNS start tweeting from the places they are wrecking -> Just broke a shopper’s stops glass door, kaay majja aali [In english - What fun]

19. Twitter releases its service in 18 languages including tamil, telugu, malayalam, hindi and marathi!

20. When *twitter* becomes a noun rather than a verb in official dictionary.

21. When people starts tweeting “your pic is very nice, wanna make frandship”.

22. When a guy asks his future wife about her twitter handle and disqualifies her on grounds of non-twit existence & vice-versa.

23. When government applications ask for twitter names along with email IDs and phone numbers.

24. When a book on Twitter is authored by an Indian and it goes into the best selling list in Crosswords.

25. When you name your child as Twitter instead of Ram, Rahul or Raj.

26. When you start giving gaalis (Slang) in marathi – tujhya aayela… me follow karnar twitter var!

27. When twitter handle replaces CVs when applying for naukris (jobs).

28. When someone slaps you on twitter because you followed a girl that he was “interested” in.

29. When Barkha Dutt chooses to tweet on her BB before going live on NDTV.

30. (Farfetched but who cares!) When the “Ashoka Chakra” is replaced by @india

31. When India adopts the middle name concept. Only that the middle name is your twitter name.

32. When you are considered a registered party follower, if you just follow @congree or @BJP

33. When a minister says at a Press conference “As I tweeted it yesterday morning.. all these allegations are baseless”.

34. When your mother-in-law greets you pleasantly with twitter handle.

35. When Kaamwali bais (house maids) create a hashtag and bitch about their memsaabs.

36. When a major law suit takes twitter reference as evidence. Bwahahah!

37. When you have more twitter friends online than offline.

38. India’s most tech savvy politician starts a new party – Rashtriya Tweeple Sangh (RTS).

39. When BF/Husband organizes food safari/TwEAT up (he has to cook on his own) every weekend for his GF/Wife.

40. When you use twitter friends or some twitter alert app to remind you of all important meetings, dates etc.

41. When your whole family goes for a tweetup in the neighborhood.

42. When Government keep a “special twitter day” and declares it a national holiday.

43. When people use twitter to vote out corrupt a$$holes from even contesting elections.

44. When TRP of Television serials will be based on number of tweet it gets.

45. When parents say ‘Beta vaha pohachte hi Twitter karna’ [Son, tweet as soon as you reach...]

46. When Amitabh, Aamir and SRK have their own Twitter accounts and it becomes the Breaking News on Aaj Tak.

47. When railway stations will announce via twitter rather than by loudspeakers.

48. When ‘Hand’ is replaced by’@Handle‘ as the new logo of Congress.

49. When Abhishek fights with Salman and Vivek for Tweeting Aishwarya too much.

50. When our leaders ask for ‘Tweevotes‘ instead of ‘Votes’ during elections.

51. When visitng cards will have Twitter handles @handle instead of email ids.

52. When people vote with their tweet.

53. When every minute working of PM office and CM office will be tweeted in order to maintain transparency.

54. When the President announces a stamp or a coin with twitter emblem on top of it.

55. When the twitter birdie marries a male twitter birdie and we all attend the ceremony.

56. When guys will get dumped by their girls for not giving them ‘Twitterspace’.

57. When @sampad becomes famous because of this initiative ROFL [nevermind]

58. When mainstream media takes cues from this and prints all the ideas along with original twitter handles.

59. When a minister will tweet his resignation and send a DM to CM with plea not to accept the resignation.

60. When #Reliance will launch a company named BIGtwit.

61. When all the major CXO’s use twitter handle as sign offs in their outgoing emails.

62. When Re-Tweeting (RT) without prior permission will be considered as crime as per copyright law.

63. When parents use Twitter account in their daughter’s name to find a match for her.. and she doesn’t know about it.

64. When Aamir, SRK and Akshay use Twitter to promote their next big budget films.

65. WHen IIM’s ask students to appear for CAT on Twitter.

66. When every official communication will be limited to only 140 chars, including PR communication.

67. When every bollywood movie will have a twit version for those who are short of time.

68. When Indian IT compannies will ban all the sites which use Twitter.

69. When school exams will say ‘Answer in Twitter’ instead of ‘Answer in Brief’.

70. When next corporate scam T(P)ress release happens in twitter.

71. When more people start proposing on twitter.

72. When employess get fired for wasting too much time on Twitter.

73. When the TTE checks tickets and ids via twitter – TweetTickCheck.

74. When Election Commissioner announces Twitter Poll, and your twitpic gets a black twitmark to indicate u have voted.

75. When this blog post gets *fukat (free) footage* across mainstream media.

76. When someone live tweets his/her intimate moments just to get famous.

77. When TM will stand for Twitter Mark instead of Trade Mark.

78. When Indian post will launch T-post seva for those who don’t have access to twitter.

79. When twitterverse will be considered a parallel economy and people outside it will be considered an alien.

80. When Political Manifesto will be ‘Roti, Kapda, Makaan aur Twitter’ for aam aadmi.

81. When twitter team opens a grand new office in India, preferably in #bangalore, #gurgaon or #Hyderabad

82. When texting teens & tweens discover it.

83. When MNS will make it mandatory to type all Tweets in Marathi.

84. When I can order my #Pizza via twitter. And my mom can order her groceries via twitter.

85. When Twitter birdie becomes the next face of a brand like #Vodafone Pug but with permission.

86. When postman knocks at the door and says ‘Aaapka Tweet aaya hai’ [you tweet has come].

87. Twitter opens up a new TV channel with news coming from Hourly tweets.

88. The channel has a reality show called ‘Kaun Banega TwitterPati’.

89. When people join launage courses to learn new langauge – Twittsh.

90. Some time later an award winnig movie is released, called ‘TwitterDog Millionaire‘.

91. When PM addresses a Tweet Conference to the entire nation on Twitter.

92. When India hands over Tweets of terrorists as proof to Pak and Pak accepts it.

93. When people “tweet” instead of “order” food, groceries, DVDs, movie tickets etc.

94. When reality shows ask people to vote using tweet instead of SMS.

95. When Twitter becomes synonymous with social media in India.

96. When twitter is the topic of discussion between Obama & Indian PM in the next meeting.

97. When Ekta Kapoor makes a new serial ‘Kahani Twitter Twitter Ki‘ and will get highest TRPs (Twitter Rating Points).

98. When twitter saves the world from present recessionary gloom. You know how? I’m talking of more #Dell $1 Mn examples.

99. When Mumbai university introduces a new subject in colleges ‘Tweetology‘… and makes it compulsory.

100. When management colleges opens a new elective called “Tweetagement“.

101. … and Nobel prozes would be given for Tweetonomics.

102. When we have an Indian Twitterer like @scobleizer….

103. When a book is released ‘100 Signs of Twitter becoming mainstream in India‘ and becomes a best seller.

104. When twitter gets listed in stock exchange.

105. When self-help books like “You can twit” and “Facebooks from Mars and Twitters from Venus” sort of releases and will fill up in piles.

106. When Walkie-Talkies are replaced by Tweetie-Talkies in the army, with paandus, and other events.

107. When Indian Cricket Team has Twitter logo on their T-shirts and bats.

108. When we get paid for tweeting.

109. Amitabh ‘Mere pass gadi, bunglow hai, paisa hai.. tumhare pass kya hai?‘; Shashi Kapoor ‘Mere Pass TWITTER Hai‘.

110. When Indian advertising community uses Twitter to market products and ideas.

111. When a girl rejects a marriage proposal because the guy does not have too many followers on Twitter.

112. If real @lkadvani wins the elections and proclaims that twitter helped the cause.

113. …and opposition will be blamed for twitbot, cleanin up twitfeed n twit account hack, if election is lost!!

114. When we cross US in terms of Twitter users.

115. When people swear by twitter rather than gods & demi-gods!

116. When people start finding true match in twitter and not matrimonial sites.

A new virus has started floating around through E-mails. It sends out mail with subject line as “Hey” and the text as

"Hey, are these your friends? I ran into them the other day, they said they know you, and wanted me to send you this photo album.
Take care"

It also contains an attachment named “Rememberthis.rar” which contains a scr file. If you get a similar mail, do not download the file.

Please spread the word around by tweeting link to this page..

With Mr Nandan Nilekani, Ex CEO of Infosys

In the Snap: Dinesh Soni, Nandan Nilekani and Amol Shah.

Try When you search BigAdda in google, the the first result is bigadda.in. Is the SEO of bigadda.com going wrong somewhere? Also, seems that the Reliance Entertainment did not take enough precautions to reserve the .in domain too for themselves.

If we look at the logos of the two websites, both of them show the word “BigAdda” as trademark. I think bigadda.in has nothing to do with bigadda.com!

And have a look at the “Terms and Conditions” of bigadda.in. You will find the name of the owner company as “BigAdda Inc.”. I’m doubtful if the company really exists. Cause google does not show any such results when searched for “BigAdda Inc”.

The Whois search for the site bigdda.in reveals name of a person from Walkeshwar. A google search for the mail id from thw whois record displays lot of porn contents as the results.

[Disclaimar: we do not know this is the actual id of owner of bigadda.in or not ! this is just the information we get from the web.]

While writing this post, we are trying to contact BigAdda.com and BigAdda.in for clarification and communication. However, no communication being established as of now.

however i think bigadda.in is Un-Ethical [if they are misusing the bigadda brand !], and may be soon be sued by actual BigAdda !

What is your take ????

‘GEt married beta’

Top five ways to avoid those questions:
5. I want to earn loads of money first. To provide all possible luxury to my wife-to-be.
4. Chances of me being sacked are high. Will she support me financialy?
3. I love someone. But she loves someone else. So i’m not going to get married.
2. Give ‘your type of girl’ preferences which no girls can posses.
1. Tell your parents you’re GAY..

So I was traveling back to Mumbai on 28th Dec, 08 which was a Sunday night after just finished Christmas holidays of many people working / studying in Mumbai and home in Marathwada. And the scenes happened during the journey. Te period, as very obvious, was a high on rail traffic. People were returning back from their homes after enjoying the holidays and very few of them managed to get a confirmed reservation.

Incident 1: Jalna Station. The train is 40 minutes late. And as it arrives, I go to my sleeper coach compartment and shocked to see people hanging out from it. No space to enter. Somehow manage to get in and it takes me 14 minutes to reach my seat. And whoaa… 4 people already sitting in my seat. I ask them to get up as it is my seat. They say, “we will get up in few minutes. We’ve to get down at next station only”. Ok.. Agreed cause they were marwaris and they knew one of my best friend’s dad {as found out by the references they provided}. Then they start inquiring about me. What I do, where i study, previous qualification, dad’s business, place of stay, birth date.

Well, birth date? What is that to do with anything? Well, you didn’t get the ping here. They were looking at me as future groom for some bride hiding somewhere in the corner of the world. Not interested.. So all that happens, I am standing there for 20 minute when one of the four people realises this and offers me a seat. Thank you sir. I’m highly honored that you finally realised..!!!
After few minutes, I get to my mobile tweeting. And no one of us really talks. At next station, they all get up and start walking to door. No one even bothering to say Thanks or even sorry for the trouble. And as I was thinking how people don’t have the decency to thanks or oppologise, a lady from the group comes to me and asks “Does the full berth belong to you?” Yes ma’m. I’ve paid 374 fucking rupees for this. I’m not here without reservation sitting on others’ berths..

Incident 2: As soon as the four people get down, one fat {the word fat appears very small for her but its ok} lady comes and sits on the berth saying that she wants to sit there just 2 minutes. I wait as the trains tarts moving, but the lady doesn’t get up. And its midnight already so I’m sleepy. I show the signs that I’m uncomfortable. She says “You can spread your legs if you want”. Where ma’m? You are so fat that I don’t have any place to spread legs. But I tell this politely and she gives me an angry look and says “I was sitting only for a minute” Ya right. Last 10 minute contribute to only a minute.

Incident 3: As the fatso gets off from m seat, one old {and apparently well educated} uncle comes to me and requests for some space till next station. I give flat refusal. He requests very politely and I could not refuse. But this time, I’m lucky that the man is understanding. Gives me proper scope for stretching my legs. And sits in whatever smaller space remains.

And once third station is passed, I swear not to give any space for anyone now.

Here is track one of the story. Track two to follow..

happy new year calvin way

1. Why did you apply for this job?
I have applied for many jobs along with this and you called me now.

2. Why do you want to work for this company?
I have to work for some company who ever gives me a job, I don’t have any specific company in mind.

3. Why should I hire you?
You have to hire some one, you may give me a try.

4. What would you do if this happened?
Well, it depends my mindset and mood at that situation…

5. What is your biggest strength?
Basically, daring to join any company who pays me well, without thinking of the fate of company

6. What is your biggest weakness?
Girls

7. What was your worst mistake, and how did you learn from it?
Joining my earlier company and learnt that I need to jump to get more money, so I am here today

8. What accomplishments in your last position are you most proud of?
Had I accomplished any in my last position, why do I need to change my job? I could demand more and stay there.

9. Describe a challenge you faced and how you overcame it?
Biggest challenge is answering the question “why are you looking for a change” and I started blabbering irrelevantly to overcome that.

10. Why did you leave/ are you leaving your last job?
For the same reason why you left your earlier job

11. What do you want from this job?
If no work is given but keep giving good hikes

12. What are your career goals and how do you plan to achieve them?
Make more money and for that keep jumping companies for every 2 yrs

13. Did you hear of our company and what do you know of us?
Yeah, I know that you will ask this, I’ve gone through your website

14. What is the salary expected and how do justify that?
Well, no one will change job for the same salary, hence, give me 20% extra than what I am getting and that is unpublished industry standard.
(I know you will bargain on what ever I ask, hence, I have already hiked my current salary by 30%)

Here are just couple of snaps of the group…

Update: Snaps are uploaded at Picasa.

Last few days, I watched some flicks including Dasvidaniya, Maharathi, Savarkhed Ek Gao, Socha Na Tha, Dil Kabaddi, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Sorry Bhai, Dostana etc. Well, some did give me joy of watching. So disappointed. And some made me wonder why the hell the screen existed.

Dasvidaniya will be remarkable for simple storyline, and wonderful acting by Vinay Pathak. It makes you wonder if you have done all things you wanted to do before die. The songs in the movie, specially the one sung by Kailash Kher is just amazing.

Maharathi: There is no way this cast can disappoint you. With actors like Nasiruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Boman Iani; the movie is full of top class acting. And the fantastic storyline with interesting twists and suspense makes it a worth watch. The actresses Neha Dhupia and Tara Sharma too add their bit to the movie.

Savarkhed Ek Gao is a Marathi movie with best of the actors like Vikram Gokhale, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Sonali Khare, Shreyas Talapade etc. Its about the events happening in a small village with Vikram Gokhale as MLA and Sadashiv Amrapurkar as an aspiring candidate for the post. The village foes through a series of unpleasant actions and the youngsters save the village with courage and planning. If you know Marathi, you must watch this one.

Socha Na Tha is among my all time favorites. The simplicity with which events unfold and the kind of confused mindset Abhay Deol lies in is something many youngsters can relate to.

Dil Kabaddi is bold but partly true story. Though it ends on a kinda sadistic message about impossibility in maintaining the romance of married life. Btw, here are few tips about maintaining the romance.

Sorry Bhai was not so good movie for many people. But for me, it was a great one for me. Specially with the jazz music, it is a treat.

Rab Ne Bana di Jodi is a total disaster. I think Yash Raj Films need a change of formula. Well, they tried the change of Formula thing with movies like Roadside Romeo. What YR needs is probably close off the production house now.

So that’s all about the movies. Waking up at 5:30 with sound of flowing water taps and nothing better to do at these hours, I write this post exclusively for my readers. Enjoy…

P.S: If you are caught in a situation where you have nothing better to do, better do nothing rather than watching Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

How to ruin your interview with the HR:

1. Pretend you have no weaknesses. Or tell me that your biggest weakness is perfectionism and you work too hard. You might as well wear a sign saying, “I’m bullshitting you.”

2. Ask questions about the company that could have easily been answered with a modicum of research.

3. Be as quiet as possible. It shouldn’t be like pulling teeth for me to get information out of you. If you’re shy, I empathize, but you’ve got to help me get a sense of who you are.

4. Don’t ask any questions. That very well says “I’m not interested in this job and don’t really need any info about the job”.

5. Interrupt. It’s the kiss of death in any job interview.

6. Don’t think beyond your desire to get a job offer. Too many candidates approach the interview as if the only goal is to win a job offer. But the wiser goal is to see if you’re a mutual match, emphasis on mutual.

7. Refer the interviewer with his/her first name. Some may take it in good sense. Some may not. Specially in Govt or Babu type organisations, you need to refer them as Sir / Ma’m.

And I vow up not to use my ftp in college laboratory again..

Routine kills the romance because we get bored very easily. And that’s why everyone loves surprises and adventure. If your love life is in rut, try something new. Break some habits. If the rule is that your partner always takes the first move, you should break the rule. It’s important to take the initiative.
If you find resistance, that just means you haven’t found the right idea. Keep experimenting.

2. “Connect” each day

While we all like to think we can be passionate when the urge trikes, that’s hard to do when you have own life and job/studies. You have to schedule time for intimacy. And you need to first do all those things that help you connect emotionally. A good physical relationship comes out of emotional connection.
How to make this connection? Its usually the small things you do for each other.

3. Make a date

Specially for married couple out there. Take your spouce on a date, every weekend. Having a specific time to be together really improves the marriage. You will have something to look forward to on weekends – a date with your wife / husband. Even if you don’t talk about anything profound, these dates can be powerful because you know you are doing it to maintain your relationship.
During the week, both partners write down ten things ou want to do on date. And then do atleast on of them. When you find yourself in a pizza-and-movie rut, you can always refer the list and pull out an idea.

4. Express yourself

Specially girls expect the partner to read their mind. They don’t tell what they need. They expect the partner to guess. And when he doesn’t guess it right, disappointment occurs. Many partners hesitate to tell their mates what they would like romantically. If I’ve to tell, its no fun. But without communication, its often hit-or-miss fashion, trying to find out what will please the other.
Partners have to express what they want, what they feel and more important, what they think the other one wants.

5. Create a little tension

Passion is heightened by the tension created when you have to overcome impediments. It gets your energy up and helps you be creative. Be away from each other for a while or create some obstacles. Designate an “Everything-but” day.. I don’t really need to elaborate on this one. Do I..?

    Bollywood’s shouting ‘cut, cut, cut.’ The stars have cut fees and producers their budgets. Actor Sanjay Dutt, who was charging Rs 15 crore, is back to a more affordable Rs 4-5 crore. Sanjay Dutt Productions CEO Dharam Oberoi explained that the actor thought it would be “unfair to hike his prices at a time when the industry is struggling with recession”. John Abraham has reportedly cut his fee by 60% for his next film and director Pooja Bhatt has been asked by T-Series to trim the budget of her new film Kajra Re. 

    Car drop has become drop car as some I-T companies in Hyderabad and Bangalore introduce buses to ferry workers around. Senior executives can’t hire luxury taxis and have to make do with Indicas. 

    Divorce? Nah, it’s not worth it if your spouse doesn’t have any assets left to split. So discord or not, most couples are opting to stick it out, say marriage counsellors. 

    Expats are getting the heave-ho. In lean times, most companies are baulking at the thought of huge wage payouts. Jet Airways has already let go many foreign pilots. MNCs such as Procter & Gamble and Marriot have also decided to cut down on expat assignments. “An expat costs three to five times more than a local,” says a senior official of an MNC. 

    Food bills have shrunk as people share appetizers and skip dessert. The good news is that happy hours at bars have been extended. 

    Guest entertainment is out and company guesthouses are in. Don’t even think of wining and dining those clients and leaving the company to pick up the tab. Kiss goodbye to five-star hotels as companies set up guesthouses of their own. 

    Hotel freebies have got the axe. So be prepared for no welcome drink, complimentary slippers, or mint on the pillow. Even the quality of toiletries is going to suffer. 

    In-house entertainment budgets, which ranged between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 5 crore, have nose-dived, so family days and picnics are out. Serious times are here, especially for fun officers as many I-T companies have either retrenched or redeployed these interestingly titled members of staff. 

    Junk the snacks. Chai-nashta is now just chai as the free pizzas and sandwiches have disappeared at most BPOs. In a lighter vein, it’s good not just for the pocket but for waistlines. 

    Kids may have to wait. Worried about whether they will be able to provide for their children, some couples in the US have put off plans to start a family. Economists consider baby booms or busts a reliable indicator of a nation’s fortunes. 

    Lunch boxes are enjoying an unlikely renaissance as the cash crunch bites. In the good times, packed lunches had become passe for executives, who found it easier to grab a bite near the office. But now, it’s tiffin time again. Good news for the dabbawalas! 

    Marriages are considered recession-proof in India but many couples are altering their route to the altar. Guest lists have been pruned and seven-course buffets are no longer the order of the day. Financial lows mean no high spirits as mocktails replace cocktails. 

    No wasting power. Companies have announced curbs on air-conditioning and lights. That should make the green lobby happy. 

    Off-site meetings are out. Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse recently asked bankers to forgo meetings at swanky hotels and gather warmly around the office instead. That’s bargain bonding. 

    Party’s over. What can be a bigger sign of hard times than parties being cancelled? Here, New Year and Christmas bashes are going to be lowkey. And in Silicon Valley, even Internet giant Google Inc, known for throwing the most extravagant holiday season parties complete with sushi buffets and burlesque dancers, has decided to scale back celebrations. 

    Quantum cuts in perks and salaries. Get ready to forgo your LTA and reimbursements for petrol and cellphones. 

    Romance and recession certainly don’t go hand in hand. Expensive dates are out with lovebirds making do with a movie at the neighbourhood multiplex or worse still, a walk in the park. 

    Sabbaticals are the less-painful option for companies that don’t want to retrench. Infosys is one of the companies giving employees this option. Those who’ve been with it for at least two years can take a sabbatical to work with an NGO. They’ll be paid 50% of their Infosys salary and the rest will come in from the NGO. 

    Toilet paper is doing the disappearing act from many loos. The bottomline was obviously more important than bottoms for a leading Indian pharmaceutical company, which decided to do away with toilet paper at its Mumbai office. 

    U-turn on hiring is what companies are doing. According to a new report by global staffing company Manpower, India Inc’s hiring plans in the first quarter of 2009 will be the lowest since 2005. A quarterly poll of 3,597 Indian firms across seven sectors showed that only 19% employers have recruitment plans. 

    Video conferencing has replaced travel in leading firms. Telephone usage is also down by encouraging VoIP (voice over internet protocol) applications such as Skype. 

    Weeks just got shorter. A host of companies such as Force Motors, Bharat Forge and ThyssenKrupp Industries have introduced the five-day week to reduce costs. 

    Xerox machines are vanishing from offices as firms like GM impose restrictions on the number of colour photocopies and printouts. 

    Yes,boss! That’s what you have to say when you’re told to work longer hours and on weekends. 

    Zero… the size of your bonus this year, that’s if you still have the job. 

Source: Times of India

2. Watch movie in theater: Give a break to youtube and torrents. Stop downloading flicks. Get out of your PC chair and move your butt to nearest theater. There are lot of good flicks coming these days..

3. Go for window-shopping: You don’t really need to spend money man. Just head to a mall and walk around all the shops there. Atleast 5 hours of full time pass guaranteed. {Tip: Avoid going to E-zone or Chroma. You will end up buying stuff for your PC again}.

4. Talk to “Real” friends: I hope you still remember there are some real life entities commonly known as human beings who talk like face to face without help of any messenger, e-mail or telephone. Go and meet them.

5. Attend lectures: Ya. I know that would be last thing to do. But hey, sitting on last bench and having some cool pranks isn’t that bad option either..

6. Take a nap: A power nap of 5 minutes or a complete cozy nap of couple of hours. All is well..

7. Go for a walk with your dear ones: Will work out especially in evening or early morning times. Pick up your phone. call your dear ones and ask them for a small walk along the road or even better walk along the nariman point or Carter road..

8. Cook and eat: If you are not a good cook, leave it to Nestle Maggi. Cook and enjoy your own cooking. Call over your friends if you are a good cook..

9. Travel without destination: My personal favorite. Just hop on to any bus and ask for a ticket to last stop. Get down at last stop and hop another bus. Continue till you get back to your home.

10. Attend a meet: There are lot of meets happening out you know. Startup Saturdays, barcamps, blogcamps, CouchSurfing meets. Go and attend these meets, meet some new people, learn new things. If no meet happening around, how about planning one?

11. Surf through newspaper: Specially something like Economic Times. These newspapers have lot of informative stuff which you otherwise won’t really get your hands on.

12. Have a ride: Got a bike..? Just step out of your house and have a ride from Colaba to Vasai and then take a power nap in the Vasai fort. Got no bike? Borrow from your friend or steal from neighbor.

13. Speak to customer Care Executives: Call up your mobile service provider’s Customer Care centre. Ask for all kind of new plans and schemes coming up in market. Call up bank’s Customer Care centre and ask for bank loans, their interest rates and payback conditions. Done with all Customer Care centres? How about calling up justdial and asking for random businesses?

14. Watch gully cricket: In Mumbai, you will have to just step out of your house and you will watch atleast 3 cricket matches live. Make the number 10 if you stay in East side of Western suburbs.

15. Think of what more you can do: I don’t need to explain. Do I…?

The video says it all. I don’t need to add up anything..

आई तुळजाभवानीच्या मूर्तीवर घण बसले, तेव्हा भाल्याच्या टोकावर अफझलचं मुंडकं नाचेपर्यंत या महाराष्ट्रात कोणी स्वस्थ बसले नव्हते. संभाजी महाराजांच्या देहाचे तुकडे तुकडे झाले, तेव्हा घराघरातून तलवार उठली. औरंग्याला इथेच गाडेपर्यंत शांतता नव्हती. लालाजींच्या अंगावर यमदूतांच्या लाठया बरसल्या, तेव्हा इंग्रज साम्राज्याच्या शवपेटीवर खिळे ठोकणारे कैक मर्द निपजले… मग आत्ताच का सगळं शांत शांत? आमच्या श्रध्दास्थानांवर आघात होतात, आणि आम्हालाच सगळे म्हणतात ‘शांत रहा, शांत रहा’. जाहीरपणे आम्हाला बांगडयाच भरायला सांगितले जाते. का?

आम्ही काय नेभळट आहोत का? की आम्ही दूधखुळे आहोत – उगी उगी हं बाळा, तुला नाय कोनी माल्लं, गप गप… असं म्हटलं की आम्ही गप्प! हाताची घडी तोंडावर बोट?

आम्ही जवान आहोत, मर्द आहोत… रक्तात शिवाजी सळसळतो आमच्या, ‘शिका, संघटीत व्हा, संघर्ष करा’ म्हणणारा भीम सळसळतो! आमच्या हातात भवानी आहे, पण डोळयावर पट्टी आहे. आम्हाला शत्रू कोण, हेच कळत नाही. गनिम कावा साधून जातो, आणि मग आम्ही मेणबत्त्या घेऊन मूक मोर्चे काढतो. असल्या भेदरट मेणबत्त्यांच्या उजेडात दुष्मन दिसत नाही. त्यासाठी डोक्यात उजेड पडावा लागतो आणि छाती निधडी असावी लागते. आमच्यात आणखी एक प्रकार आहे. राग आला की, आम्ही शेजार पाजारच्यांना ठोकून काढतो, दंगे करतो. खूप भुई थोपटतो पण साप मरत नाही.

मीडिया काहीही सांगतो, आणि आपण ऐकतो? कोणी म्हणतं इस्लामी अतिरेकी, तर कोणी म्हणतं दहशतवाद्याला धर्म नसतो… सुटका झालेल्या दोन तुर्की नागरिकांनी सांगितलं, की आम्हाला अतिरेक्यांनी आमचा धर्म विचारला, आम्ही मुसलमान म्हणून आम्हाला सोडले, सोबतच्या तीन आर्मेनियन ख्रिस्ती महिलांना ठार मारले. पकडलेला अतिरेकी सांगतो की, मी मदरशात शिकलो. आमचे गृहमंत्रालय म्हणते, की उत्तर सीमेवर मदरसे वेगाने वाढतायत… हे सगळं काय आहे? आम्हाला उत्तरं मिळालीच पाहिजेत. माझे मुसलमान मित्र-मैत्रिणी आहेत, ते अतिरेकी नाहीत. आमचे लाडके माजी राष्ट्रपती, आमचे गायक, संगीतकार, खेळाडू, परमवीरचक्र मिळवलेले शहीद सैनिक – हेही मुसलमान आहेत. पण ते जिहादी नाहीत… मग हा जिहाद काय आहे, मदरसे काय आहेत, या विषवल्लीचं मूळ कुठे आहे? आम्हाला उत्तरं मिळालीच पाहिजेत.

उत्तरं मागण्याचा अधिकार हे लोकशाहीतले पहिले हत्यार आहे. आहे ना खुमखुमी? मग उचला हे हत्यार!

तीस-पस्तीस वर्षांपूर्वी इस्राएलच्या खेळाडूंची ऑलिंपिक मध्ये हत्या झाली होती. पुढच्या दोन वर्षात ही हत्या करणाऱ्या प्रत्येक अतिरेक्याला जगाच्या कानाकोपऱ्यातून शोधून काढून इस्राएलच्या कमांडोंनी ठार मारले. दुसऱ्या महायुध्दात हजारो ज्यूंची हत्या करणाऱ्या ऍडोल्फ आइकमनला इस्राएलच्या हेरांनी परदेशातून शोधून उचलून आपल्या देशात आणला, त्याच्यावर खटला चालवला, आणि त्याला देहदंड दिला. टीचभर देश आहे इस्राएल. पण त्यांचा राष्ट्रीय स्वाभिमान जागा आहे. कोण आहेत त्यांचे नेते? आणि मग आमचेच असे कसे?

आम्ही मतदानाच्या दिवशी पिकनिकला जातो, किंवा आमची मतं विकतो, किंवा १८ पूर्ण झाली तर नावच नोंदवत नाही… मत देताना रस्ते आणि पाणी एवढेच मुद्दे दिसतात आम्हाला, मग निवडणूक पंचायतीची असो नाही तर लोकसभेची! लोकशाहीत प्रजेच्या लायकीवर किंवा नालायकीवर राजा ठरतो. आम्हाला स्वाभिमानी निडर नेतृत्त्व हवे असेल, तर जागरूक राहिले पाहिजे. आत्ताच्या नेत्यांमध्ये सगळेच बुणगे दिसत असतील, तर स्वत:च राजकारणात उतरले पाहिजे.

शांत रहा, शांत रहा… असं कोणीही सांगितलं तरी गप्प बसण्याची वेळ नाही आता. लोकशाहीतली हत्यारं उचलून लढलं पाहिजे. सूडाच्या अग्निकुंडात आपल्या अभिमानाची आहुती पडली आहे. संसदेवर हल्ला झाला आहे, ताजची राख झाली आहे… इतक्या आहुती देऊनही जर स्वाभिमानाची भवानी जागी होणार नसेल, तर आमचे राष्ट्र नष्टच होणार असेल.

शंभर शिशुपालांचे हजार अपराध भरलेत, जनतेतल्या जनार्दना – उठ!

Google map for Vidyalankar Institiute of Technology

How often do you check google maps before visiting a new place? And how often you reach right destination with this help?
We web 2.0 people are often criticised or over relying on technology for our day to day work. And I find nothing wrong in it. It gives us correct information in no time. Like, let’s take example of the other day I had to go for my exams. Vidyalankar Institute of Technology, Wadala was my centre. Being new to Mumbai, I don’t know much of whereabout of Mumbai so i decided to take help of Google maps. Now, as seen in above screenshot, google map shows that institute is situated in wadala west, at a walking distance. I took print of same and just started walking in west with full confidence.
After walking a bit in the direction, realised that there was no sign of any such institute. Asking a couple of people, i was even more shocked that no one there knew about the institute. Then there was time to take help of real resources. Calling up Just Dial and asking for number of institute, and then calling up the institute. That was time when i realised the institute is in east side of wadala and i need to take a cab now else will be late for exams.
Somehow, I reached there in time and promised myself that next time when I’ve to go anywhere, I will make it a point to reconfirm the location with atleast 2-3 “REAL” sources.

Is baar nahin
Is baar jab woh choti si bachchi mere paas apni kharonch le kar aayegi
Main usey phoo phoo kar nahin behlaoonga
Panapney doonga uski tees ko
Is baar nahin

(This time when that little girl comes to me with her bruises, I will not blow gently at her wound, nor distract her, I will let her pain grow.
Not this time.)

Is baar jab main chehron par dard likha dekhoonga
Nahin gaoonga geet peeda bhula dene wale
Dard ko risney doonga,utarney doonga andar gehrey
Is baar nahin

(This time when I see pain on faces
I will not sing the song that eases pain
I will let the pain seep in, deep.
Not this time.)

Is baar main na marham lagaoonga
Na hi uthaoonga rui ke phahey
Aur na hi kahoonga ki tum aankein band karlo,gardan udhar kar lo main dawa lagata hoon
Dekhney doonga sabko hum sabko khuley nangey ghaav
Is baar nahin

(This time I won’t apply any balm
Nor will I ask you to shut your eyes
and turn your head
While I gingerly apply medicine
I will let everyone see the open, naked wounds
Not this time.)

Is baar jab uljhaney dekhoonga,chatpatahat dekhoonga
Nahin daudoonga uljhee door lapetney
Uljhaney doonga jab tak ulajh sake
Is baar nahin

(This time when I see difficulty, uneasiness
I will not run to solve the problems
I will let them become complicated
Not this time.)

Is baar karm ka hawala de kar nahin uthaoonga auzaar
Nahin karoonga phir se ek nayee shuruaat
Nahin banoonga misaal ek karmyogi ki
Nahin aaney doonga zindagi ko aasani se patri par
Utarney doonga usey keechad main,tedhey medhey raston pe
Nahin sookhney doonga deewaron par laga khoon
Halka nahin padney doonga uska rang
Is baar nahin banney doonga usey itna laachaar
Ki paan ki peek aur khoon ka fark hi khatm ho jaye
Is baar nahin

(This time I won’t pick up my tools as a matter of duty
I will not make a new beginning
Nor will I stand as an example of one dedicated to my job
I will not let life easily return to normalcy
I will let it descend into muck, on the twisting paths
I will not let the blood on the walls dry out
Nor will I let its colour fade away
This time I won’t let it become so helpless
That you can’t tell blood from paan-spit
Not this time.)

Is baar ghawon ko dekhna hai
Gaur se
Thoda lambe wakt tak
Kuch faisley
Aur uskey baad hausley
Kahin toh shuruat karni hi hogi
Is baar yahi tay kiya hai

(This time the wounds need to be watched
Carefully
For a long time
Some decisions are needed
And then some brave moves to be made
We have to begin somewhere
This time this is what I have resolved)

… Prasoon Joshi

(via Rediff  and Jai Hind Blog)

Pledge to practice safe sex.
Pledge to stay loyal to our partners.
Pledge to not indulge in homosexual activities.
Pledge to not use any used syringes.
Pledge to stay away from drugs.
Pledge to confirm a new syringe before taking any injection.
Pledge to stay away from AIDS.
Pledge to spread world about AIDS.

Shivraj Patil. He quit. Finally. After 7 terrorist attacks in his tenure. Or was it 8? 9 actually.. I lost the count actually. So many attacks happening in country these days..
Nothing great about he leaving actually. This was bound to happen. Only sad part is this should have been done long back. Even after the serial blasts in 2006, there were chaos to remove him. And the government did big mistake by not accepting this. And the result is so visible. The attacks are now not limited to Mumbai. It has spread wide across to Hyderabad, Ahmadabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Varanasi, Banglore, Surat, Rampur and not just that. Even tier 2 places like Parbhiani, Nanded, Malegao etc. All because of incapability of one man.
I don’t understand why I’m writing this post. I definitely have a soft corner for Shivraj Patil {hailing from same place} but then, I can’t neglect the incapability of anyone just because of some soft corner. I remember, after the Ahmadabad blasts, manan, Niraj Neeraj and myself had twitted about fear of next attack on Mumbai. We had also said that time about the high intensity of attack. And many other twitters that time had agreed to the fear. If couple of common guys can express the mentality of terrorists, why can’t a man heading the department? Is he really so incapable or just bound by the politics..?
There are discussions making rounds about if he was actually capable of handling the portfolio or was he given the post just for being loyalist to Gandhi? And if that is true, I would say this is biggest and stupidest compromise with nation’s security and lakhs of lives. And if that’s true, Sonia Gandhi is first to be blamed.
Shivraj Patil is often known as a man of soft heart and soft words. I’ve seen him at all phases of the political lifecycle. And he has never been loud enough in his actions and words. Does that soft person really best fit for the Home portfolio? Don’t we have someone strong like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was? Even L K Advani was better in role. Lot better than Shivraj Patil I must say.
Anyways, coming back to point, its good that he left finally. And I wish the next person filling in {P Chidambaram hopefully} be strong enough to fight terrorism.

Update: As I’m typing this post, news of Vilasrao Deshmukh leaving the chair is making rounds.

Last 2 days, Mumbai witnessed the massive terror. And we all are shocked looking at the live coverage of the same. All media channels are covering the terror and twitter updates are full of live updates about the terror. Amidst all this high drama, India also witnessed demise of one of its greatest sons. Former PM V. P. Singh known for championing the rights of the country’s poor, died Thursday after a long battle with illness.
The man always symbolized simplicity. He lived a simple life when he was PM. He lived a simple and silent life when he wasn’t PM. He was never in news for making fancy quotes. He was never in news for making offensive or criticising statements against political counterparts. And he was never in news for anything but the fight for poor, farmers.
And he did find a silent death for himself. Exactly the way he lived his life. There was just a small foot tip at news channels declaring death of the man. The final rituals of the man happened, again in total silence. No news channel really trying to cover it. No story about the life of the great man. Actually its not fault of the media. The media wants to cover what their audience wants to watch. In the end its all about TRP. So much so that the media did not even cover the blasts at other two location of Mumbai {Vile Parle and Mazgao}. The news channels surely know that when it comes to news, Sex and terror are two topics which sell more than anything else. And this was one of the best opportunities for Media to cash on the terror in minds of every Indian.
The night when terror started, I was looking for an advertisement on news channels. And there was not a single. Every channel was busy in building up TRP which they will use later in the times coming. The funniest part of the game was terrorist calling up India TV for an interview. I don’t really understand why in all news channels did the terrorist select India TV. I would have definitely gone for BBC or CNN. Or was it that no other channel accepted the offer to interview the terrorist and that’s why they had to reach to the biggest loser in the Indian Media.
Anyways, coming back to the main topic, let’s lead tribute to “great son of India” and a “builder of the nation” Mr V P Singh. May his soul rest in peace…!!!

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn’t know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren’t exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don’t recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren’t really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job… and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.

Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn’t. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.

You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can’t meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you’re doing this because you know that you aren’t a bad person. You want to settle down for good because now all of a sudden that becomes top priority. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You begin to think a companion for life is better than a hundred in the shack and for once you would not mind standing tall for that special someone which otherwise you had never thought of until now. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself… and while winning the race would be great, right now you’d just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that every one reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.

Become a blogger friend

Pathetic cartoon I know. Anyways, the post isn’t about the cartoon. Post is about my blogger friends.
How would you define a blogger friend? “A friend who is blogger” or “a blogger who is friend”? If you talk about first category, I would like to mention Karthik who is a hardcore rock fan. And rock music is one thing among others he writes about.. Also there is another friend Prateek who is a hardcore techie but doesn’t blog. Am continuously poking him to start a blog.
And talking about second category, I would like to quote two people here. First is skyn3t {Real name: Neeraj Pattath} who is a specialist in computer and network security. We affectionately call him as hacker. He isn’t too frequent with blogging but when you talk to him, you will realise he has so much to share with friends.. Another friend I would quote here is unitechy {Real name: Apurva Chaudhary}. She is quite regular in blogging and its always fun to read her writings.
Well, if you were expecting me to write something about their blogs or review their blogs, then this is not the right place I guess. Reviewing is something which I’m gonna do through mumbaibloggers.net. As of now, I would just say that having blogger friends is a great thing.

Btw, I always wonder how to make your “not-so-active-in-web2.0″ friends to read you blog? Think of it.. Maybe someday I will dedicate a complete post to the topic.

PS: Those guys should pay me some bucks for branding them for free..

So tomorrow is my final exam as mentioned already.. 10 papers are done already.. 2 more to go that will finish off tomorrow. Am I excited? Well, not really. For me, the exams really do not hold the ultimate value. Its just a mean t test knowledge and scoring less in exams does not really mean you don’t have knowledge. Besides, whas the point in proving your knowledge by just rattofying things or by any unfair means which many of my friends use. I had never fallen for these things. I used to give importance to marks when I was in school. But now i’ve realised that its knowledge that matters and not the the mean to adjudge it.

I don’t want to criticise Indian education system but it really need a fresh change now. We can not drag along same age old model of “Read – Rattofy – Get marks – Search for job – Get job – Tumble for knowledge in work” circle. Its high time we should have an education system which gives more importance to building up knowledge for current as well as future competency requirement. It should not be a job oriented education system but should also have the business and entrepreneurship approach.

Having said that, I wish a very Happy Birthday to thousands of people around the world born on 12th November. And get into my cozy bed for a peacful sleep.

A German doctor says ‘That is nothing; we can take a lung out of one person, put it in another, and have him looking for work in four weeks..

The Russian doctor says ‘In my country, medicine is so advanced that we can take half a heart out of one person, put it in another, and have them both looking for work in two weeks.’

An American Texas doctor, not to be outdone, says ‘You guys are way behind, we recently took a man with no brains out of Texas , put him in the White House for eight years, and now half the country is looking for work.’

I don’t really think anyone will answer yes to this. This can be highly generalised statement but if I’ve observed the world properly in last 20 years, I am sure there will be hardly anyone who believes in the concept of “Just Another”.

The time one is born, he is just another person on this earth. But then he gets a name. First attribute attached to him. As he grows up, he is known by the name and the parents. As he goes to school, there are  more attributes attached to him. The school name, the roll number.

Be Just another

All these are external attributes to the person. But there is one more change that happens to the person. He starts thinking. And the thinking process followed adds another attribute to him. And then he starts behaving based on the thinking adding another attribute. And the process goes ahead.

As he grows up, he learns more things, understands more things, behaves more differently and in turn acquires more and more attributes at every single step of life.

And when one turns into an adult, he has completely his own thinking process. And then when you suddenly ask him, “Are you just another?”; prompt reply will be no. He will flash his job, designation, education, power, money level ets to prove that he is not just another. Why? Simply because no one wants to be known as “Just another”. We don’t realise the value of just another. All we realise is the value of fame and money which doesn’t come to “Just another” people.

It wasn’t Mahatma Gandhi alone who won the freedom for India. There were thousand other “Just another” freedom fighters. There were thousands of “Just another” businessmen driving India’s financial growth and not just Ambanis and Tata. Ther are hundreds of “Just another” physicians delivering health to the world and not just handful of scientists.

So what made these few people more special than “Just another” crowd? Simply the fact that they lived with “just another” people, thought of “just another” people and worked for the benefit of “just another” people.

Do I believe in being just another? Definitely no. I’m one of those millions of people who don’t want to be “just another”.  Among those who themselves want to be different than “Just another” crowd. So how to achieve this feet?

My two words of advice. Be with “just another”, think of “just another”, work for “just another”. And most importantly, have an attitude that everyone except yourself is “just another”.

Partly inspired by This post

Kids don’t know it..
Teens don’t understand it..
Adults don’t have time for it..
And oldies badly want it.

Raj Thakare arrested

The day started with the big news. Even before I woke up from sleep, there was SMS on my mobile saying “Institute will remain closed. Don’t even think to come near college”. Having no clue of what happened, we switched on TV to find out that Mr. Raj Thakare has been arrested. Very brave move by Govt I must say..!! Arresting Raj Thakare within 2 days of the event has to be considered as a big move.

The right and wrong part of his actions is a all together different story. I won’t even gonna pass judgement on his actions. But one thing is very clear by now. The way Balasaheb used to be called as “Hindu-Hriday-Samrat”, Raj will now be called as “Marathi-Hriday-Samrat”. He has made a complete picture in the minds of Marathi people that Raj is the only leader in Maharashtra who has the care for the “Son of the Soil”.

Last time when a FIR as fired against Raj, it took almost a week to Mumbai Police to arrest him. So why are they arresting him on second day this time? Maybe the Home dept is trying to create a picture tat Police is not afraid of Raj and they won’t think twice before arresting him. Well, Aba, you have taken a risky step here. I hope you have enough backup to handle the circumstances. And if you don’t have, God Bless Maharashtra.

I’ve been looking at Mr Raj ever since he formed MNS. His ways of protesting used to be very novice and innovative in the start. I remember in Nilanga {Dist: Latur}, there was a government officer who used to come 2 hours late to work everyday. Te local MNS activists one day went to his office 1 hour after the standard time, they took the officer’s chair and put it on auction outside his office. The officer in full shame anticipated his mistake and asked for opology to the public.

Then suddenly MNS understood that these Gandhigiri ways do not work all the time. So they had no other option but end up using the violent ways. And then MNS went the same way ShivSena used to have earlier. The differenciating line between MNS and Shivsena got thinner and thinner. Today we look at Raj as Balsaheb Thakare of 60′s. Same aggression, same dedication and same love for the soil.

Its not that I’m an activist of MNS or I’ve been given something to write in favor of MNS. But I really adore their principles {though I don’t adore the ways used to express those principles}. And there is one more thing which I’ve observed *uniquely* in Raj. He is always ready to take responsibility of anything that MNS activists will do. He says “If my men did it, I did it. If they have done right, credit is to them. If they did wrong, blame is to me. I will go to jail for their wrong deeds if any”. These words of support and involvement is something that makes him a great leader.

As of today, he has an appearing in Bandra court in another 45 minutes. Let’s keep fingers crossed and hope that their won’t be any violences. God Bless Maharashtra.. God Bless Mumbai..!!!

The Blood Marks

And what can we think? How to avoid the accidents? How to create better roads? Or how to teach the Mumbaikars to follow the traffic sense so that they don’t crush other people below their vehicles? Or what strict punishment to be given to the ruthless drivers?

Until someone close of ours will meet with accident, we won’t think of these incidents. But anyways, even if we think of these thing, what difference will it make? Well, I don’t know. And I really don’t want to know.

Sometimes the most innocent interview question can prove to be the key to the empire for some, while it can be the swan song for others.
The next time an employer asks, “Why should I hire you?” see the question in a new light — as an opportunity to shine and pull ahead of your competitors.

Why hire you?

Be careful to avoid clever retorts or comedic one-liners here. Your interview is serious business and a wrong answer will send you packing. This is the one question that interviewers like to ask because the answer can separate the contenders from the also-rans. Give a wrong answer and the large “game over” sign flashes above your head.

What hiring managers really want to know is, “What’s special or different about you?” or “How are you different than all the other candidates who have applied for this position?” With this in mind, a good way to approach your answer here is to launch into your best “story” that answers this question: “Will you go the extra mile?”
Why is the employer asking why he or she should hire you? Because there are only five areas of interest he or she is concerned with:

1. Your skills
2. Your knowledge about the company
3. Your manageability
4. Your affordability
5. Whether you can go above and beyond your job description.

In this day of “lean and mean” operations philosophy, employers are looking for employees who can think bigger and perform duties beyond their jobs.
Realize that there will always be competing candidates with a higher skill level, more experience, more education and training or even a smoother interviewing style. The one equalizer though, is the ability to demonstrate how you have risen above and gone that extra mile to accomplish an important task, complete the job or realize an important goal.

Here, you recount that story of exactly how you worked 60-hour weeks, acquired new skills or did whatever it took to distinguish yourself and meet the challenge head on to successfully make the sale, save the project or rescue a client. If you can put a dollar value on the result, your story will only be that much more dramatic.

Knowing this ahead of time, it’s wise to put in the time beforehand to work on your answer to this question. Pick your best example of how you went above and beyond in your job. Work on your story to perfect it. Set the scene, describe the challenge and describe your role and the successful conclusion. Use this as an example of how you use your particular set of skills in an extraordinary time to “give it your all” and produce a clear benefit to your employer.

Since no other candidate can duplicate your own personal story here, you’ll make a memorable impression. Not only that, but quite possibly you’ll pull yourself ahead of that “perfect” candidate who preceded you.

1. Increase your visibility.
2. Improve your connectability.
3. Improve your Google PageRank.
4. Enhance your search engine results.
5. Perform blind, “reverse,” and company reference checks.
6. Increase the relevancy of your job search.
7. Make your interview go smoother.
8. Gauge the health of a company.
9. Gauge the health of an industry.
10. Track startups.

Here I’ve put only the bullet points. Complete post can be read here

Well, there should be no reason for me to check out a website dedicated to preparation of MBA entrance exams like CAT, XAT, SNAP and all. Am already done with that part and proudly call myself an MBA student. So why am I checking out and writing about a site for MBA preparations? Because there is something special about the site.
The site is named “testfunda“. I first heard of it when a friend preparing for CAT called me up to inform the launch of this site and he termed the site as “a useful tool“. And then another friend {who works for an IT company and has no time for MBA preparation classes} calls me up and says “Testfunda is a site which is a complete coaching session in itself. Best part is I don’t have to go anywhere out for this coaching.”
And when I attended a session during BCM4 about testfunda by Rahul Zaveri {who also happens to be my professor and is known for grilling students during presentations ans a cool faculty at other times}; I was really transfixed to visit the site. And mind you, the site is just awesome.
This is one “No non sense” site I’ve seen in long time. They mind what they have to give to the world and not a bit extra than that. I mean there is one more site which has ruled over years in the market of online CAT preparation. I had been active on that site and had to struggle hard to find useful content from the pile of data.
Another good thing of this site is the easy and light interface, which makes it easy accessible even on slower dial up connections {which is the lifeline of internet in non-metros}. The clarity in the interface makes the study real fun.
Won’t really write about the contents of the site. For two reasons. One is you can explore the site yourself and I assure it would be fun. Second reason is that there is so much to write about the heavy content the possess.
TESTFUNDA FTW

Once there was a little island country. The land of this country was the tiny island itself. The total money in circulation was 2 dollars as there were only two pieces of 1 dollar coins circulating around.

1) There were 3 citizens living on this island country. A owned the land. B and C each owned 1 dollar.

2) B decided to purchase the land from A for 1 dollar. So, now A and C own 1 dollar each while B owned a piece of land that is worth 1 dollar.

* The net asset of the country now = 3 dollars.

3) Now C thought that since there is only one piece of land in the country, and land is non producible asset, its value must definitely go up. So, he borrowed 1 dollar from A, and together with his own 1 dollar, he bought the land from B for 2 dollars.

*A has a loan to C of 1 dollar, so his net asset is 1 dollar.
* B sold his land and got 2 dollars, so his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C owned the piece of land worth 2 dollars but with his 1 dollar debt to A, his net residual asset is 1 dollar.
* Thus, the net asset of the country = 4 dollars.

4) A saw that the land he once owned has risen in value. He regretted having sold it. Luckily, he has a 1 dollar loan to C. He then borrowed 2 dollars from B and acquired the land back from C for 3 dollars. The payment is by 2 dollars cash (which he borrowed) and cancellation of the 1 dollar loan to C.
As a result, A now owned a piece of land that is worth 3 dollars. But since he owed B 2 dollars, his net asset is 1 dollar.
* B loaned 2 dollars to A. So his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C now has the 2 coins. His net asset is also 2 dollars.
* The net asset of the country = 5 dollars. A bubble is building up.

(5) B saw that the value of land kept rising. He also wanted to own the land. So he bought the land from A for 4 dollars. The payment is by borrowing 2 dollars from C, and cancellation of his 2 dollars loan to A.

* As a result, A has got his debt cleared and he got the 2 coins. His net asset is 2 dollars.
* B owned a piece of land that is worth 4 dollars, but since he has a debt of 2 dollars with C, his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C loaned 2 dollars to B, so his net asset is 2 dollars.
* The net asset of the country = 6 dollars; even though, the country has only one piece of land and 2 Dollars in circulation.

(6) Everybody has made money and everybody felt happy and prosperous.

(7) One day an evil wind blew, and an evil thought came to C’s mind. “Hey, what if the land price stop going up, how could B repay my loan. There is only 2 dollars in circulation, and, I think after all the land that B owns is worth at most only 1 dollar, and no more.”

(8) A also thought the same way.

(9) Nobody wanted to buy land anymore.

* So, in the end, A owns the 2 dollar coins, his net asset is 2 dollars.
* B owed C 2 dollars and the land he owned which he thought worth 4 dollars is now 1 dollar. So his net asset is only 1 dollar.
* C has a loan of 2 dollars to B. But it is a bad debt. Although his net asset is still 2 dollars, his Heart is palpitating.
* The net asset of the country = 3 dollars again.

(10) So, who has stolen the 3 dollars from the country ? Of course, before the bubble burst B thought his land was worth 4 dollars. Actually, right before the collapse, the net asset of the country was 6 dollars on paper.

B’s net asset is still 2 dollars, his heart is palpitating.

(11) B had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. C as to relinquish his 2 dollars bad debt to B, but in return he acquired the land which is worth 1 dollar now.

* A owns the 2 coins, his net asset is 2 dollars.
* B is bankrupt, his net asset is 0 dollar. ( he lost everything )
* C got no choice but end up with a land worth only 1 dollar
* The net asset of the country = 3 dollars.

************ **End of the story; BUT ************ ********* ******

There is however a redistribution of wealth.
A is the winner, B is the loser, C is lucky that he is spared.

A few points worth noting -
(1) When a bubble is building up, the debt of individuals to one another in a country is also building up.
(2) This story of the island is a closed system whereby there is no other country and hence no foreign debt. The worth of the asset can only be calculated using the island’s own currency. Hence, there is no net loss.
(3) An over-damped system is assumed when the bubble burst, meaning the land’s value did not go down to below 1 dollar.
(4) When the bubble burst, the fellow with cash is the winner. The fellows having the land or extending loan to others are the losers. The asset could shrink or in worst case, they go bankrupt.
(5) If there is another citizen D either holding a dollar or another piece of land but refrains from taking part in the game, he will neither win nor lose. But he will see the value of his money or land go up and down like a see saw.
(6) When the bubble was in the growing phase, everybody made money.
(7) If you are smart and know that you are living in a growing bubble, it is worthwhile to borrow money (like A ) and take part in the game. But you must know when you should change everything back to cash.
(8) As in the case of land, the above phenomenon applies to stocks as well.
(9) The actual worth of land or stocks depend largely on psychology..

Income Tax Calculator in excel

While working on a project of “Income Tax calculation and benefits of various Tax benefits by government in designing tax structure for employees, I was looking at various automated tools to calculate Income Tax of employees. I recollected that my friend Urvashi had once mailed me a file about tax calculation at the time when the budget was declaired. The file is provided by Economic Times and you just need to enter your salary breakup in the file.
I just loved this tool. Am gonna give a demo of same tool during my presentation today {which is 1 hour from now}.. Dinesh recommends the tool to you.

You can register your sessions or register yourself as volunteer. You will have to do either of these if you wanna be at the barcamp.

See you all at the barcamp..

Barcamp Mumbai 4 poster

Off for d barcamp venue. Wil b meetin @skyn3t at andheri stn.. 

Met @delltechie at d camp.. The camp is takin some time to start. Very delayed..

Also met @manan. He is plannin sum twitter meet here.. 

The camp here is kinda borin so far.. Hopin tht it gets interestin wid time passing by..

#Campicarus Shashank talkin abt visual advertisin..

#Campicarus demo on adobe photoshop by rahul..

#Campicarus expectin @preshit here..

#Campicarus good session for those who don’t know photoshop..

#Campicarus second session goin on. About fundin d startups..

#Campicarus this guy talkin very nice about d management stuff..

#Campicarus the guy who talked abt d finance thing is alumni of my own coll.. Feels gr8..

#campicarcus unofficial discussion goin on about indian porn industry.. 

#campicarcus the audiance strength has reduced significantly aft lunch break. Juz 10 guys..

#campicarcus am still thinkin to give d session or not.. D audience no is definitely not motivatin..

#campicarcus @manan @preshit and @skyn3t still around..

#campicarcus finally started wid d session of “meri bhi ek website hogi”

#campicarus session paused in between coz many ppl comin in..

#campicarus am sure tht d session is goin borin 4 these engg kids.. Saumil is talkin abt settin up wordpress n all.. 

#campicarus and @manan takes over where previous person left..

#campicarus am done wid d session on podcastin.. Now @skyn3t is havin d interaction session..

#campicarus I call this session as “the useless talk by @skyn3t“. And this session is gettin far more useful.

#campicarus final session. About use of technology 4 mass publicity..

#campicarus nitin showin his software. Sounds really interestin..

#campicarus only 12 ppl now in d room. @manan, @preshit n @skyn3t still hangin on..

A representative from India began: ‘Before beginning my talk I want to tell you something about Rishi Kashyap of Kashmir, after whom Kashmir is named.

When he struck a rock and it brought forth water, he thought, ‘What a good opportunity to have a bath.’He removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and entered the water. When he got out and wanted to dress, his clothes had vanished. A Pakistani had stolen them.’

The Pakistani representative jumped up furiously and shouted, ‘What are you talking about? The Pakistanis weren’t there then.’

The Indian representative smiled and said, ‘And now that we have made that clear, I will begin my speech.’

And they say Kashmir belongs to them………………………………………..

1 year of fun
1 year of hard work
1 year of sheer learning
1 year of growth
1 year of being independent
1 year of being professional
1 year of survival
1 year of madness
1 year of happiness
1 year of MBA
1 year of projects
1 year of presentations
1 year of friends
1 year of Chetana
1 year of local trains
1 year of Mumbai
1 year of life…

Important Update: The post is inspired by a similar post by Tarun. If you notice, even the title is the same. When I visited his blog, the post and the title clicked me immidiately. And I thought why not use similar thing for my 1 year in Mumbai..!!! However, the idea of mentioning original author did not clicked me somehow. Maybe I could not understand the efforts Tarun had put in his post.
However, when I recieved communication from Tarun, the need to mention the name of initiator of idea clicked me. But the wrodpress thing as usual did not respond when it was supposed to. So there happened a delay of couple of days in updating.

Anyways, sorry Tarun for whatever misunderstanding that happened on the issue. And thanks a lot for the post.

A teenage girl in central India killed herself on Wednesday after being traumatized by media reports that a “Big Bang” experiment in Europe could bring about the end of the world, her father said.

The 16-year old girl from the state of Madhya Pradesh drank pesticide and was rushed to the hospital but later died, police said.

Her father, identified on local television as Biharilal, said that his daughter, Chayya, killed herself after watching doomsday predictions made on Indian news programs.

“In the past two days, Chayya had asked me and other relatives about the world coming to an end on September 10,” Biharilal was quoted as saying.

“We tried to divert her attention and told her she should not worry about such things, but to no avail,” he said.

For the past two days, many Indian news channels held discussions airing doomsday predictions over a huge particle-smashing machine buried under the Swiss-French border.

The machine, called the Large Hadron Collider, was switched on on Wednesday, at the start of what experts say is the largest scientific experiment in human history.

The machine smashes particles together to achieve, on a small-scale, re-enactments of the “Big Bang” that created the universe.

Leading scientists and researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, said the experiment was safe. They dismissed as “pure fiction” doomsday predictions that the experiment could create anti-matter, or black holes.

But in deeply religious and superstitious India, fears about the experiment and the minor risks associated with it spread rapidly through the media.

In east India, thousands of people rushed to temples to pray and fast while others savored their favorite foods in anticipation of the world’s end.

“There were a thousand more devotees yesterday as well as today compared to (any) other normal day,” Benudhara Sahu, a temple official in Orissa state, told Reuters.

Many women and children rushed to temples and observed fasts as they prayed for deliverance, officials and witnesses said.

Assurances by scientists and the media that nothing would happen counted for nothing for housewife Rukmini Moharana.

“I visited temple, prayed to god,” Moharana said. “I am observing the fast for safety because god can only save us.”

Australians: Believe you should look out for your mates.
Brits: Believe that you should look out for those people who belong to your club.
Americans: Believe that people should look out for & take care of themselves.
Canadians: Believe that that’s the government’s job.

Australians: Are extremely patriotic to their beer.
Americans: Are flag-waving, anthem-singing, and obsessively patriotic to the point of blindness.
Canadians: Can’t agree on the words to their anthem, when they can be bothered to sing them.
Brits: Do not sing at all but prefer a large brass band to perform the anthem.

Americans: Spend most of their lives glued to the idiot box.
Canadians: Don’t, but only because they can’t get more American channels.
Brits: Pay a tax just so they can watch four channels.
Australians: Export all their crappy programs, which no-one there watches, to Britain, where everybody loves them.

Americans: Will jabber on incessantly about football, baseball, and basketball.
Brits: Will jabber on incessantly about cricket, soccer, and rugby.
Canadians: Will jabber on incessantly about hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, and how they beat the Americans twice, playing baseball.
Australians: Will jabber on incessantly about how they beat the Poms in every sport they play them in.

Americans: Spell words differently, but still call it “English”.
Brits: Pronounce their words differently, but still call it “English.”
Canadians: Spell like the Brits, pronounce like Americans.
Australians: Add “G’day,” “mate” and a heavy accent to everything they say in an attempt to get laid.

Brits: Shop at home and have goods imported because they live on an island.
Australians: Shop at home and have goods imported because they live on an island.
Americans: Cross the southern border for cheap shopping, gas, & liquor in a backwards country.
Canadians: Cross the southern border for cheap shopping, gas, & liquor in a backwards country.

Americans: Drink weak, pissy-tasting beer.
Canadians: Drink strong, pissy-tasting beer.
Brits: Drink warm, beery-tasting piss.
Australians: Drink anything with alcohol in it.

Americans: Seem to think that poverty & failure are morally suspect.
Canadians: Seem to believe that wealth and success are morally suspect.
Brits: Seem to believe that wealth, poverty, success and failure are inherited things.
Australians: Seem to think that none of this matters after several beers.

Liked the video? Want to spread awareness among your orkut friends?

Instructions :

Copy the Code given below.
Go to orkut Friend’s scrapbook.
Paste the Code There.
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Enjoy !!

Copy This Code: (Click to Select ,then Ctrl+C to copy)
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And Happy Teachers’ Day to everyone!!!

The application is completely use centered. It makes sure that any info needed will be available with minimum key strokes and within seconds. The usability factor for the user is surely the prime factor considered while designing the application.

The auto search and radio buttons make the task of searching the bus stops very easy. And the result page has very clear and simple interface, which makes the result display soothing.

Best part of the app is it works on mobile without having to send any SMS or having GPRS. So there is no money matter involved. And you can use this app with any Java enabled handset {which are available in market for as low as 2500 bucks and 80% people in Mumbai today own Java enabled handsets}.

If you want to be among the early testers of this app, you can Drop a line at pb@m4mum.com.

PS: Raxit also has another website MyKavita.com

I “I have crush on you”.
She: How dare you have a crush on me?

For a moment, I felt as if a Police inspector is asking me, “How dare you kill Mr Gupta? Well, I never knew having a crush on a girl is really that big crime like killing someone.

I: “What do you mean by How dare you? I got crush on you and it just happened”.
She: “I’m not that kind of girl.”

Well, only girls can come up with such kind of statements. What did she mean but “that kind of girl”? Did that mean “I’m not kind of girl who will get easily impressed. You will have to try very hard to impress me”. Or did that mean “I’m not the girl who wants to get into these relationships.” Or did that mean “I’m not kind of girl who will hate you for having crush on me”. Or did that mean “I’m not kind of girl who will find about crush by herself. You have to inform me in person”. Or did that mean…. Ok. Too many alternatives. Better to ask her.

I: What do you mean by *that* kind of girl?
She: Shut up.

Wow. That’s an innovative way to answer. Shut up. Two words. But when uttered with right intensity and pitch, create a fantastic impact. But why did she wanted me to shut up? Did i say anything wrong..? Anyways, its better not to ask for another clarification.

I: Sorry!!
She: Its okay.
I:(blank)
She: (with bit milder tone) So since when is this crush thing going?

Well, did that matter now? Are you gonna say yes if I say i’ve crush on you for 100 years. Or are you trying to find out the time invested by me on the crash and gonna calculate the ROI? Well, is their any return in the first place?

I: few months.
She: How many?

Well, she surely is trying to find out the time invested.

I: four months.
She: See Dinesh. You are a very nice guy.

If I’m really so nice guy, why are you not saying yes? Why are you trying to run away from me? Am I really a nice guy?

She: You are very nice, intelligent. Don’t fall into all these things. Concentrate on studies. You have big future in front of you.

Ya. All right. I have big future and there are many more girls who are gonna be part of my the crush story of my life. Thanks for making me realize that there are many more opportunities waiting for me in future.

I: Thanks. I hope there are no grudges in your mind. I just wanted to let you know the truth.
She: Of course. No grudges. Our friendship won’t change for this small thing.

Ohh.. so this is a small thing for us. Thank god. I thought for a moment that she will end up the friendship for this incidence. Or was I being too childish to think like that? Maybe yes..

I: Thanks
She: Btw, on this Rakhi, am gonna tie you a Rakhi.

Well, now that was a tsunami. So big punishment for such a small mistake? Now I realize how girls use this small dhaga of rakhi to keep the guys under control. Now I was supposed to treat a girl as my sister. The same girl I had crush on few minutes ago. WTF..

So that was the end of my first crush. It ended up adding one more girl to my sister’s list.

To be continued…

Screenshot :

Instructions :

• Copy the Code given below.
• Go to orkut Friend’s scrapbook.
• Paste the Code There.
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• Enjoy !!

Copy This Code: (Click to Select ,then Ctrl+C to copy)

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Sweet ans simple, right?
Theres more to it:

* Doesn’t have to be thrown like the alkaline batteries creating a toxic waste.

* No need to carry a charger, plug it into your computer,gamestation, TV or anything that has a USB port.

* The rechargeable AA NiMH Battery gives 1.2v ,1300mah output.

* The price is slightly on the higher side at INR 600.00 for a two AA cell pack (I bet fake models from China would already be available, so be careful)

* Also in the pipeline are other forms of batteries like phone batteries (see adjascent pic) the 9V battery(pic below) and the AAA batery.

These batteries are developed by Moxia Energy, a UK based company that specializes in renewable energy power resources and related innovative design and engineering solutions. Their idea is to help the human to cut off from the electricity grid for petty issues like lighting, fans, charging etc. !!

With their cutting edge technology focusing on the need of the hour (especially because of the constant decay in the conventional energy resources the world over) they would definitely inspire many a young engineers to focus on this international reality.

So the bottom line, I’m not excited about the Olympic games. I’m gonna neglect it in my blog, twits and everywhere else. Unless except India bags another medal in the games. The Google logo for Olympic is great but. This logo excites me..

Student: “Sir, do you really understand anything about the subject?”

Professor: “Surely I must. Otherwise I would not be a professor!”

Student: “Great, well then I would like to ask you a question.

If you can give me the correct answer, I will accept my mark as is and go. If you however do not know the answer, I want you give me an “A” for the exam. “

Professor: “Okay, it’s a deal. So what is the question?”

Student: “What is legal, but not logical, logical, but not legal, and neither logical, nor legal?”

Even after some long and hard consideration, the professor cannot give the student an answer, and therefore changes his exam mark into an “A”, as agreed.

Afterwards, the professor calls on his best student and asks him the same question.

He immediately answers: “Sir, you are 63 years old and married to a 35 year old woman, which is legal, but not logical. Your wife has a 25 year old lover, which is logical, but not legal. The fact that you have given your wife’s lover an “A”, although he really should have failed, is neither legal, nor logical.”

Ever since I came to Mumbai, I wanted to visit two trekking spots. Karnala near Panvel, and Mahuli near Asangao. But I guess am getting too lazy these days to take up my bum to these places.
Hopefully, soon I will visit these places and write a review for you.. *HOPEFULLY*

“There is no need for software to be mistreated in this way so that companies like these can market new products,” said Ken Granola, a spokesman for PETS. “Alternative methods of testing these products are available.”

According to PETS, these companies force software to undergo lengthy and arduous test – often without rest – for hours or days at a time. Employees are assigned to “break” the software by any means necessary and inside sources report that they often joke about “torturing” the software.

“It’s no joke,” Granola said. “Innocent programs, from the day they are compiled, are cooped up in tiny rooms and ‘crashed’ for hours on end. They spend their whole lives on dirty, ill-maintained computers, and they are unceremoniously deleted when they’re not needed anymore.”

Granola said that the software is kept in unsanitary conditions and is infested with bugs.

“We know alternatives to this horror exist,” he said, citing industry giant Microsoft Corp. as a company that has become successful without resorting to software testing.

PS: Mahesh Bhatt got fed up with Human romance and has decided to make a movie based on this news.

To home in on what lies behind the 17 mistakes, Osher told Entrepreneur what they are and how you can learn from them to achieve your own level of perfection.

Mistake 1: Failing to spend enough time researching the business idea to see if it’s viable. “This is really the most important mistake of all. They say 9 [out] of 10 entrepreneurs fail because they’re undercapitalized or have the wrong people. I say 9 [out] of 10 people fail because their original concept is not viable. They want to be in business so much that they often don’t do the work they need to do ahead of time, so everything they do is doomed. They can be very talented, do everything else right, and fail because they have ideas that are flawed.”

Mistake 2: Miscalculating market size, timing, ease of entry and potential market share. “Most new entrepreneurs get very excited over an idea and don’t look for the truth about how many people will want to buy it. They put together financial projections as part of a presentation to pump up their investors. They say, ‘The market size is 50 million people that could use this product, and if I could only sell to 2 percent of them, I’d be selling a million pieces.’ But 2 percent of a market is a lot. Most products sell way less than 1 percent.”

Mistake 3: Underestimating financial requirements and timing. “They set their financial requirements based on Mistake 1, and they go ahead and make a commitment to this much office space and this many computers, and hire a vice president of sales, and so on. Before they know it, based on sales projections that were wrong to start with, they have created costs that require those projections to be met. So they run out of money.”

Mistake 4: Overprojecting sales volume and timing. “They have already miscalculated the size of the market. Now they overproject their portion of it. They often say ‘There are 200 million homes, and I need to sell [to] x number of them.’ When you break it down, though, a much smaller number of those are really sales prospects. That makes it impossible to make their sales projections.”

Mistake 5: Making cost projections that are too low. “Their cost projections are always too low. Part of the reason is that they project much higher sales. There are also unknown reasons that always come out that usually make costs higher than planned. So on top of everything, their margins are now lower.”

Mistake 6: Hiring too many people and spending too much on offices and facilities. “Now you have lower sales, higher costs and too much overhead. These are the things that you see every day in companies that fail. And they all grow out of that first mistake: failing to research the size and viability of the opportunity.”

Mistake 7: Lacking a contingency plan for a shortfall in expectations. “Even if you’re realistic in your estimates to start, there are things that happen when you start a new business. Your sales ideas may be no good; bank rates may go up; there may be a shipping strike. These aren’t the result of poor planning, but they happen. More often than not, entrepreneurs just feel that something will come along when they need it. They don’t have contingency plans for it not working out at the size and time they want.”

Mistake 8: Bringing in unnecessary partners. “There are certain partners you need. For instance, you often need money, so you’re going to need money partners. But too many times, the guy with the idea takes on all his friends as partners. Many people don’t provide strategic advantages and don’t warrant ownership. But they’re all going to get 25 percent of the company. It’s totally unnecessary, and it’s a mistake. Before people are made partners, they have to earn it.”

Mistake 9: Hiring for convenience rather than skill requirements. “In my first business or two, I hired relatives. It was easy to do, but in many cases, they were the wrong people [for the job]. And it’s hard to fire people, especially if they’re relatives or friends. More time needs to be spent handpicking people based on skill requirements. You really need super-skilled people who can wear more than one hat. It just bogs you down when you hire people who can’t do the job.”

Mistake 10: Neglecting to manage the entire company as a whole. “You see this happen all the time. They’ll spend half their time doing something that represents 5 percent of their business. You have to have a view of your whole company. But too often, the person running it loses that view. They get involved in a part, and they don’t manage the whole. Whether I do this product or that product, whether I hire somebody, [I consider] how they [will] fit long term and short term in the big picture. Constantly try to see your big picture.”

Mistake 11: Accepting that it’s “not possible” too easily rather than finding a way. “I had an engineer who was a very good engineer, but with every toy we developed, he would say, ‘You can’t do it that way.’ I had to be careful not to accept this too easily. I had to look further. If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re going to break new ground. A lot of people are going to say it’s not possible. You can’t accept that too easily. A good entrepreneur is going to find a way.”

Mistake 12: Focusing too much on sales volume and company size rather than profit. “Too much of your management is often based on volume and size. So many entrepreneurs want to say ‘I have a company that’s this big, with this many people, this many square feet of space, and this much sales.’ It’s too much [emphasis] on how fast and big you can build a business rather than how much profit it can make. Bankers and investors don’t like this. Entrepreneurs are so into creating and building, but they also have to learn to become good [businesspeople].”

Mistake 13: Seeking confirmation of your actions rather than seeking the truth. “This often happens: You want to do something, so you talk about it with people who work for you. You talk to [your] family and friends. But you’re only looking for confirmation; you’re not looking for the truth. You’re looking for somebody to tell you you’re right. But the truth always comes out. So we [test] our products, and we listen to what [the testers] say. We give much more value to the truth than to people saying what we’re doing is great.”

Mistake 14: Lacking simplicity in your vision. “Many entrepreneurs go in too many directions at once and do not execute anything well. Rather than focusing on doing everything right to sell to their biggest markets, they divide the attention of their people and their time, trying to do too many things at [one time]. Then their main product isn’t done properly because they’re doing so many different things. They have an idea and say they’re going to sell it to Wal-Mart. Then they say they’re going to sell to [the] Home Shopping Network. And then the gift market looks good. And so on.”

Mistake 15: Lacking clarity of your long-term aim and business purpose. “You should have an idea of what your long-term aim is. It doesn’t mean that won’t change, but when you aim an arrow, you have to be aiming at a target. This [concept will] often come up when people ask ‘How do I pick a product?’ The answer depends on what you’re trying to do. If you’re trying to [create] a billion-dollar company with this product, it may not have a chance. But if you’re trying to make a $5 million company, it can work. Or if you’re trying to create a company [in which] family members can be employed, it can work. Clarity of your business purpose is very important [but] is often not really part of the thought process.”

Mistake 16: Lacking focus and identity. “This was written from the viewpoint of building the company as a valuable entity. The company itself is also a product. Too many companies try to go after too many targets at once and end up with a potpourri rather than a focused business entity with an identity. When you try to make a business, it’s very important to maintain a focus and an identity. Don’t let it become a potpourri, or it loses its power. For instance, you say, ‘We’re already selling to Kmart, so we might as well make a toy because Kmart buys toys.’ If you do that, the company becomes weaker. A company needs to be focused on what it is. Then its power builds from that.”

Mistake 17: Lacking an exit strategy. “Have an exit plan, and create your business to satisfy that plan. For instance, I am thinking I might run my new business for two years and then get out of it. I think it’s an opportunity to make a tremendous amount of money for two years, but I’m not sure [whether] it’s proprietary enough to stop the competition from getting in. So I’m in with an exit strategy of doing it for two years and then winding down. I won’t commit to long-term leases, and after the first year, we’ll start watching the marketplace very closely and start watching inventories.

Simultaneously, I will keep the option open to sell it in case I can’t get something more proprietary. That means I won’t sign international agreements that would kill any opportunity to sell it to a multinational. I will make sure that the patent work is done properly. And I’ll try to make sure manufacturing is up to the standards of any multinational company that I might try to sell it to.
Another exit strategy can be to hand the company to [your] kids someday. The most important thing to do is to build a company with value and profits so you have all the options: Keep the company, sell the company, go public, raise private money [and so on]. A business can be a product, too.”

This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.

This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they’re at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.

This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn’t worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you’d ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor. This is also for that time she didn’t have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing “serious” between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: “oh, but we’re just friends!” And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you’re nice like that.

The nice guys don’t often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don’t seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as “oh, he’s too nice to date” or “he would be a good boyfriend but he’s not for me” or “he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn’t possibly ask him out!” or the most frustrating of all: “no, it would ruin our friendship.” Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can’t figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I’m going to sleep with this complete ass now!). But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.

So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you’re sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.

Well, I’m not exactly writing a book or anything.. But I’m just celebrating the 600th post on my blog. Hurray.. I finally managed to put up 600 pathetic posts to my blog. Party time…!!!

I was waiting at Vadala Road station for a train towards Vashi for my summer internship. For a change, I decided to get into ladies compartment. For the obvious reason. Checking out some hot chicks (?). And as i boarded the train, to my surprise I could only see guys all around the compartment. And everyone was staring at me as if they were hoping a butterfly and a crow came along. They stared at me for few seconds and then everyone turned around with disappointment.
The fact ws that everyone had boarded the compartment in the hope of checking out chicks and there was no chick in there.

I just wonder if the dream was inspired by the scene in Euro Trip where the guys go to the nude beach to check out chicks and they find all “i-want-to-see-nude-female” kinda males around..

the first IT guy, “yesterday, I met this gorgeous blonde girl in a bar.”
“What did you do?” says the other IT guy.
“Well, I invited her over to my place, we had a couple of drinks, we got into the mood and then she suddenly asked me to make her feel special”
“You’re kidding me!” says the second IT guy.
“Then I lifted her and put her on my desk next to my new laptop.”

“Really? You got a new laptop? What configuration?”
“It’s a 1 GB RAM and mobile Internet connectivity card and 180GB HARDDISK, Wi-Fi, DVD-Writer………………….”

very hilarious.. I just loved it..

The list that includes 10 other Indian companies is topped by Japanese automaker Toyota, followed by Google and Ikea, Sweden’s home products’ chain.

“India’s Tata Group and Infosys Technologies saw their reputations increase by over 8 points in 2008, and catapulted over 100 spots in the ranking to join the top tier of global companies in 2008 in recognition of their growing role among the world’s business elite,” the Reputation Institute said in its survey report released Thursday.

Other Indian firms in the top 200 list include Maruti Udyog (ranked 77th), State Bank of India (107), Hindustan Lever (131), Hero Honda Motors (147), Life Insurance Corporation of India (161), Bajaj Auto (169), ONGC (186), Mahindra and Mahindra (191), and Indian Oil Corporation (199).

Some large Indian firms which were among 600 shortlisted companies but could not make it to the final 200 included Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, the country’s biggest by revenue among private sector firms and overall largest in terms of market value.

India’s biggest private sector lender ICICI Bank, Airtel, BSNL, Wipro, ITC and Air India also could not make the cut.

According to the Reputation Institute, the Tata Group and Air India have the strongest and weakest corporate reputations, respectively, among Indian companies.The Tatas are ranked higher than companies like Walt Disney, Marks and Spencers, Xerox, Colgate-Palmolive, Sony, Honda and General Electric (GE), all of which are in the top 50.

Reputation Institute said that all the 200 companies earned scores higher than the global mean of 64.2 points, but despite earnings better-than-global average, the companies ranked 51-200 have “significantly weaker reputations than the top tier companies.”

Each company’s overall Global Pulse score is based on what the institute terms the seven dimensions of reputation: products and services, innovation, workplace, citizenship, governance, leadership and performance. The most influential dimensions are products and services, and citizenship.

Reputation Institute, a private, New York City-based research and consulting firm, launched its list of world’s most reputed companies in 2006.

Google launched another new logo to celebrate 409th Birth aniversary of Diego Velázquez, a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary baroque period, important as a portrait artist. In addition to numerous renditions of scenes of historical and cultural significance, he painted scores of portraits of the Spanish royal family, other notable European figures, and commoners, culminating in the production of his masterpiece Las Meninas (1656).

From the first quarter of the nineteenth century, Velázquez’s artwork was a model for the realist and impressionist painters, in particular Édouard Manet. Since that time, more modern artists, including Spain’s Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí, as well as the Anglo-Irish painter Francis Bacon, have paid tribute to Velázquez by recreating several of his most famous works.

Within a few seconds Arnav replied confidently, “Four!”

The dismayed teacher was expecting an effortless correct answer (three). She was disappointed. “Maybe the child did not listen properly,” she thought. She repeated, “Arnav, listen carefully. If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?”

Arnav had seen the disappointment on his teacher’s face. He calculated again on his fingers. But within him he was also searching for the answer that will make the teacher happy. His search for the answer was not for the correct one, but the one that will make his teacher happy. This time hesitatingly he replied, “Four”. The disappointment stayed on the teacher’s face. She remembered that Arnav liked strawberries. She thought maybe he doesn’t like apples and that is making him loose
focus. This time with an exaggerated excitement and twinkling in her eyes she asked, “If I give you one strawberry and one strawberry and one strawberry, then how
many you will have?”

Seeing the teacher happy, young Arnav calculated on his fingers again. There was no pressure on him, but a little on the teacher. She wanted her new approach to succeed. With a hesitating smile young Arnav enquired, “Three?”

The teacher now had a victorious smile. Her approach had succeeded. She wanted to congratulate herself. But one last thing remained. Once again she asked him, “Now if I give you one apple and one apple and one more apple how many will you have?” Promptly Arnav answered, “Four!”

The teacher was aghast. “How Arnav, how?” she demanded in a little stern and irritated voice.

In a voice that was low and hesitating young Arnav replied, “Because I already have one apple in my bag.”

“When someone gives you an answer that is different from what you expect don’t think they are wrong. There maybe an angle that you have not understood at all. You will have to listen and understand, but never listen with a predetermined notion.”

Venue: Pinstorm Café, Santacruz.

No of people attended: 13

Things discussed during the meet:
• Need for a site for bloggers from Mumbai
–> As a platform to discuss issues related to blogging
–> As a platform to arrange online and offline blogger meets
• Agenda and contents for the site
• How can we inspire people to start blogging?
• The celeb status achieved by blogging: with Aamir, Amitabh and Salman coming into blogging
• The power of blogging and twitter as a medium of information exchange

Take away from the meet:
• The existing site mumbaibloggers.net is to be redesigned n restructured.
• Promotion of the site so as to develop this community and create awareness about the word Blogging.
• Involve famous bloggers and internet marketers (blogcamp gang) so as to have a better coverage.
• Use services of colleges and few startups around to create awareness at the ground level.
• Get maximum inputs from blogosphere to promote this community.
• Bloggers should meet atleast twice a month for discussions

Just because I’m not in a mood to type a post

PS: Expect the review of the event by tomorrow

Work progressed. However, when it was almost complete and was about to open a few days later, a strong lightning struck the Bar and it was burnt to the ground.

The temple folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, till the Bar owner sued the Temple authorities on the grounds that the Temple through its congregation & prayers was ultimately responsible for the demise of his bar shop, either through direct or indirect actions or means.

In its reply to the court, the temple vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection that their prayers were reasons to the bar shop’s demise. As the case made its way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork at the hearing and commented:

“I don’t know how I’m going to decide this case, but it appears from the paperwork, we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer and we have an entire temple and its devotees that doesn’t.”

Human = eat + sleep + work + enjoy

Donkey = eat + sleep

Therefore,
Human = Donkey + work + enjoy

Therefore,
Human – enjoy = Donkey + work

In other words,
Human that don’t enjoy = Donkey that work
===================================================

Equation 2

Men = eat + sleep + earn money

Donkeys = eat + sleep

Therefore,
Men = Donkeys + earn money

Therefore,
Men – earn money = Donkeys

In other words,
Men that don’t earn money = Donkeys
====================================================

Equation 3
Women = eat + sleep + spend

Donkeys = eat + sleep

Therefore,
Women = Donkeys + spend

Therefore,
Women – spend = Donkeys

In other words,
Women that don’t spend = Donkeys
=====================================================

To Conclude:

From Equation 2 and Equation 3
Men that don’t earn money = Women that don’t spend.

So, Men earn money not to let women become Donkeys!(Postulate 1)
And, Women spend not to let men become Donkeys!(Postulate 2)

So, we have…

Men + Women = Donkeys + earn money + Donkeys + spend money

Therefore…from Postulates 1 and 2, we can conclude
Man + Woman = 2 Donkeys that live happily together

Venue: CCD, Carter Rd, Bandra (W) Pinstorm Cafe, North Avenue, Linking Road, Santa Cruz (W)

Contact: 9890774748

Kindly give a call to above number or drop a mail to blog@dineshsoni.com if you are interested in joining in. Kindly spread the message across to your blogger friends.

PS: This is an unofficial casual meet. No Sponsors.

Well, no comments on that..

* I had been to IdeaCamp Pune. The event went quite smoothly but too formally.

* I had been to Vasai fort for Fort conservation program. And left within an hour.

* Many of my blogger friends use del.icio.us and diggit kinda things. I don’t use then as the concept never clicked me.

* I’m enjoying my summer job. At the same time, looking forward to the results of first year which will be out anytime this month.

* I’m enjoying my stay at this 3 BHK flat in Bandra which we have taken on rent.

* I’m missing my best friend in college with whom I had an arguement few days back and now she is not talking to me.

* I have watched few movies in last fortnight but did not write reviews. The movies include Iron Man, BhootNath, 50 First Dates, Just My Luck, You me aur Hum etc

* My laptop is not working the service centre guys are taking too long to repair it. I’m not satisfied with Acer and advice all not to go for it.

* I may have a long vacation in July and my family is planning a tour during this time.

* I’m finding a need of networking. Knowing new people and talking to them increases your own capabilities.

* I want to read “The three mistakes of my life”. Already few books are there in my waiting list and I will have to also complete these ones.

* I’m planning to grow my hair long. Just the same way I plan always and then I cut them short when I get bored of maintaining them in a couple of months.

* I’ve fallen in love with the concept of “Barcamp”. I loved the spirit and enthusiasm with which these events take place. Best part is there is not the typical formal environment in these events.

* A friend of mine is planning to launch an IT company. I’m equally excited about it.

* Last few days, I did not put tags to my blogspots. And now its getting to boring to add tags to so many posts.

* Blogger has come up with a nice concept of future posts. Now I can put some posts in queue so that my blog never goes inactive

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The idea I presented at IdeaCamp Pune

SlideShare Link

This is the presentation I gave at IdeaCamp Pune.

Today is 48th Anniversary of First Laser demonstration (16th May 1960 by Theodore Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories). Google glorified is logo for the occasion this way. And I just loved it

Secretary make call to Husband: For a week my boss and I will be going abroad, you look after yourself.

Husband make call to secret lover: My wife is going abroad for a week, so lets spend the week together.

Secret lover make call to small boy whom she is giving private tution: I have work for a week, so you need not come for class.

Small boy make call to his grandfather: Grandpa, for a week I don’t have class ‘coz my teacher is busy. Lets spend the week together.

Grandpa make call to his secretary: This week I am spending my time with my grandson. We cannot attend that meeting.

Secretary make call to her husband: This week my boss has some work, we cancelled our trip.

Husband make call to secret lover: We cannot spend this week together, my wife has cancelled her trip.

Secret lover make call to small boy whom she is giving private tution: This week we will have class as usual.

Small boy make call to his grandfather: Grandpa, my teacher said this week I have to attend class. Sorry I can’t give you company.

Grandpa make call to his secretary: Don’t worry this week we will attend that meeting, so make arrangement.