Think Tank

ThoughtsLove or Infatuation  Guys, even the last day of the year is not too late to learn a thing or two about life. Here is what I read in a Paulo Coelho book last night:  Each would always be fascinated by the other – so long as each remained exactly what the other imagined.  That [...]

BooksThe Devil and Miss Prym  Paulo Coelho is a great story teller. But the philosopher in him makes all his books invariably touch a part of the eternal Truth. In this book, which I finished at 4 am tonight, he reaches out to one question: “are human beings, in essence, good or evil?”  A stranger [...]

Politics-IIBJP is in back in black BJP has won the simple majority in the Himachal Pradesh assembly. After triumphant victory in Gujarat, the party routed Congress in HP also. What is more encouraging is the fact that the party is getting ‘clear’ mandate, and there are no hung assemblies these days.  Read: BJP gets majority in [...]

ThoughtsIs my way the best way?  Several times, we think that our way is the best way, without giving reasonable consideration to the alternatives. Take for example the traffic system in India, which follows the left-hand rule. But the fact is that this system of driving is prevailing in mainly the commonwealth countries – the [...]

Assassination of Banazir Bhutto proves again:  Terrorists know no religion, Hatred knows no caste and Bombers know no nationality.  

ThoughtsAcceptance One thought just came to my mind: it is what I think the biggest but toughest learning in our life: to accept people with their imperfections… I know that some of you commented this after some of my previous posts, but I never gave a serious thought to this. All the miseries of life and [...]

ReligionTaking CRM too far Some time back I had written about customer relations management in temples [Link], and had supported the practice of treating high-end (read VIPs) differently, and offering services like quick darshan after taking high donations from them. I said that it was in line with many other business practices like Tatkal in railways [...]

MoviesKhamosh Pani Is cinema a medium to educate people? Or should it show us the real we - in the nude? Should it give us solutions, or should it only ask the right questions? Should cinema be a reflection of our popular demand or should cinema dare to bring light to the corners where there had [...]

EducationPGJMC I just completed my PGJMC course.  Course code:             PGJMCCourse name:           Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism and Mass CommunicationOffered by:                Ignou (www.ignou.ac.in) Duration:                  1 yearPapers:                      4 Work experience:     Minimum 2 years in press or mediaFee:                            Around Rs 2500.             I did this course out of my extra-curricular interest; though many [...]

MoviesIndependence Day Here is a science fiction with tadka of US patriotism. Aliens attack the earth, with their space ships hovering all over the sky. They destroy a region in Russia and also cover New York. President of the United State tries to negotiate with the aliens. It becomes clear that their purpose is to destroy [...]

MoviesCast Away  This is the story of a man, actually a courier guy, cast away and virtually imprisoned on an inhabited island after his plane is grounded accidentally (played by Tom Hanks, Oscar nominee for best actor for this movie). He survives for around five years, prepares a boat, waits for favourable wind, and then [...]

MoviesI, myself and IereneIn this Jim Carrey flick, he plays a good cop suffering from split personality. His second personality is to set things right which he wasn’t able to do in his regular avatar. Renee Zellweger arrives as being in the midst of a dangerous plot to eliminate her. Jim and Renee get going [...]

MoviesWhat women want Mel Gibson, an ad man, has been raised in an environment where he sees women as sex-objects. His height of anxiety happens when Helen Hunt arrives as his boss. In an accident, Mel gets a super natural power, by which he can ‘hear’ what women think. Scary at first, he uses this power [...]

Rahul can still make drawings !

PersonalAll about my Gods I often fall in love with people. This is because I always see their goodness. That’s the secret why I have always been in good terms with all – I love them all. There is something great in all of them – even if the guy uses swear words, he may be [...]

Politics-IIHow to loose it all in Gujarat If you have to win, you have to play the game. The scientist who devised Game Theory won the Nobel Prize. Before you take a move, you have to anticipate how your opponent would react, and then you take action. Congress, it seems, has forgotten taking help from the [...]

ReligionCustomer Relationship Management (CRM) in Temples Have you ever wondered why there are two different queues in the biggest and busiest temples like Tirupati? In one of them, aam aadami queues up for hours to get to see their God and in the other, it gets over much quicker if you can afford to loose some [...]

BusinessPropaganda of Retail A government ‘study’ has come up, proving that organised big retail is harming the unorganised small retail shops’ business. [Link] This survey (and they call it a study) was started on the directive of UPA chairperson. The survey involved around 1000 small retailers in four Indian cities, including 800 who were within a [...]

ThoughtsPainting He was painting for two hours now. It has been long since he started painting this one, and he wanted to finish it today. It was almost complete. Just some more final touches and the painting would be ready. He was standing on a lawn which was trimmed to perfection very recently. And there was [...]

Management Turnaround Babus  One day when I returned home, I found a piece of paper fixed on my door. I was ready for surprises. But it turned out to be a notice from a post man that he had brought a speed-post and as the door was locked, now I had to collect it from [...]